Still Alive

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

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

I decided to make a bracelet using it.

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

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

Playing Catchup

I didn't mean to disappear again; it just kinda happened. I finished tatting a magic square for my mom. I also worked on some crochet for my mom as well. For the last few months, I have been working on a knitted cardigan for me. I'm working on the second sleeve, so it shouldn't take me too much longer to finish. Then I can get back to tatting for a while- I haven't tatted for a few months! Oh, and I updated my last post to include the author's name of the Korean tatting book. I received a comment on that post from someone who knew the author's name. Thanks Mary!

I made another Magic Square Triangles Variation by Robin Perfetti. This one was made for my mom.

This was tatted using Flora thread in colour #s 64 and 213, size 20. Man, do I miss Flora thread! It is such a nice thread to use. I don't know why Handy Hands replaced it with Lizbeth. One of the threads is variegated, the one I used for the chains. I'm not sure I totally like how it worked out, but I think my mom liked it which is what counts.

I also made a crocheted jewelry bowl for mom. I think it turned out quite well.

It is crocheted over a 1/4 inch thick rope using four strands of sock weight yarn. I used three strands of sport weight yarn, Omega Sinfonia, and it still worked out. The pattern is by goolgool and you can find her Etsy shop here. I really enjoyed making it and will have to get the proper yarn to make another one, or two. The pattern is written a little weird but it was still pretty easy to follow.

As I said, I am currently working on a knitted cardigan for my self. I have to finish the second sleeve, which I hope to do either today or tomorrow. Then I have to sew the sleeves on, and knit the collar and front bands. A zipper sewed under the front bands should complete it. I'll post a photo when it's done. That's about it for now. Till next time.

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. 

Crystal Star

Wow, where is the time go? I can't believe November is almost over, already. I did plan to post earlier but I never seem to have the time. I am still working in the department I transferred to at work. Generally all my shifts start around 5 am. I've gotten used to for the most part, but I'm still having some time management issues. Hopefully I will get them worked out soon. Anyway, I've been working on a number of projects, I'm just not sure I'm going to get around to posting everything.

I was working on The Monsterpiece Doily, but I keep putting it aside to work on other stuff. When I saw Frivole's Crystal Star, I knew I had to tat it.

I think it turned out pretty well. I used some DMC Cordonnet size 20 thread with Swarovski 4mm bicone crystal beads. I like the star in white, but I think it would look even better in a yellow thread with yellow crystals. I may have to try that sometime. I'll definitely be tatting this pattern again soon. I am currently working on another one of Frivole's designs, so I might be able to post that in a few days.

I've been doing a lot of crocheting lately. Mostly things that will probably be used for gifts this Christmas. I still have a few more to make. I'll try to take some photos of the finished items, but no promises. I still have a pair of socks to finish knitting. I have picked them up and knitted a few rounds just to prove to myself that I still remember what I am doing. I have also done some chainmaille as well, a few surprise sales. If anyone is interested, I am planning a Black Friday Weekend sale, starting tonight at midnight and going until midnight Tuesday morning. I have been thinking about closing my shop in the new year. I haven't decided yet, but I feel like I spend more on Etsy fees than I earn from sales. We'll see.

That's about it for now. I'll try to post again soon-I really mean that. I think I should be able to spend some time this evening tatting, so I should finish my current small project and perhaps start another one. 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.

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.

Just a Few Snowflakes

I haven't really accomplished much since my last post. I did manage a few snowflakes, and have been playing a bit with needle tatting over the last few days. Mainly just practicing split rings and lock stitch chains; I've never done either one before in needle tatting. I think I've got the hang of both techniques, but I don't care for the constant un-threading and re-threading the needle in order to do a split ring. And needle tatted lock stitch chains take forever. In case you're wondering, I'm not switching to needle tatting. I've purchased a few of Totusmel's patterns over the past few months and while they seem very doable with a shuttle they should be much easier with a needle. The patterns I'm planning on tatting have interwoven rings/Celtic style tatting. I am thinking that I might try doing shuttle tatting for part of the motifs and needle tatting for the rest. I'll share the results once I'm done. I had to order some more thread today (yeah, I'm sure I really needed it; I needed other stuff too!) so once I get it, I can tat the patterns.

Anyway, as I said earlier, I manage to tat three snowflakes lately. All are from Jon Yusoff's book Tatted Snowflakes Collection.

This is Circle of Crowns, tatting with Lizbeth Twirlz size 20 colour #403. I have to say, I really like this thread. I had no issues with it. I know I read that some people found it twisty, but it didn't seem anymore twisty than any other thread I've used. Mind you I do drop my shuttle(s) periodically while tatting; I don't know if that made a difference or not.

This snowflake is called Oasis. This was tatted with the same thread as above. Fairly quick to tat. Its not block yet, as you might be able to see. I made the picots on the centre ring to long because I didn't read the pattern before tatting, and I thought they needed to be large because of the three rings that seemingly join to it. I might remake it if I have time/remember. I don't think anyone will notice, however.

This is The Twirly. It was fairly quick to tat. However it was a very bad thread colour choice on my part. This was tatted with Lizbeth Twirlz size 20 colour # 407. I thought it might work. Didn't think that choice through. It's looks like a muddy snowflake. I'll definitely have to remake this one.

That's it for now. I do plan on tatting more snowflakes and hopefully a few other motifs. I can't believe it's going to be December 1 tomorrow. I've got a few chainmaille items to make this week for gifts. Speaking of chainmaille, everything in my shop is 25% off for anyone interested. I've got items suitable for both men and women. The sale will end midnight Monday. 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.

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

InLinkz.com

I'm Still Tatting!

Honest! Just not Windmills right now. I'm working on something else right now, and I'm pretty excited about it. I just can't share yet. Bummer, I know. Not much else new otherwise. I have to wait until next week to see if my workplace goes on strike or not. There's a strike going on in Alberta that's related to my workplace. I've never faced a strike before so I'm a little concerned. I'm sure it will turn out fine. Anyway, onwards to the tatting. Kinda.

Yeah, I still can't share. I can share the small pile of rejects from the design process however; the finished item changed dramatically from these, so I don't think anyone can guess what it might be. Oh, and I won't confirm or deny any guesses either.

I'm happy to say, that it only took about a week for me to get a working pattern created. Yup, I designed and properly tatted a new design in about a week! I'm very excited about it. Granted, I think having a deadline really helped, I am such a procrastinator. I only have three weeks or so to work on the special project. I did the final tweaks and tatted the in-colour, proper item Sunday while watching a Doctor Who marathon on TV. I still have a ton of photos to take and edit, and I do need to tat a green version of the item too. I gotta incorporate the item into the theme of the project you know. You guys only have to wait a couple weeks.

That's about it for now. Next Monday is Thanksgiving here so hopefully I can get some other tatting done too. Till next time.