3d Cymbidium Orchid Earrings Pattern and Grace's New Blog

Hi,

A couple of weeks ago I was asked for my Orchid pattern,  I designed this pattern sometime ago and it was tested by Wendy link to her blog.   I was very pleased by the request made by Tatting box and thought it was time I let the pattern out into the big wide world.   So I have written up the pattern which will be in from the middle of september after my holiday in my Esty Shop.  In the meantime I am giving away to the first five followers of my blog a free pattern. For anyone who misses out and would like the pattern please feel free to contact me.
All I ask that you are a follower already and not just coming for a free pattern,   please will say that you would like a copy when you leave a comment,  someone got missed last time I did this as I have other followers who are not tatters.
Its an easy pattern done with one shuttle and a single pearl or bead in the middle.  All I ask is that you can do what you like with the earrings you make, you can make them as a gift or sell them but please credit me with the design and not sell the pattern as your own.
Update,  all the free patterns have gone,  thank you for all the interest that has been shown in my pattern.

                                                                 --ooOoo--

I want to introduce a new blog to you,  Grace from intatters has just started a blog,  I have helped her with various bits and she let me see her blog first before announcing she had started one.  Grace designed this snowflake last year

link to the page on my blog which was one I used for the countdown to Christmas Snowflakes.   Here is a link to her blog please do pop over and see her.  I wish Grace good luck and hope she enjoys bloging as much as I do.

Until we meet again Take care and have a lovely weekend.

                           Hugs

                        Margaret

Lacock - A Day out with Bethany

 Hi,
Yesterday we took our granddaughter out for the day,   like all grand parents we spoiled her.  The weather was fine we had a couple of raindrops while we were out but it came to nothing, over in a flash.
We took her to Lacock which is in Wiltshire and is a National Trust property and has been since 1944.
There is a lot to see in Lacock, there is 800 years of history of the Abbey which started off as a nunnery.   As you walk around the cloisters where Harry Potter was filmed well some of it.  there is a CD player playing music of nuns singing which is what it would have sounded like when it was a Nunnery.
 This is a picture of the courtyard with the medieval cloisters running around it,   there is no glass in those windows and never has been the nuns would sit in the cloisters doing their daily tasks or reading etc all the year around.  There was only three fires lit in the nunnery, so most of the time the nuns lived without heat unless they were cooking in the kitchen.

 Tower of the abbey 

 This was in the Chapter house,  they had a fire lit in there,  the picture below was of the original floor which the nuns no doubt walked on.

 Now to Harry Potter,   this was in the room they used to film some of the scenes,  those who have watched the films Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets will recognize the pot.

This was outside the Abbey in the gardens,   our grand daughter hitching a ride on it,  where she is standing there is a wheel which they push and the whole thing turns,  unfortunately the camera does not catch the glitter ball on the top as it goes around the sun catches it and throws lights around

Lacock Village, it one of the most filmed villages in the country how many films and programmes have been filmed there   well heres just a few  1958 The Moonraker,  1967 Pride and Prejudice,   1983 Treasure hunt (Wiltshire TV episode),  Robin hood,  1996 Emma,  1996 Moll Flanders,  1997 Henry VIII TV series,  2003 The Mayor of Casterbridge,  2007 Cranford TV Series,  2008 Tess of the D'Urbervilles TV series,  plus of course did I mention Harry Potter.

 There is so much history but I will quote this to you from one of the books on Lacock, " The village grew up around Lacock Abbey   which was founded in 1229 by Ela Countess of Salisbury,   Ela was the daughter of William Earl of Salisbury who was married to William Longespee,  the illegitimate son of Henry II.  William was one of the most powerful barons of the time.  He was a witness of the Magna Carta and with Ela laid the fourth and fifth foundation stones of Salisbury Cathedral    It was Ela who founded two religious houses in his memory,  involving a journey of 16 miles.  One at Hinton Charterhouse for Carthusian monks and the other at Lacock for Augustinian Canonesses.
The Abbey prospered throughout the middle ages,  with the rich farmlands this was at the time wool the main raw material for clothing and considered to be white gold and ensured a sizeable income for the Abbey.
The nuns were mostly ladies of good family usually between 15 to 25 in number,  as the community increased by a number of lay sisters who looked after the more menial tasks.  the village grew up together with the nuns supporting each other"  
There are no obvious signs of the 21st century   no double yellow lines on the roads, no traffic signs, television aerials or satellite dishes.  The only thing that intrudes on this idyllic unspoilt village is the motor car."
This piece has been taken from the book Lacock TV and Film Location guide.
The village has been owned and administered by the National Trust since 1944.

 This is our Granddaughter Bethany.

 Vernon enjoying the day,  this is a rare picture of him smiling  I told him off recently for not smiling when I point the camera at him.

See we did feed her,  here she is waiting for her lunch in the pub, plus an ice cream in the afternoon and of course a presents.   A great day out,  hope to do it again with her.









Here she is again with the statue of William Henry Fox Talbot 1800-77,
he owned and was resident of Lacock Abbey  he invented photography. In August 1835 Talbot made the earliest known surviving photographic negative using a wooden camera.  There is an exhibition in the Fox Talbot Museum in the grounds of the Abbey.  We all enjoyed looking at the old cameras and how they invented photography.

Well that was our day out.  I hope you enjoyed reading about it and if you get a chance to go do its a very interesting place to visit.  To think we have passed it for years and never visited it,  its amazing what's on your doorstep if you look,  we just never thought about going, so glad we have now.  I think we will be going again.
Until we meet again  Take care
                        Hugs
                    Margaret

Tigereye Earrings tat along - intatters 10/25

 

 Hi,
The sun is shining at this very second but we have had a lot of rain showers already this morning.
These are my Tigereye earrings pattern by Elizabeth Zipay which at the moment there is a tat along on intatters.   They looked so nice in the different colours which other tatters have tatted them in so I bought the pattern from her etsy shop link to her shop.  The pattern is $3, well worth it,  I am very pleased I did they are easy to tat and look lovely.
I have not put the wires on yet.    They were tatted with Lizbeth thread no 20 in white,  and the beads were gold and multicolor black seed beads.
I plan on making some pairs in due course,   I really enjoyed tatting these earrings I think I said that already,  I would recommend this pattern to anyone.
I hope you are having a nice weekend.
Until we meet again I hope the weather is better where ever you are, take care.
                Hugs
            Margaret

Happy Wedding Anniversary. 9/25 motif challenge

Hi,
Today is our 11th Wedding Anniversary,   this is the card I have given Vernon.  It was actually a Friday that we got married and tonight we are going out for a meal for a change.
I have done something a bit different,  not the usual colour but I thought something different.  The tatted heart in the middle is Sandra's Dainty Heart, tatted in white  Lizbeth thread No 20  which I attached to the card.   I use a piece of backing paper from a pad I was given some time ago and did a parchment front with a simple grid pattern attached to the card with brads.   The ribbon was a free gift from Crafts Beautiful  Magazine sometime ago and it marched the paper perfectly.   I finished the card off with gold peel offs.
This proves you can use tatting and parchment together.

I hope you have a lovely weekend and until we meet again take care
                       Hugs
                    Margaret

Tat along with Wendy Round three - finished 8/25 motif challenge

Hi,
Here is the last round of the tat along with Wendy link to her blog.   I have really enjoyed tatting with Wendy and hopefully we can do it again.
This is the link to the pattern  I used Lisbeth no 40 American Apple pie thread.  Can you see my little error,  one chain has 6 picots instead of five so it does not flute into a half circle around the petal.  Decisions do I cut and just re-do or leave it,  decisions decisions I expect I will sort it it would be a shame to leave it.  I am undecided if I like this colour thread,   but I do like the pattern and will be doing it again.
I have put this as number 8 out of the 25 motif challenge,   I have some other pieces of tatting which I have been doing in between but I will leave them for another day.    The tat along mat is now growing as the next round is going around.  I also received the travelling Angeline book Lets Tat,  I am the last person on the list to have the book that has been travelling around the world for the last three years.  Next stop for the book will be its home Canada and Fox.  I also have Michele's book The Ruins of Lace by Iris Anthony, not sure how long it will take me to read it.
I hope you are well and until we meet again Take Care.
                      Hugs
                  Margaret

Family Weekend

 Hi,
After the beautiful weather we have been having last weekend was cloudy with a little bit of rain but it did not spoil last sunday with a family BBQ in Longworth Oxfordshire. This is just some of the photos taken on Dee's lawn with a family game of croquet.  Above my husband Vernon hitting the ball,  opposite Dee and Vernon together (Dee is Vernon's sister)

Hitting the red ball across the path,  Next picture shows it did not go very far.

Good to hold up the gate post?

 I think we are pleased,  and enjoying himself,  good game.                Not sure who actually won.  Did it matter no we all had a good laugh and it was nice to enjoy ourselves,   last time we all meet up was on days of sadness.

Lots of help given to the kids.
All in all a great afternoon,   
Thanks Dee it was a great weekend.
Don't worry I took the photos that was enough for me at the moment,  just another two weeks before I can start doing a few things.  In the meantime tatting and playing with the farm game keeps me occupied.



Until we meet again take care.
                       Hugs
                   Margaret

Tat along with Wendy Round 2

 Hi,
This is the second round of the tat along that Wendy and I are doing at the moment,   see last post for the pattern details.   I am using Lizbeth thread no 40 American Apple Pie.   Still not sure if I like the thread but the pattern is tatting up quickly and is fairly easy once you get into it.
I am having a restful day after a busy and active weekend well as active as I could at the moment,  I have a few picture to share which I will put on tomorrow.
I hope you are keeping well,  until we meet again take care.
                   Hugs
               Margaret