This Time - Bronze

I listed another pair of earrings.  Cute?

I used a thread I got yesterday for the "Napkin" - the 18 rounder! -  of Renulek's blog from 2011 thatI I have begun in another colour, but may add this one in.

It is a tad thick for earrings I suppose, but I LOVE the colour and it has great shine.  Finca #8 - again! I just had to try it out... I think it works.

This time in red, with a bronze metal centre.  I went searching for these metal centres yesterday and learned that I now have the last of the shop's supply.

Apparently, they will not be re-ordered so I purchased the remaining packages. plans percolating.

I suppose I believe that just because I like them, they will do well in my Etsy shop. We shall see.

❦

I hope that all my tatting buddies in the path of Hurricane Sandy are well.

When disturbed -  TAT.

Harlequin

From: Let It Snow

 #40 Lizbeth

Another of Karey Solomon's ingenious motifs.

That woman can sure design up a storm!

❦  

Speaking of storm... My daughter and her family are on higher ground, as I write this. Yesterday, their apartment building in Manhattan was evacuated. 

What a mess those folks in the storm areas have to contend with. Heartbreaking. My family is fortunate in that they suffered no hardship; so many people are in such dire straits.

New Earrings, Tat-A-Long Update & A Proposition

I have been very busy.

Added to Etsy:

I am very happy with these earrings, as I have been looking at the pair of findings I purchased ages ago for about a month wondering how to tat them into earrings.  

Last night, suddenly I knew exactly what to do. I like them a lot. When do I say that? So, you KNOW I like them!

Then:

Round 4 of Renulek's Tat-A-Long completed. Goodness, it is BIG.  Largest tat I have accomplished to date.

(Later: Suz has brought it to my attention that I did not give the measurement.  As it is now it measures 8 inches across!)

The last one she designed was 18 rounds. This has become quite awkward to hold with the shuttle, so I cannot imagine how it is going to be as it gets larger. Also, I have no idea how large Renulek intends to make it.

A Proposition

Because I have managed to wrestle my thread stash into what I consider a manageable state after swaps, trades, give-aways and prodigious amounts of good, old, obsessive non-stop tatting:

I had an idea.
Here's the deal:

I am offering these two very large samples to anyone who can supply me with samples - and don't worry - they need NOT be anywhere as big as mine, so don't worry!

I am looking to try samples of threads:

Lizbeth

Herbal Garden        #179

Cranberry Bush      # 181

Spice Cake             #182

Foam Latte             #168

Vineyard Harvest   #131

If you can send me one large sample of one of these
or a few smaller ones of the above, we could trade.

I will have fun with whomever can send in the first agreeable offer.  : )) 

Anyone?

Sussex Shuttle

My cousin brought me a gift.
From Lewes -  Sussex, Britain.

 How sweet is that!

For a non-tatter to spend time in shops looking for a shuttle as a gift - well, that kind of loving behaviour deserves a newly-tatted car decoration, don't you think?

She liked this a lot. 

Said she would rather wear it than hang it in her car!

So, it has gone to its new home in an Auto,

and now resides in Stratford.... 

Ontario!

The pattern for this and lots of other 

covered rings are the subject in this little book of Jon's.

I love this book.  

Thanks, Jon!

MY New Car Decoration!

This is one of my designs: The Duchess

I had fun picking out a new motif; 

they do get all bleached out 

and bedraggled-looking,hanging

 for months in the window...

   

⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘

Thoughts For The Day...

Berry Blues

... that are actually purple and green.

 I always go and check out Frivole's blog and see what she is up to when I need a small motif diversion, because she usually has something there that I want to tat.  Like the cherries the other day, here.

But I just was not in the mood today to just copy, so this is what happened; one of Diane's doodads and a bit of leftover thread. Not exactly satisfying, but it might be nice as a new car-ornament.  The one hanging behind the mirror is now is looking a bit bleached and forlorn.

AFTERTHOUGHT: I wanted to try a few of those not-closed completely rings - that is why there is bare thread on the two little rings with the picots... It is a fun technique to apply in the right location.

I am already a mite bored with the latest round of the Tat-A-Long as

I complete only 1/3 of the row...  

This is round #4; the last piece Renulek designed was 18 rows! It is going to be a long haul, but I am in for the duration. Solidly hooked.   : )

Now, a quandary:

After the blood - lots -  as I stuck the needle way... never mind... I am wondering how to sew in the ends, now that my tatting is a bit tighter and definitely more consistent in stitch size. 

Maybe I need a sharper needle? The self-threaders seem too bulky at the end to go through the ds. Tapestry needles are quite dull as well. What to do?

Loving 'Lavender & Lace'

...the pattern, that is, from this book:

The thread is Krystle's - Wisteria Lane, 

one of my all time favourite hand dyed threads.

Another apple/pumpkin. There is much improvement, especially in the leaf.  Why do I have to tat everything several times before I slow down and get it right? It would be so much easier to tat it correctly and with more care the first time. I am far too impatient!

Tat-A-Long

UPDATE:

Too much yellow, so I am revising my initial colour choice in the next row... This round is going to take some time.  Lots of tatting and I am finding that it goes quite slowly.

I noticed something curious.  A few weeks ago, I changed the look of my home page and picked a different background for Google... Look at the colours I chose.  The unconscious mind is always at work it seems!

Peculiar Palette Picked

... for Renulek's Tat-A-Long:

This is as far as she has gone - three rows. So, I will watch and am ready to begin the next round when it is posted.  Thanks, Renulek!

But the colours? Yechy! However, I think I got the idea from JaneE's blog, where the combination intrigued me: here.

I am stash-busting. Seems that I have actually dwindled that box of thread to not too many choices and that includes the HDT; there are only about 5 skeins of the 'special' stuff left! 

Determinedly, I will NOT order any more till I have reduced this lot to one half. Might have to give some away, trade some, give some to Gian to play with... he is always up for that.

Then, here is another of Karey Solomon's hearts:

This pattern is called Heartfelt and I cannot seem to find it on this blog, so I wonder if this is the first tile I have tatted it.  I believe it must be.

I was using up the thread that I had on the shuttle after tatting the pumpkin (pattern by Mark Myers) I saw on Frivole's blog:

Fourth Finished and Fabbo!

There. NOW it is done!  It took four attempts to get the modified Mosaic  (original design by Karey Solomon)  by to my satisfaction - split chain, split ring and all, to finish in one round.

There are 12 ds in the added middle chain and finally I increased the side chains by one ds each, so they fit better around the outer rings. I did not have to block this one!

Here is the progression to get to this fourth try.

  

Finishing Up

Karey Solomon's Mosaic tatted with Altin Basak #50, 

with my changes: I added the centre chain of 12 ds.

This edging is is also one of Karey's patterns - Laurel.

Look closely and you can see the blue Delica beads that match the 

bits of blue in the centre of the pink flowers.

Found Another Vintage Brooch!

A lucky find! That funky little shop had another. I could not resist.  After several colour tries I settled on blue, though I wanted a red one with green beads - but it just looked not quite right.  So, blue it is and over to Etsy.

Plodding Along

New thread often inspires, I find. Keeps the interest way up. I am tatting this again (Karey Solomon's Mosaic pattern) with some Altin Basak I received in the mail from Margaret last week.

Thanks Margaret! It is a nice change form the Lizbeth that I use all the time. Nice colours too.

I am trying that centre chain with 12 ds as opposed to 14 - it is working much better.

Being in dire need (HA!) of new tatting material, I ordered a booklet last night when I saw it was only a couple of dollars - including the postage! I had just been inspired by reading Crazy Mom's blog; she posted about this recent purchase here.  She is a shameless enabler.  There.  I've said it.

The hankie, you ask?

Almost done.

... with a little help from my friends ...

Pretty, isn't he?

: )

Most Marvy Mosaic

...Mosaic Heart, that is. Karey Solomon's heart here again, with the additional chain that, thanks to the very helpful comment yesterday from Wanda, was extended to 14 ds. It might actually be a bit too long, but the final result is pleasing.

My tension is FINALLY improving!  : ))

Old Dog - New Tatting Tricks

I am very proud of this effort.  

I have taken one of Karey Solomon's designs - Mosaic - and because I did not want to cut and tie a bunch of times, changed the pattern to include not only a split chain and split ring to go from the first part to the second, but also a whole new chain element - that being the chain that joins all the elements that go around the second row.

This is Karey's original design
( I LOVE the shape.)

However, this is as far as I could tat ( but LOOK at that tension!) as the new chain is too short and there is still one more element to add. So, I either have to lengthen the chain or add more of the parts, making it a 10 point star instead of six, perhaps. But would that not change the chain requirement once again?

Just listen to me! 

Wonders never cease...

Aha?

I tatted this Karey Solomon heart - Peaceable Heart - again last night in order to compare it with the first one I did.

Closely paying attention, I thought I would be able to see a big difference between the first one, rather quickly tatted and with not a lot of attention to tension - and the second one, where I was slow and attentive to each stitch , or so I imagined.

Here they are, side by side.

Honestly, i do not know why I am not capable of achieving the look of the ds that I want.  I do not know what I am doing that makes it miss the mark. So frustrating.

Something Margaret just said... 

I tried this and ... 

it looks a lot better? 

An awful lot better.

Dare I hope...

Pitter Patter Peaceable Heart

After studying Frivole's delightful teapot (Martha's design) for ages yesterday, ( I admit it: I blew up the photo and scrutinized it for 5 minutes!) I had another go at Karey's heart and the result is much better. Thank you Frivole!

Kathy asked if I chose the photos on the blog2print books. Yes, I chose the cover photos and the colours and patterns of the front and back pages.

Also, I realized after I posted yesterday that each book covers about 1/2 a year of posting, except the first one, which is a whopper (some 245 pages) and too big - the spine gets too much stress.  So I decided I would print out the blog avery 100 - 150 pages at a time.

Forgot to post this gorgeous leaf 

for Thanksgiving.

For All My Canadian Fellow Tatters

 : )

Tatted Tibetan Agate Pendant

That is it. There are no more large pendants. I have listed this green one and am going to now finish the hanky border, which seems suddenly easy compared to the marathon tatting required to finish the two Tibetan pendants.

It is takes a lot of patience and good eyesight 

to tat around a big, solid piece of metal!

Karey Solomon designed this. I love the shape.

It is one of the best small, heart patterns I have seen.

Peaceable Heart

It came about because I wanted to use some Delica beads that I really like, but have never used before and so I grabbed some leftover white - I think it is Lizbeth#40 and tatted this last night. Too bad the colour of the beads is way off in this pic.

The tatting is wonky; I tatted way too fast and too late - as usual, so I will take more care and tat it again as it pleases me very much.

Lastly, I received my latest Blog-To Print book.

Gian cracks me up.

No sooner had I laid the books on the floor in order to photograph them, when Monsieur headed over to investigate.  Look where he headed first -  right to that big, blue eye on the cover of the middle book.  Not stupid, this cat!

These books cover my entire blogging career since April 2009. I am so glad I decided to chronicle my progress, as it is interesting to me to see my progress chronologically.  

I have tatted SO MUCH!  It astounds me when I sit and look at the books, which is not often, but wonderful when I do. It forces me to actually see what I have accomplished.

Also, by printing the books at regular intervals, at about 110-130 pages each, the cost is not prohibitive. Again - I cannot believe what I have actually tatted in three and a half years!  Get a life, Fox!

Pendant Preoccupation

When the first agate piece sold immediately I was very relieved, as I had picked up two pendants, carried away by my thrill of the hunt!

After my purchase, I wondered if I had made a huge mistake, particularly as I added those beads: I just knew I was headed down the wrong path.

But now, seeing as the pendants are pleasing to some, I am going to continue with this second one.  It is more green-based in colour and very pretty. So time consuming!

I have so much more admiration for those hardy souls who produce prodigious amounts of jewellery and have thriving businesses - this type of tatting and design is very demanding and rather stressful as one realizes how important is is to produce the best result possible.  Mastery is the goal and it is the sternest of taskmasters.

Those tatting artists out there work very hard to make a profit.  Once mailing costs and supplies figure into the equation, there is not a lot left over. I had better keep my day job!

I had to take a break after a day of trying to get work a design I liked for the new pendant.  All attempts - about four of them - succumbed to the scissors. There is a lot of trial and error I have learned.

Finally I have hit upon what works and am now going for a long walk... My muscles need a break.  Sitting is not my favourite thing to do!

This is as far as I have come on the hanky.  I like the border with the little blue beads a lot!  It is a simple border but one that confounds my ds dyslexia, (my very own DSD! ) so it is taking me a bit longer than I thought.

I figured out my mistakes in the corners and have completed the first two and they look fine now.

But - always a complication - the design does not quite fit the length of the edge and I have to pull a bit to be able to fit the border to the cloth.  No other way is possible, as there are obvious repeats.  I am pretty sure it will work okay with umintsuru's blocking technique.