Just Checking In

I haven't disappeared. I just haven't done much since my last post. As I had said, I kept knitting after my last post. After I got back from my weekend away, I did start the next round of the Monsterpiece Doily. I didn't get very far. I made pretty good progress on my knitted t-shirt and I decided I should keep working on that at least until I get to the point I have to start shaping the armholes. I'm about two inches or so from that point. I would probably be finished if I didn't develop a head cold early last week. Between the cold and some stupid shifts at work, I didn't really feel like working on much of anything. I did work on some chainmaille for myself and a little bit of knitting but that was about it.

Hopefully I'll get the knitting completed to a convenient point where I can stop. Then I hope to continue working on the Monsterpiece Doily. I don't know how much I'll get done next week, as there is a lot happening. I'm also doing some volunteer work next Friday/Saturday so I know I won't get anything done then. Till next time.

Doily Update

As I suspected, I didn't get much tatting done last week. Between my group meeting, getting my Hallowe'en costume ready, and going out to a movie, I didn't do much tatting. I don't have an update photo of the doily. I managed to add one more motif and am currently adding another one-that would make #10. Only two more to go! I intend on getting the final two done by the end of the weekend. I think that is a reasonable goal. I can then move onto the next round. Till next time.

Happy Hallowe'en!!

Just a quick update, I'll try to do a proper post later this weekend/early next week. Anyway, I dressed up for work again this year. I'm sure I mentioned it before but, I've never really cared for Hallowe'en. But dressing up for work, does seem to make it better. The leftover chocolate helps too. Anyway, here's a photo for those of you who haven't seen it yet on Facebook.

I am a little disappointed that there were only a handful of people who knew who I was dressed up as. I even wore a name tag with the characters name on it. I really got annoyed with the Smurf guesses very quickly. Towards the end of my shift, some of the more older kids were stopping at the store after school and there was some recognition from them. For those who don't know who I am, I'm Finn the Human from the TV show Adventure Time. I made Finn an adult, thus the beard. It think it looks better if Finn had a proper blond beard rather than my dark brown/black beard. It also hides most of my piercings, including one I never shared when I got it; that would be a labret. The eyebrow piercing which is normally hidden, I were a hat at work, is very prominent.

I am currently working on a bauble tatted project. I hope to finish it this weekend, if I can focus on it long enough. My book on bauble tatting arrived, and wow is it awesome. I'll share the Windmills doily at its current status at the same time. Till next time.

My Tatted Tie, Part 1-The Need For Advice

This will be the first of several posts related to my Tatted Tie. As I mentioned in my last post, I had to modify my original idea in order to make the idea work. Here is the first attempt:

As you can see, the basic idea was for me to tat four groups of four rings. The bottom four rings on each group of 16 could be made a little larger than the others to allow me to widen the tie. The next group of four motifs, I'm calling a "Tie Unit" could then be made larger (using the same stitch count as the last four rings on the previous tie unit, with the exception of the bottom four rings). This could be continued until the tie was the length I wanted. I'm sure some of you might notice an obvious flaw with this idea. By the time I got to the bottom of the tie, the rings are going to be huge. Another problem is the thread itself. I used a size 3 "fashion crochet" thread to make this sample. I didn't like tatting with it. It is a 2-ply thread from what I can tell, and it is soft. It's also too thick for my tatting tastes. What you see above was made with two Aero bobbins worth of thread, which I think was about 4 yards between the two shuttles. This version was scraped and I modified the drawing I made.

The result of the redesign was this, Tatted Tie, Mark 2:

The Mark 2 is similar to the Mark 1 with a few exceptions. Each Tie Unit now varies in size as work progresses, and the rings stay the same size. The tie is widened by simply adding the equavalent of one motif to each row of the Tie Unit. I'm not sure how often I will need to widen the Tie Units in order to make the tie the correct width. I have a hunch some math will need to get involved. Depending on how many increases will be needed, I may be able to increase the width every 6 or 8 rows. We'll see. I used some size 10 crochet thread for the Mark 2 tie. I used about 8 yards of thread between the two shuttles. And no, I don't plan on using a variegated thread for the tie. In case you're wondering, both versions of the Tatted Tie were completed tatted using regular and split rings and each was tatted continously. Oh, and when the tie is finished, I plan on outlining the tie with chains to finish it off.

Now for my need of advice. I need help with the choice of thread. I think I'm going to stick with size 10 thread. It is the best compromise. Anything larger than 10 and I don't like tatting with it, and size 20 and smaller would take forever to tat. I know that 6-cord thread is generally the best choice for most tatting. Would it be good here? I was thinking buying a few balls of Lizbeth size 10 for the tie, but I have heard that some people don't like how stiff the thread is in this size. I haven't used a 6-cord size 10 thread before so I can't comment. Another thing I'd like your opinion on is colour choices. I really don't think I'm going to take more than one (or two) ties. I would like the tie work with as many other colours as possible. What would you recommend? Black? White? Dark Blue??? I'm open to two colour ideas as well.

That's all for now. I am going to have to get ready for bed soon. I have training tomorrow at 8 am at our chain's second location. Which is located on the other side of the city. Which is going to be fun getting there since Construction Season is in full swing here, and I know there are detours galore over there. Wish me luck. Till next time.



PS: I changed my blog layout today. I hope you like it. If there are any problems, or you don't like something, please let me know.

Quick Update

I'm still here. I haven't done much tatting since my last post. I joined Sharon's Design-Tat Yahoo! group and have been working on the homework that Sharon is posting. I'll have to post pictures. Why am I not tatting? I am working on another design from the Crochet Dude's book. I purchased new yarn in solid colours, with matching dye lots to make this design. I'll post a picture or two when I have it completed.

I also participated in a thread exchange recently and have been meaning to post pictures of the thread I received. And finally, I have a few orchids in bloom and I bought a new orchid yesterday (yeah, like I needed another one; and this one is nearly 3 feet tall), so I have some pictures of them to share. I really need to get my butt in gear and work on the tatted versions of these plants. Hopefully, I'll get organized and will do a proper post (or two; I may have too much to post in one shot) in a couple days. Later