At last!!!

Finally I've got a good result on this earwig. I started back on tackling it late yesterday afternoon. My main 'problem' is that I'm trying to make it simple enough to do a lesson with it.

Now a lesson is totally different from a design that I put on my web site. I like to get most of the 'new' stuff in the first part of a lesson so that a student can go away with the item probably not complete but in a state that I know that they'll be able to complete the task. This makes for a lot of thought which isn't easy when you keep 'losing the plot' like I do!!!

Anyway, below are the earwigs finished - well, apart from the hooks!! Next will be the pendant.

When I last worked on that I used a number 40 thread for the centre and a 20 for the outer part. I later realised that this could be a problem for students and/or people who pick it up from the web. So I've got to tweak the stitch count on the centre and use 20 throughout.

This afternoon I'm doing a talk at the Widow's Club in town. I did a talk for them two years or so ago and they want me to do another! I said that I would only be talking about the same thing but they seemed keen to have me back! I think they're desperate for speakers!!! Mind I've got some new stuff to show and I have had a few adventures in tat land since then. Ooooh, I could tell them about brain cell # 3, couldn't I?

Actually I enjoy doing these talks. I do have a sort of 'agenda'/notes (which I usually manage to forget to take) but find that once I get started I have a job to stop!!!! I bumped into one of the club members in town two days ago and she said she was looking forward to Saturday - should I send for the 'men in white coats'?

Grrrrrrrrr

I did some more sewing on the jacket yesterday afternoon. It rained most of the day so it was a good excuse (after the morning 'chores') to do something relatively useful.

In the evening I decided to re-visit one of the patterns I am working on. I have an order from a friend to make a pendant/earring set for her daughter in law and I'm intending to submit this as a lesson for 2009 so a good 'excuse' to test the pattern yet again!!!

What a wasted evening!!!! I decided that I could possibly make the start a little easier for the lesson idea so changed it. Well I spent the entire evening working with just one ring!! Yes, one ring!! Various ways of constructing a ring or a mock ring and also many combinations of beads - small seed ones and slightly larger ones. At the end of the evening I'd achieved two rings which I was marginally pleased with for the earring part but I was not totally happy with them. Why aren't I showing you the 'mistakes' or 'test' rings? Because I snipped the bigger beads out of them (they were 'special' ones) and threw the resulting mess away!!!

I'm hoping to get this sorted properly today with an idea which occurred to me in bed this morning. When/if this works I will show you all!!! Gives meaning to the saying of being 'tied up in knots' - the mind is as well now!!!

TIAS 1 - Richard the Welsh hippo

The sewing on of the animals is going well. Occasionally I 'lose the plot' AND the invisible thread I'm using but that's just because my concentration goes!!!

I had to save the best until last. Not sure if it will be the last animal as I may do a lot of small crittery/buggy ones to fill up spaces. I'm not sure either how much longer my committment to this project will last!!!!

Anyway, here's the hippo!!

Now for dolphins and another visit from # 3

OK, so I've started adding the animals to the jacket. My artistic adviser (aka Nick) is SO good when it comes to telling me that things 'don't work'. Not the words he uses but I've sworn not to swear on my blog!!!!
The thing is, it's difficult to hold these critters in place with pins AND sew them on at the same time. So, brain cell # 3 was sent for. Thankfully he'd not gone back to 'brainland'!!!
It occurred to me (with the help of # 3) that it might be an idea to 'stick' the animals on first of all so I thought of 'wonder web' which you can see here.
The problem with wonder web (I actually think it's fabulous for most enterprises) is that you need to dampen the work.
When we were at Ikea last Spring we bought some curtains. These came with a some iron on hemming tape a lot like wonder web. The main difference is that you have to use it 'dry'. Great stuff. So I have 'started sticking' the animals onto the jacket using this tape. Next I can sew them on by hand using invisible thread and they won't fall off and the pins won't 'jab' into me. EUREKA!!!

I've been badgered

Not only that but 'seahorsed' too. You can tell that it rained all day yesterday and that I decided to sit down and tat in the afternoon as well as the evening (shock, horror - must be getting old!!).

Must pin these onto the jacket today and check if it needs more!!! Brain cell # 3 struck me in the middle of the night and I might be able to share a 'good idea' tomorrow. If it doesn't work out then it will be 'a bad idea'!!!! Keep all fingers crossed, pretty please!!

I'm feeling decidedly crabby today

I made this one straight after the lobster for obvious reasons - those being that I was too idle to get out of the chair to source (that means rumble in my tatting cupboard!) other threads!!!

I also had a stroke of luck yesterday as I was sorting through my drawer. I found a whole load of penguins!!! I'd made them while I was working on the pattern so I'm not sure they're totally 'perfect' but they'll certainly 'do' for the jacket. In fact I've looked at them really closely and the reason they got put aside was because I'd used different beads for the eyes. How silly is that!!!

I've started pinning on the animals now - SO depressing as it just shows me how many MORE I need to make!!! So, back to the shuttle, eh?

Brain cell number 3 has returned!!

I'm a little bit excited!! Number 3 has turned up again!!!

Two weeks ago we had our bedroom decorated and have downsized a tad on furniture. This means that the 'mess' I used to keep on my bedside table had to be downsized too!!! The mess (or should that be muddle!) consisted of containers of earrings. Yup, I DO love my earrings!! I'm not very good at putting them away at night so they remain in a huddle on the surface of my bedside drawers whilst also spilling out of the containers!! Something HAD to be done about this.

I've thought about the storage of earwigs for years and years but suddenly brain cell number 3 arrived back home and I had the idea of making a wall hanging to put them on. Below is my first and very rough trial.

Improvements I need to make.
1. Space the lines out vertically a tad.
2. Choose prettier fabric!! I think I need plain colours.
3. Make a 'curtain' to fall down over them to keep the enormous amounts of dust (which we also collect in this house) off them!!
4. Add some sort of stiffening to the top.
5. Add a hanging loop.
I'll get a better one done later today and probably make a travelling one too. I wonder if anybody else would like one? I can see making these becoming addictive - like making roly poly tat bags!!!

SUCH excitement to have number 3 back again.

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Later in the day!!!

Here's a completed hanger!!