Dragon Wing Doily and New Books

Yeah. I know I said I'd post again in a few days, but, um, yeah. I guess I haven't felt like tatting. Again. I decided last weekend to purchase another Showcase spot on Etsy. Because of that, I then decided I should add some new items to my shop. Which is what I have been working on instead of tatting. You can see a few of the new items in my shop. More items will be added over the next week. A few of the new items even incorporate beads as part of the chainmaille. Anyway, let's move on to the tatting.

I started working on Anne B's Dragon Wing Doily last Saturday (or maybe Friday). Managed to get about halfway through when an idea hit (see above). So, the doily has been set aside throughout the week. I finally sat down last night and didn't stop tatting till it was done. It's not blocked yet, and there are a couple ends to hide, but it is done. And here it is:


It would look better if I had blocked it. Despite my slowness at tatting it, I really like this design. I was able to memorize the pattern pretty quickly (still remembered it after a week!) so I could almost go into autopilot while tatting it. I will do it again. Thanks Anne! Thread stats: Lizbeth size 20 in colour #656 Dark Wedgewood blue. Love this colour! And it's still all mine!

Finally, since I don't have much else tatting related to show, I'll show you a couple of books that I recently got. The first is one you have probably seen a lot of lately. It is, of course, Martha Ess' new book More Critters on the Block.


I can't wait to try some of these designs. This is my first book from Martha. I like what I see; I may have to get her other books. And thanks Martha for signing the book.

The second book is one that is pretty hard to find, I guess. It is, Patti Duff's Minitats: 60 Petite Motifs.


While looking for the book, I found that DS9Designs had a few copies of the book. I also learned through InTatters that Gale of Tat's All also had a few copies of the book. I ended up going through DS9Designs since I wanted, nay, needed more Lizbeth thread. Of course as luck would have it, the size 80 Lizbeth came out less than a week after my order shipped. Mind you I haven't heard of anyone mention that they got some of the size 80 Lizbeth yet. I believe a few people got a sneak peek at the thread, but I still want to wait. Then again, how often do I use size 80 thread? Anyway, I can see why so many tatters like Patti's book. There are plenty of quick patterns that could easily empty partial shuttles. Hopefully I'll try a few motifs from this book also.

That's it for now. I'm going to watch a movie, drink some nice cold Kokanee, and get some tatting done. I have an order of rings coming, and I'm sure once I get them, I won't be tatting. Till next time.



PS: I want to mention again that a couple of errors were found in my Sine Wave Bookmark pattern. Please redownload the file to get the corrections. See link at the top to the left sidebar.

Quick Post: Sine Wave Bookmark Pattern Corrections

As I said in the title, this will be a quick post. I hope to do a longer post in a day or two, depending on when I finish the tatting I am working on.

I shared the Sine Wave Bookmark on InTatters as well as on my blog here and for some reason, it took a while for the post to show up in InTatters. When it did, a couple of errors in the written pattern were brought to my attention. The diagram is correct though. I have corrected the pattern, and changed the usage terms while I was at it. I do apologize if the errors confused anyone. I have replaced the file I have on Keep & Share, so I highly recommend everyone downloading a new copy of the pattern.

Till next time.

Sine Wave Star Pattern

Since it's Tuesday and was tatting, I thought about calling this post Tatting Beer Tuesday since I don't really like tea and happened to be drinking a beer while tatting, but a) it doesn't have the same ring as Tatting Tea Tuesday and b) might be a bit disrespectful to the people who participate in TTT (??) so I won't. I haven't done much this past week, so I will get to the point of this post.

I have finally finished the pattern for the star in my previous post. I am glad so many people liked it. You can find the pattern here. I also have the link posted on the top of the right sidebar. I've changed my usage policies starting with this star (it also applies to the bookmark, but I can't change the files everyone has downloaded). You can tat as many stars (or bookmarks) as you want for gifts or to sell. If you choose to sell the tatted items, please credit me as the designer. You may not, however, sell or reproduce the pattern I am providing to you. Email me if you want to use the pattern for teaching or classroom purposes. Hopefully this is fair for everyone. If you have any problems with the PDF files, or with the pattern itself, feel free to contact me at jwh4000ATgmailDOTcom. Remove the AT and the DOT and replace with the appropriate symbols. And as always, I'd love to see any completed stars, so feel free to blog about them.

That's it for now. I am working on another design that came about due to the bookmark. But, it's morphed quite a bit from my original diagram. In a good way. I may put this one aside and tat something else. I am getting a bit tired with the sine wave pattern. But don't worry, I won't abandon the ideas I still have. I think they will be pretty cool once done. Till next time.

I'm Seeing Stars (But in a Good Way)

I spent another week not tatting as much as I wanted. While two of the custom requests through Etsy still haven't gone anywhere, I did get another one that I spent working on most of the week. I also finished the other custom request that I was waiting for colour choices. So the week wasn't a total loss. And I made a little cash that will go towards some tatting supplies. I have been wanting to order some of the new Lizbeth colours as well as some size 10 Lizbeth (still unsure of the colour-probably black, will have to spend a few minutes deciding). A book or two may be in my future as well. I have been wanting a few of Martha Ess' block tatting books; especially the new on that just came out.

I did manage a little bit of tatting this week. I was working on one of three little motifs that kinda happened while designing my Sine Wave Bookmark (if you haven't downloaded it yet, there is a link to the pattern in the top right sidebar). May I present the Star motif:


So, what do you think? Both stars were tatted with size 20 thread, Lizbeth in colour #113 Jewels on the left and Flora in colour #743 Yellow on the right. Each measures about 1 3/4 inches (about 4 cm, give or take a few mm) wide. I need to retat the star so I can write out the pattern. I will hopefully have the pattern available to download by my next post. I hope to have one of the other two motifs at least tatted, if not written up. I have both motifs diagrammed. I just need to tat them and figure out the stitch count. And to see if they actually can be tatted the way I envision.

That's all for now. I am hoping to make this a tatting week. I would also like to try another motif or two from Marilee's new book. 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.

Temari Balls and Saskatchewan Day

First of all, Happy Saskatchewan Day!!!!! Or Civic Holiday. Or, well, whatever you want to call it. Yup, we have another stat holiday here; we can't agree what to call it, however. It's called something different in nearly every province or territory. Or at least in those that observe it. I ended up cleaning most of the day. I know, the horror! But it had to be done, plus I wanted to rearrange some furniture. I get that from my mom; she used to rearrange the furniture on a regular basis. It would drive my dad nuts! Not sure if I like the result, but I can always change it again in a week or two. Besides that I haven't done much. I spent the weekend relaxing (which was needed). I did some digital tatting yesterday. I worked on diagramming another pattern of mine, and created another two. Still have to tat the two new ones to see if they work. More about them another time.

I don't want to mention my etsy shop more that I need to, but I decided to try the Showcase feature again (I was in the Jewelry section). Seemed to work. Mind you, offering free shipping (two days only, ending tomorrow midnight CST, buy now before it's gone!!!!) probably didn't hurt. This gives me a chance to get accurate shipping rates to other countries, so shipping rates overseas could change. That is all. We will now return to our regularly scheduled blog post.

Since I don't have any tatting to show you tonight, I will show you the new art form I'm learning. A few of you correctly identified it, and a few of you weren't as correct(fortunately, I can't stand clowns; I don't know why). Anyway, what I am working on are Temari Balls, or Japanese Thread Balls. Which are pretty much exactly that. A ball of some sort, traditionally from scraps of silk fabric leftover from making kimonos, though other materials can be used including Styrofoam balls which I'm using. The ball is then wrapping in fine yarn, and finally sewing thread. The thread forms a cloth like surface to do the decorative embroidery on. I won't go in much more detail. Here are a few photos of my first Temari balls:















This Temari is called Fireworks, for obvious reasons. I hope. They kinda look like fireworks. Technically, I don't know how traditional this one is, but it looks kinda cool. You need to see it in real life to appreciate it. The next one looks better, well I think so, anyway:















This one is called "Autumn Moon". This one is more traditional since it is divided up and the embroidery is stitched symmetrically. I think I did a pretty good job with this one. The only thing I'm not happy with is that the metallic gold thread that I used to divide the ball, and used for some decorative embroidery blends in pretty well with the gold sewing thread. Oh well.

That's all for now. Hopefully the next post will be tatting related. I got Marilee's new book in the mail (last week, I think). Finally, the secret to the tatted atom is mine!!!! Sorry, I don't know where that came from. Till next time.

Sine Wave Bookmark Pattern

I was hoping to post this yesterday, but I've had a rough couple three days at work. Early Monday morning my department (and a couple related departments) started doing inventory (which I forgot about). Even though we had a third party company come in to do the actual counting, we have to help. Specifically, I had to help. For the lack of a better term, I had to babysit three inventory guys all three days. It wasn't hard work, just very, very boring. I mean, essentially, all I did was bring pallets of stock down from storage racking, moved pallets around, went through pallets with the inventory people, made sure they counted everything, and acted as a go-between between them and either my supervisor (who wasn't there on Wednesday) or a manager/assistant manager. So, even though I didn't feel like I did much, I was exhausted. Thus the delay.

I was hoping to have a few photos of my newest interest, but it will have to wait another couple of days. So I guess I will go on to the posting of the pattern for my Sine Wave Bookmark. So, without any further delay, you can find the pattern here. As I mentioned in the pattern, feel free to tat many bookmarks as you like for gifts, etc. However, I ask that you do not sell the bookmark, or pattern for that matter, for profit without asking permission. As I mentioned earlier, there is no definite front or back side. If you practice frontside/backside tatting, you will have to modify the stitch order yourself. I don't practice fs/bs tatting so I'm not going to write my patterns as such. Sorry, but I assume if you practice fs/bs tatting, you probably can modify the patterns yourself. I hope you understand. If you have any problems with the pattern, feel free to contact me at jwh4000ATgmailDOTcom. Remove the AT and the DOT and replace with the appropriate symbols. And if you do tat the bookmark, I'd love to see it (this isn't a requirement).

That's all for now. Hopefully I'll post again in a few days. That is if I don't melt first. It's been pretty hot here for the last several days (I'm sure I won't get any sympathy from anyone), though on the plus side, it hasn't rained for a few days as well. Till next time.

Bookmark Update, and What Else I'm Working On

First of all, sorry. I had hoped to have the bookmark pattern all ready to go for today, but it isn't. I had put the bookmark aside for a few days and planned on getting back to it. But my few days turned into a whole week. I decided to fully tat the bookmark, following my written instructions, so I could include a photo of it in said instructions. Apparently, I can't follow my own instructions, and on top of that I have a couple errors in the instructions (that I didn't notice until I tatted them), and now I have to cut out a small section and retat it. I can't include a photo with an error in it. I do have a diagram almost done. It needs a little tweaking, and it's not as good as some out there, but I think it will do. I hope to have the pattern posted by Wednesday. I have opted to use the free Keep & Share service to host a PDF file.

I don't have much else tatting related. It was suggested in the comments that some of my modifications of the bookmark ends could make some interesting motifs themselves. I plan on seeing what I can come up with, since I can definitely see the shapes that were suggested. I have received some more thread, thanks to the Thread Exchange. You really need to try it, if you haven't already. Here is a quick photo:

I don't know if you can read the labels on the cards, but there is some Perlovka Perle cotton, Anchor crochet cotton size 40, some Lizbeth in size 40 (turquoise) and 20 (green and white variegate) and some Coron size 40 in two different blue variegates. Thanks ladies! I'll have fun with these. I'm actually using the turquoise Lizbeth right now. I'll have to get a ball (or two) of the colour.

Finally, I'm going to show you a teaser of what I'm working on right now. It's something I've been wanting to try for a while, but keep putting it off. Here's a mosaic of the materials I require to make them:

And here is a photo showing the next step, taking one of the Styrofoam balls (wrapped in fine yarn, not shown) and finally wrapping it in sewing thread:


Any ideas? Don't worry if you don't know what I'm making. I'll reveal all later. I am hoping to spend this afternoon (which is probably over by the time this posts) working on the black ball. I hope it looks like the one pictured in the book I'm using.

That's all for know. Keep watching my blog for the bookmark pattern. Hopefully I will be motivated to start getting my other designs (which are adding up) written up, diagrammed and shared. Till next time.

New Bookmark Design, Continued

I've pretty much worked on nothing else but my new bookmark design since the last post. It does seem like it may be a new design, since no one has said otherwise. I have the pattern written out, but it will have to wait a little longer before I post it. I want to include a nice diagram as well; it can be confusing to work at times. And again, please let me know if you have seen something like this before.

Since my last post I worked on refining the pattern, taking some of the awesome suggestions that were made in the comments. Here are the results of three different refinements:
I personally like the one on the left, so I may make that one into a variation of the pattern. I don't like the other two, but it may be just me. Made using Lizbeth size 20 thread in #684.

I did try the option to "continue the wave" as suggested in the comments. Here is my first attempt:

As you can probably tell, I modified the right side a little after tatting the left. I like the right side better. The bookmark still pinches a bit at the ends, so I still need to correct that. Maybe. As you can see, I opted to make a "stubby" version of the bookmark with this attempt. I didn't want to waste more thread than necessary, and it was faster to tat. I also added a tassel (another excellent suggestion) to this one. I like the way it looks. Made using Lizbeth size 20 thread in #611.

Finally, I did a couple more refinements of the stitch counts of the ends. Here is the result of these modifications:
I'm not sure you can tell but the two chains on the right end are a couple stitches longer than those on the left side. I was experimenting. So what do you think? I like it this way but I want other opinions. Made using Flora 20 in #221. Oh, I know she hasn't mentioned it on her blog, but Martha took a stab at redesigning the ends of the bookmark as well. Her result was very similar to my own. I was impressed how we each came up with nearly the same modifications. I hope she doesn't mind that I mentioned this. Oh, before I forget, doesn't this stubby bookmark look like it could make a fantastic rectangular motif to make a doily or tablecloth? I may need to pursue that idea too.

That's it for now. With any luck, I will have the pattern available very soon. I'm still not sure exactly how I will share the pattern. I know many tatters have shared patterns on their blogs, but I don't know if that is how I will. I like the option of an easy to print PDF file, but I would need a place to host it. Any suggestions? Till next time.

New Bookmark Design

Well, I finished tatting my bookmark last night. I haven't worked on anything else, so this will a short post. So without any further delay, I present, The Sine Wave Bookmark!

It's nothing special, but I like it. Kinda. I still don't like how I made the top and bottom of the bookmark. I tried two different ways to do these. I prefer the clover on the left, but it needs some work. I used Lizbeth size 40 in colour #656 Dark Wedgewood. Now, and I may regret this, but I want your honest opinions of my bookmark. I also want to know if anyone has seen anything like this. I know I haven't seen anything like this, but maybe someone else has. Oh, and if you are wondering where the name of the bookmark comes from, it's because while I was tatting the sides of the bookmark, they reminded me of a Sine Wave.

That's it for now. I will be remaking the bookmark again, so I can perfect the ends. I also want to finish my crochet project, since it's almost done. We'll see if the weather cooperates. I tend not to crochet when it's really hot out. It's been rainy and cool here for the past few days. Till next time.

Catching Up, Or What I Still Haven't Done

I know, I didn't post before I left for the weekend. I think I have a good excuse; I didn't really do anything since my last post. Really. I hardly touched my crochet project. My tie is at a standstill due to thread testing that is underway-kinda. However, I think I accidentally designed a new bookmark while testing a thread. More on that soon. I have also been busy exchanging threads, thanks to Fox's Thread Exchange. If you haven't been there, I highly recommend it. I don't believe you have to be an author on the blog to swap threads (correct me if I'm wrong Fox). Just comment on a post that has the thread that you want to try, and let the person know what you have to offer. A way of contacting you is also a good idea.

Now I mentioned that I accidentally designed a new bookmark. It started late last week, before I went away for the weekend. I picked up a ball of Cebelia size 10 thread (in white) from Michaels either early in the week, or late in the previous week. I wound a couple shuttles, and began tatting. It wasn't anything special, just rings and chains. I got bored with that really quickly, and tried something different. Here is the result:

I think it looks pretty cool. Though there is a lot of switching shuttles in order to get it to work. Practitioners of frontside/backside tatting will probably be horrified to look at it. I can't say I've seen anything like this before, but could be wrong. I know, it does happen. Though, it may not matter, since I joined two strips of this together, well actually one strip joined onto itself. I experimented with a couple of ways of working the top and bottom of the bookmark-to-be. I quickly diagrammed it last night, and came up with another way to work the top and bottom that I like better. I am currently tatting a second prototype and will post about it later. I've actually done a lot of the bookmark already, so I may be able to post about it again soon.

I like tatting with the Cebelia size 10 thread, so it may be the thread I will use for my tie. But, I've been using Fox's Thread Exchange to get samples of other size 10 threads. So my choice might change. Of course, not all the thread I'm getting is size 10. Here is a couple of photos of my recent thread acquisitions:


I don't know if you can read the writing on the cards, but there is some Lizbeth size 10, Cebelia size 20, Sulky Blendables 30 wt (~ size 80-100), Omega size 30 (I've used Omega before, but I liked the colour), some silk thread (pretty fine thread), and some Flora size 10. The second photo shows an unknown Cordonnet thread. You may also notice that I wrote who I got the thread from on the card. I'm trying not to mix them up, but it may still be futile.

Finally, I will show you a photo of my newest Pop-a-Bobbin shuttle from Sally and Nick:

This one is Cocobolo Rosewood. It is much darker in real life. It's absolutely gorgeous, and well worth the wait to get. Of course, I love all my Pop-a-Bobbin shuttles. All four of them. That number could change if Nick and Sally get a hold of some more really cool woods. I wonder if there is a tree that produces a blue coloured wood ...... . A guy can dream.

That's it for now. Hopefully, I'll have the bookmark done in the next day or so. I'll share the pattern too, unless it is too similar to one already done. Please let me know if you've seen something like it before (I know, I haven't posted the full bookmark, but I still want to know). Thanks. Till next time, which I hope will be sooner rather than later.

Test Tatting for Linda, & The Return of The Naked Mermaid!!

Again, I haven't done much this past week. Besides the tatting I will show you soon, I did work on my crochet project. Until I ran out of yarn. I couldn't find the same yarn I used, but I did find a similar one from the same manufacturer. Both yarns don't have dye lots, so they match pretty well. I hope to have it done in the next few days. I hope to post again on Wednesday, since I will be going away Thursday after work, and will probably not be back until late Sunday. Onward to the tatting!

I will start with the test tatting. I'm sure many of you have seen Linda Davies' Iris that she has been working on. Well, I got to test tat it. Here are a few photos:


I forgot to take a picture of one of the petals. As you can see, I also began to put the flower together in the last photo. However, I only made one of each petal size (there are three), so I need to make the remaining petals and finish the flower. I'll try to get them done soon, maybe while I'm away. The pattern was pretty easy to tat, and that's one of the reasons I love Linda's designs. They get the job done without being over complicated. The pattern will be available in Linda's new book. I can't wait for the book to come out.

Finally, I made another naked mermaid (see pattern here, and more mermaids here). I won't keep you waiting. Here she is, in all her naked glory:

Well, maybe not. I guess I tatted a rather shy mermaid. She simply refused to have a nude photo of herself posted on the internet. I had hoped to cover her up with a couple of tatted shells. I'm sure I've seen a pattern or two somewhere, but I couldn't find them. So, I quickly drew up a pattern. I haven't tried tatting it yet. Instead of shells, I had to use a black bar on the photo. I am hoping to place here inside a coaster (that's why there are still ends present), at least as soon as I get another one. She has agreed to this. However, we still haven't come to an agreement on whether or not she will be nude inside the coaster. Thread stats: Fox should recognize the thread I used for the tail. It's some Cebelia size 20 thread I got from her in the Thread Exchange. The thread was nice to work with. Though I have used the size 30 size, which I like. I also used some Lizbeth size 20 in colour number 630 Peach. For the mermaids hair I used some Flora size 20 #205 (yellow). I did want to make the hair red, but I thought there might be a strong resemblance to a copyrighted Disney character, so I went with blond.

That's all for now. As I said I hope to post again on Wednesday, since I probably won't post until next Monday at the earliest. Till next time.

Tatted Coaster & Random Thoughts

Before I get in trouble for not posting in a while let me explain. I haven't really done anything. OK, that's not really true. I guess I just got really busy. Thanks to everyone who commented on my last post. While I haven't decided on the colour (dark blue may be out since I already have a "normal" tie in dark blue, and I still don't want to use a variegated thread), I am considering using size 10 Cebelia (Thanks Fox!!!) for the tie, though I do want to test it first. I want to mention that I don't normally tat with size 10 thread, it feels like I'm tatting with rope. Size 20 would simply take too long, I'll post the sample I made to show you... if I can find it. I think the Michaels here sells Cebelia size 10 (only white and maybe ecru) so I might stop in and pick up a ball sometime. Even if I don't like the thread, I can crochet with it so it wouldn't be a big loss. I am taking advantage of Fox's Thread Exchange to obtain samples of size 10 thread that I want to use for the tie. Of course, I'm finding other threads I want to trade for as well. If you want to see what I am offering, please see this post.

I haven't done much tatting over the past week or so. However, I can't post to a blog with tatting in the name and not post any tatting so I pulled out a couple shuttles (Pop-a-Bobbins, of course, one is new, but I don't have a photo yet; next time, promise) and whipped up the following:

This motif is called Interlaced Medallion and is from Judith Conners book Creative Tatting with beads, shuttle, and needle. The book also goes by the name Tatting Adventures with Beads, Shuttle, and Needle, at least in the US, anyway. This was a nice motif to tat, however it needed my undivided attention to keep track of which chain to overlap where. I also need four arms to keep track of the two shuttle threads and two ball threads. However, I could not grow two more arms so I ended up placing the unused shuttle and ball in either my lap or on my desk. I also goofed (as usual, it seems) and didn't/couldn't overlap the final chain (top of the photo) correctly. I guess that proves it truly was handmade, right Eliz? For this motif I used Lizbeth size 20 in colour numbers 656 Wedgewood Dark and 603 Ecru. As you can see, the completed motif is partially prepared to be mounted in an acrylic coaster. I didn't hide any ends; I just poked a few small holes in the adhesive cardboard disk you see above, and pulled the ends through. You can see the finished coaster here:


I really like the looks of tatting inside one of these coasters. I had planned on making one of Mary Konior's Spinning Wheel coaster in King Tut to place inside, but I haven't made it that far. I'm not sure if it will be small enough in King Tut, so it's been on the back burner. I probably should buy another coaster, though I don't know if I can get them locally anymore. I had bought this one from Wal*Mart, however, the one I bought it from moved a few kilometers to the city's outskirts and became a Supercentre (which wouldn't normally bother me, except they are now my store's main competitor; ironically, they were less of a competitor when they used to be across the street from us). Anyhoo, I need to buy more of the coasters.

That's about it for now. I am working on another crochet project from the Crochet Dude's book (click on the "Crochet Dude" label on my left sidebar for previous posts about him). I'll post when it's done. I've also been working on some more chainmaille. I made a few more bracelets today. I finished a copper Byzantine bracelet and a tri-metal Jens Pind Linkage bracelet. I used aluminum, copper, and brass for the JPL bracelet. Hopefully I'll be able to take photos for them tomorrow. I also hope to redo my Etsy shop header and avatar tomorrow. My current ones looks like I spent 5 minutes making them (I think it was actually 10 minutes, but who's counting). Hopefully those changes will take effect tomorrow, so feel free to stop by in the next day or so if you want (the link is in my right sidebar).

That's all for now. Hopefully I'll get around to posting again in a few days. Till next time .... assuming the mosquitoes don't carry me away!**



** In case you're wondering what I meant by that, apparently we have something like 10 times our normal amount of mosquitoes here in the Bridge City due to the large amount of rain we've been having over the past month or so.

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.

A Little Bit Country, And a Little More Tatting

I see I'm getting back in the habit of not posting regularly. I'll have to try to post more often, again. Though, I do have enough stuff for another post later on in the week. I have a few things to show you today, but I want to do a quick update on the work "issue". I guess my letter had an effect. I have been assured that the issue(s) will be fixed. Apparently, management doesn't want me to leave, and they appreciated my hard work and dedication. Too bad they didn't mention that until I threatened to leave. I'll try not to mention work during my posts for a while.

I'm sure many of you are aware of the knitting/crochet site Ravelry. I joined about a year ago, but haven't done much with the site since. However, I have started using the site more recently. I added a few projects to my profile (there's a link to my profile on my sidebar as well, if you want to visit). One project was the Renegade Dawg hoodie I posted about earlier. The Crochet Dude himself saw the hoodie and liked how it turned out. I was also browsing patterns and found a cowboy hat I really liked. Of course the pattern was in a book, so I went looking on the Saskatoon Library's website to see if the book was available. It was, but in a different library. Last fall all the library systems in the province began to merge into one large province wide library system. Which is nice, since there are a lot more books available to us now. Anyway, the book arrived mid week, and I picked up some yarn on Friday.

So last night, with the book, yarn, and a hook in hand, as well as a few beers (hey, if Jane can have her wine, I can have my beer) I started working on the hat. With some finishing this morning, this is the result:


This is Felted Yeehaw Gentleman (my manly version of Yeehaw Lady by Dot Matthews) from Debbie Stoller's book Stitch'n Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker. That's the actual name of the book. Well, actually, I think it's a series of books, websites, etc, mostly for women. Though there is supposed to be a book for men too. I'll have to look in to it. Anyway, I like the way it turned out, though it is heavy, and pretty hot too. The hat needs a band or something though as well; I'll have to see what I can do. Since I wanted to felt the hat, I used some wool yarn, Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool to be exact. It may not be noticeable to you, but the hat needs a shave and trim (well, so do I, but not till I have to go back to work; I hate shaving) since the felting process made the surface kinda fuzzy. My beard trimmer works surprisingly well for this (and for me!). I should mention, for anyone wanting to try this pattern, the book has a number of errors in it. The designer has posted corrections on her website that do help. But I still had some stitch count issues (as did others). I wouldn't recommend the pattern for beginners, despite the encouragement from the author of the book. You should have the ability to alter patterns on the fly just in case you run into problems. Now that it's made, I'm not sure how much I'll actually wear it. I have wanted a real felt cowboy hat for a while now, and plan on buying one, once I have enough money. I want to get a good, high quality hat.

Now for the tatting part of the program, er, blog post. You may remember Jon's Fold Over bookmark I posted a couple posts back. I remade it after posting last week. Here it is:
I used Lizbeth size 20 in Black for this one. I was feeling kinda dark after my last post. If you look at my first attempt and this latest one, you'll see that there's something not quite right about it. I goofed on several chains. The four large chains in the main body of the bookmark are all four double stiches and one picot too short. fortunately the error works. I also goofed on the smaller fold over part. I made four chains too long. Strangely enough, it too still works. So, I guess I made a variation of Jon's bookmark. I forgot to remove unneeded picots on this one. I'll have to make another one sometime.

I've also been working on my Tatted Tie idea. I'm currently on Version 2, since my original idea didn't quite work. I'll post about it mid week or so. That's all for now. Till next time.

A Little Bit of Tatting

Sorry for the delay in posting. Life kinda got in the way. I wasn't feeling good for a few days, and then I had an "issue" at work yesterday that has me questioning if I want to continue working at that store. I had planned on posting yesterday but instead opted to write a letter to the store manager and my supervisors. But it not worth talking about here. Onward to the tatting!

I didn't get as much tatting as I had hoped, though the motif was quite large. Anyway here it is:

This is Fan Coaster from Rosemarie Peel's book Tatting With Colour. I bought this book off of eBay a couple of years ago, but haven't tatted anything from it till now. There are a number of cool looking motifs in the book that I will have to get around to tat. For this motif, I used Lizbeth size 20 thread in colour #s 656 Dark Wedgewood and 611 Gold. The finished mat is about 4 3/4 inches in diameter. I really like this pattern and I think I did a pretty good job tatting it. Until the end. It was going good. I had to open three rings due to me joining to the wrong picot, and I did so successfully. I have opened rings in the past, but not three successfully in a row. However, when I got to the last ring, I missed making one picot and three double stitches. I probably should have opened it and fixed my error, but I wanted it done and decided to leave it. It's not that noticable, the ring in particular is just a little smaller than the others. This motif is #25 of my Third 25 Motif Challenge. I don't think I'm going to do the challenge again. At least not right now. I really want to work on some of my WIPs (or rather (WISPs). And I want to work on my tatted tie idea. Thanks to some inspiration from Sharon, I have an idea on how it may work. I'll share later. I need to try it out first. The idea is currently just theory.

I'm not sure how much tatting I'll get done this weekend. I probably will work on some chainmaille. I decided to try Etsy's Showcase feature to promote my shop. I'll be in the Jewelry - Bracelets section beginning midnight June 11. I don't know if it will help, but Etsy claims that all shops that use the feature get more traffic and have more people favoriteing them. That could mean more sales in the long term. I guess we'll see. Till next time.

My Mystery Chainmaille Project

I promised to post about my Mystery project, so here I am. Several people guessed what I had made. While no one got it, there were some really good guesses.

I won't keep you in suspense. May I present, my chainmaille ............ Tie!


That's right. A chainmaille tie. It is made out of bright aluminum and is quite light, it weighs about 5 ounces (about 139 grams). This is also my first design done in chainmaille. There are a few tutorials available for chainmaille ties, but I didn't like the way they looked. So, I made up the pattern as I went. I have to say, that while like the way it turned out, it is very over-engineered. I really wanted the tie to look like, a tie. A real cloth tie, so that's what it's modeled after. I'm not sure how long it took to make. I know I watched three movies while making it and then some. So I'm guessing that I spent about 6 hours or so working on it. Hopefully I'll be able to wear it sometime. This will probably be another item I won't be making to sell.

While making my chainmaille tie, I had another great idea. A tatted tie! I haven't worked out any of the details yet, but I have it pictured in my mind. It would have fairly solid-ie: little negative space, though I'm not ruling out simple rings and chains. And it would have to be quite manly, of course. No excess picots, or other frilly things. I'm not sure if this has been done before, but it's still going to be fun to try. And, as an added bonus, this will give tatting a purpose! I know, we've been there before, but still.

That's all for now. It's supposed to be cool and rainy here all weekend, and I have the weekend off. I plan to spend most of it tatting. Till next time.