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.