Tat It And See

Just a quick post today to say that I'm thrilled with the start of the TIAS.  26 people had already done Day 1 before I went to bed last night.  

I will leave it until Tuesday for Day 2 to be posted as quite a few people have written to say they're busy over the weekend.   I hope that's not going to upset too many who are raring to go on the next part!!!!

I've nothing really to show today as I don't get as much done while the TIAS is progressing but that's a good thing sometimes.  I spent most of yesterday morning helping a neighbour find her dog which had escaped and another to fill in a form.  ANY excuse not to get the hoovering done.   I'm pleased to report it did get done eventually.  Now you know what rubbish I talk when I'm not talking knots!!!!

Hearts on buttons 2

OK, here you are - the link to day 1 of the Tat It And See 2013!!

Just another of the hearts with beads on top of the button.  This time I've used my favourite colour on the outside of this one.  Khaki.  This shade goes with EVERYTHING but I'm almost at the end of the ball.  I think it's a now defunct Manuela one.  So sad when your favourite colour runs out.

Sob, sob, sigh, sigh!

Hearts on buttons 1

Don't forget - tomorrow's the start of the TIAS 2013.  Here's the link to the TIAS blog where day 1 will be posted.  OK, so I'll put the links up here too - IF I remember!!!

So, a few days ago I wanted something different to do!!  I'm working on a new project at the moment which should be ready soon.  It was requested just before Christmas when I put out an appeal for ideas but more than that I'm not telling until I'm happy with it!!!  

This is a heart that I did ages ago but I wanted to just play!  After my experience with the Fandango snowflake and beads on buttons this also seemed a good 'candidate' for experimentation!!!  Here's one!

Doily finished

Here it is - finished!!  Must admit I enjoyed making my first doily in years.  Well, apart from my one attempt to design one myself!!!!  

One or two people knew straight away which doily I was doing and here's the link to my previous post on it!!!

So, I won't bore you with any more about it but hope you like my colour choices.  

Oh, before I wander off I must mention the colours used on the last round - they were, once more, Lizbeth threads and the numbers are 618 and 641

I've really enjoyed the mixing and playing  with the colours as much as making my old favourite once more.  I'm sort of tempted to make it again but in HWT but it will depend on whether I can get the right colour combinations with the threads I've got to work with.  It looks a lot of thread in the drawer but putting colours together in HWT does take a lot of thought.  

Time will tell but I won't!!!!!

My bestest Christmas present

Well this is the best gift I could've had for Christmas and Nick bought it for me.  It's a set of drawers as you can see.  I realised after my last lot of threads came from Handy Hands that I'd outgrown my tatting cupboard!!!

Well, that's not strictly true - I could still get all the threads in the cupboard but they were all crammed into two large ziplock bags which were a pain to get out and then open to look and choose which colours to use.  I spotted this set of drawers online and dropped a few hints, found a place for it to 'live' and Bob's yer uncle - Santa (aka Nick) got the hint!!!!

As you can see - it's easy to keep the threads organised as the drawers are the right colours!!  So, in the top drawer I have pink, next yellow/orange colours (third picture) and so on down until the bottom two (real green and dark pink).  In those two bottom drawers I have my wonderful, wonderful stash of HDT all wound onto Ezy bobs and all my 'small experimental' threads that I use for HWT (hand wound threads).  

Of course there are a lot of odds and ends still in the original containers in the cupboard and they can be mixed and matched to the Lizbeth too.

New technique page

OK today I've got you a new and VERY simple technique.  Marie Smith in SC showed this to me during the Palmetto tatters meeting and I loved it.  Not needed very often but SO useful to have at your 'finger tips' when you do!!!!  She's not sure where it came from but it's great.

I hear you saying 'what is the daft moo' on about?  Well, it's a way to start a chain with a small picot at the start.  I know that in the past we've all used either a spare bit of thread or a safety pin/paperclip but this does away with all that hassle.

So, here's the link to the technique page on my site.  You'll find the link to the technique itself at the bottom of this page - as long as I've remembered to upload the revised technique page!!!!  I tend to wander off and forget things but my excuse is my age and NOT the honest fact that my memory has never been much good.