Sunday, June 13, 2010

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.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

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.

Friday, May 28, 2010

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.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Jon's Foldover Bookmark. And More Maille

Well, again, I didn't get as much tatting as I would have liked. I focused on chainmaille again. I will try to make this post somewhat short. I do plan on posting again in a few days.

As the title indicates, most of the tatting I accomplished was Jon's Foldover Bookmark, found here.

This is a really cool pattern. And pretty easy to do. I decided to use some of my Silk HDT (HDST) from LadyShuttleMaker. I used sized 20 HDST in the Pensacola Beach colourway. I love this colorway. And the silk thread was a pleasure to work with. I haven't worked with silk thread until now because my hands always seem to be too rough, and I didn't want to have the thread snag constantly. But lately my hands have been fairly smooth, so I decided to give the thread a try. I'll have to use the silk thread more often, before my hands get rough again. This will be Motif #24 of my Third 25 Motif Challenge.

As I mentioned, I did a lot of chainmaille over the past week. One of the first projects I did was to remake my wallet chain. Again. I guess the Stainless steel rings I used were just a bit too big, and the chain started to come undone in a few places. Being somewhat of a perfectionist, that wouldn't do. I decided to make the chain in three different metals, since the Jen Pind Linkage weave that I used has three different planes in it. I chose to make the new chain in stainless steel, brass, and bronze. I thought they would look really cool together.

Unfortunately, in this gauge brass and bronze look quite similar so I didn't get the contrast I was hoping for. Since brass and bronze both tarnish and darken with age, my only hope now is that one darkens more than the other. I am NOT remaking this. My hands were killing me for a few days after I finished the chain.

I also made two bracelets in Sterling Silver.

I have to say, they both look gorgeous in real life. Though, I will admit, I don't expect them to sell. They are kinda expensive; about three times the cost of my other bracelets. But we'll see. Just for kicks, I also took a photo comparing the colour of stainless steel and sterling silver:

I had planned on posting yesterday, however I was so involved in my lastest chainmaille creation that I didn't want to stop. I'm not going to show you the finished piece though. I will post a teaser photo instead. You guys can guess what it will be, although I think it is kinda obvious.


So, any guesses?? I will post again in a few days with a photo of the completed item. That's all for now; my short post is getting pretty long. Till next time.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Not Alot of Tatting Goin' On

I had another week where I didn't get much tatting done. I really tried. I did manage some early in the week, but I got sidetracked with other projects.

You may be wondering what I was working on if I wasn't tatting. Well, this:

It's a chainmaille bag, often called a dice bag. I finally decided to make one, and honestly, I'm quite impressed with it. While it was fairly easy to make (bear in mind that I am working my way up to making a chainmaille shirt for myself-maybe; we'll see), I'm not sure if I will be making these for sale. Unless someone wants one; it does make a cute tatting bag, if lined and/or you place small cloth bags inside it. Which is what I did:

You should be able to see a red coloured thing through the chainmaille. That would be the Poke Proof Pouch I bought from Jane Eborall a while ago. Might have to buy a few more. Anyway, the Pouch is in my dice bag for a reason. And here they are:

Yup, I have a couple more Pop-a-Bobbin shuttles in my possession. The light one is made out of Cedar, and the black one is Ebony. I love them!!! Sally has a nice story on her blog about some cedar wood she got from a local church. I've been wondering if my cedar shuttle was made out of it. Maybe Jane or Sally could let me know. I'm still on Jane's list for a Coco bola Rosewood shuttle; hopefully it will still be possible. Anyway, they both work great. And, the hooks seem a little different. A little more refined, perhaps. They're still made by Sally's husband, Nick (you all may know him better as "I'm in the garage", but it seems weird for me to call him that; I mean, if I had a garage, I might have that name too). Mind you, I may have gotten better at using the hooks.

And finally, we come to the small amount of tatting that I managed to make this week.

This edging was made from a pattern that Mark, AKA, Tatman shared on several tatting list a week or so ago. In a way, we were his test tatters. The way the pattern was written caused it the curve severely. Six repeats would make a circular motif. I made a few modifications to make the edging straight. It's very pretty, though the large rings at the bottom were kinda a pain in the butt to close since they are so large. I used Lizbeth size 20 in colour number 663 for the edging.

I haven't done much else in the way of needlecrafts. I have, however, been working on a few projects of the culinary type. I've been making cheese! That's right, every weekend for the past month, I've made a small (~2 pounds in weight) block or wheel of cheese. Nothing fancy; the first three were simply called "basic hard cheese". I also made some Feta cheese (which tastes great by the way). This weekend, I made some "Stirred Curd Cheddar". I've got some photos, if your interested. What's that? You want to see them. Here they are:
















The Feta is in the jar on the left. The cheese on the right is the Cheddar I made this weekend. It has to air dry for a few days, then it needs to be waxed. I then have to age it for at least two months. Fortunately, the other cheeses that I made will be ready before this one. In case you're wondering, the Cheddar recipe is from the book Home Cheesemaking by Ricki Carroll. Ricki has a website where you can buy the book, and other cheesemaking supplies. The basic cheese and feta recipes are from this website.

That's it for now. We'll see what happens on the tatting front. Hopefully I will get a significant amout of tatting done. Till next time.


Sunday, May 9, 2010

Mother's Day Pendant

This is going to be a quick post. Sorry for the long delay between posts. Lots going on, just not tatting related.

Some of you may remember the "Rose Garden" motif from Mary Konior's book Tatting in Lace that I made in white thread. If not, here is a refresher photo:

Here it is in all it's colourless glory. I thought it would look good in two (or more) colours. So that's what I tried. Here is the result:

All I can say is, Wow! I think it looks much better done in multiple colours. The purple thread I used for the rose is Purple Punch size 20 HDT by Yarnplayer and the green is Lizbeth size 20 in colour #684. I wanted to use HDT for the green as well, but all the green I had was in size 30 & 50 and most of the colours suitable for the rose were in size 20. The only colourway suitable for the rose in size 50 was still in skein form (I know, the horrors; actually I have quite a bit HDT in skein form since I never seem to have the time to wind it onto floss cards-I am working on it, I swear!). I was going to make this motif into a brooch, but I didn't have any proper brooch backs and I couldn't find any safety pins, so I attached a split ring to it to make a pendant. My mom loved it!

I was able to give my mom her Rose Garden pendant, as well as a chainmaille pendant, photo later, and a pair of teal anodized titanium earrings, that I showed earlier, today. My parents had to come to the city today, so I spent most of the day with them. It was nice.

That's all for now. I really, really, hope to post again, maybe mid-week. I do hope to get a substantial amount of tatting done. But, as always, we'll see. Till next time.



Oh, and Happy Mother's Day to all Mothers out there!

Friday, April 30, 2010

Tatting and Teneriffe Lace, But Not Together

I figured I should post about what I've been tatting lately. I don't want anyone to think that I have given up tatting or something. I know a few of you are eyeing my Mary Konior books. You know who you are. I'll try to keep this short and sweet.

I'll start with the Teneriffe Lace first. I haven't done it in a while and figured I should give it another go. To make things interesting, I decided to use some hand dyed Linen thread (henceforth known as HDLT in this and possible future posts). Probably not the best idea, but linen thread would have been commonly used many years ago. Anyway, as Mica mentioned last year, the book I'm using, The Technique of Teneriffe Lace is now in the public domain with permission of the author Alexandra Stillwell. You can find the book here. Here's the motif:

Yeah, the linen thread wasn't a good idea. It was fine until I got to the final round of knotting. Then, as you can see, the thread snapped regularly. Mind you, I was watching Avatar (good movie, but too long for what it was trying accomplish; just bought the Blu-ray version, so I have to watch it again!!) while I was working on this motif, so I wasn't giving the motif my undivided attention. I'm not sure what to do with all those ends, and I don't like putting glue on the knots like the book suggests. I have some matching cotton HDT so I will probably add some tatting to the edge to give me a place to bury the ends. I'll post an update when I do this. Thread stats: Linen HDT (or HDLT, if you prefer) size 30/2 in the Summer Trail colourway by Yarnplayer.

The next motif is the edging I mentioned in my last post. It is from Mary Konior's A Pattern Book of Tatting.

This is Queen's Garter. It's a really nice pattern. I was thinking it would make a good bookmark, but I would join the chains together to make it a bit more stable. I'll have to try that with a heavier thread. Thread stats: Superior Threads Perfect Quilter thread. It is a 17 weight quilting thread that is equivalent to a size 80 tatting thread. The length of tatting is about 6 1/2 inches long and an inch wide.

The final motif is from the same book as the edging above.


This is No, Nay, Never by Mary Konior. I'll admit it, I made a couple mistakes on this one. I forgot to join a couple picots during the first two repeats, but I was using HDT and wasn't cutting anything out to correct it. I'll make it again sometime. Thread stats: HDT size 30 in Cobalt solid by Yarnplayer. I don't remember which colourway this is from. If anyone remembers, I'd love to know.

That's it for now. I am working on some more tatting. I'll post as soon as I can. You probably noticed a difference in my scans above. That is because I bought a new All-in-One printer recently. There was nothing wrong with my old one, besides the $80+ cost for ink cartridges (one black and one colour). Cartridges for my new printer, a Kodak ESP 5250, cost $25 for both black and colour. My new printer also prints borderless photos, which my old HP didn't do very well. I've read mixed reviews on these printers, but so far I'm having no problems (knock on wood). The only thing I don't like about it is the scanner. The scanning technology (CIS, or contact image sensor) used isn't designed for scanning 3D objects. The sensor can only be a few mm away from the object being scanned. However, I've been wanting a stand alone scanner for awhile, for traveling and such, so I probably be buying one in the near future. Hopefully, anyway. Till next time.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Tatting Books! And Chainmaille.

First of all, I want to thank everyone who commented on my last post. I think the general consensus was that the purpose of tatting is 1: to add a touch of beauty in our lives, and 2: therapy/pain relief. I also want to send out a virtual hug to Isdihara. Thanks.

Most of my free time has been taken up by chainmaille. Not really a bad thing since I needed another break from tatting. I remade several bracelets that had sold, and the necklace and bracelet from the custom order. I also made a few more pairs of earrings.















These were made using Anodized Titanium and titanium ear wires. I really like the teal ones on the right. I also want to show you the necklace I had made for the custom order:

The necklace was modified slightly to allow the attachment of a pendant. The pendant above is mine. I actually liked making the necklace. I may have to make another one and list it in my shop (link on the right sidebar).

Finally, the reason I am posting tonight. Today was the first day of the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra's Annual Book Sale. I went right after work, since it takes place in the mall across the street from my workplace. A previous find can be found here. I found a few tatting books.






































Not too bad, if I do say so myself. I already have the book on the bottom left. I bought it since I thought I might host a giveaway sometime. Not right now, but sometime. Anyway, I need a favour from all you in Tatland. The book on the bottom right was missing its cover, as well as a few other pages. I would love it if someone out there knows what the book is called, if you can tell from the page shown. There are no patterns in the book, just lots of photos. I'm pretty sure one can follow the photos to actually tat the items shown. If anyone can help, let me know. I will probably go back to the sale once or twice more before it ends next Saturday. I will share what else I find, if anything.

That's all for now. I have been doing a little tatting lately. I started a simple edging pattern from my newest Mary Konior book. I'll show it when I run out of thread on the shuttle. It's a size 80 thread; it may take awhile. Till next time.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

The Purpose of Tatting


There's been some talk of the purpose of tatting. I, for one, wonder why it needs a purpose. I'd like to think of tatting (as well as other laces, that may also lack a purpose) as the candy of the needlework universe. I'm sure you're all aware that candy doesn't fit into any of the four food groups. However, it still exists. Why? Because it tastes good, and (for the most part) looks good too. That is the purpose of tatting. It looks good. It makes other things look good. And, like candy, can make us feel good. And, the act of doing it (um, tatting) can even help ease pain. That was a big one for me when my older sister passed away three and a half years ago; she was 30. It kept me focused during that hard time. I tatted a bunch of small angels; blue in colour (it was her favourite colour), a plastic rhinestone in the colour of her birthstone, and a white ribbon. These were given to my aunts, mother, and grandmother. This is the first time I've mentioned my late sister, and it will probably be the last until such time that I have designed something worthy enough to have her name attached to it.

I just wanted to voice my opinions about this topic. As a community, I believe we are modernizing the art of tatting. New techniques and patterns are continually being created. And we can't forget the new threads we have access to. That includes the HDTs that are being created as well. I'm not sure why some people think that tatting needs to have a purpose. That need seems a bit old fashioned to me. We have lots of stuff in our world that only have a single purpose. What's wrong with that??



PS: I was going to include this rant/opinion voicing in a regular post. It seems better on its own.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Much Ado About Nothing, or My Lack of Progress

I got nothing. I'd love to show you guys something, but I haven't done much. I did some crocheting while I was away. I'm currently working on a chainmaille necklace/chain and matching bracelet right now, which should be done by the end of the week. I don't really feel like tatting right now. I'll pause while you all gasp and scream in horror .......

All done? I've got plenty of thread (well, an adequate supply, at least), lots of patterns/books/etc, and some time, but I just don't feel like tatting. Maybe I need to break out some HDT to spice up my tatting. I dunno. It could be the spring-like weather we're having here. It's been pretty nice for the past few weeks (if you forget the blizzard-like conditions that the city and other parts of the province experienced last week). It's been raining most of the day, so that should help induce plant growth. Stores are starting to sell seeds, bulbs and other garden related stuff. Then again, maybe it was the paper cut I got at work Sunday.....

I won't end this post without having a little tatting content. When I got back from my short break, I found this waiting for me:

Yup, I got the final book needed to complete my collection of Mary Konior books. As with all of Mary's books, this one is full of really pretty patterns. Hopefully, I will get around to tatting something from this book soon.

That's all for now. With any luck, something will be tatted by the time I post again. Till next time.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Easter Tatting, New Maille Earrings

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter. I didn't get as much tatting done as I would have liked. I ended up working on some chainmaille projects for a majority of the weekend. I did, however, manage to make something with tatting on it for Easter.

What I managed to tat is this, a tatted Easter egg:

Or rather, a satin covered Styrofoam egg (purchased from Handy Hands several years ago), with a couple of tatted snowflakes pinned to it. Here is a top view:

This is Snowflake 2 from Festive Snowflakes & Ornaments. And now a bottom view:

This is Snowflake 1, also from Festive Snowflakes & Ornaments. Both snowflakes were tatted using Lizbeth size 20 thread, in colour #129 Purple Splendor. I was hoping to get a second egg done, but I haven't finished it yet. I am going to count this as Motif #23 of my Third 25 Motif Challenge.

Most of my weekend was spent working on some chainmaille projects. I remade my wallet chain using stainless steel. I also remade a few bracelets that had sold. Though, the highlight of my weekend of mailleing are these:

The earrings on the left and bottom right were made using a new anodized (coloured) aluminum colour called "Black Ice". Black Ice is a dark grey colour with a purple tinge to it. It has a very shiny luster. One pair of earrings has a Sterling Silver ring at the base of each earring, and Sterling Silver earwires. The other pair has a Gold Filled ring at the base of each earring with gold plated earwires. The earrings on top right are made of Sterling silver with a Gold filled ring on the base. They also have Sterling silver earwires. All three pairs of earrings are in my Shop, along with the Jens Pind bright aluminum bracelet.

That's all for now. I will be going away for a few days, starting on Wednesday afternoon. There may be a regular post Sunday or Monday, but that will depend on how much tatting I manage to complete while away. Till next time.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

International Tatting Day

Happy International Tatting Day!!!!!!

I hope everyone out there managed to get some tatting done today. And had some chocolate while doing their tatting. I've done some tatting today, but not very much. Same with the chocolate.

I am not quite done with my current tatting project to show you yet. However, due to a scheduling error at work (my fault, I didn't get my time off request in early enough) I will be spending the weekend in the city. I plan on tatting all weekend, after work. I do have three days off next week, towards the end, and plan on going away during that time. I hope to have a number of things to show you all either Sunday or Monday.

I will be going back to get a bit more tatting done before bed. Till next time.



Monday, March 29, 2010

Crocheted Socks Complete ..... Hiatus Over! Plus Some Tatting

I finally finished the socks this weekend. I'm actually quite pleased with how they turned out.

Well, almost. I really don't like the crocheted ribbing that is used in the pattern. What I'm thinking I might do the next time (there WILL be a next time; I still have three more balls of this sock yarn, not all in blue, however) is to knit the ribbing and then crochet the rest. That's not a lot of knitting, so I think I can manage it. I'll provide an update if/when I decide to try this. You can also see what is left of the ball of yarn I was using. The pattern said I'd need a second ball to complete a pair of socks in the size I was making. I am also announcing that my hiatus from tatting is now over. I have a number of things that I want to tat, and I can't wait any longer.

I wanted to make something for Easter this year. I picked out a few motifs to make and have begun tatting them. Here is the first one, tatted in two different colourways:

These are Motif 2 from Festive Snowflakes & Ornaments For Needle and Shuttle Tatters edited by Barbara Foster. I'm not sure why, but I expected more from this book. Don't get me wrong, there are several pretty motifs in the book, as seen on the cover:

I don't know for sure, but it seems to me that many of the patterns were written for needle tatter with modifications in brackets for shuttle tatters. And no, I'm not picking on needle tatters. Some really amazing work is coming from the needles of needle tatters. And in all honesty, if I had heard of needle tatting when I was learning to shuttle tat, I may have gone the needle tatting route first. I'm just saying that the book is a bit biased. But since Ms. Foster and Handy Hands promote needle tatting, I'm not surprised. What does this have to do with the above motifs? Each pattern in the book has a specified technique to use, ie: needle and thread, shuttle and ball, etc. A shuttle and ball was recommended for this pattern (the needle tatting technique is irrelevant here). There are twelve (12!) SLTs (shoe lace tricks) used in the motif. Two shuttles would have worked better, and the results would look better too. I want to make at least one more motif from this book, so my opinion might change about the book. I also need at least three more of the above motifs as well. Thread stats: Lizbeth size 20 thread in colour #105 (on the left) and #122 (on the left).

You may be wondering what I need these motifs for. It's a secret. I'll show you on Thursday. As a side note, I have ordered a few ounces of sterling silver rings and will offer a few pieces of jewelry in this metal. I have also ordered some rings suitable for making a chainmaille bag. I think it would make a cool tatting bag, if only for myself. I'm pretty sure they would need to be lined, and I don't know how long it would take to make one. So, I may not be able to offer them for sale, but we'll see.

That's all for now. I'll see you Thursday. Till next time.