Look what I found!!

I was rumbling around in my VERY untidy tatting cupboard a few days ago and found a little box of bells!!  I’ve NO IDEA when I made them but it was probably after I got back from Palmetto Tat Days in 2019.  

I think the idea was to make a Christmas dangle with them to take to America two years later but then, of course, Covid hit us all.  

Why?  Well I’d done a silver cluster for the silent auction and the person (I think it was Sherry) who won them paid a considerable amount to get them.  The money raised from their silent auction goes towards their scholarship scheme, I believe.  

I may just put this little cluster together for the same reason now I’ve found them. 

Meantime I have the urge to make more but I think I’ll do silver ones next time.

Now for a bit of sewing

With the machine!!!!

I’m a member of ‘Freecycle’ for our area but have a strict rule with myself that I’ll only ‘pick up’ (IF I win an item) if it’s within walking distance.  Seems pointless to pick up something that’s free but have to spend money on petrol (gas, for you Americans!!!) and pollute the planet by using the car.  So this somewhat restricts me - but not a lot!!!

I’ve gained a brand new iron from sticking to this ‘rule’ and often good fabric too.  A few months ago I picked up a lovely, lovely lot of good sized pieces of fabric and brought them home.  There were a few pieces that I really liked but others that I didn’t think I’d ever use so I sent a WhatsApp to a couple of lovely neighbours to come and help me out!!!  They were very happy to do so!!

I made this top from one of my favourites.  I used a top I bought some years ago as the ‘pattern’ which I laid on top of the fabric.  I then used newspaper to make the neckline pattern.  It’s now classed as a ‘totally free’ top!!!  The only damage to the planet is using electricity to sew it!!!

Job done!!!

Stitching still progressing.

Again this is just a progress report!!!  

This is the first side of a tote bag.  I THINK it’s finished but I may add more to it when I’ve done the other side!!!   

I’ve decided I’m not very good at forward planning on this type of work but I think it’s OK.

Progress on the cardigan

I’ve made a fair amount of progress since showing you this last link.  

This garment has been a delight to work on as the designer has written it so well.  

Back with a Monday moan

Yes I’m back for a while.  Sorry to have neglected the blog for a few weeks but it doesn’t mean that I’m leaving it permanently - just had too much going on and not a lot of crafting to show.  

Today I want to mention copy tatters.  These are people who see a design they like (mostly on Pinterest), enlarge it and then copy tat it.  Whilst I personally feel there’s a bit to learn when doing this it is basically immoral.  

The biggest lesson to learn is that wysiwyg applies.  Do you remember when the internet was new that wysiwyg stood for ‘what you see is what you get’?  Well, when copy tatting, there are often stitches or techniques that the copier has to ‘guess at’ so wysiwyg doesn’t always apply and the piece being copied may well turn out ‘wonky’,not lie properly etc because of that.  

It’s also ‘theft by stealth’ just as photocopying (nowadays scanning) a pattern out of a book and then sending that to somebody else.  I guess that those who do this feel there’s nothing wrong with what they’ve done.  

BUT it does deny the designer of an income if they’re selling the pattern.  

All I can really say is that oldies (old gits) like me learned the hard way as pictures were only in books (and often fuzzy!) and we had no internet etc to enable that type of behaviour.  I would BEG those that do copy tat to not share on Facebook groups which only encourages others to do the same.  

Remember even the simplest pattern takes months to refine and some people sell theirs to earn a living.

A picture to cheer you up!!!

Apologies

I'm afraid there won't be any blog posts this week as I've not got anything particular to show you.  

Life has taken me out of Tat Land and other crafts for a short while.  

Now, don't worry, I'm fine but having to deal with matters beyond my control has a way of interrupting my usual routine!

I WILL BE BACK properly as soon as I can.

A picture from my garden taken during the week.

One scarf done

One of my scarves is done.  This will go to a charity unless a friend wants it. 

There's enough yarn left to do another so that'll be my 'nattering' project!!  First I need to sew in the ends!!!

I need something to do that's relatively simple when I'm with the crafting groups that I go to!!!

Small progress on the Sashiko

Too much talking gets in the way of stitching but I need my lovely friends around me!!!  I'm making progress though.  Slowly, slowly, catchee monkey!!!

The cardigan

A good start has been made on the new cardigan.  

It's not easy but the pattern itself is brilliant.  This is where I got the pattern from and this is what it will (hopefully!) look like - but on a MUCH younger body!!!

Monday moan

Here we go again!!! Another moan from the old lady in England!!!

My moan today is really about new designers. My goodness we do need them as I'm going to fall off my perch one day along with others of my generation. 

A few months ago I helped a lady with her pattern which she was going to publish and sell on Etsy. Great. Pattern was nothing exciting really but I couldn't find a copyrighted one so off we went on an adventure. She was a delight to help as she took all suggestions on board (unlike another who gave me the sack and blocked me from seeing their work on Facebook a year or two ago!). 

What really surprised me was her lack of knowledge about the very, very basics of the craft. Even about hiding tails at the beginning of the work and she didn't use an obvious technique to add a bead which made (IMHO) a much better way of working a large bead into the design rather than sewing it on at the end. 

Another issue that has been annoying me INTENSLY is the trend for new designers (and now their followers) to change tatting terms that are already well established. IF ONLY they would get more experience and do more research into the craft they would realise that most tatting terms have been established for many years. 

I'm particularly thinking of the new 'trend' to call a ring on top of a chain (originally RoCh) a 'thrown ring' when a thrown ring is actually a ring thrown off a ring.  This is shown on this video.  The current trend is for people to call the ring on chain a 'thrown ring' or  'floating ring'.  PLEASE can we all stick to the established names?  It's causing much confusion to oldies like me and to the upcoming youngsters too.  

Do your research, PLEASE.

I must be MAD!

No need to agree with me although I think it’s true!!!

I’ve bought this pattern from Ravelry and have just started on a new adventure!!

Please wish me luck with this new challenge!!!  It’s knitted from the top down and probably has quite a few other challenges hidden within it too!!!  Time will tell!!!

Least it’ll keep me out of mischief for a while!!!

Another pair finished

Well you thought I was talking about one pair of gloves but actually this is the second pair I’ve knitted!!!  While I was in the ‘glove zone’ I thought I’d just carry on!!!

The first pair went to the new owner last week and this pair (she’s found the two she’d previously lost!) will stay with me!!  I keep a pair in each coat I’ve got so I don’t have to keep looking for them when I need them!!!

More work on the bag

I’ve made a tentative start on the second side of the bag I’m doing for our community summer party.  This is how far I got last week.  

I tend to just add to it on a Tuesday morning at our local group.  I’ve got a long way to go!!!  

Very enjoyable while chatting to friends and neighbours which is why our group is called ‘Neighbours and Needles”!!!

My nattering project

This project just grows and grows while I talk and talk!!!  

It’s a scarf that will eventually probably go to a local charity.  I’m really enjoying it as it’s so, so simple and I just love the i-cord edging to it too.  

I got the pattern from Ravelry and here’s the link.  

I think there maybe enough yarn to do another scarf - I must weigh the remaining yarn and the scarf when I’ve finished it.

Monday moan - back today

Yes for all the fans of my Monday moans (both of you - you'll be offered a pay rise for reading it!!) I have one this week.

As you know from previous moans I belong to a lot of Facebook tatting groups.  I'm never totally sure how Facebook 'works' but I've got no secrets (only the ones I never share online - like my love of all things chocolate etc!) so rarely have cause to add anything to conversations.  

There was a post on a very popular tatting group over the weekend which I followed but didn't comment on until it was seemingly abandoned.  The group has a strong ethical rule about naming the designer of anything that members post which is a GREAT idea as it means we can all find the pattern either on a website or in a book. 

What a surprise to find that the owners of the group had changed the header picture but NOT NAMED THE DESIGNER AND SOURCE.  It wasn’t something I’d want to make but I do want to see what other designs that person has done.  Those who make the rules seemingly have the rights to break them too!!  I felt sorry for the poor moderator who’s been left ‘holding the baby’ by the admin team.  

Life never ceases to surprise me.  

Meantime another wet walk on Saturday but fortunately, just for a change, it didn’t rain!

Yet more progress with the gloves

I remembered to take a photo of the gloves before I got too far.  

Can you see that I’m working in the round but with two circular needles.  Now you could work with just one or you could use dpn’s but the pattern suggests this way and I really find it so much easier - particularly as my circulars have two different colours joining the needle ends.  

Because of this I use the red needle for the palm of the glove and the grey one for the back.  Keeps BC3 on the right track!!!  First of all you join the three longer fingers and work a few rows.  Then you add in the ‘pinky’ and the palm is then very straightforward until you get to the thumb.  

Sashiko progress

If you take a look at this post you’ll see what a group of us are doing on a Tuesday morning with Neighbours and Needles.  We’re using a technique called Sashiko and you can find out all about it here.

This is my one side of the bag but I’m not sure if I’ve finished it or not!!!  

Gloves again!!

Progress is being made!!!   Each finger has its own label!!!  Another lesson I’ve learned with this pattern/idea is to knit half of the finger (roughly) then turn it inside out and darn in the starting tail.  This saves struggling to turn the whole glove inside out at the finish.

Actually this is a habit I have carried over from my tatting adventures.  I always sew in ends as I go along.  I cringe at the thought of sewing in ends when I see people who make HUGE doilies and then face the task of sewing in!!  Train the brain is my advice!!!!

Anyway here’s where I’m ‘at’ now!!!

Julie's next pill

Julie is back again with more help/advice.  I’m hoping you’re not going to suffer from a drug addiction, Julie!!!!   This is her last post about the pill.  

This is what Julie has to say this time and I must thank her for her advice and for taking the trouble to tell us all too. 

“Here's my second pill. Posing with a needle cover I used for stuffing this time.”

Tim’s take on the Happy Pill

Tim has definitely taken to making Happy Pills and has found another way to make them too.  I like the red lipstick, Tim!!!  Very apt that this should be posting on Valentine’s Day!!!!

Here’s his blog post last week on what he found works for him.

Another pair of gloves

A member of the family has lost a glove so I’m making her another pair.  This is the pattern I use and I really love it.   The only problem I found with this pattern is doing the i-cord fingers.  I just couldn’t get them to look as neat as I’d like so I used dpn’s and forgot about i’cord!!!

The gloves are worked from the fingers down to the cuff which means that if you’re using oddments of yarn you can work them in easily (and imaginatively!) when you get to the hand part.  I quite like the fingers to be the same colour (and the thumb) yarn but I’m not fussy about the palm/back etc.

The main thing to remember is to label each finger as you go along.  I ‘thought I’d know which finger was which on my first pair a few years ago but I was SOOOO wrong!!!  

Here’s the first finger.  It’s pretty hard to start with six stitches on dpn’s (double pointed needles) but using ‘non slippery’ needles is the answer - not metal ones like I’ve used here!!!!   They kept slipping out!!!  Joanie sent me home with a vast collection of bamboo knitting needles when I last visited her in America so I quickly found a set of dpn’s of the ‘right’ size and the rest of the fingers will be done with those.

Time to take a pill!!!

Julie has had a great idea for putting inside the pills - a pen top.  Why didn’t I think of that?!?!

I asked her for permission to share her pill and she said this

“Of course you can!  I was going to try a needle cap but I cut it off too short. I want to try a longer one next time. My co-workers are asking for  them .”

Thanks for showing and sharing, Julie but do you think that the doctors will be worried about losing their jobs if people start giving out tatted pills?!?!

Look, look, LOOK

How to make an old git happy!!! 

Tim sent in a Happy Pill very quickly yesterday.  I love to know that people manage the crazy patterns I do.   

The answer to yesterday’s moan

Well I hope this will cheer you up a bit.  The ‘Tatting Doctor’ has prescribed a Happy Pill to get us all through the winter doldrums.  

I thought this was a great idea and thanks to Sue (who planted the idea in BC3's head) and Stephanie (who test tatted it) it’s finally made its way onto the pattern site.  Believe me it’s not a hard pattern to tat (mainly split rings) but making it make sense proved very challenging!!!  

The pill can be stiffened or stuffed to retain its shape.  

During research on pills I learned a LOT.  I was trying to avoid making them in colours that people would find a bit upsetting but realised that no colour combinations of colours were attributed to any particular health problem.  

Anyway, here’s the Happy Pill.

Monday moan

Well there’s not a lot that can be done about today’s moan but I may have the answer tomorrow.  It’s post Christmas and up here in the northern hemisphere the days are short - no, that’s wrong as they’re always the same length!!!  I’ll try again.

It’s post Christmas and up here above the equator daylight is short and darkness goes on forever.  Here in the UK it’s cold and grey and this can last for days and days, weeks and weeks.  This can cause depression and a lack of stimulation to do anything except curl up in a cozy chair and read or make something. 

Well thanks to Sue showing something on a zoom meeting back in (probably) November/December BC3 came up with a ‘good idea’.  Well he thought it was but little did he know how much trouble that was going to cause ME!!!  

The solution to the winter blues could arrive tomorrow here on this blog/pattern site.  

The jumper is finished

Started last winter, abandoned because of shoulder problems, taken out of ‘storage’ again this winter and finally finished.  I’m pretty pleased with it too for once!!!.

The pattern is worked from the neck down and is quite ‘convoluted’.  The pattern can be found here in Ravelry.

Socks are finished

Actually they were finished well before Christmas but I got behind with posting on the blog!!!  

Remember these guys?  Well they were stuffed into the socks and were given as a Christmas present!!

After this week I’m all up to date with the crafty stuff and the blogging so I’d better get busy again!!!

A new project

This is the start of another project which will be given away - unless I fall in love with it first!!

It’s another free ball of yarn I got from Hobbycraft.  

The only stitch needed is knit stitch and the pattern came from here,  The reason the edges aren’t curling are because the pattern uses an i-cord edging.  You can find the instructions for i-cord in the pattern and its drop down easy.  Or you can look at the instructions here.

Amended reverse join

I’ve been working on a pattern to teach later this year and it uses a reverse join.  I realised that my page on how to do one wasn’t probably as clear as it could be so I’ve changed it slightly.  

Here’s the link should you want/need it.  Here is the link to a simple technique that is very useful.  Thanks to Elaine for bringing it to our attention.

Now for a picture to cheer the page up!!!

Monday moan

As a lot of you probably know there have been some changes in one of the tatting groups on Facebook.  I’ve always enjoyed that particular group because advertising patterns for sale was restricted to three days a month.  The new rules are now allowing people to show business posts every day - but they’re not allowing spamming.  I hope this works as it will serve the community well but we’ll have to ‘wait and see’.  I may even do a bit of self promoting myself each day!!!  IF BC3 remembers, of course!!!

I very rarely go onto Facebook as I get email notifications when ‘things happen’ and 99% of the time I just delete the email and don’t go to have a look.  But when people were posting up to three times a day trying to sell their patterns in the past and on ALL the groups I'm in - well that is a bit annoying.  The emails just kept coming!

Eventually I found the answer - I found I could block the constantly annoying people so that I never saw what they’re up to - or what patterns they have for sale.  Did I miss them?  Actually, not one bit and I didn’t get half as many emails either.  

If the new rules work (and I very much hope they do) I may even resort to unblocking those that used to constantly bombard them with selling posts.

Teddy bear

I got bored with myself and the long haul on the jumper so decided to make this little chap.  Here’s a link to him 

I was going to give him away but I haven’t been able to part with him - yet!!!  I will one day but meanwhile he’s sitting looking at me!!!  

A shawl scarf

This is made out of one ball of Hobbycraft yarn that I ‘bought’ with one of their free vouchers.  This is the pattern I used.

Because the yarn was free I will be donating this to a charity of some sort.  I love it but I don’t need it and somebody else might.  Simple pattern.which was trebles (English crochet terms) and little else.  I did add a shell edging and a couple of rows of doubles on the neck edge too but those came ‘out of my head’. 

I’ve been working on this at my crafty social groups as it’s a ‘no brainier’ and as I’ve only got 3 brain cells (BC3) it works well for me.  I’ve got another ball of ‘free’ yarn so will be making another ‘something or other’ to give away too.  I need simple things to work on when I’m gossiping or I have to undo and redo the same thing each time I get home!!!!  

A sleeve!

Now the first sleeve is finished I can admit to you that it gave me some grief!!  

Well, not the sleeve exactly but the shoulder I’d joined it to just didn’t ‘sit’ right.  My lovely pals at Friday Knitting advised that I should redo the shoulder.  YIKES.

This meant not only ripping out the sleeve I’d started (I’d done the short rows to get the sleeve ‘cap’ done) but also meant un-sewing the shoulder seam which had been done top down.  Think about it!!  That’s a NIGHTMARE.  I took many many hours sorting both shoulders out before starting the sleeve again.  

As you can see I still have another sleeve to do!!!

I’ve been round the Wrekin!!!

Bet you’re wondering what that means!!!  Well it’s a saying here in the UK and this is a link to an interesting story.   If you say to somebody ‘I went round the Wrekin to get here’ it means you took the long way round!!  I always think a heel is a long way round and feel I’ve been all the way round the Wrekin to get to the straight ‘bit’.  Lesson of the day finished!!!

A bracelet and earrings

Last Friday I was browsing the charity shops in Alcester when I noticed this little bracelet and earring set.  It looked sort of familiar.  When I looked closely I realised the person who’d made it had used my pattern .  They’d done a truly beautiful job on it too.  I took photographs and decided to contact the seller.  Thankfully they’d got a website.  

I had a lovely message back from Sally who said she hadn’t made it and couldn’t tat!!!  This is what she said 

“However, I don't do tatting and never have done. My husband and I only do fused and stained glass as you have seen on the web site.

How our label got attached to something else I have no idea. Although the labels usually peel off they do stick quite fast to the glass.

I can only assume that someone thought it may sell better with a label attached.

Many many years ago (about 50+) I did make a macrame plant hanger and i used to do a lot of crocheting but have not done either for many years.

Carry on with the good work and happy crafting.”

So if anybody knows who DID make this bracelet I would love them to pass on the message that I’m very flattered they used my pattern and that they did an amazing job on it too.  

Two white mice!!

Before the ‘silly season’ I decided to make Liz a mouse but you know what mice are like - they breed rapidly!!!  Liz has an affection for the mice I’ve got lurking around our house.  She often moves them secretly and hides them in different places in the house and I’ve even found them in the fridge - once hiding in my steel cut oats!!!  Fortunately that one hadn’t eaten much!!!

Here are the two I’ve made for her own amusement at her own house and they arrived on Christmas Day!!!

Socks again post

Well I made a start on a sock.  As you know I’m a ‘toe up’ sort of person and find that this works better for me as I can make the sock as long as I like and not have to worry about whether I’ve got enough yarn or not to finish the foot.

I work the toe and heel and then use the rest of the yarn weighing the ‘leftovers’ so that when I get to the halfway point I can stop.  Actually I stop a little before I need to do the top ribbing so I’ve got enough for that.

A seahorse swims in

Firstly I’m happy to announce that Just-Tatting is (or will be) back.  What a relief.

It was before Christmas that this lovely seahorse swam into my inbox.   It must’ve been tired as it came all the way from Singapore.

Thank you, Andrew for sending it to show me.  I remember when I first did the pattern way back in the last century.  I wrote a blog post about its ‘birth’ here.  That’s a long time ago!!!

Monday moan

Yes, it’ that time of the week again!!!

My moan this week is very serious and also a real mystery.  

As you know I’m not a ‘fan’ of  Facebook but there was one group where I always felt ‘comfortable’ and it was very well run too.  I noticed last week that it had ‘gone missing’.  Well, that’s not quite true - it’s still there but nobody’s posting.  I put a post to test it out and it wasn’t published.  After a few days I took the ‘still pending’ post down - but the mystery remains.

The page leader ran the group very well and was understanding when I occasionally spoke to her about issues privately.  She’s what I’d call a ‘real lady’.  I’m so sad that she seems to have disappeared and now I’m really worried about her.  Also I’ve lost my favourite group.  

I expect you want to know which group it is?  It’s Just-Tatting.   Does anybody know if Lily is OK?  I miss her and the group.

I'm back!!!

I've been a bit quiet for a  few weeks but that's because life just wouldn't stop chucking problems my way!!! I've got the answer to that now - I just chuck 'em back!!!

Another reason for being so quiet is because I've not actually got a lot of interesting stuff to show.  Yes I have been crafting just as much as usual but it's mostly been boring (to you) stuff like my jumper I'm knitting!!!

This jumper started it's journey about a year ago.  In fact here's a link to it's birth!!

I'm going to tease you a bit over this jumper - just to fill up space!!!  This is probably where I left off last year (maybe in May).