A second attempt!

Another sailing boat arrived yesterday so please go and look at Surya's - she's number 93 so we might yet make 100!!!

So, in this version of the square I've lengthened the chains slightly and skinned down the rings a bit too. Still doesn't 'do' it for me. I'm going to have to sit down and have a serious chat with somebody about this. Now, who shall I ask/consult?

No point in me saying anything else as you all know who I'll call on!!!

So, I can if Toucan!!!

Well, finally he's done and up on the web site here.

He certainly looks a lot better in 'proper' colours!!! When researching toucans I found so many colour combinations for the beak it was amazing. Also some have a black piece on the beak too but hey, I'm not a perfectionist and thought adding a bit of black was pushing things a bit too far on a small tat like this!!!!  Personally I prefer the second one with the darker coloured beak.

One thing I've learned through doing this guy is that it's almost harder to alter a pattern you've done previously as it is to start from scratch!!!

Now, what shall I do next - OR what am I already working on.  More another day!!

A square

I do like this little square I found in an old book. Not sure yet how it'll work out joining several together as it doesn't look very 'square'!!!  In fact the outer chains look 'stressed' where they join in the book.   I'll tell you which book it is when I have more time and there'll be further progress on this in due course too!!

I'll play with the idea for a while and let you all know 'what happens next'!!  The book has a lot of designs which appeal to me.  Watch this space!!!

Hopefully the toucan will be ready tomorrow!!!!

Toucan progress!

Here are two more versions of the poor almost extinct toucan.

The top picture is a beak I tried on yesterday's body and bib. Looks OK but it's a bit 'fussy'!!!!

The bottom picture is another bib with a more solid construction and a beak that's been simplified too. Oh, there is an eye there too - just a tiny bead that I found on the seat of my chair!!!! 

I think the next post will be the finished guy. I SHOULD get the pattern completed over the next day or two. Why? Well it's gone wintery again here and that keeps me in the house a bit more!!!

Continuing the Toucan story

Before I start today it's worth checking out the Tat It And See blog on this link as I've more sailing boats - one came in last Friday and one today. We may YET reach the magic 100 but doubt if we'll beat the pram results!!!

So back to the toucan!!!

If you look at the parrot (you don't have to, though!) you'll see that the tail is different. That's because the toucan pictures I found on 'google images' showed the toucan had a more 'splayed out' tail. That's what this guy has now got here!!!! 

You can also see I've made a start on his white bib too. OK, I know it's not WHITE but it's all I had close to me in tat corner!!!! 

Well there may be a species of black bibbed toucans you never know and if there aren't then I've got a beakless black bibbed toucan. A rare breed which is almost extinct and soon will be when my scissors get near him!!

Difficult situation!!!

Continuing conversations via email with Allesandro at the magazine mentioned here have been interesting.

I realise what a quandary he's in too!!!!  It must be very difficult when you have little knowledge of a craft to start a new magazine aimed at new tatters.  After all - learning to tat can only be rings and chains made with a double knot.  Later the new tatter will need more techniques and then patterns with those  new skills will be needed too.  But at the moment let's just look at this situation from the copyright point of view of simple designs.  

Looking round the internet (and in books) it's quite obvious that a lot of the patterns we see could easily have been used (not deliberately or maliciously) in a tatter's 'need' to create.  They could have come either from previous patterns or from the imagination.  This is because, of course, everything is made up from JUST rings and chains.

These are what I call 'generic' patterns.  By this I mean that all of us could have easily 'designed' them!!!  

For example look at the drawing below.  This is a basic design seen regularly all over the place.  I've seen it as a base for earrings, crosses, bracelets, bookmarks, fans, necklaces, edgings etc and all based on two rings back to back and a chain between.  Add a few beads, change direction a few times and it becomes something else.  BUT it is essentially just a very simple rings and chains design.  Something a new tatter would be able to make.

So, let all of us who want to design something new keep a lookout to make sure we're doing something really new.  Interestingly in the past nobody used to claim a design 'belonged' to them and I had several patterns published in magazines here in England without my name on them.  I was soooo proud to have them there that it didn't bother me one bit.  Actually it's only when I see people using my free patterns to make money for themselves (by re-publishing or selling things made from them) that I get upset especially as I have a Creative Commons Licence on the pattern site!!! 

When I started designing (purely to amuse myself and the young children I was teaching) I only used rings and chains as that was all I knew at that time - however I learned very early on never to base anything on a pattern in a book.  Imagination, persistence and a thorough knowledge of a craft are the requirements needed to become a designer - not the ability to copy from a picture seen somewhere!!!

One thing I have pointed out to Alessandro is that the ladybird and the interwoven celtic motif in the magazine belonging to myself and Rosemarie Peel might look simplistic nowadays but were, at the time of publication, innovative.  Over the years they may have become 'old hat' but they do in essence have their birth in our two brains and it's nice to be mentioned for that!!!


Coming up with new ideas gets harder and harder as I try to go 'where no man has gone before'.  Star Trek?!?!?!  Does that last sentence make sense anyway?!?!?!