Girly Girl Earrings

I'm so pleased to say that another bracelet (the Starry Button pattern) has sold out of my Etsy shop so I'll shortly be listing the one I showed you the other day.  It certainly helps to feed my thread and bead addictions!!!

So along with the bracelet I've made a pair of earrings which will also be listed at the same time.  I love this thread (Girly Girl) and would like to thank Shannon who suggested it to Barb at Handy Hands.  This thread is a really cheerful one.

Further progress!!!

Back to the doily again!!!

Now I'm happy so I can show you round five.  I decided in the end that it was the picots that were spoiling it for me so they had to go.  No, I didn't snip them off with the scissors but it was tempting with the last attempt!!

Now all I've got to do is sort out round 6.  BIG, BIG sigh!!!!

I'm enjoying these two colours more than the last ones.  BUT of course I now want to know what it would look like in another HDT and plain!!!  I may even do one using HWT one day!!  When will it ever end?

Girly Girl bracelet

Now just for a change I decided to make another Starry Button Bracelet.  Not sure why I decided on this but I think it was to fill in time while I was working on the doily which is, by the way, going pretty well at the moment.

I found that I'd often get part of the doily done before it was time to stop the evening's tatting.  As I want to scan each round and couldn't be bothered to get out of tat corner, go upstairs and scan right then I needed something else to do in that last half to one hour of the evening.  Thus I decided on another bracelet.

I've been picking this up and putting it down for a week or more but finally it got finished.  Now I'm wondering what to do with it - any suggestions?  I could put it in the Etsy shop but again I could wear it myself.  Oh, probably not as I've dozens of tatted bracelets!!!  Any suggestions?

A journey in a bucket!

Now you must remember this post.  Well I listened and noted everybody's comments.  

First of all for Jacqui who wanted to see the back.  As you can see there's a variation in the threads used there too.  Thankfully I had the sense to make that balance as well!!!

Then I saw Ameche's comment (more later) but by then I'd got some terracotta dye.  I read everybody's input and the links sent too.  I decided to go ahead with the dyeing experiment (in the bucket) BUT nobody, nobody warned me to check my rubber gloves first.  You naughty, naughty people.  There was a leak in the right hand glove!!!

So, here's the finished vest again - first the front view and then the back view.  You can see that the dye has taken differently on the two types of thread.  I'm pleased with the colour although I was expecting it to be a bit lighter as the instructions said on the packet that it might well be as if the thread was polyester.  

So I'm now going to take up Ameche's suggestion which is:-

"The white is symmetrical, instead of dying have you considered some beading or fine ribbon woven in to enhance the white and make it a design element? Home dye's are rarely as "rich" and consistently even as commercially dyed fibers, such fine handwork deserves to be showcased."

Thanks, Ameche.  Once I've found the right braiding I'm sure it will really make this piece zing. 

Back in a few days time when I've decided what to use.

New colours for the doily!!!!

Here we go again.  Hopefully my last attempt to get this right.  If I don't this time then it gets flung into a drawer and left!!!!

So, here we are with rounds 1, 2, 3 and 4.  

Hope to get the other two rounds sorted so I'm happy with them and then ready for the web page.  OR should I change the habits of a lifetime and start to sell patterns?  Hmmm, others are and seem to be doing OK.  

My only worry with doing that is that people may forget that the pattern is for sale (or even worse, I will forget!) and that if it only sells a few then I can't morally give it away.  Food for thought.  Any suggestions or shall I just stick to the normal route of just chucking them on the pattern pages?

Hmmmmm fine tatted top

Now this is another top which I know is around 25 years old.  I made it with sewing weight thread.  

You can easily see where I ran out of the brighter white and used a creamier one to finish it.  Now IF I could dye it successfully I'd probably wear it.  

Does anybody know of ANYTHING that will dye this.  I'd make it black if I could or even cream but I don't think it'll dye because it's a polyester thread.  If not then it'll go back in the suitcase again which is where it's spent it's entire life.

What a shame but 'tat's life'!!!