Motif 2-3: Bracelet and heart

The little lady's bracelet is finished.  Here it is with the treasure box we made to hold it.  The box is from the Canon website.  We worked on it together; I cut, she glued.

The bracelet is just tatted split rings with enough stitches and picots to snug up to the beads.  It's just the right size for the little lady, but I wish I'd added a few repeats.  Then I could share with her!  Is it OK for a 30+ woman to wear blue plastic beads?

CindyK left a suggestion to make some tatted hearts.  I like the idea very much.  So here is Martha Ess's Two Hearts in One.  I like the serendipity of online tatting.  Here's another version from Val's Simple Passions. 

Round 2 really is the toughest.  These days, the thought of wasted paper bothers me, so I try not to print patterns, instead working off the computer or the iPhone.  For this pattern, I had to give in.  I printed it out, found 2 quiet hours, and glued my eyes to the paper.

It also helped that I don't reverse my work.  It reduced confusion.  I learned this technique from Teri Dusenbury's website, although I can't find the exact link right now.  I'll keep looking.  Basically, the rings are worked with flip stitches.  The chains are unflipped (encapsulated).  I just switch shuttles between rings and chains.  It also saves having to wind up the long thread after making rings.