Happy Hallowe'en!

Sorry for the lack of posts. I have been working on stuff, but I just haven't gotten around to posting. I'll try to get a regular post written up sometime this week. Until then, you can see my Hallowe'en costume that I wore to work today.

Happy Hallowe'en!!!

Happy Hallowe'en!!!!!

I hope everyone is having a Happy Hallowe'en. I'm not sure how big of a deal it is in other parts of the world but it's pretty popular here in North America. I had to work all day, but that doesn't mean I didn't take part in the fun.

Grrrr! *Howls at moon* I'm a werewolf, if you can't tell. I initially had claw on, but they quickly fell off. I lost one, but I think I know where, so hopefully I'll find it Monday. Considering I really didn't get to plan too much for it, I think I did alright. I don't think you can see the makeup on my face, but since I can't wear a mask at work, I think I did a decent job. I love the way the pants look though. I bought a ragged pair of jean from a thrift store, cut slits randomly in the legs and hot glued fake fur from the inside with the fur showing. I ended up gluing the slits open a bit too. I also shredded the bottoms too. I should have added some fake fur to the cuffs of the shirt, but maybe anther time. I like the idea, so I'll probably do it again in a few years.

Since I don't usually get too many trick or treaters where I live, I'll probably tat and watch movies this evening. I'm sure some chocolate will get eaten too. Till next time.

Merry Christmas!

Well, I had hoped to post at least once before Christmas, but I ran out of time. I did get some tatting done though. I will have to blog about it after Christmas. It should be much quieter then. I've been pretty busy with work for the last month or so being in retail and all. I'm heading down to my parent's early tomorrow morning for several days. We'll see if I get anything accomplished. Till next time.

Merry Christmas!!!

Interview On Ancora Crafts

Just a quick post today. I haven't had much to show since my last post. I took about a week break from tatting. But I am working on a project or two right now. I'll try to have a proper post soon. In the meantime, you might want to check out the interview I did for Ancora Crafts. You can find it here. It was really fun, and I'm sure I mentioned some things there that I haven't posted here before. Till next time.

I'm Here, Honest!

Sorry for the lack of posting lately. I haven't done much tatting since my last post. I've been pretty busy at work, and I seem to have "Designer's Block" with regards to the two other fish patterns I am trying to work on. I figured I should work on the Dwarf Gourami first since it needed modifications to the body in order to work. I'm not happy with the result, and then haven't felt like working on it. I think I'll work on the Female Betta on my next day off, which should be Wednesday. I should try to tat another Betta body so I'm ready then. My Male Betta has been tested by a few other tatters now; I'm waiting for Jane to go over it again. I think what I may do is offer the Male and Female Bettas together in one pattern since they share the same body style. We'll see what happens with the Gourami. I don't have any photos to share right now. I got my iPad last Monday; it's awesome! I took a few photos and copied them onto my computer, but that's as far as I got.  Hopefully I'll have something to share next time.

Oh! I do have a photo to share. It's my two Dwarf Gouramis; Bob on the left, and Joe on the right.

Well, till next time.

Black Friday Sale

I try to avoid doing posts like this but, I think it's been a while. For anyone interested, I will be having a Black Friday sale. Everything will be 20% off. I'm not sure, but the coupon code on my blog should also work too. So, a possible 30% discount(or so) for followers of my blog. I'm not the only one having a sale, but you'll have to visit Jess' blog for the coupon code. My sale should happen automatically. I'm using an Etsy App to manage my sale. It should start at midnight (my time CST, I think).

That's it for now. I'm still working on the second motif from the Japanese book. I'll share once I'm done. Till next time.

Happy Hallowe'en!

I hope everyone has had a Happy Hallowe'en. I had to work today, but I did get dressed up.

Arrrrrr mateys! Technically I was a generic pirate, but most people assumed I was Captain Jack Sparrows from the Pirates of the Caribbean, so I went with it. I've been meaning to post, but life (and work!) keeps getting in the way. I do plan to post on Saturday, as I know I won't be working. So I'll share what little tatting I've gotten done, and my new books, and even the HDT I bought from Jess. It's been snowing a bit here, not much and I'm hoping it melts away for a while. With it being cooler out, I actually feel inspired to start tatting snowflakes. I think this year I'm going to go through all my HDT and use up the "snowflake coloured" ones.

Till next time. Happy Hallowe'en all ye land lubbers!



PS: For anyone interested, I will be offering free shipping in my Etsy shop starting over the next few days. The coupon code on the right side bar still applies. I've also made some, um, price changes.

Karen Bickerton's Patterns

This will be just a quick post. Karen Bickerton, from KB Design Originals, has a special offer for anyone following my blog. When you purchase any of her patterns from her shop, mention me and/or my geckos, and she'll include a bonus pattern. She didn't say if/when the offer will expire, so if interested, don't hesitate. She has her Frilled Lizard pattern listed now, for anyone interested.

I'll hopefully do a regular post soon. I have been tatting, mainly on the Pineapple doily. A couple new books arrived in the mail too, which I'd like to share. Till next time.

Quick Post

Sorry, again for the delay in posting. I got hit with the flu again this week, so I haven't gotten to posting (or tatting for that matter) lately. I have a tatted snowflake and a motif that I want to show you but, I can't find them at the moment, so they will have to wait for a few more days. I have more orchid photos to share-I couldn't help myself and bought three more last week. I do hope to have a full post by the end of the weekend.

Before I forget, I finally joined Facebook. I really didn't want to, but had to as I was informed that a user there was using some of my (and other people's) photos from Etsy, and other sites and claiming them as her own. So I had to get mine removed. So I am on Facebook. Feel free to friend me if you want; I will eventually start finding some of you and Friending you. I don't know how active I'll be, but I'll try. I just have to figure out how it all works. Till next time.

Not A Lot Goin' On, Again

Sorry for disappearing, yet again. I was hit with some sort of flu the weekend following my last post. That knocked me down for most of that week. I didn't do anything that week. The following week wasn't much more productive. I worked on some test tatting. I'm not sure I can share, though I didn't do the pieces justice. One required a lot of beads, and I couldn't find a crochet hook fine enough to go through the holes in the beads. I ended up skipping the beads, and left long picots the approximate length of the beads to tat the pattern. It worked, but it isn't as pretty as it should be. Besides the tatting, I have continued with the crochet I mentioned earlier, but I haven't finished anything yet to share. Soon though, hopefully. I will quickly share some weaving I did before I got sick. I've got some more orchid photos too, but I'll leave them until next time.

About three weeks ago, or so, I picked up a Martha Stewart Crafts Knit & Weave Loom Kit from Michaels. I used a 50% off coupon so I got it for about $26; I wouldn't have got it at the full price. This kit does weaving, knitting and double knitting. I have a basic double knitting loom already, and while I may try knitting with this kit, I bought it for the weaving. If you are wondering the kit is made by Lion Brand Yarn and has patterns available on their website. I played around a bit and made a small woven square, then had an idea. The instruction booklet has a pattern for a baby blanket which consists of 3x3 large squares sewn together. I figured I could make a larger "man" sized blanket using the same squares. I think 4x5 squares may work. Each square is 13 inches square (32.5ish cm) so the finished size should be about 52 x 65 inches (130 x 162.5 cm). That should be big enough. I have one square made:

This was made using Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick & Quick yarn. I like the way it came out, but I think it took nearly a full ball of yarn to make. I'm not 100% sure if it was a full ball when I started but there isn't much left. I like the yarn (it's a super bulky weight wool acrylic blend that is machine washable and dryable), but what I don't like is that I may potentially need up to 20 balls of yarn (at about $7 each, I think, maybe more). I'll have to watch for sales, and who knows, it may be possible to get more than one square per ball. Even 1 1/2 squares would be more acceptable. We'll see if anything comes from this. I'll provide updates when and if I make any progress.

That's about it for now. I bought a snowflake tatting pattern from an Etsy seller last week that I'd really like to work on. Hopefully I'll get to it tonight and I'll have something tatted to share. Till next time.

Remembering Gina

 I'm going to be honest, I never thought I'd have to do a post like this. I was shocked to learn of Gina's passing this week. I didn't find out until Wednesday afternoon as I didn't have an internet connection for the previous few days due to an upgrade gone awry*. I hadn't met Gina in person, but she was someone I wanted to meet. Like many of you, I considered her a friend even though I hadn't met her. She will be missed. My condolences to Gina's family.

I've only tatted one of her motifs that I can think of. That motif would be her Gingerbread Boy:

As I mentioned in the post about the Gingerbread boy, I first contacted Gina about this pattern in November 2007 to get some clarification with the wording of the pattern. Three attempts and two years later I managed to tat him. I haven't tatted any of her other patterns, but I think I will soon.
 

I've also been fortunate to have received some of Gina's tatting. In this case a bookmark and a trio of fish:

As I mentioned in the post about these, the red fish is my pattern tatted by me, but the other three were tatted by Gina. These gifts (and a whole bunch of other stuff) came about through a year of giveaways Gina did a few years ago. I will treasure them always. And everything else she sent me.

I don't know what else to say. I'm not good with this sort of thing. As others have mentioned, the tatting community has lost a treasure. There won't be anyone quite like her. Rest in peace Gina.



*In case you are wondering, I decided to upgrade my internet speed which was supposed to happen early Monday morning. I woke up with no internet and no TV (I have an IPTV service which comes through the phoneline). Eventually got a technician out early Wednesday afternoon. The DSL modem was at fault as it wasn't connecting to my ISP. I guess it was too old and didn't like the higher speed. The TV came on but Internet wasn't fully functional. Another phone call to Sasktel was required to fix another issue. Everything is working now. 

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012!

Happy New Years!!!! I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays. I did. I didn't get much tatting done, but I enjoyed myself regardless. I particularly enjoyed not working for four days. Since I have no tatting to share, this will probably be pretty short.

As I have done for the last few years, I didn't make any resolutions for this year. I would like to (rather proudly, I might add) mention that for the first time in a loooooong time (maybe not that long), I don't need to lose any weight! As of the end of November, early December, I reached my goal. It feels great, and I like the way I look now. I didn't before.

You've seen the photo on the left.The one on the right was taken today. My still not done Hauberk fits much better compared to when I wore it in May. Hopefully I will get around to finishing my Hauberk. Oh, I know someone asked what I planned on doing with it once it's done. The answer is I don't know. I mainly am making it just as something different from all the jewelry I have been working on. I will probably wear it in public somewhere, sometime.

I have done some other chainmaille over the last few days. A few are custom orders that have come in. The rest are mainly just to add something new to my shop. Here's a quick photo of these new items:

One of the custom items was a pair of Celtic Star earrings. I had to make them smaller and lighter than the Celtic Star pendants in order to make them work.  I do plan on getting these listed soon, but in case anyone is wondering, they are a bit over an inch (2.5 cm) in diameter. These are probably best done in aluminum (colours are possible!) or mixed metals to keep the weight down. The customer initially wanted them to be solid copper but they each weighed about 12 grams (0.4 ounces or so) with the ear wires. Speaking of ear wire I have added a pair of earrings with clip on earring findings for those who don't have pierced ears. Any of my earrings can be made with clip on findings, just ask. The fish pendant is pretty cool. At least  I think so. It's also one on those designs that could work for both men and women. I have one on my keychain:

The gemstone is reconstituted turquoise, but I have recently gotten some stabilized turquoise for use in these as it is actual turquoise. The reconstituted stuff may or may not contain actual turquoise. It depends on the what website you choose to believe. Anyway, I am gong to make a pair of fish earrings in some smaller rings as well. I have a list of other chainmaille items I want/need to make.

That's about it for now. I'm not going to promise to post or tat more this year. I'll blog when I can, and I'll tat when I can. The only thing I will promise myself this year is to do something about this balding thing that is happening. Or at least try, genes be damned. Rogaine, here I come! I should go now. I must get some tatting done before this gorgeous first day of 2012 is over. Till next time.

Posting for the Sake of It

I have nothing really to post about. I feel that I should, but that's it. As I said in my last post, I went away last weekend for a few days. It was nice to get away and not to think about work and stuff.  However, I really haven't done much since I left (and subsequently returned). I do plan on tatting, but all I've accomplished was to pick out a pattern or two that I want to start. I still have many UFO's and WIPs/WISPs that need to be finished. I did manage to make a couple new pairs of chainmaille earrings, and planned on photographing them this afternoon after work. However, I was asked to stay longer, and I agreed, so I missed the optimum time for photographing. I do all my photos outside. I should probably look into other options. My hoodie is still on hold, however, I'm going to have to get it finished as it is getting a bit cool in the mornings and I'll want to wear it. We may even get frost within the next day or two. Hopefully not, as I don't want to deal with the potted outdoor plants yet. I did bring in two "houseplants" that I had outside- a King Sago and my Ginkgo tree.

Thanks for the comments on the last posts. I'm glad you guys like the bookmark in black. Actually, I really like the way tatting looks in black, but I find it a pain to tat with black thread. Miranda, my split chains are far from great, but thanks for the compliment. And thanks to Marla for the comment about my orchid. Apparently this offsetting behaviour comes from the Doritis parent, so it may be considered normal. I may leave the baby on the parent plant for now. It's kind of incredible that we're almost two weeks into September already. Hopefully I'll get a lot done over the next few weeks. I would like to get some tatting done to show you. I kinda feel bad when I don't have any new motifs to show you. I don't like simply not posting either. We'll see what happens and I'll try and post again soon. Till next time.

Nothing New, Just Some Updates

I haven't done much, so I don't have anything new. I did get another order last week, so I worked on remaking the sold item. But other than that I haven't done much else. I did finish crocheting the hood on my hoodie. I still need to do the ribbing, and, uh, I have to sew on the pocket. I forgot about it until I posted the photo. I also forgot that the the hood has ribbing on it as well, so I definitely don't have enough yarn to finish it using the same yarn. I stopped at Michaels last week to buy some dark grey cotton/acrylic blend yarn. Big surprise I didn't find much. Actually, I didn't find any. Instead I found some 100 % cotton yarn in black (called Ebony) in the Loops and Threads brand (I believe its a Michaels brand/exclusive) and some grey yarn in a bamboo/wool blend from Stitch Nation. Here's some photos:

I really don't know which one looks better. I was hoping for a darker grey (or lighter black!). I really think the black may be too dark, but the grey may be too light. I do prefer the grey, but that may be because I want to use a bamboo yarn for something, though now that Michaels has this line of yarn I may be able to find another project to satisfy that need. Let me know what you know what you think. I may have to go on another quest for the prefect grey cotton/acrylic blend yarn.

I mentioned in the last post that I had purchased an LED light system for my aquarium. Well, it looks great and produces a fair amount of light. As I said, time will tell if the plants appreciate it. One cool feature of the unit is that it has "Moon Lights". These are blue LEDs that mimic the light of the moon. Makes the tank look pretty cool:

You can't see the fish (I can't anyway) but it still looks kinda cool. Moon lights aren't really for freshwater aquariums, they're more for reef setups, so I won't be using them much. But I had to try them out at least once.

I had a request for an update on my five new Nepenthes (tropical pitcher plants) plants. Here is a (fairly) recent photo of them:

Four out of five are doing pretty well. The fifth, the one on the front right, isn't doing so hot. Fortunately, it was also the least expensive of the five (well, if you don't count the one provided as a free gift; it's right behind the dying one). I'm not really that disappointed. It's a fairly common plant so I should be able to replace it easily. I have been opening the cover regularly to let some fresh air in. I'll try and remember to provide another update in a month or two.

Finally, here's an update for another plant that I haven't mentioned for a while. It it, my Tillandsia, or Air Plant:

It (they?) has/have grown since you've seen it last. And, if you look in the second photo, there's going to be another plant in the near photo. I'm surprised on how well it's doing. Since my first one died after flowering, I assumed this one will too. Though the first one did spend a summer, a Canadian summer, in near full sun all day and not watered nearly enough. That is probably why it died. My understanding is that some, if not all, Tillandsias will form clumps or clusters. I think it will be quite spectacular once it gets really large as there may be numerous plants in flower at any given time, or perhaps the whole plant at once. I will try to provide updates on this plant too, but since it grows rather slowly, it won't be very often.

I think that will be all tonight. I do have more plant photos ( I really want to show you what one of my Phalaenopsis orchids is doing) but they will have to wait for another day. I bought a bunch of new findings recently as my main supplier got over a hundred new items. Two of the findings I bought include some hair clips and some solid stainless steel toggle clasps. I will have to get some photos with the toggle clasps and play around with the hair clips so look for that. I have been working on some tatting, so hopefully I will have some tatting to show soon. Till next time. Goodnight!

Quick Reminder

Not sure if this is necessary, but I thought I'd remind everyone that I have a giveaway in progress. Click here for the giveaway details, and to enter. I hope to do the drawing tomorrow around 9 pm CST. Hopefully I won't be too tired after work tomorrow-I have to go in much earlier than normal. It never occurred to me when I posted last Monday, but feel free to post about the giveaway on your blogs if you wish. The more people entering, the better.

I haven't done much else last week, so I probably won't do a full post later this week. I haven't touched my tatting. I did do a little chainmaille, and may do a little more this evening. I refrained from adding new items to my shop during the postal strike/lock out. I do hope to get the new items properly photographed and listed during my days off. Finally, the last of the packages I was waiting for (mailed before the lockout) have arrived. I am so relieved that my new Pop-a-Bobbin shuttle is safe. I also received some yarn (Bernat Denimstyle) to make another of The Crochet Dude's Dawg hoodie. This project will probably wait for a while, but I now have the yarn to do it.

That's it for now. I'll hopefully be back tomorrow to announce the winners. Don't forget, if you want to enter my giveaway, you have a little over a day to do so. Till next time.

A Little of This and A Little of That, 1 of 2

Wow! Where has the time gone. I've been busy at work, and then the expected change in my work schedule occurred, starting this week, which has thrown me off schedule here at home. As the title indicates, I've been busy with a number of things since my last post. Unfortunately, tatting hasn't been one of them. I did pull out my tie, and tatted a few more four ring squares. It hasn't changed enough yet for me to post a new photo. Don't worry, I will be tatting again soon. I am planning on going to my parents house early next week. I have to work Easter weekend  (so does my dad) so this is the best we can do. Tatting will probably be the only thing I can easily take with me and work on. A few of you have asked about how my spinning is coming along. Well, let me show you.

I received the new spindle on Tuesday. Of course, I had to start playing with it that evening (new toy and all). One problem though, I couldn't remember how. The spindle I bought is also a top whorl, and the one I made was a bottom whorl. Relearning how to spindle spin wasn't very difficult to do. As is turns out, I have an invaluable resource now that I didn't have years ago when I first learned spinning. YouTube. A few videos later, here was the result:

Not too bad. Could be better, but I'm not complaining. I made several small balls of yarn yesterday afternoon. I plied them in the evening. Here is the result of that experiment:

And a better look here:

Again, not too bad. It is uneven, and thicker than I'd like, but I'll get better. I've been wishing after I started spinning that I had purchased some undyed roving to practice with. Unlike some of you, I hate practicing with the pretty stuff (thread, yarn, roving). I've also decided that I'll have to find a project or two to use the yarn. No point making the yarn if I won't use it. In case you're wondering the skein of yarn above contains about 25 feet of two ply yarn, equivalent to a bulky weight or so. I have two skeins of approximately the same size, plus enough roving left for another single strand of yarn.

As it turns out the spindle I bought is pretty small. So I either have to make lots of short lengths of yarn, get my yarn thinner, or buy/make a larger spindle. Browsing though Etsy, I noticed a lot of the wooden spindles, not all but a fair number, were simply wooden toy wheels attached to a dowel with a hook on one end. I figured that since I'd be in the area today that I could pick up what I needed from Michaels. Unfortunately, they didn't have any wooden toy wheels larger than one inch in diameter. I needed a 3-4 four inch wide wheel. Oh well, I'll keep it in mind and keep using the one I have. Probably a good idea to practice with the smaller one anyway. As always, I'll keep you guys updated.

That's about it for now. I've been working on my chainmaille shirt, and have the front section about three quarters done. I'm going to start on the back section probably tomorrow. I did some other chainmaille as well, but I'll post about it in a couple days. Till next time.

I Think I Need a Break ......

I don't know what it is, but I haven't felt like doing anything for the past week or so. I haven't tatted in over a week, and while I did some chainmaille this weekend, I had no desire to get photos of the completed pieces. So they aren't going in the shop this week. I did place a small order for new rings last week, but I don't know if I'll get anything made out of them right now. There's also been work issues on my mind again, or rather about some changes being implemented. Though these affect everyone and not just me. It's related to a new scheduling system that our head office feels will benefit us. I've heard the opposite as well as plenty of other rumors, though I'm trying to ignore the rumors right now.

Anyway, I think I'm going to lay low for a week or two. I've been wanting to do some crocheting if I can decide on a project.  We'll see what happens. I'll still be around, and I'll try and keep up with everyone. Oh, and I hope those of you who got Monday off enjoyed yourselves. And my apologies if you didn't get the day off (I did!). Till next time.

Happy New Years and Some Thoughts For 2011

Happy New Year's!!!!!!!

 I hope 2011 started well for everyone. I had to work today (and yesterday) but that's alright. It wasn't busy, and we closed early. It was still very cold this morning, though we are currently warming up, and snowing (apparently, its too dark to see). I have nothing tatting related to report. I should mention, that the Birdcage motif I posted about a few days ago is from Mary Konior's book Tatting In Lace. I will/have change(d) the post to include this omission.

I'm going to end this post with a list of things I'd like to accomplish for 2011, tatting/craft related anyway. I don't make resolutions and the common ones, weight loss, healthy living/eating are things I've been working on for a while now, so I don't need to promise myself that I'm going to do it. Anyway, here is what I've come up with so far (this list is not conclusive):

1. I am going to finish some of my UFOs and WIPs. 

2. I am going to write out and diagram some of my other patterns (I know I said that last year). As much as I'd like to offer them for free, a few may be for sale (my male Betta, for one), though this isn't set in stone.

3. Use up some of my HDTs, even though they are too pretty to use. I know. I know. They're thread and they're supposed to be used. But still.

4. Get more tatting time in. I don't seem to have the time to tat lately.

5. Blog more often. I don't like to write posts just for the sake of posting something. This one will be affected by #4 above. More tatting = more posting. 

6. I'd love to learn something new. Though since I don't seem to have the time for the arts/crafts I do now, this goal is going to be optional.

7. Well, actually the above six is all I can think of right now. I'll amend this list if/when I think of other goals.

That's all for now. Here's hoping for an awesome year for everyone! Till next time. 

Quick Update

I figured I should do a small update. I made it to and from my parents house safely. I picked up my new(ish) truck, which is a 2006 GMC Sierra. It is similar to the Silverado that I used to have, which is nice 'cause I really liked that truck. On the tatting front, I still haven't done much. Hopefully I will have a few things to show in a few days. I've had a few sales through Etsy this week, so I've been busy remaking the sold items. I also hope to make a pendant using the Bicubix Blocks as well.  I still need to photograph the earrings I showed you last week. I forgot to mention last week as well, that my supplier has also started anodizing their gold coloured aluminum rings with their new process which makes them nice and shiny like brass or gold. Which is nice because you get the rich gold colour without the problem of turning green like with brass. Anyway, I have to get ready for bed. I'll leave you with a photo of my mom's new kitten, Grace. Till next time.

I Got Nothin'

Pretty much, anyway. I'm still working on the Angels In The Snow snowflake that I started before the last post. I had a couple of sales last weekend, and worked at remaking the items that sold. I ended up playing with the Bicubix Blocks earrings, seen below:

I played around with using some then all coloured rings, with some very pretty results. Though due to my work schedule, I can't get some decent photos (I prefer to photograph my items outside, temperatures permitting). I did get a few indoor photos, but they don't do the earrings justice.

They look waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better in person. The purple rings in the bottom pair are much darker. The blue rings in the top photo are absolutely gorgeous. See here (hopefully). And that still doesn't do them justice. My supplier started using a new anodizing technique to make these, and other ring colours. Unfortunately, it will be at least another week before I can get these listed, but we'll see.

On the truck front, my dad found me a new(ish) truck. It's a 2006 GMC something or other. He won't tell me exactly what it is. I will be going back to their place Saturday after work. I have to admit, I'm not really looking forward to the trip. I'll be careful. Promise. Till next time.