dare not outlive me

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I have no intention of letting my stash outlive me ;-P Ditto for the wonderful gift of hand-dyed threads. As if the planets (or two designers par excellence - Marilee and Jon) aligned and there was this perfect pattern just waiting to be tatted! 

I converted it into a bookmark with a tassel. Worked size 40 in Marilee Rockeley's HDT (Stardate) and Gopal threads with tassel in silk threads. Main body is 14cm long and 3.5cm wide.

Jon Yusoff's pattern is shared here - https://tatsaway.blogspot.com/2026/10/kupu-kupu-butterflies.html

I made two adaptations - 

1. used twisted picots (floating) for antennae, and
2. added a long (20ds) chain at the other end instead of the butterfly, in order to add a tassel.

There are a couple of places where I forgot to add a 4th picot to the top right wing which meant I couldn't join the next butterfly to it. However, once I blocked it (using the simple rolling pin method), they aligned so well that you can hardly notice!

What I would've liked to do, but was a bit lazy, is use the ball thread join (or it's variation here) while joining the yellow 'buds' to the butterflies such that all picots would be of the same length and colour - symmetry and colour coordination. Now I have variegated on the left side and yellow on the right. Overall, it is barely visible.

Now for tassel, I used silk threads choosing every colour in the bookmark body, matching the shades as closely as possible. The tassel doesn't curl as much, yet I should've dampened and let it set straight. Which would mean a delay of several days after already being late.

I wanted a simple cow's hitch. But it was quite a nightmare to get a neat finish keeping each thread together. I finally took off my first attempt after spending more than half an hour trying to align them nicely, pulling on each and every thread 2 or 3 times around :-(

I've used silk threads for a tassel/tail before but in the first I tied it down with metallic gold thread and in the other I braided it. That was a long time back in 2014! 

So, for my 2nd attempt, after wrapping the threads on a card, I tied it at the center with some scrap thread, then cut the bottom. This kept the threads relatively together to be able to make the cow's hitch. Yet not as neat as you can see in the close-up above. Also, since there was a chance they would slip when handled, I put a few drops of glue at the back to hold it all together.

I'm happy with the overall piece and will be using it. Luckily, if it comes to that, I can always snip off the tassel and make a new one with normal threads or one that is more secure ;-D

Curious, since it's been a while, I checked to see Natalie Rogers' PICOT Bingo 2026 (Level 2) card, and imagine my immense surprise that I could cross off one more box!

• Twisted Picot.

Many many thanks to all mentioned - you make tatting extra fun!!!

I won this

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 I was in the kitchen this afternoon, just starting up on the lunch dishes, when the doorbell rang and hubby went to attend it. We were expecting a delivery from Amazon hence the delivery was pre-approved and the delivery person reached our apartment without any call from the guards. Imagine our utter surprise when hubby came back with the gift package from Marilee! It had been at the customs since 26th and we had no idea how long it would take there. From her doorstep to mine in less than 10 days!

The vibrancy of these hand-dyed threads is absolutely amazing! And the combo of shades with their cute names often brings a smile... 16 skeins, 4 in each size.

Size 10

Size 20

I have one skein in size 20 gifted by Denise years back but I've held on to it for fear of not using it in the right project, LOL. Now I better get cracking and enjoy them all. 

Size 40

Size 80

A little hand-written note from Marilee .... Oh yes, I certainly intend to enjoy them and show them off as well ;-D I just hope I can do full justice to them.

Read about it here - https://yarnplayertats.blogspot.com/2026/10/giveaway-hand-dyed-thread-samples.html  ;  https://yarnplayertats.blogspot.com/2026/10/the-giveaway-winner.html  ; https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2026/10/the-rising-sun.html

And to think I almost did not join the giveaway!

Many many thanks, Marilee, for your wonderful generosity and the bounty of beauties!!!

a trip to the beach

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Reworked patterns, in modern style, from Frau Eleonore Endrucks-Leichtenstern’s ‘Die Schiffchen-Spitzen’, 1920, for Endrucks 1920 Project.

This pattern #39 fell into my lap and it has such a range of possible effects to play with that one cannot get easily bored. Despite my resolve to not play, temptation triumphed. So come to the beach with me and let's pick up shells, pearls, oysters, and more ..... (not in chronological order)

Download Shells and Pearls pattern #39 here - https://drive.google.com/file/d/179E9JeCMeM7RXFcq-wThF0iPiBLfQZ4_/view

Made of 2 alternating motifs, the tiny ring reminded me of a pearl between shells and called it Shells and Pearls circular edging. I broadened the shells a tad. 

Now this is how the edging should've worked out - a straight line, not a circle! But notice the picots and loose chains? We really don't tat like this in this century. 

The tautness and smaller picots resulted in a circle. There are a few more minor tweaks made, all listed in the pdf.

Notice the cute little bows? If we tat these in one colour and use white for the alternating motif (a narrower shell), we get Bows and Cravats!  

And yet, I could not resist straightening out the edging - after all that's how the Frau envisioned it. Unfortunately tweaks were needed again, at least with my tatting tension. These are also shared in the pdf.

These are all my practice pieces where I was trying out the original pattern and also tweaking to get them to be as symmetrical as possible. And I couldn't resist arranging them like a necklace with teardrop crystals. Imagine this with many more beads placed strategically!

A single shell motif could make cute earrings to pair with a complete parure made from this basic pattern!

Or a simpler necklace version with a large teardrop and those small pearls. 

Using 2 colours for a pattern presentation makes sense because one can tell at a glance which of the 2 shuttles is to be held in the hand. And I get to play with colour combinations, LOL.

And when I brought the trial stretch into a tight circle, look what emerged! A Buttercup! Those shells (or cravats) now take the form of beautiful slightly overlapping petals. An easy idea to execute in colours of your choice for the flower of your choice.

This close-up shows clearly how the shell motif leans to one side. This happens because the chains are all parallel as in block tatting. It is an inherent structural dilemma. 

From an early stage I wanted to see if it could be 'corrected' by changing the direction of the 3rd pair of chains. Also, I wanted to try a standalone 3D shell. So I took the plunge with both....

If you ignore my personal tatting flaws, the shell is now symmetrical! The 3rd pair of chains has inward picots (Block Below Tatting or BBT). They should've been tinier, but oh well. 

This is my first tatting with hand-dyed thread (HDT) - a gift from Denise 3 years back. It seemed the perfect choice with the colours of golden sand, blue waves, purple-tinged clams, green kelp, etc. and I dived in.

Huh, a clean dive would've been good. But that short distance held many other commitments and the tatting was sporadic with several day intervals in between. Not having jotted any notes, I lost my trend of thought and made several mistakes. The 3D effect needs more tweaking so this is a prototype.

That large pearl inside is a real pearl from Hyderabad - the pearl capital of India.

So here ends our trip to the beach for now. Someday I will get back to both 3D models (buttercup and oyster) to create better version. Hope some of the above ideas have caught your attention?

Pattern #39 pdf - https://drive.google.com/file/d/179E9JeCMeM7RXFcq-wThF0iPiBLfQZ4_/view

And don't forget to visit the Endrucks 1920 Project document to see what our wonderfully talented volunteers have contributed - https://docs.google.com/document/d/17LEVftXweztBIOWh4sL4BB7bX65ssoOsOn4oXIgCepY/view

I'm on the take

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Ummm, that news is Fake ! 

Nevertheless, I did succumb to Temptation. It was a Book!  How could I say no?
Aah, heart in hand, I refused. Not once but twice and again later. Even went to Amazon looking to buy it.

She was just so deliciously persistent.  How could I break her enthusiastic heart ...

Am I that heartless ?! ;-P

So these are what tumbled out from Denise’s generous hand into my grateful lap after travelling over 12,000 kms. She had an extra copy of Billie Heisler’s book and wanted to send it to me after reading this magic pathways post. 

And she sent so many friends along to keep it company ....

... hand dyed threads (never imagined I’d ever hold them in my hand) – one each of Marilee & Karen Solomon, metallic, marigold, … Lizbeth size 10 from the Sweet Tart mix (okay I had asked for just one length of size 10 in order to compare with my Anchor size 20s and put the size issues to rest).
The Marigold is her first attempt at native dyeing -- I'm glad she explained it, making me treasure it even more.

.... her own tatting – priceless! It is wonderful to be able to hold someone’s tatting in hand. This ice drop has an Adorable bee hovering around it!

Isn’t that heart the cutest – “made with love”!!! And all her thoughtfulness, too, is apparent in the entire packaging.

The pink ice drop looks like a pretty flower from both sides! Photo has watered down the lovely pink shade unfortunately. It is flanked by one of her prettified butterfly.

I’m still jumping with joy unable to focus on how to use these lovelies. Hope I can do justice to all she’s sent. Suggestions are most definitely welcome.

And to top it all – a friendly handwritten card (on the top left)!

She also inserted the latest Handy Hands newsletter and their Lizbeth catalogue! The catalogue couldn’t have come at a better time. 

A couple of weeks back I received my order of 2 Lizbeth packs – the Ice mix and Sunkist mix – in size 20. The balls have shade numbers but no names and I was going to go to the HH website to hunt down each. With the catalogue in hand, I simply ticked off the fun names.
I needed solid colours to use for my pattern samples/models. We easily find conversion tables between Lizbeth 20 and other brands, unlike Anchor. I have listed a few in the Resources page (click on Tab) and will soon add more. 

So many goodies and it’s not even my birthday yet ;-P

ps: I’m most definitely not on the take ;-P I have long standing offers from generous tatter/blogger friends which I have steadfastly declined (entire loss being mine).

Can’t thank you enough, Denise ! 
You are a gem & I treasure your friendship.