Merry Christmas!!!

Well, I obviously didn't get around to another post before Christmas. So, I guess I'll have to do an extra post when I get back. So I want to wish everyone a very

Merry Christmas!!!!

Hopefully this post works; I forgot to schedule it before I left so I'm writing it using my iPod Touch. Till next time.

Jeff

Yarnplayer's Marian Snowflake

Just a quick post; I was more productive tatting wise than I expected. I'll still probably do one more post before I leave.

I saw on Yarnplayer's blog that she had designed a new snowflake and had the pattern available in her shop. I just had to buy it. And it's actually a fairly quick tat. I made two Friday evening/Saturday morning.

Both snowflake used size 20 Lizbeth thread. The first one is in # 601 White and #116 Christmas Delight. The second snowflake used #163 Blue Ice. This is a quick and fun to tat pattern. My only problem is that my picots are a bit uneven. More obvious in the left one. I don't usually use gauges, but it probably would be a good idea for this pattern. I might give them away, I'm not sure yet.

That's it for now. I need to get ready for bed. Work tomorrow. Till next time.

Frivole's Snow Crystal Snowflakes

I think I mentioned in my previous post that I did some test tatting for Frivole. I've finally gotten around to posting about them. Not really much else going on here. It's been cold. It snowed once or twice since my last post. I've been working like a dog at work, and I absolutely hate working in a retail store at Christmas time. Which sucks, 'cause I like Christmas, but it gets to a point when I can't stand hearing the music anymore. But it'll be all over soon. Well, you know, unless the world ends, again. Then it'll be over sooner.

Anyway, here are the snowflakes that I test tatted for Frivole:

The snowflakes in the top row are Crystal 1 and the ones in the bottom row are Crystal 2. Unless Frivole changed the names since I test tatted them. These are all done in size 10 thread. I found the size 10 the easiest to practice her 1 stitch SCMR. Now that I can get the chains nice and pointy, I'm sure I could easily make the snowflake in size 20 or finer. The Crystal 2 snowflakes are a bit easier, but they do require the use of a picot gauge in order to make it look nice. That makes them a little slower to make, for me, anyway. They're both really nice patterns and are available in Frivole's shop. You get both patterns in one PDF file. The white snowflakes used Cebelia size 10 (which I hated using!) and the other two are Lizbeth 10, #149 Peacock Blues and #611 Gold. They are about 2 3/8 inches (6 cm) across.

That's it for now. I'll probably only manage one more post before Christmas. I'll leaving to go to my parents either next Friday or Saturday. If I can get a shift at work Friday, then I'll definitely leave Saturday. I don't have much tatting to share, but I got my two newest Pop-a-Bobbin shuttles in the mail this week which I have to share. I've also gotten some more HDT from Jesse during her Thanksgiving sale. That's it for now.

Jelly Bean Earrings

Nothing new to report since my last post. It snowed again. But that's not really new here. So, I guess we'll get on to the tatting.

After I got my Aerlit shuttles, I tatted three pairs of earrings for my mom. Some of you may have seen these, but I haven't heard anyone mention them before.

These are Jill Hanna's Jelly Bean Earrings. Anyone who has purchased an Aerlit shuttle will have the pattern. It's printed on the back of the package. The bobbins have a different pattern on the back of their packages. I don't think anyone has mentioned the fact that there is a patten on the back of the packages. I don't know why, I just find it surprising. Anyway, the pair on the left was tatted according to the pattern, with lots of picots. I used Lizbeth 20 colour #122 Caribbean for this pair. For the blue pair, I got a bit adventurous and added some beads to the outer picots, which added some weight to the earrings. For these, I used Lizbeth 20 colour #658 Lt Ocean Turquoise. For the black pair, I went a bit bead crazy, and added beads between the rings as well as to the chains. I used Lizbeth 20 #604 thread. I will probably stiffen them then add the findings. I will probably make another pair of a different design.

That's it for now. As I mentioned last time, I test tatted a couple of snowflakes for Frivole. Once I got one of her techniques down pat, I find the snowflakes kinda addictive. It probably doesn't help that I can manage to tat a snowflake in a single evening. That usually doesn't happen. I'm currently on a crochet kick right now making a couple quick scarves to use as Christmas gifts. Till next time.

The Next Japanese Motif and New Shuttles

No, I haven't disappeared, again. I don't know how some of you can post daily. Nothing really interesting happening. I have been tatting. I've done a little bit of chainmaille. It snowed, again. Yeah, we'll move on to the tatting.

I actually finished the following motif at least a week ago, but hadn't got around to posting it till now.

This is from the same Japanese book as the last motif. That book would be of course, Tatting Lace by Sumi Fujishige. Again since I don't know if it has a name, it's on page 55. I like the way this motif looks. However, despite my best attempts I realized that I missed a join about halfway through, and didn't notice it until the final repeat. I only noticed it 'cause something didn't seem right. To finish the motif (I wasn't cutting out over half the round) I had to repeat the mistake and skip a join. So I am missing one repeat, and I think it makes the motif a bit oval shaped instead of round. I'm definitely redoing this pattern soon. Also, the centre two rounds are used in other patterns, so I may have to try them too. The above motif is about 4.75 inches in diameter and tatted using Lizbeth size 20 thread, colour #163 Blue Ice.

As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, I ordered several of those new Aerlit tatting shuttles. But not from Handy Hands. As much as I'd like to spend $100+ on tatting stuff to make their shipping charges worthwhile and trust me, I'd like to (maybe after Christmas), I opted to purchase from one of the other tatting suppliers. I believe all the major online suppliers have the new shuttles for anyone interested. Anyway, I bought 4 of them, in three colours:

I'm sure you guys knew I would have to get a couple of blue ones. These were the colours that appealed to me the most. And among the least, um, feminine. I also bought some additional bobbins to go with these:

You had to know that was coming, right?? So far, I'm quite impressed with them, the shuttles, of course. I've been using one since they arrived. It started off somewhat stiff, but it loosened a bit and work great now. Though time will tell about how long the ratcheting action will last and we have a loose bobbin. I have to admit, I'm not used to how thin they are. I use mostly my Pop-a-Bobbin shuttles which are rather thick. I should (perhaps again) mention that I almost never use post style shuttles. I almost always use bobbin shuttles. I know this came up a couple posts ago about the Japanese motif with the overlapping (Celtic style?) chain. The bobbins wouldn't fit through the space. I had to unwind the bobbins.

I think that's all for now. I have other stuff to share, but I'm going try to split my posts up and post less, more often. I commented on Jane's blog this morning on her post about the Blogger/Picasa image storage issue that some people are having. I'm using a whopping 4% of my storage limits. Instead of resizing my images, I probably should post more often. So, I'll try. I've been working on some tatted earrings for my mom and I've been test tatting for Frivole, so I'm going to make them each a separate post, probably scheduling them to post every few days. Anyway, till next time.

Black Friday Sale

I try to avoid doing posts like this but, I think it's been a while. For anyone interested, I will be having a Black Friday sale. Everything will be 20% off. I'm not sure, but the coupon code on my blog should also work too. So, a possible 30% discount(or so) for followers of my blog. I'm not the only one having a sale, but you'll have to visit Jess' blog for the coupon code. My sale should happen automatically. I'm using an Etsy App to manage my sale. It should start at midnight (my time CST, I think).

That's it for now. I'm still working on the second motif from the Japanese book. I'll share once I'm done. Till next time.

Motif From Japanese Book

I'm still here. I was in pain for most of last weekend, though I was feeling better by Monday. I was also happy (I know, I shouldn't be) to hear that I wasn't the only one who slipped going in to work that day. I guess our store manager slipped and fell too, among others. Anyway, it snowed again Friday night and during Saturday. So we got anther 6-8 inches of snow. It's supposed to warm up again by the end of the week. Anyway I want to make this short.

I managed to tat a motif from the new Japanese book I recently bought. And, I tatted it with the new HDT I got from Jess.

I assume it has a name but I can't read it. I guess it's pattern 7 from page 53 from the book Tatting Lace by Sumi Fujishige. It's tatted with Jess' Blue Ridge HDT in size 20. It measures about 3.5 inches is diameter. I guess this is more of a glass mat/coaster. This is also the centre of two other doilies in the book. Though I don't know if I'm going to continue in that direction. I'm sure if I could read the book, I could figure out a better way of doing it, but I had to unwind both shuttles in order to overlap the chains in the second round. I did that 12 times. Not fun. I forgot to mention it earlier, but I was using bobbin shuttles to tat this. The bobbins didn't fit through the space.

That's about it for now. I am working on another motif from the same book, which I hope to share soon. It's going MUCH faster than the above motif. I'm also crocheting a shawl for my mom. It'll probably be part of her Christmas gift this year. I also received my Palmetto's Tat Days Pattern CD-I ordered it as soon as they became available. And I've also ordered a few of those new Aerlit shuttles. You'll have to guess which colour(s) I ordered. Till next time.

New Books, HDT, and Even Some Tatting

First of all, I'd like to mention how much I hate snow and ice. Mostly ice. We had some freezing rain Thursday night, followed by a fair amount of snow, 6-8 inches easily. I made it to work alright, however, I had an incident in the parking lot of my workplace. I was walking up to the building when I found a piece of ice. I slipped a bit, but caught myself. I walked a bit when I remembered something I forgot in my truck. I turned around and "found" the same piece of ice. I found myself on my back a second or two later. I'm fine. Just stiff and sore. Made for an interesting day anyway. A few of you commented about the snow on my last post. It isn't uncommon for us to have snow now. The last few years any that we get now melts away, and the snow that stays comes later and later.

I'll move on to the tatting related stuff now. As I mentioned earlier, I recently purchased a couple new tatting books. Both non English. Yeah, I know. I have two more books that I can't read. Both have diagrammed patterns, however. The first book is Japanese:

There's not much to say about the book. It's called Tatting Lace by Sumi Fujishige. There are a lot of nice patterns so you will probably see some of them. The next book is German:

Again, not much to say here either. This is Spitzen-Kreationen by Suzanne Schwenke. There are a number of nice patterns here too. In a way, some of them remind me of Mary Konior's patterns. There are number of motifs that look simple when by themselves but look much more complex when put together. The large doily on the cover is a good example. The single motifs are triangular. I know you will be seeing some of the patterns from this book

Finally, I'll share the small amount of tatting I've done since my last post.

This is the Ariel Glass Mat from Favorite Crochet & Tatting Designs, Book No. 205. This is the second pattern that I had rewritten. As I'm sure you can see, I made a couple of blatent errors towards the end of the motif. I don't know what happened. I've been working a lot lately, so I'll blame it on working too hard. I had planned on continuing tatting the 2nd and 3rd rounds, but I will have to redo it. I also spilled some Coke Zero all over it too, but I was fortunately using an ecru coloured thread, Lizbeth #603 size 20, so it doesn't really show. I really like the way this looks, though the eight "points" are kinda floppy. This could also work for a snowflake if you only did 6 repeats.

And finally (for reals this time!) I will show you the HDT I recently bought.

These are both from Jess. The top one is Havana, and the bottom one is Blue Ridge, both size 20. I don't really have any plans for them right now. I have Blue Ridge wound onto an Ez Bob, and I do plan on using it soon. Perhaps I'll make something from one of my new books.

That's it for now. I'll be going to bed soon. I have to work tomorrow, so I may miss the latest release of Pop-a-Bobbin shuttles from Jane. I do have the link to her shop on my smartphone so if I remember I'll check them out. I have been working on some chainmaille projects too. I hope to get a few of them listed soon. I am offering free North American shipping from now until Christmas for nearly everything. The Sterling silver jewelry is exempt. Due to my price changes, earrings qualify for free shipping too. Till next time.

Happy Hallowe'en!

I hope everyone has had a Happy Hallowe'en. I had to work today, but I did get dressed up.

Arrrrrr mateys! Technically I was a generic pirate, but most people assumed I was Captain Jack Sparrows from the Pirates of the Caribbean, so I went with it. I've been meaning to post, but life (and work!) keeps getting in the way. I do plan to post on Saturday, as I know I won't be working. So I'll share what little tatting I've gotten done, and my new books, and even the HDT I bought from Jess. It's been snowing a bit here, not much and I'm hoping it melts away for a while. With it being cooler out, I actually feel inspired to start tatting snowflakes. I think this year I'm going to go through all my HDT and use up the "snowflake coloured" ones.

Till next time. Happy Hallowe'en all ye land lubbers!



PS: For anyone interested, I will be offering free shipping in my Etsy shop starting over the next few days. The coupon code on the right side bar still applies. I've also made some, um, price changes.

Karen Bickerton's Patterns

This will be just a quick post. Karen Bickerton, from KB Design Originals, has a special offer for anyone following my blog. When you purchase any of her patterns from her shop, mention me and/or my geckos, and she'll include a bonus pattern. She didn't say if/when the offer will expire, so if interested, don't hesitate. She has her Frilled Lizard pattern listed now, for anyone interested.

I'll hopefully do a regular post soon. I have been tatting, mainly on the Pineapple doily. A couple new books arrived in the mail too, which I'd like to share. Till next time.

Purple Pineapple Heaven

I decided to take a bit of a break from tatting geckos. I really like the look of the tatted pineapple doily that Umintsuru has been tatting lately. Any of them. In case you are wondering, I haven't really been working on much else lately, except the doily. Apart from some "issues", I'm enjoying tatting this. It's been a while since I've tatted something I don't have to think about. Before I move on, I would like to mention that the motif that I had rewrote the pattern for from the previous post, can be found in the book The Tatters Treasure Chest edited by Mary Carolyn Waldrep. Here the motif is called Wild Rose. The second motif I rewrote (but haven't tatted yet) is there as well. All patterns are still in long notation. Thanks Stephanie!

I've always liked the many crocheted pineapple designs that are out there. I am pleased that there are a number of designs for tatting. The doily, called Pineapple Heaven is by Doretha Albee. Before I go any further, I should mention that I'm not done yet.

See. This is the first 10 rounds of the doily. I'm actually further along than shown here. I scanned it a few days ago, and I've been working on it since. Like I said, I'm really enjoying tatting the doily except for one little problem. It started to cup. Not severely, but enough that it was a problem. I'm pretty sure it's because I am a rather tight tatter. At least compared to Umintsuru and Ms. Albee. I think if/when I tat this doily again, I'll add a ds or two to the chains that are before and after the "shells" to try to prevent the cupping. I blocked what I had done before posting, and it did help. I think my long picots are a tad too long, but I don't know if that would cause a problem. I'm tatting this doily for my mom, so I used some purple thread. This is Lizbeth size 20 #633.

That's about it for now. I probably going to keep working on the doily until I'm done before going back the finished the last gecko-it's about 1/4 done. My shop's been quiet lately, so unless the sales come flying in, I probably won't work on chainmaille this week. I made up a list a few weeks ago of items I'd like to make (more bracelets, some wallet chains, other things for the guys), but I haven't really looked at it. Till next time.

Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian Tatting Friends!

Rewriting Old Patterns and Another Gecko

Wow. I can't believe how long it's taking me to post lately. I had some new tatting to show two or three days after I last posted. However one thing or another seems to have prevented me from posting. Work. Chainmaille. Simply not feeling like it. Forgetting (it happens!). But here I am. I won't be long. You've seen one thing I'm going to share already.

I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but I'll mention it again. I'm not a big fan of vintage tatting patterns. It's not that they don't appeal to me, some are quite nice, but usually it's because of the way they are written. Unless the motif in question is small, I can't be bothered to try to follow the pattern. While housecleaning several weeks ago, I came across a tatting booklet that had some patterns that I liked. So, while watching a movie one evening, I rewrote one of the patterns in short hand that's easier to follow. I then tatted the motif from my version of the pattern. Here is the result:

The motif above is a motif from Tray Mat No. 7354 from Favorite Crochet & Tatting Designs, Book No. 205. The booklet was published in 1944 by The Canadian Spool Cotton Company. As far as I can tell, the booklet is still under copyright. I may be wrong, but I don't for sure. I don't think I can share the rewritten pattern either. Again, I could be wrong. Does anyone know if this pattern, or the booklet in general, has been republished more recently? I haven't looked yet to see if the booklet is posted online already. The motif is used in a couple patterns in the booklet to make a doily as well as placemats. I'm not sure what I'll use it for, but I like it. I rewrote another pattern that I hope to tat soon. I used Lizbeth size 20 thread in white.

Finally, here is the second gecko for my t-shirt:

I used the same thread as before, the only difference is that I added a couple of beads for the eyes (in the eyes?). The pattern called for two smaller beads per eye but I thought that one size 8/0 bead would work. I think it did. I have to admit, I kinda like the beads in the eyes. I'm now thinking I should remake the other large gecko and add beads to that one too. Mind you, I don't think I have matching beads for the small gecko now. I'll have to see. I really need to get back to tatting geckos. The tray mat motif and a fair amount of chainmaille lately has severely limited my work on this project.

That's about it for now. I'm going to try to get more tatting done. I do have numerous chainmaille related projects queued up. We'll see what happens. Till next time.

Tatted Gecko #1, and Crocheted Tie Update

Well, I'm only a few weeks late on posting. I came down with a summer cold a few weeks ago, during which time I didn't really feel like doing much. I think I'm over it now, and I've been working on a few projects this past week. I have been tatting, which I'll share in a minute or two. I almost finished the crocheted tie. I have also been working on some chainmaille, remaking sold items and I even learned a new weave and made a bracelet using it. I'll share the new weave with you later. If the weather cooperates, I hope to get some decent photos for the shop.

I shared a preview of what I was tatting in my last post. I finished the motif in question a few days later. Here is the finished motif:

This is Karen Bickerton's Gecko, available from her shop here. I really enjoyed tatting him. I like Karen's design style of her patterns. I'm sure those of you who have seen Ginny's blog recently have seen Karen Frilled Dragons. I can't wait for the pattern to be made available in Karen's shop. I am currently tatting another Gecko using the same thread. I am planning on sewing several Geckos, at least three, on to a dark green t-shirt. Two are going to me made with size 20 thread, the third in size 40-if I can manage it. I seem to be out of practice using finer thread. I tat too tightly and constantly snapped the thread the last time I used size 40 thread. Thread stats: Lizbeth size 20, colour #167 Jungle Greens.

Here is a quick update on the crocheted tie:

As you can see, the basic tie has been crocheted. And it can even be tied like a real tie. Just to clarify the type of cord I used, the company I purchased the cord from calls it "Bugtail". The label on the spool calls it 1mm Rattail. I have a few ends to deal with (easy since it's crochet) then it's technically done. While tying the tie, it did find it did stretch a fair bit. I think it needs a round of crochet on the outer edge to reduce the stretch. I'm thinking that I'll use a heavy cotton thread instead of nylon, for the outer round. Once that's done, I'll have to block and possible iron it. I'll share once it's done.

That's about it for now. I'm going to focus on tatting Gecko's for the rest of the week. Since it's a short work week with Labour day on Monday, I do hope to get a fair bit done on my days off. Regrettably, some housecleaning will have to be done too. The horrors! Till next time.

Some Tatting, and The Beginnings of The Crocheted Tie

I have to admit. I really don't feel like posting. I guess I've got some work stuff on my mind, again. Hopefully I'll get them resolved soon. I don't want to bore anyone with them; though I spent a good chunk of last night lying awake, thinking. Anyway, I have been up to some tatting. A few sales in the shop meant some chainmaille was made too. And an impromptu idea yesterday meant I spent the better part of an hour crocheting. So, let's keep moving!

A few week back, I saw the cool looking interconected rings that a number of tatters were working on. I had to try them too. I saw the video for tatting them with a single shuttle. After many, many failed attempts, I think I got it:

You wanna know how I managed it? This next photo should help:

It may be cheating a bit, but I got it! First time. I tried it twice and got it both times. I see many interesting patterns using this technique. Though I think I will put it on the back burner for a bit. I would like to try and get the shuttle version down pat. I am using one of these motifs as the centre of an idea I have, and I don't like the combination of shuttle and needle tatting. The differences are too great for me. Though I'm not good at needle tatting, so that is probably a factor. I may have to buy some more tatting needles; I only have one. I know I will get better results if I match the needle with the thread diameter.

I am currently working on another motif right now. Here's a sneak peek:

A hint could be found in Ginny's recent post. That's all I'm saying right now. I have an idea for this too.

I bought some thread online a week or so ago, as I thought it might work for tatting. I tried one of the two that I bought. Here is a sample of "Bugtail" thread:

Bugtail is a thinner version of "Rat Tail" thread if that helps. Both are a nylon Satin cord. The bright shiny thing is a quarter for size comparison. The thread is incredibly shiny and smooth and feel really nice to the touch. As you can see, it does tat fairly well. The smoothness works to it's advantage. The main issue is size. The cord is about 1 mm in diameter. You would need some pretty big shuttles or needles to use. Coincidentally, it crochets really well:

This is the result of about 45 minutes of crocheting. I had a few restarts but I got the sizing about right. The above section is about 8 inches long. I am going to finish this, I just ran out of cord. It's much easier to make than my tatted tie. I'm not sure why I'm into making ties lately. Perhaps it's a sign that I need to find a new job and move on. Whatever it is, I could write up the pattern when it's done if anyone wants it. Compared to the tatted version, it shouldn't take long. I'm not sure if it will be a "real" tie or if I'll have to fake it like I'll do with the tatted one.

That's about it for now. We'll see what happens with posting. This is a nice distraction, but I have to get stuff done in order to share it. The tatting I'm working on should busy for a few days, depending on how things go at work. Till next time.

Tatted Edging and Square Wire Bracelets

As it turns out I did manage to get some tatting done since my last post. The temperatures weren't to bad for the most part, though we did get a few thunderstorms. I came to the conclusion that I prefer to wake up to a thunderstorm, but not fall asleep to one. Or be woken up by one. I also managed to get some chainmaille done. Hopefully I can sell the items I made-three bracelets and three pairs of earrings. There's also a necklace that's currently half done; hopefully I can finish it soon. In can anyone is interested I have a page on Facebook for Bridge City Maille. You can find it here. New items will be posted here, and perhaps a coupon code once in a while.

Like I said above, I did manage a small amount of tatting. I picked a fairly simple one shuttle pattern from my new German tatting book. Once I learned the pattern it was pretty easy.

I don't know if the patten has a name. It's from page 42 from the Peacock book. As you can see, I didn't quite get a grasp on the length of bare thread at the beginning. That's the left side. The diagram showed the space to be much larger than necessary. Now that I know how much space to leave (not much, in case you are wondering), I think I may try it again. The above length of edging is about five inches long. I believe the bobbin was pretty full when I started. The thread I used is Lizbeth size 20 colour #149 Peacock Blues. This pattern works very well when done in variegated thread.

Finally a quick peek at the chainmaille I did last weekend.

My main supplier started offering Anodized Aluminum square wire rings. The rings resemble washers, but are much more colourful. I have only been able to get square wire rings in stainless steel and sterling silver, so I really like these rings. Being aluminum, they are very lightweight for their size. I made the pink one first and liked making the bracelet so much I make the other two. I only have three colour right now, since I don't know how popular they will be. I also made matching earrings, one set in each colour as well. They all are listed in my shop.

I'm going to try to get more tatting done. I may try to get the chainmaille necklace done, but I probably won't do any more chainmaille for a bit-I would like to get as much tatting done as I can while I feel like it. That's it for now. Till next time.

Spinning Wheel Doily Complete and New Book

Oy, is it hot out. Actually, compared to some of you, the temperatures we've been experiencing are that bad-we've been in the low 30s so far this week. We did have a Humidex warning of about 45 yesterday. I haven't felt like tatting this week. I finished the doily Sunday afternoon, but I haven't done any tatting since.

Like I said, I finished tatting the Spinning Wheels doily. I haven't blocked it yet.

I still need to hide the remaining ends-there's only two! I tatted over the ends whenever I had to add thread or reattach thread, and they need to be clipped. It'll look a heck of a lot better once it's blocked, but I think I'll wait until I give it away. I am thinking of giving it to my mom for her birthday, but that's in the fall and it may need to be blocked again by then. And again, this pattern is from Mary Konior's Tatting With Visual Patterns (a Mary K. book that's still readily available, but seems to have gone up in price). I used Lizbeth size 20 thread in colour #117 Country Side. It measures about 10 1/2 inches in diameter and was made using a 6 inch doily centre. And while there is no photo evidence (I wouldn't allow it!), I screwed up when joining the final repeat to the first repeat-don't ask. Just something to keep in mind if anyone else attempts the pattern.

Finally, my new book arrived. I'm sure many of you can guess what book that may be-I think many of you already have the book.

Like a lot of people, I bought the book for the peacock pattern on the cover. There's actually a lot of really cool patterns. I didn't know that there were two peacock patterns. I hope to try them both. However, I think I'll start with simpler patterns until I learn the writing style and notation. This is actually my first foreign language tatting book. I'm kinda disappointed that I don't understand most of what is written in the book. I've tried using an app on my smartphone to do some translation; it's tedious when it works, and it often doesn't work. Hopefully, when (and if!) it cools down, and I feel like tatting, I'll have something to show soon.

That's about it for now. Like I said above, hopefully some tatting will materialize if the weather cools down. Thanks to a few recent sales, I ordered some more rings, so I may do some chainmaille instead. Till next time.

My New Shuttles, And Some Tatting!

Sorry. I've been meaning to post earlier, but it just didn't happen. I was dealing with some work issues last weekend, so posting wasn't going to happen then. Some tatting did happen, however, but we'll get to that later. Nothing really new to share otherwise. It's hot here right now. I'm hoping for a thunderstorm, but I'm not being too hopeful; we didn't get one yesterday either. I'll move on, it's too hot to write out a long post.

I teased you last time with the pair of unfinished Pear wood Pop-a-Bobbin shuttles. Well, they're finished now. Or as finished as they are going to get.

They didn't quite turn out the way I wanted them, but whatever. They're blue!!!! In case you're wondering, I used a water-based stain to colour them. The front one, is lighter than the back one as I had added some white stain to the blue (the bottle says "Azure") stain. The darker one is the straight Azure stain. I guess if I wanted the colour different, I should have painted them. However, I wanted the grain to show through, so painting was out. What do you think?

As I said, I have been tatting a fair bit lately. Mainly to keep my mind off of the work issues. I didn't really know what I wanted to tat, so I eventually settled on a WIP from a loooooog time ago. You can see it here. If you follow the link, you'll see that I started the doily over two years ago. I'm not done yet, but here is a photo to show my progress:

For those of you who didn't follow the link to the original post this is Mary Konior's Spinning Wheel doily from Tatting With Visual Patterns. I'm using Lizbeth size 20 thread in colour # 117 Country Side. I should point out, I was about half done the tatting when I picked it up again. Since the end is near, I'm going to keep working on the doily. I will post again once I'm done. I'm really hoping that the doily centre I used is the right size. Once finished the doily should measure about 10 1/2 inches in diameter.

That's it for now. Like I said above, I'll post again once I'm done the doily. I'm hoping the new tatting book I ordered will  have arrived by then. And I'll be inspired to tat something new. Till next time.

Paracord Bracelets, Tatting Shuttles, and a Tatted Bookmark

I'm back. I guess it took me longer to decide what to tat than I thought it would. And surprisingly, most of the tatting was done today. I'm sure some of you are aware that a journalist was looking to talk to young tatters, 30 or younger. My name and email address was forwarded to her and she made contact this morning. While hesitant, I gave her my phone number and began waiting. I worked on a bookmark I started over a week ago. She called and we had a really nice chat. I was quite refreshed to hear that she didn't think tatting was just for women. I won't go into much detail. It will probably be 2-3 weeks before the article is published. After talking to the journalist, I continued working on the bookmark. I guess talking about tatting inspired me to tat.

Before I get to the tatting (you knew this was coming), I'm going quickly show you what else I've been working on. As I mentioned in my last post, I found a couple of ebooks on iTunes that were about "Manly" crafts. One of the crafts that inspired me were bracelets made out of paracord, which is a shortened name for parachute cord or 550 cord.

I've only made two of them right now. The two-toned blue one is a little too small for me while the camo patterned one fits about right. Due to the way they are made, sizing is a bit difficult. I only purchased a few colours of cord, though I do plan of purchasing a few more. I had thought of putting a few up for sale in my Etsy shop, but I'm not sure if they'd sell. I haven't been brave enough to see how many other paracord bracelets are currently for sale, and I'm not sure I want to. I would like to make a belt for myself using a double wide version of the pattern used for the bracelets. If anyone is interested by all means leave a comment, I may be persuaded to list some in my shop. Or we could work something out privately. I'm not sure how much paracord related things you will see from me. Although, the cord can be tatted with, in case you're wondering. I had to try.

Several weeks ago, I purchased a pair of Pop-a-Bobbin shuttles "direct from the source", ie: from Sally. I bought them unfinished as I had a plan. Here is the before shot:

They're both pear wood, as you can see. I'm about half done with them right now. I have to pick up some supplies tomorrow that I forgot to get earlier. You'll have to wait until they're done to see them. I'm not telling you exactly what I did to them yet. I will say that Diane may be interested. Oops! I may have said too much.

Finally, what you all are waiting for: the bit of tatting I managed to do. Here it is:

This is "Jane's Bookmark" designed by Jane from South Africa. I'm not sure if the pattern has a name, so I named it. It was pretty quick to tat. As I'm not a big fan of tassels (though I don't mind them on bookmarks), I chose to end it with a lock stitch chain followed by a short section of the pattern. The thread is Lizbeth size 20, colour #606 Charcoal. I will have to tat this pattern again. Now that I'm done the bookmark, I'm back to not knowing what I will tat next. I have several WIPs that I should work on and a "WannaTat" list as long as my arm and then some. I probably won't start anything tonight as bedtime is nearing.

That's it for now. Hopefully I'll get the shuttles finished and have something else tatted by next weekend. I will try and post again once the shuttles are done. I do hope they turn out as awesome as I envision them. Till next time.

Where Does The Time Go??

Wow. Has it really been over three weeks since I last posted? So much for "this shouldn't take long, I'll post again real soon." I guess I've been busy. Not tatting, but busy. I can honestly say I haven't done a heck of a lot of anything. Well, I have been playing around with a few new things. I was looking around on iTunes, and came across several ebooks with titles such as "Manly Crafts" and "DIY Jewelry for Men" and was intrigued enough to purchase them (they're $0.99 each, I'm not breaking the bank account here; I did read the samples too before buying). The ebooks are essentially compiled tutorials from Instructables, but they're pretty handy to have on my iPod Touch for offline use; I really need an iPad now. Anyway, I've got some materials ordered for a few new crafts. And I did make a leather cuff bracelet after a quick trip to Michaels for some snaps. Here's a quick photo:

Nothing spectacular but kinda cool. It's made from an old belt. My cutting also needs some work, but that will come with practice. There's instructions for a really cool watch band too. I'm sure one could put tatting on the bracelet if they really wanted too. I don't have much tatting to share tonight. I did finish my Windmills doily. The edging seemed to drag on forever. Here's a photo of it:

The tatting is finished, but the doily isn't "finished". I still need to hide the ends and block it. I like the edging, but it needs some tweaking before I use it on the big doily. The stitch counts need work, and where the edging jumps from one motif to the next needs some work. That will be dealt with later. I will continue the big doily to make it oval. I know I mentioned it in the comments, but the doily will (hopefully!) go on a rectangular table, so an oval doily should look better. Now that this done is done (I'll get around to finishing it soon), I need to find something else to tat. I don't really feel inspired to tat anything right now, but I'll look through my patterns and books to find something to tat while I watch a movie tonight. That is, if I can decide on a movie.

Before I go, I can't help wonder what new Blogger interface is everyone talking/complaining about? This is my interface:

 I've had it for a while now, I can't remember how long. Did most people simply not switch to it or is there an actual new interface?

That's about it for now. I also received a copy of Ginny's new tatting book for test tatting a few of her patterns. I still need to retat one of them. Hopefully, I can get something tatted so I can post again in the near future. Till next time.