I'm Still Here!

Sorry. I guess I didn't get around to posting yet. I had a great Christmas, and New Year. The world didn't end, big surprise there. Nothing really new has happened since my last major post. As I think I mention every year, I didn't make any resolutions for this year. I do have a few things I'd like to accomplish, but if I don't, it's no big deal. The main one (and I'm sure I said it last year!) is that I really want to get a few of my tatting designs written up and diagrammed and released. Two of which I'd like to offer for sale, but we'll see; I'll probably do a separate post about them later on. I have a little tatting to share, so I'll get to that.

I, unfortunately, didn't get much tatting done while away for Christmas. I almost finished the third gecko for my shirt. I say almost 'cause I broke one thread while tying off, so I will have to redo the final chain. Shouldn't take long, I just need to do it. The one other thing I did tat was another one of Yarnplayer's Marian snowflakes.

This one came about due to a request from a commenter. Yes! I do requests if I have time/it's not too difficult. This snowflake was tatted using Lizbeth size 20 thread in colour #116 Christmas Delight. I don't think it looks too bad. I think it works.

As I said at the beginning, I haven't done much tatting, or any other art/craft thing. I did crochet a new pair of slippers while away, but that was easy and only took an hour or so. I am, however working with my aquarium a lot lately. I decided to upgrade my tank recently, and bought a larger one. I was able to get it set up for the most part yesterday. I will have to buy more plants as I don't have enough. And while I can reuse much of my equipment, I did order a new filter, which got back ordered. I have to make due with the one I currently have plus the one that came with the tank till the new one gets here. I will probably have to upgrade the carbon dioxide fertilization system as well as I don't think the one I have now is sufficient. I'll try to post a photo once I am happy with it. That's it for now. I will try to resume what I was doing before Christmas and post less, more often. We'll see if I succeed. Till next time.

Yarnplayer's Marian Snowflake

Just a quick post; I was more productive tatting wise than I expected. I'll still probably do one more post before I leave.

I saw on Yarnplayer's blog that she had designed a new snowflake and had the pattern available in her shop. I just had to buy it. And it's actually a fairly quick tat. I made two Friday evening/Saturday morning.

Both snowflake used size 20 Lizbeth thread. The first one is in # 601 White and #116 Christmas Delight. The second snowflake used #163 Blue Ice. This is a quick and fun to tat pattern. My only problem is that my picots are a bit uneven. More obvious in the left one. I don't usually use gauges, but it probably would be a good idea for this pattern. I might give them away, I'm not sure yet.

That's it for now. I need to get ready for bed. Work tomorrow. Till next time.

Trendy Teardrops and a Plant Update

Well, here it is, over a week since my last post and don't have much to show for it. Craft-wise anyway. I have done some tatting; will get to it soon. I did a little chainmaille, but not much. I am offering free shipping in my shop, but from the looks of it, that may be useless right now. Apparently, Canada Post may go on strike Thursday, just before midnight. I may put my shop in vacation mode if there is a strike (just in case), but we'll have to see. I am, however concerned about a shipment of plants I have en route as we speak. The guy shipping them to me has been watching the Canada Post situation closely (as have I) and they should arrive before the deadline, but I'm still concerned.

As I mentioned, I did do some tatting this past week. I think I mentioned working on them in my last post. And here they are:

These are Yarnplayer's Trendy Teardrop earrings. I only made the earrings since I didn't have any matching size 10 thread to make a pendant. It's an interesting pattern (available in Yarnplayer's Etsy shop) that uses a new technique. Well, new to me anyway. That technique would be the Catherine Wheel Join. I tried the CWJ in a "practice" piece-so named a "practice" piece because I broke the thread during the outer round and didn't feel like reattaching the thread (didn't like the colour I used anyway). I decided, however, to not use the CWJ in the above earrings, I found it too, um, time consuming. It took me several minutes per join to do. I opted instead to do a Slope and Roll join. Much faster, albeit not as nice looking. I'll try the Catherine Wheel join again. Thread stats: for these earrings I used Krystledawne's Vineyard at Dusk HDT in size 20 with Amethyst beads. I really love this colourway! As I've mentioned before, I'm not fond of pinks and purples, but this thread is different. The purple is there, but it's not really noticeable (to me, anyway). I do regret only buying one skein. Although, she does have more in her shop........but, I think I'll wait until I know what Canada Post is doing.

Finally, I thought I do a plant update. I posted a photo of my (at the time) one and only Tropical Pitcher plant (Nepenthes x Ventrata). Here is a fairly recent photo of the plant:

Well, one of it's pitchers anyway. I wanted to show how much bigger the pitchers are now. If you look at the photo I posted earlier (located here), you'll see that the one pictured was only about 1 cm long (probably about 1.5 cm when opened). Well, the pitcher above is about 3.5 inches long. And I'm hoping they'll get even bigger. I've started feeding it ants that I found around the house (hey, they're entering the house at their own risk!). I've added a few more pitcher plants to my collection:

I'm really glad I finally found the high plastic dome for growing trays. I've had a heck of a time finding them. I could mail order one, but it just seemed like the wrong type of thing to mail order. These ones (I bought a couple of them) are better than the ones I've seen in the seed catalogs, as they have two air vents on top that can be opened to let in fresh air, and reduce the humidity (although most Nepenthes like high humidity). I'm hoping they don't outgrow the dome too fast, but I'll adapt as they grow.

That's about it for now. I started another Windmills motif, in the size 10 Cebelia. Since I do like making the motifs (I just get sick of making them after awhile), I thought it might get me in the mood to do some serious tatting. We'll see. Till next time.

Tatted Earrings, and a Bit of Maille

Sorry for disappearing, again. I just don't know what the problem is lately. Well, actually, I have a few theories. The main one is that I have too many things I want to make in numerous mediums that I can't get started on any of them. I made another wheel of Cheddar cheese yesterday and finished it today; the one I made back in March is just about ready to taste. I've been working on some chainmaille lately. The main piece will be shown later in this post. I'm still getting beads and stuff for several chainmaille jewelry pieces. These are pretty cool; hopefully they sell well. I'm not even gong to say anything about my sales on Etsy. I think I may offer free shipping again for a week or two. I should have done that a few weeks before Mother's Day. Anyway, onward to the tatting!

As the title suggests, I manage to tat a pair of earrings during this past week. It's a pattern I make quite frequently:

These are, of course,  Yarnplayer's Carnival Earrings. These aren't quite finished, obviously. In case you're wondering, I don't usually hide the ends on earrings. A knot and a dab of glue initially, and once dry, they get stiffened with more glue. Since I have to remake the earrings regularly, this works quite well. And since you only see one side of the earrings (usually) the knot isn't noticeable. Thread stats: Lizbeth size 20, colour #149 Peacock Blues. The beads are Reconstituted Turquoise for the large beads, and light blue seed beads.  I am working on another pair of earrings, using a different pattern. And before I forget, have a look at this Temari ball with tatting on it.

Finally, I'll show you the main focus of my creative energy:

I'm not thrilled with the above photo. The camera didn't want to/couldn't focus properly on the metal fabric. The nature of the chainmaille fabric make me look fat. Though that could be the snacks-I think I hear snickering from my tatted seahorse from that comment. Anyway, my chainmaille shirt, more properly called a Hauberk, is almost done. It currently weighs about 21 pounds (9.5 kg). Here is a closeup shot of the overlapping "Horseman Slits" that I put in on the front and back of my Hauberk:

The slits make it easier to walk and ride horses in. I think they look kinda cool too. I still have to make the sleeves, lengthen it some more (I reckon it should come down to about the top of the side pockets on the shorts I am wearing in the photo), and add an edging of bronze rings to the bottom edge, around the neck, and maybe on the sleeves too. I'm probably going to put this aside for awhile. I do want to get some other projects done.

That's about it for now. Hopefully I'll get more accomplished this week. I prepared a ball for a Temari this afternoon, so hopefully I'll get to stitching that soon. And I really want to get more tatting in; I'm having a hard time finding a pattern I want to tat. There's also more chainmaille I want to make. So we'll see how I make out. Till next time.

Some Tatting, Finally!

Don't get too excited, I don't have much tatting to show. I'm not sure what it is lately, I just can't get into tatting. I want to tat something, I just don't know what. I have been working on my tie; I have 14 rows of 4-Ring squares left to go. I'm over half way there. I might start working on my mom's Windmills doily. I think for now, I will make it oval in shape. I don't want to make it round, but I may try Jane E's method of tricking myself into making the doily larger. Once it's oval, I might be inclined to continue making motifs until it's round. We'll see.

Anyway, here's the one piece of tatting that I managed to tat while away last week:

This is Ruth Perry's Celtic Maple Leaf. I've made it before, but this time I used some of Yarnplayer's Sugar Maple HDT in size 30 to make it. I like it in this colourway. Nothing really else to say about the leaf.

I think that's it for now. I'm kinda distracted right now; I'm catching up on the new season of Doctor Who. I've got a few new chainmaille earrings to share, but I'll make another post later. I may even get some more tatting done. Quick question before I go, any crocheters out there have a favourite (preferably online) shawl pattern? Till next time.

Atomic Tatting and more Chainmaille

Look! I'm posting again, and it hasn't been a week since my last post. I actually planned on posting on Sunday, but it was late when I finished tatting, and didn't deal with the ends in time to get a decent photo. I've also been working on my tie, and am just about ready to start the next page of diagrams. I also realized I am getting close to running out of thread. I am close to running out of thread on one of the shuttles, so I divided up the remaining thread on the ball between two Ez-bobs (for any Canadians wanting Ez-bobs, BeadFX carries them though they call them "No Tangle Bobbins") and counted 28 yards left. I may need to order another ball, though I'll have to try and remember who I bought the thread from. There is a Lot # on the back of the circular card from the ball and I should see if I can get it matched. I knew I should have bought two balls. C'est la vie. On to the tatting!

Hopefully from the title you can tell what I've been tatting. If you can't, then a picture should help:

This is the Tatted Atom from Yarnplayer's book Up and Tat 'Em. This pattern is the reason I wanted the book. There are plenty of other pretty patterns in the book, but this was the one I knew about. It also has some guy friendly potential, if the beads used were plain, which is plus for me. This one was made with my mom in mind so I used Lizbeth size 20 thread in colour #633 Dark Purple with a clear faceted Swarovski crystal bead in the centre (the nucleus) and simple silver toned beads for the electrons. The actual tatting was pretty easy. What made it a bit difficult was that at the midpoint of the pattern, six shuttles were in use, and they all tangle. You also have to weave the chains (the "orbits") over and under each other in a certain way, which I hope I did right. All in all, it was a pretty quick motif to tat, and it kept my attention (another plus). I do plan on tatting it again.

Now I have a few chainmaille pieces I want to show you. I showed you the sample of dragonscale in my last post, and Gina mentioned how the sample would look as a pendant. I've been thinking about that all weekend, and yesterday I sat down and made another sample. A sample with a purpose; I give you my Dragonscale pendant:

As you can see, I've added some smaller rings to the sides to help the weave hold together. I found during my testing-I wore the pendant for a while instead of my regular chain-that the large rings at the top and bottom tended to separate enough for the smaller rings come out of alignment. But the rings I added to the sides seem to help, at least my further testing shows they stay in place. In case you are wondering, the pendant is made out of bright aluminum and bronze. Hopefully I'll get it in my shop soon, but no promises.

I think that's going to be it for tonight. I do have another chainmaille piece to show, but it's getting late, and I'm tired. Even if I don't get any tatting done for the rest of the week, I can still write another post. Till next time.

Tatted Earrings and Dragonscale

I'll try and make this a short post. I did a little tatting this past week. I made a little bit of progress on my tie. On the Etsy front, I've had several sales since my last post. Which is good as I've been holding off ordering more rings until some sales have come. And, I've been included in two Etsy Treasuries, which is pretty cool too. I've never been in a Treasury before. The first one (which actually happened more than a week ago) can be seen here, and the other (which is from today) can be seen here. I don't know how long the Treasuries last, so if you'd like to take a look, sooner is probably better than later. Anyway here is the tatting.

I wanted to tat something fairly quick so I took a look at Yarnplayer's newest book Up and Tat 'Em to see what I can find. Here is what I chose:

These are the earrings from the "Beguile Set". These were made using Lizbeth size 20 thread in colour #611 Gold. Yeah. It's the same thread from the previous motif. It wasn't just because I hadn't put it away. It matched the antiqued brass rings I used for the centre. There are also size 11 gold coloured beads. It's a nice pattern, and quick to tat. I did find I had to add an extra ring and chain to go completely around. I didn't know why, since the rings I used were only 1 mm bigger than what was called for, until I noticed that Yarnplayer made her chains a little bit longer in the photo than what was written in the pattern. It's not a big deal and I'll have to remember this when I make them again.

Finally I will finish this post by showing a recently learned chainmaille weave. It's called Dragonscale:

I wonder why. The photo above shows the weave stretched out. Here it is when scrunched up:

You can see where the weave gets its name. It bears a striking resemblance to rows of scales. I assume the dragon part comes from chainmaille's medieval history. It's a cool weave and looks awesome in two colours. You can't tell that here since I should have used two colours that contrasted better. I used bright aluminum and white anodized aluminum. The white rings are new from my supplier. I don't know if I'll actually make anything using this weave. It is pretty dense and has a high rings per inch count. The sample above is about two inches (5 cm) long when fully stretched.

That's about it for now. I'm not sure what I will work on this week. Hopefully I will make some significant progress on my tie. I also got my Palmetto's 2010 Tat Day CD this week, so I've got lots more patterns to drool over. Till next time.

Tatted Snowflakes, Mostly

First of all, I want to thank all of you who commented on my last post. Your comments were just what I needed to hear. And for those of you who mentioned it, don't worry. If I get up one morning in the next few weeks and something doesn't feel right, I will definitely go see a doctor. Now I just have to wait to see what will happen to the truck. I hope its fixable, but I'm not expecting it. But enough of this. I've got some tatting to show!

The first is three sets of earrings I was working on before going away.

These were made using Yarnplayer's Carnival Earring pattern, found here. I used Lizbeth size 20 thread in Red Burst #147, Black #604, and Silver #605, coordinating size 11 seed beads, and natural coloured glass pearls. I have been toying with the idea of purchasing some other colours of glass pearls.

Next, I finished the unfinished Ring A Ring O' Roses snowflake from an earlier post. Here it is:

I was able to get more thread from Umintsuru to complete this snowflake. In case you forgot, the snowflake was made using Coron size 40 variegated blues. I like the way this snowflake came out. Though it's still boring to tat.

The next two snowflakes were tatted using a fairly recent pattern. Miranda should recognize it.

It is her Angels In The Snow snowflake that she is offering for sale with the proceeds going to a charity. I love that idea, and was more than happy to purchase the pattern. For this snowflake I used Lizbeth size 40 thread in Denim Whisper #120. I love this colourway but still don't know why there is pink in it. I love this snowflake as well, so I tatted it again this past Saturday and Sunday:

This time, I used my favourite Lizbeth colourway (for this time of year, anyway). That would be Lizbeth size 40 Christmas Delight #116. I started another snowflake this afternoon. You'll have to wait to see that one; it's not done yet.

That's about it for now. Hopefully this week will be less interesting than the last. 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.

Mother's Day Pendant

This is going to be a quick post. Sorry for the long delay between posts. Lots going on, just not tatting related.

Some of you may remember the "Rose Garden" motif from Mary Konior's book Tatting in Lace that I made in white thread. If not, here is a refresher photo:

Here it is in all it's colourless glory. I thought it would look good in two (or more) colours. So that's what I tried. Here is the result:

All I can say is, Wow! I think it looks much better done in multiple colours. The purple thread I used for the rose is Purple Punch size 20 HDT by Yarnplayer and the green is Lizbeth size 20 in colour #684. I wanted to use HDT for the green as well, but all the green I had was in size 30 & 50 and most of the colours suitable for the rose were in size 20. The only colourway suitable for the rose in size 50 was still in skein form (I know, the horrors; actually I have quite a bit HDT in skein form since I never seem to have the time to wind it onto floss cards-I am working on it, I swear!). I was going to make this motif into a brooch, but I didn't have any proper brooch backs and I couldn't find any safety pins, so I attached a split ring to it to make a pendant. My mom loved it!

I was able to give my mom her Rose Garden pendant, as well as a chainmaille pendant, photo later, and a pair of teal anodized titanium earrings, that I showed earlier, today. My parents had to come to the city today, so I spent most of the day with them. It was nice.

That's all for now. I really, really, hope to post again, maybe mid-week. I do hope to get a substantial amount of tatting done. But, as always, we'll see. Till next time.



Oh, and Happy Mother's Day to all Mothers out there!

More Tatted Earrings and a New Book

I've been meaning to post for a few days now, but it has gotten so nice out, I have too busy to post. I guess I was getting a bit impatient last time. I can't confirm it, but I think Saskatoon was the national hot spot yesterday. The mornings aren't as cool as they were a few weeks ago. In fact it, has warmed up enough at night that I kicked out all the outdoor plants. This includes several cannas, calla lilies, and blueberries.

Anyhoo, I promised some tatted earring pictures. Here is the first one:

These are (of course) Marilee's Carnival earrings done in three strands of DMC embroidery floss with gold seed beads and round goldstone beads in the centres. The colours are somewhat washed out in the picture, but the earrings looked awesome (if I do say so myself) in person. The next pair is also a Yarnplayer design:

These are Marilee's Quidrille earrings; the pattern is available from her etsy shop. These were made using Lizbeth thread in size 20, colour #20-113 Jewels, along with some silver lined crystal seed beads for some sparkle. I didn't elaborate on my assessment of Lizbeth thread. It is a firm six cord thread that tats up beautifully. I find it to be similar to Flora, though in much nice colourways. If you love Flora, you will love Lizbeth. I'll add to my review if/when I find something wrong/exceptional to write about. Both these pairs of earring were given to my mom for Mother's Day, along with some other tatted/chain maille items. She loved them. I won't count this in the 25 Motif Challenge. I've made several Carnival earrings that I have counted already.

Finally, I mentioned a new book. Well, new to me. The book was published in 1946. Here is a photo of the cover:

I bought this booklet a few weeks ago at the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra Book Sale. There are a number of interesting patterns inside. As I mentioned, it was published in 1946, so I can't scan it to share yet. But don't worry, many of the doily patterns have been republished in other books, such as Traditional Tatting Patterns editted by Rita Weiss. If you have this book and perhaps some of the other Dover books, you have most of the patterns. I bought the book primarily for the edging patterns. No, really. I don't tat edgings, but I really liked some of them. I hope to turn some of them into bookmarks. When I have time.

That's it for now. I'll post again soon. I've made a few chain maille pieces lately that I would like to show. I'll leave you with a pretty plant picture. I'll tell you about it in the next post.

Spinning Wheel Mat Complete (It's about time!)

I finally finished the Spinning Wheel Mat that I showed towards the beginning of April. I finished it last week, but I just haven't felt like posting. I did make one mistake on it, but it isn't important enough to say anything else.

This is a much better scan than the preview one I did earlier. I'm not sure if I mentioned it earlier but the thread I used is Valdani pearl cotton, size 12, colour #M13 (Americana). Like I said before, there a few intermediate colours in addition to the three main colours that are visible in this scan. I'm going to have to make more of these; I really want to make the pattern again in size 80 thread. Probably won't be HDT since the only HDT I have is Yarnplayer's Fern (I think), and I'm not a big fan of green unless it is on (or is it in?) a plant. Perhaps I will try some King Tut thread. Out of curiosity, does anyone know how big a Spinning Wheel mat would be made in size 80 thread?

I finally purchased Marilee's (AKA Yarnplayer) book, "Boutique Tatting". The designs are pretty awesome. I will have to make a few of them once I get a few other things finished. I also purchased a skein of her "Cobalt" thread from Marilee at the same time, and she sent a sample skein of "Soft Blues" thread. How did you know that I would like that thread! Thanks Marilee. Oh, and I finally bit the bullet and ordered some of that Lizbeth thread that everyone seems to be using lately. It had better be good thread; I ordered nine balls of it. To make the order worth while, I HAD to order other stuff! I'll maybe show what I got once it gets here, which hopefully will be at the end of the week. And finally, I "discovered" a new art that I just had to try, which has eaten up some of my tatting time. I tell you about it next time (and I'll show some photos as well). Till next time.

Yarnplayer's Dream Pendant

After Yarnplayer (AKA Marilee) posted her variation on her own "Dream" necklace and earring pattern, I just had to try it. And here is my attempt:

The original pattern is pretty easy to make and Marilee's variation doesn't add much complexity to the pattern. For this pendant, I used some of Marilee's "Purple Punch" HDT along with some metallic purple size 8 seed beads, size 6 silver lined crystal seed beads, and some very light purple drop beads. With all this purple, this pendant will obviously be a Christmas gift for my mom. I may be able to make a couple more for gifts before Christmas. I'll have to see. This is motif #16 of my second 25 Motif Challenge. Till next time.

Snowflakes, Turtles, and Snow

As with many other people, I have been busy working on Christmas gifts. I do have a few tatting related items to show. However, I would like to mention something first. Snow! I can't stand it! We didn't have any snow until recently. It started last week, and it seems that it is snowing nearly every day now. And (I'm not sure if this is just local, or if it happens everywhere), but after the first snowfall of the year, most drivers forget how to drive in the stuff. I think I got that out of my system right now. Be prepared to hear this again in January.

The first tatted motif I have to show is the third snowflake for the Snowflake Round Robin:

I should mention that this is not the snowflake I sent to my next partner. I was in a rush to get it mailed and I forgot to scan the thing. I heard that. I prepared this snowflake earlier for just such an emergency. OK, not really, I just really like this pattern. The snowflake is called "October Enchantment" by Lenore English. I used DMC Cordonnet size 30 thread to make the snowflake. This is motif # 12.

The next snowflake is one designed by Nancy Tracy:

I don't even remember seeing this snowflake of Nancy's. I'm not sure how I could have missed it. The snowflake was actually pretty quick to tat. I tatted the snowflake continously instead of cutting and tying each round. I used DMC Cordonnet thread size 30 (I think) for this snowflake. This snowflake was supposed to be used for the Snowflake RR, but at over 4 1/2 inches in diameter, it came out much too big. I'm going to use it for a Christmas gift instead. This is motif # 13.

The third (and final) snowflake is again a Ruth Perry design;

Again, this is Ruth's Celtic Snowflake 2008, this time done in some HDT. I used some of Yarnplayer's "Winter Blend" HDT in size 50. I just love this pattern, and Marilee's HDT. This snowflake is also going to be a Christmas gift. I currently have another one of these snowflakes in progress, but done in a different thread. The Winter Blend Celtic Snowflake is motif # 14 of my Second 25 Motif Challenge.

Finally, I made another one of Teri's turtles. This time, fully, cloth---er, shelled. Be warned Tattingchic, I will show the mermaids that I made from Martha's pattern. And you thought a naked turtle was bad!

This turtle was made using C-lon Micro thread. This is the thread that Teri recommends for her turtle patterns. It is quite nice to tat with, as long as you don't tat too tight. It does handle a little retro-tatting if necessary. And as a bonus, due to it's stiff nature, items made with it shouldn't need stiffening. BTW, this turtle is mine! I hope to make a few more yet before Christmas. This is motif # 15.

I think that is all for now. Besides another snowflake to make for the SRR, I may not get much tatting done. I have two afghans to crochet for Christmas gifts. That isn't as big a feat as you may think. I am using Super Bulky weight yarn and a size S (19mm) hook. Yes, you heard the size right; there is a hook available that is bigger than a Q! Till next time.

Tatting, Canning, Ebook Reader, and Orchid Photos

Well, the title says it all. This is going to be a long post. I've been meaning to post but just haven't had time (heck, I barely managed to update the Challenge page yesterday). I'll start with the tatting since that is what my blog is mainly about.

Motif number 5 for me is a pair of earrings for my mom's birthday.

These earrings are Yarnplayer's (Marilee) Carnival Earrings. Pattern available on her website. For the earrings, I used some of Yarnplayer Purple Punch HDT, a couple light purple crystals, and metallic purple size 8 (I think) seed beads. Gee, I wonder what colour my mom's favourite is? Actually, that may be too much purple for me. Getting weak.......must see blue ..........

That's better. As you can see, I am retatting my Male Betta (in the thread from Sylvia). This time trying to write out the instructions. I wrote out the pattern for the body shortly after posting the finished motif, but the fins have been rather daunting to write out. I'm not 100% sure how to write out block tatting, so it is going to take time. Knowing me, it'll be 6-8 months. OK, maybe not that much time. Hopefully I can get back to working on him soon. I've also been working on the Lucky Clover doily, but won't post an update picture until it is done. I have been working on TIAS4 too, but I haven't scanned it yet. One of these days.

Now, the main reason I haven't been tatting is because I have been doing some canning this year. Since several grocery stores have apples on sale right now I have been focusing on them right now. So far I have made half a dozen pints of Apple Butter (and will probably make some more), half a dozen half-pints of Apple Jelly (the recipe said it will make 3 half-pints & I only made one batch; go figure), and I hope to make some applesauce after work tomorrow. I'm not going to mention the Mint Jelly; something didn't work out, and think it was me! This jelly has a consistency somewhere between rubber cement and regular cement. From what I've read, I'm pretty sure I overcooked it. Maybe it was for the best, since my mint must have been too old and the jelly had no mint taste; the plant has been flowering/trying to flower for the past month or so. I hope to make some pickled carrots as well; I just have to find some dill.

Now, next on my list is my new ebook reader. As I mentioned previously, I was saving up for one of Sony's Portable Reader System (PRS-505) ebook readers and I finally got it. Diane mentioned that her mom got one of Amazon's Kindles, but since the Kindle isn't available in Canada (or anywhere else except the USA) it wasn't an option. Since many fellow tatters are offering their books in PDF format (and due to the fact that I tend to print web pages and the like to PDF files) an ebook reader was quite logical for me. Here is a photo of the device displaying one of my newest ebook purchases:

Hopefully Linda won't mind me showing the cover of her new book. The photo show the text as being a bit blurry, but in reality, it isn't. If anyone is interested, ebooks available from Toni Storer, Nina Libin, and Linda Davies are readable on the Sony PRS-505 after being formatted for the reader's screen size. Some of the large diagrams in Toni's books may difficult to read by some people. But that is what the computer and/or a printed copy is for.

Finally, I'll finish this post with three orchids photos from the three orchids I purchased over the last couple months. All three are NOID Phalaenopsis (Moth Orchids), but they are still very pretty.


Not really much to say about these. Not like I needed anymore orchids, but I couldn't resist. I haven't purchased any orchids since. If you don't count the two Phalaenopsis species seedlings that I got off eBay. No, we won't count them since they are still small and won't flower for a couple years. I guess I should finish the Betta pattern, and the Venus Fly Tat so I can work on the tatted Phalaenopsis I have drawn out. Well, kinda drawn out; I created outlines of each flower part and just have to fill in. Something tells me that they would be great block tatting candidates.

I have more plant photos, but I'll leave them for another day. Since my mom's birthday is coming up and the possibility that my workplace may go on strike (which may give me more time), I will probably have other tatted items to show within a week or so. Stay tuned. That's all for now.

Motifs # 23 & 24, Just a Couple Bracelets

As the title says, my next two motifs, #23 and #24 are two bracelets for my mom. Here is the first one:

This bracelet was inspired by the bookmark I made earlier this year. The pattern is Interlocking Clovers from Mary Konior's book "Tatting Patterns". This has been my main tatting piece for the last four or five days. I made two pieces of lace, one in Flora 20, colour # 204 (yellow) for the inside of the bracelet, and three strands of DFN metallic silver embroidery floss for the outside of the bracelet. I added some gold silver-lined beads for some added sparkle. Of course, I thought the gold beads looked good when I was threading them on (using the method Yarnplayer demonstrated on her blog). After working on it, I realized that red would have looked better (kinda like rubies), though blue would have looked good too. I joined the silver layer to the yellow layer as it was being worked. Before joining the last short end, I inserted a 1 inch brass cuff bracelet (available from BeadFX, I'm sure it can be found elsewhere) then finished the last silver chain, and joining to the yellow layer. I kinda like it; I hope my mom will too. Oh, and please ignore the hairy wrist being used to model both bracelets. I'm going to be giving my mom both bracelets next weekend and if I don't photograph them now, I may forget.

The second bracelet is one I started a few months ago. I was unsure of how to finish the ends, so it was set aside.


This bracelet is called "Pearl Tatting Bracelet" and was designed by Birgit Phelps. For this bracelet, I used C-Lon beading cord in two shades of purple and three Swarovski crystal beads. The pattern was fairly simple to make, though the pearl tatting part was time consuming compared to regular tatting. The thread I used probably added some complications. For those of you unfamiliar with C-Lon thread, it is a heavy nylon thread used for beading mainly, but it does tat quite well. Finishing took a bit of time to get right. I know that nylon thread is often melted when finishing, but I wasn't happy with the results. So, this project has been an almost done UFO. I ordered a larger clasp from... do I need to say where? I tied the clasp onto the thread and secured the knot with Super Glue. This was the most common finishing method for nylon thread that I found. If anyone has any other suggestions, I would love to hear them.

Finally, I have decided not to participate in the latest tagging game. I just can't think of six unimportant things about me. I'm sure there will be more tagging later. Until next time.