What is the difference?

Now it occurs to me that I don't know the difference between a salamander, a lizard and a gecko! Does it matter, I ask myself? Yes it does!
My friend sent me a link about six weeks ago to an Etsy shop where there was the most adorable crocheted gecko for sale. I think it was a big hint as her husband acquires real geckos from time to time. Anyway, Pamela (the friend and designer of the alternative meercat head and bent flamingo leg) is the one I really need to ask as she and her hubby are the experts.
I thought about this as a project for a while (well, about ten minutes) and decided to make a start a few days later.
Life has been rough, very rough lately so it's taken me time to start blogging it. This will be a looooong post so get yourself a cup of tea or coffee and sit tight. OR just close this page down!!!
Where to start? Well I decided to start with the tail so this was my first attempt.

First of all the whole thing bends the wrong way - well, not the way I planned!! I'd found a 'model' to follow through Google images and his whole body bent the other way - downwards!! I continued with this sample to try and get a front and back leg done.

Not too bad but at this stage it appeared to me as if it would have to be done in several 'parts'. Meantime I also used my drawing software to 'play' with the whole concept. Here's one of the drawings which you can see has an 'alternative' tail. The head looks good in this drawing but that doesn't mean to say it'll work in 'real tat'!!

I now had to start again as I'd decided that this could be worked in two parts. Same start place but ........
This time, and in order to make the tail and body more stable and 'encourage' it to bend in the way that I wanted, I used the same formula of split rings but added very small picots on the lower sides to join them to each other. This appears to have worked as you can see below. BUT where to go next? Obviously the head and then back down the top side of the body as before.

The head. Hmmm, it needs to be simple. The drawing looked good (above) but when I worked it and re-tatted it several times I didn't like it one bit!! I decided to leave it as it was and continue down the top side of the animal just to see if it would 'improve with keeping'!!! It was also an opportunity to test the written text for the legs. I was still intending to go to the base of the tail and stop.
At this point the plan was to then start again from the nose and make the other side. Then, whilst thinking about this I suddenly realised that by doing it that way it would mean that the tatter would have to do frontside/backside tatting for the block tatted legs to look good!!! I'm not a fan of this type of tatting (needs too much concentration for me) so decided I'd have another think!
Oh, I might add here that I do use frontside/backside if I'm sure the item's not going to be viewed from both sides. In other words if it's going to be sewn or stuck to a base.

A few days later and the 'penny dropped'!!!! Why not an alligator join instead of stopping at the base of the body? Then I could continue up the other side without having to do frontside/backside on the block tatting.
Ah, another problem here! On the first side I used the 'back' of the legs to bring the work from the claws back to the body. On this second side I'll have to use the 'fronts' of the legs. This needs some crafty design work to achieve!!! Can I do it? Am I capable? Hmmmmm. I also need to be sure that the legs are NOT the same as the first pair so that the gecko appears to be moving. Tat should be easy as they are constructed slightly differently!!
Well, here's the latest version. In the second picture I have added 'false' eyes. You will notice that the lower part of the face isn't the same as the upper part!! That's deliberate (cough, cough, splutter, splutter!) as I was trying out a second (and better) idea. I won't be doing any more to this design until Pamela comes back to me with suggestions! Over to you, Pamela!!!!!

Finished!

I was still giggling about Gina's comments on Thursday's post and decided that she was totally right. If worked in white the edging would look like a line of molars! So I thought I'd take another look at the idea again and this is what I've done. I think it looks a lot better - your comments are more than welcome Gina!!! It was rather late yesterday evening when I did the corner and you can see that on the first part I didn't join to the picot on the side at the top. This was deliberate as, although I'd added extra ds to the chain I wasn't sure it would be enough. When I came to start on the next side I did join and can now see that this will work!!!

Off to try and finish some more pages to put on the pattern site. I keep remembering things that are still lying around on the computer and which haven't made it into cyberspace!!!

Corner

OK, Gina, I take your point - it does look like a row of molars!!! Very funny!! That's just reminded me - dentist next week - YIKES!
Yesterday I drew the corner out as I find this is the easiest way for me to work. I just drew a few sections, copied and turned one group at right angles, added another single element for the corner and then remove the parts of the corner piece that are not needed. You can see this here.

In the evening I tried it out and it's perfect. All I have to do now is put the pattern together along with a few others that need finishing!!

Hey, who stole yesterday?

I lost yesterday and didn't get round to updating the edging onto the blog. I'm actually quite pleased with it now. Not sure I like these colours, though!! Very 'un-Jane'!!! They do go with the tshirt that I want to add the piece to so, if I still like it later today I may well continue to the 'bitter end'!!! You can see that replacing the SR with a chain between the 'elements' enables the piece to be used either straight or curved. I started to think about the corner I want to make for it last night but I was so tired I didn't pick a shuttle up yesterday! I may well do a drawing for this as the weather isn't good enough for gardening (good excuse!) and sometimes doing it this way rather than using a right angled mirror is easier for me. I'll let you know!!

Too much

I've tidied up the piece as I said I would yesterday and it looks a lot better, I think. There is more space now but I haven't altered the stitch count at all! The only part that changes is the header which I think (when I get it finished) will be published with the 'alternatives'!
Towards the end of this piece I decided to replace the 'spacer' SR with a chain. I think this will make the finished edging more flexible so that if you want to sew it onto a tshirt (which is my intention) it will 'go with the flow'!

Progress

I did do a bit on the edging last night in spite of not being in the mood. I tried the way of working using a split ring and no continuous join. It's looking a lot neater but I'm now wondering if the two small picots I've put on one of the central SR's really need to be there. I think I'll try it without. The problem with those two is that they may again be 'cluttering' the area just under the SR and I do want a bit more space showing.

This pattern (when it's finished) could have many headers to it and I hope to be able to give those eventually.
I'd also like to give it a corner as I remember seeing edges when I was a teenager that I wanted to work but they didn't have corners! In those days I couldn't get my head round doing them myself!

A few hours later and I've just been down the town to get some milk. Actually I almost walked straight past our new neighbour I was so deep in thought!! Whilst I was wandering along I was thinking about this edging (sad woman, or what!) and it's occurred to me that it might be as well to make the SR in the centre of each section a little wider. I've been using 4 - 4 / 4 - 4 but I think I may now try 6 - 6 / 6 - 6. This would throw the lower section outwards. See where the small SR's are heading to the foot of the edging? Hang on, I'll draw it out

See where the arrows are pointing? That's where I mean to alter it to 6 - 6. This should make a bit more of a space between the lower small SR's and R. Having done this then there may well be more scope for a fancier top!!!! Time will tell!!

Thoughts on designing

I'm about to return to the edging again but really this is due to inspiration given to me by the latest copy of Shuttle to Shuttle. This little magazine is published in order to keep some of the groups in the U.K. in touch with each other. I think it must be like the Palmetto fronds!
Now, the main reason I'm thinking about this today is that inside issue 4, which I received on Thursday, there is a small edging called 'Little Maids all in a Row' by Jennifer Williams. This pretty but simple edging has made me realise yet again where I am going wrong with mine. Mine is too complicated! Typical of me - I can never 'think simple'!!! So I'm going back to look at it again!! This is the one I'm talking about (below).
I'm now using a different 'tactic' on myself by drawing it up in order to make myself think long and hard on what I'm doing. I've already spotted that I don't need to use the CTJ in this particular 'version'. I DO like the lower part of this edging but it's the top that concerns me most. If I now 'space' the parts out a bit it may look better - less cluttered. The problem I can see thanks to the drawing is that the sections might not join to each other easily at the bottom - perhaps a ring on a SR or a chain may help OR AM I GETTING TOO COMPLICATED AGAIN!?!?!?!? Hey, ho, time to give the brain a rest and go out for a walk!!!

Earrings for a friend

I try and I try to make other 'sorts' of earrings but I still go back to this design! These are for a friend but I'm very tempted to keep them!!! I've told her they're ready just so that I'm not tempted to!!! I'll have to make another pair for myself. Oooooh, remembered I've got THE brightest pink beads from ebay so perhaps ANOTHER pair using these might happen. Still working hard on 'secret' stuff but should be back on a new design soon. I feel one 'coming on'!!!

Music notes finished

I made the big clef again yesterday as it rained ALL day. That's always a good excuse to sit and tat!!! I also managed the small clef too which was very easy. Both now written in 'Jane' and although I want to re-press them and attach them to a piece of card for travelling they are about done!!

Musical tatting

Now anybody who knows me knows that there's one thing I don't like and that's music. Apparently this makes me a very odd person!!! OK, I'll go along with that!!! I don't even like background music although I will admit to having been to two Beatle concerts when they were first popular in the 60's!!!

Anyway, this is really beside the point. A friend in the USA wrote the other day to ask me if I would make her up a pattern that she'd bought. It's the music doily by Christel Weidmann. My friend only wants the notes - not the whole doily. If you click on the title then it will take you to a page where the doily pattern is bing sold. You'll have to scroll down a bit!!
I (foolishly???) said yes! Anyway, it's all in German which isn't a big problem as there are some English notes with it and then there's always dear old Babelfish (the online translator) to help too. I sat down yesterday morning and spent a loooonnggg time translating it into 'Jane'!!!
I then tried tatting up my notes and the scan below is how it looks at a first attempt. Of course, me being me I didn't start with the easiest one which is sort of half moon shaped. I think this one is called a Clef but I've no idea what the other one's called!!! I can tell you in German, though!!! The big one (below) is called a Violin-Schlussel and the little one's a Bass-Schlussel!!!! I suppose I could go and translate those in Babelfish but it's much more fun like this!!!
Anyway, below is the first attempt. I think it's only really a matter of tweaking the last part and finishing off the last chain round the last ring. You can see where the threads trail off to the shuttles as bedtime called last night!!! More fun today as I re-tat it with amendments and tweaking and then start on the small one!!!

Bags and motif

I realised after reading all the tatting lists about making bags that I'd never photographed my latest one!!! I made it back in the Winter but then it lay around waiting for me to sew on the bits and bobs! In the end I stuck these on with some fabric glue. You can see my eye, heart, 2 and T A T on this side with some of the 'trial' bead people. This is my 'everyday' bag as I always take it shopping with me - I'm trying to do my bit to save the planet for future generations. I'm hoping one day to add more to it. There are other pieces on the back but they're the patterns I'm taking to Palmetto with me so are still 'top secret'!!!!

I love doing bags and did one to take to Palmetto a few years ago. There's a link to it if you click on the title. You can also click on the pictures on there to see enlargements.

The motif I'm working on 'suffered' a few improvements last night and I've now settled on this as the 'finished' idea!!!! It needs pressing but the ironing board's been out twice this year!!!!

Small motif

I'm making some small motifs to use for presents to take to family. They have to be sewn onto fabric. I'm playing with a 'combination' pattern of several that I've done in the past. Why, oh why can't I just get up off my butt and look in a book (I have well over 100 plus leaflets) instead of putting myself through the agonies of 'making something different'?
Anyway, here is the motif so far but I'm not sure it'll stay this way!!!! The background HAS to be burgundy so it's proving quite hard to find the 'right' colour to use for thread. I may go and play with combinations of fine threads instead of the green. It looks fine in 'real life', though. OR could this be a good excuse to buy more thread for my stash? No, no, no, Jane. Stay away from more thread temptations!!!!!

Ring a Ring earrings!

This is an idea I've been working on and it's SO simple it really doesn't need any more skill than being able to tat rings. Tat's it, really, rings round a ring. I sort of used another pattern which is on my web site but replace parts of it with beads. I'm using this for earrings but another thought has occurred to me which I won't tell about just yet as I need to play first BUT this is just SO easy. Oh, a love of beads is probably a must too!!! Most of these are for a friend but I shall keep the pink and green ones. The photos aren't really showing them off very well but I think you can get the general idea!!!

Another arrival in Tatland!!

Elvis is alive and living in Tatland! Honestly! Just click on the title to find out more!!!
Forgot to mention earlier - listed more tatting stuff on ebay!!! My seller ID is simply janeeborall!!

Nothing to do with tatting!

Friday, good, megga good, exceptionally good, fantastic day.
I had a phone call yesterday evening from my youngest daughter who then put four year old Nathan on the phone. He told me that 'mummy's got a baby in her tummy and it's going to 'pop out' soon'. I can't explain how I feel as I'd been hoping for ages that Nathan would have a sibling to share his parents with. Callum has Oscar and Athena has Carter and finally Nathan will have somebody too!!!
After all those years of teaching I realised way back that it was really good to have more than one child if possible. I'm the oldest of three (one brother and one sister). I know it's not always possible but it's good to have somebody to play with, argue with and, well, just BE with!!!!
I apologise to anybody who thinks that this blog is all tatting - caught you out this time, eh?!?!?!!?
No tatting yesterday and probably not a lot today as the garden took a lot of my time!!!

Time to abandon the edging for a while

Oh dear, oh dear. This is now NOT a good design. I suddenly realised that (as usual) I was being too clever with this edging and so have changed it quite drastically. It occurred to me that the CTJ wasn't actually needed at all!!! How silly is that!! So I tried starting in a different place!! Oh, not a good idea!! That scrap has been duly filed in the bin!! Below is another attempt replacing a ring with a split ring and thus getting rid of the CTJ in one go. BUT I'm not sure I like it now and it certainly needs some 'help' with the swop from the top to the bottom part as it now looks untidy. I find it's a good idea to use strongly contrasting colours when doing this sort of thing as it really, really shows up the problems!!!
I shall now leave it for a while until the 'muse' strikes again!!! I HATE TATTING. Well I did for five or ten minutes!!!!

Still playing with the edging

Well I followed Mark's suggestions and the small sample below on today's posting is what I came up with.

I think I put too many picots on the lower part of the upper part (well, I know what I'm talking about!!!!) so then went off to try something else. Oh, I was also not happy with the clarity of the bottom either!!! Below is a 'two part' tryout. In the first two 'pointy bits' I followed the same idea again but this time with less picots on the chains. Also I made the lower part slightly bigger which I think gives it a separate 'feel' to the header part.
The last two points are yet another idea using the original split ring but throwing a ring off it and down to the main central ring. I again used picots and the larger lower part. This is going to be a challenging (to me) pattern to write down for people to follow. It's not hard at all but does need some careful explanations around the continuous join concept. Anybody willing to give it a whirl? I think I may do all four versions in the end for the pattern site. Time will tell!!!

Edging

Well I did nothing to the edging yesterday as I got waylaid into another tatting project which I want to get further along the way today. This is a gift idea to take on our trip.
BUT thanks SO much to Mark Myers for the following idea. He's such a clever chap with his computer graphics. See - he's added another ring to the top and picots. What a difference this makes. I shall try and get back to it this evening to alter the pattern. Gina, I will let you have the pattern in the original form as soon as I'm sure I can understand it!!!! Susan, I think both you and Mark were thinking along the same lines!!!!!

Edging again

Back again on the edging. I didn't get anything done on Saturday and in fact didn't even pick up a shuttle - BAD DAY!!!! My new computer was playing up so it meant taking it back to the factory settings and then re-installing Vista. Last time I did an 'upgrade' but this time a 'clean install'. The drivers got themselves in a heck of a muddle. This time everything seems to be working well, so far!!! The edging finally got picked up at eight o'clock Sunday evening and I'm still not happy with the header on it. I think it needs to be 'prettier' so perhaps more picots would soften the outline. All suggestions VERY welcome before I abandon the idea!!! Interesting progression using the continuous thread join and I'm pleased with that part. I also like the 'firmness' of it as that will make it stand up to countless amounts of washing! Anyway, here's last evening's version!!!

Edging

I'm not very keen on making edgings for myself - well, not for handkerchiefs and table linen. There is one sort that I do like to make and that's deep ones for tshirt necklines. I like these to be in the same or contrasting colours to the tshirt and so I decided a few days ago that when I'm in America later this year and with young children around me then something like this would be easiest to take and work on. No beads but two colours (hopefully) and two shuttles (the cats won't want to chase those around like balls of thread!). So the adventure into the 'perfect' edging has begun!!! I like the other one I did here http://tinyurl.com/35dldl but of course I'm bored with that one. I also want to play again with the continuous thread join as it means you can get a deeper edging but in one round. Below is the 'story so far'. I'm afraid the colours don't contrast very well but they were what was handy to me at the time!!

Now, I'm reasonably happy with this - it lies well but I don't like the pointy top!!! I'll have to think of something different for this. It's too stark although I think it could be classified as a 'Vandyke' style. I also need to find out if this will lie to a curve or I'll have to alter it accordingly. I'll make a 'corner' for it for V necked tshirts (or even handkerchiefs!) as there's nothing MORE frustrating than having a lovely edging without a corner!!! I spent the afternoon yesterday looking through dozens of books for inspiration or an edging I could adapt and then picked up a rejected and an earlier attempt of this piece that was lying around the house!!! Any suggestions would be gratefully accepted - my email address is lovetotat at gmail.com.

Close up of my picture

Now I wonder how many people have noticed that I've changed my picture on the blog. A more up to date (and older version) of me!!! I'm so glad it's only small - the horrors of my face cannot be seen!!! Mind, if it was a close up you could see why I never look in mirrors!! Anyway, below is a close up of the tshirt!!! Hope you like it!!!
I may just get the pattern for the eye onto my pattern pages over the weekend - a lot depends on the weather, though as well as my memory!!!!

Another pair

Here are another pair - purple and shaded yellow/orange with beads to 'match'. This is again a fine thread doubled. Two days of wearing the orange and blue ones have made me realise that they do need stiffening. I shall do this after this post is done and then wear them stiffened to see if that stops the 'slight' bending. I cannot stand them when they go 'off track'.

Two pairs of earrings

I'm very pleased with the orange and blue pair which I'll start testing today by wearing them. The other pair is worked in a number 40 Olympus (variegated) and a 40 Coats (?) but isn't as 'firm' as the others. Again I will test this pair out another day. They may be fine slightly stiffened. I think I may try another pair with drastic alterations to the stitch count and using a single number 80 thread. I feel it's worth playing with these a little longer!!!

Now I know what it is!!!

It's going to be an earring. Definitely! I need to make another and then wear them for a while to test whether they stand up to use. This is my first attempt to see if it would be viable. This was worked in a no. 20 thread. I went very wrong with the first and only bead!!!

The second attempt on Sunday evening went drastically wrong!! Must have been the red wine - well, that's my excuse!!!

The next one is 'getting there'. I worked this with a single no. 80 (or thereabouts!) thread. I did go a bit 'off track' at the top but it was nearly OK. I'd done a rough drawing of how I thought it would turn out yesterday morning but realised that I'd numbered the rings wrongly as I'd forgotten to put numbers in the RoCh's!!!!! This made re-writing the text a pain yesterday evening. This new way of working really is better. Have an idea, play for a while (doing text as you go) and then draw quite early on. Even a rough drawing before I start is a help if it's an animal!!

Finally I decided to try the no. 80 (or whatever!) doubled and this has worked REALLY well. Much firmer result. I shall try again this evening with a no. 40 and then 'test drive' both lots over the next week or so by wearing them before putting the pattern on my site.
Of course this little motif could be used for anything from a zip pull to a little sew on. I would like to experiment with a large 'dangly' bead in the centre of the bottom chain. The good thing about these Vlp's is that you can play with them when you get to them without the hassle of planning ahead and working out what beads to put where. Ideal for a lazy moo like me!!!!!

What will this turn out to be?

This bit of tatting has been haunting me for the past week. It was an abortive start to a butterfly. Aborted because I didn't like the colours of thread or beads. It even went round the town with me yesterday and I almost bumped into a number of people because I had it in my hand and was thinking about it!!! Danger tatter thinking!!! I've a feeling that it could turn into a sweet little earring! I shall play with it later in a no. 80 thread.

I listed some stuff on ebay on Thursday on a 10p listing day. Never again!! I wonder what they do on these special offer days? It took two days for anybody to even notice that the Aeros were back!!! Very odd - I feel there must be a sub-plot here!!!

The Butterflies get better

Yesterday I listed some more 'stuff' on ebay. I love making and wearing earrings and over the twenty or more years I've been making them I've found that you have to keep them simple in structure so that they don't 'bend' after a few wearings!!! Even stiffened if they are too wide then they tend to 'curl or bend'. One answer is lots of beads!! The blue, green and orange pair I made for myself then discovered that I'd already got some in those colours and that style!!! If I'd got a brain I'd be dangerous!!!

Now everybody knows (or should by now!) that I like a little colour in my life!!!! I get into my tatting stash and then get lost in decision making on which colours of threads and then beads. I think my all time favourites for 'surprising' colours must be bright orange and bright pink. I make myself look at other combos too and this time I came up with the turquoise and blue. I'm pretty sure they worked just fine. Then the beads. I used to think that the 'same' coloured beads were the 'right' ones but now I'm into trying startlingly different ones. The second butterfly has turquoise and yellow beads with the orange and pink!!!!

Wow and double, treble wow

Yesterday a small but priceless treasure arrived here in the UK. To say that I was gobsmacked would be a gross understatement. In this tiny and pretty little box were the dearest little turtles made by tatbit herself. I just can't tell you how beautiful they are and no pictures would do them justice. How Teri managed to tat these onto the cab is just beyond me. Even Nick was lost for words and that's a miracle in itself. His main question was 'how fine is that thread?'. They will travel with me to Palmetto and everywhere I go. Treasured beyond measure - I've never seen anything like these little turtles. Colours that tatbit used are amazing too. To see tatbit's blog click on the title of this post - I'm not sure how to do links in the message itself yet!!!!

Earrings

Two pairs of earrings. These are some of my favourites to wear and to make. The thing I like most about them is that because of the multitude of beads (worked on fine thread) they hold their shape through thick and thin!! I'm wearing some pairs which I must have made three years ago and they are as 'good as new'. I do use diluted PVA as a slight stiffener and protection from body oils, dirt etc. (I do wash behind my ears!!). The brown and pink pair are a gift for a neighbour but the green, blue, orange are - well just for fun. I may list them on ebay.

During the night I had a BRILLIANT idea for a new earring design so once I've tidied up my work area I shall be trying these out. They will have lots of beads too!!!

More pretties

Mystery solved

Thanks a million to Karey Solomon who says she's got the Tatbeads. I knew they'd got their passports!!! I'm rather relieved they're off my hands for a while as they are SUCH a handful. They mentioned that they wanted to go to the Hector tatting convention but I said they were too small to travel alone and as I wasn't able to go then they had to stay home. I found the ladder outside the window leant against the wall so I presume that's the way they sneaked out. I hope they've saved up enough money for their fare home - I'm not sending them any!!!! Karey, if you have any problems with them threaten them with the scissors!!!!!

New arrival in Tatland

Elaine Law sent a picture of a frog she'd made to go in the Tatbead family's garden so please take a look. Click on the title to take you directly to the tatbead's extended family!!
Oh, there's another mystery here. They all came with me to the Ring of Tatter's stand at the NEC a couple of weeks ago. They came home and were last seen 'lurking' in the middle room. I then realised after a few days that they were no longer there. They've been missing now for a week. I did hear a rumour that they were last seen heading towards Heathrow airport. I can't find their passports either so I''m getting a bit concerned. If ANYBODY knows anything about their whereabouts would they please let me know. I would be grateful of any sightings or any thoughts on where they could be.

Another attempt

I finally got the brain working on this one again. I started at the head which is an extra SR and meant altering the text completely throughout! Then I took out a ring and chain on both the upper wings. I've yet to put this in a ring but I'm much happier with it now.

Also listed more shuttles on ebay yesterday and was also told this morning that I could 'let the cat out of the bag' that I've been chosen to teach at the Palmetto Tat Days - yippeeeeee!!! http://www.palmettotatters.org/events/TatDays2007/TATDAYS2007.shtml

Later in the day and I've got the same butterfly in it's ring. Rarely do I get things finished within 24 hours of starting. I've usually 'mislaid' them in between times!!!