Agate, My Dear Watson...

Yes, the stone is agate.  I researched it:

It is one of the oldest stones and is said to attract strength and ward off storms. It is supposed to be good for the gums and for curing stomach upsets. Apparently everyone should carry one of these for protection.

Well, this stone did not protect my hands one bit as I tatted the edging.  My fingers are a mess - very sore from tightening the silk around the pearl beads.

Tatting over metal this big - (over 3 3/4 inches long) is not easy because I had to accommodate that immovable bar. The Zwicky silk I used did not add to the ease of the process, but it was the perfect colour. Figures. I have a box full of different colours and that one little spool of silk was the ONLY colour that worked with the pendant.

The pendant - picked up, again be chance - in a store I never frequent, but thought I'd have a look, just in case.

I have turned into a regular Tatting Sherlock, it seems, lurking around old shops, yard sales, antique shops and anything that looks remotely interesting as far as unusual or vintage jewellery is concerned, prowling for a bargain and a unique piece of something or other!

This photo is not the best as I noticed the stitches need to be straightened - but I could not wait till I had taken another pic to post it.

Interesting thing about this agate is that it changes colour according to the light - sometimes it looks green and in brighter light the blue is more prominent.

Striking While The Iron Sizzles...

Oh, boy.  

This is very tiring. I see how truly obsessive I am.  

Not a pretty sight.

But,the finished product looks to be promising.  Grumpy person, me.  This is supposed to be fun! I am going to take a beak after this one, as I am not fit company!  I just keep thinking about the next ds.

As an interlude, I began the border - again. Ran out of yellow and it is a good thing, as I love the border - with the corner tatted correctly this time - in white with BLUE beads!

Right you are, blue.  If you look at the print, in the centre of the pink flower, you will see the blue colour.  I was surprised when I noticed that and that is when the white border became my decision for the thread choice.

I much prefer this to the yellow with pink beads...

p.s.  

ANGELINE UPDATE:

The Travelling Book will begin its journey to Bev this week.

She is the 20th person on the list.  Eighteen to go!

It is interesting to note that Gina, The Tatting Goddess, was the very first person that Angeline went to visit.  I just realized that when I updated the list. I am glad she got to read the book.  : )

O is for October

and beautiful foliage that inspired this work yesterday:

A new Fox design!

Can you believe it?  

This one took me almost an entire 12 hours to tat. I started it about four times and used three different coolour choices for thread and beads before I decided this was what I wanted.

The brooch is silver-plated; I think can also be worn as a pendant. Do you think so?

I found it in a funky, little, inner-city store, famous for its vintage wares.

It started out like this; I used Lizbeth #40 and added the linen-coloured 

Czech beads in the corners.  I love the colours in this.

I think I shall list this in my Etsy shop.

Pigheadedness Pays

Why do I get suckered into tatting a border around a hankie?  What motivates me to begin this? I get SO bored and yet continue to find ridiculously inexpensive hankies to tat endlessly around - plus all the time I spend figuring out colour, pattern and beads!

Here we go again:

Can you see the pink beads?

This is Milford yellow, #40, 

tatted in  Karey Solomon's 'Laurel' pattern, 

found in her border booklet.  

I like it.

More pink...

PINKY PROGRESS

Remember my experiment with hand positions? Wrapping the thread around my hand, over the whole hand or stopping at the fourth finger? Well, I have a success story tell you. : )

Muscle memory has kicked in for the most part. What did that take - maybe a couple of weeks at most of constant vigilance to my hand position? 

It is working now, as I seldom have to re-wrap the thread and it is automatically positioning itself around my entire hand.  I think my tatting is looking better and stitches seem tighter, more consistent.  Also, having the hook of the shuttle facing the right way has definitely helped immeasurably. Thanks, Frivole!

Born a Taurean, I seem to have that Pit-Bullean nature that will just will not let go.