My New Shuttles, And Some Tatting!

Sorry. I've been meaning to post earlier, but it just didn't happen. I was dealing with some work issues last weekend, so posting wasn't going to happen then. Some tatting did happen, however, but we'll get to that later. Nothing really new to share otherwise. It's hot here right now. I'm hoping for a thunderstorm, but I'm not being too hopeful; we didn't get one yesterday either. I'll move on, it's too hot to write out a long post.

I teased you last time with the pair of unfinished Pear wood Pop-a-Bobbin shuttles. Well, they're finished now. Or as finished as they are going to get.

They didn't quite turn out the way I wanted them, but whatever. They're blue!!!! In case you're wondering, I used a water-based stain to colour them. The front one, is lighter than the back one as I had added some white stain to the blue (the bottle says "Azure") stain. The darker one is the straight Azure stain. I guess if I wanted the colour different, I should have painted them. However, I wanted the grain to show through, so painting was out. What do you think?

As I said, I have been tatting a fair bit lately. Mainly to keep my mind off of the work issues. I didn't really know what I wanted to tat, so I eventually settled on a WIP from a loooooog time ago. You can see it here. If you follow the link, you'll see that I started the doily over two years ago. I'm not done yet, but here is a photo to show my progress:

For those of you who didn't follow the link to the original post this is Mary Konior's Spinning Wheel doily from Tatting With Visual Patterns. I'm using Lizbeth size 20 thread in colour # 117 Country Side. I should point out, I was about half done the tatting when I picked it up again. Since the end is near, I'm going to keep working on the doily. I will post again once I'm done. I'm really hoping that the doily centre I used is the right size. Once finished the doily should measure about 10 1/2 inches in diameter.

That's it for now. Like I said above, I'll post again once I'm done the doily. I'm hoping the new tatting book I ordered will  have arrived by then. And I'll be inspired to tat something new. Till next time.

Paracord Bracelets, Tatting Shuttles, and a Tatted Bookmark

I'm back. I guess it took me longer to decide what to tat than I thought it would. And surprisingly, most of the tatting was done today. I'm sure some of you are aware that a journalist was looking to talk to young tatters, 30 or younger. My name and email address was forwarded to her and she made contact this morning. While hesitant, I gave her my phone number and began waiting. I worked on a bookmark I started over a week ago. She called and we had a really nice chat. I was quite refreshed to hear that she didn't think tatting was just for women. I won't go into much detail. It will probably be 2-3 weeks before the article is published. After talking to the journalist, I continued working on the bookmark. I guess talking about tatting inspired me to tat.

Before I get to the tatting (you knew this was coming), I'm going quickly show you what else I've been working on. As I mentioned in my last post, I found a couple of ebooks on iTunes that were about "Manly" crafts. One of the crafts that inspired me were bracelets made out of paracord, which is a shortened name for parachute cord or 550 cord.

I've only made two of them right now. The two-toned blue one is a little too small for me while the camo patterned one fits about right. Due to the way they are made, sizing is a bit difficult. I only purchased a few colours of cord, though I do plan of purchasing a few more. I had thought of putting a few up for sale in my Etsy shop, but I'm not sure if they'd sell. I haven't been brave enough to see how many other paracord bracelets are currently for sale, and I'm not sure I want to. I would like to make a belt for myself using a double wide version of the pattern used for the bracelets. If anyone is interested by all means leave a comment, I may be persuaded to list some in my shop. Or we could work something out privately. I'm not sure how much paracord related things you will see from me. Although, the cord can be tatted with, in case you're wondering. I had to try.

Several weeks ago, I purchased a pair of Pop-a-Bobbin shuttles "direct from the source", ie: from Sally. I bought them unfinished as I had a plan. Here is the before shot:

They're both pear wood, as you can see. I'm about half done with them right now. I have to pick up some supplies tomorrow that I forgot to get earlier. You'll have to wait until they're done to see them. I'm not telling you exactly what I did to them yet. I will say that Diane may be interested. Oops! I may have said too much.

Finally, what you all are waiting for: the bit of tatting I managed to do. Here it is:

This is "Jane's Bookmark" designed by Jane from South Africa. I'm not sure if the pattern has a name, so I named it. It was pretty quick to tat. As I'm not a big fan of tassels (though I don't mind them on bookmarks), I chose to end it with a lock stitch chain followed by a short section of the pattern. The thread is Lizbeth size 20, colour #606 Charcoal. I will have to tat this pattern again. Now that I'm done the bookmark, I'm back to not knowing what I will tat next. I have several WIPs that I should work on and a "WannaTat" list as long as my arm and then some. I probably won't start anything tonight as bedtime is nearing.

That's it for now. Hopefully I'll get the shuttles finished and have something else tatted by next weekend. I will try and post again once the shuttles are done. I do hope they turn out as awesome as I envision them. Till next time.

Where Does The Time Go??

Wow. Has it really been over three weeks since I last posted? So much for "this shouldn't take long, I'll post again real soon." I guess I've been busy. Not tatting, but busy. I can honestly say I haven't done a heck of a lot of anything. Well, I have been playing around with a few new things. I was looking around on iTunes, and came across several ebooks with titles such as "Manly Crafts" and "DIY Jewelry for Men" and was intrigued enough to purchase them (they're $0.99 each, I'm not breaking the bank account here; I did read the samples too before buying). The ebooks are essentially compiled tutorials from Instructables, but they're pretty handy to have on my iPod Touch for offline use; I really need an iPad now. Anyway, I've got some materials ordered for a few new crafts. And I did make a leather cuff bracelet after a quick trip to Michaels for some snaps. Here's a quick photo:

Nothing spectacular but kinda cool. It's made from an old belt. My cutting also needs some work, but that will come with practice. There's instructions for a really cool watch band too. I'm sure one could put tatting on the bracelet if they really wanted too. I don't have much tatting to share tonight. I did finish my Windmills doily. The edging seemed to drag on forever. Here's a photo of it:

The tatting is finished, but the doily isn't "finished". I still need to hide the ends and block it. I like the edging, but it needs some tweaking before I use it on the big doily. The stitch counts need work, and where the edging jumps from one motif to the next needs some work. That will be dealt with later. I will continue the big doily to make it oval. I know I mentioned it in the comments, but the doily will (hopefully!) go on a rectangular table, so an oval doily should look better. Now that this done is done (I'll get around to finishing it soon), I need to find something else to tat. I don't really feel inspired to tat anything right now, but I'll look through my patterns and books to find something to tat while I watch a movie tonight. That is, if I can decide on a movie.

Before I go, I can't help wonder what new Blogger interface is everyone talking/complaining about? This is my interface:

 I've had it for a while now, I can't remember how long. Did most people simply not switch to it or is there an actual new interface?

That's about it for now. I also received a copy of Ginny's new tatting book for test tatting a few of her patterns. I still need to retat one of them. Hopefully, I can get something tatted so I can post again in the near future. Till next time.

Windmills Doily, Take Two

I'm still here. I've just been quiet. I have been tatting, in case you are wondering. I just haven't had anything to show you until now. And it's not technically finished yet, but I couldn't wait any longer. You also may have noticed that I haven't posted any chainmaille in a while too. That's because sales have come to a standstill. I think there are just too many people selling chainmaille on Etsy now. I have thought about moving to another site, but I don't think that will help. Some people are selling their jewelry way too cheaply-some are slightly over my calculated materials costs. So as items expire, I am removing items that have never sold before. I won't shut down the shop entirely, it doesn't take much effort if nothing sells. No pity sales, please. I've been working a lot of extra hours at my real job lately, so I'm not really losing anything here.

You may remember that I started another doily using Mary Konior's Windmills motif (from the NOT out of print book Tatting With Visual Patterns), made out of size 10 DMC Cebelia thread. Yeah, I don't remember either-I mentioned it here. Well a year plus later here is the result:

Currently it is about 9 inches (22.8 cm) in diameter. Since this is the one for me I am going to make it oval shaped. I am also going to add the edging that most of you didn't think it needed. Hopefully this won't take that long. I started working on this after my last post and made five of the seven motifs pictured. I haven't done as much tatting this week as I would have liked. I was preparing supper last Saturday, and was a little careless and ended up cutting one of my fingers. I didn't think it would affect my tatting as much as it did-it was my left middle finger. But since I hold my tatting a little different, it made a big difference. It is healing quite nicely and I have been tatting over the past couple days. Not a lot, but still, I was tatting. I have to finish tatting the seventh motif, then I have three more to go. I will post again when I have completed them.

That's about it for now. Hopefully I will post again sooner rather than later. I am hoping to get this done fairly quickly. Then I can decide if I will make the other Windmills doily oval too or leave it round. I can also determine if the edging round is the way to go too. Till next time.

Test Tatting for LadyShuttleMaker and a "Few" Orchid Photos

Howdy. I'd love to say I have lots of tatting to show you, but I don't. I really haven't felt like tatting lately. I have picked up my shuttles several times, and have picked up several balls of thread and put them back. I looked through my Pop-a-Bobbin shuttles again after Jane listed some of her awesome Poke Proof shuttle pouches (I HAD to buy two more as my newer shuttles needed to be kept safe). Anyway, I won't bore you any more as I did a bit of tatting last weekend and I also can share the test tatting I did for Sherry AKA LadyShuttleMaker for her recently released book. Oh, and thanks for the comments about my hook holder. In case anyone is wondering (probably not) I am trying to see how long I can grow my beard. I'd like to at least double the length it is now (it's about 2 inches long) or until a) it become an issue at work or b) I get it caught in something, whatever comes first.

Anyway, here is a sample of what I tested for Sherry:

As you may know this was tatted using "Branching Encapsulation". It's an interesting technique. I would have continued tatting this but I forgot to make a leaf on the third flower. It's funny I forgot to tat the leaf on that flower as it is the best one I tatted. I have to admit, I haven't bought Sherry's book yet. I seem to have reached a point where I have too many books that I haven't tatted from yet. I still may buy the book as this is an interesting technique.

I'm sure many of you have seen Sherry's tatted Scottie. I was lucky enough to have test tatted it as well. This is what I tatted last weekend.

This is a really cute pattern. And was pretty quick to tat too. I used Lizbeth size 20 thread in #606 Charcoal. As a side note, I love this colour! I like the look of tatting in black but it's a pain to work with. Charcoal is dark-the colour is a bit washed out in the photo-but light enough to see the stitches. Retro tatting is easier if needed too. If you haven't done it already, you can download the pattern from Sherry's blog (link to post here).

I think I mentioned a post or two ago that I bought a few new orchids. Well since I mentioned that, I bought a few more. I had better post them now, before I buy anymore. I decided to make a couple picture collages to save space. Enjoy!

Nothing really to say about these. I really like the yellow ones as you don't see many of them. The little one in the lower right is plain but kinda cute too. These are all Phalaenopsis orchids. All NOID (that's No IDentification).

Here is the two newest ones, also Phalaenopsis NOID:

I love these two! The one on the right is also pretty plain, but the flowers are strongly scented. I can't describe the scent-it's perfumey, that's all I can say. I smelled it at the store but thought it was potpourri or something and thought nothing of it. I've had the plant for about two weeks and it's definitely the plant. I love the colour of the one on the right. I haven't seen a Phal. like this before. The colour isn't quite right, but it's close.

That's about it. I'll try to get some tatting done this week. Really. I'll try hard to get some tatting done. Till next time.

A Very Regal Snowflake

Finally, I will post the snowflake I mentioned in the last post. I just can't get back into tatting and blogging lately. I am feeling better, except that I may have a bit of a cold now. That's according to the doctor I saw earlier this week. I won't go into details (I grossed out a few coworkers already) but I'm learning how gross the human body can be with this "cold". Anyway, I finally have a photo of the snowflake I tatted a few weeks ago. I can't find the other motif I tatted, though I didn't like the colour-it came free with one of the Lizbeth thread holders I bought (love them!!!!). I do plan on retatting the motif and maybe making a bookmark using it.

I know that Isdihara shared her rendition of Frivole's Regal snowflake, so here is mine:

This is a very pretty snowflake. I didn't really follow the pattern per se. Frivole recommend against using split rings to climb from the first round to the second, but I though it would work. I started with a chain and ended with a split ring. I had to unwind each shuttle (easy, since I only use bobbin shuttles) and threaded each thread though the bead. I continued with a chain and ended again with a split ring. I started the third round again with a chain and ended with a split ring. The middle picot on the final split ring is the hanging loop. Maybe not the best place for it, but it works for me. And no ends to hide! Thread stats: I used Lizbeth size 20 in white and used some Czech made fire polished crystal beads. I didn't add any other beads, but I might the next time I make it. 

That's about it for now. I haven't done much of anything lately, but I hope to fix that soon. I have to work for International Tatting Day this year, so I probably won't get much done (I'll try to eat some chocolate though!). We'll see what I can get done next week; my work schedule is kinda wonky because of Easter. I'll leave you with a photo of my brand new crochet hook holder:

Hmmm. If I keep letting it grow longer, I'm going to start losing hooks in there! 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. 

The End of TIAS 2012, a Double Fuchsia, and a Few Orchid Photos

I see that I am still posting rather infrequently. Oh well. I don't really have much to share anyway. Besides the TIAS, I have done hardly any tatting. Sales in my shop have slowed to a crawl. I had thought I could offer free shipping, but forgot about it until yesterday. So it won't be much good to attract some Valentine's Day sales. With the lack of sales, I don't feel like working on chainmaille. I have been crocheting quite a bit lately however. I'll get some photos of that once it's/they're complete.

As I am sure most of you are aware, Jane's TIAS 2012 is complete. Here is my completed goat:

As I told Jane, he doesn't look as demonic here as he did without his front legs. I rather like him. Actually I think I just like the pattern in general. I think it's the beard. I'll have to make another one soon.

Here are finally the photos of Linda's Double Fuchsia that I tatted from the pattern she shared:

I can't really comment on it, as I don't remember much about tatting/putting it together. I guess that's what I get for waiting so long to post the photos. I do remember that I used a thicker gauge wire than what was called for. That did make it difficult to get the calyx on. It definitely looks realistic. I will have to make a full branch of leaves and flowers. Thanks again Linda for sharing the pattern. And sorry for taking so long to post the completed flower.

I will finish this post with a few orchid photos. I think these have been posted previously, but this will help me keep track of what is flowering when. Enjoy!

This is Doritaenopsis Minho Princess 'Flying'. This is one of my few named Phalaenopsis orchids. I really like this one. It's not pure white (I already have one of those). And it's not completely pink or purple. This is the first Phal. hybrid that flowered for me this year.

The next orchid that flowered is one I know many of you have seen:

It's the Mutant! For those of you who are new to my blog, this Phalaenopsis No Identification (NOID) hybrid has a genetic mutation that causes the plant to produce what looks like three lips instead of one. Two of these lips are not fully formed (these are supposed to be the petals, or sepals), but closely resemble the true lip at the bottom. This is called a Peloric Mutation. Hopefully you can see the differences in the photo. For anyone who hasn't noticed yet, I disabled the "Lightbox" display of photos. You should be able to click photos again and get the full version.

Last orchid photo of the day:

I bought this Phal as a NOID, however it looks strikingly similar to Phalaenopsis Yu Pin Pearl. A Google Image search shows this quite well. I am tempted to label the plant as such or that it resembles Yu Pin Pearl so I know which plant it is when it's not flowering. Looking at some of the other photos, there may be different versions or clones of Yu Pin Pearl so it very well could be one of them.

That's it for now. I will probably be crocheting some more this week. I'll try to get some more tatting done. I got my Palmetto Tat Day CD in the mail recently so there are a few things I'd like to tat. There will be more orchid photos in the upcoming weeks-I noticed another Phal that is producing a flower spike. That's now eight Phals either in spike or flowering. Awesome! I think I may need a few more. That's the one good thing about Valentine's Day: Lots of plants available for sale. Till next time.

TIAS 2012, Day 9

I managed to tat Day 9 last night, though I joined the last ring to the wrong set of rings. Twice! I had to fix it this morning before emailing Jane.

That is why you may see some fluffy ends near the eye. Speaking of the eye, it appears that I am tatting a Demon Goat. Since I didn't know what the beads would be used for, I though the red bead, which is Red Bamboo Coral, would work. Oh well, I'll have to tat him again with more appropriate colours once we are done. It looks like it definitely will be a goat. Can't wait to see it when it is finished. Till next time; I have to get ready for work.

More TIAS 2012

Just a quick post. I'll do a proper one soon; I've got a lot of stuff that I want to share, but no time.

Here are my Days 7 and 8 of Jane's TIAS 2012:

Like many people, I definitely thought it was going to be a dog by the end of day 7. But after day 8, it looks rather goat like. I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out to be something completely different. In any case, our options are being narrowed down.

That's it for now. I will hopefully write up a proper post later this weekend. Till next time.

TIAS 2012 Continues

Sorry for the delay. I've been meaning to post more regularly lately, but that hasn't happened, obviously. While I'm not complaining, I've have quite a few sales lately. A couple have been custom orders from the same repeat customer, many have been from new customers. While I have been hoping some of the newer items would sell, it is nice to see the sales. Anyway, besides the TIAS (and some tatting I can't tell you about), I haven't done much tatting lately. Hopefully I will get some tatting done this weekend. Apart from a little shopping tomorrow, I don't plan on doing much tomorrow. Tomorrow is my 29th birthday. It occurred to me today that this will be my last year in my 20's, which kinda scares me for reasons I'm not going to go into here. Anyway, I'll move on to my progress on the TIAS 2012.

Here are days, 4, 5, and 6 in (hopefully) the order they were made:

I've got nothing really to say about this. I still haven't the faintest idea what this will be. I don't know if anyone has correctly guessed what we are making yet, but Jane is certainly keeping us guessing. This is great!

That's it for now. I should mention that this is my 200th post. I know many of you have probably post more than that in a year, it's pretty good for me. I had hoped to have a more substantial post, but I'll make up for it soon. I put Linda's Double Fuschia together several days ago and told her I'll post about it. I've also got some orchid photos to share. Seven of my Phalaenopsis orchids are producing flower spikes. Two of which have open flowers on them, the Mutant being one of them. Till next time.

TIAS 2012 Day 3

Just a quick post. I'll do a regular long post either later this week or early next week. I forgot to mention in the previous post but I'll try to blog my progress within a day or two of Jane releasing a pattern part.

Here is my day 3 progress (ready for harvesting!!):

As other people have observed, it's a square with a circle in it. I haven't the faintest idea what this will be. I guess we'll have to see what Jane has us do for the next day. Maybe it will give us a hint.

Nothing else to report. It's been bitterly cold for the past few days. We've been close to -40 C a few times now. Yesterday we had a windchill of nearly -50. It's supposed to warm up but then we'll probably get more snow. I'm kinda liking snow right now. Till next time.

TIAS 2012 Parts 1 and 2

As the title suggests, I started the TIAS this weekend. I'll get to it soon-it won't take long, I don't have much else to share. Haven't done any more tatting or chainmaille this weekend. I did manage to get some of the new chainmaille pieces photographed early Saturday afternoon. Which was good; it started snowing around suppertime or so. Over the course of the evening and I guess overnight we got at least four inches (10 cm) of snow. It may be closer to six inches (15 cm) but I'm not sure since it blowing a lot as well. Obviously this means I got to shovel snow probably for the first time all winter. Really. No photos, I'm afraid. I kept forgetting the camera inside every time I went out. I am a little disappointed that it snowed (and it's freezing out!), and I hope the streets aren't too bad tomorrow. One upside is that I don't have to buy any distilled water for my carnivorous plants for a while. I brought in two large Rubbermaid tubs full of packed snow that I'll let melt over the next few days. The water can then be stored  until needed.

I'll move on to the tatting. Like I said, I haven't done much. I did sit down last night and worked through the first two days of Jane's TIAS 2012. Here is the first day:

And here is the second day:

I used Lizbeth size 20 colour #658 Light Ocean Turquoise. I have no guesses as to what it could be. We'll see what the next part shall bring. Oh, and Jane, feel free to copy my photos. I'm sure I'll forget to email them to you.

That's it for now. I might try and tat something tonight. I'm doing laundry as we speak, so I gotta remember to check that regularly. It's no fun waking up in the morning and realizing the laundry is still in the washing machine. Mind you, waking up and realizing the laundry is still in the dryer when it's 30 below out isn't fun either. Trust me. Till next time.