sapztat

Lizbeth thread and some grumbles on postal fees

2009-04-26T10:17:00.007+05:30

My parcel from handy hands finally arrived last week but was unfortunately stuck at my post office (yet again) for a couple of days - blasted another USD$10 on it before I got possession. *sigh*

The postal system is literally killing me - I am a great fan of the exotic threads but unfortunately my location is so far away (posting to the moon will not be this exp) that most of the time, my parcels get delayed or lost (yeah - I lost quite a few in the past one year :-(…) Just not liking it esp. at the time of recession.

Coming back to my parcel – these are the lot of most talked of Lizbeth thread and thinking I should have it in my kitty as well I placed the order nearly a month and a half back… and finally after shelling about $80(half of it only on postal and customs) here it is…

Apart from the threads I also received some brocheures of HH and a copy of their newsletter...
I just wish we could have a waiver of postal fees on tatting threads and accessories :-) After all it is our mere attempt to keep the age old art alive!!!!

Perfect Wedding gift

2009-04-13T21:05:00.007+05:30

An old friend of mine is about to tie the knot next month and unfortunately I wont be present with her on her big day. So to make up just thought of giving her something special, which she wouldn’t be able to forget and of course will stand out and will always remind her of me.

Yes – I tatted her some coasters based on Jon’s quantiesque and the Iris's Tias… what perfect way to start a new house – I hope it brightens her new life! Unfortunately she will be relocating to Mumbai which is pretty far, so I won’t be seeing a lot of her.

We have a small tradition in out Indian Hindu culture – when a girl falls into nuptials most of the trousseau she carries with her has to be in the color red. The red color represents and signifies every married girl. Even at the time of her wedding her wedding gown particularly requires to be in red. And so is my new gift to her… :-)

I hope she likes it, I tatted these superfast!!! I am also working on some nice Handkerchiefs for her trousseau... yet to begin and I just have about 5 days more to go! :-0

Gotta get back to work...

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T22:18:00.003+05:30

To all my Tatting friends - Here's wishing you and your families a very Happy Easter.

I remember my convent days... Easter brings back a whole lot of wonderful memories :).

I hope you have a wonderful time today and God Bless!

PS: - I am sending you'll wonderful Chocolate Easter Eggs that I found on the web! They look soooo yummy!

TSS

2009-03-26T22:52:00.006+05:30

You got me right... they are certainly back in business. I just got an email from Erin confirming the re-opening of the online store.

I am most pleased with this, I love their shuttles - and its just not me, am sure most of us own at least one of their creations and treasure them. They are very comfortable to use, hold lot of thread, extremly beautiful and very elegant as well. I admit that I am totally possessed with them and would like to see that part grow in my shuttle stash :) well It’s addictive ;-).

As you can see from the picture that I own just about four of them and now that we know where to find them, I am going to try and get some more. The order in the picture shown is from the first one that I purchased back in 2007 till the recent one just last month. I so love them… Oops there I go again.

Iris's TIAS

2009-03-24T21:43:00.006+05:30

Phew! I managed to tat this up :) - well actually I finished this sometime back but forgot to post it... :-0 and like Marty said - it is addictive!

Thanks so much Iris, you are a genius as always! I love this pattern and love the doily but somehow I like Marty's combo more...

It looks much brighter than the picture and needs ironing/blocking, but I am just too tired to do any of it. Now to match this up with some coasters, ideas anyone?

TIAS #5

2009-03-09T22:24:00.007+05:30

Two months of not tatting has shown the effect, now I am just desperate to catch up with everything…

First I thought I’ll get back to tatting with Iris’s TIAS, I have never taken up TIAS before or rather haven’t completely taken up one before – last I took was Sherry and that too I left it in the middle. So I was much more determined to do it this time.

Like all Iris’s patterns I like the way this winds up, am a huge fan of hers and can never forget that she was so kind to send her books to me thinking that I was a worthy student… I can never thank her enough! Those books mean a lot to me. So here is my TIAS and am earning to complete this one. I tatted this up in Marilee’s Sugar maple and coats size 20 color red.

Looking forward to add this bright doily to my collection.

A Hard one

2009-02-27T08:26:00.002+05:30

Am not sure where to begin, we were just getting back to normal after my uncle’s demise and we got another heart breaking news - my granddad passed away on 14th Feb. I am not sure as to what is happening… my guess is he was too grieved about my uncle’s death and he just couldn’t take it ahead.

It all happened when he was coming to meet my mom and to participate in my sister’s wedding last Friday. Since all the invites had already been sent we had to get on with the wedding, my grandpa wouldn’t have liked to postpone it, in fact he was the one who insisted my mother to continue with the preparations after my uncle passed away. And that’s why we went ahead.

Due to the wedding we really haven’t had the time to mourn but it is really heart wrenching, to think of him. In spite of oldness I cannot forget he traveled all the way from North India to the south to attend both my engagement and wedding ceremony. That is something which I will always cherish all my life! I owe even my wedding to him, he pushed my mother to the alliance…

I spoke to him last on the 12th Jan 2009 and he insisted to come and meet him ASAP. I still go through that conversation even now, I wish I had heard him, at least I didn’t have to carry that thought now.

One thing I realize with all that’s happening at home, Life is too short and unpredictable, it’s better to keep in touch rather than repent later for there is no afterlife and the guilt is tooo heavy to carry.

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T10:45:00.004+05:30

Here's Wishing you and your families a very Happy and a prosperous New Year 2009.

Unfortunately mine is on a very sad start. I lost my Uncle (Mom's eldest brother) on 31st Dec 2008.

Just when we were planning on a small get togather at home on 31st, I got to know he passed away that same morning and he was just 58... :-( I loved him so much, he was a good man.

I dont even have a snap of him with me and I hope I never forget his face ever...

My granny's place will never be the same ever again. Never again...

On another note

2008-12-27T21:47:00.000+05:30

Just to break away from the subject of tatting for a while, on Dec 1st hubby and I celebrated our 2 years of wedlock! Phew, is it already? That’s what suprising us even now.

We celebrated it in Khandala also attending a wedding in Bombay… but that’s not the only thing that is exciting – I am to receive a new laptop soon… hubby’s gift and I just couldn’t refuse ;), and while I indulged in buying all the new shuttles and lovely HDT I dint have money to buy him anything… *SIGH* I am counting on my bonus this year...

But he did buy me something else as well – isn’t that pretty?

Here are some pictures of the time at Vacation.

Things that I should have blog'd about but dint

2008-12-25T22:41:00.000+05:30

Here is some on the tatting subject that I missed writing about.

1. Lady of the House! Isn’t she pretty??? I got it out of some picture and tatted it using Marilee's most loved Tourmaline thread.

2. This came in my mail last week - Chris & Erin Hilton's lovely wood shuttles... Oh! How I love them, I was fortunate to order my first one before they shut down their store and then when I wanted more of theirs I couldn’t find them, later I realized that they had closed their shop for good. But then again these were very limited ones... sigh I wish I could get many more to add to my selection.
3. My newest thread addition to my HDT stash! I just hope at the rate I am tatting they don’t remain stash! thats - Sherry's Swamp thing and Marilee's Sugar Maple & Pansy.
4. Some more new shuttles...

Wait there is more to my collection only that they are still in transit :)... in hopes to receive them soon, I leave you guys here.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T15:31:00.001+05:30

Hello Everybody,

Here's whishing you and your families a very merry Christmas.

Spread the cheer and the love and God bless one and all.

Pardon please...

2008-12-14T11:03:00.006+05:30

I dint realise I had a blog to attend to, damn and I was so active into other worldly matters which are non-existent in nature... please pardon me on my grumble, I just couldn’t find a proper excuse this time around.

Well to tell you the truth I haven’t been doing any tatting at all from the last blog! In fact I haven’t even finished the TIAS too... now that’s too depressing.

But I have been crocheting for a while (which I stopped a month back as well) a small baby blanket and a head band for my yet another preggy friend. Here are some pics… Thank god her baby is due two months away, I’ve still got a lot of crocheting left on the blanket!

*sigh* where is this coming from, I’ve become so lazy all so suddenly, can you excuse this? I can’t!

And every time I purchase sherry's lovely thread I get a PS from her asking update on my blog and that would leave me depressed even more :-(. I dint know she was so serious on my blog posts and that leaves me guilty for I swear I dint know she found it was entertaining!

Hmmm now that I know how much you guys look forward to it – I shall make it much more entertaining and Plus be a regular at it. ;-)

TIAS

2008-09-28T22:00:00.000+05:30

I am so excited with TIAS #4, just that I cant seem to make out what it can be - it is quite confusing though.

Well here is what I have finished so far - still doing Step 8. I think I will be redoing this once over - Just dont like how it is turning out... I am tatting so shabby :-(

Long overdue

2008-09-28T21:41:00.004+05:30

Well quite late this time... sorry! Just held up with lots of house work and office work (I keep using this line always to escape the guilt isn’t it :-!) quite frankly I think I am just miserable at keeping my blog updated. Sigh!

Boy I really dint want to start this post on a sad note, not my usual self, so lets just lighten up a bit.:-) There I already put a smile on your face, yippee!

OK here are the few details to share…

The much awaited Margerite is finally over – It still looks a bit clumsy because I still haven’t ironed it out yet, that’s the only blocking I do to my tatted creations. But Oooo I so love the color!!!

New thread additions to my stash and for the hundredth time my answer to my husband’s question – “No I am not in need of new threads but darling, the thread needs me :-)" whatever… I keep telling him – Never question a tatter on the threads and shuttles, it is a very touche affair.
Never mind him, Ignorant souls I tell you. What do they know! Desperate needs call for desperate measures lol.
Left to right – Pamela’s Coral reef, Apple blossom and Sherry’s Rio.

Next in line is a new shuttle that I purchased from Etsy… this is lovely and very pretty. The shuttle is Acrylic, purple in color and the shop’s address is clhuke64’s on etsy. Apparently I was his first customer.
And finally there are these beautiful beautiful shuttles that I purchased from grizzly mountain arts. Pretty aren’t they?

So there you go, so much suspense for nothing... Please do enjoy these while I anxiously try to catch up with all of my fellow tatters blog posts.

Eleanora

2008-08-24T12:30:00.009+05:30

Presenting Eleanora from Iris Niebach.

I finished this two weeks back but was extremely lazy to blog it.

I hate to admit that this is a very tricky doily and I did have a tough confusing start. Throughout the doily I had to un-tat a lot. I must thank Pamela for sending me a pattern print to help me out. But even then I found myself making some silly stupid mistakes.

Man! It was a relief to see this finished. I made this using Flora size 20 variegated thread as well as Sherry's Yummy Grapefruit.

Time for the next doily - I hope I Finish this fast as I have been sitting on it for the past 2 weeks. This is again one of Iris's Doilies Margerite.

This again is done with sherry's Spring poppies, I love the color...I've got to finish this ASAP, cant bear to see it left undone for long.

Beatrice

2008-08-03T12:08:00.004+05:30

There...It's finally finished!

I made this using Y arnplayer's "Lola"... I took more pictures just to show you how the color unfolds. Very pretty and a beautiful doily, at the rate I am making them looks like my every corner at home is going to get filled.

Gina suggested in my last post here that I retake the picture of Cornelia on a white background again to show you the color of the thread. So here it is. Isn't it nice and earthy?
I haven't decided on my next project yet - I guess it is time I revisit my tatting books. Any suggestions???

Postal woes, my next tatting project and a small heart

2008-07-28T20:59:00.007+05:30

This is going to be a long one – I suggest you guys make yourself comfortable before reading it.

I don’t know how to begin and whether to feel sad or happy. You see my story starts this way –

Last month I asked David to make me two shuttles - one of Birdseye Maple and one of Pommele Bubinga. I waited for a month for it to arrive and when it dint I quickly informed David about this. Now having had a bad experience with my parcel from lacemakerusa (which btw I still haven’t received and am sure it must have been lost in some country/ countries!) I was scared that I had lost this one as well.

David very sweetly took the news with a pinch of salt and recreated them for me…. All through out reassuring me that it was all part of the trade, I felt super bad!

Now the mother of all surprises…. Well what do ya know! Both parcels arrived; I received the first one just before 5 days of the next one… Phew! when I saw that parcel at my doorstep, you have no idea how I felt.

So when the next parcel came I dint want to send it back to him cos I was so jittery with the missing parcel experience, I did what I felt right… I bought this pair as well. I felt it was only fair thing to do. So now I have two pairs each.

Both the shuttles are such pleasure to work with… now I know when they say all’s well that end’s well, I had this guilt all along!

Here is an update on the next thing that I am working on, Beatrice by Iris Niebach. I am making this with Sherry’s thread using one of Dave shuttles ( I asked Dave to make one for me from his collection ) from GrizzlyMountainarts., and I love it.

Here is a picture of a heart necklace that I made for a friend of mine. She is leaving India for good getting married next month to a guy from Kobe, Japan.
This is probably the best thing that I could tat for her. I made this with the balance shuttle thread from Cornelia using one of small Dymondwood shuttles which I bought from Lacis some time back.

Amidst all this - I still try to squeeze in time for Nancy Drew! I've gone nuts for sure!

Cornelia

2008-07-27T22:33:00.006+05:30

Ok... I admit I was tempted, but it wasn't my fault - Diane forced me into doing this... Her version with Citrus Lemon is far better and brighter than mine.

I made this with Yarnplayer's "Tourmaline" using my newest shuttle from David Reed Smith.

I should say my picture does not do justice to this thread and I totally understand why Clyde calls this as his fav. Such earthy shades!

Of late I have been busy finishing Nancy Drew series that I forgot to give time to Tatting... I read Nancy Drew so much that my brain is full of her...:-0 now I need a break from her!!!

I have a few projects in mind again falling into temptation... any guesses to what they may be?... :-)

10 question...10 answers...

2008-07-09T11:15:00.003+05:30

I was going through my list of blogs (I start my day with this) and came across this concept. one such blog is of Gina 's(who is into crochet; I just love the name of her blog - monkeybabies ;) interesting isn't it?) and immediately asked her if I can share this with you guys. She was delighted with the idea!

So here is my list of 10 question and 10 answers...
What is your first name? Sapna
What is your favorite tatting equipment? Handmade wooden shuttles and the sing song ceramic shuttles from Ladyshuttlemaker
What is your favorite thread? HDT
What was the first thing you made with tatting? A lace edging
What is your favorite color? Sea green
Favorite handmade gift you have received? Hand Painted Kerchiefs!
Dream project? Table Runner
Favorite notion? Tatted Jewelry
What will you Tat next? Maybe a large Doily
One word to describe your craft. Tatting!
Main inspiration to craft -My Sister-in-law!

There is no tagging here but all for you please do this because this is a very good source for people who want to gift you ;) that way they know what to send! Just kidding!!!
But on a serious note - try it girls! its fun...

Tag me – Not again!

2008-07-09T11:11:00.003+05:30

I am sorry but you guys just have to bear with me… yet again!

Sometime back Gina tagged me to share 6 unimportant things about myself based on these rules:

1. Link back to the person that tagged you
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share 6 unimportant things about yourself.
4. Tag 4 people at the end of your entry – have done this in my previous post already.

Frankly speaking I just cannot differentiate between important as well as unimportant things about myself. Let me just jolt down some of the most embarrassing things that has happened to me – I simply put those down as unimportant as I just don’t want to even think about the dim-witted things I have done in the past.

Here goes the list

1. I hate washing cloths – have conveniently transferred that responsibility to the husband.

2. I am a total Gadget freak – I just love to buy new gadgets time and again.

3. I just cannot sleep straight; it just has to be cuddled and on the side ;-)… I have tried many times but it is an impossible task at least to me!

4. When I was young I was under the notion that the sun sets into the sea (ya right!). I was so sure of it that I put a bet to my sis saying I was true… I Ahem still haven’t cleared my dues. :-)

5.While I began walking I used to be so restless that once I walking the whole street ditch. I was apparently missing for an hour or so and when they did find me I was still crawling my way to the other end of the ditch. It took a week for my mother to remove the stink on me… (Yuck!)

6. I used to have my hair really short till my 10th grade. Once in the theatre loo the cleaner lady mistook me to a boy that was extremely embarrassing as there were women in the loo as well. I really had a tough time explaining my gender to her.

So here it is - some very embarrassing situations I’ve been in the past. Whatever it was now thinking back “It was Funny” :-)

As I have said earlier I won’t be linking anyone in this, so my tatting friends don’t fret, but if you gladly want to post more then we are all anxious to learn what you have to say.

Look what came in my Mail!

2008-06-27T16:50:00.003+05:30

Yes, one of Dave’s creation at Grizzly mountain arts. What do you say to this???

I was browsing through their collection at their online store and wanted one from each of their shuttle category.

This was the first to come and now I am just as excited as I can be to receive the rest and Dave has promised me that my next surprise won’t be too long.

I am speechless. Thank you so much Dave and Jo! You sure do make tatting interesting for us.

This is a very fine and a beautiful shuttle. A collectors item for sure. And I just had to show it off. :-)

Not tatting at all!

2008-06-26T21:57:00.002+05:30

It’s been quite long since my last post and so thought I’ll just put up an update. There hasn’t been much on tatting lately or I should say there hasn’t been anything at all on tatting.

My sister was down here with her kids for a couple of months and in my spare time I volunteered to baby-sit them just to pull off her strain! And now I am stressed!!!

Both the kids are big bullies and it is a task. The older one is nearly 5 years old and is an ADHD child… so while my sister would run around him (caution – literally run around cos this guy refuses to even sit for a while – except of course in the night when he sleeps) I decided to take up the younger one. He is about 4 now and full of questions! Phew! Sometimes I would just get exhausted talking to him, and my, they have questions on just about anything and everything. For example, why is the rose red??? Or why doesn’t the terrace be downstairs instead of upstairs:-0

Now since I am not a mother and have no clue as to how to take care of them this astounded me.

Thankfully for me when she finally left for her home my husband had arranged for a 3 day outing with his friends. That came as a boon for I was totally stressed out.

I celebrated my birthday on 8th of June this year. The fear of getting old restricted my celebrations and the day eventually turned out to be a family and a teary affair as my sis and her kids were leaving that very same day. Now I miss them a lot. :-( Sigh!

On tatting front – I have a lot of packages arriving from all the online shopping that I have done. I Havent taken Pictures yet to show off!

I am not sure whether I have some tatting project in mind right now, I am busy finishing Nancy Drew series (crazy or what! I am desperate to finish it) – I guess it’s time I had a look at the tatting books I’ve collected.

I’ve been tagged again!

2008-06-19T18:45:00.002+05:30

I've been tagged by Diane to share 6 unimportant things about myself!

Here are the rules:
1. Link back to the person that tagged you.

2. Post the rules on your blog.

3. Share 6 unimportant things about yourself.

4. Tag 4 people at the end of your entry.

Now here go six of the few unimportant things about me...

1. I detest sweets and things that are remotely sweet… well except chocolates!

2. I just love the smell of rain on the ground… I remember when I was a little girl I would love it so much that many a times my mum caught me licking the ground… dirty isn’t it! Hehe

3. I am a tom boy even today.

4. I hate snakes or anything that crawl, even cockroaches.

5. My favorite pet is a cat and someday I yearn to get a cub home.

6. I am right now working on my stash… and very soon just like Diane I might have to dedicate a room to my crafting needs, it has finally started to occupy more space and what’s more I ain’t giving up buying them! There are some 10 parcels already in my mail list.

Now who should be next, hmmm…. Well I think I know!
Sherry
Marilee
Clyde
Marty

Scrunchie

2008-05-24T10:15:00.005+05:30

When I saw Tattinchic's post on this I knew I had to tat this out and so I did.

Here is a snap shot at my version of the Hair Scrunchie.

Threads I've used is sherry's Spring Poppies size 20, while the other one in shades of pink is size 10 thread which I got from etsy store. Size 10 I feel makes it look more organised. It took me a while to tat this and I so fell in love with it that I was actually tatting both of these simultaneously. It really does make a wonderful gift.

Mail Call... Finally!

2008-05-01T21:47:00.004+05:30

I cannot express how happy I am. I have finally received the books that I have been longing for a very long time.

I had ordered this book along with others from the lacemakerusa.com sometime in October last year (2007) and I still haven't received it. So instead of waiting around I finally reordered from Lacis this time and it came. Phew! I was scared I'd lose it again. I also ordered a couple of sew mate and boye shuttles as well.

My October order has other books including, Christmas Angels, Tatting Collage, Elegant Tatting Patterns, Tatting Patterns and Tatting With Visual Patterns. I think I lost a few treasures. :-(

I am slowly filling up my library with tatting books and as you can see I've had rot luck in the past. I just keep wondering where the post has disappeared? who'd be interested in them apart from crazy tatters like us?

Well I think that's a question which will puzzle me always. I also ordered a couple more books and I am keeping my fingers crossed that I receive it safely this time again.

Anemone Apennina

2008-04-30T15:10:00.002+05:30

And that's another Iris Neibach creation... Marty tried this sometime last week while I was doing my best trying out this one.

Well as you can see it dint come out that good as compared to Marty's. I knew it was a confusing pattern and unless you pay attention you might actually lose it. I was trying my best to be careful but I guess I confused myself with the flower and as you can see it, it's awful just there. :-( .

Now I want to try out the square doily - Anemone Sylvestris and if anyone has tried it yet can you please help me out? I seem to be lost on how to start. It is a wonderful pattern and I so badly want to work on it.

Floral Bookmark

2008-04-30T10:47:00.001+05:30

There has been a lot of demand for the Pattern of the famous bookmark on my blog. I just thought I’ll share the link to everyone who is interested in it.

The bookmark is called Floral and it is on Kersti’s website. Actually when I initially started this bookmark I had no idea that the pattern was Kersti's, I had started working on it from a Picture. :-). Very recently one of the fellow tatters from etatters pointed out to me that the pattern is available on Kersti.com

I have received lot of concern over the site being down, which actually it was. But now the good news is that it is working and that the pattern can be found here.

Kersti has some very beautiful patterns put up there. Happy Tatting!

Stella Alpina

2008-04-26T21:41:00.000+05:30

Iris Neibach's patterns are a pleasure to work with. This doily is named as Stella Alpina in her book "Fantasia". This is very easy to make and I managed to finsh it in a day.

Her books contain such beautiful patterns that sometimes make me wonder "Where does she get these ideas from"? They look quite complicated sometimes but her instructions make it easy to understand just while you tat it.

It’s raining Bookmarks!

2008-04-25T21:41:00.004+05:30

I can’t believe why I am stuck on these. Well I’ll drop in a secret – if anyone hasn’t tried this pattern yet, I sincerely think you should. It is just great to work on.

And I’d suggest you use an HDT – look at the way the color unfolds… this pattern does justice to all the wonderful HDT threads. That way I think no pattern can not do justice to HDT. They are a marvel to work with while the Pattern can be found at Kersti.com.

Here’s a snapshot for all of you to have a closer look and I am all of you HDT fans will agree to this. The pictures arent that clear since I dont have a scanner at home and have to rely on my Digital camera.

Another Doily and SPSD Reunion.

2008-03-29T22:50:00.004+05:30

Well…. Here is another one. This one is pretty simple to do but I took forever. Actually this could have been done within a week since I could give just about an hour or so each day, but I took really long to finish this.

I have been suffering from chronic urticaria for over 6 months now. This is probably the third time it has struck me (once in 1999 and then in 2003). This time it is bad and I am thinking of getting a permanent cure, therefore resorting to homeopathy which is a bit more bothersome and painful than Allopath. This was probably why I couldn't finish this doily as fast as I can since last week I did nothing but itch itch and itch.

Nevertheless it’s finally done and I need to ship it away to a friend of mine. This is a surprise to her!
Another much awaited event was my reunion. Why do I call it much awaited is because this has been due for nearly 9 years now.
Here is the snap of the reunion.

Left to Right - Shradha (In Red) with her daughter Avni, Divya (In Pink), Myself and Preetha
Btw – SPSD is Shradha, Preetha, Sapna(Me) and Divya. The doily is for Divya.
Shradha is a mommy of a 6 month old cute girl by name Avni, Preetha is due next month and Divya, already a mommy of a 3 year old Adhvik is currently into 6months of pregnancy with her 2nd child.

These girls are my childhood friends and the last we were all together was in 1996 I think. After that we haven’t had the time to meet as a group. This time this friend of mine was in town and we just put our foot down.

It was a very funny event I must admit cos way back in school we’d never thought that one day we will meet like this… and guess what the conversation was all about???? Babies babies and babies. Man was I out of place or what!

All the three are mothers or mom to be except me! I am not even close to it… as you can see from the pic… :-) And all they could talk was the d-day, or can you feel the baby kick and blah blah blah…

Sigh! It was all so nice to be back together… back in school we were inseparable. And the outcome of the reunion – I’ve got all the tips it takes to be a MOMMY!!!

That reminds me – I now need patterns for baby booties…

Tiger Eye Doily

2008-03-08T19:48:00.005+05:30

Like it???? I love this one! look at the color unfolding... awesome!!!

This one is from Jan Stawasz book and I can never believe myself having tatted this... It is one of my best tatted stuff till date, no doubt and full marks to yarnplayer for providing this wonderful thread - HDT again.

It still requires blocking and I have just ironed it for now. I have never blocked till date and kept wondering if you actually need to do so, but with this I think I have to. The flower in the middle stands out so I got to flatten it quite a bit actually.

It matches with the coasters below, doesn't it???

Break

2008-02-24T15:25:00.004+05:30

I am just running over a phase where upon I wince just looking at a shuttle, cos I tatted like crazy sometime back. So I have now taken a momentary break.

Though I still have certain projects to complete – for example the Doily to match with coasters, plus a couple of crochet projects which will take me forever to do! Here is a sneak peak at one of them.

This is a shell shawl pattern which one of my friends had finished sometime back. Inspired I started with it but unfortunately it's has been this way the last 2 months. Now with winter gone past I don’t feel that enthused and elated to finish this anymore and hence will remain in my WIP list.

Now getting back to the subject, I suppose you can expect a slight delay in my next post… so long!

HDT overload

2008-02-24T14:47:00.008+05:30

I had promised sometime back that I will display my HDT treasures… well here it is….

Now the only problem is what do I do with this lot????

Threads include :-

Marilee - Tiger eye, Roses, Dark Red, Rhubarb crisp, Leafy, cool waters and finally Hydrangea.

Sherry - Vickies Lilac, Tutti Frutti & Spring Poppies, Tulips & Sunset sky, Rust, Yummy Grapefruit, Coffee & Cream and spring poppies again.

All these are in size 20, except for one spool of spring poppies and dark red.

Just like Laura I am more comfortable using Size 20 thread but with tremendous persuasion from Sherry I finally tried size 80 - and she was right it really fine and very good.

Conclusion - It’s to painful to see it wasted – I wanna keep it just as it is!

Now the problem lies when both of them being their naughty self keep coming out with different colors that it becomes painful to resist the temptation and then just like HDT addicts I finally have to give in. Girls... Please have mercy! :-)

Coasters again

2008-02-24T14:39:00.003+05:30

And this time it is with HDT – Tiger eye! Lovely color and this is my fav. Sometime while browsing through my regular blogs on tatting I came across one Doily which just took my breath away… I had just finished with my coasters by then and was just thinking of doing a doily to match it and voila! There it was. This is by clyde and he gave a wonderful name to his doily “Waves” and it truly is.
So Clyde, This one is for you!

some more bookmarks

2008-02-24T14:28:00.003+05:30

This one is from Sherry's Blog! It was easy to do this. I wanted something in a blue combination so this was a perfect pattern because both (light and dark) blues blend so well.

Bookmarks again!

2008-01-25T10:27:00.000+05:30

Seems like tatting bookmarks are most addictive…at least to me! Actually they are great to work at. They are simple and very elegant and as Marty put in, they also make an excellent gift.

I simply adore bookmarks! So here’s one more to my List. This one is done in Marilee’s thread. I totally agree with Clyde and Laura and will say that H.D.T is the best.

I must admit though that I have been saving them for God knows what! I think its time I used them… for only then I can do more justice and buy more.

Coffee anyone?

2008-01-24T17:37:00.000+05:30

I am not exactly bloging about coffee (which btw is indefinitely my favorite subject), more so the tatting stuff below the coffee cup! Yup… you guessed it right! Its coasters.

Remember from my earlier posts “Iris Niebach special”? This time I tatted a whole lot of it. I would give credit to my husband actually, had he not been persistent on spoiling my coffee table I wouldn’t have thought of this at all.

Last three days have been much tiring for me and my Family. My dad was hospitalized on Monday when he complained of breathlessness. Due to a heart surgery performed in 1992 the doctors wanted to double check before concluding. He was put under observation till yesterday and then discharged. Thankfully everything was normal and just that his blood circulation is a bit slow when compared to others and can be cured by medicines. We can all now sigh with relief!

While in the hospital I actually had a lot of time on hand and took my tatting tools along! And that’s how I completed my coasters!

This is a wonderful idea and a great pattern to work with. I plan on doing a few more coaters with the wonderful thread that my friends so generously have sent me.

I have an apprentice!

2008-01-18T16:44:00.000+05:30

Until recently I was under the impression that I can never teach anyone to Tat. The reason is because I have zilch patience level. This I am speaking from experience – there were a few pupils who were interested to learn and I was inefficient as a teacher since after the 1st tutoring session no body returned for the second.

I Know I know I am wicked but I just cannot help it. But now I do have a student who is as persistent as I am with impatience. After the initial basics lecture I gave her yesterday she came back to me showing her work!

She of course needs a lot of practice since each time she does a double stitch it gets knotted but they aren’t that bad, cos I can work around it a bit to straighten it without having to remove the whole thing. I am sure she isn’t happy with it but I am cos she came back to me! J Yay!!!!

Frankly speaking I would give you’ll the credit. Maybe some where I have learnt a lot reading your experiences from your blogs and have tried my best to take all the good qualities from all of you. And Just like this instance I am hoping that you guys will always help me out in future as well.

I am positive – so keep up the good work!

Some More Bookmarks

2008-01-15T20:40:00.000+05:30

Past few days I have been working on bookmarks…. Lots of bookmarks rather as you can see. I have now 15 in total and absolutely no clue as to why.

I just liked the pattern so much that I played with different colors. Some are old while some I picked up browsing one of fellow tatters blog!

Gifts!

2008-01-11T20:18:00.000+05:30

Look what I got in my mail… Gifts and lots of them too... Man do I feel lucky or WHAT!

Thank to Lynn for taking the initiative. Here is how it started. I was browsing through articles on etatters forum and reading about fellow tatters discussing threads. Since in India we hardly get different kinds/sizes of threads except the usual Size 20 & 40 I was astounded to hear there are more sizes in this world.

When I was growing up I was under the notion that size 20 is for tatting and size 40 for crochet and so when I joined the tatting ring you can imagine my stun when I got to hear so many things about tatting. I truly was and I kept telling this to myself. For example I dint know you can make Jewelery out of it or bookmarks or celtic tatting etc Phew! Trust me the list goes on!

One fine day I innocently posted to the forum asking elaboration for different sizes and that where I can find it? And there you go… Lynn sent out a post asking them to help me and send samples of the various threads available so that I can play with it and which they did!

I am very very happy girl :-). This parcel apparently has been waiting for me a long time just that it was stuck somewhere… it came to India sometime in Dec itself… but nevertheless I finally have it and what Joy!

Big thanks to Susan B.T, Marty, Marlene, Ria, Judit connors, Clyde, Maureen Lawrence (Hope I haven’t misspell any of the Names – if I have then please forgive me!) And how can I ever forget Lynn for this, Thank you is such a small word for what I am felling today! Thank you guys and a BIG hug to all of you!

Happy New Year 2008

2008-01-02T13:23:00.000+05:30

Here’s wishing all of you a very Happy New year, hoping to bring in loads of happiness, joy and good health.

I am usually not the person who lives up to resolutions and everything, but there are certain definite things that I will be working on this year… not to mention that I will continue to tat! I cannot live without it of course…

For me 2008 brings in lot of hope and I am totally optimistic of the future… I am praying it stays that way.

I will continue to portray tat bits of my life’s endeavors through this blog of mine and continue to entertain you the way I entertain myself writing my thoughts/projects down.

Enjoy the year and have a blast!

Another Doily

2007-12-29T21:41:00.000+05:30

This one is from Jan's book. I consider myself extremely lucky to have the book. In India unfortunately we don't still have options to access books on Tatting. But thanks to Internet, My life's so simple... But my credit cards aren't.. :-(.

Anyways this book is a treasured piece, Just like the few others that I have and It contains some very pretty patterns. I wish I could make all.

I made this for a friend of mine - Divya. She just moved into her new home and I thought of making her this on the occasion of her house warming. The actual pattern is much bigger that what I have made but I thought this will look good on her Coffee table.

I Hope am right!

Peonia

2007-12-29T21:34:00.000+05:30

This is a Doily from Iris's books. I took me 10 days to finish this and I just love this pattern so much that I would wait impatiently to get back home after work and spend time making this.

In the end my husband got so irritated with me that I wasn't spending time with him. :-).

Have a look, I am sure everyone will agree to this.

Iris Niebach Special

2007-12-29T21:22:00.000+05:30

I absolutely have no excuse for neglecting my blog this time but humphhhh....

I had so much to share but laziness takes over so fast. So this time I just made up my mind to show all that I have been hiding so far.

So hear you go... Iris had written to me sometime back volunteering to send me a few of her books, and am spellbound, I have no words for the kindest gestures that I have received after entering this tatting forum.

Each person is special and they undoubtedly shower me all the love they can in their own special way, not forgetting to mention what great friendship I share with all of them.

I love you all so much!

I made a small motif from one of her books.

Isn't this beautiful.... This is my favourite.

Long absence

2007-12-06T11:47:00.000+05:30

I know I have been neglecting this corner for a long time now... well blame it all on my laziness as well as work, well former being more of the reason.

Last week to be more precise 1st Dec 2007, Sunil (Husband) & I celebrated our first wedding anniversary... seemed like only yesterday since our wedlock and so soon a year flew by... Oh boy how fast time flies...

I have only neglected posting but not tatting. I have been tatting and crocheting as well. I did crochet two hats - both for my husband which I still need to take snapshots of.

Tatting includes this necklace set, which I can proudly claim to be my design... well not quite though, the Pendent is from my previous posting - Motif No.24 , I had no clue as to what to do with it and thought of this. Later I just matched it with ear rings.

This is what I could tat up. So there you go... I am just excited that I could finally tat Jewelery and thrilled how this turned out.

I still have lots to share but I am just waiting to take photos of all that some kind people have presented me and dying to show it to the world.

Motif #23, 24 & 25

2007-11-09T13:23:00.000+05:30

I am through with the 25 motif challenge and boy what fun it was... each time I would wonder what to do!

These are my latest creations.

Motif No.23

This is actually a small motif from Gun & Elwy's book and I thought it will look great as a earring too... The thread used here is Yarnplayer's Rhubarub Crisp. I gave the pink ones as a Diwali (Festival Of Lights - celebrated in India) Gift to my Sister in Law and she loved it (I Hope). Now I am on a hunt for more ear ring patterns.

Motif No. 24

This pattern is again from Gun & Elwy's book and looks great as a pendent, Well that's what I have used this as.
I made this in two colors. and the thread used is Rose cotton thread size 20.

Motif No.25

Last but not the least, again from Gun & Elwy's book this motif is done using the same thread as that of Motif. 24. Initially I wanted to make this in a single color thread but I had lot of unused threads still wound in my shuttle. It still came out good so I am happy and no regrets.

Motif #22

2007-11-04T14:17:00.000+05:30

Motif No.22

This is from the same place as the last one (Motif No.21). It just turned out so cute that I made 3 of these. I used Yarnplayer's dyed thread, and Valdani pearl thread no.12. I purchased this from etsy and the last one with Rose thread 20.

Motif #21

2007-11-04T14:13:00.000+05:30

Motif No.21

I was randomly checking the net and came across this one. I just loved this. I am trying to find, from where I had picked this pattern but I just cant find it. This apparently is done with needle tatting and will look great on a card with lots and lots of purple flowers.

Motif #20

2007-11-04T14:04:00.000+05:30

Motif No.20

This is a gift for my husband's friend who celebrated his birthday last month. But due to tax season he is quite (he is also a CA) busy and I am unable to give this to him. I am now having second thoughts on parting with this. He just bought a new apartment and I thought this would be a good gift. The motif is from Gun & Elwy's book and I made this with two colors.

I just hope this blends well with in his new home, and he likes it.

I've been tagged

2007-10-21T11:11:00.000+05:30

I've been tagged by Sherry to share 7 facts about myself!

Here are the rules which you must abide by if you are tagged.
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird.
3. Tag 3 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

Seven facts about me
1.I cannot eat chillies. I can never eat anyting spicy, my whole face and my ear turns red and takes me a while to get back to normal.

2.I am a coffee addict. I just love coffee and there has never been a day without it. I like mine with milk and on an average I drink about a litre of coffee every day.

3. I am an accident prone child. I had my first accident when I was 9 months old and after which the list has been endless. From bruises to fractures, I have experienced whole lot of it. And now I am banned from riding a two wheeler.

4.I met my husband for the first time in a company cab. I detested him that very instant, and today I am married to him… I am a north Indian and he is a south Indian… coming from adverse families, touch wood we had very less trouble convincing our parents for our wedding.

5.I simply HATE milk cream in its normal form. I puke the moment my mouth touches it.

6.I love to collect things which amuse me. Right now it’s on crafts. I am now collecting tatting shuttles and crochet hooks.

7. I am obsessed with pens; I love to collect any new one that comes in the market.

Phew! there you go... these are 7 facts of my life that's out and open... I never ithought it would be so hard to write down about myself. I really had to crack my brains for this.

I have decided to tag
Marilee
Marty
Gina

Motif #19

2007-10-18T15:59:00.000+05:30

Motif No.19

A very small motif.

Motif #18

2007-10-16T20:47:00.000+05:30

Motif No.18

I am currently experimenting patterns from Rozella Linden's book " Easy Tatting" and I like this one a lot. I plan to make a big motif by joining many more small motif's like this together. This is very similar to the bookmark that I made sometime back. I took this pattern from Susanne who was kind enough to share the pattern with me. By far, that bookmark happens to be the best out of what I have tatted till now.

Motif #17

2007-10-16T20:44:00.000+05:30

Motif No.17

A small Heart. This is again from Rozella Linden's book "Easy Tatting".

Motif #16

2007-10-16T20:29:00.000+05:30

Motif No.16

This is a pattern from the book "Easy Tatting" by Rozella Linden's. This is a great book for beginners. I liked a few and wanted to try it out. I have ordered some more books and hopefully they arrive soon.

Motif #15

2007-10-11T21:54:00.000+05:30

Motif No.15

My First Ear rings...

Inspired by Yarnplayer's and a few other fellow tatters Tatted Jewelery, I thought of tatting Jewelery myself; amongst other things ofcourse.

This was done accidently while trying to make a Rosette and thought it would be a good idea to make earrings out of it instead... and that's what I did.

This is probably initial steps taken by me towards making tatted Jewelery and I am thinking of undertaking a few more projects in future including learning to use beads with my tatting.

Motif #14

2007-10-11T21:40:00.000+05:30

Motif No.14

I did this with Yarnplayer's special hand dyed thread. Lovely thread, I just dont feel like using it and even if I do that motif will always be special...

Thanks Marilee for making such wonderful threads.

Motif #13

2007-10-11T21:14:00.000+05:30

Motif No. 13

This is a Rosette from georgiaseitz's website.

Motif #12

2007-10-07T16:35:00.000+05:30

Motif No.12

This is also from Gun and Elwy's book... there a a lot of patterns in that book and each one is worth to try out.

Motif #11

2007-10-07T16:11:00.001+05:30

Motif No.11

My First tatted basket... I was just browsing on the internet and happen to see this on Threads from a tattinggoddess blog and tried it out. I hope I have done justice to it. This is done with crochet thread size 20.

Motif #10

2007-10-07T16:05:00.000+05:30

Motif No.10

This also is one of Gun and Elwy's patterns. I did this with the thread which I purchased from Marilee, the one with lighter green shade. I Just love her thread and am saving it for some really good patterns.

Motif #9

2007-10-07T16:01:00.000+05:30

Motif No.9

Also from Gun&Elwy's book this motif looks more like a heart... I tried this twice as I dint like the brown color.

Motif #8

2007-10-04T17:07:00.000+05:30

Motif No. 8

The pattern is from Gun&Elwy's book. I guess It'll look even more better if I join lots of it togather...

I used Rose's crochet thread size 20. It is not all that great, like the Anchor ones that I usually use, but I just liked the color.

I am still not doing good with the onion rings and clunny leaves... but I am determined.

Motif #5,6 and 7

2007-10-02T15:52:00.000+05:30

This is me breaking free from clunny leaves and onion ring. I think I will need a little more practice “Sigh”

I took this pattern while browsing my fellow tatters, Melissa Blog

Motif No.5

I made this in two colors.

Motif No.6

A small heart in blue.

Motif No.7

My first Butterfly - butterflies.

Lost....

2007-09-27T16:53:00.000+05:30

Ok so it’s been a while… don’t ask me - there were just lot of things happening around me that I just couldn’t find time to tat…

I keep feeling guilty about it :-( after all I have a challenge to face up to! I know there is time but I am just a little anxious to finish it fast.

Right now I am fiddling with Cluny leaves and I won’t stop till I do it. I learnt the pattern from Mimi’s website and kept trying till I got it right. The thing is I now know the technique but cannot somehow work a motif out of it. I keep getting stuck on the second leaf, and then it just gets cut. Arghhhh so annoying!

So I have decided that the next post will be on cluny leave and looks like both (Cluny leaf and I) are adamant on this.

And the next thing that I learnt is - Onion ring. Man, I keep trying to make a spider out of it and it more looks like a flower… oomph!

So you see I am very touchy at the moment regarding tatting and have quite made up my mind to learn these, make and then post.

So please bear… :-) don’t worry I will get it right!

Motif #4

2007-09-09T14:53:00.000+05:30

Motif No: 4 :- This is Jeanne Lugert tatted 3-D rose.... My first attempt with split rings!

I am not sure if the rose is just right and if I have done total justice to it... I really liked it so I thought of giving it a try.

Motif #3

2007-09-09T13:09:00.000+05:30

Motif No 3:- A tatted lace for my dupatta... this is a 4 meter lace for a dupatta for my new salwar...

I tatted this lace last saturday.... still need to sew it up on my dupatta...

Motif # 2

2007-09-01T10:00:00.000+05:30

Motif No.2:- A Tatted heart. I took this pattern from Melissa's Blog Honeybee's Bliss and found this really cute.

I tried color combination with this though the original one was with one color. There are few more hearts that I want to try out.

Hopefully this weekend will give me more time to tat as my biggest distraction "My husband" is away...

Motif #1

2007-08-30T19:00:00.000+05:30

Motif No.1:- This is called as cecelia doily, I took this from etatters and i guess with this I am officially in the challenge now...

I tatted this using Coats size 20 thread.

25 Motif Challenge

2007-08-29T17:10:00.000+05:30

I recently signed up for the 25 motif challenge, which means that for the next one year I will need to make 25 different Motifs. A Motif here includes bookmarks, snowflakes, medallion, heart, butterfly, earrings or any other piece of tatting.

There are several fellow tatters who have joined this and there is a dedicated blog for all the motifs that we tat for the challenge. It’s called as 25 Motif challenge…

I think am up for the challenge and at the same time I am sure I’ll enjoy every bit while tatting for the endeavor. It sure promises lot of fun!

Some more Bookmarks…

2007-07-31T22:50:00.000+05:30

Seems to be never ending – now all my friends want one… Including my husband! These are the same ones that I have done before – just adding it in numbers and not patterns.

I saw a very beautiful pattern posted on etatters and I just want to try it out but the question is how. This pattern is done using split ring. Now since I just learnt the technique, I can do just that but cannot build anything more – I guess I need more instructions or tutoring on it!

I am going to give it one last try – will post my effort if I strike the right cord!

Motifs

2007-06-18T14:46:00.000+05:30

This is what I did last week, mostly Motifs. The first one is from Gun & Elwy's book. There are really pretty patterns in that book which I look forward to tat. And so there will be further additions to that subject.
For now it's just 2 of these.

This one is my fav, I like the color and the combination has really stood out - unlike the previous one! I got this pattern from the Internet. It was tatted with a single color but I wanted to do it differently so took two threads. It really did pay off.

Bookmarks Bookmarks and more Bookmarks

2007-06-13T13:44:00.000+05:30

These are my last workings!

I made four bookmarks last week mainly as gifts. Out of the three identical (same patterned one); I presented one to my sister in law(Blue); one to a very good friend (Green) and the pink one I plan to ship it to the US for another friend. Thanks to Susanne for the pattern - it is one amongst my best work.

The Last one - Blue bookmark is my personal one, which i used to make a saree lace and one of my friend suggested that it would be great as a bookmark pattern. I thought I’ll try that as well and definitely wasn’t at all disappointing. I gave that one to my Father in Law.

Tatting can bring so much joy to people to really enjoy the art of crafting! and I am sure I am not the only one vouching for that.

My Latest Project

2007-05-21T14:22:00.000+05:30

Here is my Latest work. I started this yesterday and managed to finish it by the end of the day. This is for the centre table in our house...

I took this pattern from the book “"Tatting Patterns and Designs" by Blomqvist, Gun & Persson, Elwy”.

My First Bookmark

2007-05-21T14:13:00.001+05:30

This is a bookmark that I made a month back. It was my friend’s birthday and I wanted to gift her something with a very personal touch.

She is very good at crochet and many other crafts and I know how she adores tatting. Although I tried my best to teach her to tat but unfortunately that’s one craft she could not pick up.

I came across this pattern on the net and considering that I had just 2 hrs to spare, I had to pick this one up as it was quite simple.

The response was tremendous and now, all my other friends have asked something like this for their birthdays…

I have got another one to do before 11th of June. This friend of mine, thankfully, has selected a pattern for her bookmark already!!! That’s one request I cannot turn down.

Saree Lace

2007-05-21T14:07:00.001+05:30

This is a saree lace which i made in 2002. Am yet to pin it up on a saree... :-). This lace runs 9 meters long. Amongst all the saree laces that I have tatted, I like this one the best. The color and the design is just perfect and I just refuse to part with this one.

My Workbasket.... So far

2007-05-21T13:43:00.000+05:30

Sapz Tat

2007-05-21T12:29:00.000+05:30

I created this blog just to give a virtual space for my tatting workings and that probably is the reason why i named it Sapztat, which simply means Sapna's tattings!

Without elaborating or jabbering as such, am just going to post few pictures of my workings, which i have been doing for the past 10 years or so.

There are so many of these pieces which have gone missing as I have been generously donating them to quite a lot of friends and relatives not knowing how precious these.. But now I have learnt a very valuable lesson and realised that I should atleast click a snap before disposing them :-)

Hmmm, *sigh* wish I had used my brains a little more earlier!!!