Gina's Gingerbread Boy

I love this pattern! Ever since I saw it, I wanted to tat it.

You'll probably want to click on the image to see it better. I'm not sure why, but I tend to get pretty funky scans when using a white background. I adjusted the image a bit to make it easier to see. The pattern is from our very own Gina B, The Tatting Goddess. There is a link on Gina's blog to get the pattern, you will need to click the esnips link at the top of Gina's "Patterns & Tutorials" list on her sidebar. The pattern isn't hard, but you do need to pay attention to it for the proper joins, and the outer round of chains and the frosting round are (kinda) free tatted (ie: Gina just gives approximate stitch counts, you will need to adjust them to your own tension). I should mention that I did make a few mistakes (I think, it still worked out). I joined the head to the wrong rings on the body. Gina mentioned that a join was needed on one beaded picot, but I didn't mark which one. This join caused the top beaded ring to become heart shaped. I also added the first eye between the wrong set of small and large rings, and my attempts at adding the second eye to match the first were wrong as well. However, I will be making this pattern again; I was going to give this one away, but I don't want to now. Some stats: I used Lizbeth size 20 thread in colour #692 brown and DMC Cordonnet size 20 white for the frosting. This will be #5 of my Third 25 Motif Challenge.

This is actually an important day for me. Two years ago, I contacted Gina for the first time about this pattern. I'm embarrassed to admit that it took me two years to finally tat the pattern. Though I only tried the pattern three times; the second time was right after I contacted Gina. Both previous attempts were not completed. I am glad I finally tatted the Gingerbread Boy. Thank you Gina for the pattern. Till next time.

New Chainmaille Project, and it Has Tatting

If you've been to my shop recently you may have seen what I am talking about. I am talking about my Byzantine Scissor Fobs:


I did a fairly exhaustive search of Etsy, and couldn't find anything like this, so I am confident that I am the first person (on Etsy, anyway) to have come up with this idea. The scissor fobs are actually a scaled back version of another idea of mine. My initial idea was a chainmaille Chatelaine, but I scraped that idea since I was unsure of how practical it would be. And plus, I have no need for one. Anyway, the above scissor fobs are made of aluminum and anodized (coloured) aluminum. The byzantine section is about 3.5 inches long with about 2 inches of plain chain to facilitate attachment to the scissors.

Now, many of you may be wondering where the tatting comes in, well, you see the large split ring on the end of the fob? You can use that to attach beads, trinkets, etc. to it. That includes tatting:

See? This is one of Marilee's Carnival Earrings added to my prototype scissor fob. Isn't it pretty? Assuming they sell well, I hope to add other chainmaille weaves to my scissor fob line.

That's all for now. My next post should be completely tatting related. Later

Featherline Snowflake

As usual, the title says it all. I finally managed to tat Jon's latest snowflake. Actually, I tatted it about a week ago, but am only now posting it. I won't keep you in suspense.

Actually, I will for a bit. I want to thank everyone who commented on my last post. I'm glad you all liked my costume, especially since I don't normally dress up (I really want to stress that). In case anyone is interested, the tutorial I used to make the horns can be found here. Not sure why anyone else would need to make horns but ......

Now for Featherline (click the name for the pattern). I might as well start with a photo:


I'll admit it up front; this is my second attempt at the pattern. And I didn't do it justice. I don't believe there is anything wrong with the pattern; it's me. I didn't follow the instructions. I followed the diagram. Now, I like diagrams; I prefer diagrams. And there isn't anything wrong with Jon's diagram, it's still me. You see, Jon made the snowflake, so that the centre is done using SCMRs and thrown off rings. You then tie and cut. Then the second round is tatted. I figured I could tat the snowflake continuously and jump from the centre to the second round with no tie and cut.

Well, you can. Was it worth it? Meh. You really can't tell where I split-ringed (there are three split rings) out of the centre to the next round. I can, but its my snowflake. I'm going to tat the snowflake again, probably in a different colour. Speaking of colour, the thread I used is Lizbeth size 20 in colour #605 Silver. Its not a metallic silver, though it would be totally cool if Lizbeth made a metallic thread. A guy can dream. I would think that this thread (and its gold counterpart, which I also have) would look awesome when used with a metallic filament thread. I'll have to try it sometime. In size 20 thread, the snowflake is about 3 inches from point to point. This will be #4 of my Third 25 Motif Challenge.

That's all for now. My next post probably won't be tatting related. I have been working on a new chainmaille product line. I won't give any details, except that its not jewelry. I want to get the pages for Etsy made first before posting here. I might be the first person to think of this idea. Till next time.

Happy Halloween!!!!!!!!!!!!

I figured I should do a quick post. As the title says:

Happy Halloween!!!!!!!!!

It still is Halloween (here anyways). To be honest with you, I really don't like Halloween. I know I can almost hear the screams of horror from those of you who like the holiday. I guess I outgrew the holiday many years ago. Until today.


My workplace encouraged those of us who had to work today to dress up. And, there was going to be a contest. After some thought I did dress up.

Subtle, isn't it? Dressing up made the day quite enjoyable. In case you're wondering, I made the tail and the horns. The horns were made using polymer clay (Fimo), and attached to my head with a black cord. A lot of people (customers and co-workers alike) wondered how the horns were attached. Unless you stood fairly close to me, you couldn't see the cord. The costume turned out better than I though, especially since I altered my original idea. I had wanted to get a red jacket to wear, with the horns growing out of a hat. But the used clothing store I visited didn't have red jackets or suitable hats, so a black jacket was chosen and I opted to not wear a hat. And oddly, a lot of people (mostly co-workers) commented how the costume was very appropriate. I just can't figure out why.

That's all for today. I do have some tatting to show, but its not Halloween related, so I'll make another post about it soon. Later.

Magic Moments & Jasmine

I'm still here. And I have been tatting. Mostly. An early October snow brought on a bout of crochet; but that has mostly disappeared, along with the snow. For now. In case you're wondering, I started another sweater from the Crochet Dude's book, using an Alpaca/Acrylic blend bulky yarn that I have been hoarding all summer.

Onwards to the tatting. I have a number of projects in progress but I'm only going to show one right now. I made my mom a bunch of earrings for her birthday, but I'll make a separate post for them. Another project is a bookmark exchange, but I obviously can't show that yet. So I'll move on to the snowflake.

As the title suggests, I tatted another of Jon's Magic Moments snowflakes. Here it is:

Ain't it perdy? What was that? No, this isn't the same one I made before. See for yourself:

See? The new one is on the left, and the one I made before is on the right. I guess I should explain. The new snowflake (the one on the left) was made using Lizbeth size 40 thread while the one on the right was made with size 20 Lizbeth. Both were made using colour #116 Christmas Delight. I think I mentioned it before, but I'll say it again: I love this colourway! I guess its because I really like the traditional Christmas colours and that brings thoughts of a traditional Christmas. But its too early (in my mind anyways) to go into too much detail about Christmas right now (I'll save my rant of Christmas vs. Holiday for another time). Anyway, I noticed that Jon has another new snowflake pattern on her pattern blog and I want to make that one as well.

Finally, the title also suggests something about Jasmine. I am, of course, referring to the plant. About a month ago, I bought a Jasmine plant while I was at the Home Depot. The plant I bought wasn't in flower, though it did have a lot of dried out buds attached to the plant. Here is a photo of the plant a few days ago:

You can see quite a few developing buds on the plant. And several buds opened as well, see here:

As you might imagine, the fragrance is absolutely magnificent. I can't describe it. And it's strong; a single flower fills an entire room with its perfume. Since the plant was simply labeled 'Jasmine', I did some research on a proper ID for the plant. From what I can find out (and this is based mainly on the flowers), I believe this particular Jasmine is Jasminum sambac 'Maid of Orleans'. But, if I'm wrong about the ID, the plant's fragrance is still heavenly.

That's all for now. Stay tuned for the "Earring Post", coming soon. Later.

The Tatting Book Post - Finally

First of all, I would like to thank everyone who sent their condolences and prayers. My Grandma was very proud of my tatting, and was easily my second biggest fan. She will be missed. I have made her many tatted items as well as an equal (or even greater) amount of crocheted items. Now that she's gone, I really want to get at least some of the larger items (particularly the tatting) back. Hopefully that doesn't make me insensitive or anything, but as far as I'm concerned they wouldn't mean anything to anyone else. I will have to design something in her memory. Since its getting colder out now, perhaps a snowflake would be ideal.

As I mentioned earlier, I purchased some new tatting books recently. The first book is one that I know some of you have already. Its one of Jon Yusoff's books.

Jon even included a cute little tatted snowflake:


There are lots of really pretty snowflakes in this book. So you will be seeing plenty of snowflakes in the coming weeks. Thank you Jon for writing this book.

My next two new books were purchased together. I found them on eBay. The first one is another book some of you may have.

I know. I mainly shuttle tat, but I thought it would be nice to have this book as a reference. I have done some needle tatting, but I wanted a good offline reference. This is the book I wanted in the auction, and in case you wondered, the cost of the two books plus shipping was cheaper than the above book is when new (and without shipping). I am quite pleased with this purchase.

The final book is one that I haven't heard of before.

This is basically a book of older tatting books. It contains such books as Priscilla Tatting Book No. 1, plus four other books. There are a number of cool designs I'll have to try sometime.

I haven't done much tatting since the funeral, but its more of a lack of time rather than a lack of desire. I had purchased some Lizbeth size 40 thread that I am currently using in several projects. Once they are done I'll show you.

One more thing before I go. You may remember the Tillandsia that I blogged about back in June. If not here is a refresher:

Well, a few weeks after this picture was taken, the plant turned completely green again and then went back to doing nothing. Or so I thought. (Insert dramatic music here.) I usually just spray the plant with water while misting the other plants and think nothing of it. A couple days ago, I thought the plant could use a good soaking so I went ahead and did so. Here is what I saw when I did:


I am so proud of the plant. I was kinda hoping for more than one offset, but one will do. I have several other bromeliads, enough to do a whole post on them. Heck, I can even make it tatting related. Hmmmm (stroking beard), that's not a bad idea. Look for that in the near future; though I'll have to get my butt in gear in order for that to work. That's all I have right now. Later.

No Tatting Post This Week

Well, at least not for the next several days. Due to a death in the family, I will be away until Wednesday sometime. My paternal Grandmother lost her battle to cancer on Friday. I may try to do some tatting while I am away. Grandma would have wanted me too; she was very supportive of my tatting, and proudly shared this fact to her friends.

Later.