Hanky holders

I always carry a small packet of tissues in my handbag and they ALWAYS get scrunchy/grubby looking. 

A friend was making these covers and selling them successfully to raise funds for our Tuesday group so I thought I'd make one for myself. 

I searched the internet for 'how to make them' (as you do) and found this great site.

This is almost the end of this great fabric and I'm going to miss it SO much. Always cheers me up!!

Saved!!

Not probably from 'extinction' but certainly likely to be thrown away. 

I found these two shuttles in a charity shop in Alcester just over a week ago. They simply HAD to be saved. Well, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!!!! The lower of the two is actually a lovely shade of yellow which seems to be lost in the photograph. 

I'm already overrun with Milwards and have probably still got in the collection the ones I bought 60+ years ago with my pocket money!!! As I've tatted for so long and never been sidetracked I'm sure some of the originals have survived. 

I now use mainly the Aero bobbin shuttles (or the new Clover bobbin ones) but when the Aeros first hit the shops and I tried them I couldn't get on with the design at all. Eventually (as Milwards were becoming hard to find) I decided it was the 'Aero bobbin shuttle or nothing'. 

It always tickles me when I see people blogging or talking on Facebook about how you have to wind and hold the Aero to tat. Particularly which way the hook has to point (up, down etc). I once bought a French Aero which actually showed how the thread was loaded into the shuttle and which way the hook should 'point'. I adopted this method and have 'hooked' on Aero ever since. 

I will add here that the way the shuttle is held is entirely up to the tatter but I would suggest just persisting at finding your comfort zone.  There is no 'right' or 'wrong' way!!!

Finally and finally!!!

Well you're going to fall off your seats today. I've actually finished the beaded version of the square motif which you can find here. 

The link is here.

Obviously this can be played with too with variations using the SLT and also three colours (or more?). I leave it to you!!!

Yet again!!!

Sometimes test tatting can lead to a 'what if' situation!!!

I love the angel that I did for Martha a few days ago but I 'needed' to see what it looked like without the picots on the rings!!! I'm not particularly fond of lots of picots as when I started tatting (back when the dinosaurs were around) everything had lots and lots of picots. I think I outgrew them.

So, I decided to do this lovely angel 'naked'. Of course I'm now regretting not adding beads to the picots that I did leave in!!! Do I feel another angel approaching? Maybe, maybe!!!!

More coasters.

Just thought I'd show you another set of the coasters I'm making. 

There's something so relaxing about making these!!!

I love the pink ladybirds (or, as they're called in America - ladybugs). 

Actually I think that's a far better name (ladybugs) than ours as they're just NOT birds.

Another treat for you

Another treat from Martha. 

This is a button angel which I test tatted a week or so ago. A delightful tat too. I'm sure you're all dying to get your hands on Martha's new book but it'll be a while yet as there's so much work involved with putting a book together.

One of the toughest jobs must be putting up with ME as a test tatter!! There's very little to do with test tatting Martha's work as you can guess but concentration is essential as a tester. BC3 really has to turn off the rest of the world when he's at work.

Revised pattern finished.

I had to keep this back for a while so I could play with it a bit further!!! I do like to play!!!

This is the revised square pattern which is here and here.

I decided I wanted to know what it would look like if I used three colours of thread and so I've been playing as you can see!!!! It's thrown up some different patterns within the whole thing but I'd still like to experiment more with some SLT's!!!!! 

Anyway, before I forget - here's the link to the re-vamped pattern (no beads on this one) and you'll see that the original has seriously been consigned to the bin!!!! Now I've got to work on the beaded one!!!

Another!!!

Martha sent me a heart to test for her this time. 

What I LOVE about this design is that you get all the buttons onto the tatting within the first few elements. Why do I like this idea so much?

Well, I'll be honest. I go to the tatting cupboard and source the thread, beads (if required) and buttons needed for a project. Easy. I then take all back into the living room (a few steps away) and into 'tat corner'. Easy. So, what can go wrong with that? Well nothing, you'd think, but it invariably does.

How on EARTH 'things' can get lost when you know EXACTLY where you put them and you know darn well that they've not been moved. I swear I could lose my head if it was loose.

Nick knows what I'm like and often says (as I walk out of the front door) - beware of those big red things called buses!!!!

Something relaxing

In October I'm having a 'table' in a craft/artisan fair. 

This will only be a small one (table and fair!!!) as it's being held in an upstairs room at the local library (where I help teach silver surfers). I'm going to make several of these snowflakes as it's going to be quite close to the festive season. 

As we're a hundred yards away from Shakespeare's Birthplace we may get some footfall as long as we're well advertised. 

I'm not sure what this thread is but it's pretty sparkly. I'm sure it's not the Lizbeth metallic as it came in a box of wonderful odds and ends that I bought off Sue Hanson.

More coasters

These were finished before I was 'struck down' and I've just found the pictures on my phone!!!

Sadly I no longer 'own' them as a neighbour fell for them and insisted on buying the set of four off me. Bless her as that's an incentive to carry on. I no longer have enough of this cat fabric left to make more BUT I do have some scraps which I'm considering using for another project!!!

Being a 'war baby' (born towards the end in 1943) I never throw anything away and all the offcuts get used until the 'bitter end'. Remember the tatting bag I made?!?!?!? Here's the link to the small amount I finally had leftover!

A new book in the pipeline

Sometimes what you need to enable you to recover from something nasty is a challenge. One of the nicest things that could happen to me was that Martha Ess wrote to ask if I'd test tat this butterfly for her.

Now I LOVE Martha's work and test tatting for her is a real pleasure. She's working on a new book which will be tatting on buttons. I love using buttons in tatting too so this was a delight to get my 'teeth' into.  Sally is quite jealous when I've shown her what I'm up to as she loves buttons too.

One thing which she mentions in the introduction is a method of joining to the button that I'd not thought of so this is on my 'to do' list to add to the techniques pages. It really makes for a much sturdier join and I wish I'd thought of it before her!!!!!

I'm BACK.

Well, sort of!!! Just not used to being ill as it must be 20 or more years since it happened. Still, that's behind me now and it's a case of 'upwards and onwards'!!!

This is another rendition of this motif that I had done before I stopped blogging last week. 

If you remember - I'm currently working on a re-write of this pattern. You can see the motif (naked) here, but today I can show you the same little stinker with 'clothes' (aka beads) on. Of course there could be many variations on the use of colours but this is what I've done so far. Keep watching for further progress - or not!!!!

A new member of

The Exclusive Tatting Club

A couple of days ago Lou sent in her dear little mouse. Now it's taken me a few days to get to put it up in the Exclusive Tatting Club but it's there now. 

As a teaser I'm going to show you the picture but 'make' you go to the page to see what Lou says.

Blogging might be a bit intermittent for a while as I've not done a lot the last week except cough and not sleep. Now (hopefully) under control with antibiotics for a chest infection.  

It's OUT again

That's my sewing machine!!!! 

It's been in hibernation for a while as I've not known what I want to sew. Time is creeping on and I've got a table in an exhibition/sale in October so thought I'd better make some things to sell - that's if we get many customers, of course!!! 

The exhibition is going to be in the library in town which is a few steps away from Shakespeare's Birthplace so just MAY attract a few people if they know it's happening. 

This is the first of a set of four coasters that I'm making which I really love so has provided a good start to this foray with the machine.

Obviously I will be taking some 'tatty bits' to sell too but need some sewing things as well.  I've got a few tote bags (Japanese prints) which will go with me too.

CTB again!

Well as you know I'm going to consign this pattern to the bin shortly (CTB) so I thought I'd better get on with the re-write!!!!

I'd like you (if you've got time) to take a look and see what you think. To me it seems a lot clearer but then I'm living right on top of it so it's not possible to take an unbiased look.

I'm next going to try putting a few together to see what that brings out in the design and may try one or two with SLT's in to vary where the colours appear.

As promised yesterday!

I took the photos as promised yesterday and here they are.

The one on the left is the first square I did. That's using what the Tunisian crochet sites call 'simple stitch'. It gives a firm, dense fabric.

Having tried that one the yellow is a variation where I've pulled the thread through (as with the simple stitch) but then done a double crochet (English dc) and then carried on. 

This grew a lot faster but gave a looser fabric which is fine.

A new 'toy'

At one of the crafty groups I go to there was a lady called Jenny who had just bought herself a Tunisian crochet hook. 

I've often been tempted to try this type of crochet but could never quite see the point of it. Having seen the type of fabric it produces I was sorely tempted to have a go. So, off I went to try and find a hook.

No shops locally had them (not even the charity shops) so in the end I bought one off Ebay. Thus the adventure began. 

I decided that I needed a project to make BC3 more interested so have decided that a cushion cover would be a good idea. If that goes well then instead it might grow to something bigger - like the tatting I showed you yesterday!!! 

Actually this is my third square - I'll take photos in a minute of the other two to show you. I'm not sure what this stitch is called but I like the fact that the fabric is growing a lot faster than it does with the original 'simple stitch'.

In case you think I'd given up!!!

Do you remember my 'big' project with the diamond motifs? Well if not then here's a reminder of where I'd got to when I last blogged about it.

As you can tell from that post I was dithering about whether to continue or not but in the end the temptation of the threads and the possibilities got the better of me and off I went on another round. It's taken me roughly three months to get this next round on as I only work on it when I'm 'out and about' and not having to concentrate on what I'm doing. As you can imagine - I know this pattern off by heart by now!!!!

For this round I decided to use the same colours all the way round. I've used a variegated and plain together for both the inner part and the outer and they're all different. 

Again I'm now wondering if this is the end of the 'tale' or whether I may 'fill in' the outside to make it straighter or not. Time to sit and think and try out ideas for a while. 

Meantime (as you know) I am always up to other things too so that BC3 doesn't get bored!!!!

Simply STUNNING

Now I really, really, REALLY wish this was my idea and my execution but it's not. It may happen sometime in the future though that I'll get round to trying it myself. 

Thanks to Patti Duff and Heidi I do have the pattern and just need to settle BC3 down to give it a whirl. 

OK, I know I've worked the pattern before but not like Heidi has with two colours. This is her work which she's kindly allowed me to blog.

Now the pattern is on page 22 of Dora Young's 'All New Knotless Tatting'. So, where do you get the book from? Well from Heidi or any of your other tatting suppliers including Tatting and Design here in the UK. 

Having recently completed this in 'just one colour' I'm going to HAVE to do the same again in two!!!

Finally!!!!

I bet you're sick of hearing and seeing me fiddle around with this by now and have been put off actually making it!!! I can still see so many different colours in my stash that I could make this with but really need to get on with other things. 

Anyway, here's the link with thanks once more to Sue (Pigmini) for the name. I always struggle for names!!!

CTB

Now I bet you're wondering what that means!!! Well in this household it means 'consign to bin'!!! Simple, eh?

Now what do you think is going to be CTB'd? Well I'll show you. This. 

Why? Well I'm just not happy with it and if I was to be honest I've never really been happy with it. So I'm shortly going to take it off my site BUT I am going to replace it with a much better (I hope!) updated version.

With the new version I've tried and tried to get it to work in one pass but failed dismally!!! Still it'll certainly be a lot, lot better and a lot, lot squarer too, I hope.  

Just hope that BC3 will stick with it long enough to get it done!!! I'll do two versions - beaded and non beaded while I'm playing with it.

Cuff with clasps

Well in the end I decided to go with two clasps which will keep the bracelet from twisting round my wrist - well, that's if I wear it of course!!!

I did wear it for a couple of days and it really really works well. Not sure I like those clasps but as they do stay on the inside of the wrist that's fine by me. 

I'm very open to other suggestions if anybody has them. It's an ongoing problem knowing what clasps to use or make that look good and work well for an old git to put on easily. Comments on this problem will be very welcome. 

Back to playing

I'm getting there slowly with the Celtic Ferris Wheel pattern!!! I've got several things 'on the go' at the moment which are distracting me from actually finishing off this pattern. I do apologise.

I'll try and get it done over the next two days. It's the fiddling around laying it out on the page and then the various links etc that have to be done that's causing the 'problem'.

Well also that and the garden taking over a bit of my life!!!! I don't 'mind' gardening but I regard it as a chore rather than a pleasure but somebody's got to do it!!!

It's a BOY!

Bet you thought I'd given birth when you read the title of this blog post!!!!  Hardly feasible at the 'tender' age of 74½!!!  I'm back to knitting glove puppets again!!! This time it's a boy!!

Actually although I'm not that fond of knitting it's proving a good way to teach myself (and pick up speed) how to do continental knitting. 

As a crocheter this way of knitting makes a LOT more sense as the yarn is held in the left hand (like when you crochet) and is almost 'hooked' through the loops. 

I had a very dear friend called Irmgard many years ago who tried to teach me her continental way and I just didn't 'get' it but now thanks to Youtube I'm on a roll with it. I may EVEN start to like knitting in the end!!!!

Whoops!

I'd nearly forgotten to show you this!!!  I know you've seen two before but I keep going off on another tangent to play with something else that's new!!!

It's the new design I'm working on - when I remember!!! I'm a bit of a ditz when it comes to actually finishing off things and this pattern seems to be 'one of those' that I have a tendency to forget!!!! 

Maybe my next project should be to design a BC4 as I think I need more help with just getting things finished rather than flipperty jibberting from one idea to the next!!!!

Not quite finished bracelet

After you saw this post I made another 'side' to the bracelet!!! Exactly the same!!!

Now this is the reason that none of the pink rings had beads on - I knew that they would be joined to something else which is what actually happened. 

A rare day when I start off with a plan AND carry it through!!! Now I've got a cuff bracelet but next I need to tackle the fastenings. This is unusual for me. I don't like putting on fastenings afterwards but I did want a cuff that would fit EXACTLY and not keep turning itself over on the wrist.

Time for BC3 to have a good think about what he intends to do next!!!!

Another crocheted puppet

Now this time I've made another puppet but again crocheted. This one has the worry pocket on too. 

Not all little girls are blond so this one's a brunette!!!!

Revitalised

Well this was a struggle and I'll admit it. I wasn't really in the zone for this but when I'm asked to do something I will get on and do my best!!!  This is the pattern which you can find here but sadly these pictures aren't the best I've ever taken as they're so hard to get a 3D one right!!!  Best to look at the ones on the pattern site!!!

I decided that I'd start from scratch and just ignore the drawings that I'd done. Well that didn't last long as I quickly found that I had to do all the drawings again as they were 'pre Apple' drawings and done on a PC. Not a problem really as that's something I really enjoy doing.

So after deciding to ignore and not look at the diagrams I found that the text needed a bit of re-wording. Did that and then tried it out. WRONG!!! Big mistakes. So I finished the drawings, added them to the text and it all then made sense. Well, to me.

Playing with needle felting - again!

Well yes. I'm back on the needle felting again. I do know one thing - this will never be a favourite hobby but it's also quite interesting too!!!! 

While I was out and about with a friend a few weeks ago I bought a needle felting 'brush' (a cheap one). It's sort of like a scrubbing brush. Now I do find this a LOT better than the original spongy sort of pad I'd got so I will stick with this for now. 

A friend down the road accidentally washed her jumper (cashmere) on too high a heat and it shrunk a LOT. Bad news for her but good news for me!!!! She gave me the sorry garment and I've cut some of it into strips. I felted the one strip to make a bookmark and the new brush means that the fleece goes through the cashmere really, really well. So I decided to back the finished item onto fabric. 

Actually the pictures don't really do the bookmark justice - or is it that I need more practice!!! Would somebody kindly send me another 24 hours to fit into my 24 hour day, please?

Teapots finished

Remember these little teapots I showed you? 

Well they were for an exchange I did with the Fringe Element in Canada. My partner has now received hers so I'm happy to show you. 

What I haven't told you is that the person I was given to make for is a very, very special friend who has put up with me twice by allowing me to stay with her in her house. Her husband is special too - love his dry sense of humour. 

One of the remits on this exchange was to use beads. Now, I can hear you wondering where the beads are on the picture below but I can assure you they're there. Tiny gold sparkly ones. My very special favourite ones. 

I had to make the large teapot VERY carefully so that I got all the beads in the right places. Thanks to Martha Ess's wonderful instructions and diagrams in her 'Tea is for Tatting' book this wasn't hard but just required dedicated concentration - thank GOODNESS BC3 behaved well throughout!!! All the teapots are in that book.

Crochet puppet!

Do you remember the knitted puppet? Well if not and you haven't 'jumped ship' yet then here's the link.

Now I can knit and do like making socks (as you probably know) but I'm not that fond of using the needles. I do like to crochet, however, so decided to make a crochet puppet. There's a pattern on the knitfornowt site which I read through but then decided to 'wing it' on my own!!!

The hair is crocheted too and I sewed it on while sewing up the puppet. BUT, being the plonker I am, I managed to sew the hair to the inside!!!! I've always told you I'm not fit to be allowed out on my own and now I've proved it. Now I needn't have told you that bit about the hair but it just goes to show that I'm nowt but honest!!! 

Can you see the pocket on this one? That's for the children to put their worries in. 

I wonder what the next puppet will turn out like?!?!?

An idea for a bracelet!

Now I must admit I do love this pattern even though I shouldn't brag that I do!!!! It's such an interesting but easy one once you get started. I re-wrote it a few years ago and it's certainly a lot clearer now even to my fuddled old brain.

So this time I decided I wanted/needed a wider bracelet - more a sort of cuff, I think you'd call it. This is what I've done so far. Yes there are beads missing off the pink side but there's a reason for that. No, I didn't forget to put them there - it was a deliberated thing!!!!

Gold thread comparison

I decided to make another of the Rosemarie Peel stars but this time in size 20 Lizbeth. This was done purely to 'test' the size of the metallic thread.

As I was working the second star (top picture) I kept thinking it was going to be oodles and doodles smaller. So when it was finished I was more than a little surprised to find (see the second picture) that it wasn't 'that' much smaller. 

Yes it would make a difference if you had a specific size in mind and that the item HAD to fit into or onto something - like a bangle bracelet but apart from that it's fine. 

What I wouldn't do now is use a regular Lizbeth thread with the metallic Liz as that would probably not work unless some small adjustments were made to the stitch count on the pattern. 

Hmmmmm, now I've give BC3 an idea I just MAY have to try that out!!!

Gold thread 1

When I was at the Gloucester Tatting day last month I bought some of the new Liz metallic thread from Barbara at Tatting and Design who was the supplier for the day. I just bought the one ball as I wasn't sure how I would like it although I did buy two other balls for Sally!!!

I've made this lovely star by Rosemarie Peel with it. Sadly, as others have found out, it doesn't take a good photo or scan. It really, really does glitter and sparkle very well indeed. 

Now it's not an easy tat and has to be treated with a little more care that usual. It doesn't break and the metallic glittery element running through it doesn't break either which is a huge bonus. It's just a little 'stiff' to turn the knots. Having said that - I quickly got used to it!!! 

I personally don't like the Altin Basak glittery thread which used to be available (can't find the link right now) as the sparkly element in that does break and very easily too. BUT I think my favourite of all time is the Nakis Simi thread which you can find here under Oren Bayan Metallic. That one really rocks my boat in the nicest possible way. 

Whatever you think I still think we ALL ought to say the biggest 'thank you' to Barb at Handy Hands for taking courage and huge risks in finding the manufacturers in China who were prepared to listen to her and make the threads for us all. This was at a time when lots of manufacturers were stopping their production of tatting/crochet threads.  So, once again, Barb - thank YOU for going to all the trouble of giving us Lizbeth and Liz thread. I love them.  

Knitted worry glove puppet

Just for a change I decided to knit a worry glove puppet. 

This is an idea I got from a friend who's daughter works with children. I've done some local research and have found an outlet for them which I hope to get the Tuesday craft group interested in. 

We've been making fiddle muffs for dementia residents in local homes and it would be lovely to go to the other extreme and start to help out local young kiddies too. This puppet has a smiley face on one side and a sad one on the other. Hopefully this will help children talk about the situations they may find themselves in.

Next project now is to make a crochet one as I prefer crochet to knitting!!!! I've now got this one as a 'template' so making another with a hook should be pretty straightforward - I HOPE!!!!

Back to the new idea!!!!

This is the way I work - I do something, forget it, go back to it, play more and repeat this process until I've got it how I want it!!!

In the last 'incarnation' of this idea (link to post) I'd used lock chains all round the outside but I didn't like that!!!! So this is virtually the same but with ordinary chains instead of some of the lock ones!!!

Now I really, really ought to check it again to look for any small changes.  I've asked Pigmini (Sue) for help with naming it and she's come up with a great idea - the Celtic Ferris Wheel.  At least it's got a proper name.  As you know I'm hopeless at naming things so it's good to have a proper brain to help out - thanks, Sue.

Japanese lady

Now this little Japanese lady was made in a real hurry for Georgia last year. Just found her lurking in a corner of my computer!!!!

Georgia wanted a Japanese lady pattern so that it could be made and added to the squares that people took home to do for the quilt project.  This is a huge undertaking that she organises for the Palmetto Tatting Guild each year. How she manages to get it all together is beyond me but she does.  Big thanks to all those who commit to doing a square too.

Anyway I bet there maybe one or two people 'out there' who may like her. If so here's the link and she can also be found under the 'people' section on the web site.

4 little teapots

Now I'm NOT going to tell you why I've made these but I will say that they're part of a larger project. All will be revealed in due course but due course isn't any time soon!!! Tat's all I'm saying!!!

These little darlings are from Martha's teapot book which I love. I slightly changed two of them (the ones on the left) by adding beads - like you do!!!! They're a joy to work as are all Martha's patterns.

Bet you want to know where to get the book from? Shall I tell you or should I let you ask Mr Google? 

Ah, better tell you as Mr Google likes to have a snooze from time to time. You can get it from Tatting Corner, or Handy Hands, in America but I can't yet find it in the UK. I'm sure if you asked Martha directly (email me for her address) then she'd help you out.