Four Motifs and Going Strong

I'm making good progress on the German Triangle Motif Doily. I have almost finished the fifth triangle motif. I could probably have the doily finished by Saturday or Sunday. I'm really having fun with this motif. I know many of you commented on how it looks and fits together. Suzanne has several other motifs that create some pretty interesting negative space patterns. I might have to give a few of them a try. Here are four triangles joined together:

Not much to say right now. I hope to finish the fifth motif before I have to work later today. The sixth and final motif will probably take longer as I have to join to two other motifs and need to make sure I don't screw up badly. Then I have to deal with ends and block it if needed. For anyone who missed my last post, the thread used is Lizbeth size 20 colour number 129 Purple Splendor. The pattern is available in Suzanne Schwenke's book Spitzen-Kreationen (Lace Creations, according to Google Translate). I'll be sure to share the finished doily when I'm done. Till next time.

German Triangle Motif

Not sure what's happening this week; I've been tatting a fair bit lately. Not a bad thing, but I'm not sure why. Perhaps I finally got into the groove with my new work schedule. Either that, or the fact that I decided to try a different pattern is making a difference. As I mentioned in my last post, I was planning on tatting another Spinning Wheels Glass Mat in purple for my Mom. I decided against it at the last minute, and I'm glad I did.

I really like Mary Konior's design, and it's not difficult, but it isn't exactly a small motif either. OK, I know it would be a small tat for some people, but not for me. Each "arm" takes at least an hour for me to tat, probably longer. And apart from the hole in the middle, it is fairly solid; not a lot of negative space. This is where the new motif comes into play. I present to you one German Triangle Motif:

The pattern doesn't have a name. At least one that I can read. It's from Susanne Schwenke's book  Spitzen-Kreationen. The pattern is on pages 42-43 of the book. It was pretty quick for me to tat. And is quite pretty. The thread is Lizbeth size 20 colour #129 Purple Splendor. I figured I'd make six of them, all joined together, to make a medium sized doily. Now, I figured I could post every time I tatted another motif and show you how it is progressing. It would also give me a chance to post a bit more often lately. However, I've been tatting them fairly quickly. So, here are two motifs joined together:

They look kinda cool here. I finished a third motif this morning. Here's three motifs joined together:

I'm currently working on the fourth motif. It should be at least partially joined to the other three before I go to bed tonight. I'm going to going to keep working on this. I do need it finished is less than two weeks as I plan to visit my parents at the end of the month, and want it finished to give to my mom. It is part of her Mother's Day gift. Don't worry; she knows it's going to be late.

That's it for now. I'll post again soon. And I still plan on doing an orchid post too. Till next time.

Spinning Wheels Glass Mat, Part 2

I'm finally getting this posted. While I'm slowly getting used to my new work schedule, it's still throwing off my life. The main change is that I can't find the time for tatting and other creative stuff. I used to do that in the evening, relaxing after supper. Since I'm off during the mornings and early afternoons, there's other stuff that should be done. I can't really justify sitting around for several hours in the morning tatting, when I should be doing other stuff. At least until I get into the groove of things. Tatting while sitting outside before it gets hot out sound really nice though. Spring has also finally arrived here. Temperatures soared last week to the mid to high teens (Celsius, of course) and we're supposed to get into the low twenties next week. Nearly all the snow around here is gone. So, I've got gardening on the brain now too. I have house plants that need to be repotted; it's easier (and less messy) to do it outside. And too much other stuff to mention. I will get back into tatting regularly, I just don't know when. I finished the second Spinning Wheels mat earlier in the week, I just didn't have the time to post.

Instead of using a variegated thread, I used a solid colour. I think it tats up a bit faster in a solid colour since you can switch shuttles instead of shoe lace tricking when you are supposed to switch shuttles. I'm not sure about the colour choice, I think it was reflecting my mood a bit.

This was tatted using Lizbeth size 20 thread in colour #606 Charcoal. As always, the pattern can be found in Mary Konior's book Tatting With Visual Patterns. For those interested in getting the pattern, you will need to get a hold of a copy of the book. I think I might tat another one, in purple. Then I have something I can give my mom for Mother's Day.

I'll try and post again soon. I may do an orchid post as I have acquired several new ones since February, and a couple new ones from last year are flowering for the first time (for me, anyway). So even if I don't have any tatting to share, I should be able to post again. Till next time.

Spinning Wheels Glass Mat, Part 1

This took longer than I expected, but better late than never. I think I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was getting some weird shifts at work. I think I'm on week three of these shifts, and they are screwing me up. And then, I had today off which I planned to spend tatting, International Tatting Day and all, but instead spent the morning troubleshooting my computer. I traced the problem to the video card. Fortunately I still had my old one, but it didn't like Windows 7's fancy desktop environment, Aero, I believe. Disabled that, and so far so good. However, now it looks ugly and is sluggish. So I'll have to pick up a new video card. Anyway, I should get to the tatting.

As I said before I was going to tat one or more of Mary Konior's Spinning Wheels Glass Mats. I finished one a few days ago and started another one. Here is the completed one:

This was tatted using Lizbeth size 20 thread in colour #167 Jungle Greens. I can see why Diane likes tatting this. The stitch count is easy to remember, and once you make one repeat it was easy to remember where all the joins are. I did mess up once, er, twice at the beginning. One error is still visible, but it still works. I'm working on another one. This time in a solid colour. I'll share it as soon as I finish it. I hope to get a fair bit of tatting done tonight.

I'm still working on the Betta patterns. I just haven't felt like working on it. One of these days I'll get them finished. Anyway till next time. And

Happy International Tatting Day!!

Tatting Break

Wow! Has it really been nearly a month since I last posted? Sorry. I haven't really felt like tatting lately. I think I overdid it a bit trying to get my Male Betta pattern finished I burned myself. I did get the Female Betta tested, and apart from a few minor errors, the testers had no problems with it. I did manage to tat a couple of Betta bodies, but I just haven't felt like tatting the fins. I don't want to post the pattern without a final testing by me-especially if I plan to sell the pattern. I will get it done, don't worry. It just may take another couple weeks. I doubt I'll get much done on it this coming week, my work schedule is terrible. I hope it doesn't stay that way either. I did manage to get a little bit of tatting done since my last post. I did a couple of Mary Konior's motifs which I'll share today. I have done a bit of chainmaille lately too.

I mentioned it on Facebook that I got a septum piercing about three weeks ago. I posted a photo on Facebook, so I won't post it here. You can go there if you want to see. Before anyone asks, I got it because I have always wanted to get one. My parents saw it a few days ago and took it surprisingly well.

The first motif I tatted was Mary Konior's Chain Reaction edging. I have to admit, I like the way it looks, but I didn't really like tatting it.

As you can see, it is all chains. I don't know if I was supposed to or not, but I found I had to constantly SLT after most of the chains. I found I couldn't memorize the pattern as I often do either. I'm not sure why, it could just be part of my burnout. Like I said, I do like the pattern, just not tatting it. The pattern is from Mary's Tatting With Visual Patterns book. I should point out, I think the books is out of print now. The online tatting stores are now selling the book for $60. If you haven't bought it yet, you might want to before it's too late. Oh, I used Lizbeth 20 thread in colour #149, Peacock Blues.

The second motif that I tatted is also Mary Konior's, also from Tatting with Visual Patterns.

This is Dress Trim. I really enjoyed tatting this motif. It was fairly quick to tat too. I also used Lizbeth 20 colour #149, Peacock Blues to tat this motif. Nothing really to say about the motif. I might tat it again. I could make a doily or something using a solid coloured thread. Since I wrote this post this afternoon, I'm hoping I'll get to some tatting this evening. Perhaps I'll try to work some Windmills motifs for the large doily I'm working on. I've been wanting to tat a Spinning Wheels mat too. I haven't done one for a while. We'll see.

I think that's about it for now. I'll try to get back into posting a bit more often, though we'll see how that goes. I'm sure many of you are aware that Jane had more Pop-a-Bobbin shuttles in her shop on Thursday. Sadly, there will be no new shuttles for me this time. I, uh, forgot about it until later that evening. I did buy a couple of Hooks with Hats as well as a Bobbin Holder. Maybe I'll get a new shuttle from the next batch. Till next time.

Finally! Female Betta Completed

Well, I finally finished the Female Betta. It's not like it was that difficult, I just haven't had much time. I've been busy at work, and I haven't been feeling like tatting much when I get home or am off. I have been playing games on my iPad and reading books and magazines on it too, which has taken up a fair amount of my time. But anyway, I have finished tatting the Female Betta.

As I said above, it wasn't that difficult to create, as I used the same body as the male. The fins were much easier to make too. Especially the tail fin. Here's a photo of the Female:

See? The fins are smaller and less ornate than the male. The colours can vary like the males, though perhaps not as much. Here's a photo of both Male and Female Bettas together:

Don't they make a lovely couple? Now that the easy part is done. The easy part being the tatting, I am now working on writing up the pattern. I'm almost done, I just have the top fin to write out. I hope to have it finished by the weekend, maybe earlier. I should have enough test tatters from my call last time, if they're still interested. If needed, I'll ask for extra test tatters when I finish the pattern. The Male Betta is just about done. I need to tat it once more, then add some in-progress photos for clarity. A little bit of reformatting would be good too. I am getting tired of this project, so once the Female is done I'll probably combine both designs in one pattern for sale. I haven't done much other tatting, and I need to move on.

Finally, I'll show you my newest shuttles. I got these two Pop-a-Bobbin shuttles the last time Jane offered them for sale. Which is getting to be a while ago now.

The top shuttle is made out of Eucalyptus wood and the bottom one is made out of Sequoia wood. I love them both, though I love all my Pop-a-Bobbin shuttles. I guess while I'm writing here, I might as well share my newest tatting book too:

The book is in French, as you can probably tell. I'm not sure what it is with foreign language books and me lately. I do have some knowledge of French, so I can understand some of what is written. Not enough though, but I do find it easier to translate than my German and Japanese books. There's quite a few really cool looking designs and patterns. Hopefully I will try some of them soon.

That's about it for now. Hopefully I can get both patterns finished. And some other tatting done to share. Till next time.

I'm Here, Honest!

Sorry for the lack of posting lately. I haven't done much tatting since my last post. I've been pretty busy at work, and I seem to have "Designer's Block" with regards to the two other fish patterns I am trying to work on. I figured I should work on the Dwarf Gourami first since it needed modifications to the body in order to work. I'm not happy with the result, and then haven't felt like working on it. I think I'll work on the Female Betta on my next day off, which should be Wednesday. I should try to tat another Betta body so I'm ready then. My Male Betta has been tested by a few other tatters now; I'm waiting for Jane to go over it again. I think what I may do is offer the Male and Female Bettas together in one pattern since they share the same body style. We'll see what happens with the Gourami. I don't have any photos to share right now. I got my iPad last Monday; it's awesome! I took a few photos and copied them onto my computer, but that's as far as I got.  Hopefully I'll have something to share next time.

Oh! I do have a photo to share. It's my two Dwarf Gouramis; Bob on the left, and Joe on the right.

Well, till next time.