Monday, October 29, 2012

"Falling" Inspiration and Motifs # 9 and 10

Hello! I hope everyone is keeping warm and dry, especially those who, like us, are currently on the east coast...I've been assured that Sandy will get worse before she gets better....I guess the Federal Government felt so too because they cancelled class for today and tomorrow...so I am taking my Russian-free day to catch up on some overdue tatting and blogging!!

After class most days I try to get out and take a brief walk with Pip to clear my head and give us both some much-needed exercise...this has been made all the nicer the past week as the leaves here have turned the most gorgeous colors!!

I had almost forgotten how much I love fall...the world turned brown in the fall in Honduras, but here it turns yellow, red, and orange...gorgeous!

The colors are not only lovely to look at, but also inspiring...When I saw the red leaf below I remembered that I have had Karey Solomon's "Tatting Turns Over a New Leaf" for far too long without attempting the leaves, so I thought I would break it out and give it a try.
I happened to have the perfect thread for the job--my mom and I went thread shopping when I was in Iowa in August, and she encouraged me to buy some pretty fall-colored thread as an inducement to give me some practice with size 80 thread.

So, here they are, motifs 9 and 10, the simple leaf and the acorn!
I have been attempting a few of the other patterns but success is proving to be elusive...sometimes I feel that some patterns don't lend themselves to needle tatting as well as others, and I haven't had much luck with some of the more intricate leaves in this book. Often authors include tips for creation that would help a shuttle tatter, but don't make much sense to me...

Oh well, it's fun to try, to practice...and thankfully I have plenty of thread! ;)

Hopefully Sandy doesn't cause too much trouble, but I am enjoying having the days off... As Ma from the "Little Houses" says, there's no great loss without some gain... :) I am happy to gain extra time for tatting (and blogging) even if it means all those lovely leaves will have been blown off the trees by the time the storm clears!