My first own tatting pattern!

I did it! I've created my first tatting pattern! Here it is (motif #6):

Oh yes, it was really funny to make it! Firstly I didn't have any idea of making a pattern. I bought some new thread recently and tried to find some pattern with big rings - although I like Iris threads, it is quite difficult to tat a big ring with them, and picots sometimes don't look neatly. However I didn't find anything that I would like. So I tried to make a little pattern with big ring, something like a petal. Below there are all my attempts: violet and green was the first one, then green and pink petal. I liked the lat one and tried to tat a 6-petal flower. On the third petal I understood that I chose the wrong way of connection. So, the next attempt (the first photo) was successful, although the flower appeared to have 5 petals instead of 6!

Well, now I'm going to tat some flowers with different threads and make a normal pattern description. And name it, of course! I will be very grateful if somebody advises me what program to use for drawing the diagram!

TIAS day 6

This is my TIAS day 6:

It seems to me that we'll have something with wings and maybe legs. Or not. Anyway, we have 6 more days!

The cat under the tree

These are two more Nancy Tracy's motifs - Pretty Tatted Kitty (motif #4) and Tatted Christmas tree (motif #5):

Don't know why this Kitty is green - maybe because green thread was on a shuttle at that moment... Kitty was easy to tat, but the tree wasn't. It didn't want to be tatted! I made a mistake at the left lower branch, but it's not critical. But then I started to tat the right middle branch as the upper one. It was my husband who asked me to finish this motif as he liked it, although I wanted to stop. Now it looks quite well, but I would like to know: maybe, Christmas trees do not like to be tatted when Christmas is over, don't they?

I want to fly...

This is the next small pattern I wanted to tat (motif #3). It's Nancy Tracy's Eagle:

This eagle gave me an idea: tatting is hardly used as a separate kind of needlework. I mean, except bookmarks and jewellery. But if you use it as a decoration, combining with knitting, crochet, embroidery etc, it is wonderful! I do not want my motifs to lie in a box - so I will try to find something to decorate them with. Do you have any ideas?
And this is another programming-needlework analogy: Tatting is similar to functional programming: both are beautiful, rare and hardly used without other kind of needlework/programming language.
Today is day 5 of TIAS, and this is my result:

The pattern becomes "curiouser and curiouser"! Alex, my husband, made a suggestion that is a fly, and I think that it looks like an octopus. Well, we'll wait and see!

Split rings...

After TIAS day 4 I understood that I have some troubles with SRs. Honestly, these two in Jane's pattern where the first ones I've ever tatted. So I decided to practice them a bit and choose this pretty pattern (motif #2):

It's a double shamrock in a row variation by Georgia Seitz (http://www.georgiaseitz.com/classes2001/rings/rings2.html). I liked it. I would tat such a bookmark if I knew what to do with it if you use e-book!

TIAS day 4

This is not my best, actually. I have my exams now, and I read SR 3/5 as SR 3/3. Well, I never did split rings before but it's not a problem. The problem is that I realized that missed 2 knots just after I closed last SR. So, the only thing I could do - to get a bit of space for these 2 knots and use single shuttle split ring technique (that I never did before also!). I think I will better start a new TIAS pattern soon.

TIAS - days 1 to 3

Just the same time when I found 25 motif challenge I also found a tatting game TIAS - Tat It And See. For my great luck it had just started, so I could participate. It's blog is Tatting patterns with the added 'fun' factor . The game organizer is Jane Eborall - an excellent tatter who has also a tatting blog Tatting and Not a Lot Else and website - Tatting Patterns by Jane Eborall. I have never met so many beautiful patterns and useful techniques in one place, and all of them are presented with such clear and understandable diagrams! Jane has done and continues to do the great work for other tatters all over the world!
Well, TIAS is a part of this work. Every several days Jane posts a little part of one big pattern, and nobody knows what it is. Three days are done, the day 4 is coming soon. My result is:

 

Not very accurate, yeah? Anyway, I've got so much fun! The day 1 was quite easy, and Jane showed how to hide threads ends at the very beginning of tatting. The day 2 was also easy, I did it at work without any problems. But the day 3...

There were two new elements - SCMR (Self Closing Mock Ring) and false picot. Well, I've found there descriptions, understood the idea... But - in Jane's instructions there were several SS - Switch Shuttles. And somehow I decided that it's the same as Shoelace Trick. No way! In Shoelace Trick you make a knot to change a position of the working shuttle. In SS you just leave working shuttle and use another one as working! No knots! With Jane's help I finally understood what to do. Thank you for your patience, Jane! Now I'm waiting for the day 4!

Paw Print

Several days ago I was searching the net for tatting patterns and found this wonderful blog: 25 motif challenge. The idea is pretty funny - everyone can participate in this challenge. The person should tat 25 different motifs during 1 year. Every several days the progress of all participants is posted.
After reading several posts there I understood how cool the idea is! I found so many beautiful motifs! Some of them I'm ready to tat as soon as possible. And - I want to participate in this challenge too!
Here is motif #1:

It is Nancy Tracy's Tatted Paw Print (you can find the pattern on www.be-stitched.com). For this pattern and all the previous ones I used Iris thread - it's thick enough for the very beginner - like me.
So, this is the start of my challenge. The beginning date for me is January, 10 - the day when I decided to start. So, let's see if I will pass this challenge!

The very start

As I've already said, I started tatting just several month ago. It was September 2011. I do not remember the exact date but I remember how I came to handmade shop to buy something for crochet and suddenly saw a book about tatting. I had already read about it before, but never tried - couldn't find shuttles. But this time they were here, in this shop, waiting for me. That evening I started to learn.
It was very funny! And here is me first programming-needlework analogy:
Learning a new kind of needlework is similar to learning a new programming language. When you know some other kinds of needlework - or programming languages - learning a new one is much easier that the first one. Mostly because of similarities of these kinds or languages. For me, tatting reminds me both macramé and weaving bobbin - both I tried when was a child. So, it was not very difficult to start.
Well, enough for philosophy! These were my first patterns:

The last flower was expected to be a butterfly. The second attempt was more successful:

Then I thought that I want to tat something unusual - not classic patterns for beginners. I found some Celtic tatting diagrams, uploaded them to my e-book and went to airport, as I was going home. I must say that tatting is a great company for long flights! This was a first try to make something Celtic (not very successful, honestly):

But the next one I did like:

After this flower I had a delay knitting a dog for my mother-in-law (I will tell about it later). And then I tatted little pattern (just to remind fingers what to do):

And the last one here is rose. I tatted it several days: in the plane when flying Riga and back, in the university during lectures, at work, at home... The result is:

I'm not sure that it is exactly that the author meant, but I like it! So, the history is over, the next post will be about present.

Hello, dear reader!

Well, yet another tatting blog, you can say. Actually, you are quite right. Here I want to show you my tatting and maybe some other handmade.
I have one handmade blog already - http://handmade-notes.blogspot.com/. Why not just to write all in it? Well, first of all, it is in Russian, and I do not want to translate all that posts into English. Secondly, it is mostly archive of my previous works rather than story about current ones. And finally, I want to share some my needlework ideas with people all over the world, not only with Russian-speakers.
Some facts about me:

• My name is Mariya (what a surprise, yeah?..)
• I live in Russia (in St Petersburg now)
• I'm a programmer (what leads to strange ideas about needlework and programming and their interconnection)
• I started to knit when I was 6 (that is, I have been knitting for 16 years)
• I started to tat much later (several months ago, actually)

Well, I think it's enough for starting post.