Sine Wave Bookmark Pattern

I was hoping to post this yesterday, but I've had a rough couple three days at work. Early Monday morning my department (and a couple related departments) started doing inventory (which I forgot about). Even though we had a third party company come in to do the actual counting, we have to help. Specifically, I had to help. For the lack of a better term, I had to babysit three inventory guys all three days. It wasn't hard work, just very, very boring. I mean, essentially, all I did was bring pallets of stock down from storage racking, moved pallets around, went through pallets with the inventory people, made sure they counted everything, and acted as a go-between between them and either my supervisor (who wasn't there on Wednesday) or a manager/assistant manager. So, even though I didn't feel like I did much, I was exhausted. Thus the delay.

I was hoping to have a few photos of my newest interest, but it will have to wait another couple of days. So I guess I will go on to the posting of the pattern for my Sine Wave Bookmark. So, without any further delay, you can find the pattern here. As I mentioned in the pattern, feel free to tat many bookmarks as you like for gifts, etc. However, I ask that you do not sell the bookmark, or pattern for that matter, for profit without asking permission. As I mentioned earlier, there is no definite front or back side. If you practice frontside/backside tatting, you will have to modify the stitch order yourself. I don't practice fs/bs tatting so I'm not going to write my patterns as such. Sorry, but I assume if you practice fs/bs tatting, you probably can modify the patterns yourself. I hope you understand. If you have any problems with the pattern, feel free to contact me at jwh4000ATgmailDOTcom. Remove the AT and the DOT and replace with the appropriate symbols. And if you do tat the bookmark, I'd love to see it (this isn't a requirement).

That's all for now. Hopefully I'll post again in a few days. That is if I don't melt first. It's been pretty hot here for the last several days (I'm sure I won't get any sympathy from anyone), though on the plus side, it hasn't rained for a few days as well. Till next time.

Bookmark Update, and What Else I'm Working On

First of all, sorry. I had hoped to have the bookmark pattern all ready to go for today, but it isn't. I had put the bookmark aside for a few days and planned on getting back to it. But my few days turned into a whole week. I decided to fully tat the bookmark, following my written instructions, so I could include a photo of it in said instructions. Apparently, I can't follow my own instructions, and on top of that I have a couple errors in the instructions (that I didn't notice until I tatted them), and now I have to cut out a small section and retat it. I can't include a photo with an error in it. I do have a diagram almost done. It needs a little tweaking, and it's not as good as some out there, but I think it will do. I hope to have the pattern posted by Wednesday. I have opted to use the free Keep & Share service to host a PDF file.

I don't have much else tatting related. It was suggested in the comments that some of my modifications of the bookmark ends could make some interesting motifs themselves. I plan on seeing what I can come up with, since I can definitely see the shapes that were suggested. I have received some more thread, thanks to the Thread Exchange. You really need to try it, if you haven't already. Here is a quick photo:

I don't know if you can read the labels on the cards, but there is some Perlovka Perle cotton, Anchor crochet cotton size 40, some Lizbeth in size 40 (turquoise) and 20 (green and white variegate) and some Coron size 40 in two different blue variegates. Thanks ladies! I'll have fun with these. I'm actually using the turquoise Lizbeth right now. I'll have to get a ball (or two) of the colour.

Finally, I'm going to show you a teaser of what I'm working on right now. It's something I've been wanting to try for a while, but keep putting it off. Here's a mosaic of the materials I require to make them:

And here is a photo showing the next step, taking one of the Styrofoam balls (wrapped in fine yarn, not shown) and finally wrapping it in sewing thread:


Any ideas? Don't worry if you don't know what I'm making. I'll reveal all later. I am hoping to spend this afternoon (which is probably over by the time this posts) working on the black ball. I hope it looks like the one pictured in the book I'm using.

That's all for know. Keep watching my blog for the bookmark pattern. Hopefully I will be motivated to start getting my other designs (which are adding up) written up, diagrammed and shared. Till next time.

New Bookmark Design, Continued

I've pretty much worked on nothing else but my new bookmark design since the last post. It does seem like it may be a new design, since no one has said otherwise. I have the pattern written out, but it will have to wait a little longer before I post it. I want to include a nice diagram as well; it can be confusing to work at times. And again, please let me know if you have seen something like this before.

Since my last post I worked on refining the pattern, taking some of the awesome suggestions that were made in the comments. Here are the results of three different refinements:
I personally like the one on the left, so I may make that one into a variation of the pattern. I don't like the other two, but it may be just me. Made using Lizbeth size 20 thread in #684.

I did try the option to "continue the wave" as suggested in the comments. Here is my first attempt:

As you can probably tell, I modified the right side a little after tatting the left. I like the right side better. The bookmark still pinches a bit at the ends, so I still need to correct that. Maybe. As you can see, I opted to make a "stubby" version of the bookmark with this attempt. I didn't want to waste more thread than necessary, and it was faster to tat. I also added a tassel (another excellent suggestion) to this one. I like the way it looks. Made using Lizbeth size 20 thread in #611.

Finally, I did a couple more refinements of the stitch counts of the ends. Here is the result of these modifications:
I'm not sure you can tell but the two chains on the right end are a couple stitches longer than those on the left side. I was experimenting. So what do you think? I like it this way but I want other opinions. Made using Flora 20 in #221. Oh, I know she hasn't mentioned it on her blog, but Martha took a stab at redesigning the ends of the bookmark as well. Her result was very similar to my own. I was impressed how we each came up with nearly the same modifications. I hope she doesn't mind that I mentioned this. Oh, before I forget, doesn't this stubby bookmark look like it could make a fantastic rectangular motif to make a doily or tablecloth? I may need to pursue that idea too.

That's it for now. With any luck, I will have the pattern available very soon. I'm still not sure exactly how I will share the pattern. I know many tatters have shared patterns on their blogs, but I don't know if that is how I will. I like the option of an easy to print PDF file, but I would need a place to host it. Any suggestions? Till next time.

New Bookmark Design

Well, I finished tatting my bookmark last night. I haven't worked on anything else, so this will a short post. So without any further delay, I present, The Sine Wave Bookmark!

It's nothing special, but I like it. Kinda. I still don't like how I made the top and bottom of the bookmark. I tried two different ways to do these. I prefer the clover on the left, but it needs some work. I used Lizbeth size 40 in colour #656 Dark Wedgewood. Now, and I may regret this, but I want your honest opinions of my bookmark. I also want to know if anyone has seen anything like this. I know I haven't seen anything like this, but maybe someone else has. Oh, and if you are wondering where the name of the bookmark comes from, it's because while I was tatting the sides of the bookmark, they reminded me of a Sine Wave.

That's it for now. I will be remaking the bookmark again, so I can perfect the ends. I also want to finish my crochet project, since it's almost done. We'll see if the weather cooperates. I tend not to crochet when it's really hot out. It's been rainy and cool here for the past few days. Till next time.

Catching Up, Or What I Still Haven't Done

I know, I didn't post before I left for the weekend. I think I have a good excuse; I didn't really do anything since my last post. Really. I hardly touched my crochet project. My tie is at a standstill due to thread testing that is underway-kinda. However, I think I accidentally designed a new bookmark while testing a thread. More on that soon. I have also been busy exchanging threads, thanks to Fox's Thread Exchange. If you haven't been there, I highly recommend it. I don't believe you have to be an author on the blog to swap threads (correct me if I'm wrong Fox). Just comment on a post that has the thread that you want to try, and let the person know what you have to offer. A way of contacting you is also a good idea.

Now I mentioned that I accidentally designed a new bookmark. It started late last week, before I went away for the weekend. I picked up a ball of Cebelia size 10 thread (in white) from Michaels either early in the week, or late in the previous week. I wound a couple shuttles, and began tatting. It wasn't anything special, just rings and chains. I got bored with that really quickly, and tried something different. Here is the result:

I think it looks pretty cool. Though there is a lot of switching shuttles in order to get it to work. Practitioners of frontside/backside tatting will probably be horrified to look at it. I can't say I've seen anything like this before, but could be wrong. I know, it does happen. Though, it may not matter, since I joined two strips of this together, well actually one strip joined onto itself. I experimented with a couple of ways of working the top and bottom of the bookmark-to-be. I quickly diagrammed it last night, and came up with another way to work the top and bottom that I like better. I am currently tatting a second prototype and will post about it later. I've actually done a lot of the bookmark already, so I may be able to post about it again soon.

I like tatting with the Cebelia size 10 thread, so it may be the thread I will use for my tie. But, I've been using Fox's Thread Exchange to get samples of other size 10 threads. So my choice might change. Of course, not all the thread I'm getting is size 10. Here is a couple of photos of my recent thread acquisitions:


I don't know if you can read the writing on the cards, but there is some Lizbeth size 10, Cebelia size 20, Sulky Blendables 30 wt (~ size 80-100), Omega size 30 (I've used Omega before, but I liked the colour), some silk thread (pretty fine thread), and some Flora size 10. The second photo shows an unknown Cordonnet thread. You may also notice that I wrote who I got the thread from on the card. I'm trying not to mix them up, but it may still be futile.

Finally, I will show you a photo of my newest Pop-a-Bobbin shuttle from Sally and Nick:

This one is Cocobolo Rosewood. It is much darker in real life. It's absolutely gorgeous, and well worth the wait to get. Of course, I love all my Pop-a-Bobbin shuttles. All four of them. That number could change if Nick and Sally get a hold of some more really cool woods. I wonder if there is a tree that produces a blue coloured wood ...... . A guy can dream.

That's it for now. Hopefully, I'll have the bookmark done in the next day or so. I'll share the pattern too, unless it is too similar to one already done. Please let me know if you've seen something like it before (I know, I haven't posted the full bookmark, but I still want to know). Thanks. Till next time, which I hope will be sooner rather than later.

Test Tatting for Linda, & The Return of The Naked Mermaid!!

Again, I haven't done much this past week. Besides the tatting I will show you soon, I did work on my crochet project. Until I ran out of yarn. I couldn't find the same yarn I used, but I did find a similar one from the same manufacturer. Both yarns don't have dye lots, so they match pretty well. I hope to have it done in the next few days. I hope to post again on Wednesday, since I will be going away Thursday after work, and will probably not be back until late Sunday. Onward to the tatting!

I will start with the test tatting. I'm sure many of you have seen Linda Davies' Iris that she has been working on. Well, I got to test tat it. Here are a few photos:


I forgot to take a picture of one of the petals. As you can see, I also began to put the flower together in the last photo. However, I only made one of each petal size (there are three), so I need to make the remaining petals and finish the flower. I'll try to get them done soon, maybe while I'm away. The pattern was pretty easy to tat, and that's one of the reasons I love Linda's designs. They get the job done without being over complicated. The pattern will be available in Linda's new book. I can't wait for the book to come out.

Finally, I made another naked mermaid (see pattern here, and more mermaids here). I won't keep you waiting. Here she is, in all her naked glory:

Well, maybe not. I guess I tatted a rather shy mermaid. She simply refused to have a nude photo of herself posted on the internet. I had hoped to cover her up with a couple of tatted shells. I'm sure I've seen a pattern or two somewhere, but I couldn't find them. So, I quickly drew up a pattern. I haven't tried tatting it yet. Instead of shells, I had to use a black bar on the photo. I am hoping to place here inside a coaster (that's why there are still ends present), at least as soon as I get another one. She has agreed to this. However, we still haven't come to an agreement on whether or not she will be nude inside the coaster. Thread stats: Fox should recognize the thread I used for the tail. It's some Cebelia size 20 thread I got from her in the Thread Exchange. The thread was nice to work with. Though I have used the size 30 size, which I like. I also used some Lizbeth size 20 in colour number 630 Peach. For the mermaids hair I used some Flora size 20 #205 (yellow). I did want to make the hair red, but I thought there might be a strong resemblance to a copyrighted Disney character, so I went with blond.

That's all for now. As I said I hope to post again on Wednesday, since I probably won't post until next Monday at the earliest. Till next time.