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.

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.

Motif # 3

Here is my third motif for the 25 Motif Challenge. I am not sure how many people have made Jane's Gecko, which is available on her pattern site, but I just had to make one more.


This particular Gecko will be (at least I plan to) attached to a t-shirt for myself. There are not a lot of tatting patterns that I think I would wear, but this Gecko is one of them. For this motif, I used some of Yarnplayer's hand dyed thread. The colour is "Deep Ocean" in a size 30. I really wish I had bought more of this colour in this size.

I am also following along with Jane's Tat It And See. Here are the first two parts completed.

And finally, Connie mentioned that she would love to see some of my plants, so I will try to add a picture of one every once in a while. Here is a picture of one of my Phalaenopsis orchids. This one is called 'Salu Princess'. It has been flowering for more than a month.