Easter Eggstravaganza 1!

Happy Easter to all my friends

I intended to start writing this series of posts well before Easter but as you all know time runs away so quickly.

This is our last tat day and one of my lassies brought us all Easter chicks from her trip to Holland.

Gorgeous aren't they?

IsDihara asked if we have special chocolatey goodies for Easter here.

We have the usual Eggs, either  shells only or filled with cream/toffee etc. Also lots of Chocolate Bunnies and Chicks. 

Back to tatting.....this year I resolved to tat something from the multitude of tatting books that I have never used

This time it was the turn of another of the wonderful books published by Akacia

Tatting Easter Eggs by Kirsten Wind Hansen

There are 24 designs in this inexpensive book. Black and white photos and great diagrams but the minimum of instruction for each design...except for the instructions at the beginning of the book.

I intended in my own silly way to tat my way through the book in order starting at number one and finishing at Easter or when I ran out of enthusiasm...which ever came first!

 There is one design which particularly takes my fancy and my friend urge me to skip ahead to it.....should I, will I...

So Staring with 

Easter Egg No 1

Once again I am doing trials of all the eggs in the same thread...I love doing that...not only to it let me work out how much thread to use when I use my good stuff...but it lets the design show through on each different pattern.

Once again I must say

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY PHOTOS TO TRY TO TAT THE PATTERNS

A LOT OF TIME AND EFFORT HAS GONE INTO DESIGNING THEM
PLEASE IF YOU LIKE THEM

BUY THE BOOK

This is where I show you my first mistake!!!

I made too many rings in the central section, didn't realise until I was this far round in the outer section and wondered why it didn't look right!

 

Memo to self...look more carefully at the diagram!

Second try in a pretty melon and light green Flora 20

Third one is in a cherry coloured Flora 20 with Robin's egg blue Flora contrast and Rainbow Ruby beads size 11. The beads made the whole egg come out a little larger.

For my fourth egg I used my latest dye batch of Berry Burst HDT. I had been asked by a friend in UK to dye this again. It's quite difficult to dye due to the intensity of the colour, getting even and complete penetration of the dye is difficult and it has to be perfect for me!

The beads are purple lined the thread is size 30.

The eggs made in Flora 20 measure about 2 inches.

Thread used was shuttle , 3.6m and Shuttle 2.2 m when using all one colour.

There will be more eggs in Berry Burst later .

It's very much a summer fruits colour.....raspberries,redcurrants,cranberries,loganberries and strawberries, add in the purples of bilberries and blackcurrants and then the blues of blackberries and blueberries.....gosh making my mouth water again.....how come my dyeing seems to be mainly about food!

I stiffened the eggs on a polystyrene egg and hung them on my tree.

I am not sure if I like them shaped or not...what do you think?

This is day one of my Easter Egg tree....the real eggs on the tree I showed first in 2009 follow the link to see them....not sure if I ever showed you the others.