More Minis

Continuing with the mini-ornaments, here is another of Jane Eborall's bells.

I must have had better tension on this one, because the shape is more even than the first. Even so, I think I will need to wet both of them and shape them properly. The colors on this one are Yarnplayer's "Night Wind" and Lizbeth color 631 "Light Country Purple". It pretty much has to be tatted in size 20 thread because there are so many beads that any smaller thread would make it all out of proportion (unless you can get your hands on some ultra-tiny seed beads, of course.)

Actually, the bell may or may not be a mini-ornament. While it is only 1 1/2 inches (3.5 cm) tall, and 1 3/4 inches (4.5 cm) in diameter at the bottom, being 3D gives it enough substance that it could be put on a full-size tree without getting lost. However, it is definitely small enough to go on a table-top tree as well. Anne Bruvold's SSSR Angel, on the other hand, is definitely a mini. I got out my giant quarter again for this scan. (Thanks for that comment, StringyDogs, it gave me quite a chuckle.)

These are both tatted in size 50, but they would still be minute even in 20. The colorway on the left is "Icicle" by LadyShuttleMaker; on the right is "Snowflake" by Yarnplayer. As I do with Anne's dragon pattern, I decided to make these with regular split rings instead of SSSR's, and for the same reason. You do have to add a second thread eventually for the SCMR, so why give yourself extra ends to hide, when you could just start with two shuttles CTM and have all the threads you need? In any case, this was a fun little pattern to make, and very quick. I like the way the skirt is designed; I never in a million years would have thought of doing it that way. Two of them would make a nice pair of earrings, too, if you need a last-minute gift.

These mini-ornaments are fun, and I'm going to keep doing them-- partly because I'm in the mood for some instant gratification, and partly because I'm trying not to get caught up in a large project right now. In years past, I have always observed the TIAS with great interest, but I've never tatted it before because I was always in the middle of something else and didn't want to get distracted. This year I am determined to participate, so I'll save the big projects for February.