Crystal Star

Wow, where is the time go? I can't believe November is almost over, already. I did plan to post earlier but I never seem to have the time. I am still working in the department I transferred to at work. Generally all my shifts start around 5 am. I've gotten used to for the most part, but I'm still having some time management issues. Hopefully I will get them worked out soon. Anyway, I've been working on a number of projects, I'm just not sure I'm going to get around to posting everything.

I was working on The Monsterpiece Doily, but I keep putting it aside to work on other stuff. When I saw Frivole's Crystal Star, I knew I had to tat it.

I think it turned out pretty well. I used some DMC Cordonnet size 20 thread with Swarovski 4mm bicone crystal beads. I like the star in white, but I think it would look even better in a yellow thread with yellow crystals. I may have to try that sometime. I'll definitely be tatting this pattern again soon. I am currently working on another one of Frivole's designs, so I might be able to post that in a few days.

I've been doing a lot of crocheting lately. Mostly things that will probably be used for gifts this Christmas. I still have a few more to make. I'll try to take some photos of the finished items, but no promises. I still have a pair of socks to finish knitting. I have picked them up and knitted a few rounds just to prove to myself that I still remember what I am doing. I have also done some chainmaille as well, a few surprise sales. If anyone is interested, I am planning a Black Friday Weekend sale, starting tonight at midnight and going until midnight Tuesday morning. I have been thinking about closing my shop in the new year. I haven't decided yet, but I feel like I spend more on Etsy fees than I earn from sales. We'll see.

That's about it for now. I'll try to post again soon-I really mean that. I think I should be able to spend some time this evening tatting, so I should finish my current small project and perhaps start another one. Till next time.

Etsy Shop Announcement

Just a quick shop related post. I'll post about tatting later this week. I decided to have a sale in my Etsy Shop (located here). Everything will be 25% off started tonight at midnight (CST). I'd like to get rid of some of the items that aren't moving, um, Sterling Silver. But as I said everything will be on sale. If you're not interested, feel free to pass it on to others who might me. No coupon codes are necessary to receive the discount. The sale should run for a week. Assuming I configured the sale manager properly.

That is all.

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.

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.

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.

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012!

Happy New Years!!!! I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays. I did. I didn't get much tatting done, but I enjoyed myself regardless. I particularly enjoyed not working for four days. Since I have no tatting to share, this will probably be pretty short.

As I have done for the last few years, I didn't make any resolutions for this year. I would like to (rather proudly, I might add) mention that for the first time in a loooooong time (maybe not that long), I don't need to lose any weight! As of the end of November, early December, I reached my goal. It feels great, and I like the way I look now. I didn't before.

You've seen the photo on the left.The one on the right was taken today. My still not done Hauberk fits much better compared to when I wore it in May. Hopefully I will get around to finishing my Hauberk. Oh, I know someone asked what I planned on doing with it once it's done. The answer is I don't know. I mainly am making it just as something different from all the jewelry I have been working on. I will probably wear it in public somewhere, sometime.

I have done some other chainmaille over the last few days. A few are custom orders that have come in. The rest are mainly just to add something new to my shop. Here's a quick photo of these new items:

One of the custom items was a pair of Celtic Star earrings. I had to make them smaller and lighter than the Celtic Star pendants in order to make them work.  I do plan on getting these listed soon, but in case anyone is wondering, they are a bit over an inch (2.5 cm) in diameter. These are probably best done in aluminum (colours are possible!) or mixed metals to keep the weight down. The customer initially wanted them to be solid copper but they each weighed about 12 grams (0.4 ounces or so) with the ear wires. Speaking of ear wire I have added a pair of earrings with clip on earring findings for those who don't have pierced ears. Any of my earrings can be made with clip on findings, just ask. The fish pendant is pretty cool. At least  I think so. It's also one on those designs that could work for both men and women. I have one on my keychain:

The gemstone is reconstituted turquoise, but I have recently gotten some stabilized turquoise for use in these as it is actual turquoise. The reconstituted stuff may or may not contain actual turquoise. It depends on the what website you choose to believe. Anyway, I am gong to make a pair of fish earrings in some smaller rings as well. I have a list of other chainmaille items I want/need to make.

That's about it for now. I'm not going to promise to post or tat more this year. I'll blog when I can, and I'll tat when I can. The only thing I will promise myself this year is to do something about this balding thing that is happening. Or at least try, genes be damned. Rogaine, here I come! I should go now. I must get some tatting done before this gorgeous first day of 2012 is over. Till next time.

First Snowflake of the Season

Well, howdy. It's been a while, hasn't it. I haven't done much tatting since my last post. I have been pretty busy with chainmaille lately. A number of orders have trickled in over the past few weeks which have been keeping me busy. I also worked on a birthday gift for my mom; which was mostly chainmaille. I'll show you later; the photos aren't edited yet. I'm also working on my Hallowe'en costume this year; that'll come later as well if it works out. I have done a little tatting, which I will get to soon.

Before I get to the tatting, I want to mention a quick Etsy related thing. Recently, Etsy has allowed shop owners to change the name of their shops if they wished. When I joined Etsy, I didn't plan on selling, so I used a username I use regularly. I have changed my shop name to something a bit better. For anyone who hasn't noticed, my shop is now called Bridge City Maille. I am offering free shipping for a few more days for anyone interested.

As I said, I managed to get a little bit of tatting done. The motif I made is one of Jon Yusoff's newest  snowflake patterns from her book Elegant Tatting Gems: A Collection of Snowflake Designs.

This is Baiduri, tatted in Lizbeth size 40 thread colour #163 Blue Ice. The colour isn't really this dark. I should have used a dark background, instead of white. I had to darken the colours in order for it to stand out. This is one of Lizbeth's newest colours. I really like it. Actually, I like several of the new colours, and couldn't resist ordering some no matter how hard I tried. Thanks Isdihara. See what happens when you post pretty pictures of new thread on your blog. Where do I sign up to be an Unrepentant Thread Junkie?

I'll be honest, I don't know why I bought the Pink Cocoa (bottom right). I don't like pink, but I like the combination. Must be the cocoa part. You know, the chocolate connection. Going back to the snowflake, I didn't have problems tatting it. Well, except for the centre rings. I guess I looked at the wrong ring on the diagram. Surprisingly it still worked with some minor blocking. I also had no problems with the thread breaking. I believe it was also Isdihara who mentioned that having slightly damp hands (like right after washing them) while tatting could weaken the thread enough to make it break when closing rings. I made sure my hands were nice and dry before tatting. I also tested this theory with the leftover thread once the snowflake was done and did find the thread snapped quite reliably when my hands were damp. It's something to think about for anyone who's having trouble with thread snapping regularly. Not just Lizbeth.

Finally before I go I wanted to pass on some information I got from a recent comment. Apparently, the tatted filet John and I had tatted is a pattern by Christel Wutzmer and Agnes Focke from Doppelknoten Nr. 7. I can't confirm it until I get a copy, but I thought I'd mention it. I am seriously thinking about getting a copy if possible. Anyway, I hope to do some tatting yet this evening, and perhaps over the weekend. I am planning to do a quick post Monday, but we'll see. Till next time.

Checking In; What I Have Been Working on Part 2

Sorry for the delay in posting. It all started a little over a week ago with a severe migraine at 3 am. I managed to get that under control by the time I had to get up and go to work. However, probably due to the medication, I had an upset stomach for most of the morning. When I got home in the evening, I still felt "off". I just didn't feel right. I woke up the next morning with a full blown cold. I didn't feel like doing anything. So posting, and most other things were put off until I felt better. I also opted to stay in the city this past week. I really didn't want to make the 3-3.5 hour drive to my parents, only to lay around in bed all day. I could do that here. I will be going away this week instead.

So like I said I haven't really done anything new this week. I haven't touched my chainmaille shirt. I don't have any photo of my progress of it either; maybe next time. I did manage a few new jewelry pieces, however:

The earrings are the only items I managed to make this week. I tried to get some decent photos of them so I could list them, but I couldn't get them right. I think I went outside too late. So the photos were taken inside. Not much to tell you about them. The pendant is currently listed. Again not much to tell, except this is the first pendant I am offering with a "proper" chain. Up until now, I've been sending the pendants on adjustable cotton cords. But my main supplier began offering a stainless steel cable chain which is really nice. It's strong, will probably last a lifetime, and adds a very professional touch to the pendant. I'm toying with the idea of offering all my pendants with a proper chain. But I'd have to increase the cost accordingly. Mind you, I've been putting some serious thought in increasing prices store wide; I've been increasing the cost of the Sterling Silver jewelry for months now, but nothing else. The rising value of the Canadian dollar (it's worth more than the US dollar now) means that I am loosing money though currency conversion. Another option would be to change my shop's currency to Canadian dollars; I think that may work, I'll have to look into it. I'll look into this when I get back, so if anyone is interested in anything, you may want to buy it now. Don't forget the coupon code on my left sidebar too.

I also remade the Box chain necklace that I wear:

My original chain is on the left. My new one in in the middle. It's about 1/4 inch (0.6 mm) wide. I made the chain on the right just for kicks. I made that one using some substantially larger rings in a heavier gauge. It's slightly over 1/2 inch (about 1.25 cm) wide. It's heavy! You may be wondering why I remade the chain. As I mentioned when I first made it (almost two years ago), it was never intended to be a necklace/chain. It was the first draft of my belt. I was still pretty new to chainmaille and hadn't quite learned the whole ring size verses strength concept. I learned that with this chain. The rings were waaaaaay to weak for a belt. Anyway, some of the rings weren't closed quite right; whenever I bent down, the chain would roll down and get caught in my beard (we won't discuss the incidents involving chest hair when it was necessary to wear the chain under clothing). I'm happy with my new chain and will probably make another one to go in my shop. It's a nice manly chain, if I do say so myself. You may be wondering what I will do with the third heavy chain. While it might work for a larger guy, I didn't like wearing it. It will be opened up and made into a belt.

I think that's about it. As I mentioned last time, I hope to get some tatting done while away. Spinning is on hold while I wait for some natural wool roving to arrive (there's also some bamboo and cotton roving coming too). I might take some of the rings I am using for my shirt to preclose them. Preclosing rings enables so called "speed weaving", using both closed and open rings, so one can weave faster. Till next time

Happy Easter!!!

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.

A Tatted Pendant and Some Chainmaille Too

This will be a short post. I haven't done much tatting over the last week. I've been making chainmaille related stuff lately. My Showcase spot on Etsy last week brought in a few sales, which was nice (one of which was a Sterling Silver bracelet). I also had a couple custom requests through Etsy as well that I'm waiting on. I think only one could be considered guaranteed, since I'm just waiting on a colour choice. The second one was probably scared off by the price (I think, and I was being generous too; it's happened before). I've been waiting on a third custom request for over two weeks now; I don't know if it will happen either. I was actually looking forward to this one; the item requested was intriguing (at least to me). C'est la vie!

Anyway, here is the only tatting that I managed to get finished this past week:

This is the Five Petal Pendant from Marilee's new book Up and Tat 'em. I have to say, I love this book! It's full of cool and mostly smallish items suitable for gifts. I have to admit, I did learn something while working on this motif. What did I learn? Bead sizes don't change as much as I thought when changing thread sizes. The pattern called for size 20 thread and 4 mm beads. I used size 10 thread and figured 6 mm beads would be suitable. 5 mm beads might have worked. However, I made the 6 mm beads work; I added an extra stitch here and there as needed. I bet you're wondering about the thread. This is Lizbeth size 10 colour #129 Purple Splendor that I got from Typstatting in the Thread Exchange. I have to say, I didn't know what to expect with this thread. I know a number of people didn't like the size 10 Lizbeth. But I, um, LOVE it! No, really, I do. It tats beautifully and it is strong (a big plus for me, I regularly snap threads when closing rings, and ending off). I'm, of course, now not sure what thread I want to use for my tie. I think it will come down to what colour I will use. I am thinking black may be the way to go, but I'll have to have a better look in my closet some time (soon).

Finally, I will show you a chainmaille pendant I finished yesterday.


I took three of my stainless steel Celtic Star pendants, and joined them together. I have them on a cotton cord, but I think I will look into a matching metal chain to make it more complete. And adjustable. I can make adjustable necklaces using a single strand of cord, but I'm not sure about double strands. I'll have to look into this. Hopefully I'll get this in my Etsy shop in the next day or two.

That's about it for now. If some of these custom request go through, I'll be busy with chainmaille for most of the week. If not, I'll try to get some more tatting done. Including those little motifs I mentioned last week, but haven't worked on since. Till next time.

Tatted Coaster & Random Thoughts

Before I get in trouble for not posting in a while let me explain. I haven't really done anything. OK, that's not really true. I guess I just got really busy. Thanks to everyone who commented on my last post. While I haven't decided on the colour (dark blue may be out since I already have a "normal" tie in dark blue, and I still don't want to use a variegated thread), I am considering using size 10 Cebelia (Thanks Fox!!!) for the tie, though I do want to test it first. I want to mention that I don't normally tat with size 10 thread, it feels like I'm tatting with rope. Size 20 would simply take too long, I'll post the sample I made to show you... if I can find it. I think the Michaels here sells Cebelia size 10 (only white and maybe ecru) so I might stop in and pick up a ball sometime. Even if I don't like the thread, I can crochet with it so it wouldn't be a big loss. I am taking advantage of Fox's Thread Exchange to obtain samples of size 10 thread that I want to use for the tie. Of course, I'm finding other threads I want to trade for as well. If you want to see what I am offering, please see this post.

I haven't done much tatting over the past week or so. However, I can't post to a blog with tatting in the name and not post any tatting so I pulled out a couple shuttles (Pop-a-Bobbins, of course, one is new, but I don't have a photo yet; next time, promise) and whipped up the following:

This motif is called Interlaced Medallion and is from Judith Conners book Creative Tatting with beads, shuttle, and needle. The book also goes by the name Tatting Adventures with Beads, Shuttle, and Needle, at least in the US, anyway. This was a nice motif to tat, however it needed my undivided attention to keep track of which chain to overlap where. I also need four arms to keep track of the two shuttle threads and two ball threads. However, I could not grow two more arms so I ended up placing the unused shuttle and ball in either my lap or on my desk. I also goofed (as usual, it seems) and didn't/couldn't overlap the final chain (top of the photo) correctly. I guess that proves it truly was handmade, right Eliz? For this motif I used Lizbeth size 20 in colour numbers 656 Wedgewood Dark and 603 Ecru. As you can see, the completed motif is partially prepared to be mounted in an acrylic coaster. I didn't hide any ends; I just poked a few small holes in the adhesive cardboard disk you see above, and pulled the ends through. You can see the finished coaster here:


I really like the looks of tatting inside one of these coasters. I had planned on making one of Mary Konior's Spinning Wheel coaster in King Tut to place inside, but I haven't made it that far. I'm not sure if it will be small enough in King Tut, so it's been on the back burner. I probably should buy another coaster, though I don't know if I can get them locally anymore. I had bought this one from Wal*Mart, however, the one I bought it from moved a few kilometers to the city's outskirts and became a Supercentre (which wouldn't normally bother me, except they are now my store's main competitor; ironically, they were less of a competitor when they used to be across the street from us). Anyhoo, I need to buy more of the coasters.

That's about it for now. I am working on another crochet project from the Crochet Dude's book (click on the "Crochet Dude" label on my left sidebar for previous posts about him). I'll post when it's done. I've also been working on some more chainmaille. I made a few more bracelets today. I finished a copper Byzantine bracelet and a tri-metal Jens Pind Linkage bracelet. I used aluminum, copper, and brass for the JPL bracelet. Hopefully I'll be able to take photos for them tomorrow. I also hope to redo my Etsy shop header and avatar tomorrow. My current ones looks like I spent 5 minutes making them (I think it was actually 10 minutes, but who's counting). Hopefully those changes will take effect tomorrow, so feel free to stop by in the next day or so if you want (the link is in my right sidebar).

That's all for now. Hopefully I'll get around to posting again in a few days. Till next time .... assuming the mosquitoes don't carry me away!**



** In case you're wondering what I meant by that, apparently we have something like 10 times our normal amount of mosquitoes here in the Bridge City due to the large amount of rain we've been having over the past month or so.

A Little Bit of Tatting

Sorry for the delay in posting. Life kinda got in the way. I wasn't feeling good for a few days, and then I had an "issue" at work yesterday that has me questioning if I want to continue working at that store. I had planned on posting yesterday but instead opted to write a letter to the store manager and my supervisors. But it not worth talking about here. Onward to the tatting!

I didn't get as much tatting as I had hoped, though the motif was quite large. Anyway here it is:

This is Fan Coaster from Rosemarie Peel's book Tatting With Colour. I bought this book off of eBay a couple of years ago, but haven't tatted anything from it till now. There are a number of cool looking motifs in the book that I will have to get around to tat. For this motif, I used Lizbeth size 20 thread in colour #s 656 Dark Wedgewood and 611 Gold. The finished mat is about 4 3/4 inches in diameter. I really like this pattern and I think I did a pretty good job tatting it. Until the end. It was going good. I had to open three rings due to me joining to the wrong picot, and I did so successfully. I have opened rings in the past, but not three successfully in a row. However, when I got to the last ring, I missed making one picot and three double stitches. I probably should have opened it and fixed my error, but I wanted it done and decided to leave it. It's not that noticable, the ring in particular is just a little smaller than the others. This motif is #25 of my Third 25 Motif Challenge. I don't think I'm going to do the challenge again. At least not right now. I really want to work on some of my WIPs (or rather (WISPs). And I want to work on my tatted tie idea. Thanks to some inspiration from Sharon, I have an idea on how it may work. I'll share later. I need to try it out first. The idea is currently just theory.

I'm not sure how much tatting I'll get done this weekend. I probably will work on some chainmaille. I decided to try Etsy's Showcase feature to promote my shop. I'll be in the Jewelry - Bracelets section beginning midnight June 11. I don't know if it will help, but Etsy claims that all shops that use the feature get more traffic and have more people favoriteing them. That could mean more sales in the long term. I guess we'll see. Till next time.

Jon's Foldover Bookmark. And More Maille

Well, again, I didn't get as much tatting as I would have liked. I focused on chainmaille again. I will try to make this post somewhat short. I do plan on posting again in a few days.

As the title indicates, most of the tatting I accomplished was Jon's Foldover Bookmark, found here.

This is a really cool pattern. And pretty easy to do. I decided to use some of my Silk HDT (HDST) from LadyShuttleMaker. I used sized 20 HDST in the Pensacola Beach colourway. I love this colorway. And the silk thread was a pleasure to work with. I haven't worked with silk thread until now because my hands always seem to be too rough, and I didn't want to have the thread snag constantly. But lately my hands have been fairly smooth, so I decided to give the thread a try. I'll have to use the silk thread more often, before my hands get rough again. This will be Motif #24 of my Third 25 Motif Challenge.

As I mentioned, I did a lot of chainmaille over the past week. One of the first projects I did was to remake my wallet chain. Again. I guess the Stainless steel rings I used were just a bit too big, and the chain started to come undone in a few places. Being somewhat of a perfectionist, that wouldn't do. I decided to make the chain in three different metals, since the Jen Pind Linkage weave that I used has three different planes in it. I chose to make the new chain in stainless steel, brass, and bronze. I thought they would look really cool together.

Unfortunately, in this gauge brass and bronze look quite similar so I didn't get the contrast I was hoping for. Since brass and bronze both tarnish and darken with age, my only hope now is that one darkens more than the other. I am NOT remaking this. My hands were killing me for a few days after I finished the chain.

I also made two bracelets in Sterling Silver.

I have to say, they both look gorgeous in real life. Though, I will admit, I don't expect them to sell. They are kinda expensive; about three times the cost of my other bracelets. But we'll see. Just for kicks, I also took a photo comparing the colour of stainless steel and sterling silver:

I had planned on posting yesterday, however I was so involved in my lastest chainmaille creation that I didn't want to stop. I'm not going to show you the finished piece though. I will post a teaser photo instead. You guys can guess what it will be, although I think it is kinda obvious.


So, any guesses?? I will post again in a few days with a photo of the completed item. That's all for now; my short post is getting pretty long. Till next time.

Mary Konior's Patchwork - Bookmark For TattingChic

Before I begin the tatting portion of this blog post, I want to make a quick shop announcement. I'll make it short. I have decided to offer free shipping to Canada and the United States for the month of December. Overseas shipping has been reduced by the US shipping amount. OK, enough of that. Time for the tatting.

My previous post was about the bookmark I received from TattingChic. This time I will show off the bookmark I made TattingChic. After scanning through websites and pattern books, I decided to use a motif from Mary Konior's Tatting With Visual Patterns. I chose "Patchwork".

The above motif was actually the third motif I made for Tattingchic's bookmark. However, on the third repeat, just before I was going to join it with the first two, I made a mistake-sorry, design variation. I made one of the large chains (at the top in the above photo) smaller than the other. I didn't want to retro-tat to fix the mistake-er, design variation, and I couldn't join it to the completed two motifs. So I just finished the motif. I'm sure I find some use for it.

You're probably wonder what the finished bookmark looks like. Well, here it is:

I really like how it came out. Please note: I don't remember if I blocked the bookmark before or after scanning. So it probably looks better than the above photo. Anyway, here are some stats for the bookmark. I used Lizbeth size 40 thread in colour #120 Denim Whisper. TattingChic likes pink and other "girly" colours, and this was as close I could get. I have to admit, I can't say I have ever owned anything denim with pink in it. I usually think of denim as shades of blue. But, its still a nice colourway. This will be #6 of my Third 25 Motif Challenge.

Finally I decided to treat myself to some more Lizbeth thread. I love this stuff! I wanted to get a few of the new colours that had been recently added to the growing list of colours. I would like to mention that Handy Hands isn't the only place to buy Lizbeth thread. Both DS9Designs and Be-Stitched carry Lizbeth. I ordered from DS9Designs since they also carry Superior Threads products such as King Tut and Perfect Quilter threads. But Be-Stitched has cheaper shipping options, which is nice when you only want a few balls of thread.

That's all for now. I was hoping to have the pattern by Jane finished, but I've spent the last few days working on chainmaille stuff for my shop. Hopefully I can do some tatting after work tomorrow. Later.

The Etsy Store is Go! Plus a little bit of tatting.

Well, my Etsy store has been created and most of the jewelry pieces have been listed. I won't go into any major details, but if you're interested, my store, Chainmaille by Redeye, can be reached here:

http://redeye.etsy.com

I am currently using my regular Etsy account. I may recreate the store using a new username if I feel it is necessary. I probably won't provide many updates about the store here, since this blog was created for tatting. I've had a lot of non-tatting posts lately.

Now for the tatting. Right after my last post, I tried out that Daisy thread I posted about. I decided to try an edging pattern from the vintage tatting book that I also blogged about earlier.

If you're wondering, this is edging No. 9075. As both Sharon and Ladytats said in the comments, the thread comes in a skein that is doubled onto itself several times. So I'll have to wind it onto something before it gets all tangled up. The thread is alright to tat with. It appears to be a 3-cord thread, and it is a bit fuzzy. As you can see in the above photo, my tension was terrible. I was afraid of snapping the thread. I didn't, but the thought stayed with me till I ran out of my "ball" thread. I wound a shuttle with the thread and simply pulled off a metre or so of thread and used it as my ball thread.

That's all for now. I really need to get back to some serious tatting. I haven't touched the Spinning Wheel doily for several weeks now. I also want to rewrite the above edging pattern in modern notation. I kept loosing my place. Till next time.