Removing the Self - Imposed Restraints!

Well, the second hat for Mini-Boss is complete. I finished the edging tonight - phew!  Now all that is left is the *** hanky edging.   I haven't touched it in days.  It is soooo, well, .....beige.

I have to admit that I try very hard to appreciate ecru;  I  purchased a few lovely balls of it in different sizes, trying for some reason that now eludes me to enjoy it,  but I gotta tell you: I really dislike it - A LOT!

You really do learn the oddest things when you hang around shuttles....

Anyway,  creative freedom is tantalizingly just around the next corner - quite literally! After the border is done, I will be free to work away on the TAT programme and do little fun projects between the  exercises.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Anon.

Bordering on boredom....

The  second hankie is driving me crazy and I have figured out something important!  I think when I am finished with the hats, the hankies and the baby socks, I am going to do tatting a  bit differently.  I am going to tat for myself.  Ah, so selfish! I can't wait!

I have learned because of the T.A.T. process, the more I am challenged with either the pattern or a design challenge, the happier and more satisfied I am.

It has taken over a year to be able to zero in on what it is I want to learn or perfect. It has taken time and a lot of  perusing the books I have managed to acquire. I never would have thought that I would have become so curious about the design aspect of tatting, for no other reason than to better understand the different stages of a process and then to execute it - just for me!

This is not to say I am never going to tat baby socks or decorate a blanket, but I do want to tackle a few projects for no other reason than just because I want to do them.  I tend to get bogged down making things for other reasons.  That scenario repeated itself when I was a knitter and a crocheter, and, eventually, I got to dislike and resent both of those activities. I still do.

So, now that I have become so enlightened, I took advantage of the moment, pulled out Patti Duff's Mini Tats and happily tatted this, pondering negative space! Ain't life grand!

 P.S. This Mini Tat brings my 25 Motif Challenge complement to 5!  I counted the motifs and was surprised that I have this many already!
P.P.S.  How could I have forgotten!  That gorgeous HDT is Yarnplayer's Roses, #30 - one of my all time favourite threads!
Anon,

Needle in a Haystack

 ...or crochet hooks in the garbage!  Yup.  In the garbage.  That's where I found this little baby at 2:00 a.m. last night!

My poor cat had to hide from the trucker-talk spewing forth from his demented owner, as she tore the place apart looking for the hook.

I had stayed up trying - in vain - to finish exercise # 3 of T.A.T. Not successful, I was grumpy to begin with, and then the hook was nowhere to be seen.

No kids to blame, I had to just tough it out, re-do my steps and hunt.

In the end, I gave up and had the ironic thought that I must have thrown it in the trash.  Bingo!

Better than my paycheck; I have been know to do that too.

Absentmindedness is such a joy.
Anon,

Dr. Threadmore Rocks!

This looks yummy! And it is even better in real life! Terrific colour, Krystle.  I am going to enjoy this! Eventually.

Too bad I am STUCK on the third exercise of T.A.T.  I had to trash the first attempt after I realized I had read the instructions wrongly,  giving them my own peculiar twist!  No wonder the thing looked - well - not to attractive!

I did take a break to play with an insert from Priscilla.....

That beautiful, variegated green HDT is Sherry's TreeBark,#20.

Back to the books!
Anon,

Cute

Thank you, The Redhead  Riter, who sent me an award ! 

The Redhead Riter explains:

"Cute is when a person's personality
shines through their looks.
Like in the way they walk,
every time you see them
you just want to run up and hug them." 

Cute is not a word that usually springs to one's lips when my name is mentioned!  I'll take this award as a compliment and a nice change from the usual fare!  : )

My hat, however is super cute!  The Star thread rosette is finished and I have learned about "cupping"!  This thing did just that as I made up the leaf part and it obviously is not big enough for the rosette.  But, I sewed it onto the hat and the flower is now in 3-D!  Now for the pink and green beaded border...

Anon,

No Guilt Here!

If you mention my stash of books, I pretend I do not hear, but behold my HDT - every bit of it.

After using up some four or five skeins, this is what is left.  I have not ordered any in a while as I really want to work through this first. It looks manageable!

Right.  I forgot about the mail I am expecting from the dear Doctor.....  After all, she is just learning and I have to do my bit..... 

Hanky Update

I managed to find the perfect thread, and am just about to tat the second corner. It seems to be moving along very quickly,  unlike that first mint-coloured one that took MONTHS to finish!

Anon,

Only When It's Over...

 ...is it really finished!  NOW, I am happy with the hat.  Up at 2 a.m. last night cutting out the old pink border.  It was the wrong pink and I could not get it out of my mind, so up I got, found the scissors and snipped  away.  Then, I crocheted the new last two rows, sewed on the basted motif for real and FINALLY, went to sleep! Nothing like not letting it go till it's cooked!  Love the mixed metaphors today!

Update on IsDihara's 'Star"!

 This is a really lovely, old thread - smooth and shiny and a six cord thread.  I am enjoying tatting with it a lot!
Anon,

The PINK has Landed

Thank you, IsDihara!

Remember 'D' at Ambitatterous   offered to give away some of the vintage Star thread that she got on eBay?  Well, I said I would be happy to try some and ta-da!  Here it is, just in time for me to add an edging to the second hat I am crocheting for Mini-Boss.

I am going to try out one of the vintage shuttles that Mary gave me.  Vintage thread deserves an old shuttle!

The first cap, the coming home hat, is finished.  I put the heart on upside down;  it is just basted for now, as I am thinking I might prefer it this way. I kinda like it this way!

As far as beads and toddlers are concerned, for all you worriers out there - and I do appreciate the concern - there will be no toddlers near this hat for a newborn!

The brothers of this baby will not have access to the hat and the youngest will be two and a half! Also, their mom, my daughter,  is as eagle-eyed and protectively fierce as I was!

Update on the border: yes, the hook-pen is helping me speed right along on this hankie edging!  Pretty isn't it? I do mean the edging and the pen! 

Sherry has come up with a great idea here!  I love this little gadget. Check it out at LadyShuttleMaker's blog

Lastly, a new obsession (oh, NO!)

I LOVE Celtic Tatting

This little number  represents about five, yes, FIVE, or even more, hours of vicious hair-pulling, outrageous cussing, and adolescent foot stomping;  plus, I lost my temper.

Thanks to Ann, over at the Nifty Needle, who held my hand and talked me through the roughest bits, I was able to get through what is probably a not very difficult pattern and technique .  But it was Mount Everest to me!  Thanks Ann!

The great thing about persevering in this instance is that I find I absolutely love this type of tatting.  I like the way the chains curl and the way the process feels as I was tatting .  Ah, well, we shall see.... So much to do....

Anon,

Following the Rules...

 This time I followed the pattern carefully,
and this is what eventuated:

I like it much better than the one I messed up on;  some of you were very complimentary to suggest it was pretty and my own new design!  Much as I appreciated your kindness, I was NOT enamoured with the result! ( I notice I have not tossed the thing out, however!)

The new one may find a place on
Mini-Boss's going-home hat...

Here are the two of them for comparision:

Anon,

Taking a Break

I have finished the first TWO of the TAT exercises!  I cannot believe I have done that, as they looked impossible to me a few days ago!  Anyway, I thought I'd take a break and do something fun, maybe for the hat for Mini-Boss.

I pulled out Karey Solomon's book and tatted up a small heart - completely incorrectly! I have to do  it again, and I have nothing to show you, so here it is in its glorious wrongness...

Anon,

Mum's The Word

 Yup, nothing about the T.A.T course can be posted, so I cannot show my #1 And 1/2 of #2 assignments! Drat! I am pretty astounded that I am almost finished the second one.  Both look pretty good to me - which is amazing as well, as I am never satisfied..... you know what I mean!

I had promised myself I would just go slow and enjoy the process, for part three, but , true to form, I am still up to my old tricks, barrelling along at breakneck speed, as usual.  Nothing else gets done, except a snippet of the hankie, with a real  corner, which I have not done before:

and a section of a hat started for Mini-Boss, to be completed with the requisite tatting, of course
and maybe even some tiny, white beads!

And that's it!

Anon,

Hankie for Mini-Boss

 Thanks, sewmuchfun!  I love the name - for now anyway, till she makes  her earthly arrival in April.
Well, although I agree with Diane, and would love to tat the border in the HDT, I tried it and it is just to heavy. There probably  would not have been enough of it to complete the edge in this pattern that i liked for the variegated pattern.

Also, I am on hiatus from PayPAl till I use up the thread that I have ,,,and I have a lot!  So, I have picked a #50 Cordonnet in Ecru, which matches the insert of the hankie quite well.

The pattern is simple:  Baby Lace by Mary Konior.

I say simple, because I think it probably is, but it took me the regular few hours to go through the left/right dilemma I grapple with!  I'm comfortable with the pattern now after couple of hours and a lot of false starts. I like the simplicity of this with the peach cloth.  Delicate.

Anon,

A Buddy for The Boss!

 Thinking Pink has worked!

Grandbaby-To-Be, cousin to The Boss, will be able to wear wee tatted goodies. Number 5  is a SHE!

Appropriately, I finished The Featherline Snowflake, in pink, last night, done in Lizbeth #20.  Still not following the pattern as written, but it looks all right  - needs a good blocking!

The baby girl  will have a hankie as well.  My mom had another, like the green one, this one with an 'L' on it;  same style as the other one and very, very fine fabric.  'L' begins my mom's surname and also my daughter's  married name. Lucky again!

What should I tat the border with?  White, ecru or this Lady Shuttlemaker variegated?

I cannot make up my mind.

I welcome opinions!

Anon,

Surprise from a Stranger

I do not remember a conversation about tatting  specifically with a woman named Mary; I talk to lots of people during a day at work and I have mentioned to MANY people that I am always on the lookout for old shuttles and patterns and folks tell me lots of tales about their tatting relatives and so forth. Mary must have told me that she would  have a look. She did.

When I got to work yesterday, a parcel was waiting for me. And a note:

The contents of the package:

The shuttles:

One of the shuttle has ' 114 CANDIDA ' scratched into both sides.

Needless to say, I am pretty overwhelmed by Mary's thoughtful generosity!  I am always amazed by such kindness and good will.  Thank you Mary! 

~***~

The same day, I received this in the mail!

I have been waiting....

 

 'Let's Tat' is a wonderful book - considered vintage - self-published in 1979.  I read about this on Ambitatterous's blog and found it online at a great price. ( Usually, it is hideously expensive) I was very lucky!  Every good word written about it is true! 

If you can possibly procure a copy of this fantastic tatting  book composed of  332 pages chock-full of instructions, pictures. patterns, stories and information about tatting, you will not be disappointed.

Here is how an error in a word was corrected.  Angeline Crichlow published one hundred copies.  

This correction technique puts a whole different spin on self-publishing!

Now, on to The Featherline Snowflake  as seen on top of the book.  I could not get the instructions right. Dyslexia won. I had to change the pattern instructions.  Probably I should have just e-mailed Jon, but I was lazy and just kept trying to fix it.  It seems to be okay now. Anybody else notice a problem?  Maybe there is an update on the pattern I missed.

BTW

Heather's having a great giveaway at her blog to celebrate her birthday. Check it out!

Anon,

Doing The Happy Dance!

 Aren't we sweet?

On tiny feet,

 We'll look so neat.

Oh, what a treat!

Anon,