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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A Wee Bit of Tatting, Digital Tatting, and More Maille

I'll begin this post by saying that I didn't get the crocheted sock done. I know, I thought I'd be done by now, but something else came up. But we'll get to that later. Hopefully I'll get to the other sock soon.

I may have missed St. Patrick's Day by a few days (OK, four days), but I did manage to tat a shamrock:

The is the shamrock that Betsy Evans shared on Here-Be-Tatters. I think it is really pretty, and very generous of Betsy for sharing the pattern. Of course, I think any and every tatter who shares their patterns with the rest of us are very generous. Someday I hope to be one of them. Thread stats: Flora size 20 in colour #230. This will be motif #22 of my Third 25 Motif Challenge. As you can see, I made the stem by encapsulating the thread ends, however, I'm not sure how to finish it. Can the ends be hidden somehow? Any suggestions?

Speaking of sharing patterns, I have been working on diagramming some of my own designs. Back in December, I bought a newer copy of the DrawPlus software that we were using for the Design-Tat course that Sharon was running. I hadn't really done much with it until now. The first design I am currently working on is my Male Betta. If you are new to my blog, you can see the Betta here. While I like (well, really, really like) the way it looks with the block tatted fins, I had an idea that I could simplify the pattern a bit. I figure that I could replace the block tatting with small rings and chains and make the pattern easier to tat for advanced beginners, and still look good. This will take time to accomplish. I have a few of the new style fins diagramed, but I will need to tat it and work out the stitch count. Hopefully I will make progress on this.

Finally, I have been working on some more chainmaille. This is the reason I haven't been working on my socks. I finally figured out a weave that I have been wanting to try this one for a while, but I couldn't get the hang of it till recently.

May I introduce Jens Pind Linkage or Jens Pind. The Jens is pronounced as Yens, in case your wondering. It is a type of spiral chain, and if you look you can kinda see the spiral. I'm not sure why I had so much difficulty with this weave. It's not that difficult once learned, but it needs a very specific range of ring sizes in order to keep its shape. Outside that range, and the spiral falls apart, so to speak. As you can see, I created two bracelets once I learned the weave. The silver one on the left is Bright Aluminum, and the one on the right is Nickel Silver. The aluminum bracelet will be going into my shop in the near future. I haven't used Nickel Silver much, but I decided to try it here. Nickel Silver is another copper alloy, and as it's name suggests, it contains a fairly large percentage (about 20%, give or take) of nickel. It doesn't contain any silver however. I'm not sure if it has the same problems as the other copper alloys I've tried, so I'm going to test on my self (I'm my own guinea pig!) for a few days to see. After the bracelets, I wanted to try something bigger with the new weave. This is the result:

It's a wallet chain for myself. I used Bright Aluminum here since its the only metal I have (besides the Nickel Silver) that works for Jens Pind Linkage. Once I got going, I was able to complete the chain in a single evening, and wore it to work the next day. I really like the way it looks, however, I would prefer it in stainless steel since that is what I have used for all the stuff I make for myself. I hope to get some rings in the right size in stainless steel, but it will probably be a couple of weeks before I will order. I have been thinking of buying some Sterling Silver rings and offering a few of my bracelets and earrings in this material. But we'll see. I also have an idea for a pendant with yet another weave and a Swarovski crystal button. Though I haven't gone past the initial idea with that one. I'm also considering making a necklace out of Jens Pind as well. So many ideas, so little time, and only one pair of hands.

That about wraps up another week. Hopefully I can get a few of the ideas and projects done and can get back to tatting full time. I am really looking forward to see the new and improved Male Betta. Till next time.

Tatting Hiatus, Crochet Resurgence

It was bound to happen. I think I may have overdone the tatting lately. If I do too much of one thing, I tend to get sick of it and need a break. So, for the next two, maybe three weeks, I will be working on some crochet projects instead. But, don't go away. I will try to do a little tatting during this time; St. Patrick's Day is only a few days away. I do plan on blogging during this time, but it may only be once a week instead of twice a week, but we'll see.

The first crochet item on my todo list is a new pair of slippers. My old pair was getting pretty worn.

The pattern I used has become a favorite of mine, both for the ease of making them, but also for how nice they feel. The pattern is from Jane Davis' book Felted Crochet. The slippers are made using two strand of worsted weight (or one strand of bulky weight) wool yarn with one strand of eyelash/fur yarn. After they are crocheted, the back is sewed up, and the ends are hidden. The slippers are then tossed in the washing machine with a little soap (and possibly some baking soda) and run on a cycle or two of hot wash, cold rinse. They are then dried. Once dry, the slippers have shrunk and are now felted. As I said, I love this pattern, and since I really don't like wearing socks (when I'm at home, I have to wear socks to work), I go through at least three pairs a year. It's nice that I can make a pair in a couple of hours (usually closer to an hour and a half). I also generally keep some compatible yarn in my stash at all times.

The next item on my to do list, is, actually kind of surprising, based upon my last paragraph. It is, a pair of sox, er, socks.


Well, one sock anyway. As you can see, I'm working on the second one. I'm using a sock yarn, called Bernat Sox (no kidding!) and following a basic crochet sock pattern from the Bernat pattern book called Socks to Live In. This is the first sock I have made (crocheted or otherwise), and I think I did a pretty good job of it. I know that socks are generally knitted, but I chose to crochet these instead since I really, really, really, don't like knitting. I think that has been mentioned before. Anyway, as I mentioned, I am working on the second sock, which I think will be a bit more challenging, since I have to make it match the first one. Hopefully, I will be able to show the matched (I hope!) pair of socks in a few days.

That's it for now. I hope everyone in North America who had to change to DST has gotten used to the change. This is one of those times that I am glad that Saskatchewan doesn't switch to DST. Though we're not immune to the change; all TV shows on non-Saskatchewan channels come on an hour earlier. Don't worry about me-somehow I'll cope. Till next time.

Pop-a-Bobbin Shuttle, Tatted Filet, and Hope Butterfly

Here we go, another Sunday night. I'm amazed at how fast the year seems to be going by. I was playing around in my home automation software this afternoon (I was looking for its calculated sunrise time), and discovered that spring (the Vernal Equinox) is only 13 days away. I just hope we actually get spring this year. Though, so far I'm not complaining; we reached a high of 5 degrees C today. That's right PLUS 5. Actually, it's been above zero for most of the past week. I had a window open all afternoon, letting in some fresh air. I should probably go close it now.

On the tatting front, I am the proud owner of a Pop-a-Bobbin shuttle made by Sally's husband. Here it is, made out of Cherry wood:


These are really awesome shuttles. I am really glad that someone came up with an Aero-like wooden shuttle. These shuttles even use Aero bobbins, so it's easy to move the shuttle from project to project. Which is nice, since I only have one, right now anyway. I've already informed Jane (Sally's, um, distributor, and sister) that I am interested in getting an ebony one and one made of cocobola rosewood. Of course, Sally keeps showing off new kinds of wood on her blog; she recently mentioned getting some cedar (with a really interesting story behind it), that I may want a shuttle from as well. I really enjoy using this shuttle, which is about the same size as an Aero, only a bit thicker. The only thing I'm not sure about is the hook. Sally and her husband couldn't find any hooks to use without cutting up crochet hooks, so Sally's husband (not sure what his name is; Sally? Jane? Anybody?) made some himself. From my somewhat limited testing (I've only made one motif using the shuttle, another one is in progress) I have come to the conclusions that for normal to large size picots, the hook works quite well. However for small to very small picots, the hook is less than ideal. I'm going to keep using it though; maybe there's a special technique that needs to be used for optimum performance. If I can't get the hang of it, I may have to replace it though (I do that to my regular Aeros as well). And I think any additional shuttles I (may) get will have to be hookless, but with a hole for a hook. However, all in all, I have to say Bravo to the Kerson's for making a super wooden Aero facsimile.

This brings me to the first motif I tatted using my new shuttle.

This is a part of Mary Konior's Filet Panel from Tatting With Visual Patterns. You may not notice, but towards the end I was playing around with the rings inside the block to see if I could make them fit a bit better. I reduced the stitch count a bit for the last few rings. I used Lizbeth size 20 thread in colour #656 Dark Wedgewood to make the motif. It measures about 2 1/4 inches square (well, it's almost square). I think I'm going to free tat an edging onto it and then I'll count it as part of my Challenge.

Finally, as the title mentions, I tatted Sherry's Hope Butterfly:

Personally, I think I did a terrible job at tatting this beautiful butterfly. The pattern isn't hard, but I still had issues. The problem I found is that Sherry has a different notation/diagram style than I'm used to. I discovered this problem when I was test tatting for Sherry. I guess that means I'll have to tat more of Sherry's design so I learn her pattern writing methods. Thread stats: I used Lizbeth size 20 colour #656 Dark Wedgewood and #663 Dark Bright Turquoise. I think I tatted Hope last weekend, but didn't show it. This is motif #21 of my Third Challenge.

That's it for now. I really have to get back to movie watching and tatting. Till next time.

Windmills Doily, Round 2

I was hoping to post this yesterday, but I felt really bad when I came home from work. I ended up sleeping for the rest of the day; had a heck of a time falling asleep last night though....

Anyway, here is the Windmills doily, with it's completed second round:

A quick note: I am assembling the motifs into a round doily, they could be arranged in a variety of other shapes. The doily is not finished; ie: a few ends need to be sewn in, others need to be clipped, and it's not washed/blocked. In case you're wondering, there are now 19 motifs making up this doily. It currently measures about 10 1/2 inches in diameter (measured on the diagonal, that's five motifs wide). I think this is the largest tatted item I have made so far. And I don't think I'm done. I really want to make one more round. I'm going to put it aside for a while; next time I'm at my parent's, I'm going to have to do a test fit. Mind you, there is another reason I put aside for a while. I'm almost out of thread. Let me rephrase that. I'm almost out of the DMC Cordonnet size 20 thread that I used. I've got enough other thread to last me a lifetime or two (but who doesn't). I'll do an update on the doily if/when I decide to tat a third round. If I don't make the third round, I still need to do the edging, and to block it. And I show it again.

That's it for now. Hopefully, I'll have something to show for the next post. Till next time.

Copper Shuttle, Masquerade, and Did Someone Say Gold?

It was so awesome to see Canada win the Gold in Hockey today. And while Canada came in third in the metal count, we did win more Gold metals than any other country, in the history of the Winter Games. Which is freaking awesome too! I am proud to be Canadian, eh!*

I'm sure many of you had seen Sherry's metal clay tatting shuttles that she had for sale several weeks ago. I am happy to say that I am the proud owner of the copper shuttle.

Despite it's small size, it very nice to tat with. Once I got used to the size, I was able to tat quite nicely with it. Above, you can see my new shuttle being used to tat one of Mary Konior's Masquerade motifs. In case you are wondering, the shuttle easily holds 4 yards (2 of my arm spans) of size 20 thread. There was still room on the shuttle, so it probably holds about 5 yards. Here is the finished motif:

For this motif I used Lizbeth size 20 thread in colour #125 Seascape. See, I said you'll see this colour again. I hope to make this into a bookmark. I should mention that a slight, um, design variation occurred while this motif was tatted. But it shouldn't be a problem, so I won't say anything else about it.

Before I go tonight, I want to mention that I really hoped to get this posted earlier in the week. It's been a rough week. The store that I work at has been renovating since early January, and this week, the renovations finally got to me. So, between being frustrated, and dealing with upset customers, combined with difficulties sleeping-probably from said frustration, I didn't feel like tatting let alone posting. In case you're wondering, I'm currently enjoying day two of three days off from work. That's it for now. Tune in next time to see the completed Windmills doily.



* The correct word is "eh". I've seen several blogs using the word "aye" which isn't correct (that sounds more like Pirate speak-Aye, matey!). For the record, despite "eh" being associated with Canadians, I know exactly five people who use the term on a regular basis. Quite frankly, I find the term annoying.

Test Tatting for Sherry, Mary Konior's Rose Garden, and a Wee Bit More Maille

About a month and a half ago, I answered Sherry's (AKA LadyShuttleMaker's) call for test tatters for her new butterfly book. I enjoy testing other tatters new patterns, and was pleased when Sherry accepted my offer. I got to test two patterns, though the second one came a few weeks after I finished the first one.

This is Amberlynn. She was tatted with Lizbeth size 20 thread in colour #129 Purple Splendor (I think!). This is a really cool butterfly, and easy to tat.

This little guy (yup, I'm calling this one a guy) is called Swirls (see, it could be a guy butterfly...) was also tatted in Lizbeth thread. For this one, I used Lizbeth size 20, in colour #125 Seascape. I love this colorway as well; you will see it again. I really like these side profile butterflies, but my fingers were not as appreciative; all those joins in the top section of the wing were a pain in the but, er, fingers. As a side note, the slope and roll join was used in the top section of the wing. This was the first time I used the join, but I couldn't talk about it. Both butterflies, and many more, can be found in Sherry's new book "The Exquisite Collection of Tatted Butterflies II", available now in her Etsy shop. I'm thinking of buying it, and I'm not a huge butterfly person.

I took a small break from working on my Windmills doily to try a motif from my new Mary Konior book.

This motif is Rose Garden, by Mary Konior, from her book "Tatting in Lace". This is a very pretty motif. I think it would look even better in more than one colour, perhaps with the outer "leaf" round in a variegated green colourway. The scan doesn't do the motif justice. The centre rose is 3-dimensional. Some of you (I hope) will notice that the motif's outer round shares a striking resemblance to Mary's Masquerade motif. Thread Stats: DMC Cordonnet size 20 thread in white. The above three motifs will be motifs 18,19, and 20 of my Third 25 Motif Challenge.

Finally, I have a few samples of Vertebrae to show you. I mentioned last time that I thought that the weave would look good with another metal as the medium sized rings. Here is the result:

The sample on the left has brass as the medium rings and the right one has bronze as the medium rings. I like the way they both came out, though the brass rings are a little too big. How did that happen, you might ask? Well, apparently, someone (not mentioning names here, but he knows who he is) made a mistake, and ordered the rings in the wrong wire gauge. This mistake means that the rings are about 0.4 mm too big. That doesn't sound like much, but it is. Fortunately they do work, just barely. To be honest, the bronze rings aren't the right size either, but I figured they would be close enough. I'm currently testing a bracelet using these samples. I joined them together, and added more rings to make a bracelet with 6 bronze, 6 brass, 6 bronze and 6 brass vertebra. I will be testing this bracelet to see if my wrist will turn green. If all goes well, a bracelet using one or both of these metals (with stainless steel) will go into my shop, along with the other two. I have the new, larger clasps now, however, I need to wait for a sunny day (that I'm home for) in order to get some decent photos for my shop.

That's all for now. Hopefully, I'll have my Windmills doily completed for my next post (I only have a couple motifs to complete. Till next time.

Book Quest Update, Quick Doily Update, and Introducing Vertebrae

As I mentioned earlier, I am on a quest to buy all four of Mary Konior's tatting books. Well, the two I don't already own, actually. I am happy to report that I now have three of her books. Thanks to AbeBooks, I was able to find a reasonably priced copy of "Tatting in Lace".

There are lots of really cool patterns in this book. Hopefully I'll get around to tatting a few of them to show you; there's even another pattern called Windmills. In case you're wondering, the book is from a seller in the UK. If you haven't heard of Abebooks, I highly recommend it. There are A LOT of tatting books available through this site (which doesn't sell the books directly, they allow sellers to post them to the site, and Abebooks handles the transactions). Of course, much like eBay, and Amazon, there are some books that are extremely overpriced, but some are reasonable.

I promised an update to my Windmills doily and I'll oblige, but there won't be a photo right now. Currently, I have five motifs left to finish on the second round. It is definitely bigger, and the pattern looks even more intriguing. I can't wait to finish the round and show you the results. I am thinking of making a third round after I'm done, but it probably won't be right away. I'm thinking of giving the doily to my Mom for Christmas or her birthday, so it can be put away for awhile.

I also took the time to try the Slope and Roll join that Miranda had mentioned in response to my dilemma of odd dots of colour when using variegated thread and shuttle/lock joins. I have to say, I'm very pleased with the results. You can see for yourself:

Look Ma! No dots of colour. I'd also like to show off a pleasantly unexpected, um, "side effect" of the slope and roll join:

Each join make a neat little bump that nicely recreates the windmill pattern on the backside of the motif. This could be a nice way to add interest to the doily. It would make a nice dual sided doily; one side smooth, the other textured. Thread stats: I used Lizbeth size 20 thread in colour #107 Tropical Fruit.

Finally, I have been playing around with chainmaille lately. I figured I'd work on a few new products for my Etsy shop. The first one is a bracelet using a weave called "Vertebrae":

This is a really cool weave. And it's very nice to wear; I'm, um, testing (yes, testing) the bracelet right now. I think the bracelet would look great if I use a different metal for the medium sized ring that is inside the large ring.I believe these medium inner rings have very little contact with the skin, so copper and its alloys won't discolour the skin. I think brass would look awesome. In case you're wondering, the bracelet above is made using stainless steel rings.

I also made another bracelet using square wire rings. You can see an example here:

The top bracelet is using the square wire rings and bottom bracelet is using the regular round wire rings. Both bracelets are made out of stainless steel. As you can see, I had to use larger rings for the top bracelet due the shape of the rings. The result is a thicker bracelet that would be ideal for the men. Though, there is no reason a lady couldn't wear it. I actually made the square wire bracelet awhile ago, but I've been waiting ages for a suitable clasp for it. My supplier has been out of stock for a while now, and just recently got some large solid stainless steel clasps again. Hopefully, I'll get these into my shop within a week or so.

That's about it for now. I will hopefully have my Windmills doily complete, or close to it by next week. I'll show a picture once I'm done. And perhaps I'll have some more chainmaille to show off. Till next time.