The secret!!!!

Thanks for joining in the fun yesterday and a big thank you to Sally who didn't let on what the secret is!!!!

Geraldine was the first to guess so well done - you must know how my brain works!!!!

Ann - I've no idea who Justin Bieber is so perhaps you could enlighten me?

Josie?  That's just the biggest joke of the lot!!!!!

Crazy Mom - glad you kept your guess private as I think pigs are more likely to fly than your suggestion!!!

I'm sorry to everybody who thought it was going to be a book.  I doubt that will ever, ever happen as I really don't want to start charging money for what I do.  The Etsy store fills my Paypal up and then I empty it again on threads, beads and other 'stuff'!!!!  What more do I need?  Not fame or fortune as I have a roof over my head and food in the fridge - although at the moment it's almost colder outside than in the fridge!!!

The answer is that I've started work on another TIAS!!!  The idea has percolated (with the help of brain cell 3) and has now started it's life on the shuttles!!!  If I were to show you what it's going to be at the moment you'd never recognise it - it's REALLY naff!!!!!  Hopefully it will improve and turn into what I'm hoping it will be.

IF I don't get sidetracked I'm hoping to start in mid January during the 'dull season'.  Keep your fingers crossed that it works!!!!

I've got a secret!

Can you guess what it is?  

NO, I'm not pregnant - that would be impossible!!!

NO, I'm not about to leave home!!!  Too cold!!!

NO, I'm not giving up tatting!!!

Go on, guess!!!!

Another!!!

Here's another of the new magnetic bookmarks.  I am using the one I made for MEEE and can report that it's really and honestly the best bookmark I've ever had.  

No more scrabbling around in the bed for the 'missing bookmark' when I'm sleepy and need it.  This stays exactly where it's put.  In fact I'm using it almost as a 'timer' when I'm reading in the mornings.  

As it 'reaches' over 20 + pages I tell myself that when the two parts 'meet' then  I must get out of bed!!!!!  I move it to the  right hand edge of the book so that I can turn the pages without taking it out and thus when I get the two magnets to meet without pages between it's time to get up - unless I've reached an exciting part, of course!!!!

Not sure if this will go in the Etsy shop as nothing seems to be happening there very much.  My fault entirely.  Shall I admit why I love that shop?  Well, it's a bit like selling on Ebay.  I like to look every day (sometimes several times a day) to see how many people have looked at the items!!!  One of the bookmarks has now reached 105 views already!!!!  Now, isn't that sad?  I wonder if any other shop owners are like me - come on, fess up!!!  Poor old woman sitting here really only interested in who's looking!!!   

Perhaps I need a psychiatrist or even the 'men in white coats'.  One of the many ways I amuse myself!!!!

Winsome Drops!

These seem to be very popular and the bonus is that I still love making them!!!  

I've got just two of the small heart beads left in green now so will have to get more IF I can find them!!!!

These are all for one person to choose which she wants - just hope she doesn't want the pale blue ones as I'd like those for myself!!!!!

I could make another pair but I'm also pretty sure I've run out of those too!!!!  I have got a couple of lovely beads which were given to me, with dolphins on.  I'm going to use those on a pair.  The main problem is - what do I do with all these?  They don't seem to sell in the shop although amongst friends and acquaintances they do!!!!  Straaaange!!!!!

Comments on blogs.

All comments on my blog are read and this one from Karrieann about this post I appreciated as usual.  She said:-

"Jane.. what if you attach the butterfly at the other end.. the head end? The reason I even brought this up... it would be upside down when in place. Know what I mean? I think the butterfly is beautiful though!"

I knew that Karrieann was right and I did think the same whilst I was attaching the butterfly to the bookmark but I really, really, REALLY wanted to try out new feelers on it!!!!  First of all I'll tell you about the feelers.  

When I finished the butterfly I wanted more 'substantial' feelers which are the last things in the pattern.  So using my fine (for putting beads on picots) crochet hook I made chains with the ends instead of cutting them off straight away.  I'll definitely be using this 'trick' again in future!!!

So I decided to re-cycle the original butterfly and you can see that below with the new crocheted feelers!!!!  I managed to only 'waste' about half a yard of thread (very precious HDT) on the task too as I carefully cut and then used the chain thread for the core of the double double stitch tail instead.

Next to re-cycle the bookmark I made for meeeee!!!  This time it will lie the 'right way up' when outside the book but this one I made usinig a mock ring for the head and adding beads to feelers.  There was again some adjustment to the stitch count too.  If anybody wants more details on this then I'm happy to tell them 'how to'!!!!

I think if I ever get to put this magnetic bookmark in the Etsy shop it will have to be called the Rolls Royce version as it takes a tad longer to make and is just (IMHO) SO pretty. If you want one then do ask - I'll be only too happy to make one.

Snowflakes!

I'm going to show you what I've been doing over the weekend.  

This first little pattern was designed in 1992 by Carolyn Regnier (here's her email addy) and was published in her book 'Tatted Suncatchers and Snowflakes'.  She says she still has a few copies left.  I bought the book around that time too.

This is the pattern I chose to do but (my apologies to Carolyn) I've sort of played with it a bit.  Not a lot, just a bit!!!  I used a SCMR to replace the long chain and also did a split chain at the end so that a couple of split rings would take me out of the centre and end up with a hanging thread.  BUT it's still Carolyn's and the stitch count is the same.  I've also added beads 'as you do'!

The second snowflake is a hybrid which started off from one in Patti Duff's Mini Tats (a great buy for anybody who has just started tatting).  I added a SCMR to this one too with the 'odd' vsp to stabilise it.
 

The reason for these?  I'm doing a small fair at an old folks home on the 7th and suddenly remembered it was Christmas soon so why not a few snowflakes!!!  Oh we also had some early snow on Friday/Saturday too - brrrrrrrr.