Tatted Birdcage, Skate Pin, and Some Chainmaille

I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays. I did. It was nice to get away from work for a several days and spend them with family. I had a good trip both ways in case you are wondering. I love my newish truck (though I could use a remote starter for these cold winter days). Anyway, I figured I should make a quick post before 2010 ends.

I didn't get much tatting done. But I did manage to tat this:

This is Mary Konior's Birdcage motif, from her book Tatting in Lace. I know, my post title is a bit misleading. I'm sure you were expecting something else. The motif was tatted with Lizbeth size 20 thread in colour number 109 Wild Flower. It's about 2 1/4 inches across. For the record, I don't know how often I will use this thread-I find it very girly. Sorry. Anyway, I found this motif very interesting and I don't honestly remember seeing it tatted before. My apologies if you have tatted and showed it off. I think the thing I like about it most is how the bare threads in the centre, from the four separate motifs, appear to be part of the design. My rendition doesn't count-the length and position of the thread, not to mention how my threads passed from from to back somehow (???). I did however make it in one round thanks to two split rings. I had to mentally shift the pattern around since my starting points were different than Mary's. I like the motif and am currently tatting another one. This time, I am using two solid colours (one for rings and one for chains: I believe numerous SLTs will be needed). And I am doing the centre using many split rings to eliminate the bare threads. I am thinking maybe I could add the bare threads after if I wanted-we'll see.

I also finished Sharon's Skate pin that I showed a few posts ago. Here is the finished pin:

I gave the finished pin to my mom as part of her Christmas gift. I think she liked it. Not much else to say that hasn't been said before, so, moving on.

Since I haven't done it for a while, I thought I'd show some chainmaille I'm working on/finished. The first one may be a bit late for the season but, meh, I'm going to show it anyway.

It's a snowflake! I'm sure you could have figured it out. It is made out of Bright Aluminum using a weave called Japanese 2 in 12. Like the European 4 in 1 (and others) I have showed, this weave was used in armour for the Japanese. It leads itself well to jewelry. The pendant above is ready to be listed, as soon as I can find the time, probably over the weekend. I still need to figure out a price for it. I should be able to make the pendant out of Stainless Steel as well. It's about 1 3/8 inches across, and I can make a larger version as well. That one would be about 2 1/2 inches across.

The next piece is one I started a while ago. I must have got bored or busy, not sure which.

This is about half of a bracelet called Hodo or Sidewalk (Hodo apparently is Japanese for sidewalk). This is also a variation of Japanese 2 in 12. This one is made using Stainless Steel. And I should be able to make it in Bright Aluminum too. Hopefully I will finish this one so it too can be listed. And it also needs to be priced out. A quick shop note (shameless self promotion). I will be ending free shipping probably Saturday sometime. So, um, feel free to stop by. And don't forget about the coupon code on my right sidebar. Shameless self promotion over.

That's about it for now. I hope to post again on January 1st, not promises. I'll leave you with a quick photo of the Monster (don't let her cuteness fool you):

Why a monster you say? Apparently balls of thread with tatting attached are fun to play with. I didn't think so. Really? You try winding a ball of thread that's been unwound all over the house. It's a good thing tatting doesn't unravel. Next trip on, I will be bringing the "Lizbeth Containment Unit", LCU for short:

Till next time.

Merry Christmas!

Merry

Christmas

 To One and All!

I hope everyone is having a very good Christmas this year. See you next week. This is a recording.

The poinsettias pictured are from last year. The one I bought this year decided it doesn't like me. It's been shedding since I got it.

Another Snowflake, Sharon's Skates and an Angel

I know. I've been kinda lacking in the posting department. I guess I've been busy. I am also going away Friday, so I wanted to post before leaving. I should be back next Monday. I have had a few more orders since the last time I posted which I have been working on. I still haven't listed the coloured Bicubix Blocks earrings, though I'll try tonight. I'm not sure if I'll keep the shop open while I'm gone, though I don't expect many (if any) orders this weekend.

Here is probably the last Angels in the Snow Snowflake for this year:

This one is tatted with one strand of DMC Cordonnet size 50 thread and one strand of Güttermann metallic filament thread in colour #143. I found this snowflake took forever to tat. I have the pattern memorized, and it's not difficult. The metallic filament broke a few times. I had to carefully retro-tat several times. I also had to do some cutting and retatting. But I finally got it done. I do like the way this one looks like. It has that hint of blue that snow sometimes has, though the ice crystals are clear.

I'm sure you've seen Sharon's skate pattern by now. Well, here is my tatted version:

I haven't made it into a pin yet. I still have to do that. This is going to be part of my mom's Christmas present this year. I'll have to get photos of the rest of it. I making the pin pretty much the same way Sharon did, except for the jingle bells. I'll have to lace them up yet, then assemble the whole thing. I made the holly leaves a little larger by using 3 ds instead of 2. Quite an interesting little pattern. I'll try to get a photo of the completed pin. I'll try anyway.

You may remember the crocheted dress I showed a few weeks ago.  A few of you easily guessed what I am making.

It is a clothespin angel. This is the only one I have made. Yeah, I know. I said I wanted to make five or six, but that never happened. Maybe another time.

That's about it for now. I don't know how many of you were aware, but there was a lunar eclipse last night. I took a quick photo before going to bed.

It's not the best photo, but it does show the beginning of the eclipse. If I didn't have to work today, I would have stayed up to see totality, which would have occurred shortly after 3 am (CST). It's actually kinda funny I didn't stay up to see the total eclipse. Some of you may be aware that Jane listed a number of shuttles on her Etsy shop. I actually set an alarm for 3 am (CST, of course) to be able to purchase a Holly wood Pop-a-Bobbin shuttle. Of course, I stayed in bed while purchasing the shuttle, and I didn't have to go outside in the -20 degrees C (-4 F) cold. I wonder if NATA (Nuts About Tatting Association) is still running. Getting up in the middle of the night to purchase tatting supplies must qualify. Anyone else see the eclipse?

That's it for now. I probably won't be posting until next week sometime. Till next time.

Quick Update

I figured I should do a small update. I made it to and from my parents house safely. I picked up my new(ish) truck, which is a 2006 GMC Sierra. It is similar to the Silverado that I used to have, which is nice 'cause I really liked that truck. On the tatting front, I still haven't done much. Hopefully I will have a few things to show in a few days. I've had a few sales through Etsy this week, so I've been busy remaking the sold items. I also hope to make a pendant using the Bicubix Blocks as well.  I still need to photograph the earrings I showed you last week. I forgot to mention last week as well, that my supplier has also started anodizing their gold coloured aluminum rings with their new process which makes them nice and shiny like brass or gold. Which is nice because you get the rich gold colour without the problem of turning green like with brass. Anyway, I have to get ready for bed. I'll leave you with a photo of my mom's new kitten, Grace. Till next time.

I Got Nothin'

Pretty much, anyway. I'm still working on the Angels In The Snow snowflake that I started before the last post. I had a couple of sales last weekend, and worked at remaking the items that sold. I ended up playing with the Bicubix Blocks earrings, seen below:

I played around with using some then all coloured rings, with some very pretty results. Though due to my work schedule, I can't get some decent photos (I prefer to photograph my items outside, temperatures permitting). I did get a few indoor photos, but they don't do the earrings justice.

They look waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better in person. The purple rings in the bottom pair are much darker. The blue rings in the top photo are absolutely gorgeous. See here (hopefully). And that still doesn't do them justice. My supplier started using a new anodizing technique to make these, and other ring colours. Unfortunately, it will be at least another week before I can get these listed, but we'll see.

On the truck front, my dad found me a new(ish) truck. It's a 2006 GMC something or other. He won't tell me exactly what it is. I will be going back to their place Saturday after work. I have to admit, I'm not really looking forward to the trip. I'll be careful. Promise. Till next time.

Another Angels In The Snow Snowflake. Plus Some Crochet

I have to admit, I haven't accomplished much tatting wise this week. Probably because I've been dealing with truck problems since last Wednesday. That would be the truck I'm currently driving. The one I rolled (still feels like a dream here, though I'm not dreaming about the accident anymore), has been declared a write off, though my dad needs/wants to show some documentation to see if he can increase the amount we can get back. We are currently looking into our options for a replacement truck for me- in all honesty, I've outgrown this truck. It's a Chevrolet S10, if you are familiar with this truck, you may be able to see why. If you haven't, the roof of the truck comes up to my chest; I'm 5' 8". I've seen cars that were bigger-OK, that might be a bit of a stretch. Oh, and if you're wondering, a dead/dying battery was the cause of my problems. Good thing I still had a month left on the 2 year free replacement warranty- thank you Canadian Tire, though it took what seemed like forever for them to give me the replacement. Anyway, I have a bit of tatting and crochet to show you. Enjoy!

As I mentioned during my last post,  I was working on another of Miranda's Angles in The Snow snowflake.

For this snowflake, I used one strand of DMC Cordonnet size 50 thread and one strand of Güttermann metallic filament thread in colour #36. I love using this combination of threads, using different colours of Güttermann thread. Though, the two threads equal about a size 20-30 thread. It measures 3 3/8 inches in diameter verses the 3 1/8 inches in diameter that the snowflakes in size 40 thread measure. I started another snowflake using the same threads in a different Güttermann colour. I'll show it the next time I post. I love this snowflake pattern! Thanks again Miranda.

Finally, I did manage a little bit of crochet this week. Here it is:

Hmmmmm. I wonder what it'll be. I had hoped to have photographed the dress before I crocheted the wings, but I didn't. This was among some stuff of my late grandmother's. I was one of the few that could and probably would make this kit. Yes, it is part of a kit, and it should make 12 of these (there are 5 different variations). I hope to make 5 or 6 of these at the very least. We'll see about the others.

That's it for now. Oh. I almost forgot. Some of you may be aware that Etsy has recently launched coupon codes for at least some shops right now. I get to try coupons so I have decided to give all of my tatting friends (and to those non-tatter followers of my blog) a coupon code for my shop. Just enter "JUSTFORTATTERS" (without the quotation marks) in the coupon field during checkout to receive 10% off everything in my shop. I'm also offering free North American shipping and reduced international shipping for the rest of the year. Just a note for anyone reading this now and those who may find this post months from now. While the coupon codes don't have expiry dates (right now, I'll update if needed) they can be deactivated by me at anytime. I'll keep it active for a while, but it won't last forever. Till next time.

Tatted Snowflakes, Mostly

First of all, I want to thank all of you who commented on my last post. Your comments were just what I needed to hear. And for those of you who mentioned it, don't worry. If I get up one morning in the next few weeks and something doesn't feel right, I will definitely go see a doctor. Now I just have to wait to see what will happen to the truck. I hope its fixable, but I'm not expecting it. But enough of this. I've got some tatting to show!

The first is three sets of earrings I was working on before going away.

These were made using Yarnplayer's Carnival Earring pattern, found here. I used Lizbeth size 20 thread in Red Burst #147, Black #604, and Silver #605, coordinating size 11 seed beads, and natural coloured glass pearls. I have been toying with the idea of purchasing some other colours of glass pearls.

Next, I finished the unfinished Ring A Ring O' Roses snowflake from an earlier post. Here it is:

I was able to get more thread from Umintsuru to complete this snowflake. In case you forgot, the snowflake was made using Coron size 40 variegated blues. I like the way this snowflake came out. Though it's still boring to tat.

The next two snowflakes were tatted using a fairly recent pattern. Miranda should recognize it.

It is her Angels In The Snow snowflake that she is offering for sale with the proceeds going to a charity. I love that idea, and was more than happy to purchase the pattern. For this snowflake I used Lizbeth size 40 thread in Denim Whisper #120. I love this colourway but still don't know why there is pink in it. I love this snowflake as well, so I tatted it again this past Saturday and Sunday:

This time, I used my favourite Lizbeth colourway (for this time of year, anyway). That would be Lizbeth size 40 Christmas Delight #116. I started another snowflake this afternoon. You'll have to wait to see that one; it's not done yet.

That's about it for now. Hopefully this week will be less interesting than the last. Till next time.

What a Week....And I'm Glad It's Over

You know, I think the scientists of the world should seriously look into making teleportation a reality. I mean, traveling would be much less of a hassle. And for those of us with winters with snow and ice, we would no longer have to worry about, oh I don't know, say hitting said ice and ultimately rolling our trucks. Yeah. You heard me right, unfortunately. It happened when I was coming back to the city on Tuesday. I'm fine physically, hardly a scratch on me. Mentally, I'm a wreck. Still in disbelief, numb (still mentally), upset, mad, a little scared, dreaming of the accident at night, I could go on. I'm currently playing phone tag with our insurance company (its a government agency, and they don't work weekends, apparently), and hoping this will be behind me soon. I keep wishing that this is some horrible dream and anytime now I'll wake up. Everyday that passes makes me think that's not going to happen.

I've been wanting to post for a few days now, and I have been unsure if I should even mention this whole thing. I'm hoping it will help. In the mean time, I managed to get caught up on reading blogs. I haven't felt like commenting, but I did read many of your blogs.  I finally sat down last night and picked up my tatting shuttles for the first time since Monday (I packed Tuesday morning, so no tatting before leaving). I finished the motif in question this afternoon. I'll post again in a day or two to show what I tatted while away, and what I have done since. Till next time.

This Weekend For Sure . . .

This weekend, I will finally get away. I had planned on going away last week, but a phone call early Sunday morning ruined my plans. Work called and I was asked to come in later in the afternoon (I couldn't say no, I already agreed to work), and my shift ended near midnight. I wouldn't be able to leave until morning, and that wasn't enough time for me. Since my plans were ruined already, I agreed to work a shift on Monday as well. I have a three day weekend this weekend. I will be going away. And a lot of tatting will be done. Hopefully.

Till next time.

Ripley The Ghost Pattern

I finally got the pattern done for Ripley the Ghost. The test tatters were very helpful, and they did find a few mistakes in the pattern. However, Marty not only tested the pattern, but found a better way of tatting him without cutting and tying between rounds. Her way also eliminates a rather tricky join and two alligator joins. Other than the six split rings, the pattern isn't as difficult as I initially thought. The link to download the pattern is on the left top sidebar of my blog in the "My Patterns" section. Hopefully there are no errors. I tatted it several times this evening after reworking it according to Marty's improvements. Let me know if you find any errors, and if you need some help feel free to email me. My email address is jwh4000ATgmailDOTcom. Remove the AT and the DOT and replace with the appropriate symbols. Enjoy!

That's all for now. If all goes well, I should be going away for a few days starting tomorrow after work. I hope to get lots of tatting done. I'll try to post when I get back. And before I forget, thanks to all of you who commented on my last post about the contacts. I really appreciate it. I am getting faster at putting them in, and they don't feel that bad now. Though I am pretty sure that I put them in inside out the first few days. My lenses are a soft type of lens, so it's pretty easy to do-especially if you can't see what you are doing without glasses on. I did buy a new pair of glasses though (as an employee, I get 50% off everything in Optical, well almost everything) since I can only wear the contacts for 12 hour maximum. Though 8-10 hours has been my limit right now.They have to come out when I get home from work.

Till next time.

Another Week Gone, Plus a Pretty Flower Photo

I think the title pretty much sums it up. I haven't really accomplished much over the past week. I did get my ghost pattern written up and diagrammed. It is in the hands of my test tatters (hopefully, there seems to be a few people who don't get my emails). I should have the pattern posted in a few days if there are no major errors, and the pattern is understandable. I mean, I don't consider the pattern a "beginner" pattern by no means, but if I am the only one who can tat it successfully, something may be wrong with my pattern writing/diagramming skills. I also finished the vest I started several months ago. Well, technically it is finished. I'm not 100% happy with the final result. It seems a bit "boxy". I might have made it a size too big, but I'll have to see if I can round off the arm holes, or sleeves, or something. I'll show a photo once complete.

Besides that, I haven't done much else. I kinda got into a bad mood Tuesday. It was like I woke up on the wrong side of the bed, and then stayed that way for several days. Friday seemed a bit better. After work I went to our new Optical Centre (we got it when we did the major renovations earlier in the year- and no I don't work a Wal*Mart if anyone is wondering) to pick up and learn how to put in my new contact lenses. I've never had contacts before and have wanted to try them for a while. I finally got around to it recently, and got a trial pair to give them a go. I did have some trouble getting them in Friday, but did manage it Saturday after work, and (so far) every day since. It takes me a while to get them in, but I do like them so far. Obviously I am still getting used to them. Any other tatters out there with contacts? How do you like them?

Finally, I'm going to show you a photo of a recent plant acquisition. It is a Gardenia:

From what I've read, I may regret buying this plant, but it was only $10 (it's in a four inch pot). It came with one bud on it, and surprisingly it didn't drop the bud after I brought it home. Hopefully I can keep it alive, at least until spring so I can put it outside. If it doesn't die, I'll perhaps provide an update on it.

That's it for now. I wasn't able to go away as I had planned. So I plan on going away this coming weekend. I will be posting the pattern for Ripley sometime this week, so watch for that. I think I'm going to try to get some tatting done, and try not to look out the windows-it's snowing. Till next time.

New Design in The Works

Let me say one thing before I begin. I better not get sick again till, well, for awhile anyway. I was feeling better last Sunday. However I work up early (and I mean early) Monday morning with one heck of a sore back. I guess I must have done something to it while at work the previous week. So I haven't done much until a few days ago. My back is feeling better, its a little stiff right now. Anyway, I started work on a new tatted design.

But first, I wanted to provide a little information about the conductive thread I used last week. The thread is in fact thread. Specifically, it is silver plated nylon thread (apparently; I don't know how you plate nylon). It is about the same weight as sewing thread, maybe about a size 100. I used two threads together to tat the sample in the video. I also used four strands as a test, but I haven't compared it to see what size it is yet. Being a thread, it tatted quite well, not stiff like wire. More info can be found here. This project will probably be put on the back burner for a while;  I've got Hallowe'en and then Christmas tatting to start thinking about. This brings me to my newest design.

With Hallowe'en just around the corner, I figured I'd better get my next design finished. Without any further ado, here is (tentatively) Ripley the Ghost:

I say tentatively since I may change his name in the final draft. He began as a variant of my Sine Wave bookmark. However, I didn't like how the Sine Wave pattern worked with Ripley-so I really can't call him Sine Wave Ghost. I'm almost happy with how the design has turned out. I'm not happy with his ectoplasmic trail (not sure what else to call it; its the bottom thingy). I'll be refining the pattern over the next day or two. Then I have to write out the pattern. A few people volunteered to test tat my pattern on inTatters, so I should take them up on the offer, if they still want to. With any luck I'll have the pattern available for download early next week.

That's it for now. I plan on going to my parents house this weekend. So I probably won't post until I get back. Till next time.

Windmills Doily Progress and Special Thread

I had hoped to post earlier, but obviously that didn't happen. I ended up with a cold this week, and didn't feel like doing anything. I hardly touched my tatting this week. And I spent part of today working on a couple of bracelets that sold this weekend. Which is nice; sales have slowed right down lately. Anyway, I'll make this a short post. I'm still feeling kinda sick, and want to take it easy tonight.

This is the doily as of today. I am working on the seventh motif right now. Or rather, I've been working on the seventh motif for most of the past week. As you can see, the doily has become oval in shape (if you ignore the topmost motif). This is the same way I'll make the doily oval after this round in complete. Since I haven't received my order of thread yet, I'll have to move on to something else once I've finished the ball of thread. I probably won't show the doily again until the round in complete, but we'll see.
Speaking of moving on to something else, I want to mention my special thread. Actually, I'm not going to say much about it at all. Instead here is a video (assuming it works) showing what is special about the thread. By the way, this is actually tatted, no foolin':


Pretty cool, right? This is going to be a work in progress. I was playing with the thread. Due to the nature of the thread, I'll have to carefully plan out a motif to use the thread properly, and will have to use some cotton (or some other thread) to isolate different sections. And I'll need more LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes - a special kind of diode that emits light when electricity flows through it).

Before I go, I want to mention something. I was playing around with Blogger's settings, and discovered that I have the new editor after all. My blog was set to use the old one. So anyone who is using the new editor and wants to go back, check the Settings tab of your blog (it's visible in the new post and list of posts screens, and probably elsewhere) and see if you have an option to switch between the two editors. I've got my blog set to use the new editor so I can see what it's like.

That's it for now. Hopefully I'll get something accomplished this week. Before I go, I want to wish all my fellow Canadians a Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow. Due to my cold, I have opted to stay in the city until next weekend or the weekend after to go see family. Till next time.

Something Different

Sorry for the delay in posting. I haven't been feeling well all week. Then I haven't felt like tatting for the last few days. I am still tatting Windmills motifs, and should finish the ball of thread over the next few days, if I get back to tatting. According to my estimates, I should get at least seven, and possibly eight, motifs per ball of thread, so I ordered enough DMC Cordonnet thread to complete the doily. I'll post an update on the doily once I have finished the ball of thread. On to the non-tatting portion of the blog post.

Since I have nothing new tatting-wise to show, I thought I'd show you some of the paintings I have done. All of these are from 9-11 years ago when I was in Grades 10, 11, and 12.

The first three are from the "Art History" portion of my high school art classes. For Art History, we had to reproduce a famous artist's painting from a photo in a book, then write a paper about the artist and the painting. All paintings pictured were painted with acrylic paint on a heavy weight paper.

This painting was done when I was in Grade 10. The original was done by Paul Cezanne. I don't remember what the name of the painting is. Couldn't find it through Google Images either.

This painting was also originally done by Paul Cezanne. I don't remember the name of this one either. Found a similar painting through Google, but there was more pictured than what I painted. Not sure if it is the same painting. Painted during my Grade 11 art class.

This painting was originally done by Vincent van Gogh. The painting is called The Trinquetaille Bridge. I painted this one when I was in Grade 12. Personally, I think this painting is the best one out of the three.

Here is a painting I did in Grade 11, I believe:

I painted this from a photo I found in a magazine. Unfortunately, I didn't write down where the photo was taken. I didn't do too bad of a job on this one, though my teacher felt the water could have been done differently. I love this painting.

Finally, another painting from a photo:

The photo I used was from a family vacation to Banff, Alberta or somewhere near it (I was pretty young at the time). In some weird coincidence, my sister used the same photo for a painting in her art class well; I didn't realize it until after I brought my painting home. And, understandably, her painting has several noticeable differences to mine. I don't have a photo, so you'll have to take my word on it.

I hope you have enjoyed this brief view of a different artistic talent of mine. My next post should be tatting related. I ordered some "special" thread to maybe outdo Jane. Think tatting with invisible thread is crazy? I have something more "electric" in mind. Till next time.

The Waiting .........

The waiting is killing me. I still haven't met with anyone yet. However, both people I'm supposed to meet with have been away for the last three day. So, hopefully next week. Thanks for all the kind words, by the way. They definitely help.

Anyway I'm still tatting Windmills motifs for my doily. I have two days off now, so I hope to keep working on the doily. I want to see how many motifs I can make with a ball of thread. I need to buy more thread (I think I said that back in March, but I recently found another ball of thread). I don't want to buy too much of the thread. I know some of you will disagree, but I far prefer Lizbeth to DMC Cordonnet now. I hope to switch all my white thread to Lizbeth as soon as all the DMC stuff is gone. Well, the sizes that Lizbeth comes in. Depending on how far I get, I may post a progress picture sometime next week.

Before I go, I've been noticing a lot of people mentioning a new editor in Blogger. What new editor? The one I have looks exactly the same as the one I had when I first started my blog. I have noticed that lately it starts in "Edit HTML" but it's easy to switch back to "Compose". Is it something they are still rolling out?

That's it for now. Not sure when I'll post again; I am aiming for Tuesday or Wednesday, but anything can happen to delay posting. Till next time.

Not Much Goin' On

Really. I haven't felt like doing much of anything lately. I guess I've been lost in thought since my last post. Unfortunately, it's work related again. Though, this time it's different. An opportunity within my department has become available. I spent the weekend thinking about whether or not I wanted to apply for it. I did apply for the position yesterday. Now, I'm a nervous wreck waiting to meet with Human Resources and a manager. So, I haven't managed to tat much. Though I did get a little done.

I started working on the third round of my Windmills doily, see here. I made one motif Sunday and Monday evening. I started a second one yesterday. With any luck, I'll have the second one done tonight. I'll then have only 16 more to go. Actually, more than 16. I have decided (time allowing, of course) to expand the doily into an oval once the third round is complete. I'm not sure how many motifs will be needed, and quite honestly, I don't want to think about it right now; I've got enough on my mind right now. Before I go, here's a tatting action shot:

This is the second Windmills motif that I was working on earlier this evening.

That's it for now. We'll see if I get anything else done. I'll keep you updated on the work thing, too, if anyone is interested. Till next time.

Ring A Ring O' Roses

I was hoping to post yesterday, but I ended up having freezer issues last night. This cut into my tatting time, and subsequent motif blocking time. I was really looking forward to the first Tatting Beer Tuesday. I did have a Guinness while tatting yesterday evening. Maybe next week. Anyway, here is what I had hoped to show you last night.

I'm sure by now you have seen Fox's two renditions of Mary Konior's Ring A Ring O' Roses snowflake, from Tatting With Visual Patterns. Check out her blog if you haven't. I was inspired to try the snowflake again. I started tatting one using some thread I got from the Thread Exchange. Here it is, in all its glory:

Kinda. Apparently, this snowflake require more than 12 yards/metres of thread. The thread is Coron size 40, #156-7B, from Umintsuru. This is a really nice thread to tat with. I too wonder if there is a North American supplier of the thread. Probably not, since Google wasn't much help. Anyway, I decided to leave the snowflake unfinished until I am able to get more to finish it. Not satisfied with leaving the snowflake as a UFO, I started again with some good ol' Lizbeth. Here is the result:

This is Lizbeth 20, colour # 147 Red Burst. It may just be me, but I like how the variegated threads work with this pattern. I have to admit, I didn't find the pattern to be particularly difficult to tat. It just takes a while. There are really no fancy techniques. The difficult looking 'triple ring' is a single ring with two chains surrounding them. There are a lot of thrown off rings, but they aren't difficult either. While its not mentioned in the pattern, I found it necessary to switch shuttles regularly to get the thread in the proper position. This isn't a problem, it just slows the tatting process down. It is still a nice snowflake, and one I'd definitely tat again.

That's it for now. I picked up my ring order Monday and have worked on a few projects. My Etsy Showcase on Monday wasn't as successful as I'd hoped, but the increased exposure may help. A number of items got favorited, which could become sales later on. I'm going to leave the free shipping active until the end of the week. Till next time.

Tatted Seahorse

Just a quick post here. I figured that since I managed to tat something, I might as well show it instead of waiting till later.

When I first saw the pattern for the motif I am going to show you, I fell in love with it right away.

It's a really cool pattern, and was pretty easy to tat. And no ends to hide! They all end up as part of the fringe on the back. The pattern is by Susan Cuss and can be found here. I used Lizbeth size 20 thread in colour #688 Dark Seagreen. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with him. He wants to go into a coaster. I said he won't fit. He insists he's pregnant. I don't think that's the problem. He retorted back that I shouldn't talk. What I meant was he's too long, but before I could tell him, he ran off with the mermaid, who herself still isn't sure she wants to go in a coaster yet. Anyhow, I plan on tatting another seahorse again soon. In a smaller thread size. So it's shorter. Nothing else!

That's it for now. My order of jump rings isn't ready to be picked up yet, so it'll be next week before I get them. So I will try to get a bunch of tatting done this weekend. And if anyone's interested (and in case I don't post Sunday), I will be in Etsy's Jewelry showcase starting midnight Monday Sept. 13, and running all day until 11:59 PM Monday. I will probably offer free shipping (Canada, US, & reduced International) again, probably Sunday, Monday and maybe Tuesday. Till next time.