More aliens arriving

Before I start on today’s aliens I’d like to share a few facts with you.

Rose Anne guessed an alien on Day 7 (26th January) and Hallie and Kerstin guessed on day 12 (10th February). Well done to these three ladies - specially Rose Anne. I’m very impressed with your ability to read my BC3!!!!

23.    First of the day 14's to arrive is Bev who has given hers a flying saucer and some stars!!! Here's what she says

"Hi Jane

Bitter sweet, happy sad. Glad to know what we were making and sad that the adventure is over. Thank you and congratulations for bringing tatters from all over the world together for fun and learning, and for all your hard work. As usual, you slipped some challenges into the mix.

Here is my little extra-terrestrial, saying hi to everyone.

All the threads I used are Lizbeth size 20. The brown variegated background is #150, the green is #687, the metallic stars are #313, and I’ve lost the label for the metallic mauve.

I live in Adelaide, Australia, and I am lucky to be a member of the Lace Guild of South Australia.

Bev"

I love the flying saucer and stars. Your alien will feel at home here on planet earth!

24.    Now I find Marla next in this morning's inbox and she says

"Super Ant Man superhero at your service!!!

Ready to defend the Universe from all Enemies & Evil Villains!!!

My mom came across one of those little “crafting” (workbasket type) booklets back in 1982-83 & between the 2 of us we figured out how to tat from that… --

Marla Nikirk"

I love the cape and bow, Maria!!!  How cute is that.

25.    You're going to LOVE Heidi's glamorous alien!!! Here she is with her pearls on too!!!

"Morning Jane,

A slightly changed story...Let me introduce you to Edith the ET from the Planet of Knots in the Thread galaxy. Waving hello and showing off her pearls.

Heidi from Fresno, California. Shuttle tatter using Lizabeth size 20 Periwinkle #659. I made a few mistakes along the way, but just left them in. Took some artistic license and changed CW to Lj followed by a 2nd half stitch. Thank you Jane for the fun and giggles.

Heidi"

Now that's a good trick for avoiding the CWj. I must try that as I'm no lover of that technique.

26. Julie is next with her visitor from outer space and she says

"Of course it is an alien . Your patterns are out of this world. So why didn't I guess it sooner? It is waving a nice welcome. So friendly, just like you. Or it could be saying, I salute you, for a job well done, keeping us guessing till the end. Thoroughly enjoyed the game. I shuttle tatted using lizbeth size 20 #613 golden yellow medium. I am from Forsyth, Missouri. I have been tatting since about 2005. Thank you again for all your hard work on this game. I really hope you will do it again next year. Hope you have a great Valentines day.

Julie "

Thanks, Julie and I'm glad you and  your alien enjoyed the journey.  Bit of bad timing over the balloons being spotted over North America etc but that's life!!!!  Unless, of course, they belonged to our alien's family and they'd come looking for them!!!

27.    Next is Rose Anne who has this to say along with two pictures of her alien.

"So today, which started off very mild, was the end of 2023 TIAS "Our Alien", which was one of my guesses back on Day 7. And he definitely looks "alien" to me in my Lizbeth size 20, colour 167 variegated Jungle Greens, I used shuttles. BUTTTT this day ends with unexpected blizzard like conditions, especially to me! I've participated in various TIASs of Jane's and usually enjoy them! Some steps stump me more than I like, my dragon was just finished recently!!! AND I have one "the frog" still not finished, once I locate him in one of my tatting bags, I'll finish him off!

Thank you Jane for all your talent, expertise and generosity to prepare these TIASs for us to enjoy!

Rose Anne"

Always good to meet at TIAS time, Rose Anne and I must admit I thought you'd lead others into thinking it was an alien too but they didn't so the mystery continued!!!  Such fun.

28.    Cheryl is next to pop into my inbox and she has this to say

“Here's my little ET. He's so cute. I had trouble attaching that last picot. So I did a split ring. 

I haven't been tatting anything but this little guy and thoroughly enjoy it. I am waiting on a 

phone call from a plastic surgeon to get an appointment about my sore fingers. I might need

cortisone shots to relieve my finger issues. I'm sure missing doing any kind of needle work.

This little guy was shuttle tatted with # 20 Aunt Lydia's thread. 

I live near Olds, Alberta, Canada and I sure hope you'll continue creating these adorable TIAS'S.

Happy Valentine's Day. 💝”

Sorry you had trouble with that last picot but I’m glad you resolved the issue.  I hope your poor finger problem is resolved soon.  It must be awful not to be able to fulfil your need to craft.  I can’t imagine anything worse.

29.    Julie has sent in her alien and this is what she has to say

“Well, I did wonder about an alien at some point, but never mentioned it. Happy Extraterrestrial Culture Day. How appropriate to end it today.”

Well it was pure coincidence, Julie - promise.

30.    Richard has popped in next with his alien. This is what he has to say

“Greetings Jane!

Here is my little space-alien-monkey! I used Lizbeth Elderberry Jam in size 20 to tat my whatsit with two clover shuttles. I hope you will create a game for next year.

Happy Tatting 

Richard

Virginia”

31.    Lyn has now arrived with her alien and she says

“Good evening Jane,Here is my Purple people eater ! Who just needs his ends hidden. 

Thanks again for TIAS’23

Lyn”

You’re very welcome, Lyn.  I’ve enjoyed it too.

32. Antonietta is next into the inbox and she says

“ Salve Jane, 

Ecco il mio "omino" terminato!

Con qualche difettuccio, però simpatico 😉

Grazie per questo progetto, e...alla prossima!😘

Hi Jane, Here is my finished "little man"! With some flaws, but nice 😉 Thanks for this project, and...see you next time!😘”

He looks fine to me, Antonietta.

  

33.    Maria is next to arrive and she says

“hoi Jane,

I took part in the tias with great pleasure, thank you!!!”

I am so pleased you joined us and I hope to see you next year too.

34.    Antonia has now arrived and she says

“Hi Jane

Thank you so much in doing TIAS 2023. It is great to bring people all over the world doing the same thing. I did my homework and handed in each time and checked out what others were doing. I enjoyed this game and felt a sense of achievement. I used Lizbeth no 20 col 122 to tat my alien.

I live in Darwin Australia. Previously I lived in Brisbane Australia where I learned tatting through Embroidery Guild Queensland and Queensland tatters. 

Here is my alien hanging on the fridge.

It is close to midnight here. Good night 😴 

Cheers 

Antonia”

Thank you so much for taking part, Antonia.  It is a lot of work but it gives me great pleasure to tease you all for a few weeks each year!!!  Yes, I am a wicked old lady!!!

35.    My humblest apologies next to Jackie who I seem to have missed out earlier today. I think my BC3 must’ve had a wipeout. Here she is now

“ Morning Jane

Well here's my alien which l've named AWOL.

No sooner had l finished making him, then he did a little wave and dissappeared without trace. Maybe he was visiting relatives! Maybe he's just camera shy!

Anyway, he reappeared some time later. But where did he go?? Spooky!!

I really like my little alien which l've made in Lizbeth Twirlz thread.

Thank you for the fun! I really enjoyed it! 

But will he stick around for long or go AWOL again visiting his home planet? 

Love Jackie (from Plymouth)”

Obviously your AWOL tried to avoid me too.  I’m so sorry about that, Jackie.

36.    Pam has just arrived with her little gang of aliens and it looks as if she’s provided them with a flying saucer and a leader!!! She says

“They are done, and ready to leave for home. 

Left to right:

Blip was made with DMC Blanc No 30. I assume that is the thread size, but I’m not sure. 

Bloop was made with Lizbeth Cotton thread, size 40. Caribbean. 

Bleep was also made with Lizbeth size 40. Autumn Spice. 

I am a YouTube taught tatter. I started in October of 2021. 

Jane, getting to know you through emails is fun and so helpful. You always know the answers. 

Thanks for the TIAT; it was challenging. Whew!”

Well you’ve done REALLY well and were a fantastically fast learner.  Upwards and onwards, eh?

37.    Now I have Jolimama who has enjoyed the TIAS and says

“Kedves Jane! Küldöm én is az én Alienemet. Sajnos nem olyan szép, mint ahogy szerettem volna, de az ujjaim nehezen dolgoztak. Mindenképpen nagyon örülök, hogy el tudtam készíteni. Nagyon jó volt megint várni napról-napra az új mintát. Köszönöm a sok munkát, amit értünk végeztél. A világ minden tájáról összehoztál bennünket, öröm volt látni, ahogy alakultak a munkák.

Magyarországon, egy kis városban élek, az erdő közelében. Ha csak tehetem kimegyek sétálni.

Szeretettel ölellek, és az új szivecskédet tervezem elkészíteni.: Jolimama

Dear Jane! I'm also sending my Alien. Unfortunately, it's not as pretty as I would have liked, but my fingers worked hard.In any case, I am very glad that I was able to make it. It was great to wait for the new pattern every day again. Thank you for all the work you have done for us. You brought us together from all over the world, it was a pleasure to see how the works developed. I live in Hungary, in a small town, near the forest. I go out for a walk if I can. I hug you with love and I plan to make your new heart.: Jolimama“

"A fonal formálja a szemet, a kötés összekovácsolja a barátságot, a kézimunka pedig összeköti a nemzedékeket. Karen Alfke

Ezt az idézetet szerettem volna még beírni, most pótolom. ❤

"Yarn shapes the eye, knitting forges friendship, and needlework connects generations. Karen Alfke I wanted to add this quote, I'll replace it now. ❤

Milyen szép idézet, Jolimama. Nagyon igaz. Cérnába kötünk, barátságban csomót kötünk.

What a lovely quote, Jolimama.  Very true.  We tie knots in thread and knots in friendship.  

38.    Janet is next to arrive in the inbox and she says

“Dear Jane

My latest “thingy” tias. Don’t know what’s gone wrong with his head gear. Hopefully friends will join him shortly. 

All the best, Janet ”

Thanks, Janet.  Good to see you on Zoom the other day.  

39. Melanie is next and she has this to say

“Good morning-

The weekend caught me by surprise. I ended up sorting details in preparation for Mardi Gras and Lent. I thought about the TIAS and wondered if day 11 was a mask for revelers. After finishing all the tatting, I like my little alien. He will live with all the other bits of tatting that aren't traditional. A very fine neighborhood!

I live in Monterey Bay area just south of San Francisco, CA USA. I used shuttle; although with the CWJ and other techniques, I think needle would work better for some parts! The thread is Mercer cotton. 

Thank you, Jane, for giving us a fun way to connect with tatters all over the world. I have tried to imagine a TIAS. Getting the sample set wasn't the problem. Getting the pattern broken up was what didn't fall into place. I vow to try again!!

Melanie”

Well if you ever want to do a TIAS I can always give you access to this blog to run it on.  It’s a lot of work but it’s SUCH fun meeting everybody.  It’s a lot easier nowadays as technology has progressed as very few images need to be formatted.  Let me know if you decide to run one.  Thank you for taking part in the 2023 game.

40.    Theresa is next to pop into my inbox and she has this to say.

“Jane,

Attached are my three aliens. I decided when Day 11 was posted that I would wait and do that day along with the rest of the releases in one fell swoop! I could tell that you were creating some kind of face with the first piece to be eyes, glasses, or goggles. At any rate, this is my small set of an alien crew. All of the aliens have the same white Size 20 thread for my version of the goggles. For the pink colorway and the solid brown, I opted to create the helmet piece in the same color as their space suits. 

All size 20 but as I mentioned earlier, the working diameters really become evident when considering the damage to the substrate of the cotton that occurs for darker colors. I didn't adjust my tension according for the goggles on the brown-suited alien. None have been blocked other than just my fingers to put them into my sample book. I do look forward to doing another one or two in a single sitting as I think my overall tension would be more even.

I am a shuttle tatter with nearly 60 years experience. One of the items that I really noticed when doing the last several days. Since the white is from a cone of size 20 (used primarily by those who hand-dye/paint threads) is not mercerized, it has a softer feel and doesn't really have the same ability to tension during tatting. It was really a bit of a puzzle to figure what needed to be done when mixing thread colors. I wasn't all that successful but figure what I might could do next time.

Thanks so much for this game every year! It is really nice here in cold and sunny Montana. We've had more "winter" this year than the previous three put together. It does bode well for the fisherman but the prospect every few days of a new puzzle piece is always fun!”

Thanks for the interesting comments on threads and for taking part yet again in another TIAS!!!

41.    Arlene is next with her gorgeous alien and she says

“Hi Jane

Such a cute alien. I still need to block & hide ends but I couldn't wait to share. 

Arlene M”

Well I’m glad you didn’t wait, Arlene.  He (or she) is adorable.

42.    Sue is the last person in my inbox for now and she has this to say

“Here is my Little Green Man From Mars, done up in Lizbeth 675.

I am not sure where he was trying to go, but the winds today blew him into Southwest Michigan!

This is my fourth TIAS and it was great fun, as usual. Thank you for keeping us entertained!

Sue Mc”

You’re very welcome, Sue and I’m so glad you enjoyed it.  I hope there’ll be another next year.

43.    Alicja is the next to arrive and she has this to say

“Dear Jane, this my Rob 🤩 thank you for your wonderful Tias, for your explanations and for your patience. As you know I worked in a small group with my ladies, we really enjoyed working together and we learn new things. Thank you from all of us 🥰 In a few days I will send you all our aliens.

Love

Alicja ”

I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the game and I look forward to seeing all the other aliens too, Alicja. 

44. Another arrival of another alien and this time it’s from Teresa who has this to say

“Hi Jane, 

Thank you for another fun TIAS, the game really lightens up these winter days! I also enjoy the opportunity to learn a new tatting technique - this year the CWJ stands out, although I love the way we made the antennae.

I’m Teresa, from Bend, Oregon. My alien was tatted with Graceful Arts hand painted cordonnet, size 20, colorway “Sunrise, Sunset 2”. I’m not a newbie tatter, but I mostly make snowflakes, so I love the tatting diversity you provide! I started out as a needle tatter but now I only use shuttles.

Looking forward to next year’s TIAS already!

Thanks,

Teresa”

Thank you for joining in, Teresa.  Graceful Arts threads (by Karey Solomon) are just to die for.  Or dye!!!  I love the subtle way they change colour.  

45.