Gone Fishing!

Anon,

Celebrating 60,000 Visits!

  I am amazed.  To celebrate I finished this.  Thanks for the idea, Is'Dihara.

#13 Motif Challenge

I have begun a second one, reversing the threads:

It was a challenge to get those beads in the right position.  I did not realize that I had to put four on a picot in the first ring of the four and then CAREFULLY place the other rings when executing the join.  Nice little learning experience!  Of course, I am re-inventing that blasted wheel...

P..S.  If you are experiencing difficulties commenting on T.T.E. I will input your address again.  This has solved the problem for some, who have now posted comments.

If you received the invite to the blog again, that is because I tried to re-invite everone, but some mail goes to Junk  or an email is missed.

Anon,

Klutz-o-matic

Perhaps I can cast blame: Is'Dihara.

Her work of this pattern drove me to it.

Take a look at her fine tatting.

It  was what I was working on when bad fortune struck.


tat-ology or klutz-o-matic?

I was having problems with that pesky picot that would not keep itself straight.  I have sent off the instructions about how to tat a picot that does not twist to a million and six  people, yet here I am - twisting the damned thing out of its very  existence and stabbing myself very nicely to boot. *sigh*

As if all the blood wasn't enough - and there was a goodly amount this time, as I am now adept at pulling and twisting  immediately, but only if I sweat profusely and utter little, whiny, moaning noises - I had to keep tatting, and  (see that little tuft of white at the end of the bandage) proceeded to stab myself through the bandage, pulling out that bit of material.  Oh, my. It is still throbbing.  This was a 'real doozy', as my Gram used to say.

 Next up:

How Sally has interfered with my life as a photographer.  

My eyes have mutinied. 

This is what they saw today through the lens.
In an art gallery, no less!

( a fine example of her influence )

Would this not make a couple of sensational Pop-A-Bobbins?

Anon,

Warning!

 #12 Motif Challenge

I cannot stop tatting these.  This one was done, for the most part, during at my lunch hour. This is the last one for now, but I must warn you, they are truly addictive!

Because I am going to NYC in a week, I have already begun to pack.  Not clothes, you understand.  They can wait till ten minutes before the taxi arrives  Patterns, books, supplies.  Oh, the list is endless, and the decisions gut-wrenching.

Will it be a blue and violet visit, or a green and yellow striped sort of sojourn?.

Good news about this trip; besides being with my wonderful family in my home-away-from-home,  I might also get to meet up with my friend, Agasunset!  Would that not be great fun!

Going to check out The Thread Exchange, while the hour is not too late.  I can't believe I have already sent out four sample packages!  : ))

P.S.  I just had a good look at this and realized I should have done a split ring where the long row of beads are attached.  When I did it, I could not figure out how to get the ends of the beads close together.  Am I right in thinking that  had I done the split ring,  it would have been easier to get that last ring tight, with no bare thread?  

I hate posting what I  know is not up to standard, but honestly, I have learned a lot by gulping hard and posting - with my eyes shut!  This is a good example, because hopefully, someone out there in Tat-land will tell me what I have done wrong., and then the NEXT one (oh no!) will be better.

Anon,

Just One More...

Funny thing about living dangerously;  I actually picked these colours with a devil-may-care attitude, throwing all caution to the wind.  And guess what?  I like this one the best of all!

#11 Motif Challenge

A few months ago, I woud never have picked these colours, nor would I have tatted around rings.  Old dog; very new tricks.

The colour thing really intrigues me.  All of a sudden I have urges -  can I really admit to this openly and in public -  real urges to play with colours that have never been in my line of vision before.  Stranger still, is that a I  have always had a camera glued to not only my hand, but also my psyche,  for more decades than I care to think about!

I have worked in the darkroom, been a stained glass artist and a graphic designer. I still play with yarn.  One would imagine I would be familiar and comfortable in a world encompassed by a varied, sumptuous spectrum.

But this, this is a different thing entirely. Now the colours call to me.  Like sirens on the waves, they beckon.. Really.  Sometime they screech so loudly that I have no choice but to use them!  Like today.

 Anon,

Done With Dangles

I have just about had about enough of these, but can you believe I have tatted six of them already!  I should try a few others in Jon's book before I move on to something else, but these are just so much fun!

#11 and 12 Motif Challenge

 For Mini-Boss and her mom, my daughter

Anon,

Getting The Hang of It

 Brother #1 has a little brother.  Little Brother is a BIG fan of Shrek.
For now, his favourite colour  - you guessed it - is  GREEN.

This one's for you, Little Brother!

#10 Motif Challenge

Thank you Jon!  I have the 'hang' of it now!

Anon,

For My Dreamer, Brother #1

My eldest gran,  Brother #1, is the little guy ,who at four, wanted to have his own tatted snowflake.

If you recall, I was in NYC, tatting a gift for someone or other when Brother #1 saw it and was fascinated.  He asked me to give the motif to him and so I did.  He still has it a year and a half  later.

#9 Motif Challenge

This is for him.  His very favourite colour is blue.

I hope he likes it!

Anon,
 

p.s.  I got the twisted thread thing happening here!
Thank you for all the help when I had the questions :  )

The Thread Exchange: A New Blog For Tatters!

There: http://thethreadexchange.blogspot.com
I put my money where my mouth is!  A blog for us to trade thread!  Go and see it and see if you can post.  I need some help here, as you will see, but I think it is a start!

Anon,

Fast Eddy

 There was a guy in high school - does everybody have one of these, a 'Fast Eddy"?  Well, everyone called him that and I don't even remember why.  His name flew into my mind as I realized this motif took only a few DAYS to finish.  Last time I did it it took almost a week!  Progress!

 

#8 Motif Challenge

I still had a lot of trouble with direction in this pattern.  I can't figure out which way one of the rings is supposed to go after the Shoelace Trick.  I didn't use the 'SL, but opted for two shuttles instead, and I got confused - not a difficult thing for me when tatting!

Needless to say, there was a lot of inflammatory language as I untatted a lot of very tiny rings....many times more than I would care to admit.

Sometimes it would be nice to have a real person to tat with, and share these annoying puzzles with.  sigh...

The thread colour is much lighter than the photo.  It was still wet from the blocking process when I took the pic; I couldn't wait for it to dry, so the colours appear saturated. They are quite pastel if you look at the previous post.

 

Thread Exchange Update:

Miranda left a comment yesterday:

I've got lots of threads to share, and you know I always want more. So how would the logistics of this thing work? Do we just post samples on our own blogs, or should there be a centralized website, or what? Centralized site might be better, just because so many people will want to do it that we can't possibly all keep up with each other's blogs.

And when you see something you like, do you just send an that person an e-mail letting them know what you've got to offer in exchange, and let them pick? I guess it would just have to be done on a first come, first served basis.

This sounds like fun. 

Great points, all.  Anyone else have any idea how this could work?  A central place is good but I don't know how we could do that.  Maybe like Sharon with the 25 Motif Challenge, there could be a blog that is maintained by someone or a few people and .... help me out here;  logistics are not my forte!

Anon,

The Thread Exchange

This is how I envision the posts of the thread someone would want to trade.  This is the 'trading card"  thread. Everyone would have the same amount wound, that we agree on and then they post the pic and people can bargain for the thread with their offerings. I only have a bit wrapped on this plastic.  I think there should be more thread on there to make it worthwhile. Paula C suggests 10 yards.  ???

 Just a small aside here, as this is an odd, or not so odd, coincidence.  While at work yesterday, I picked up some yarn  - really OLD stuff that I have had in my line of vision for about a decade, and thought that it would make great socks for The Boss....

When I came home last night and saw what I was tatting and compared it to the 'new' yarn I was playing around with,  I saw this:

 Funny!

Love this motif by Karey Solomon.

Love my new bejewelled shuttle!

Anon,

Online Thread Exchange? What About It?

Tickled Pink

 #7 Motif Challenge

I cannot follow instructions. I cannot follow instructions. I cannot follow instructions.  There. I have finally admitted it.  Hopeless.  I repeat the same errors over and over.


It would be embarraassing to tell you how many re-tats I had to do here - BIG ones.  Lots and lots of un-tatting of rings.  Very frustrating to un-tat and then repeat the same blasted error! 


Call me stubborn, pig-headed or incorrigible, but I do have one excuse.  I am a Taurus.  The Bull.  Raging Bull...


But in the end they lived happily ever after.  I like the heart.  However, I am tired of that pattern now, so on to he next one.

Now;

I was thinking about all the threads that we all have that we will never use, for whatever reason.  Here is my idea.

We could agree upon a length and wind that length on those small while thread holders that come in plastic and are quite  inexpensive.  You seem to get a lot ina package.

Then we could post them online and people could trade them.  Like Baseball Cards, but so much better!  The cost would be in the postage - but thread is light and one or two couldn't cost that much... I don't think.  I am just brainstorming here.  What do you think?

An Online Thread Exchange?  With Standardized Packets of Thread??  

"It's so crazy, it just might work", she thought.

Anon,

An Ascetic Falters in Times of Austerity

 ...and buys this AMAZING book!

Book lust. I saw this at the Tat'n Chat and was instantly captivated.  "Come to me, precious, little book," I was heard to murmur. What's a girl to do?

This  book is absolutely a necessary addition to my tatting library, even though I promised I would be frugal. My loss is Deb's gain over at  DS9Designs! So much for promises.

Who has posted tatting from this book?  I would love to see some squares tatted up.

I have another confession. 

See that pretty blue shuttle.  It's new.  Right after the Tat'n Chat, after I watched Susan tat with her lovely plastic blue shuttle from Zeller's that cost just over $3.00, I figured I could detour on the way home; after all, the cost of the shuttle is less than a couple of cups of java! Ah, self-indulgence!

It is interesting to me, that I got so mesmerized by watching someone else tat.  Her hand motions and the way her thread was manipulated through the shuttle - I could not tear my eyes away!  Somehow there is the thought that if I had a shuttle like Susan's, I would be able to emulate her hand movements and would become as elegant a tatter as she!  What is THAT all about!

Often, when I have had only a book in my hands, I have been somewhere and watched a woman knitting.  At these times, my palms actually would begin to itch;  I could hardly wait to get home to break out the needles!

Anyway, I bought three of these little beauties and am enjoying them a lot - not as much as my Pop-a-Bobbins by a long-shot, but they are really nice to tat with!  I do not like Aeros one bit, but these cheapy bobbin shuttles  I love.  Go figure.

This is the mess I have created trying to tat like Gina.

This is GINA's  tatting, NOT MINE!

Is it not a thing of beauty?

This is my goal. Gina certainly was spot on when she said that this Iris pattern is a "bear" to tat.  It is. 

I am so afraid I will run out of these wonderful supplies - my favourite pink dollar-store beads that I cannot find anywhere, and the last of  Heather's pink and white HDT.

I am not a believer in tatting with thread you do not care about the first time you try a pattern.  If I use stuff I like a lot, I am apt to be more careful.  I just make sure there is enough for the second go that I know I ALWAYS  have to do!

When I advise customers about yarn for their knitting or crochet projects, I always suggest that they purchase yarn they love; otherwise one could get bored or fed up when things don't go as planned, which is all the time.

Using fibre one loves, I find keeps the soul nourished, and even though there are mistakes and the finished item may be less than anticipated, it is still cherished.  That's my story!

Gotta go and work on that heart...

Oh, almost forgot.... Head over to Sherry's blog for a terrific giveaway!  She must be feeling better!  Yahooo!

Anon,

Gina Made Me Do It

Yah - it's all Gina's fault.  In the past, she tatted the Iris heart in pale pink with masses of beads and is it ever pretty!  If she gives me permission to post the photo, I will show you that marvellous piece! Placed next to my heart, one would not know it is even the same pattern

So, with Gina's heart as challenge and also inspiration, I have begun the second Iris heart:

 That thread is Heathers hand-dyed.  Isn't it a great pink?

Fringe Element Tatters had fun today...

I had a great time today at a Tat'n Chat with members of the Fringe Element Tatters.  This was an unexpected treat. One of the women from this tatting group in Toronto  had about ten of us to her home for several entertaining hour - lots of talk, tatting, laughter and tempting food stuffs. 

Another of the women there is a lace tatter of the other kind- you know, with all those crazy, dangling bobbins. And pins, pins pins everywhere!  I do not know how she does it. Her work is astounding!

Elisadusud Homework...
coming along nicely....

(Growl,  GROWL,  those split chains.....)

Gotta go now; pink beads are beckoning!

Anon,

Bling!

Done.Whew. That was NOT a fun tat, but it was a terrific first attempt even though I had to un-tat a gazillion mistakes.  Had to cut out two huge sections; this heart almost broke mine!

Iris Niebach's Freebie

This is a beautiful pattern that needs to be tatted in non-variegated thread, I think.  Two colours?  Okay, but I think the design gets lost in the severe colour changes and contrast. This is another pattern I must do a second time.  I think the outcome will be much better.

If I weren't so stubborn about adding the beads to everything, life would be far simpler.  When on earth did this happen?  Me and beads - such an unlikely duo, and yet it is the love affair of the century!  No kidding!  I cannot seem to do anything these days with out adding the blasted bling.

Anon,