Pictureless post!

Don't you just hate people who do a post without a picture?  Well you're gonna hate me now!!

I really wanted to just talk today about what I'm doing quietly in the background when I'm not making bells!!!  I'm actually doing a totally new pattern.  New to me.  

What is it we say?  I want to do 'so and so' before I die.  Well, that's what I'm working on at the moment!!!  

My 'before I die' project is a doily!!!  Gasp, shock, horror, I hear you say.  Jane?  Doily?  That just doesn't sound right!!!!  BUT that's honestly what's happening quietly and slowly in my corner of tat land!!!!  I doubt it'll be a large one, though as boredom will have set in before long!!


Next on my 'to do' list is another new design but I'm NOT telling you a thing about it as it will  (hopefully) become the new TIAS.  


Yes, I'm planning on another for January 2012.  That's if there's anybody in tat land who wants to take part!  For those  who haven't heard of a TIAS (that actually stands for Tat It And See) I release a pattern in bite sized 'bits' every few days for anybody who wants to to join in.  The 'twist' is that you don't know what you're making!!!  Guesses are encouraged and happen all the way through.  No money changes hands - my reward is being the only person who knows the 'answer'!!!


In fact I run a blog especially for that - it's here. The links are still there to last year's TIAS so you can go and look if you want to.  I try to 'pitch' the design so that it's possible for even relatively new tatters to take part.  I also add technique explanations and diagrams where needed too.

What IS it?

What IS it about my dear friend Sue Anna that Royal Fail and USA Snail don't like?  She's generous, kind, harmless to man and beast and an all round thoroughly decent lass.

BUT Royal Fail and USA Snail just don't seem to like her!!!

Remember the saga of the shuttles?  Well about a week after I sent the shuttles first time round I sent her a wee gift.  Just a little something that 'fell' off my shuttles.  Well it didn't turn up either in her neck of the woods.

Yesterday it arrived BACK WITH ME again (around six/seven weeks later).  Well I was (to say the very least) CROSS.

After I got back home a bit later I looked again at the envelope (by this time I'd stuck a new label over the old one and hidden part of the clues).  Now, see the hand pointing downwards?  Well that's pointing to my return address and it says 'insufficient address' and somebody has then written UK under that.  OK, my mistake - they thought I needed to put that on to send out of the country.

Then I turned the envelope over to see the stamp on the back which said USPS.  Having googled both Antioch and Springfield I've found that the poor envelope got within 247 miles of it's destination!!!! The good news is that it's on it's way again.  Please keep your fingers crossed that both the shuttles and gift eventually arrive at their destination!

Autumnal bells!!

Here are two more - these are autumnal.  Did you ever wonder why I do all my Christmas giveaways in 'un-Christmas' colours?  Well, it's cause I found out years ago that people liked to keep them up all year - as suncatchers too.  

I must also admit that I find Christmas colours confusing too!!!  I always think that red and green are the 'real' Christmas colours (boring) but each year when the shops bring their stock out (often in September!) the colours are varied which can cause a lot of confusion for an OG (old git) like me!

So, I've made it a sort of 'routine' that each year people get wacky coloured giveaways!!!  I usually give them to friends and those I don't see all year because they live too far away.  The furthest that one will travel is to Tasmania to a school friend of mine.  I know she loves the little dangle she gets each year.  The closest ones will go to friends across and down the road.  The problem is that I usually run out and rarely get one for our tree!!!

Shuttle doodles

Having shown you the muddle of doodles for Chris and Erin's shuttles I thought it only fair to show them all paired up and ready to go!!!  They arrived a few weeks ago if memory serves me right!!!!  If often doesn't, though!!!

I lightly 'sew' them onto paper in their suggested pairs.  Here they are just before they flew to America.  Actually you can see where I folded the paper before remembering to scan the little stinkers!!!

Here are some photos of some of them already made up!!!  The giraffe and the tree, two hummingbirds and a seahorse.  Aren't they pretty?

If you want to make enquiries about them then Erin's email address is here.

Now I know for sure

Now I know for sure why I won't ever produce a book of tatting patterns.

Yesterday my book arrived from Martha.  You can see the cover and read all about it here.

When I get something as well presented as this and with such appealing and tempting patterns I know I would never be able to get anywhere near this standard.  The illustrations are SO clear and the font is easy to read (very, very important for an OG like me) - I have a few pattern books which I can't read easily so I know I will never make anything from them!!!

I've been asked many, many times to produce a book but have always said 'no'.  I'm terrified of producing something that wouldn't be good value.  I've got bookshelves full of books and leaflets with patterns in but there are very, very few that I've used more than one pattern from.

The exceptions are Martha's, Mary Konior's, Rosemarie Peel's and a few others (names escape me).  I have loads of books from which I've never made anything.  I wouldn't want mine to be one of those!!!!