More adventures with an edging!

Tomorrow will be Day 10 of the TIAS.

Following on from this post the next time I returned to it I realised that I was no longer in 'block tatting mood' so I just carried on playing.  You can see in this experiment I ran out of yellow thread on the one shuttle and was too idle to look for the thread again so added another 'sort' of red to it instead!!!

Now this is looking a bit better!!!  

The bottom picture shows an experiment with a corner too.  Now this should be fine when worked in a finer thread for a hanky.   We'll see!!!! 

Not a lot else

As you know from it's title this blog is purely about tatting but just once in a blue moon I do have something else to say.

Some of you know that I volunteer in our local library on one morning a week teaching other old people (like MEEE) to use computers, laptops, tablets etc.  

A few years ago a lady joined us one Wednesday saying that she wanted to know how to use a computer as she wanted to write a book.  Well she was positive that that's what she was going to do even though she'd no experience with computers and I'd none with writing books.  

Time went on, she bought a computer and we struck up a friendship (as you do!!!) and when she moved into the town I was able on one or two occasions to walk over to her place to help with small things she needed to know.

Just before Christmas Joan came into the library one Wednesday morning with - a signed copy of her book for me.  YES, she did it.  Well I'm not a great reader of biographies but once I picked this one up I got so interested that I read it right through with more and more admiration for Joan as I finished each chapter   What an interesting lady.  WELL DONE, Joan Inglis - I'm SO proud of you and feel honoured to have met you during my journey through life.  

It's now been published as an ebook too and here's where you can find it.

Day 9

Time to play again!!!  Yes, today it's day 9 of this year's TIAS.

Here's the link.

It makes you laugh.

Day 9 tomorrow.

Although this is serious, I must tell you about a hilarious 'conversation' (I use  the word conversation with reservation as it did get heated) that I had on Monday with a 'person' who had stolen my work.  She doesn't merit the title of lady!!!

I noticed she'd taken this image and put it on her blog.  Not a problem as it was linked to my site.  BUT underneath that was the pattern to go with it.  It had been taken and somehow converted from the original pdf file with my name and copyright notice removed - NO link to my site.  Now that IS naughty.  No mention of the designer at all.  I originally noticed this blog last October but found there was no way to contact on her.  Time went on and I put it to the back of my mind - as you do.

Then on Monday I noticed she'd added another picture that was a copy of a new idea on another tatter's site.  I contacted the other tatter and she wasn't too worried but would probably have contacted the blog owner if there'd been any way to do that.  

Later that day my friend came back to me as she'd found that the blog owner had now (within the past week) set up an Etsy shop.  EUREKA.  Etsy have a convo link so off I went and 'asked' her to take my pattern off her blog.  She said she didn't think she could as she wasn't sure she knew how to get into the blog.

That's funny, I said, when you managed to put a picture up there the day before (same one in her Etsy shop)!!!  So our convo got a bit heated and I had to really laugh when she said she didn't even LIKE my patterns and I was to stop harassing her or she'd report me to Etsy!!!!  The pattern has now been removed but if it hadn't I would've taken further action - in fact I'd already contacted somebody about it who knows how to handle those situations.  There's also a whole book up there on her blog which is still under copyright.  

So, what I want to know is why you'd steal something you don't like?  

Answers on a tatting shuttle (or make a comment!!) to me, please!!!

Edging 1

Now I wanted an edging - a block tatted edging.  So in my inimitable way I just got hold of two shuttles and some thread.  

I've 'chopped up' the trials so as not to overload you with too much 'tat'!!!!!  There really is quite a lot to see in this!!!

This picture shows my first start before I put it down in disgust!!!  

The 'problem' with designing a decent edging is (in my opinion) that the most important criteria is having sufficient picots on the 'joining edge' to be able to sew it on easily.  The fewer  you have then the more difficult it is to get it evenly onto the item.  

The second consideration for me is that the edging should have sufficient depth to be made in one pass.   I remember doing one once many, many moons ago which had two rows.  First row - easy peasy but getting motivated for the second one was a nightmare.  

Day 8

Good morning on another miserable day here in England!!!  I know we probably needed a bit of rain but this is just a bit toooooooo much. 

Anyway, here's the link for day 8 of the Tat It And See.

Before I leave you today I want to tell you the very, very bad news that I had last Friday.  I was just checking my emails last thing before going to sleep and I had one from my good friend Crazy mom tats who lives in Atlanta and with whom Sally and I stayed in September 2012.  This was her exact message:-
The subject was 'Our House'

Burned down this morning, gone by 10 am. No one was inside, but house is total loss and we lost all pets. 

We are ok. Have check in hand from insurance, and are staying at Hampton Inn locally. Now to find a place to stay and much shopping to replace things. 

I'm a tough cookie, I'll be ok."

Here is a link.  

I managed to FaceTime with her on Saturday and when I got an email from her on Sunday (saying could I blog all this) she'd managed to get shuttles and thread.  Moral?  You can't stop a tatter from tatting.

Can you imagine losing everything, but everything you own within the space of a few hours?  All the pets (we met most of them) and - well it's haunted me ever since and Friday night I just didn't sleep for worrying.  

Thankfully the two boys living at home still are fine and Crazy Mom (who isn't the LEAST bit crazy) is going to get through it all too.