Thursday, September 27, 2012

New Designs & Old Obstacles

Yesterday, after walking into a kitchen stool, while in a great hurry, 
my day came to a painful, sudden fullstop. 
I broke my toe! 

So I HAD to stay put - oh - the pain - and tat 
most of the day. This is what happened:


This is my design.  My very own.

Last year, I found an old bracelet - broken and in pieces, in a funny, little shop in the West Village, Manhattan, and picked it up, thinking I would eventually do something with one of the pieces. What do you think?

I have put a peach ribbon on it and think I will hang it in my Etsy shop!  After all - Christmas is coming! (Did I really say that?)



Now - The obstacle I have been dealing with.

You know how I talk about trying to find the right position for my hand while tatting and how I have difficulty getting even stitches?  Well, in a conversation with Frivole a few days ago, I realized with surprise that I have been holding my hook backwards - again. I do not know how or when this occurred.

Anybody out there with a dyslexia-right-left-confusion? Anybody?

Well, I know this interferes a lot with my tatting, but did not clue in that it affects my way of holding the shuttle as well. Once that got sorted in a flurry of emails, I also noticed that I wind my thread over the fourth finger, not the pinky:


I am not sure if this affects my stitch consistency or not, but I am trying to get the old slip/slide happening with the thread wrapped around the entire hand.  Which way do you hold the thread?

I am trying to train my hand to wrap the thread around the pinkie, as it sets up the thread in a better position for the shuttle to slide over...

Next:


I am wanting to do another hankie border and was inspired yet again by umintsuru's work here.  I will NOT do a whole border in this as it would take till the next century to finish! But, I did review the skills needed for tatting the maltese ring.  : 0


Then, a new pattern by Victats.  I love this little heart.  Saw it on Frivole's site - the prettiest I have seen of this pattern: here.

31 comments:

  1. Oh no, so sorry to hear about your toe! But I love what you created in your enforced stillness. The tatting suits the doodad, (if I may call it that) so well. I hope your toe won't take too long to heal.

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  2. Gorgeous little pendant! Someone is sure to snap that right up! The Maltese ring is interesting...I will have to play with that...I get sidetracked by too many things though, yesterday it was messing around with those little Celtic knotted picots, had something in mind for those that I'm still mulling over though. I like that heart too...printed it out the other day when Michelle posted hers...not enough time for all I want to tat!

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  3. Oh...and your poor toe! I have broken one before...so very painful! I am so sorry you are dealing with that!

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  4. How interesting Fox! I couldn't quite understand what you meant about using your ring finger for tension.... now I see! You were not wrapping around the whole hand. I occasionally wrap around three fingers only, just to give my little finger a break (when I've been tatting a lot). But otherwise, the pinkie does do a lot of the tension-adjusting work.

    Very creative with the bit of bracelet - it looks wonderful! Sorry a broken toe is the reason behind coming up with a lovely design... I hesitate to say it was worth it... but your necklace sure looks great!

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    1. The pinkie does the work? Hmmm. The workload is on my middle finger. I'll have to check this out...
      Fox : 0

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  5. Your new pendant is absolutely beautificent -- I hope you have lots of other pieces of that bracelet! Sorry to hear about your toe. The bad thing is you still have to walk on it.
    I usually wrap my whole hand, but as I put more stitches on a ring I'll just pull out a finger at a time. I get down to tatting on two fingers just to avoid pulling more thread into a ring. I don't think my pinkie tensions much -- my middle finger does all that.

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  6. It's very sad that you broke your toe... I hope you recover quickly!

    But this pendant is awesome!!!

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  7. Sorry about your toe! The pendant is gorgeous!!!

    Love that Victats heart!

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  8. Absolutely gorgeous pendant!!! Hope you get back on your toe very soon :)

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  9. sorry you broke your toe, but I am in love with the pendant, absolutely in love with it..... I mean, like I could drive to canada to get it in love with it, I know that sounds dumb, but it is beautiful.....

    I wrap over my pinky, always have, I feel it gives me more access to slide the shuttles through and just makes for quicker tatting :)

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  10. Hi Fox

    Oh I am so sorry to hear you broke your toe, I hope it will heal quickly

    I love your pendant, it's gorgeous, beautiful colours and lovely doodad.

    Love to Gian
    Margaret

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  11. Your design is totally stunning!!! :) I love the colors you used!! :)
    Your maltese ring looks really cool!! :)
    And your heart looks really great too!! :)

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  12. Oh, so sorry about your toe! I know that pain from experience. Love what it it for your designing, though:) I absolutely love your designs. Now......I think I need to go break a toe so I can get inspired!

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  13. Wow! I love that pendant! Now I don't know if you actually need to break a toe to come up with something so beautiful, but if that's the case then I'll stick with my toe-intact, mundane tatting. ;)

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  14. So sorry to hear about you toe. Can Gian give you a hand with the household chores so you can sit with your foot up more? And make more Awesome Tatting Projects?
    That pendant is awesome. I especially like the areas you encapsulated instead of using a chain to go from element to element. A unique idea indeed.
    I have not done much with Maltese rings. may have to some day. The heart is cute, I like it too.

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    1. Ladytats,

      Gian was probably wishing I had tripped on him! : ))

      In reality, he is being very considerate. He did not jump on my foot in bed last night! Miraculous!
      Fox : ))

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  15. What a beautiful pendant! Sorry to hear about your toe... I've done that, and I know it's not fun.

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  16. That's a lovely design, Fox, and I like how the beads enhance the flower colour. I like, too, how you wrapped the do-dad's curlicues with the thread.
    How awful about your toe! I haven't broken a toe before: wrist, arm and ankle are enough for me! But I do remember how painful they were. Take it easy. Hugs

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  17. I just about fell out of my chair when I saw ypur MAGNIFICENT pendant! That is exactly the kind of thing I'm hoping to do with bits and pieces of jewelry - but you are way ahead of me, and I doubt I would have thought of WRAPPING the thread (as in the cabone rings?) to get to the next area!!! Brilliant!! I think you've come up with a new idea here! Also, what beautiful thread and bead colors!. This will not last long in the shop - but I'm surprised you don't want to keep it!I believe Rachel would be impressed also!

    So I'm trying to envision you calmly tatting while your toe is throbbing? As I understand it, there is no way to 'set' it. But can you wear some kind of special shoe to get around?

    I use a 'whole hand' wrap (actually around the last three fingers, with the forefinger in crochet position) because that's how I knit and crochet. I only wrap the pinkie occasionally. And it really is important to have the hook face the ceiling - at least for me!

    That really is a cute heart by Victats. I'm curious about the rainbow necklace(?) framing it!



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    1. Hi, Kathy!
      Thanks so very much. I have been thinking about that wrapping since I got the bracelet. I had NO idea it would work so well! See - great minds think alike!

      Ah, the toe - sandals for now!

      I am not sure I know what you mean about 'facing the ceiling!'
      Fox : 0

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  18. So sorry to hear about your toe! Hope you feel better soon. I absolutely LOVE the pendant you did!!! I have some vintage brooches/pins with porcelain painted centers that are waiting to be embellished and your lovely pendant reminded me to get them out & get busy. Okay- after I finish a couple of pendants, some cameos and a few necklaces. My project line-up is getting loooonngg!

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  19. I love the pendant! The design on the pendant matched perfectly with the beads and colour of the thread. I thought that the thread was part of the center piece; I had to look twice. How pretty!
    I'm sorry to hear about the toe. Owie...

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  20. Ouch!! I can only imagine how it hurts. That is an absolutely beautiful pendant. The colour combination is perfect and the added beads, wonderful. . Good luck with the Maltese rings, remember to tat loosely so it is easier to close the ring. I tat with thread wrapped round my pinky and yes it controls tension, also if you wrap just 2-3 rounds it is easy to pull in more thread. Slip and slide, it is. Another tip about the Maltese rings which I thought I should have done is using a picot gauge on the inner ring picots to get them all even. I only used a picot gauge on the outer picots.

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  21. Be still, my heart! This is drop-dead gorgeous.

    Hope your toe is better.

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  22. There's not a lot one can do about a broken toe; escept to tat through the pain which is exactly what you are doing!
    I loved your little accidental pendant, and I see that it has been snapped up - as it were - you 'll have to make more!

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  23. Love the pendant, the wrapping over the edges looks like embroidery making the metal and lace seems to meld! Sorry about the toe... I keep breaking mine too and it puts a terrible cramp in my productivity.

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  24. So sorry to hear of your broken toe :( You have created a most stunning pendant though!!! I just keep looking at it and saying ooohh...isn't that beautiful!!!!!

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  25. I am so TOE-tally thrilled with all your supportive comments! Thank you, all!
    Fox : ))

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  26. LOL! I had to get out my shuttle to see what I meant! When I wind my bobbin and place it in the shuttle, the hook faces the ceiling and the bobbin forms the letter 'b'. When I tat, the shuttle is under my right forefinger with the hook actually facing to the right, but 'sort of' points to the ceiling (or more accurately, away from me) as I tat . Hope that explains it better!

    So pleased you heard from Rachel!

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    1. I see what you mean... I do the same...

      You are right! When I saw Rachel's comment I was thrilled as you can imagine - I read your comments there all the time!
      Fox : ))!

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  27. Vraiment très jolis ces pendentifs!!! J'adore!!!

    Désolé pour l'orteil mais Gian va vous apporter de la douceur...

    Amitiés

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