Remembering Gina

 I'm going to be honest, I never thought I'd have to do a post like this. I was shocked to learn of Gina's passing this week. I didn't find out until Wednesday afternoon as I didn't have an internet connection for the previous few days due to an upgrade gone awry*. I hadn't met Gina in person, but she was someone I wanted to meet. Like many of you, I considered her a friend even though I hadn't met her. She will be missed. My condolences to Gina's family.

I've only tatted one of her motifs that I can think of. That motif would be her Gingerbread Boy:

As I mentioned in the post about the Gingerbread boy, I first contacted Gina about this pattern in November 2007 to get some clarification with the wording of the pattern. Three attempts and two years later I managed to tat him. I haven't tatted any of her other patterns, but I think I will soon.
 

I've also been fortunate to have received some of Gina's tatting. In this case a bookmark and a trio of fish:

As I mentioned in the post about these, the red fish is my pattern tatted by me, but the other three were tatted by Gina. These gifts (and a whole bunch of other stuff) came about through a year of giveaways Gina did a few years ago. I will treasure them always. And everything else she sent me.

I don't know what else to say. I'm not good with this sort of thing. As others have mentioned, the tatting community has lost a treasure. There won't be anyone quite like her. Rest in peace Gina.



*In case you are wondering, I decided to upgrade my internet speed which was supposed to happen early Monday morning. I woke up with no internet and no TV (I have an IPTV service which comes through the phoneline). Eventually got a technician out early Wednesday afternoon. The DSL modem was at fault as it wasn't connecting to my ISP. I guess it was too old and didn't like the higher speed. The TV came on but Internet wasn't fully functional. Another phone call to Sasktel was required to fix another issue. Everything is working now. 

The End of TIAS 2012, a Double Fuchsia, and a Few Orchid Photos

I see that I am still posting rather infrequently. Oh well. I don't really have much to share anyway. Besides the TIAS, I have done hardly any tatting. Sales in my shop have slowed to a crawl. I had thought I could offer free shipping, but forgot about it until yesterday. So it won't be much good to attract some Valentine's Day sales. With the lack of sales, I don't feel like working on chainmaille. I have been crocheting quite a bit lately however. I'll get some photos of that once it's/they're complete.

As I am sure most of you are aware, Jane's TIAS 2012 is complete. Here is my completed goat:

As I told Jane, he doesn't look as demonic here as he did without his front legs. I rather like him. Actually I think I just like the pattern in general. I think it's the beard. I'll have to make another one soon.

Here are finally the photos of Linda's Double Fuchsia that I tatted from the pattern she shared:

I can't really comment on it, as I don't remember much about tatting/putting it together. I guess that's what I get for waiting so long to post the photos. I do remember that I used a thicker gauge wire than what was called for. That did make it difficult to get the calyx on. It definitely looks realistic. I will have to make a full branch of leaves and flowers. Thanks again Linda for sharing the pattern. And sorry for taking so long to post the completed flower.

I will finish this post with a few orchid photos. I think these have been posted previously, but this will help me keep track of what is flowering when. Enjoy!

This is Doritaenopsis Minho Princess 'Flying'. This is one of my few named Phalaenopsis orchids. I really like this one. It's not pure white (I already have one of those). And it's not completely pink or purple. This is the first Phal. hybrid that flowered for me this year.

The next orchid that flowered is one I know many of you have seen:

It's the Mutant! For those of you who are new to my blog, this Phalaenopsis No Identification (NOID) hybrid has a genetic mutation that causes the plant to produce what looks like three lips instead of one. Two of these lips are not fully formed (these are supposed to be the petals, or sepals), but closely resemble the true lip at the bottom. This is called a Peloric Mutation. Hopefully you can see the differences in the photo. For anyone who hasn't noticed yet, I disabled the "Lightbox" display of photos. You should be able to click photos again and get the full version.

Last orchid photo of the day:

I bought this Phal as a NOID, however it looks strikingly similar to Phalaenopsis Yu Pin Pearl. A Google Image search shows this quite well. I am tempted to label the plant as such or that it resembles Yu Pin Pearl so I know which plant it is when it's not flowering. Looking at some of the other photos, there may be different versions or clones of Yu Pin Pearl so it very well could be one of them.

That's it for now. I will probably be crocheting some more this week. I'll try to get some more tatting done. I got my Palmetto Tat Day CD in the mail recently so there are a few things I'd like to tat. There will be more orchid photos in the upcoming weeks-I noticed another Phal that is producing a flower spike. That's now eight Phals either in spike or flowering. Awesome! I think I may need a few more. That's the one good thing about Valentine's Day: Lots of plants available for sale. Till next time.

TIAS 2012, Day 9

I managed to tat Day 9 last night, though I joined the last ring to the wrong set of rings. Twice! I had to fix it this morning before emailing Jane.

That is why you may see some fluffy ends near the eye. Speaking of the eye, it appears that I am tatting a Demon Goat. Since I didn't know what the beads would be used for, I though the red bead, which is Red Bamboo Coral, would work. Oh well, I'll have to tat him again with more appropriate colours once we are done. It looks like it definitely will be a goat. Can't wait to see it when it is finished. Till next time; I have to get ready for work.

More TIAS 2012

Just a quick post. I'll do a proper one soon; I've got a lot of stuff that I want to share, but no time.

Here are my Days 7 and 8 of Jane's TIAS 2012:

Like many people, I definitely thought it was going to be a dog by the end of day 7. But after day 8, it looks rather goat like. I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out to be something completely different. In any case, our options are being narrowed down.

That's it for now. I will hopefully write up a proper post later this weekend. Till next time.