Windmills & New Book

Well, I haven't gotten as much tatting done as I'd like since my last post. I did do a little crochet; it's not much kind of a granny square type motif in thread. I have to say Lizbeth is awesome to crochet with! I can't show it yet. I just literally blocked it while I'm writing this. I'll show it next time. Besides the crochet and tatting, I haven't done much else. Sales in the shop have come to a complete standstill, but whatever I guess. I have decided to discontinue the Sterling silver jewelery line as it doesn't sell. I currently have them on sale for 40% off. I'll keep them marked down until they sell. Anyway, onward to the tatting!

Since I still haven't been able to decide what new pattern I'd like to try, I decided to go back to a favourite standby-Mary Konior's Windmills!

I am, of course, working on the large doily I started a while ago. You can see the doily as it is right now here. I've decided I'm gonna continue the doily as I planned, ie: make it oval shaped. I mean, if Wendy of Umintsuru can create a version with multiple colours, I can make an oval one. Wendy's version is here and is pretty awesome, by the way. I will be honest, I don't know if the doily will end up oval in the end. It's less daunting to me to tell myself that I only need to make 7 motifs to make the doily oval. Once I'm there, I'm sure I'll decide to expand the other four sides. I'll keep you guys updated.

Finally, I got a new tatting book. I'm sure many of you also recently got the book too. I am talking about Martha Ess' new book:

I received the book last week, and I must say I have several patterns picked out to tat. I particularly love the large dragon; it's the first pattern in the book. I have always wanted to tat Pam Palmer's dragon pattern but it went out of print before I could buy it and I haven't come across the pattern whenever I go looking for it. I think Martha's version very good replacement. I've never framed any tatting before, but I would love to have a framed tatted dragon hanging on my wall. Anyway, once I'm sick of tatting Windmill motifs, I'll be tatting something from this book.

That's about it for now. I'm still drinking tea and have discovered more local options than I initially thought. I found a couple of brands that offer tea in pyramid shaped tea bags that are either whole leaf tea or contain larger leaf pieces. I'm glad I have new options, and it gives me a chance to try different types of tea. So far, I enjoy black and white teas but I'm not a fan of most green teas, though I do enjoy jasmine green tea. Hopefully I'll update a bit more often now that I'm back on my regular work schedule again. Till next time.

Spinning Wheels Glass Mat, Part 2

I'm finally getting this posted. While I'm slowly getting used to my new work schedule, it's still throwing off my life. The main change is that I can't find the time for tatting and other creative stuff. I used to do that in the evening, relaxing after supper. Since I'm off during the mornings and early afternoons, there's other stuff that should be done. I can't really justify sitting around for several hours in the morning tatting, when I should be doing other stuff. At least until I get into the groove of things. Tatting while sitting outside before it gets hot out sound really nice though. Spring has also finally arrived here. Temperatures soared last week to the mid to high teens (Celsius, of course) and we're supposed to get into the low twenties next week. Nearly all the snow around here is gone. So, I've got gardening on the brain now too. I have house plants that need to be repotted; it's easier (and less messy) to do it outside. And too much other stuff to mention. I will get back into tatting regularly, I just don't know when. I finished the second Spinning Wheels mat earlier in the week, I just didn't have the time to post.

Instead of using a variegated thread, I used a solid colour. I think it tats up a bit faster in a solid colour since you can switch shuttles instead of shoe lace tricking when you are supposed to switch shuttles. I'm not sure about the colour choice, I think it was reflecting my mood a bit.

This was tatted using Lizbeth size 20 thread in colour #606 Charcoal. As always, the pattern can be found in Mary Konior's book Tatting With Visual Patterns. For those interested in getting the pattern, you will need to get a hold of a copy of the book. I think I might tat another one, in purple. Then I have something I can give my mom for Mother's Day.

I'll try and post again soon. I may do an orchid post as I have acquired several new ones since February, and a couple new ones from last year are flowering for the first time (for me, anyway). So even if I don't have any tatting to share, I should be able to post again. Till next time.

Spinning Wheels Glass Mat, Part 1

This took longer than I expected, but better late than never. I think I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was getting some weird shifts at work. I think I'm on week three of these shifts, and they are screwing me up. And then, I had today off which I planned to spend tatting, International Tatting Day and all, but instead spent the morning troubleshooting my computer. I traced the problem to the video card. Fortunately I still had my old one, but it didn't like Windows 7's fancy desktop environment, Aero, I believe. Disabled that, and so far so good. However, now it looks ugly and is sluggish. So I'll have to pick up a new video card. Anyway, I should get to the tatting.

As I said before I was going to tat one or more of Mary Konior's Spinning Wheels Glass Mats. I finished one a few days ago and started another one. Here is the completed one:

This was tatted using Lizbeth size 20 thread in colour #167 Jungle Greens. I can see why Diane likes tatting this. The stitch count is easy to remember, and once you make one repeat it was easy to remember where all the joins are. I did mess up once, er, twice at the beginning. One error is still visible, but it still works. I'm working on another one. This time in a solid colour. I'll share it as soon as I finish it. I hope to get a fair bit of tatting done tonight.

I'm still working on the Betta patterns. I just haven't felt like working on it. One of these days I'll get them finished. Anyway till next time. And

Happy International Tatting Day!!

Tatting Break

Wow! Has it really been nearly a month since I last posted? Sorry. I haven't really felt like tatting lately. I think I overdid it a bit trying to get my Male Betta pattern finished I burned myself. I did get the Female Betta tested, and apart from a few minor errors, the testers had no problems with it. I did manage to tat a couple of Betta bodies, but I just haven't felt like tatting the fins. I don't want to post the pattern without a final testing by me-especially if I plan to sell the pattern. I will get it done, don't worry. It just may take another couple weeks. I doubt I'll get much done on it this coming week, my work schedule is terrible. I hope it doesn't stay that way either. I did manage to get a little bit of tatting done since my last post. I did a couple of Mary Konior's motifs which I'll share today. I have done a bit of chainmaille lately too.

I mentioned it on Facebook that I got a septum piercing about three weeks ago. I posted a photo on Facebook, so I won't post it here. You can go there if you want to see. Before anyone asks, I got it because I have always wanted to get one. My parents saw it a few days ago and took it surprisingly well.

The first motif I tatted was Mary Konior's Chain Reaction edging. I have to admit, I like the way it looks, but I didn't really like tatting it.

As you can see, it is all chains. I don't know if I was supposed to or not, but I found I had to constantly SLT after most of the chains. I found I couldn't memorize the pattern as I often do either. I'm not sure why, it could just be part of my burnout. Like I said, I do like the pattern, just not tatting it. The pattern is from Mary's Tatting With Visual Patterns book. I should point out, I think the books is out of print now. The online tatting stores are now selling the book for $60. If you haven't bought it yet, you might want to before it's too late. Oh, I used Lizbeth 20 thread in colour #149, Peacock Blues.

The second motif that I tatted is also Mary Konior's, also from Tatting with Visual Patterns.

This is Dress Trim. I really enjoyed tatting this motif. It was fairly quick to tat too. I also used Lizbeth 20 colour #149, Peacock Blues to tat this motif. Nothing really to say about the motif. I might tat it again. I could make a doily or something using a solid coloured thread. Since I wrote this post this afternoon, I'm hoping I'll get to some tatting this evening. Perhaps I'll try to work some Windmills motifs for the large doily I'm working on. I've been wanting to tat a Spinning Wheels mat too. I haven't done one for a while. We'll see.

I think that's about it for now. I'll try to get back into posting a bit more often, though we'll see how that goes. I'm sure many of you are aware that Jane had more Pop-a-Bobbin shuttles in her shop on Thursday. Sadly, there will be no new shuttles for me this time. I, uh, forgot about it until later that evening. I did buy a couple of Hooks with Hats as well as a Bobbin Holder. Maybe I'll get a new shuttle from the next batch. Till next time.

Spinning Wheel Doily Complete and New Book

Oy, is it hot out. Actually, compared to some of you, the temperatures we've been experiencing are that bad-we've been in the low 30s so far this week. We did have a Humidex warning of about 45 yesterday. I haven't felt like tatting this week. I finished the doily Sunday afternoon, but I haven't done any tatting since.

Like I said, I finished tatting the Spinning Wheels doily. I haven't blocked it yet.

I still need to hide the remaining ends-there's only two! I tatted over the ends whenever I had to add thread or reattach thread, and they need to be clipped. It'll look a heck of a lot better once it's blocked, but I think I'll wait until I give it away. I am thinking of giving it to my mom for her birthday, but that's in the fall and it may need to be blocked again by then. And again, this pattern is from Mary Konior's Tatting With Visual Patterns (a Mary K. book that's still readily available, but seems to have gone up in price). I used Lizbeth size 20 thread in colour #117 Country Side. It measures about 10 1/2 inches in diameter and was made using a 6 inch doily centre. And while there is no photo evidence (I wouldn't allow it!), I screwed up when joining the final repeat to the first repeat-don't ask. Just something to keep in mind if anyone else attempts the pattern.

Finally, my new book arrived. I'm sure many of you can guess what book that may be-I think many of you already have the book.

Like a lot of people, I bought the book for the peacock pattern on the cover. There's actually a lot of really cool patterns. I didn't know that there were two peacock patterns. I hope to try them both. However, I think I'll start with simpler patterns until I learn the writing style and notation. This is actually my first foreign language tatting book. I'm kinda disappointed that I don't understand most of what is written in the book. I've tried using an app on my smartphone to do some translation; it's tedious when it works, and it often doesn't work. Hopefully, when (and if!) it cools down, and I feel like tatting, I'll have something to show soon.

That's about it for now. Like I said above, hopefully some tatting will materialize if the weather cools down. Thanks to a few recent sales, I ordered some more rings, so I may do some chainmaille instead. Till next time.

My New Shuttles, And Some Tatting!

Sorry. I've been meaning to post earlier, but it just didn't happen. I was dealing with some work issues last weekend, so posting wasn't going to happen then. Some tatting did happen, however, but we'll get to that later. Nothing really new to share otherwise. It's hot here right now. I'm hoping for a thunderstorm, but I'm not being too hopeful; we didn't get one yesterday either. I'll move on, it's too hot to write out a long post.

I teased you last time with the pair of unfinished Pear wood Pop-a-Bobbin shuttles. Well, they're finished now. Or as finished as they are going to get.

They didn't quite turn out the way I wanted them, but whatever. They're blue!!!! In case you're wondering, I used a water-based stain to colour them. The front one, is lighter than the back one as I had added some white stain to the blue (the bottle says "Azure") stain. The darker one is the straight Azure stain. I guess if I wanted the colour different, I should have painted them. However, I wanted the grain to show through, so painting was out. What do you think?

As I said, I have been tatting a fair bit lately. Mainly to keep my mind off of the work issues. I didn't really know what I wanted to tat, so I eventually settled on a WIP from a loooooog time ago. You can see it here. If you follow the link, you'll see that I started the doily over two years ago. I'm not done yet, but here is a photo to show my progress:

For those of you who didn't follow the link to the original post this is Mary Konior's Spinning Wheel doily from Tatting With Visual Patterns. I'm using Lizbeth size 20 thread in colour # 117 Country Side. I should point out, I was about half done the tatting when I picked it up again. Since the end is near, I'm going to keep working on the doily. I will post again once I'm done. I'm really hoping that the doily centre I used is the right size. Once finished the doily should measure about 10 1/2 inches in diameter.

That's it for now. Like I said above, I'll post again once I'm done the doily. I'm hoping the new tatting book I ordered will  have arrived by then. And I'll be inspired to tat something new. Till next time.

Windmills Doily, Take Two

I'm still here. I've just been quiet. I have been tatting, in case you are wondering. I just haven't had anything to show you until now. And it's not technically finished yet, but I couldn't wait any longer. You also may have noticed that I haven't posted any chainmaille in a while too. That's because sales have come to a standstill. I think there are just too many people selling chainmaille on Etsy now. I have thought about moving to another site, but I don't think that will help. Some people are selling their jewelry way too cheaply-some are slightly over my calculated materials costs. So as items expire, I am removing items that have never sold before. I won't shut down the shop entirely, it doesn't take much effort if nothing sells. No pity sales, please. I've been working a lot of extra hours at my real job lately, so I'm not really losing anything here.

You may remember that I started another doily using Mary Konior's Windmills motif (from the NOT out of print book Tatting With Visual Patterns), made out of size 10 DMC Cebelia thread. Yeah, I don't remember either-I mentioned it here. Well a year plus later here is the result:

Currently it is about 9 inches (22.8 cm) in diameter. Since this is the one for me I am going to make it oval shaped. I am also going to add the edging that most of you didn't think it needed. Hopefully this won't take that long. I started working on this after my last post and made five of the seven motifs pictured. I haven't done as much tatting this week as I would have liked. I was preparing supper last Saturday, and was a little careless and ended up cutting one of my fingers. I didn't think it would affect my tatting as much as it did-it was my left middle finger. But since I hold my tatting a little different, it made a big difference. It is healing quite nicely and I have been tatting over the past couple days. Not a lot, but still, I was tatting. I have to finish tatting the seventh motif, then I have three more to go. I will post again when I have completed them.

That's about it for now. Hopefully I will post again sooner rather than later. I am hoping to get this done fairly quickly. Then I can decide if I will make the other Windmills doily oval too or leave it round. I can also determine if the edging round is the way to go too. Till next time.

Quick Post: Windmills Snowflakes and a Merry Christmas!

Just a quick post, hopefully. Nothing to really report since my last post. I have four days off starting tomorrow, and will be going to my parents tomorrow morning. We don't have much snow right now, and the weather is supposed to be good for the weekend, so hopefully the trip both ways will be good. I have my Etsy shop in Vacation Mode until I get back, so if anyone wants anything, you'll have to wait until the 28th.

As I mentioned in the last post, I had an idea for a tatting project. I think they turned out pretty well:

Yes, you are not seeing things. These are both snowflakes based of off Mary Konior's Windmills motif. The blue one was made first. Basically, I  threw a ring of 7-7 off of the first picot on the final round. Beads were added to the picot of the rings. I also added beads to the remaining picots on the final round. The white snowflake, tatted second, has a trefoil thrown off of the first picot of the final round. The trefoil consists of R1:7-4-3 R2: 3+6-6-3 R3: 3+4-7. Beads were also added to the nonjoining picots of the rings. I did not make the second picot on the final round. The remaining picots also have beads added to them. Since I can't share the full pattern, you'll need Mary's Tatting With Visual Patterns book to make the snowflake. Again, if you don't already own this book, please buy it from one of the many tatting and lacemaking suppliers, and not Amazon and eBay. Both snowflakes were tatted with Lizbeth size 20 thread. I don't feel like looking up colour numbers, but if anyone wants to know, feel free to ask in the comments.

Before I go, I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I do plan on getting some tatting done while away. I'll try to post again before the year is out. Till next time.

Final Black Magic Bookmark and Random Orchid Photos

Sorry for the delay in posting. Actually, I'm doing this on purpose. I had meant to post over the weekend, but since I am going away for a few days, and won't be posting till I get back, I thought I'd wait a few extra days. I've done a little tatting lately. Mostly finishing on a bookmark I started  over a month ago. I started tatting another bookmark, different pattern. And I've been tinkering in designing, but I'm not ready to show anything from that. You're not missing much!

I've got my hoodie on hold for now. I had hoped on more input on colour choice for the ribbing, see previous post for details. I'm going to look for a darker grey colour before deciding for sure.

As I mentioned, I finished a bookmark I started some time ago. It's another one of Mary Konior's Black Magic bookmarks. This time I kept the colour simple, and made the bookmark, black!

I also decided to end the bookmark in a more finished manner. While trying not to, I basically did what Miranda did with her bookmark. It became apparent that I should have started the bookmark with a chain instead of the large central ring as I had to do a split chain (that wasn't split) for the final chain joining to the central ring. I could then tat the end chain as a split chain as normal. I continued with a lock stitch chain with a few split rings that mimicked the central rings. I finished with a round motif based off of the Black Magic pattern. While I liked the fan that Miranda ended with, I felt the round motif was more manly. The bookmark was done with Lizbeth size 20 thread (I didn't have size 40 then, I do now) in black, colour #604.

Finally I'll end this post with a couple of photos of one of my Phalaenopsis orchids. It's doing something funny. Well, maybe not funny, but unexpected. And I don't know why.

The first photo was taken when I first found the plant(s) about a month ago. The second photo was taken a week or so ago. My understanding is that these plants aren't supposed to form offsets in this fashion. The only time, that I have found, that a Phal should do this is in the event the the growth point is damaged, perhaps from rot or something. Phals belong to a family of orchids which are known as Monopodial orchids. That means that they have only one growing point and generally grow as a single upright stem. From what I can tell, the main plant seems healthy and is currently growing a new leaf. The offset is growing roots (you can't see them, but they are there), so once it's big enough I'll separate it off. I don't what it sucking too much energy from the parent plant, and it could break off, fall off by itself. In case you're wondering the plant is called Doritaenopsis Long Pride Fancy 'MP0653' which you can see here.

That's it for now. I should be getting ready to leave tomorrow, so I gotta go. Hopefully I'll post early next week. Till next time.

More Black Magic and an Unexpected Flower

Not one of my most creative titles, but it gets the job done. Nothing spectacular to report since my last post. If you haven't heard (and if you don't live in Canada, you probably haven't), Canada Post is currently on full strike/lockout since last Tuesday. No mail is moving within the country. And nothing is leaving or entering the country either. It really sucks, to put it bluntly. I'm getting mail envy watching some of you show off  what you've received in the mail. Not only do I have a couple packages sitting in some warehouse or something, the order I mentioned last time is also sitting in some warehouse too. I also have an order I can't ship right now, though I might stop at UPS or FedEx tommorow to see what they can do for me (though I'm not hopeful that they will be affordable-I tried their websites and wasn't impressed). I have still been tatting, so we'll move on to that.

As the title suggests, I am continuing with Mary Konior's Black Magic pattern. Again in the form of a bookmark:

I figured I'd try this with different thread types. Since I used solids the last time, I thought I'd try a variegated thread this time. I didn't really like it at first, but it has grown on me by the time it was finished. I do hope one of you like it. That brings me to why I am making them. I am planning on a giveaway, though I'm going to wait until the whole Canada Post thing is resolved before I announce anything. So stay tuned. Thread stats: Lizbeth size 40, Colour #100 Falling Leaves. The next bookmark is going to be tatted using two solids, or maybe a solid and a variegated thread. Well see.

Finally, I thought I show you an unexpected flower that has made an appearance. In my aquarium:

This flower is from one of my Anubias plants; I'm not sure which one. I have had an Anubias flower before (see here), but it is pretty rare though, for me anyway. I am quite pleased though, as it might mean that conditions in the aquarium are better than I think they are (I really need to do some work in the tank, cleaning, etc.). Of course it could mean that the plant is planning on dying and the flower is a last ditch attempt at survival. But we'll pretend that that can't happen, OK?

That's about it for now. I plan on working on the last Black Magic bookmark, hopefully work won't get in the way this week. We had one guy quit in my department last week, and I've been working extra to help pick up the slack. I'm not complaining; it is extra cash in my pocket which will be helpful once Canada Post is running again. Till next time.

Some Black Magic

Howdy all. Guess what?? I've been tatting all week. No foolin'! I'll get to it soon. As was expected, Canada Post workers are on strike, though it is a rotating strike. That is, every day one or more cities go on strike for a day or two, then go back to work. It's not supposed to disrupt the whole system, but I'm not sure about that. We'll see though. I decided to keep my shop open for now, and even had a sale earlier in the week. So hopefully the package got out of the country. I'm holding back on my own mail orders. I've been eying the new colours of Lizbeth, but I think I'll wait before ordering. But anyway, on to the tatting!

If you're familiar with Mary Konior's patterns, you probably have an idea of what pattern I've been tatting. If you don't, let me show you:

This is Black Magic, from Mary Konior's Tatting With Visual Patterns. As I always mention, this book is readily available from most, if not all the tatting suppliers. Unless you want a hard cover version, I don't advise buying from Amazon, eBay, etc. Anyway, I've always liked this pattern. Actually, the first bookmark I received in an exchange was made using this pattern. This is the first time I've made this pattern. Unfortunately, I didn't do it flawlessly. There is one minor error; you may be able to find it if you looked. It doesn't matter though, this one is mine. I guess. I made another bookmark:

I don't believe I made an error on this one. You may notice the ends haven't been dealt with. I hope to incorporate them into a tassel. We'll see if it works. Thread stats: top bookmark, Lizbeth size 40, colour #688 Dark Seagreen. Bottom bookmark, Lizbeth size 40 colour #660 Light Country Turquoise. In case you're wondering, both bookmarks haven't been blocked yet. I'm hoping to make two more bookmarks. Why, you may ask? You'll have to wait and see.

That's about it for now. Hopefully I can keep tatting, and not get distracted. Till next time.

Windmills Doily and some Wool Roving

I finally got the Windmills done. Well, done for now. I'm still deciding if I will make it into an oval shape yet. Anyway, since I only had two motifs left to finish after the last post, I figured I'd have it done sooner. However, I didn't feel like working on it until Sunday. I ended up making some cheese on Sunday. I bought some proper cheese cultures, a new mold, and some cheese colouring (which I forgot to add!) and decided that Sunday was cheese making day. Though some tatting was done too.

I'm sure you probably want to see the doily by now. So without any further ado, here it is:

For anyone who recently came across my blog (and for others who may have forgot) here are a few stats about the doily. I am using Mary Konior's Windmills motif from her book Tatting With Visual Patterns, an awesome book, and one that is readily available from many online tatting stores (don't go to Amazon or eBay, and others for the book unless you want an out of print hardcover version). I am using DMC Cordonnet thread in size 20 in white. Right now the doily measures 15 inches (38.1 cm) when measured across the diagonal. This is the largest tatted piece I have made to date. I am also ashamed to admit that I have become rather attached to the doily. I had wanted to give it to my mom as a gift of some kind when it is done, but now I don't want to part with it. Is that bad? I think I will have to make another doily for my mom. Same pattern (I love this pattern!) but using the size 10 DMC Cebelia I have. We'll see. The new one could be for me.

About a week and a half ago, I felt compelled to buy some wool roving from Etsy seller slimchicken. Here it is:

This one is called "Jewel Colonial".

And this one is called "Northern Lights Colonial". Probably 6-7 years ago, I gave spindle spinning a try with less than stellar results. Well, I guess it depends on your point of view; the resulting yarn was uneven and lumpy. I know you can buy novelty yarns that look like that, but it wasn't what I wanted. I'm not sure where my spindle is anymore. I made it at my parent's house since my dad has the woodworking tools to cut out the wooden disks. I ordered another one from a different Etsy seller. It was pretty inexpensive, and much prettier than the one I made. I'll provide updates once I find the time to do some spinning.

That's about it for now. I'm probably going to go ahead and order the rings required to make a chainmaille shirt next week. I've been looking through instructions for the past few days, and feel confident that I can make this. I'll provide updates for this project as well. Unless I change my mind. But that probably won't happen. Till next time.

Tatted Birdcage, Skate Pin, and Some Chainmaille

I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays. I did. It was nice to get away from work for a several days and spend them with family. I had a good trip both ways in case you are wondering. I love my newish truck (though I could use a remote starter for these cold winter days). Anyway, I figured I should make a quick post before 2010 ends.

I didn't get much tatting done. But I did manage to tat this:

This is Mary Konior's Birdcage motif, from her book Tatting in Lace. I know, my post title is a bit misleading. I'm sure you were expecting something else. The motif was tatted with Lizbeth size 20 thread in colour number 109 Wild Flower. It's about 2 1/4 inches across. For the record, I don't know how often I will use this thread-I find it very girly. Sorry. Anyway, I found this motif very interesting and I don't honestly remember seeing it tatted before. My apologies if you have tatted and showed it off. I think the thing I like about it most is how the bare threads in the centre, from the four separate motifs, appear to be part of the design. My rendition doesn't count-the length and position of the thread, not to mention how my threads passed from from to back somehow (???). I did however make it in one round thanks to two split rings. I had to mentally shift the pattern around since my starting points were different than Mary's. I like the motif and am currently tatting another one. This time, I am using two solid colours (one for rings and one for chains: I believe numerous SLTs will be needed). And I am doing the centre using many split rings to eliminate the bare threads. I am thinking maybe I could add the bare threads after if I wanted-we'll see.

I also finished Sharon's Skate pin that I showed a few posts ago. Here is the finished pin:

I gave the finished pin to my mom as part of her Christmas gift. I think she liked it. Not much else to say that hasn't been said before, so, moving on.

Since I haven't done it for a while, I thought I'd show some chainmaille I'm working on/finished. The first one may be a bit late for the season but, meh, I'm going to show it anyway.

It's a snowflake! I'm sure you could have figured it out. It is made out of Bright Aluminum using a weave called Japanese 2 in 12. Like the European 4 in 1 (and others) I have showed, this weave was used in armour for the Japanese. It leads itself well to jewelry. The pendant above is ready to be listed, as soon as I can find the time, probably over the weekend. I still need to figure out a price for it. I should be able to make the pendant out of Stainless Steel as well. It's about 1 3/8 inches across, and I can make a larger version as well. That one would be about 2 1/2 inches across.

The next piece is one I started a while ago. I must have got bored or busy, not sure which.

This is about half of a bracelet called Hodo or Sidewalk (Hodo apparently is Japanese for sidewalk). This is also a variation of Japanese 2 in 12. This one is made using Stainless Steel. And I should be able to make it in Bright Aluminum too. Hopefully I will finish this one so it too can be listed. And it also needs to be priced out. A quick shop note (shameless self promotion). I will be ending free shipping probably Saturday sometime. So, um, feel free to stop by. And don't forget about the coupon code on my right sidebar. Shameless self promotion over.

That's about it for now. I hope to post again on January 1st, not promises. I'll leave you with a quick photo of the Monster (don't let her cuteness fool you):

Why a monster you say? Apparently balls of thread with tatting attached are fun to play with. I didn't think so. Really? You try winding a ball of thread that's been unwound all over the house. It's a good thing tatting doesn't unravel. Next trip on, I will be bringing the "Lizbeth Containment Unit", LCU for short:

Till next time.

Much Ado About Nothing, or My Lack of Progress

I got nothing. I'd love to show you guys something, but I haven't done much. I did some crocheting while I was away. I'm currently working on a chainmaille necklace/chain and matching bracelet right now, which should be done by the end of the week. I don't really feel like tatting right now. I'll pause while you all gasp and scream in horror .......

All done? I've got plenty of thread (well, an adequate supply, at least), lots of patterns/books/etc, and some time, but I just don't feel like tatting. Maybe I need to break out some HDT to spice up my tatting. I dunno. It could be the spring-like weather we're having here. It's been pretty nice for the past few weeks (if you forget the blizzard-like conditions that the city and other parts of the province experienced last week). It's been raining most of the day, so that should help induce plant growth. Stores are starting to sell seeds, bulbs and other garden related stuff. Then again, maybe it was the paper cut I got at work Sunday.....

I won't end this post without having a little tatting content. When I got back from my short break, I found this waiting for me:

Yup, I got the final book needed to complete my collection of Mary Konior books. As with all of Mary's books, this one is full of really pretty patterns. Hopefully, I will get around to tatting something from this book soon.

That's all for now. With any luck, something will be tatted by the time I post again. Till next time.

Windmills Doily, Round 2

I was hoping to post this yesterday, but I felt really bad when I came home from work. I ended up sleeping for the rest of the day; had a heck of a time falling asleep last night though....

Anyway, here is the Windmills doily, with it's completed second round:

A quick note: I am assembling the motifs into a round doily, they could be arranged in a variety of other shapes. The doily is not finished; ie: a few ends need to be sewn in, others need to be clipped, and it's not washed/blocked. In case you're wondering, there are now 19 motifs making up this doily. It currently measures about 10 1/2 inches in diameter (measured on the diagonal, that's five motifs wide). I think this is the largest tatted item I have made so far. And I don't think I'm done. I really want to make one more round. I'm going to put it aside for a while; next time I'm at my parent's, I'm going to have to do a test fit. Mind you, there is another reason I put aside for a while. I'm almost out of thread. Let me rephrase that. I'm almost out of the DMC Cordonnet size 20 thread that I used. I've got enough other thread to last me a lifetime or two (but who doesn't). I'll do an update on the doily if/when I decide to tat a third round. If I don't make the third round, I still need to do the edging, and to block it. And I show it again.

That's it for now. Hopefully, I'll have something to show for the next post. Till next time.

Book Quest Update, Quick Doily Update, and Introducing Vertebrae

As I mentioned earlier, I am on a quest to buy all four of Mary Konior's tatting books. Well, the two I don't already own, actually. I am happy to report that I now have three of her books. Thanks to AbeBooks, I was able to find a reasonably priced copy of "Tatting in Lace".

There are lots of really cool patterns in this book. Hopefully I'll get around to tatting a few of them to show you; there's even another pattern called Windmills. In case you're wondering, the book is from a seller in the UK. If you haven't heard of Abebooks, I highly recommend it. There are A LOT of tatting books available through this site (which doesn't sell the books directly, they allow sellers to post them to the site, and Abebooks handles the transactions). Of course, much like eBay, and Amazon, there are some books that are extremely overpriced, but some are reasonable.

I promised an update to my Windmills doily and I'll oblige, but there won't be a photo right now. Currently, I have five motifs left to finish on the second round. It is definitely bigger, and the pattern looks even more intriguing. I can't wait to finish the round and show you the results. I am thinking of making a third round after I'm done, but it probably won't be right away. I'm thinking of giving the doily to my Mom for Christmas or her birthday, so it can be put away for awhile.

I also took the time to try the Slope and Roll join that Miranda had mentioned in response to my dilemma of odd dots of colour when using variegated thread and shuttle/lock joins. I have to say, I'm very pleased with the results. You can see for yourself:

Look Ma! No dots of colour. I'd also like to show off a pleasantly unexpected, um, "side effect" of the slope and roll join:

Each join make a neat little bump that nicely recreates the windmill pattern on the backside of the motif. This could be a nice way to add interest to the doily. It would make a nice dual sided doily; one side smooth, the other textured. Thread stats: I used Lizbeth size 20 thread in colour #107 Tropical Fruit.

Finally, I have been playing around with chainmaille lately. I figured I'd work on a few new products for my Etsy shop. The first one is a bracelet using a weave called "Vertebrae":

This is a really cool weave. And it's very nice to wear; I'm, um, testing (yes, testing) the bracelet right now. I think the bracelet would look great if I use a different metal for the medium sized ring that is inside the large ring.I believe these medium inner rings have very little contact with the skin, so copper and its alloys won't discolour the skin. I think brass would look awesome. In case you're wondering, the bracelet above is made using stainless steel rings.

I also made another bracelet using square wire rings. You can see an example here:

The top bracelet is using the square wire rings and bottom bracelet is using the regular round wire rings. Both bracelets are made out of stainless steel. As you can see, I had to use larger rings for the top bracelet due the shape of the rings. The result is a thicker bracelet that would be ideal for the men. Though, there is no reason a lady couldn't wear it. I actually made the square wire bracelet awhile ago, but I've been waiting ages for a suitable clasp for it. My supplier has been out of stock for a while now, and just recently got some large solid stainless steel clasps again. Hopefully, I'll get these into my shop within a week or so.

That's about it for now. I will hopefully have my Windmills doily complete, or close to it by next week. I'll show a picture once I'm done. And perhaps I'll have some more chainmaille to show off. Till next time.