In The Pink through a New Lens

The arm is much better. Thanks you for your well wishes - they seem to have done the trick.

The camera has been replaced. The flower was a test. It passed.


I am able to forgo the elastic bandage, and this morning the elbow felt almost normal. I have decided that the problem was with the blanket and the crocheting - NOT with the shuttle and the tatting! Thank goodness!

So, friends, I have hung up the hook. For now.


The finished product after this little fiasco is lovely. Yet another top-secret thingy...... !! But, I had to let you know, I am really pleased with all that I am accomplishing. Not getting a lot of sleep though. I will look like a Victorian tatter by the time I am finished.... Lack of sleep is incredibly aging - as well as curmudgeon-inspiring.... YAWN....

Somewhere in Blog-World, I saw this kind of numbering in a photo. I have copied that idea and it works beautifully. Although I have a red shuttle, (Birch) it feels terrible - very rough, so the colour may be good, but I will never use it again. This numbering system is great and two grey shuttles is just fine!

The picture of the 'mimi came out perfectly through the new lens, but the kids will be here on Wednesday and my daughter has already had a sneak peek at the blanket from the post a few days ago. I do not want to ruin the moment.

I will post it later for any of you who play from time to time on the dark side!

Anon

Tats of Woe

This is all I can show you - one, sorry-looking, little, piece of tatting - a remnant of one of the exercises that got discarded, left on the floor and covered with cat hair. It had been lost for quite a few days.

That is the good news.

Just before I found the little critter, my computer lost all sound - right in the middle of a rip-roaring mystery that I have been listening to, as I break my elbow, toiling away at the grandbaby's 'mimi'.

Seven hours of grief ensued as I frantically tried to resore the sound. At last, the great support technicians at Sony were able to help me at about 11:30 p.m. last night and the laptop is up and running! Thank goodness! I felt as though I had lost another appendage!

But, alas, I have not finished the tale. As I was in the midst of trying to sort out the audio dilemma, I had lunch with my son. While showing him a photo on my camera's LCD, the toggle switch stopped working. The camera was suddenly disabled and the mechanisms frozen. Just like that!

Unfortunately, the expense was prohibitive to fix a super camera to which I have become very attached, over the past three years, but I have had to replace it with one that is adequate enough, but inferior in quality, for sure.

End of tale of woe. Hope you enjoy my meager offering today.

I am going now, to finish 'mimi'.

Anon,

Tatting Elbows Out Crochet

Perhaps, I have been hasty in blaming tatting for the tendons in my elbow - which are ALMOST better, since I discovered this helpful elastic bandage. See that tri-colour, crochet business under the shuttle?

That little item - actually it is a 36'' square blanket - that I have been trying for some time to finish for my grandson - may indeed be another of the culprits behind the painful appendage.

The blankie, (a "mimi" in the bigger brother's four-year-old lingo) requested by my daughter for her second baby, has been in the works for about over a month. I had put off doing it. Why? The T.A.T. course took over my time.

Since I am more than half finished, ( YEAH!) I put it aside and picked up my hook. The kids will be here next week, so I have to finish up.

It is frustrating not being able to post what I am working on. There is one thing; see that little pink string of hearts on the blanket? I was late for work, trying to remember how to get the SSSR to close WITHOUT UNRAVELING!

I was so discouraged. Try as I might I could not understand the directions:
4. Pass the loop OVER the SSSR and the shuttle.

I am experienced in many areas. I have been fortunate to reach the age at which I find myself. I am educated. I am capable. Why then could I not figure out these simple directions? I ask you; how hard is it to pass a loop over the SSSR and the shuttle???

I felt very sheepish when I finally got my brain around that one! VERY HUMBLING!

Apropos of nothing, I wanted to post this picture of the little tray my mom didn't want - it's decades old and just the right size for my current tatting adventure!

Cute eh?

Anon,

S.O.S! Earing Distress! What is the Secret?

There is fraying where the thread hangs on the hook. See the bottom picot of the blue earring? I took the hook out and put it on the top picot, when I saw this. I noticed it before on the second pair I made - the black ones. Why does this happen?

Also - please advise:

1) What kind of pliers do you use? Mine have a flat and not needle nose end. They seem too big, but they are for jewelry.
2) Do you use a little ring before the hook? Does that prevent fraying?

I would appreciate all the input you are willing to offer on the logistics of earring-making! I have done my homework and checked online before turning to the Tat-land, but these questions I could not find answers to.

I seem to have been bitten by a strange bug, indeed! I do not wear, let alone own more than a few pieces of jewelery - not my thing at all; it is strange to have an overwhelming desire to make pretty, little, hanging, baubles and want to load them up with tiny beads and crystals....

I find it even odder that this must-do activity craving strikes after midnight!

The Queen of Sulk - Another Type A -

Today was rainy and bleak. And I had a gift for a colleague at work that I had to finish. She is pregnant and imminently expecting. A boy. I cannot tat for a baby boy. Boo Hoo. So I had to make these with a crochet hook. It took some hours.


To reward myself, I then played around with some wound thread and practiced clunies.... That is always a reliable pick-me-up.


What is is about hobbies that are supposed to be fun, entertaining, creative, and relaxing? I seem to get stressed out as I tend to set goals for myself, and if I do not accomplish what I intend, I become anxious - typical Type A Idiocy!

The T.A.T, course is a perfect example. There is no time limit, yet I am barreling along at break-shuttle speed. Why? There is no logical explanation. I just want to get through it.

I am learning lots - but I wish I could be relaxed, not fretting about all the other things I could be tatting - like impossibly complicated doilies or earrings loaded with beads in places I would not know how to get them!

Perhaps it is all about time perception - thinking there is not enough time and yet, of course, there is. It is about prioritizing and perfectionism and wanting to learn at a greater rate than I am able. I am downright greedy for improvement!

Procrastination Consternation...

Jane asked what it was about blogging that she liked. I commented on her blog.

Oh - what a good idea to ask about, Jane. The question really made me think.

I love to blog because I had no one to talk to about tatting. If it had not been for the wonderful women I met at eTatters, I would not have continued tatting.

Sharing my work, getting positive feedback and constructive, caring criticism on my progress has been invaluable.

I am able to track and watch see my progress.

The online friendships are wonderful.

I like to talk, too (big surprise!) so, I will continue this a s a blog-cast!

Thanks for the inspiration! Fox : )

Then I thought about this some more. Then I realized Jane had NOT asked what OTHERS liked about blogging. She was asking herself and writing about it. I actually thought she had asked what others thought about this.

This reaction got me to thinking about how I listen to what ANYONE says to me. Am I that self absorbed that I only hear the issues in terms of myself? Good grief - I might be a narcissistic, self-centered tatter!

Thing is, Jane's question IS a good one. Why DO people like to keep a blog? Why do YOU blog? What are the benefits and the drawbacks?

I know that this post and the little black earrings have eaten up the time I had promised I would attend to TAT tatting. I have definitely procrastinated. I have to think about all this some more...

Butterfly for Me and You!

To-day was the big day. I moved my mom - singlehandedly, I might add - into her new home. All the preparation and planning paid off, big time, as everything went off without a hitch. Every carton has been unpacked, the dishes are away, the cat is playing happily and I feel like every bone in my body is broken!

I even remembered to put the Welcome Home card and the surprise gift under her pillow, appropriately decorated on the envelope with a bunch of tatted doodles.



The card has all the sentiments that will please her, and the little Tatskool HDT butterfly adorns the top of the note. The butterfly will not please her, but the words will.

The butterfly was for me - and for anyone reading this who will appreciate it. Mumsy won't! And that is fine. She will be all smiles when she opens the little jewelery box that is attached to the card. She will be happy just before she turns in for the night in her new environment, her new home, after such a long, difficult day. Then, hopefully, she will have a good night.

I'm toast; my body aches from the hard work today, but I have been a good daughter. Also, I will now have a lot more time to tat!

Fox ~ Aspiring Adept of TATROMANCY (magical meanderings with rings, chains and picots)~

Earrings are IT!

I have been saying in the comments I send to other blogs that I am ging to try my hand at earrings. I have said it a lot. I am tired of saying it.
So..... Ta-Da!

My First Earring!



It not be the prettiest thing in town, but, I even used beads, strung them; I did not do picot bead joins, and if I had the little earring finding, I would wear them with pride!

I say 'them', but in fact it is really only IT! I have not yet attempted a follow-up to this small miracle.

Thank you very much, Elizabeth. This pattern was easy to follow!

~****~

A Few Hours Later ... Woo Hoo!


Fox ~ Aspiring Adept of TATROMANCY (magical meanderings with rings, chains and picots)~

The Official Tatted Maple Leaf!

Yesterday, my good buddy posted this:

The Dark Ranger said...

Can you tat the Leafs logo? just askin'...

Today, I took up the challenge:

Here is the Maple Leaf's Logo.

Here is the Leaf's Logo from Tat-land.

I am so pleased that I decided to do this, because, if I had not, I would never have known how much easier this was to tat this pattern now than it was just a few short months ago. It only took a couple of hours this time, as opposed to the few days it took before.
How very reassuring!

An afterthought: I wanted the stem to look thicker and wondered what would happen if I doubled the thread. It worked beautifully! I will do this , next time I tat this leaf. I think the more substantial tail is much more appealing. Anybody else done this?

Fox ~ Aspiring Adept of TATROMANCY (magical meanderings with rings, chains and picots)~

Today was Full of Heartfelt Stories....

...one of which was from an elderly woman who told me she had been taught to knit when she was six years old.....in a bunker in war-torn Hungary.

Another was from a woman, both of whose parents are dying, whose son has been diagnosed with a mental illness, and whose husband is in the car industry...

I feel so blessed today; I am so glad I tatted up this happy heart yesterday. Seems appropriate to post it today.


Fox ~ Aspiring Adept of TATROMANCY (magical meanderings with rings, chains and picots)~

Ta-Da ...Tallies!

Another day, another attempt at Clunies. I may be a lot of things, but one thing is for certain; I am persistent and very STUBBORN! I will not rest till this Cluny thing is DONE!!!! How does Elisadusud do it? Her tallies continue to inspire me.
Have a look - her patterns are wonderful, too.

Have a great weekend, everyone. It is FINALLY warmer - for today, anyway, here in Toronto, but, where is Summer???

Tatting Images in Nature

TattingChic
gave me the idea to post this shot which reminds me of what I finished just last night - after LYING and saying I would have no new pictures of new tattting for a while!

SURPRISE!

It's a bit of a stretch, but the petals of the flower remind me of the little tallies - which still are sooo far from where they should be! I am SLOWLY getting the feel of this piece and of tatting Cluny leaves. I can tat it more quickly, but the skill of it is eluding me, big time!

Fox ~ Aspiring Adept of TATROMANCY (magical meanderings with rings, chains and picots)~

WHINGE intr.v. Chiefly British. , whinged , whinging , whinges . To complain or protest, especially in an annoying or persistent manner.

Whine, whinge - it's all the same thing. And that is what I do - especially about my tatting and in particular, these days, about T.A.T.. Actually, I am enjoying the T.A.T. course immensely, but one might not know that if you took my words literally! DON'T! It is a lot of fun and I am learning so much about tatting. I DARE you guys to take it on!


The upside is that I have not a lot to post about tatting and have taken more photographs as a break. A camera has been my constant companion, since my dad put a Brownie camera in my seven year old hands - a million years ago. He taught me on his twin lens Rollei and I figured the dark room stuff out on my own, years later.

If I am not tatting, I am shooting. 'fox shots' - my flickr site went dead when I discovered tatting nine months ago - or is it now ten whole months?! But the good news is that I have resurrected it and may have to subject you to tatting lookalikes via the Canon, instead of tatting for the time being, as I plow throught T.A.T.!
Fox ~ Aspiring Adept of TATROMANCY (magical meanderings with rings, chains and picots)~

Tough Tatting

.... and I cannot tell you anything about it, as all my problems stem from T.A.T.# 2. Anybody out there in Tat-land doing the Artisan course? I'd love to talk to anyone who is also involved in this rather overwhelming adventure. I am under a blanket of secrecy, and cannot divulge one thing about it! Ah well, I'll just suffer in silence! ( NOT one of my attributes at all!)



Because of the lack of time, I am running out of glorious. intriguing, and entertaining photos to post here, and all I could grab, in desperation, is a measly little shot of what I have been doing in my tat time for me - little doodles (so NOT me) to paste on notepaper ( I hardly ever send anyone notes!)

The word of the day seems to be NOT , which I see might be travelling incognito as KNOT. Synchronicity at work. I AM NOT going mad......
Fox ~ Aspiring Adept of TATROMANCY (magical meanderings with rings, chains and picots)~