Still Alive

I'll make this quick. I keep meaning to post, but never seem to have the time. I've been mostly knitting for the past four months or so. I did do a little bit of tatting a few weeks ago, so that's what I'll start with for now.

Like many tatter out there, I bought several balls of the new Liz Metallic thread shortly after it came out.

I decided to make a bracelet using it.

The pattern is adapted from one in the Korean book Tatting Lace With Your Life. Its part of the pattern Retro Stripe, square C. The book has a diagram to make the bracelet. I wanted it on the wide side, so I made two strips. I was going to tat three stripes, but since the metallic thread is a bit thicker than a size 20 thread, two was enough. The bracelet is about 1 1/2 inches wide. I have to say, I really like the Liz Metallic thread. I might have to buy more, I only got 8 of the colours available. Fortunately, there is a Canadian vendor of Lizbeth that I'll probably buy from. My only issue with the thread is how it's packaged. Handy Hands isn't kidding when they say the thread doesn't stay on the ball. It unwinds very easily. I can't help but wonder why they chose to wind it into balls and not onto spools like all the other metallic threads available. 

That's it for now. I have lots of stuff to share, mostly knitting, but some crochet and chainmaille. I just have to take pictures of everything.

Magic Squares and a Korean Book

I have to say, it feels awesome not having to work on the Monster Doily. Yeah, I am so happy to have it finished. Don't get me wrong I am pleased and proud of myself for finishing tatting it. It was just so....big. Thank you to everyone for the comments. I appreciate each and every one of them. Keep'em coming! I will post a better photo of the Monster after it's been blocked, along with other info-finished size, thread information, etc.

I started tatting one of Robin Perfetti's Magic Squares (Triangles Variation). You can find the pattern in her Etsy Shop here. I started tatting the pattern back during the beginning of the year while I was avoiding the Monster Doily, er, taking a break. I initially was going to tat the "Option 1", or a small square version, but once I had tatted half the square, I decided to turn it into the "Option 2" square.

I think it turned out quite well. Once you learn the pattern, it tats up pretty quickly.  I did make a few mistakes though. I forgot to join several picots. Instead of retro tatting or cutting off the errors, I just tied the picots together after. This is just a test piece anyway, as I really didn't care for the thread I was using. It is DMC Babylo, size 20. It's not a bad thread, I just found it pretty soft to tat with. It will be great for some crochet projects I plan on working on soon. The square measures about 5.5 inches, um, square. I'm working on anther one right now.

Finally, I got a new tatting book! It is one I've wanted for awhile, though, I haven't seen much blogged about it. It is a Korean book called Tatting Lace With Your Life by Ha Mi- Kyeong. Thanks Mary Victoria for the author's name.

I chose a small motif to tat from this book. This motif is called "One of the pleasures". It was nice and quick to tat. I started tatting it Sunday morning, and finished it Sunday evening. After the Monster Doily, it was nice to start and finish a tatting project in the same day. As you can the see, the motif is on the front cover of the book. I need to tat it again, as the picots in the centre are too big, and causes the motif to lose it's round shape. After tatting with the DMC Babylo for the previous project, I found the Lizbeth thread stiff. The motif is rather stiff too. I guess I need to loosen my tension a bit. The motif is about 2.75 inches across. Thread stats: Lizbeth size 20, colour #?. I put the ball of thread away, and don't want to look for it right now.

That's about it for now. I have to get to bed. I'll try to post again soon. Till next time.