Ziltch, nada, nowt!!!!

You're not going to believe this but I've got nothing to SAY or show!!!!!

An extremely long, very busy and stressful day yesterday so I did nothing in my little corner of tat land!!!!  In fact I sat down with a couple (note, not one!) glasses of wine in the evening and - well, just did nothing!!!  Oh, I did eat a WHOLE bar of chocolate too which was very hard with having to make the oh so tired jaw work.  Yummy, though!

Please don't send for emergency services - I'll recover.  Watch this space on Monday, though!!!!   I hope to be able to make up for my silence!!!

A parade of kitties

First of all - I've sourced some more shell beads from the shop where I bought the originals.  Here's the link although the guy is going to be away next week - I can wait until he gets back.  I also bought some of the rings he's got on his front page.  Do I need neon rings and what would I do with them!!!  I also bought some of those in orange and blue when I was there!!!!!  I MAY have to play with those soon.  Also I'm going to make another magnetic bookmark with that new starry pattern but which colours shall I use?  Decisions, decisions, decisions!!!!

Inspired by Ridgewoman's new soul mate (Pippa the cat) I started in on this design a few weeks ago.  I kept putting it down, picking it up and generally messing around with it!!!  

I started off with a standing version (which I'll go back to next!) and thought it was a bit boring.  Then, looking at pictures of cats on the internet, I decided that a stretching cat was what I'd do.  If only I could stick to the simple things in life!!!

Anyway, here's a progression and degression of the kitties with the final one at the bottom.  Well, I THINK it's the final one but I'm not sure!!!  Having scanned it I'm even MORE not sure.  So, back to the drawing board - or, rather, the tatting shuttles!!!

What I have to ask myself (and anybody reading this) is if the bottom one needs more tweaking.  No, perhaps it doesn't, yes it does, no it doesn't.  Darn it - another break from kitties is called for!!!!

More of the same!!

Here are more medallions.  Once I get a bee in my bonnet I have to get it out!!!  Before it stings me!!!

The missing shuttles

I found two more shuttles which had slipped into the inactive part of the Etsy shop!!!!!  They're now listed!!!!

Yesterday I spent ages and ages doing something really HARD for me - tidying up!!!  I did all the space around me and then tackled my email addresses.  I've deleted all those who I used to mail with updates from my Ring of Tatters section.  That was a LOT of email addresses!!!!   So anybody who used to get a notification will have to keep an eye on me here to see what I'm up to!!

Then, as a treat, I thought I'd buy some more colours of the shell beads I've been using for the centres of the new motifs (see new one below) so took myself off to search for some more.  Nil, zilch, nada, nowt, NOTHING - not in the UK shops anyway.  So, that was the end of that.  You wait til I get to the USA - watch out all the craft places!!!

I also managed to put Jane McLellan's choker pattern up in my guest designer's section.  This is mainly thanks also to Isdihara who put it all together with Jane's permission.  Here's the direct link.

Here's the finished bookmark which will (or should!) get into the shop later today!!  I may make another bluey/greeney one before going back to another design I'm working on.  Unless I forget, of course!!!

A motif!

This is a little motif I'm working on.  

I'm thinking of this as a pendant as some people suggested that as an idea for my wee giveaways.  I hope it's an original as I'm going to write and draw it up.

Then on Sunday I sold a magnetic bookmark and thought I'd replace it.  The one I sold was a very pretty blue flower on a button.  As I was currently working on another of these starry sort of motifs I wondered what it would look like as a magnetic bookmark.  Well, I found out!!!  What do you think?  Does it 'pass the test'?

Well, actually it did pass as I put it in the shop and within two hours or so some little stinker (you know who you are - THANK YOU!) bought it!!!!! 

So I've started another one!!!!  Here it is.  These colours just SING to me.

How and why I learnt to tat

Before I start - there are a few shuttles left in my Etsy shop.  Not many, but a few!!!!

Several people have been talking about how and when they learnt to tat but I've done a post on this before - some four and a half years ago.  Rather than repeat myself (which Nick says I'm ALWAYS doing!) I'll give you the link.   

Enough to say that a bit more water has passed under the bridge since I wrote that post!!!!  Doesn't change the facts, though.  I'm older (now 67) and not a lot wiser!!!  A lot has changed during those years since I learnt (and since I posted that piece) and a some things haven't!!!

Rings have stayed and chains too.  Notation has moved on a bit too and also the thing that I craved more than anything as a teenager - colour has arrived beautifully.  There were so few colours in the Coats threads and they were pretty darn boring.  

Antimacassars, collars, doilies, hanky edgings and motifs were all that were 'on offer' in the Coats and Penelope leaflets. 

I remember the times when I took great risks with my craft.  Long before the internet I found the odd advertisement in magazines telling of goodies available in the USA.  Things I NEEDED to have.  The Mary Sue Kuhn books were a 'must have' with an intriguing 'new idea'.  This was, of course, the 'how to do' a split ring.  Something we all take so much for granted nowadays.  Originally from Anne Orr this lass called Mary Sue had taken something nobody seemed to have put much store by and woken up tat land (well my little corner of it!!). In those 'far off' days I used to buy dollars at the bank (for a price!), put them in an envelope and 'hope' they got to the right place in that far off country and hoping too that I got the goodies back!!! 

I got quite a few books and the odd tools (like the jiffy needles) that way including some netting books. Now all these things are a click away - boy, have things changed.


Heck, I'm rambling again - must be a sign of old age.  I'm off for a shower!!!!