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. 

Bentley Snowflake

I didn't mean to go quite this long without a post, it just sorta happened. I haven't done much tatting since my last post. I think I've only tatted a couple more rings and chains on the Monsterpiece Doily. I've primarily been working on a few crochet projects: a late birthday gift for my mom, and a scarf for me. Even knitting has been put on hold right now.

I received my interchangeable circular knitting needle set on Wednesday.  I carefully transferred the current sock onto the new needles, but haven't knitted more than a couple rows. I took a few photos of the needle set but I'm feeling kinda lazy now and don't feel like editing them for the post. Their nothing fancy. Since I am a pretty tight knitter, I opted for a set of nickel plated needles which are the "slickest", instead of the very pretty multicoloured laminated wood ones. I did buy one set of needle tips in the coloured wood to try out. There were a number of reviews on Knit Picks about the metal parts of the wood needles coming off and decided I didn't want to deal with that. I do have a set of their coloured laminated wood crochet hooks which are awesome. The cables are really nice though. They take a bit of getting used to, but they are much more flexible. The cable lengths are a bit wonky though as a few reviews pointed out. Apparently Knit Picks sizes their cable lengths to include the needles tips, so a 24 inch cable is the total length of the needle tips and the cable. They may be a bit too short for some projects. It's a good thing I bought the cable connectors and the longer cable!

As I mentioned previously, I was lucky to be asked by Frivole to test tat her Bentley snowflake. I love her snowflakes!

I didn't bother with using crystals on this snowflake, but I will definitely give it a try next time. It's a pretty quick snowflake to tat and no really fancy techniques. There's a couple extra threads in the photo because I broke a thread while trying to undo a tiny ring. I guess I forgot to trim them before I took the photo. I expect to tat several of Frivole's Bentley snowflake, and Snowdrop snowflake before the year is over.

I was going to post a picture of the finished sock I talked about last time, but I forgot to take a picture of it. The sock doesn't look much different than the photo I posted shows, since I bound off after a couple additional rows. I really need to get the second sock finished now. I picked up a few balls of washable wool yarn today from Michaels, among other items. I took advantage of some Black Friday sales there. I would like to (ideally) make a few pairs of socks for Christmas gifts. Though they could become gifts for next year if I don't get started soon!

That's about it for now. For anyone interested, I am running a Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale at my Etsy show, located here. Everything is 25% off until midnight Monday. I wasn't going to have sale, but decided to at the last minute. I figured it couldn't hurt. Till next time.

Crocheted Torchon Lace, and Some Tatting

Where does the time go? I can't believe it's almost July. I keep meaning to post but never seemed to find the time. Fortunately I have been working on a some projects, surprisingly mainly tatting. As the title indicates, one of these projects is crocheted. I've even been working on some chainmaille.

I came across a pattern for a crocheted Torchon Lace edging in the May/June 2015 issue of Piecework Magazine, The Lace Issue, and had to try it. Torchon Lace is often made using bobbin lace techniques but can be made using other techniques, including crochet.

The pattern called for size 80 thread and a size 13 hook. There was no way I was going to try to crochet using size 80 thread. I'm sure it would look more like traditional Torchon Lace if I used that fine of thread. I used some size 20 Omega thread in colour #252. It measures about 2 inches wide. I would like to try the pattern again using a size 40 or 50 thread. Perhaps one day I'll try it in size 80 thread, but who knows if that will happen.

I finished the Japanese Doily at least a month ago. I worked on it quite regularly since my last post. It need some significant blocking, which I haven't done yet. I figured I'll share it anyway.

I haven't measured it and even if I did right now it probably won't be accurate. Technically there is supposed to be another round of interwoven chains and clovers, but since I found them painfully slow to tat, I don't want to tat that round. I actually like it this way. To me it looks finished, but I would love to know what other people think. Does it look finished or does it look like it's missing a round? The thread is Lizbeth 20, colour #602 Natural. I should point out that I almost ran out of thread by the end of the round. I have about a bobbins worth left. I bought another ball of this thread colour but they look significantly different. I'm not sure if it's because of a large dye lot difference or that the thread colour isn't #602 Natural. I lost the label from the ball.

Finally I'm going to give you guys a quick peek at what I'm currently working on, tatting wise.

This particular motif is part of the pattern I'm working on. I'll have to make 18 of them in total. Some (six) will be joined together, the rest used elsewhere in the patterns. And while it doesn't look it here, the colour is a pale baby blue.

That's about it for now. Since I doubt I'll post again for a few weeks, I'd like to wish my fellow Canadians a happy Canada Day tomorrow. And a happy Independence Day for my US followers. Till next time.

Chinese Dragon and Some New Thread

So, in my last post, I hinted at tatting a Martha Ess design. Well, here it is:

This is her Chinese Dragon from her newish book Flights of Fancy. It was very easy to tat-only two split rings for those of you who don't like tatting them, and as I mentioned earlier, I started it on a Saturday afternoon and finished it Sunday afternoon. Of the same weekend! I surprised myself on how quickly I tatted it. It might have been a fluke, but it doesn't matter. I'll have to make another one soon. As you can see, I didn't hide the threads when I finished as I don't know what I will do with it. It (or maybe they?) could end up sewn onto a t-shirt or perhaps mounted and framed. We'll see. Thread stats: Lizbeth size 20 in #404 Twirlz Mermaid Lagoon. I don't know about you, but I think this thread works for this pattern.

Finally, I want to show you guys some new threads that I bought fairly recently. Most of them are new to me.

If you can't tell from the picture, the four large balls are Manuela, the small blue ball is Flora, the copper coloured one is DMC Diamant, and the metallic blue is Razzle Dazzle. All were bought, again recently, from DS9Designs. For those of you who don't shop at this online store, the owner, Debbie purchased the remaining inventory of Catchpin Lacemaking Supplies after it shut down. She is slowly listing thread, books, and shuttles that she has. I actually have another order coming with more Manuela and Flora, as well as a book. I can't quite remember but I think the Manuela is supposed to be a good thread to tat with. I haven't tried it yet but will soon. I know the Flora is awesome and I'm sure many of you who have tried it will agree. It's the thread that Lizbeth replaced. As for the two metallic threads, well, I like shiny threads, and shiny things in general. I'll share how well they tat when I try them.

That's it for now. I haven't tatted much since my last post. I did some crocheting-but that was just another pair of slippers which you've seen already. I did get an order through my Etsy shop last night (first one of the year!) which will be easy to make; I plan on finishing the custom bracelet before bed. I also sold a sterling silver bracelet in the same order which is awesome as I've discounted them pretty severely in order to get rid of them as that product line wasn't doing great. Just two more to go and a pair of earrings. Till next time.

First Post of The Year. And With Tatting!

Hello 2015! Yeah I know the year started for most of us almost three weeks ago. I actually can't believe that 2014 is already over. Its probably just as well; it was definitely a weird year. I'm not sure what 2015 is going to bring but we'll find out whether we are ready or not. As always I didn't make any resolutions this year.You can't break'em if you don't make'em! All joking aside, if something's worth changing in your life, any time is a good time to start. I am actually planning on getting one thing in my life fixed. A problem I never really thought I may have. Between a few things happening at work recently and paying closer attention to my own feelings/emotions, I have concluded that I may be suffering from depression or something related. I think I have been for a number of years. I intend on seeing my doctor soon. I'm keeping track of my thoughts and emotions first so I can better talk to him about it. I guess I hope 2015 will be a year of change for me.

Now that that's out of the way we can get to the tatting. I have been tatting quite a bit lately. I don't know if it has been the wonky shifts at work again or what, but I managed to fit some in nearly every day. The main project I have been working on has been the doily from the Japanese book Tatting Lace by Sumi Fujishige. It's taking way too long to do, and it's not even that big. I guess it hasn't been a year yet since I started it, but it's still not done.

Here it is after four rounds. It measures about 7 1/2 inches in diameter. I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue the pattern and make the final two rounds. I was thinking of just doing the next round only and not having the final round of intertwined chains with clovers. I really don't like having that round as the final one on the doily. I'll see after the next round. I case you forgot, 'cause I did, the thread is Lizbeth 20, colour #602 Natural. I probably should buy another ball of this thread if I don't have another one already.

The next bit of tatting I did was a pair of earrings tatted before Christmas. These were inspired by a pair Frivole tatted. The pattern is by Elizabeth Zipay and is available in her Etsy shop here.

The pattern is Tiny Tatted Snowflakes. There were very quick to tat-even for me! I made two pairs, one with beads and one without. I never took a photo of the one with beads. Elizabeth included a photo showing a number of bead related variation one can do with the pattern. I'm not sure if I used Lizbeth thread in white or DMC Cordonnet in white, the size was #20 though.

I also made a pendant pattern from Totusmel before Christmas as well.

This is Star Flower, available in Totusmel's Etsy shop, here. The inner green section was shuttle tatted in Lizbeth size 10, Christmas Green thread. The outer red section was needle tatted with Lizbeth size 20, Christmas Red thread. The thread sizes are correct. In order for the motif to look right when both shuttle and needle tatted I had to use two different sizes of thread. For me anyway, a shuttle tatted item comes out smaller than the same item that is needle tatted when using the same size thread. My tension is fairly tight with shuttle tatting. Since I don't needle tat often, my tension is fairly loose. Your mileage may vary.

Finally a quick photo of a new book I bought.

I thought the "quilts" looked cool, though I don't know if I will ever tat anything from the book. There are five patterns in the book, but as you can probably tell from the photo, there will be a lot of ends to deal with. For now, the book is mainly just for looking at; it wasn't really expensive so I don't feel too bad. I might try one of the simple patterns one day.

I think that's it for now. I started tatting a pattern from one of Martha Ess's books yesterday afternoon and miraculously finished it this afternoon. I amazed myself as I consider myself a pretty slow tatter with the attention span of a three year old. No foolin' there. But that will have to wait, as well as a new thread purchase. I have some thing for a new post without even trying! Now to find the time to write it...

Till next time.

The Windmills Doily and a Mouse

Finally, I can show you guys the Windmills doily as it is currently. I did hope to post this earlier in the week, but posting during the week just doesn't seem to work for me. I really haven't done as much tatting as I'd like, but I am hoping that will change soon. The temperatures have dropped quite a bit lately, and we've even gotten a little bit of snow. I do feel like tatting some snowflakes right now. I picked out a few designs to make and I bought a couple balls of the Lizbeth Twirlz thread to try. With some luck and free time, I'll have something to share regularly.

I think I'm done with the Windmills doily for now. I do plan on making it larger, just not right now.

Before I do any more tatting on it, I probably should block it. Because it has taken me so long to get to this point, my tension varies a bit with each tatting session. I'm not sure what I'll do with it when I start working on it again. I'll probably add more motifs to make it more round again, but we'll see. I forgot to measure it, but it is getting pretty big. DMC Cordonnet size 20 thread in white.

Finally, I want to share my first Bauble Tatted creature. The mouse:

He is from the Shuttle Brothers' book Tatting GR-8 Baubles, Bugs and Blossoms. This was fun to tat. I see why Jane E. likes to make them. Making the mouse means I am now a full member of Jane's Exclusive Tatting Club. Once you are familiar with the bauble tatting technique, the mouse wasn't too difficult to tat. I did mess up the first time, I think I got my stabilizer/rib threads mixed up near the beginning or it went inside out or something. My mouse looks smaller and rounder than the one in the book. Mine is about 1 1/4 inches long without the tail and about 3 inches long with the tail. The mouse is one of a couple in the book that do not include measurements so I'm not sure what size it should be. I'm pretty sure that I snugged all the stabilizer/rib threads too much compacting the mouse's body, that's why mine isn't as long as it should be. I do plan on making more bauble creatures (plant and animal) but I think I'll give them a rest for a while.

That's it for now. Hopefully I will get around to tatting some snowflakes this week. It is a short week because of Remembrance Day on Tuesday. Until next time.

Has It Really Been That Long?

I didn't really plan to be away from blogging this long. I don't really know what happened. I guess I lost interest in the motif I was working on, like, almost instantly after my last post. As least it seems like it. I hadn't done much tatting since my last post. Actually I haven't done much of anything craft/art related since my last post. I partially blame in on the fact that I have to make nearly every I eat in order to keep my sodium intake down. In case anyone is wondering, my blood pressure seems to be under control. I had a few medication changes and one dosage change since this all started. I don't need to see the doctor till November, which is nice. The weekly visits really didn't help; it was always high when I went. He said I might be able to go off the medication one day. I did have to repeat one of the test I did in the hospital because of an "anomaly" but the doctor there doesn't think it will be an issue, so we'll see what happens there. Anyway, I did get inspired to finish the final motif I was working and getting it joined this past weekend. I haven't taken a picture yet, but I will soon. I do a have a few things I did this weekend as well.

I'm sure many of you have seen Jane's posts about bauble tatting and the book about them by the Shuttle Brothers (see here: http://www.gr-8shuttles.com/tatting_gr8_baubles.shtml). They looked so complicated that I convinced myself I probably couldn't tat them and didn't need the book. Of course Jane launched an Exclusive Club for people who make them and that made more people make them and more of the items from the book. I wanted the book then. When I saw that Bestitched added the book to their shop, I ordered it right away. While I'm waiting for the book to arrive (and all the other stuff I "needed" too), I figured I should practice. Here's my first attempt:

Apart from the beginning, I didn't do too bad. It took a few rounds for me to figure out how the bauble worked. It's basically a continuous spiral that is held in place by guy wires-they're thread but they do the same thing. Each round lays literally on of the previous round, and what is the outside of the bauble is the top of the row. Once I discovered this, they're pretty easy to do. I'm going to practice them for awhile and I might start experimenting with them on my own. I don't think there are many patterns using them yet. Feel free to post the comments if you know of any that aren't in the book. Oh, and I'm now an Associate Member of the Exclusive Tatting Club. I'll be a full member once I send in a bauble mouse from the book. Besides available directly from the Shuttle Brothers, many of the popular tatting stores online have the book as well.

Before I go, I wanted to share the new pair of slippers I crocheted Saturday. I know I've shown other slippers I made before but the particular fuzzy yarn I used gave them a kinda cool effect.

I'm pretty sure the fur is longer on this brand of yarn (Loops & Threads Fabulous Fur) and it spreads out a bit when my feet are on the floor. It kinda looks like I have wolf paws. Which is fitting because the colour is called "Wolf". Sorry, I thought is was cool and I've never seen any of the other slippers I've made do this.

That's it for now. I'm going to really try to post again more frequently. Hopefully the tatting bugs bite lasts for awhile with the bauble tatting inspiration. I'll share the updated photo of the Windmills doily once I get photo of it. Till next time.

Tatting From New Tatting

It's been a while again, hasn't it? Hopefully everyone is doing alright. Since my last post, spring has finally come. It was almost 30 degrees C today. It's clouded over now, so I wouldn't be surprised if it rained or even stormed tonight. Everything is growing. And I hate having to work inside. I'm so jealous of the people who work in the store's garden centre. I've been somewhat busy with new plants that arrived in the mail recently, as well as the ones that just have to come home with me from the local nurseries that I have to visit. Anyway, I did manage to get a bit of tatting done, which I will share.

The motif I am about to share is from a new tatting book, which, is called New Tatting, written by Tomoko Morimoko. Her mother, Teiko Fuijito, is a tatter as well.

 As I mentioned in a comment on Lace Lovin' Diane's blog, the book seems to be written for beginners. As a result, some more advanced tatters might not agree with some of the methods used. The main one would be using glue to finish the ends. Which, to me is fine as that is often the recommended method for finishing ends for beginning tatters. Many of them will probably learn better methods as their skills advance. Oh, and the book is in English.

This is Christmas Rose. It was quick and easy. It was supposed to be done in two rounds, but I used a split ring and two split chains to you can tat it with no cutting and tying between rounds. In case you're wondering, the second split chain is right at the top in the photo. I wanted the ends to come out in one of the small chains so I didn't have to hide them. I have to say, there are a number of interesting patterns. I'm sure you'll see more from this book. In case you're wondering, I bought the ebook version of the book. The photo of the cover is a screen capture of my iPad. If you're interested, you can buy the ebook and book directly from Interweave (the publisher) here.Thread stats: Lizbeth 20, colour #704.

That's it for now. I did find a snowflake I tatted a few months ago while sorting through my Pop-a-Bobbin shuttles. I'll have to save that for another post. I was wondering how many of them I have-I may have an addiction problem. I also may have bought another one this past Saturday when Jane offered more for sale in her shop. I didn't get the one I really wanted, so I'll be waiting for the new batch too. Till next time.

Japanese Doily, Take Two

As I mentioned in my last post, I have been working on a motif/doily from Tatting Lace by Sumi Fujishige. I made this motif earlier, back in November, 2012. You can see the post here.When I made it then, I was having trouble with the overlapping chains. I think I figured out how to make it, without unwinding bobbins and/or shuttles. Here's the centre or glass mat if you will:

It's not blocked yet, so it's a bit ruffly. This is the first two rounds of the doily. In order to get the shuttle to go through the interwoven chains, I used a narrower shuttle. Specifically, a Celtic shuttle. It works much better, apart from winding the thing seemingly all the time. The one I bought, a Lacis metal one, only holds about half as much as an Aero/Aerlit. I'm faily pleased with the result, and decided to continue tatting and make the next size doily. Oh, the thread is Lizbeth 20, colour #602 Natural.

And, like magic (and procrastination from blogging!) we have the third round finished:

It's still ruffled somewhat, but I think it will flatten out once blocked. This round was quick to tat. Probably because I was using a Pop-a-Bobbin shuttle for it. I am currently working the fourth round. It's an interwoven chain round, like the second round. It's slow going because I have to add thread every four or five clovers. Hopefully, I'll have it done by next weekend and I could do a quick post. I plan on making the largest version on the doily since rounds five and six are similar to three and four.

That's it for now. I have been making steady progress on round four, so I hope it won't take long to share it. I hope the weather is cooperating for everyone. We started warming up since my last post, and have had many days above freezing. Our high was 6 C today.  The snow is definitely melting, which is awesome to see. I just hope it keeps melting and doesn't snow anymore. It's been a long and cold winter. I'm looking forward to spring and summer. I have a lemon tree inside that has been flowering for the past few weeks. I've been pollinating the flowers as they open, so I'm hoping I may get a few lemons this year. Till next time.

Quick Update

I'm still here. I just haven't been tatting much apart from the TIAS. I have done a little more chainmaille, but not much, mainly my own stuff. There are a few crochet projects I'd like to make, but we'll see if they happen before spring.

Since I was managing to remember to send progress pics to Jane, I think I will skip to the final motif:

As I'm sure everyone is aware, Jane's TIAS this year turned out to be a Pirate Ship. OK, I think technically it's a "sailing ship" but that mine's a Pirate Ship. What's that? Who says a pirate ship can't have pink sails. Yeah, probably not the best choice, but if you did meet some pirates with a ship that had pink sails, you might not argue with them. Thread stats: Lizbeth size 20 #s 701 and 704 (the blue one). Thanks Jane for hosting the TIAS. It was lots of fun.

That's it for now. I am currently working a doily as my main tatting project right now. It is one I have partially done before, but found a more efficient way of working parts of it. I hope to do a proper post in a couple days. I hope to get a fain amount of tatting done as it supposed to be really, really, really cold this weekend. We're supposed to be in the minus 50's with the wind chill tomorrow. Which is better than the -60 something Environment Canada was forecasting yesterday. Till next time.

TIAS 2014, Days 4-8

Yeah. I haven't been posting these as often as I hoped. With the exception of a special tatting experiment (still in progress-will share when ready), I haven't done much tatting except for the TIAS tatting. I have been somewhat inspired to do some chainmaille lately. I learned two new weaves and made a few bracelets using them. I will share once I get some decent photos. 

Anyway, here are my TIAS 2014 progress pictures, these are days 4,5,6,7 and 8:

Jane is definitely making this TIAS difficult! I'm not sure if anyone has guessed it right yet, and  she won't tell us. I am having fun with this though.

That's it for today. I hope to spend the rest of today tatting. It's my birthday today, for anyone not on Facebook. My copy of Jan Stawasz's first book arrived today. I definitely hope to tat something from it today. Till next time.

TIAS 2014, Days 1 to 3

I'm still here. I didn't get as much tatted over Christmas as I would have liked. I had meant to post earlier, but I have been down with a cold for over a week now. I am feeling somewhat better, though, I'm not operating at peak efficiency yet. Actually, I haven't felt like doing much at all lately. I did some crochet last weekend. Nothing special. Just a new pair of slippers using a pattern I've used before. It may be my cold, but I just haven't felt like tatting much. I've been flipping though pattern books and I have a number of motifs picked out, but I just haven't picked up my shuttles yet. And speaking of cold, it was freaking cold out last weekend. With the wind chill, it was -50 outside! -34 or -35 without the wind. And I still had to go to work. Granted, it wasn't snowing or anything; I think the sun was out all day, but still. It did warm up by the end of the week, and we had single digit negative temperatures this weekend.

Anyway, as you can guess from the title, I am participating in Jane's latest TIAS (Tat It And See). Since I'm not busy with other stuff like the last TIAS (or two, I can't remember), I decided to participate. Here is my progress for the last three days:

Day 2 looks like a leg to me, but Day 3 kinda changed that. I have no idea what it could be right now. I'm sure Jane will keep us guessing right till the end. I'm using Lizbeth 20 #701 Dark English Rose. I have no idea why I bought this thread. It's not one of the colours I usually buy, but felt drawn to it for some reason. None of the photos above capture the colour correctly-even the colour of the smart cover on my iPad is wrong. The top photo is probably the closest. I'm not sure if I'll post after each days progress, we'll see.

I think that's it for now. I'll have to post again soon. I do have a few motifs that I tatted over Christmas that I remembered to photograph before giving away to share. I also found out some good news for some of us who were waiting for the reprint of Jan Stawasz's first book. It is currently available from Handy Hands. Or you can order it from the publisher here: https://www.gecom.pl/index.php/en/create_order . This is probably what I'll be doing. I don't really need anything else from Handy Hands to justify their shipping charges and I haven't noticed any of the other tatting suppliers offering the book yet. Handy Hands does have a number of new foreign language books I kinda want, but I am planning on purchasing some other books so they will have to wait. That's it for now. Till next time.

Jan Stawasz Doily, Almost Finished

The tatting of the doily is finished. I just haven't blocked it or dealt with the ends yet. I actually finished tatting the doily a few weeks ago; it was actually pretty quick to tat once I got the stitch counts memorized. I haven't gotten around to posting it till now because I have been busy with work. You gotta love working retail at Christmas. Today was my last day before I go on four days off for Christmas. Let me tell you, I couldn't wait to leave work today! Granted it was freaking cold when I left the building; temperature didn't move much between -28 and -31 C today. It's supposed to get to -35 C tonight then warm up for several days. Which is nice as long as it doesn't snow. Anyway, I really need to make this post short, I still need to pack and do a million other things tonight so I can go to my parents house tomorrow.

Like I said above, the Jan Stawasz doily I tatted, Doily V, was fairly quick to tat. Lots of split rings for much of it. The outer scallops add interest to the pattern, though that's where I found some errors in the stitch counts. Anyway, here's the unblocked doily:

I'll post another picture once it's blocked. I had a few things to talk about as I was tatting the doily but I don't remember them right now. As a reminder, I used Lizbeth 20, #601 White thread. As I said, if anyone else wants to tat this doily, just be aware that there are a few errors in the stitch counts. It's not difficult to figure out the correct stitch counts. I am looking forward to tatting another one of Jan's designs.

That's about it for now. I do hope to get a fair bit of tatting done while I'm away. I'll share what I tat when I get back. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season. Till next time.

Tatting a Jan Stawasz Design: Doily V

Wow! It's over a month since I last posted. I really hadn't planned on that. I guess between work and life, I never got around to posting till now. I still haven't made a PDF file of the football pattern I posted in my last post yet. You did see it right? You can find the pattern here. You may have noticed that my pattern links are gone from the top left sidebar. Keep & Share closed my account for some reason, and didn't tell me. I'm assuming the account was closed because I hadn't logged in for quite a while. I made a new account, but, um, forgot the password and just haven't dealt with it yet. Don't worry, I'll get them back up soon. Onward to the tatting! I have been tatting, honest!

I'm sure many of you may have heard that Jan Stawasz recently passed away. I only have his second book, though I have wanted his first book for a while. I do hope his publisher continues with the re-release of the first book. I started one of his designs a few weeks ago when I went out of town for the weekend. I chose Doily V, on page 35, as it didn't seem to use "Jan's Method" much.

I had to start the centre square over as I neglected to make the joining picots really small as Jan suggests. It cupped because of the larger picots. It still cups a bit, due to the joining picots on the corners, but I didn't really want to start over. I am hoping blocking it when it's finished will help it. I am currently working on the final round, or Part III as it is written in the book. Unfortunately, this round has some inconsistencies with the stitch counts. I'll talk about them when I'm done the round. I did try Jan's Method on a few rings, and it is pretty easy to do once you start doing it. It's basically a form of frontside/backside tatting. I had to cut off the round shortly after I started as I got mixed up with the stitch count inconsistencies. I didn't use Jan's Method, but I do see the difference now and am looking forward to tatting some of his other designs. I'm using Lizbeth 20, #601 White.

That's about it for now. I bought a couple more Pop-a-Bobbin shuttles from the latest batch that Jane posted last Saturday. I had to; I haven't bought one for a while. I also placed a small order from Bestitched as I wanted one of the new Aerlit shuttle colours, and matching bobbins. There was also a few new Lizbeth colours I wanted. Of course, I ordered a week early, and will miss the Black Friday sale they are having all weekend. Which reminds me, I'm having a sale too!

Starting at midnight (my time) everything is 25% off. This includes the already deeply discounted Sterling Silver. And that's not all! The coupon code located on the right sidebar can be used too. The sale will last all weekend, including Monday.

I had to buy a new battery for my truck a week ago so I would love to get some sales this weekend. Sales have been slow, though I know it's not just me. I'm not trying to guilt anyone by the way. Feel free to pass this on to other people who may be interested. I hope all my US tatting friends are having/had a great Thanksgiving. Till next time.

Are You Ready For Some Football!

Football related tatting that is. I am kinda nervous and excited to be part of The Football Blog Hop, organized by Catherine of Ancora Crafts. This is the first time I've been involved with a blog hop. For anyone not familiar with a blog hop, each participant creates a tutorial that they share on their blog. At the bottom of this post (and the posts of each participant) are links to the other participants. Make sure you check out their tutorials as well.

OK. My project is a tatted motif. Obviously, you'll need to know how to tat in order to make the motif. YouTube has a growing selection of tatting tutorials if you wish to learn. Alright, we got that out of the way, so now we can begin.

You will need:

• 1 or 2 tatting shuttles or tatting needles
• 1 ball of size 20 thread in the colour you want your football, I used Lizbeth #692 (Brown) and Flora #230 (Green)
• 1 ball of size 20 thread in white, I used DMC Cordonnet
• fine crochet hook (optional if your shuttle has a hook or pick)
• a safety pin (coil less preferred), or a paperclip
• scissors

 
At this point I should mention that I haven't tested the pattern using needles. It should work though.

Abbreviations

R       Ring
SR     Split Ring
CH    Chain
vsp    Very Small Picot
LJ      Lock Join (AKA Shuttle Join)
-        Picot
---     Large Picot
J, +    Join (a normal join)
SLT    Shoe Lace Trick

Let's begin!

Wind a couple yards/metres of brown (or colour you want) thread continuously onto each shuttle. You can use just one shuttle and the ball if you are not comfortable with making split rings and split chains. I have noted the changes needed when necessary. Don't wind more than one yard/metre if you take this route.

Tatted Football ©2013 Jeff Hamilton

Round 1

R1: 3-3---(10mm)3-3 RW
Ch: 4-4-4 RW
R2: 3+3+3-3 RW
Ch: 4-4-4 RW
R3: 3+3+3-3 RW
Ch: 6-6 RW
R4: 3+3+3-3 RW
Ch: 4-4-4 RW
R5: 3+3+3-3 RW
Ch: 4-4-4 RW 
R6: 3+3+3+3 RW
Sch: 6/6 Flip work. Do not cut thread

If you don't know how/don't like to make Split Chains, you can make the last chain 6-6, join to base of first ring. Cut, tie, hide ends.

Round 2

Now, if you made the split chain in round 1, leave a short length of thread before starting SR1. You are making a mock picot. If you didn't make a split chain, then make SR1 a regular ring like so: 8+8 RW. Make sure you join to one of the chains with only one picot.

SR1: 8/8 RW
Ch: 8-8 RW
R2: 4+4 RW (The join goes above the next ring on the previous round)
Ch: 2-2 LJ 3-3 LJ 3-3 LJ 3-3 LJ 2-2 LJ RW
R3: 4+4 RW (The join goes above the next ring on the previous round)
CH: 8-8 RW
R4: 8+8 RW
Ch: 8-8 RW
R5: 4+4 RW (The join goes above the next ring on the previous round)
Ch: 2-2 LJ 3-3 LJ 3-3 LJ 3-3 LJ 2-2 LJ RW
R6: 4+4 RW (The join goes above the next ring on the previous round)
Ch: 8-8 LJ to base of SR1. Flip work. Do not cut thread.

Hmmm. Kinda looks like a dog biscuit, doesn't it? Don't worry, it won't stay that way for long.

Round 3

Alright, I have to say pretty much the same thing here as above. If you will make a split ring, leave a short length of thread before starting SR1. You are making a mock picot. If you don't know how/don't like to make split rings, then make SR1 a regular ring like so: 8+8 RW. Make sure you join to the space above the first ring you made in the previous round.

SR1: 8/8 RW
Ch:13 LJ 8 LJ 5 LJ 6 LJ 6 LJ 5 LJ 8 LJ 13 RW
R2: 8+8 RW
Ch:13 LJ 8 LJ 5 LJ 6 LJ 6 LJ 5 LJ 8 LJ 13 Join to base of SR1. Tie, cut, hide.

Still with me? Good. We're almost done.

Stripes (Make 2)

Wind a couple feet of white thread onto a shuttle and leave attached to the ball. Slip a paper clip or safety pin on the thread to begin. It will give you a place to hold onto and a picot. A twofer! You may find it easier later to make the first stitch a lock stitch.

Ch: 8vsp8 SLT, RW
Ch: vsp8LJ8 LJ to p made using paperclip, SLT, RW
Ch: LJ to previous Ch, J(to 1st picot on the football marked with a green dot, don’t make the join too tight )9LJ to space above previous LJ,9 LJ to last vsp on previous Ch, J(to the picot on the football marked with a red dot, don’t make the join too tight). If you have trouble with the joins don't worry. I don't think there is a right way or wrong way here. join as best you can.

Tie the shuttle and ball threads together then cut the threads. Take the threads to the back of the football and tie the threads together again. Hide them as you wish, or cut them close to the knot and leave them. Repeat for second stripe joining the stripe to the football using the second green and red dots.

Awesome! We now have a tatted football to use as you wish. I'm sure someone might mention it, but I didn't add stitches to the football. They would be easy to add if someone wants to. I think a pair of footballs would look pretty cool as earrings for the football loving lady. Strategic picots on the outer round could allow them to join to become something larger. Football doily, anyone?

I hope everyone had fun tatting the football. And of course, if anyone has any questions, don't hesitate to ask. I've tested the pattern pretty extensively (I have quite a few tatted footballs now), but if anyone finds an error or doesn't understand something please let me know. I will be releasing the pattern in PDF format soon. I hope to do so over the weekend. And to incorporate my favourite football team, The Saskatchewan Roughriders:

You can buy green footballs for the Roughriders apparently. Hopefully, that's not cheating.

Thanks for playing along. And be sure to check out the other crafters in the blog hop!

CraftyPod

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