Operation Snowflake: June's Flake

Well I started working on this flake for June and feeling a little lazy I decided to not use two shuttles but use the work arounds for one shuttle and ball... oy... the work arounds just don't work as well as using two shuttles I wish I had just filled another shuttle! LOL Now that I'm half way through I'll just finish it anyway.

Operation Snowflake: May

Finally took a photo of May's snowflake! It's "Ice Crystals" from the book "Big Book of Tatting".

Operation Snowflake: April "Leaves Flake"

This snowflake is so pretty but for my tatting taste all the things I loved about it were the very things that made it annoying for me to tat! Oy! But at least I have this beauty done, albeit imperfectly done but DONE! LOL  If anyone else is interested in tatting it you can find the pattern here: Leaves Flake Snowflake
Now to continue playing catch-up...

Operation Snowflake: March Snowflake Finished

Finished with the Tatted Snowflake by Nancy of Be-Stitched!  Yay!  It's my biggest one so far! 

Now I'm going to work on the doily I mentioned the other day that has been sitting since 2008!  I had to print the last couple rounds again because who knows where the pattern which I had printed disappeared too! LOL  At least it's still up online!

Operation Snowflake: March Snowflake Almost Finished

Almost finished with the Tatted Snowflake by Nancy of Be-Stitched!  This one's a whopper with a 4 inch diameter!

Operation Snowflake: March Progress Halfway

Gotta keep tatting on...LOL  This is a Tatted Snowflake by Nancy of Be-Stitched.  These larger ones take more time to get done, they are like tatting 3 snowflakes in 1!  LOL  The bad thing is my fingers are really sensitive to the harsh thread so it's hard for me to just keep going till it's finished.  I have to pace myself.  I might need a shield for my other hand too for pulling rings closed.  It's almost like tatting a doily! HAHAHA well it could be the start of a doily, they usually start with something like this and just keep going with rounds getting added.  I still have never completed a whole doily!  I still have my first and only one waiting for the last couple rounds to be added! LOL  WOW could it really have been waiting since 2008? SHEESH!!!  I will finish that thing!!!  LOL  I think what kept me back was all the chains to be done in the last rounds but now that I have my finger shields that shouldn't be too bad anymore.

Operation Snowflake: March Progress

Here is a little update on the progress of my snowflake for this month.

Operation Snowflake: More Bonus Snowflakes for February

I needed to empty my shuttles so I can fully load them for a larger snowflake so I tatted these up. I had just barely enough thread to finish the smaller one!

The larger one is Sally Magill's SCMR Snowflake 2 which was actually the first time I've used the Self-Closing-Mock-Ring technique.  The SCMR is actually a chain that you hold a loop back at the beginning of it to pass the shuttle through so you can close it to look like a ring.  I thought I understood how it worked and I started tatting it up and then I realized too late that I had used the wrong shuttle to start the SCMR and found myself with an un-closeable chain...so I had to scrap that bit and start over.  I went and grabbed my book from the Shuttle Brother's and looked more closely at the diagram and found out what happened.  Once I fully understood what went wrong, I was off and tatting the SCMR's no problem and it's really very easy.  Though this pattern with all the little tiny rings was hard on my finger where I pinch to close rings.  It's such a cute snowflake though, I really love the fluffy arm tips and if you don't know about the SCMR it looks pretty impossible since you can't throw rings off of a ring! LOL

After that one I still had a tiny bit of thread left, but just enough not to want to just throw it away so I tatted this little one called Elmo's Snowflake.  I had just barely enough though and had to finger tat the last repeat.

So now my total snowflake count is 19!  I've got 7 snowflakes finished in just 2 months, I'm not sure I'll always be keeping up this kind of tatting veracity but hey I figure why not, maybe I'll continue to snowball snowflakes and have way more than I planned for.  That would be awesome!  It seems the more I tat the more I want to tat even more!  LOL  I'm starting to need a place to hang them all, I need to hash out an idea soon.

Now to load my shuttles and start on the large snowflake for March.  I'm planning on tatting this snowflake from Be-stitched!

Operation Snowflake: Bonus Snowflake for February Finished

Here is the snowflake by Sharon Briggs, all finished!

This one brings my total snowflake count to 17!

I still have a small amount of thread on my shuttles I think I need to tat another small snowflake to use up the thread.  I want to do some more larger ones and want to do a larger one for March.  Maybe I'll start the month off with a large snowflake for my birthday.  My parents say when I was born there was a big blizzard!  So it would be fitting!  LOL

I've been finding so many snowflake patterns that I want to tat that I don't think I'll get to all of them if I did only 1 a month for 3 years!!! LOL  But the good thing is I've been finding it easy to do little bonus ones, so maybe I'll have a huge blizzard by Dec.  I've been compiling the ones I've found online on a Pinerest Board if you are interested here is the link: Tatting Patterns.  The Board makes it easy for me to find the links for posting it when I blog it eventually.  Also it's nice to see all of them in one place, and I can browse which one to do next easily.  I also print them too, because you never know when a link will end up going bad...like all those ones that are bad when you go searching for patterns and they have a bunch of links complied that are all no good!!!  So frustrating.

OH and back before I started the Pinterest Board to keep track of the patterns, I had printed one that I cannot find the link for again!  Glad I printed it but wished I had been pinning back then.  I don't know if it's just hard to find or if it's now missing.  It was a PDF though so there is no link info printed on it.  But at least I know the name of it to give credit, but I like to be able to link when I can.  It's a beaded snowflake called "Elaine's Snowflake" so I'm assuming Elaine designed it...LOL it doesn't say on the pattern.  If I get to it maybe someone will recognize it and know where the link is.  LOL  I haven't been wanting to do any beaded ones lately, but I did in Dec.  Maybe the "want-to" will come back at some point.  LOL  I do love a good sparkle! LOL
***UPDATE*** My friend Marie searched and found it!  So if you want to print the pattern now just in case it disappears later...here it is.  It's Elaine's Snowflake by Lily Morales!  Enjoy!  There doesn't seem to be a way to pin it, since the link on Flickr is wrong and Marie did some web digging to find this PDF!  Thank you Marie!

Well now I've written way more than I thought I would!  LOL  Bye for now! ;-)

Operation Snowflake: Bonus Snowflake for February

I felt like tatting another snowflake this month as well.  So here's what I am working on.  It's a snowflake by Sharon Briggs.  It was nice and easy, with all the same stitch count between picots.  Not sure why I have a thing for thrown rings, I just like them, the clovers on the outer edge are thrown, and to me it's a super easy technique too.





Tatting all these snowflakes and seeing how they are designed, helps me start seeing creative possibilities in simple basic designs that can be added to in several ways.

Operation Snowflake: Feb. Snowflake

I tatted this little cutie from HERE.  A blogging tatter from Poland but photos with stitch counts are universal!  Gotta love the google translate too!!!  So cool!

A little note for anyone who will now tat it, make sure your middle picot of the little rings in the inner area are longer for joining.  I didn't know it would need to be longer and had to stretch it out after it was finished for blocking so the snowflake would lay flat.

This brings my tree's total to 16 now!

Operation Snowflake: Feb. Sneak Peek

Here's a little sneak peek at the snowflake I'm making this month! ;-D

Operation Snowflake: 2nd Bonus Snowflake for January Finished

Here's the 2nd bonus snowflake all finished! Don't those Josephine Knots just make it so cute!!!  Finally I got a snowflake done without a major mistake!  3rd times a charm eh?  I was trying very hard to pay attention to this one, and I caught myself about to close a ring missing the joining picot too, like what happened in the first one!!!  Good thing I checked twice before closing!

Now that I've been a tatting maniac, I'm ready to work on Feb.'s crazy quilt block!

This brings my tree's total to 15 now! Yay!

Operation Snowflake: Bonus Snowflake for January Finished

Here is the first bonus snowflake all finished!  I can only see my mistake when I look for it which is good!!!  So cute!  This is only the first month of Operation Snowflake and I'm already excited for my tatted snowflake tree next year!  This brings my overall total of tatting for the tree to 14.

Operation Snowflake: 2nd Bonus Snowflake for January

Well since this snowflake is so fast to tat, I decided to make another with the Josephine Knot variation idea I mentioned! I think it really adds a special something to the design!

Operation Snowflake: Bonus Snowflake for January

I still felt like tatting so I decided to do a bonus snowflake!  This snowflake pattern is from a blogger from Hungary!  It's cool that we can just push a "translate" button and read a blog in another language!!!  Also since diagrams have no language it's fun to be able to tat a pattern by someone from another country!  It's pretty easy to figure out since it's so small.  I choose to tat it in a way that could I climb out from the center ring with a split ring instead of having to cut and hide ends etc.  The only other thing about this pattern is that it switches shuttles.  So for part you are tatting in the normal fashion and then at the point where the chains look inward instead of outward you simply switch shuttles and continue until you get back to the next inner ring and switch shuttle back and so on.  It's a tiny bit fiddly because the stitch counts are so small, but it's so cute!
I just had a thought...Josephine Knots might look good thrown from the rounded chains! It would be easy to add instead of a chain of 12 just work 6ds a Josephine Knot and then another 6ds!

I made a huge mistake and didn't realize it until I was way past fixing it...hmm...sounds like a reoccurring problem I've been having lately!!!  I can't seem to tat with anything distracting, I have to give it my full attention!  LOL  Anyway I made one of the inner rings wrong skipping 2ds and a Picot which were supposed to be there for joining the next ring and didn't realize it till I got to the next ring needing to join there!!!  AHHH!!!!!  I didn't want to cut, and I didn't want to start over so I simply joined to the ring itself and pulled tight so it snugged really close to look like a regular join and then continued on.  It seems hardly noticeable!  So I'm happy with that "fix".  At least I didn't have to cut and such and didn't have to start over so I say all's well that ends well!!! LOL  I'm wondering if every snowflake is going to have some sort of huge mistake in it!!! LOL  I need to just tat in peace and quiet, give attention to detail and check twice, close once!

On the good news side is my lace finger guards work really well, no more sore skin from the thread!  And I really love the feel of shuttle tatting, it's so fun to work the double stitch, the motion is just so cool all smooth.  Especially when you think back and remember what a hard time you had when first learning to get the stitches to move into place, how you had to concentrate to move your fingers to do it all right, and now it's so easy and natural.  I really love using the small clover shuttles they just fit in my hands so nice and I don't get snagged as often as I move them and I always love the convenience of the pick tips!  They really help me keep the nice smooth flow of work that I enjoy!  Yup, I just really love it!  Especially so, now that my fingers don't get hurt from the thread!!!

Operation Snowflake: January Snowflake Finished

Here it is all finished!  Stellar is such a pretty design don't you think?  It makes me want to make more than one!  I love how it creates a flower in the center and the edges look nice and lacy! 

I want to do some sort of thing to hang the snowflakes as they appear over the year in my creating studio.  My idea is like a banner sort of thing that is strung across either my window or my cork board that I can have them hanging from and add them to.  For now it will stay right there on my cork board adding more lace too it! ;D

Operation Snowflake: January Snowflake Almost Done

Yay almost finished! The next time you see this snowflake it should be ready to hang on the tree waiting for next year!  It really is a pretty pattern!

Oh one thing I forgot to mention was that this has thrown rings, to me they are so easy that I don't even consider them "intermediate"!  LOL  You simply at the specified place put down shuttle one, and pick up shuttle two, work the ring, and then switch back!  This pattern does this a lot, so it would be a good practice pattern for someone who just learned thrown rings.

I had a huge mess up happen though.  Not sure how it happened, I think the thread just got twisted and I wasn't being extra careful about it, but one of my Josephine knots got all knotted and wouldn't budge and the more I tried to fix it the worse it got and then I ended up having to just cut out everything back to a ring!  OY then I had to tat over 4 tails because there wasn't any other places to put them but the chain so it's a super fat chain in that spot!  The good thing is you can't seem to tell in the photo!  I did tat the chains next to it a bit looser so it wouldn't stand out so bad and I realized that I'm a tight tatter! But tatting loose just doesn't feel as "right"!  LOL Other tatters who tat tightly will know what I mean! ;)  The down side is that it's harder to fix mistakes when it's so tight!  I had to take a day off after all this before I could work on it again once I got it fixed enough to continue.  Today I was more careful and got a lot done without any problems.

I've also been thinking about reading patterns and diagrams as I tat this snowflake.  If you are experienced you can simply go by the diagram alone, but until you get to that level you just need a little extra guidance.  Sometimes I will rewrite patterns just for myself so I can follow it easier once I figure it out.  I think I prefer the modern style that needle tatting patterns usually use, because that's how I first learned to tat, and then switched to the shuttle later.  My brain still likes patterns in that form though, nice and clear, in rows of steps instead of a paragraph broken by commas.  It's like I have to translate for myself!  It's nice when you can read any form of pattern or go just by diagrams though!  I wish I was stronger in that already, but it takes time and experience to get there!  I can read and go by basic diagrams alone but if it has more than basic I get confused still.  I did write up my "ideal" version of her pattern but I don't want to infringe on her copyright by posting it, it's still her pattern just written differently the way my brain likes reading patterns.  LOL  For me a lot of the time the written pattern helps me understand the diagram so as I get going I can just glance at the diagram for reminding of what's next or what the stitch counts are.  Other times the diagram helps me understand the written pattern so I can then understand the diagram!!! HAHAHAHA  Yup that's how this one was for me!  LOL  I guess I'm still on the beginner side of intermediate...unless intermediate is the beginner side of advanced?  LOL  All I know is I'm not experienced enough to never get confused, but know enough to figure things out eventually.

Well here I am rambling again! LOL  But hey what are blogs for?  Hope you enjoyed my rambling! ;D

Operation Snowflake: January Snowflake Started

Operation Snowflake has commenced!  I've chosen a pattern called "Stellar".  I consider myself an Intermediate Tatter being past the basics of tatting and I think this pattern falls in that category.  It's a little weirdly written, a little confusing, so I'm glad it has a diagram to help you figure things out, I think a beginner who is learning intermediate things would be helped by clearer written instructions. 

I wasn't paying close attention when I began and ended up skipping a section and had to start over ruining my continuous thread, so I make a weavers knot, that I just learned recently on YouTube and tatted over the ends.  Then I wasn't paying close attention...again...and assumed the stitch count was the same and added an extra stitch and by the time I realized it, it was too late to go back...well it's not a big deal as long as I do the same thing consistently all the way around, the snowflake will turn out fine, just one part will be slightly bigger than the original design.  No one will ever know...it'll be our little secret! ;-) LOL  But the good news is it makes the stitch count easier to remember.  I like patterns that have easy to remember repeats of stitch counts, this one has a lot of variation, not a bad thing, just more to remember as I tat the repeat. 

Overall it's a pretty design and would be good for learning the Paperclip Method of a Mock Ring since this pattern uses it!  As you can see I didn't have any paperclips so I used a bent piece of floral wire...same difference! LOL  I love how easy it is to look up a technique online, sometimes I forget a detail so I just google search it and refresh my memory! 

It's a wonderful thing to have the internet and even in the few years since I've learned there is even more resources online as more and more tatters are willing to make tutorials etc. to help others!  I own books and I also enjoy finding it online fast and easy.  To me the stuff shared online is the same as a friend helping and teaching you, and that friend may live far away from you instead of next door, but the internet brings you together.  I'm all for "Freely you've received, freely give." generosity and goodwill towards others.  Makes you happy and makes others happy too.

Resolve

•  CQJP 2013 (Crazy Quilt Journal Project):  Create a Six Inch Crazy Quilt Block a Month

This project will be posted at HoneyBeesBliss I will post my progress as I work on each one there.  I resolved on a Tea Theme, and that the blocks will become pages in a book.

• Operation Snowflake:  Tatting One Snowflake a Month

This one was born from seeing a beautiful Christmas Tree FULL of tatting!  So I resolved to tat at least one snowflake a month for the next year giving me at least 12 additional snowflakes to the 12 I currently have.  This should give me a tree pretty full of tatting!  I have found lots of tatting patterns from bigger ones to small ones and everything in between.  I will tat whichever I may so desire that month!  I will post it on HoneyBeesBliss as well.

• CaptureYour365:  A Photo a Day For 365 Days

This project is very flexible and not strict.  I love photography so I will be using different methods to capture a photo each day.  Some days I may simply use my phone or tablet, and on other days I will use my DSLR.  I may use the idea list, or just simply capture something that catches my fancy for that day.  It's pretty anything goes.  Today's is "Resolve" hence this post!  I will be posting the daily photos at HoneyBeesFancy, which is a Journal Blog for anything I fancy to post about, also on HoneyBeesPhotos, which is mainly for showing all my photos in one place, and only posting a few Sweet Shots or Favorite Things on HoneyBeesBliss. which is a Creating Blog for all my various projects.

We had fun ringing in 2013!

 LOL With all this Resolve I will accomplish quite a bit this year!  I have a feeling 2013 is going to be a very good year for me.  YAY!