Exit With Goodies

Something odd has happened. I seem to be noticing things that NEVER in a million years would I have given a glance to: bead and fabric stores.

I used to break out in hives at the entrance to each of these establishments. My haunts are bookstores, hardware stores and libraries.

So, when I hunch over; when my eyes narrow into a thin, suspicious squint; when I ball up my fists in my packet and enter these places, I feel like a criminal or a social pariah. Alien in strange land!

I have no good explanation for the emotional response. And, let me tell you , the new persona does NOT inhibit my parting with hard-earned cash as I exit with goodies!

The Goodies:
1) Something called"findings". I knew them only from literature. Now I have my very own personal stash. For what, I know not.

2)Beads. Colourful, cheap beads. Bead to decorate my little tatting tools. Acquiring these, I can forgive, as they are useful hanging there, lending stability to the tool in my hand.

But, just look at that bag of them! Perhaps I am morphing with each tatted picot into a RAVEN!


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

Self Closing Mock Rings - Why Not?

I really did not plan to do this tonight . I have enough to do. The bookmark is half done (I will spare you another picture of the thing till it is finished. Maybe.)

Sitting here working with black thread in the dying light of the day, working away on the Black Magic project and getting bored and hungry, what would be more natural than instead of dinner to have a craving to learn the SCMR?

Sure. Why not. Like NIKE - Just do it. After all, I want to take some thread to NYC and tat Jane's bookmark in the airport. I'm sure I'll be there for hours. YES! A great tatting opportunity.

Lovely isn't it? Thank you, Shuttle Brothers. Merci Internet Magic. Bless my little Sony laptop . Ahh, it's a beautiful world, after all.

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

Illuminating Little Secrets

A lamp is a "source of illumination." That is what Oxford tells me. My lamp is a source of illumination and a whole lot more. It is my secret 'show and tell'.

No one but you has ever seen this little display that changes whenever I have the whim to exchange one motif for another - something I do with regularity.

At a glance, I see what threads I have used. The visual triggers thoughts about what I might want to repeat. It shows mistakes and sometimes surprises me with a detail I had not noticed before.

It looks different in the daytime. At night the colours really pop. I get so much satisfaction from this personal viewing device that I can dismantle in the blink of an eye, if there is a knock at the door! All of this pleases me immensely. It is a a simple pleasure.......

This will definitely be put "on the lamp," when it is finished!
Such a deceptively complicated tat this is!
I'm finally getting the feel of the pattern
and it is progressing so much
better than yesterday.
I LOVE this pattern.

However, it is taking an inordinately long time to tat - which is too bad for me, because I really want to get it done before I hit the Big Apple later in the week.

New York City is my home away from home. And yet, I have never really thought about checking it out for all things tatting..... Can you believe it? But I have not had the time before... This time I have some time, I think, where I could look around. Anyone know anything I should know? Tell me a secret???
Part of the reason for this oversight can be summarized easily by the following image. It is indeed scary to behold.

This is what I have amassed since September last year. YIKES! Another secret is out... Perhaps I should go to the museum instead............

Tat-illating Tales

Meet me at midnight~ and bring the lovely Cebelia with you. Have her wear only Black. Something very soft and fuzzy and kinda giving that might just snap with a tiny bit of coaxing...... Yah... Bring Cebelia in black....

Argh........ There I was last night. Up at twelve a.m. and tatting up a new storm. Thought I'd give Black Magic - the bookmark in Mary Konior's book, Tatting with Visual Patterns, a go.

Using the above-mentioned thread, being very tired and finding the pattern really tricky, I worked myself into a right state! The yarn was not co-operating either. It was fuzzing and twisting and it was impossible to see the stitches.

I see what Suzanne (http://morduededentelle.wordpress.com/) said a while back about Cebelia. Perhaps I will have to rethink my opinion. Too bad if I do - I have a lot of colours!

The clunies were easy compared to this! Why I found it so difficult, I can only attribute to my dyslexia, which kicks in big time every so often - like last night. Like with this pattern. Something about when not to turn the work and the SLT. There is only a diagram, so I found it frustrating.

Anyone done this who can enlighten me as to when you are supposed to turn the work??

Then, this morning I was taking kitty to the vet for his check-up and picked up my mail on the way to the car. There was a package from Martha Ess and an envelope from Yarnplayer.

Obviously, I was happy about what the mailman had delivered and looked forward to getting home to open my mail. On the way to the car, with a heavy cat carrier, a handbag and another bag, I mailed my letters into the street. Literally. Yes, just dropped them on the pavement and drove away.

Luckily, when I returned, I noticed a suspiciously familiar looking envelope in the street and realized I had better retrieve what was now lying flattened all over the road. There were bills and other stuff there, too.

there had been no wind, so I was able to find all my mail, but the Hearts book, sadly is no longer pristine and I like my books to be pristine when I first get them. I like it a lot. When they are not fresh and new looking and smelling I get ornery....

Look at what happened to the book. A dumb car drove over it! The front is nearly okay, but the pebbles went through a few pages of text in the back. Grrrr.

The thread survived and is fine and GORGEOUS.
Roses and Scarlet, by Yarnplayer.

Maybe the message is to get some shut-eye. Tonight I will limit the tatting to an hout or so. Right.

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