Tatting Round Robin

More Angels

2009-07-17T19:03:00.001-07:00

The white angel above was tatted by Meme and sent to Eva.

The other photo shows what Dyan sent to Aileen.

Dyan's angel for Joyce

2009-07-15T08:35:00.000-07:00

Joyce received this beautiful angel from Dyan. The lucious colors are #3003 Altin Basak thread. The pattern for this angel is Marjorie's Angel by Martha Ess.

Tatted by Eva

2009-07-15T08:23:00.000-07:00

Eva's 5th angel went to Dyan. We get to view another pretty snowangel. The thread colors are as much fun as this angel must be having playing in the snow.

Tatted by Aileen

2009-07-15T08:03:00.001-07:00

Joyce received this angel, tatted by Aileen, from varigated purple #20 omega thread. The pattern is: "Double Shuttle Pattern" by Patricia Rizzo.

Maria's angels

2009-07-15T07:35:00.000-07:00

Two lovely angels tatted by Maria. The photo on the left went to Joyce. It is a Martha Ess pattern called Joyce's Angel (made by Martha in a roundrobin a few years ago). The one on the right went to Meme. Isn't it beautiful? This is a Marcia Hohn pattern and tatted with Anchor Artiste- Mercer Crochet, nº20 thread. This completes the set of angels from Maria.

An angel for Meme

2009-07-15T07:32:00.001-07:00

This is Joyce's last angel for this roundrobin and this angel went to Meme. It is a Mark Meyers' design and is tatted from size 20 crochet cotton.

Another angel

2009-05-06T18:24:00.000-07:00

This angel was to be included in my last post. This angel was received by Joyce and tatted by Dyan.

More lovely angels

2009-05-06T17:57:00.001-07:00

The photos above are made by Meme using Coats #40 thread. The first (against red background) is Marjorie's Angel (Martha Ess), made for Dyan. The next (blue background) is Daisy Angel (Becky Dempsey) made for Aileen and the last (white and pink) is Rita's Angel (Riet Surtel-Smeulders) made for Maria.

This last angel is the one Eva made for Aileen. It's the Dimpled Ring Angel made with Olympus thread.

An angel for Eva

2009-05-03T17:10:00.000-07:00

This little angel is made by Joyce. It's made from #70 tatting cotton and is Mark Meyers' pattern called Christina's angel.

Another favorite tatted

2009-05-03T17:07:00.001-07:00

The Dimpled Angel is a favorite for many. It's fun to make those little hearts. This little cutie was made by Aileen and is winging its way to Meme.

Angel made by Maria

2009-04-17T18:35:00.000-07:00

This regal looking angel goes to Eva. It's made by Maria. She used light yellow Cebelia #30 and the pattern is from DONATA JONES. She added some beads and the skirt is a pattern adaptation.

Eva makes angel for Maria

2009-04-17T18:26:00.001-07:00

Eva makes another pretty angel, this one for Maria. She used anchor size 20 thread color 1288.

The pattern is a variation of Snow Angel by Leonore English. Can't you picture this angel making snow angels in the snow?

Joyce's angel for Dyan

2009-04-11T16:29:00.001-07:00

Dyan's angel is on its way to her. I tatted this using thread called Wildflowers by Caron. The pattern is one written by Becky Dempsey and is called Spring Angel.

More angels

2009-04-08T17:33:00.001-07:00

These angels were made by Maria. The top one is for Aileen. It is made from a portuguese thread ANCORA nº 20 and the pattern was from Brigit Phelps. The next angel is made using the same thread (a portuguese thread ANCORA nº 20 ). The pattern is an online pattern but Maria didn't remember the designer's name.

I'm sure that another tatter can help by supplying and sharing that information with us.

This angel is for Dyan.

Extreme Tatters Round Robin-part 1

2009-04-04T15:01:00.000-07:00

The first round of the Extreme Tatters Round Robin has been mailed. These are all original designs and Wally and Becky are planning on including the ones they designed in upcoming tatting pattern books.

Tatted in Pearl Cotton 8 by Becky for Ellen.

Tatted by Ellen for Wally.

Tatted by Wally for Camille.

Also by Wally for Camille.

Tatted in Valdani Hand Dyed (Violet Meadows M 40) by Camille for Becky. This one is called "Alexis".

I think we have some pretty talented tatters!

Dimpled Ring Angel

2009-04-04T13:02:00.000-07:00

This is the angel Eva made for Joyce. It's a Dimpled Ring Angel, pattern by Lenore English. It’s made in Oren Bayan size 50 col.058.

Snowflakes are flying!!

2009-04-02T09:48:00.000-07:00

Our snowflakes are heading all around the world. Here are the first round ones.

This one was done by Bob and sent to Abby. It's designed by Darlene Pilochek from the Big book of tatting. The tread is a hand dyed thread by Zarina in Malaysia.

Next we have Miranda's snowflake which was sent to me. It is her own original design done in Lizbeth size 20, colors 25 (Plum) and 661 (Country Turquoise Medium). She was nice enough to include the pattern too!!

This next wonderful snowflake was done by JB for Miranda. The thread is size 20, Lizbeth color 122 for the chains and flora color 217 for the rings. JB adapted this pattern from the "Japanese Tatting Book".

This next snowflake was made by Abby for JB. It is "Spring Flower" by Jon Yusoff from her snowflake book. The thread is DMC embroidery floss, 3 strands. I just love Jon's patterns!And lastly, we have my snowflake that I sent to Bob. It is Jon's Quantiesque snowflake - did I mention that I love Jon's patterns??? It is make with size 20 HDT from Yarnplayer - Pansy is the color.
Round two has been mailed and I'm just waiting for everybody to let me know that they have been received and I'll post them next (I've already gotten mine and it's WONDERFUL!!). Round three is going out this weekend - yeah!! This swap has been so much fun.

More 2009 Beginners Tatting

2009-03-28T08:44:00.000-07:00

More of our Beginners tatting has been mailed.

Bev tatted Eliz. Davis Clover Bookmark adapted with a variation at the bottom to get it long enough to fit the criteria. Made with size 50 Altin Basak Thread in green and the 'flower' is Yarnplayer's hand dyed thread Lavender Orchid Dark, size 20. This one was sent to Debi

Gerry sent this tatted cross to Debi.

Debi sent this one to Justina.

Barb sent this one to Gerry.

Another angel mailed

2009-03-28T07:23:00.000-07:00

This angel was made by Joyce for Aileen. It is made from Clark's ONT Brilliant and is from Lenore English's pattern "Dimpled Ring Heart".

Aileen's angels

2009-03-22T11:24:00.000-07:00

These are Aileen's first two angels.

The multicolored one is for Eva, made from #30 omega and DMC metallic threads. The pattern is: Joyce's angel by Martha Ess.

The lavender angel went to Dyan. It is made from #20 Coats and DMC metallic threads. The pattern is: Marjorie's Angel by Martha Ess.

Dyan's 1st angel

2009-03-17T13:50:00.000-07:00

Dyan's first angel is on its way to Eva. It is tatted in Altin Basak, color 304. The pattern is called Leens Tatted Angel, designed by Eileen Stafford.

Although not all the photos are in, everyone in the 2009 angel group has mailed their first angel. We look forward to seeing all the angels.

Another angel on its way

2009-03-16T13:36:00.000-07:00

Meme made this Angel from the Marta Ess idea tatting part of the Angel with hairpin lace. The other part was made by Meme. The angel was made with thread brown Babilo DMC 30 and the rest with a narrow ribbon. This angel is on its way to Joyce.

Joyce's first angel

2009-03-15T18:54:00.001-07:00

Joyce's first angel in the angel roundrobin is from a pattern by Martha Ess, Marjorie's Angel (2002). It is made from size 30 thread. This angel goes to Maria.

1st picture for angel roundrobin

2009-03-15T13:38:00.000-07:00

Angels are beginning to make their way to new homes and owners. This one is made by Eva and mailed to Meme.

Beginner RR Debi Marik

2009-03-08T12:57:00.001-07:00

This is for Gerry Dee From Debi Marik
The bookmark is DMC size 8 Pattern is ring and thread and I close the ends with a ring and added a tassel. The motif is a wreath from B. Foster book, again using size 8 DMC thread.

Beginners RR Beverly June Davis

2009-03-08T10:47:00.001-07:00

The First Photo is From Beverly Davis to Barb Pampel
Beverly works work is a combo of Marie Koniers leaves and Rosemarie Peel edging.
The charm is a gift from Aileen in S'pore to Bev. The thread she use was yarnplayers HDT, Med. Lav. Orchid size 30.

The Green Bookmark is from Beverly Davis to Gerry Dee, Its Karen Solomon Clover Bookmark and adaption bottom of Rosiemaries Peel design. Altin Basak size 30 thread.

Both beautiful work.

2009 Extreme Tatters

2009-02-27T07:41:00.000-08:00

The Extreme Tatters group is ready to go. This group will be designing original pieces and the sky's the limit. It will be exciting to watch things develop. The leader of this group is Becky who participated in the Butterfly Round Robin last year. Our other participants are Ellen, Wally and Camille. Since these folks will be designing as well as tatting, they are working on a 3 week schedule. Good luck everyone.

2009 Angels

2009-02-27T07:36:00.000-08:00

We had several people signed up for the Angel round robin last year, but we didn't have enough to start the group. Now we have a larger group with six people and the Angel round robin is finally under way. The leader for this international group is Joyce and we also have Maria, Aileen, Dyan, Eva, and Meme.

2009 Snowflake/ Coaster Round Robin

2009-02-23T17:14:00.000-08:00

The Snowflake/Coaster Round Robin will be making colourful snowflakes to be used as coasters. This will make a really interesting group to watch. It's kind of scary to think of putting a wet glass down on a tatted coaster, but the coasters could be placed inside one of the slim CD cases to be both beautiful and functional. The group leader is Christine and our other members are Bob, Abby, JB and Miranda. Bob, Abby and JB have participated in previous round robins.

2009 Beginner Round Robin

2009-02-23T17:05:00.000-08:00

Our Beginners group is doing an "Anything Goes" round robin which means that rather that conforming to a single project type like snowflakes or bookmarks, they will be tatting whatever the individual enjoys making. The leader for the group is Debi. Gerry, Justina, Bev and Barb fill out the rest of the group. The mailing schedule for the Beginners is shown below.

Round Robin 3 Sign Up

2009-02-05T08:10:00.000-08:00

I asked for suggestions for this new set of round robins and received some interesting ideas.

Maria who participated in the snowflake round robin and thoroughly enjoyed it, would like to try hearts or angels.

JB would like to see another round of snowflakes

Bob would like to join in whatever is going.

Miranda likes butterflies but suggested that each tatter do something representative of the area where they live, like a state flower, a snowflake if you live someplace cold, a fish if you live near water, or that kind of thing. nw.mtns suggested a beginners group

Abby suggested - How about COASTERS !!! We could use a larger thread, 20 or 10 thread so they're sturdy, attach a 3" or 4" or maybe 5" motif to a piece of felt (or whatever) send it along and when we're done we each have a set of coasters! Maybe even in summer colors. Just imagine snowflakes in hot orange or yellow or turquoise, or bright green stars.

Wally, who always likes to push the envelope, suggested an interesting theme could be "Original Motifs", but that would be only for the brave hearted as it would mean designing as well as tatting... Another theme could be using a specific technique; like split rings patterns or beading tatting, clunies, etc. This could motivate people to learn and practice new techniques.

As usual there isn't a real consensus on what everyone would like to make and that makes it hard to set up groups so here's how these rounds are going to be set up. This time there will be a Beginners group because I've had a couple of emails from people asking for one. If you are new to tatting and you'd like to give a round robin a try without a lot of pressure, this is the group for you. It will be an Anything Goes round robin which means that you can tat anything you want in any size thread you want. I'm making the assumption that if you consider yourself a beginner, that you don't have a collection of books or a stash of thread so you don't have to feel that you can't join because you don't have any heart patterns or you can't do split rings or you don't have access to specialized thread.

A couple of people asked for Angels in the last round and there wasn't enough interest to get one going so we're going to try again. This time if there are 3 or more people who want angels the group will go ahead without waiting for it to fill up.

Snowflakes/Coasters I kind of like Abby's idea of colourful tatting for the summer and tatted snowflakes in bright colours would certainly double as a coaster and perk up any table, however I think it might be better to leave the attaching it to felt idea for the recipient who might want to do some colour co-ordinating with their surroundings.

Extreme Tatters a challenging group for people who want to push themselves to create new designs or work in advanced techniques. So if you want to go out on a limb and create new stuff or work only in designs with advanced techniques, this group is for you.

Sign up requirements -

1. Read the posting on Round Robin Etiquette because it will explain a lot of things.

2. Email me with the following information, please don't post personal information like your address in comments for the sake of your own privacy. My email address is sharon#gagechek.com or tatdlace#gagechek.com - replace the # with @ as usual.

3. Your choice of group.

4. Your mailing address because people have to send things to you.

5. Your email address because your partners will need to be able to contact you.

6. Are you prepared to be a group leader, yes or no. A group leader will follow up with everyone to make sure they got their partner info, collect the pictures to be posted here (because we all want to see what you are doing), follow up with participants to make sure everyone gets their tatting and co-ordinate with me if something goes off track.

We have seen that the round robins work better when someone in the group keeps things moving along because I don't have the time to follow up with everyone, in every group, every couple of weeks, for the next 2 or 3 months. Besides, having someone from a different email address following up helps to avoid cyber glitches.

Edited to add:
The groups for round robin 3 are currently under way and should finish up in May, if interest continues, new round robins will be added. If you would like to be in a round robin, but haven't seen the kind of project you'd like to do, make a suggestion.

Last round of butterflies

2009-02-05T04:49:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Meme, Dyan, Melissa and Sharol. You have succesfully completed the Butterfly Round Robin. I think you all deserve a round of applause for the effort, patience and outstanding coordination you've shown!

Introducing Celine by Adelheid Dangela tatted in size 50 Omega thread. Melissa tatted up this lovely lady for Meme in Chile. Hmmm looks like she used my favourite colour thread!

Becky sent me this lovely rainbow coloured butterfly. I smell another original!

This little pink thing was tatted by Meme for Sharol. Again from the book of Tatted Butterflies this little one's Elisa in size 80 (wow).

This is Dyan's little friend that she's sent to fly to Melissa! This one is Paula from the same book (this one sure is a popular title =)).

This was my contribution that was sent to Melissa. This one was another one of Marlene Lewis' butterflies done in my favourite colour 20 omega. THis one's Bonnie's Butterfly.

Ladies I hope you had fun! Thanks to all of you for your cooperation and thanks very much to you Sharon for making this all possible.

Taking Suggestions

2009-01-26T22:21:00.000-08:00

Our most recent round robins have all been sent out successfully and as anticipated, with each group having one person to keep things on track, they have all moved smoothly. Thanks so much to Jeff, Aileen and Connie for all your hard work. One of the requested categories was Angels but there weren't enough people to get a group set up. Many of the participants want to go again so we will be starting new groups as soon as we have 5 or more participants. This time around I will be taking suggestions for projects that you would like to make. So what will it be this time? Hearts because February will be here soon? More Butterflies because they're pretty? Will the Angels finally soar? What would you like to tat? Leave comments and don't forget if you want to sign up, I need your snail mail addy emailed to me.

Bookmarks Round 4

2009-01-22T11:52:00.000-08:00

Connie to Abby: The bookmark sent to Abby is called "Simple Bookmark" by Dianna Stevens found on the Domestic Arts website (no longer available). Connie extended the pattern so the main part of the bookmark reached 6 inches, then made the tail using zigzag tatting instead of a crocheted tail. The threads usedwere DMC Cebelia Size 30 in colors #747 Sea Mist Blue and #992 Aquamarinetrying to get as close as possible to colors Abby likes , blues n green(aquas n pea greens).

Bonnie to Connie: Since Connie requested no crosses or pink thread she used a pattern by Julie Patterson called Spring Flowers Bookmark and size 80 DMC thread in blue and avariegated green. she is very pleased at how this turned out and sorry that the round robin is over. When Bonnie committed to this project she didn't realize it was to be done in size 80 thread, or she wouldn't have joined and it really pushed her to work in a thread size way outside of her comfort zone. Until the first bookmark she made for this exchange the smallest thread she had successfullycompleted a project in was size 30 thread.

Lynn to Bonnie: Lynn didn't use a pattern, she just started doing it to see how it would turn out. She thought it was going to be a bell, then it started to look like her third bookmark which was a tree. That is why she named it bell-tree.

Cathy to Lynn: Cathy used a variegated yellow (DMC) and since she didn't have any green in the same size 80, she used a regular cotton sewing thread for the chains. Since she wasn't pulling rings closed, she wasn't too worried about the breaking thread. Cathy thinks that cold and her bulbs starting to break through in the garden made her think of spring, hence the flowers.

Abby to Cathy: The flowers are done with 2 strands of DMC embroidery floss, and the leaves and stems are done with 3 strands. The pattern she used was originally designed by Mae Taylor with a variation by Sabina Carden-Madden - then Abby did a further "variation" and is pleased with the results.

It seems like everyone had fun and was sad to see the end of the round robin. Wait a minute, who said they were over! It's time to start again.

Bookmarks Round 3

2009-01-21T15:50:00.000-08:00

Connie sent to Cathy a bookmark called "Spiral" adapted from edging #1 pg 23 in Tatted Doilies & Edgings, Dover Press edited by Rita Weiss. The pattern was found on Gina 's website. The threads used are DMC Cebelia size 30. Colors #747 Sea Mist Blue and #699Christmas Green.

Bonnie made the same Spiral Bookmark for Abby, but tatting in size 80 thread was a real challenge. She hadn't successfully completed any of the size 80 projects she'd ever started. She thought she was going to have a panic attack using size 80 thread but it turned out much better than she had hoped. She got the blue thread from the lady who taught her to tat, it is DMC thread.

Lynn sent Connie her original pattern. The star is a ring with 5 picots, the rest are chains with a picot every 6th stitch, she used the white to hold it together and to give it a tinsel (kind of) look. Then she added her Mexican ribbon for the trunk, and tried to get a good picture. This was made with the thicker thread but she really likes it because she didn't copy from any one. She made the chains as long as she wanted them then curved them to give the appearance of a tree.

Cathy made for Bonnie a bookmark in size 80 that was her own design. She wasn't really happy with it, but I think it looks lovely.

Abby sent Lynn a bookmark tatted in size 40 Alton Basak called the "St. Patrick's" pattern, and she thinks it's by Ann Wilson, but the designer isn't listed anywhere on the pattern she printed out. She can't seem to find it on the internet now. Although Abby sent her picture, it seems to have disappeared somewhere on the internet. It will be posted later when it shows up.

4th round of butterflies

2009-01-19T05:28:00.000-08:00

The 4th round of the butterfly round robin is underway!

First off, the LOVELY butterfly that Sharol sent to me. It's one of Monica Hanh's and it's done in 12 Valdini.

This one was done by Meme for Becky. Lovely gold and black! This one was Viola from Tatted Butterflies of Adelheid Dangela done in Merce Crochet size 40 in gold and black.

Next up is the lovely butterfly done by Melissa that's on its way to Sharol! She got this pattern by Edda Giugno online and tatted it up in size 50 Flora thread. Well done!

This is Dyan's contribution that's on her way to Meme. Paula is also from Tatted Butterflies tatted in 50 Oren Bayan thread, color 090. Looks like this book is a popular choice! If anyone's interested, it is available at many online stores, including Handyhands, Lacis and Tatting and Design (for our UK friends).

This is Becky's butterfly to Dyan. It's ANOTHER ORIGINAL *applause*. At first Becky felt it was too smal but then added another round to it. Done in 50 Altin Basak (I really need to try this thread) and silver. Well done!

Last is my contribution to the round robin. Another of Ms Eborall's butterflies done in 20 Coats with size 11 beads. The pattern can be found here. I didn't have the metal centre so I did the tatted centre without the fnacy edging. Looks like a superhero butterfly to me. Anyone else see it? *winks*

Third round of butterflies

2009-01-17T18:54:00.000-08:00

A new lot of butterflies have been spotted. Everyone have their nets out? Good!

This specimen hails from Chile! From the book of "Tatted Butterflies", Meme has done a great job. Look at those lovely clunies!

This lovely pink one's from Melissa who has done it up nicely for Becky. It was designed by Sabina Carden-Madden for the Simple angel series. It is part 3 the butterfly motif and was tatted in size 30 DMC. The pattern for this one can be found here.

This is Becky's butterfly for Melissa! Another original done in size 40 Venus thread! Do i sniff a pattern book of butterflies coming soon?

This is my butterfly for Meme from an italian designer! I got the link from Bellaonline.com! Done in size 80 Dmc - I had to use a beading needle to sew the ends in! I changed it a little so that it looks like a landed butterfly. The pattern for it can be found here.

We're one butterfly short here, I'm still waiting for it to arrive. Hope it lands soon!

Another Blizzard of Snowflakes

2009-01-03T20:53:00.000-08:00

The third set of snowflake were mailed in early December and were received by all recipients with no major issues. I won't keep you waiting, here are the third set of snowflake from the talented tatters of the Snowflake Round Robin.

The first snowflake was tatted by Shawna for Jeff. Shawna used Lenore English's "January Reflections" pattern for this snowflake. She tatted the snowflake with size 8 DMC pearl cotton. A lovely snowflake, and one of my favourite patterns.

Our next snowflake is one made by Joy for Sandra. The pattern is called "Hearts in a Snowflake" by Jon Yusoff. Joy used size 20 Hakelgarn thread for this beauty of a snowflake.

Lorena's snowflake is next. She made this one for Maria. The pattern is by Jan Stawasz, from his book "Tatting Theory and Patterns", pattern on page 58. Lorena used Cebelia thread in size 20, in white and ecru. Beautiful! I gotta get this book.

The fourth snowflake in the blizzard was tatted by Maria. She sent her snowflake to Lorena. Maria used a pattern from Burda Magazine and used size 20 Cebelia thread. Maria added beads to this snowflake which made it quite heavy. To combat this, she sewed the snowflake to a piece of felt and made a sachet. Such lovely work.

Jeff tatted his third snowflake for Shawna. By pure chance, Jeff used another one of Lenore English's snowflake patterns for this snowflake. He chose to make "October Enchantment". Good thing he chose a different pattern than what Shawna used for his snowflake. He used DMC Cordonnet size 30 thread to make the snowflake. The snowflake in the photo isn't the snowflake sent to Shawna, but an identical one made some time earlier. Another pretty snowflake.

Last, but certainly not least, is Sandra's snowflake made for Joy. The snowflake is a Jane Eborall design ("Snowflake"). This is one of Sandra's favourite patterns, so she decieded to make it again. This snowflake uses the same variegated blue thread in size 80 and some white size 30 thread as the one made for Maria. I don't blame her for making this pattern twice. I would too. Beautiful work Sandra.

That's it for now. A few snowflakes in the fourth round are still in transit for some members so it will be a week or so before they came be shown. You won't want to miss these.

Snowflakes, Round Two

2008-12-29T18:52:00.000-08:00

The members of the Snowflake Round Robin have been busy tatting over the last month. All snowflakes have been received by their recipients and I am pleased to show them off to all of you

The first snowflake in the second round is one tatted by Joy, for Lorena. The snowflake is called "Star with Six Points" and is from a book called Christmas Tatting. Joy used Hakelgarn thread in size 20 to make this lovely snowflake.

The next snowflake is one sent to Jeff that was made by Lorena. The pattern for the snowflake is from the Ring of Tatters newsletter issue #57 Autumn '08. Lorena used Cebelia white and #762 thread in size 20. Lorena doesn't usually stiffen her snowflakes but she found that she had to with this snowflake. It wouldn't stay flat for her. The scan of the snowflake doesn't do it justice. It is hard to see from the scan that the snowflake has a different colour in the centre.

The third snowflake this evening is one that Maria made for Shawna. This beautiful snowflake is from Burda Magazine and was made with Cebelia size 20. Maria has been coming up with some really cool ways of presenting her snowflakes. This snowflake was attached to a backing and made into a pin for Shawna. Maria mentioned that the snowflake is removable if Shawna prefers.

The snowflake that Jeff made Joy is next. The snowflake is called "The Eighteenth Day of Christmas" by Lene Bjorn from her book 24 Snowflakes in Tatting. Jeff used the same thread combination as the first snowflake: Size 50 DMC Cordonnet thread combined with Guttermann metallic thread.

Sandra's snowflake is next. Sandra's snowflake was sent to Maria. The snowflake, entitled "Snowflake" is a Jane Eborall design, pattern here. For this snowflake, Sandra used some variegated blue thread in size 80 and some white size 30 thread. Another awesome snowflake.

The final snowflake this evening was made by Shawna and was sent to Sandra. This snowflake is the same as the one she made for the first round. The pattern is the centre of a doily pattern that is from a round robin she was in previously. I believe she used size 8 pearl cotton for this snowflake as well. Simply gorgeous.

That's all for now. Stay tuned for the third round of snowflakes to be posted in a few days.

Second Round of Bookmarks

2008-12-28T14:22:00.000-08:00

Connie started a bookmark in some vintage size 80 missing it's label received from a wonderful fellow tatter (Karen), but her yellow kept breaking. The pattern is Beginner's Choice from Tatted Bookmarks edited by Barbara Foster.

Bonnie tatted Kersti's "Tabatha" bookmark in DMC size 80 red thread. The pattern seems to be missing from the web site now, but another tatter was able to send Bonnie the pattern. She did fine on the first half but part way through the second half she had been making mistakes since she started that second side. She had to cut it off and start all over again without any disasters.

Lynn tatted a little kitty that she learned on Georgia Seitz' site last year. It has little green beads for the eyes and she added a long chain and what she calls a toy mouse for the kitty to play with.

Cathy used size 30 as that was the only dark green she had on hand. It is JaneEborall's pattern from her Christmas tree 3-D earrings. It tatted up too small for the bookmark, so she double the count on all the ds. The thread isDMC Cebelia and it doesn't break on her. Non breaking thread is always a plus!
(Correction- Cathy's bookmark is actually one of Linda Davis' patterns.)

Abby used DMC Cordonnet, size 40. The center snowflake is by Betsy Evens. The other motifs are centers that she pulled from several different books - mostly the how to tat variety, and she also repeated the center of Betsy's flake. There are crystals and silk ribbon making a kind of "tassel" hanging off the top. What a beautifully imaginative bookmark.

2nd round of Butterflies in Flight!

2008-12-12T17:25:00.000-08:00

More butterflies have been sighted! Pay close attention!

Having received a double whammy the last round, Sharol paid it forward by sending her blessings to Melissa in Oregan in a butterfly from The Big Book of Tatting done up in Altin Basik size 40.

Memés right on track now with 2 butterflies leaving Chile. Though she's not entirely sure whether Mel or Dyan got this one of the other, they're both equally as lovely. Both patterns can be found in Tatted Butterflies by Adelheid Dangela.

Melissa sent me a lovely Celtic Butterfly by Ruth Perry done in size 50 thread. It's an awesome colour of thread. Not to mention I have no clue how to do celtic tatting!

Another awesome ORIGINAL from our own Becky... this time just for Memé! Tatted up in Altin Basak 50 #3006.

I tatted up Marlene Lewis' Donna Butterfly in 20 Omega and off it went to Sharol!

Last but not least! Dyan's lovely butterfly to Becky!

Round 2's sucessfully completed!

First round of bookmarks

2008-12-08T13:26:00.000-08:00

The first set of bookmarks have all been sent out and I believe they have all been received. Here are all the beauties. Fantastic job ladies!

Connie for Bonnie:

This bookmark was made using DMC size 80 in variegated pinks. The pattern is by Ellen Lai aka Singtatter the name of the bookmark is Dancing Kristine.

Bonnie for Lynn:

She made Kersti's Jessica Bookmark in yellow, which was the requested color, size 80 DMC thread. She included one of the flower paperclips that she likes so much and the printed patterns for both. Bonnie wasn't sure about working with size 80, but now that she has this one completed she's wondering if she might get addicted to it. Since most of her HDT is in 20 and 30, that could be a serious problem.

Lynn for Cathy:

She had difficulty with getting her bookmark to turn out the way she wanted it to, so she re-did it, then when the pictures were sent they wouldn't open, so we had to wait for the pictures from Cathy.

Cathy for Abby:

She borrowed from Ruth's Celtic snowflake 2008 design. Since the next two designs she tried to make didn't work out, she thinks she might just have to repeat this one for the rest of the round robin.

Abby for Connie:
The pattern is by Debbie Arnold and she used Opera size 20 -which seems finer than other size 20's. She tried it out in one of her old,old, old books and it was just fine for delicacy."

(Just for reference, Opera is a soft 3 cord thread and the size 20 is more like a traditional 30 in 6 cord thread, sort of like 25 if there was such a thing.)

Snowflake Round Robin - The First Snowflakes Have Arrived

2008-11-21T20:13:00.000-08:00

Members of the Snowflake Round Robin have been busy tatting snowflakes, and the fruits of our labour have started to arrive. Fortunately for us, there have not been any major problems (so far). Out of the six members in the RR, five have received their first snowflake, and one should have received it by now (haven't heard back from her yet). All six snowflakes that have/should have arrived at their new homes will be posted.

The first snowflake is The Deshka Dancer Snowflake from Georgia Seitz's book "Tatting Alaskan Style". This lovely snowflake was tatted by Joy and was sent to Shawna. Joy tatted the snowflake using size 20 Hakelgarn thread.

The next snowflake is from Lorena to Sandra. The snowflake is a Jan Stawasz pattern from his book "Tatting Theory and Patterns", and is on page 74. Sandra tatted the snowflake using Cebelia white and ecru size 20 thread. Sandra mentioned that her scanner gave the ecru a pinkish hue. The snowflake still looks very pretty.

The next snowflake is from Sandra to Jeff. Sandra chose a pattern called "Elaine's Snowflake" which was designed by Lily Morales. Sandra used Cebelia size 30 thread and size 80 seed beads. Another beautiful snowflake.

Next up, is a yet another gorgeous snowflake, this time done by Shawna for Lorena. Shawna used the centre of a doily from the doily Round Robin that she had participated in earlier. She credits Josie for coming up with the centre. Shawna used size 8 pearl cotton for the snowflake.

Here is the snowflake Jeff made for Maria. Maria has been having computer problems, so I am not 100 percent sure she has received it yet. Jeff used Ruth Perry's "Celtic Snowflake 2008" pattern and used DMC Cordonnet size 50 thread along with Guttermann Metallic thread for a combined thread size of about 30. Here is the snowflake with it's sparkly Celtic goodness:

Finally, here is the snowflake that Maria sent to Joy. The snowflake came from an issue of Burda Magazine and was tatted in DMC Cebelia size 20 thread. Yet another beautiful snowflake.

That's all for now. The second snowflakes should have been mailed today, so we should be seeing more snowflakes in our mailboxes real soon. Until next time.

And we're off! - Round 1 of the Butterfly Round Robin

2008-11-19T19:03:00.001-08:00

With a minor glitch, we're good to go! The butterflies are off for their multi-stop migration. They seem to be all conincidentally converging right at this site from all across the globe and have gathered mysteriously on this very spot. Let's creep up steathily and take a close look at the magnificant beauties.

Look at this lovely specimen that's flown in from Becky in Michigan that seems to be on it's way to Sharol in NV. I've never seen one like this before - I think it's a new discovery! An ORIGINAL pattern! Tatted up on DMC Cébélia No 20, in Pink (3688) and Yellow (745)

Here comes another flitting by from the direction of Sharol in NV. Looks set to fly the long route to Chile! Our experts have identitied it as the same butterfly captured by the Aug 1990 issue of Workbasket. Done in Altin Basak size 40 thread, with a cloisonne bead, it's a magnificant specimen. Not only that, it seems to have come with a friend! A second larger butterfly done in DMC Cebelia size 20 pink, again with a cloisonne bead.

Over there! Before you miss it as it floats off to Sharol in NV! The rare OH tatted Dyan butterfly from Rosemarie Peel's book Tatting for Pleasure.

Look! Melissa's "Iris" from Adeleid Dangela's book Tatted Butterflies in size 35 Valdani thread "Midnight Roses" is floating by! It's headed straight in the direction of OH. Maybe it'll stop by Dyan's for a spell!

And trailing behind, Ms Jane Eborall's 2005 butterfly with overlapping wings by Aileen flitters by, heading off to Becky, leaving a trail of 11/0 beads and Omega thread.

Slight revision

Here is a chart of who should be sending to whom and on which dates. Meme didn't get her partner list until a couple of days ago so Melissa's butterfly will arrive a little late. Dyan on the other hand was sent a completely wrong list which is totally my fault. This resulted in Sharol being sent 2 butterflies this time, while Aileen got none. She has the corrected list now. Dyan will send her butterfly for Dec 15th to Aileen which will mean Sharol gets none for that mailing, but it will put things back on track. -Sharon

Butterfly Robin

2008-11-18T12:27:00.000-08:00

One of our participants didn't get the email with all of the partner mailing information so there will be a delay as she tats up her first butterfly. We are still waiting to hear back from some of the other participants to make sure everyone else did get their information. The first butterfly was to be mailed out November 17, 2008. If your group co-ordinator or I emails you, it is very helpful if you respond promptly. That enables us to resolve little glitches like this more effectively.

Bookmark Round Robin has started.

2008-11-12T21:48:00.000-08:00

The bookmark round robin has started. This is a 5 person round robin being led by Connie and the participants are, Bonnie, Lynn, Cathy and Abby. If you didn't get your partner information email me at sharon at gagechek.com and if you have a blog or web site that I don't know about, let me know so that I can add your links here. The mailing dates for this round robin are:
November 25, December 9, December 23 and January 6.

Note the correction from December 15 to December 23. Sorry for the confusion.

At this point we have 3 people signed up for angels and 1 who missed the snowflake round robin who is interested in snowflakes

Input Requested

2008-11-06T21:45:00.000-08:00

I have had several people ask if they could do more than one round robin at a time. I have been trying to schedule the round robins so that the pieces have to be mailed out at 2 week intervals. That gives the average person enough time to select a piece, tat it, block it, and mail it before they start the next. If everything goes well, if you have a lot of tatting time, if you don't get sick, have an injury or accident, if no one in your family gets sick and needs care, if you don't have fire, flood, or quake, if you don't have to work a lot of overtime, if you don't have to prepare a Thanksgiving feast or have house guests, if you don't shop till you drop for Christmas, if you don't make a whole lot more gifts than you buy because you can't afford to buy much this year, if a thousand and one other things don't happen, then you probably could do more than one round robin at a time. That's a lot of ifs.

You can go in an instant from having lots of time in which to complete your obligations, to having no time at all. Should you run into difficulty in a round robin all of your partners can be informed and things can be re-arranged. But when you are in multiple round robins it means multiple groups are affected.

On the other hand some people may have ample tatting time and if there isn't any impediment they may be well able to tat their projects in less than a week so that they would easily be able to tat the required pieces for more than one group at a time. Perhaps I am being overly cautious. Participating in a round robin is an obligation as well as a pleasure. It is that participants themselves who may need to deal with the fallout of someone participating in multiple round robins at the same time.

When the first person asked about doing more than one round robin at a time I said I didn't think it was a good idea. I plan to keep the round robins going as long as people want to participate so it's not like you have to do everything all at once. However I'm not participating, just organizing these round robins. What does everyone else think?

Current sign ups

Snowflakes in progress
Butterflies in progress

Bookmarks - 4 (if there are no additional sign ups for this group it will be set up as a 4 person group)

Angels - 3 looking for 2 more participants

3D Ornaments

Hearts

Doilies (if requested)

Butterflies Have Taken Flight

2008-11-03T06:45:00.000-08:00

The butterfly round robin is now underway. The leader in this six person group is Aileen. The participants are Aileen, Becky, Sharol, Meme, Melissa and Dyan. If you didn't get your partner information, email me, sharon at gagechek dot com . Also, if you have a blog or website, let me know so that I can add the links here. The mailing dates are:
November 17, December 1, December 15, January 5 and January 19.

A couple of people have switched their preferences, so these are the round robins still looking for some additional people so that they can start.
Bookmarks - 1
Angels - 2
3D Ornaments
Hearts
Doilies (if requested)
Optional - 1 People who want to join and haven't specified category. They'll be added to a group to make up 5.

Snowflake Round Robin Has Started

2008-10-26T12:18:00.001-07:00

The Snowflake round robin info has been sent off. The group leader is Jeff Hamilton and there are 6 people in this group, Jeff, Maria, Joy, Shawna, Lorena, and Sandra. If you didn't get your partner information, email me, sharon at gagechek dot com . Also, if you have a blog or website, let me know so that I can add the links here.
The mailing dates are:
November 7, November 21, December 5, December 19 and January 9.

The following round robins are still looking for some additional people so that they can start.

Bookmarks
Angels - 2
3D Ornaments
Butterflies - 5
Hearts - 1 +1
Doilies (if requested)
Optional - 2 People who want to join and haven't specified category. They'll be added to a group to make up 5.

There are now enough people for the butterfly round robin and details will be sent out to participants shortly.

Round Robin Etiquette

2008-10-07T08:19:00.000-07:00

Round robins are a fun way of getting to see other people's tatting. It's amazing how differently other people can interpret the same pattern. They can be a challenging way to practice your designing skills, or just a way or collecting tatted pieces for display. As a wonderful side effect you get to know a little more about the terrific folks in our tatting community, that we often only know through email. It's exciting with each new mailing to get a new piece of tatting made just for you. For those who don't participate but only watch, it can be fun just seeing what others are doing.

Sometimes even fun things can have little glitches. So in the interest of protecting everyone, and getting the maximum fun out of these round robins I'm going to lay down some ground rules to keep things moving smoothly.

All round robins, except for any doily round robins, will be direct mailings. Traditionally each person makes a piece of tatting and adds it to a package that is mailed on to the next person in the robin. In the past some of these packages have gone astray and everyone's work has been lost. With direct mailings if anything gets lost it's just the one piece of tatting and as tragic as that is, it's not as heartbreaking as losing everything.

All of the groups will have a coordinator who will be responsible for making sure their group of 5 or more stay on track. Life happens and we've all had unexpected circumstances that we've had to deal with. Keeping track of different schedules and different pieces for 30 or 40 people is more than I want to handle again. So this time each little group of 5 or more, will have one person who will make sure that each person in the group gets their pieces out on time, and receives their expected pieces.

Sending your tatting out using a shipping method that allows for tracking numbers is one way of making sure that your tatting actually gets to it's destination. However that can be very expensive and should not be necessary when mailing inside the country. If you mail your tatting out and the person you sent it to doesn't get it. You are responsible for making a replacement piece of tatting.

If you have circumstances like an injury, illness, family obligations, fire, flood, earthquake or other events which prevent you from fulfilling your obligations, TELL your coordinator or myself what is going on as soon as you can. People will understand if you are open and honest about what is going on. The coordinator and I will find a way to work around the situation if possible. It is much better to say, "I'm too exhausted after work to tat and I thought I could do this but I can't." and drop out of a round robin, than to have the other participants in the group think that you are a nasty person who just doesn't live up to your responsibilities.

Although it isn't required, it is often interesting to the recipient when you send a postcard from your neighborhood. Tatters will sometimes include a sample of the thread used for the project or other small things but that is NOT a requirement, it just adds a bit more fun to the tatting. Not everyone has access to the same resources and these aren't gift packages, they're tatting, so please don't go overboard. It's nice to receive little gifts with the tatting, but at the same time we don't want to make anyone feel bad because they can't reciprocate. The important thing here is the tatting.

You may only join one round robin at a time. We all know, life happens and you may be able to tat for hours today, but tomorrow all your spare time may be needed for work, or to care for a sick relative or for some other purpose. To have obligations to fulfill to 4 other tatters is enough at any one time. There will always be more round robins later.

Anticipate that 2 weeks will be allotted for each project to be completed. That should be adequate for most tatters, if it is insufficient for all participants the schedule will be adjusted to suit the slowest tatter in the group. Nobody needs to be stressed out over due dates because if it causes stress it isn't fun.

Edited to remove old signup information

Round Robin 2 Sign up

2008-10-03T11:13:00.000-07:00

It looks like some of our round robins are still limping home. One of the groups that I thought was finished was actually stalled. (When one of the kids picks up Mom's mail, he really ought to put it where she can find it, instead of placing several packages in unlikely places.) A number of our groups are finished, but I have been unable to post the finished pictures because not everyone has scanners or digital cameras to take the pictures.

On the other hand several people inquired about new rounds and I thought it would be better to get something going before we get into the Thanksgiving/Halloween/Christmas tangle. Having nearly ripped my hair out trying to track 5 separate groups, this time each group will have a leader who will keep track of their group.

In our last rounds it was somewhat difficult to match up people with requested projects, so this time around there are some suggested projects and people can sign up for the project of their choice. As soon as there are 5 or more people signed up for a project the groups will be arranged and info sent out.

All mailings will be direct mailings and I'm anticipating a 2 week schedule so that the robins should be done more or less within 10 weeks from the starting date, but that is flexible.

Other project category suggestions are welcome. You can sign up by sending an email to me - sharon at gagechek dot com or by adding a comment. If you sign up by adding a comment, make sure that I have your email address so that I can contact you with your round robin details.

Bookmarks
Snowflakes - 2 +1
Angels - 2
3D Ornaments
Butterflies - 1 +1
Hearts - 1 +1
Beaded item - 1
Doilies (if requested)
Optional - 3

As people sign up I'll add the numbers beside the categories so that you know how many are in the group already.

We have had 11 people sign up for the round robin so far. Three of them have not specified a particular project so I have counted them under Optional and will add them to whichever group needs another participant. One has listed several projects and has been shown as +1 and will be added to whichever category fills up first. A request has been made for a new category of beaded items.

Beginners International Finished

2008-07-16T08:07:00.000-07:00

I am finally getting a chance to post the pictures from the finished Round Robins. In the beginners group there didn't seem to be a general consensus as to what everyone wanted to work on, so for these groups the participants tatted different things based on what the recipient wanted. Aileen who stepped in to keep everyone informed and on track wanted animals. Joy wanted bookmarks, Bob wanted things he could learn from, and Margaret wanted Christmas ornaments.

Bob's original tatting, for himself was a pretty little doily that took the scenic route, and for a while we thought it was lost, but eventually it caught up to the rest of his tattings.

Bob for Aileen

Bob for Joy

Bob for Margaret

Aileen for herself

Aileen for Joy

Aileen for Margaret

Aileen for Bob

Joy for herself

Joy for MargaretJoy for Bob

Joy for Aileen

Margaret for herself

Margaret for Joy

Margaret for Aileen

When Margaret received Aileen's package there were already 2 cats in it and what Margaret really wanted to make was a mouse, but the only pattern she could find was for a very tiny mouse. She couldn't resist and tatted the mice as well as the turtle.

Margaret for Bob

New round robins

2008-04-22T20:54:00.000-07:00

Some of our round robins are coming to a close and I have been asked if there will be any more. If there is interest new groups can be formed, however to make things easier for me the groups will need to have a team leader who can help keep the group on track. Aileen jumped in on the Beginners International group and helped tremendously to keep everyone co-ordinated and if we do more of these it will help if each new group has someone who will do the same. So if you missed out on the first round robin, you can sign up for the next round robin.

If you are interested in participating let me know either in the comments or by sending me an email. The address is sharon at gagechek dot com if you want to send me an email. Remember that if you just make a comment, but aren't a member of Blogger, I can't backtrack to get in touch with you.

Let me know if you are interested in more round robins and in what kind of round robin you would like to participate in.

Doily- Progress

2008-04-22T13:13:00.000-07:00

Most of the ladies in this group don't have blogs so there aren't a lot of pictures to show. The pictures that are posted are beautiful though.

This is the first we have seen of Josie's doily and it has both Josie's original centre and the round that Shawna added to it.

This is Josie's doily with the addition of Joyce's round. Shawna's centre started like this. This is Shawna's centre after Joyce added the second round.

Here is Shawna's doily with Jeanette's row added.

This is Joyce's centre. Jeanette followed the design of the first row and added a second, similar row. Repeating the pattern wasn't working for Anke so she changed strategy and used a different approach.

This is Jeanette's centre.

And this is the second row added by Anke.

This is Anke's centre, but the ladies she sent it to next don't have blogs to show us the progress.

This is Anke's doily after Josie and Shawna have added their rounds.

Beginners - USA -Finished

2008-04-22T08:07:00.000-07:00

This is the smallest group and these ladies have already received their finished projects back.

Stephanie for herself

Bonnie for Stephanie

Connie for Stephanie

Bonnie for herself

Connie for Bonnie (I'm not sure which one as the blog doesn't specify)

Stephanie for Bonnie

Connie for herself
Stephanie for Connie

Bonnie for Connie

?? I'm sure that there was one, but I can't find it, so if either of you ladies has a picture of it could you please send it to me?

USA Beginners

2008-03-12T15:41:00.000-07:00

This is the USA Beginners group.

International Beginners Round 1

2008-03-12T15:36:00.000-07:00

Our International group of beginners is off to a good start

Hearts Round Robin

2008-03-12T14:03:00.000-07:00

There has been a mixup on the dates as I sent out the email information with an extra date in it and then posted on the blog the date of the second mailing as the date for the first mailing. One of the hearts is missing because the dog ate it and one because I confused the dates. Things will get sorted out eventually.

Here's the first round of hearts.

Doily Round Robin Row 1

2008-03-12T13:58:00.000-07:00

Here are the first rows of the Doilies. I don't have a picture for one of the entries yet, but I'll add it when it shows up on a blog or gets sent to me. I can't wait to see how they progress.

Beginners USA

2008-03-05T13:08:00.000-08:00

Bonnie has tatted Jane's Flowery SCMR Bookmark for her first entry in the round robin.

Stephanie's first entry is a floral spray of purple flowers.

Beginner International Bob 1

2008-03-05T13:06:00.000-08:00

Bob's first entry for the round robin is the lovely and colourful motif. He has included the pattern for it on his blog.

Doily - Centres Joyce and Shawna

2008-03-05T12:57:00.000-08:00

Joyce has used "Summer Posy" from Tatting 2000 Ring of Tatters in size 50 Flora thread for the centre of her doily.
Shawna's centre has been done in a soft shade of blue.

Advanced International - Vicki 1

2008-02-29T20:44:00.000-08:00

The Advanced International group are working on mixed projects. Their first project is hearts and this one is Vicki's heart.

First mailing dates

2008-02-27T09:55:00.001-08:00

We've had a bit of a shaky start for some of our round robins. As you can see from the sidebar we have 5 different round robins going and many of our participants have their own web pages where they can display the progress of the robins. Apparently not all of the emails with the group information got to the recipients. One of the tatters only got their group information yesterday, one of the participants has had to drop out and this morning I received notice that one of the participants had the dog eat her tatting. (Doesn't that remind you of school? Sorry teacher I don't have my homework done because the dog ate it.) We can laugh, but I'm sure that it was devastating to find the hours of work and careful blocking getting munched on like kibble.

I've had confirmation from everyone now that they did get the original email and I have had information back from a few of you that your first tattings are on their way. Just a reminder here are the first mailing deadlines for your tatting

Intermediate /Advanced - Hearts March 23, 2008
Advanced International - Project March 3, 2008
Beginners USA Feb 24, 2008
Beginners International* Feb 24, 2008
Doily Round Robin Feb 24, 2008

*As far as I know everyone is on time with their first tattings with the exception of the International Beginner's group as one of the tatters in this group has not been receiving my emails. I apologize for not staying on top of this and making sure everyone had the info. The mailing schedule for this group may need to be adjusted.

Just in case anyone is wondering, how the groups were established, I sorted people out by skill level and by international/local and discovered 5 people interested in doing a doily that were all agreeable to an international robin. So that was my first group.

Of the remaining folks about half of them were relatively new to tatting and they were split into International and USA in small groups of 3. It seemed to me that if anyone was going to have time issues it would more likely be a beginner and a smaller group would be easier to coordinate if there were problems. As for preference of what they wanted to tat, most of them liked tatting anything and everything so each of them will specify what they'd like to receive and the other participants will tat that project.

In the more advanced tatters a number of them were from other countries and some had requested direct mailing so the International Advanced group will be tatting a variety of projects Each month they will tat a different project. The first month they will tat a heart, the next month a bookmark, the third month an animal or butterfly and the fourth month a snowflake. Each month they will mail to a different person. Since there was no real consensus on what they wanted to make, this seemed like a more interesting way of doing things. We'll see how it goes.

The remaining group of tatters were in the intermediate/advanced skill level and of those that expressed a preference for type of project there were more requests for hearts, so this group is doing hearts.

I did try as much as possible to give everyone the kind of projects they wanted and matched them up with folks with similar abilities. I'm hoping that everything goes really well for all of the people involved and I'm looking forward to seeing lots of tatted laces.

Hearts Carol 1

2008-02-21T23:42:00.001-08:00

Carol loves doing these spiral designs and she plans on giving participants a choice of colours and whether they want the outer round or not.I have had a few people send me pictures and I expect that not all of the entries will show up here but it's nice to see the beginnings of the robins.

Hearts Laura 1

2008-02-21T22:56:00.000-08:00

Laura is thrilled that she has designed her first heart. She really liked the heart with the bouquet of flowers in Martha's book so she designed hers along the same lines. She has named this one English Country Garden Heart.

Doily - Jeanette's centre

2008-02-21T22:31:00.000-08:00

Jeanette has the first round of her doily completed and ready to send off to Anke. Please note ladies that your first round, the centre of your own doily is due to be sent out by February 24, 2008.

Hearts Brenda 1

2008-02-19T23:14:00.001-08:00

Brenda already has her first heart ready to send off. This was a heart she already had done that fit the criteria for the round robin. As yet, no indication has been given of the author of the pattern so I can't tell if this is an original pattern or a published one.

Doily - Anke Round 1

2008-02-19T22:58:00.000-08:00

Most of the participants have their own blogs, web pages or photo pages where they can display their progress so that their progress will be available for everyone to enjoy. However some participants don't have their own pages and their entries will be shown here. As much as possible I'll try to keep some of the information here too. The links to the pages I have are shown in the side bar at the right under the round robin they are participating in.

One of the participants in the Doily round robin is Anke and she worked this design as her centre from a picture she found on the internet and she didn't write down whose pattern it is.

Hearts Round Robin

2008-02-16T08:59:00.000-08:00

I've just sent off the last of the groups for round robins. This is a group of intermediate/ advanced skill tatters that will be working on hearts doing a traditional mailing. There are 6 people in this group so it's the largest round robin and it should be fun to watch this one progress.

The group includes Cynthia Stevenson, Laura Blanton, J.B. Locke, Ellen Dabbs, Carol Amich and
Brenda Hubler.

International Project Round Robin

2008-02-15T13:03:00.000-08:00

Partners for the International Project Round Robin have been mailed off. This Project group will be doing a different project every month and doing direct mailing. The group includes Jennifer Morris, Victoria Clarke, Hanna Lindholm, M. Eliana Gonzalez C., and Ellen Lai. They will be tatting either a heart, bookmark, animal or butterfly and a snowflake each month until their round robin is completed.

There is one more group to send out, then the fun can begin.

Beginners Round Robins

2008-02-12T21:58:00.000-08:00

We had 8 people identify themselves as beginners at tatting and sign up for the round robin. The beginners groups have now been sent out. They have elected to tat whatever the other participants want so each member will specify what they would like to receive and their partners will all tat them one. This should make for especially interesting groups.
The International group is Chia Aileen, Bob Shotton, Margaret Boos and Joy Walsh while the American group is Connie Faulconer, Stephanie Bryant and Bonnie Peters.

Have lots of fun with this one.

The majority of the people are the intermediate/advanced folks and it's going to take a while to sort them into groups. so their information will get posted in the next few days.

Doily Round Robin

2008-02-11T19:36:00.001-08:00

Participants in the Doily Round Robin have been sent their information.
The participants in this Round Robin are:
Josie Passell, Shawna Bouwkamp, Joyce Schermerhorn, Jeanette Hasseman, and Anke Nienstedt.
Have fun and show us how you are progressing.

Groups will be sent out soon

2008-02-11T08:10:00.000-08:00

Just in case anyone is wondering, I now have the details to send out your groups but have been tied up with legal matters and haven't had a chance to send out any information. I hope to get things in motion this week.

We're Off!

2008-01-29T08:42:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd better set up a central location for everyone to get info, post info and stay communicating for the round robins. For those working on doilies there will be a lot of designing going on, but for others you may need to use existing patterns and if you are in a group doing things that you don't already have patterns for, here are some links to check out. If anyone finds another useful source, and I know there are many not listed here, let me know.
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~frmuse/alison/index.html
http://www.antiquepatternlibrary.org/completelist.htm
http://www.georgiaseitz.com/
http://www.craftsnlace.net/tatting/main/patt.html
http://www.bellaonline.com/subjects/3737.asp

I have sent out some additional questionaire information and groups will be set up based on what I receive back. There were 20 people that signed up for the round robins which is great because it allows for more people to be in the kind of robin they want. Communication is exceptionally important in a round robin. If something happens and you can't make a deadline, let people know. If your computer crashes and you can't email people, check into the library or cyber cafe and let people know or if you have a phone number, call. If you didn't receive a package when you expected it, let people know.

I have been reminded that in previous round robins there was a problem with packages getting lost in the mail and that for that reason instead of mailing packages from A to B to C etc. each person mailed their packages directly to their partners so that with the first mailing A mailed to B and on the second deadline A mailed to C and on the third deadline A mailed to D etc. There is less opportunity for a package with everyone's contributions getting lost in the mail, but it is also less interesting. When you are giving me the information from your "questionaires" please also specify if you would like the traditional A to B to C mailing or direct mailing in your robins. You can simply say I want a traditional mailing or I want direct mailing. Doily round robins have no option except the traditional method.

If traditional mailings are chosen each person will prepare a mailing envelope of some kind, baggies (little plastic sandwich bags) are a good choice because they are simple and waterproof and can be stapled to a card that fits in the mailing envelope. Remember that if you are in a 5 person round robin that the mailing envelope will get re-labelled and mailed 6 times so it will be very tattered by the time it returns to you with your precious treasures. If you are using baggies you can staple 5 of them (if you are in a group of 5) to a card and label each bag with the name of one of your group members. Each member, when they receive the package will add their tatting to the baggie with their name on it and will include information like where the pattern came from and what type of thread they used on it.

Also include in the mailing envelope a letter with YOUR preferences so that each member knows what they need to tat for you. For example, you might say, I would like my bookmarks to be 5 inches long and I prefer blue and yellow colours without any beads.

Scan or photograph everything. Many of us have scanners, but some folks don't, if one of your group doesn't have a scanner the next person to receive the package who does have a scanner should take a picture of it for them and for us too. You may be doing the tatting and receiving the packages, but the rest of the tatting community wants to see too. You can post pictures in your own blog or they can be displayed here. Anyone that doesn't already have a place to showcase their round robin treasures can send them to me with information like "Karen did Martha's heart for Sally in Flora size 20 thread" and they will get posted here.