Gong Xi Fa Cai 2014

Here's wishing you a happy and prosperous lunar new year.

I leave you scenes from Chinatown in Singapore.

Horses in the sky

Horses and gold coins

The main horse is of course larger but
I much prefer the pink ones in Orchard Road

Reunion Dinner 2014

We are having reunion dinner with family tonight as we usher in the Chinese New Year 2014 which is year of the horse. Fish is an important dish for a blessed and prosperous year ahead. This fish was filleted and deep fried.

As many people gather at their reunion dinners, I would like to share this with you - A short film which shows reunion dinners of one family in Singapore over the decades - 1960s, 1980s and present day. 

The Reunion Dinner 回家過年 by Anthony Chen. 

Tatting Artistry In Thread by Helma Siepmann

I bought this book in 2011 and did not tat anything from it thus far. I did take it out to browse occasionally and this time I was determined to do something after tatting Iris Niebach's Barcelona. 

I took out my bag of leftover threads and picked out all the Perle cotton browns, greens and flower colours. They are great to practice making Helma Siepmann's plant basics on page 9.

What do you think? 

I think I will grow a field of flowers.

Swirl Square

This pattern is one of Marty's from this blog post. Since the Chinese New Year is approaching, I thought I would tat it in red. Done in 4 rounds but with split rings, you need not cut and tie until you finish. I used Milford Size 20 in Holiday Red and used about 6.5m on shuttle 1 and 4m on shuttle 2.

Itty-Bitty Bumble Bee

Another pattern from Martha Ess 

- the original block critter as Martha calls it.

This is the cutest bumble bee. 

Tatted in Size 20, it only measures 2cm across. 

I used threads from the bag full of leftover threads emptied from shuttles. 

Annarita

Yes, Fox and I decided to tat the last variation of this Iris Niebach's pattern. Pop over to have a look at hers.

Mine is done in Lizbeth Size 80 in medium blue (#651) and it measures 6.5 inches across. I must press it with an iron as the chains are twisting a little even after  blocking.

I was not giving it my whole attention so I made several mistakes, discovered a little late and decided not to unpick. 

Can you spot them? 

One is very glaring. 

Found it?

Martha's Frog

Another critter from Martha Ess. This time it is a little frog. I used leftover thread and I cannot identify the thread colours. It is size 40. This could be tied to your phone or to your purse or scissors.

Russian Book by Kurbatskaya

The pattern on page 66 of this book consists of multiples of the motif below.

I need to tat 8 more of these. I love this colour. The thread is Omega Size 50 in apricot medium. The thread quality isn't as good as Lizbeth but it works for this pattern nicely. Will post it when I get it done.

Barcelona

No, it isn't another tour around the city but it is this pattern by Iris Niebach named Barcelona. Now isn't it a great pattern. 

I love the leaves. These were tatted with Lizbeth Size 40 in Juicy Watermelon (#156), Leaf Green Medium (#684) and Lime Green Medium (#677). After Paris, the Maltese rings were still fresh in my mind however I forgot that I needed to tat loosely so that it is easier to close the Maltese rings. I did not attach one leaf to the petal but it isn't so critical.

I switched the colours of the leaf and flower centre for the second flower. Did I mention I love the leaves? I may want to tat more in Perle cotton or a Size 20 or in various different colours.

A Wonderful Gift

On Sunday I received a wonderful gift - the pdf copy of Marilee Rockley's newest book 'Marilee's Beaded Tatting Finery'. It was a total surprise and the book is really appreciated. Thank you JB.

The book is full of interesting patterns. I am eager to start tatting but I have to finish some projects first. I am thinking of tatting the Feather earrings, or maybe the Concoction bracelet, no . . . maybe the Toccata necklace or the Celtic Hexad pendant or the Melange earrings. I cannot decide. 

Thank you Marilee for a wonderful book full of great designs.