A 3D button flower?

So, I decided to attempt Ms. Jane Eborall's  Button flower which you can find here: http://janeeborall.blogspot.com/2010/05/earwigs.html

Well, I haven't cut the strings off yet, but I wanted to post this since I'm just proud to have finished one! :-D  Here are the pictures:

I want to try it again as more of a Lily Pad thing, but I don't have the right colors... Wait... I might in my embroidery floss.  I'm going to have to check. LOL.  (Great; If I get lost in cross stitch, I'll scream. LOL). 

-Stephanie Grace

So, not a tatting post, but something else to share!

Look! Look!  Yes, that's right... Click this link and let your jaw drop! I've been shaking since I got the e-mail!!!

http://www.withpaintedwords.com/home.php

-Stephanie Grace

A bookmark?

I finally got ribbon from my mom.  I sat down with, stared at the colors and then came up with a plan.  Wrote down a tatting pattern and I was utterly shocked when the written pattern actually worked!  :-D Needs some tweaking, but this is as I wrote it, so I was happy.  Then, I grabbed my handy-dandy dollar store sewing kit (which was purchased primarily for its needle threader that I broke already... go figure) and came up with how I wanted the ribbon.  Here is the final product:  

 I'm going to block and stiffen the "flower" part later or tomorrow --As well as glue the knots a kit and cut off that extra string that I'm keeping for security. LOL.  (I'm a little knot obsessed.  I realize this).  Oh!  The end with the big flower also has a loop since, if I use it, I'd like it to hold a pen, I think. ;-)

 So, not that anyone actually reads this, but, if you do; Any thoughts?

-Stephanie Grace

Not Tatting; Recipe finally written out.

I'm told it's good, even with me having to change from my normal way of doing this --someone even asked for the recipe the next day --after having to reheat the meat; I've never heard of anyone liking reheated London Broil before, LOL... I'm still flattered...

**I will adapt this later once I get the actual times, but my oven is electric so it's funky. I'd say that 13-15 minutes would be safe for all stoves, especially since you WILL let the meat rest before cutting into it. ;-) Why let your cutting board have all the juices? LOL. Rest your meat! LOL.


LONDON BROIL MARINADE
12 oz. Beer (1 can)
½ tablespoon of each:  
     Onion Powder  
     Garlic Powder  
     Italian Seasoning  
     Oregano  
     Seasoned Salt  
     Paprika  
     Crushed Red Pepper Flakes  
     Chili Powder
1-2 Bay Leaves, depending on size of cut
1-2 cloves of garlic, depending on size of cut

1. Pour beer, slowly, into bowl. Add spices and whisk until only a few bubbles remain (if any).


2. Remove skin from garlic clove(s) and slice or sliver garlic.


3. Puncture meat with paring knife and insert slivers or slices of garlic.


4. Put frozen meat into 1-gallon zip-top bag. Pour in beer/spice mixture. Add Bay Leaf(ves).


5. Set in refrigerator overnight, turning every few hours as convenient for you.

COOKING:

Take meat out several hours before dinner to allow for it to reach room temperature before cooking. Set oven to broil and allow to preheat (Usually 10-15 minutes). Save liquid for "basting". Place meat on cookie sheet sprinkled with olive oil (or broiler pan, upon preference and appliance). Use spoon to drizzle liquid over meant. Cook for 10-15 minutes. Turn meat over, spoon liquid over meat, and cook an additional 10-15 minutes (before turning, I usually give a little sprinkle of pepper). Remove from oven and cover with foil. ALLOW TO REST FOR FIFTEEN MINUTES. Remove Garlic slivers [unless you enjoy biting into chunks o' garlic], slice and enjoy!

A necklace?

So, I did the "pendant" part the other night and thought it would end up as part of a bookmark (as a "tassel" of sorts).  Instead, I picked it up today and this is what happened:

The last picture is just to show the "twisted" detail of the necklace part...  I haven't cut all the strings off and I am currently testing fabric stiffener on this string, so the "pendant" isn't fully shaped yet...  So, any thoughts from anyone?  Right now, it measures 14" in length... I can add more "twist" to make it longer, but I'm not sure yet... Since I'll probably never wear it, I don't think it matters. LOL.  It can sit at that length until I figure out what to do with it... ;-)

-Stephanie Grace

More Tatting Fun! :-)

Well, I've definitely been enjoying tatting lately.  :-)  While I'm getting better at following patterns, though, I'm realizing that I may just be better doing what I want to do. *laughs*  Well, here are the latest pictures...

 Yes, that's right, I tried Brigit's Cross again.  Sloppy, unblocked, and pinned to a pillow, it's waiting for me to contrive a way to make it look less...yucky. LOL.  I think I'm getting better, though... 

 Those are all the same thing --something that I just tatted while playing around with some thread (I was too lazy to go to the computer and look for a pattern to write down. LOL).  I kind of like it and may use it for a necklace at some point --MAYBE.  I still don't know, though, if I like it better laid out flat or attached at the top as in the last two photographs...

I might use these for a bracelet, though I'm not sure about the one in the middle yet.  The ends are more of my just playing around.  I wanted to try something, so I did... I think I like them better a bit more elongated (stretched out) though...

And, finally, just some sloppy little flowers and tiny tats that came from boredom, mistakes, and learning! LOL. (Practice, practice, practice; Right?)

The second one is my first journey into using two colors.  Is it a little flower or a pathetic bunch of grapes? LOL. 

-Stephanie Grace

Today's Tatting Adventures...

So, here's what I did today:
1. A "3D" flower that looks like a flower, but not the rose it was supposed to be. OOps... I still think it's pretty though! :-P

2. A little design that may have turned into a flower, but I stopped at four "petals".


3. A simple design that I wrote out and then decided to try; I'm pretty sure I'm going to make it again and they'll go on either side of #2 as a bracelet or something.


4. Gave up on a necklace that I thought I'd like but that got me frustrated.


5. Finally learned split rings!  So simple... I can't believe I didn't even bother looking up how to do it before today!  I can now try my hand at more patterns that I've been closing due to SR abbreviations! LOL. 


Well, that's about it, I think... Oh! And I realized that I'm plain intimidated by even medium-sized projects.  I like ones that I can get done quickly or in different parts --quite afraid of getting near the end and messing up and having to waste the whole thing.  :-/  


-Stephanie Grace

May 20th Post. LOL.

Pattern for cross:  Brigit's Tatting - Cross 
See... I remembered!  (I love how I type like anyone actually reads this! LOL). 


Anywho, today, I tried my hand at the ring again.  Came out pretty crappy again, but I used smaller thread and made it in black and like it much better, even if it is sloppy!  :-P  I'm thinking that I may actually do the top/bottom half for it this time... Maybe. 


What else?  I went to do a pattern and got a wee bit stuck, so I ended up with a light purple clover that I decided to play with and add a light green "chain" to it... I don't know if it's a three-petal flower or a pathetic bunch of grapes! :-D  If I find a use for it, I'll figure that part out then. LOL. 


Oh! And decided to start trying a necklace pattern.  Didn't get very far, but it's still attached to the ball of thread with a Post-It note on the top reminding me what I was doing.  Ah... I love my Post Its!  ;-)


Well, Tat's all... Wow... How corny am I?


-Stephanie Grace

Rat a Tat Tat

I wanted to make these smaller, but I suddenly have a few other things to do (all at once), LOL.  So, here are some quick photos of that I've been up to:

The cross is made from Brigit's pattern --I will link later.  It's whiter here than in real life and sloppy, I know... It is not blocked or anything and I'm still new at this, so be kind, please.

The star is created with just square knots (Marcame) using embroidery floss (again, three strands rather than six).  It is pinned into shape since I have not stiffened it yet.  It has a longer tail --more square knots, so that it can be a book thong someday. ;-)

Simple green ring.  It's not complete as far as the pattern that I have, but it's actually a ring!  :-D 

Okay, time for me to get started with everything else. Ugh....

-Stephanie Grace

Not Tatted, but....

I wanted to make a bookmark, LOL, so I did.  I used a Macrame pattern for a belt and worked out how to order the colors for what I wanted to try.  The pattern: http://www.friendship-bracelets.net/macrame/tutorial.php?id=7

I used regular embroidery floss, but separated it to three strand instead of using all six.  Here's the result, please, be kind, LOL. 

-Stephanie Grace