The penultimate skirt post

Well here it is in all it's 'glory'.  Made for nothing except what I had lying around the house and some lining fabric I found in a charity shop.

Everything I have in the way of clothes has to have pockets so the skirt had to have one too!!!

Starting in on the new skirt

Having got a design that I like and that fits  (see Wednesday's post), I have decided to make a new skirt in that style - well, almost that style.  

First I needed a pattern.  Patterns are so expensive nowadays so I visited our chicken coop where we store a few old newspapers to line the nesting box of our last remaining chuck.  Please don’t tell Lady B (the last chicken left) or she might be cross.  

Then I measured and worried about cutting a pattern out of the old newspaper.  I’ve still got a lot of fabric in my stash so knew roughly what I was aiming for.  

These pictures show work in progress!  Well, BC3 thinking hard about it all!!

The story of a denim skirt!

I have a skirt!!!  Just an ordinary skirt which I bought many, many years ago (between 15 and 20 at a guess).  

When I bought it it was almost ankle length and was plain with a flair insert (see picture below).  Made of denim it quickly became a favourite.  

A few years later it wasn’t fashionable anymore as it was too long.  Out came the scissors and several inches were cut off and again it regained the status of ‘favourite’.  

Another few years on and it was again at the back of the wardrobe.  Why didn’t I like it anymore?  

Several hours of thought went into that question and I decided it was the now ‘out of date’ with the big buttons down the front.  So, off they came and the buttonholes were covered with a denim strip.  

So, what is the point of the story?  Well I decided that I liked the style and length of it but it's now feeling a little dated again.  More another day!

More pouches

Well I've made two more pouches and have another few 'on the go'!!!  I think I'll soon be weary of these now.  You know my attention span isn't that good but they are now very enjoyable to make - IF I read my own instructions carefully!!!

Monday moan!

Yes another Monday moan. Bored with them?  Let me know and I’ll stop.  Well, if BC3 will allow me to!!!

This is back to one I’ve moaned about before and which I think is now becoming quite dangerous.  Dangerous for those who sell patterns online or hold copyrights on in books etc - just be aware not to use mine without permission!

Another tatter pointed out to me last week that there was a YouTuber who was publishing videos of patterns which were copyrighted to another.  Now some copyright laws seem to suggest that if this is being done in another ‘format’ it’s OK to do it.  BUT what about intellectual property?

Please REMEMBER that the original written (whether digital or printed) pattern involved a LOT of work which isn’t needed when transferring to a video.  

Firstly the person I was alerted to (on YouTube) was using a pattern that was originally published in written form in a book.  

Secondly I’d like to know if she had permission.

Thirdly another thought- this is actually damaging to our craft as working out a pattern in text and diagrams is part of the learning curve which is essential to any craft.  If a person isn’t ‘forced’ to learn the craft from practically nothing then there will be no in depth skill.  A brain has to be made to work for it’s ‘keep’.  

I’m lucky as I had to learn from ‘word of mouth’ from somebody who was also learning so BC3 was forced to really concentrate on the knot.  

A picture to cheer you up!!!

Kitchen towel

When I was wandering through Poundland some months ago I spotted they were selling cotton yarn.  Only £1.50 for a decent sized ball.  

Obviously you know what happened next!!!  One (no, two!) fell into my basket and that was the end of that!!!

About 15/20 years ago we were visiting Nick's son and family in Cincinnati and in the kitchens people had small 'finger towels' hanging from their oven handles.  We decided that was a splendid idea and we bought some from a family member who made them out of regular towering and crocheted a top for the hanging part.  

These have now finally worn out!!!  I've made two replacements in the past and have made this new one as a gift (don't know who will get it) and as an excuse to try out the yarn.  I'm really, really pleased with the quality of the yarn and one ball made this towel.  

Two more lost patterns!

Thanks to Sue. In fact MANY thanks to Sue who's found two more escaped patterns! 

I've no idea what or when these went missing but they certainly did. 

The Tattysaurus was designed back in 2000 and although another person copied the idea this one is the original and hers is a mere shadow!!! Based on what we know here as 'Indian bracelets/bangles' the Tattysaurus took many many hours to design.  I’d better give you the link!!! 

The other missing pattern which Sue found too is a Christmas tree which was designed in 2008. This pattern can be an earring or a brooch.  Again here’s the link for that one.

                                        

Two free patterns today

What I'm NOT good at is keeping track of stuff.  A comment was made on a Facebook group the other day by somebody looking for any 3D patterns.  I've got the flower fairy here, flowers here and here with another one here too.

There are baskets and boxes here as well!!!  There are probably more too but the only one I really wanted to share seemed to have disappeared from sight on the link pages!!!  No IDEA where the 3D teddybear had got to over the years!!!  He's an old chap now but I really loved this guy when I did him.  I found him lurking around on the internet and the only thing missing was his link on the Odds and Ends page.  He's now back but I've no idea who to thank for nudging BC3's cells into finding him again.

I've given up waiting for dragons to arrive from the TIAS!!!  More would be very welcome but I'm a patient person.  Here's the link to the full pattern.

May 8th 2006

Yesterday was my anniversary.  Back in 2006 I made my first post and that was quite a big adventure for me.  

Thanks to the folks who take the time to read my ramblings and who click on the adverts which generate a small amount of money.  That money funds the pattern pages which are here.

Just out of curiosity I looked at the stats on the site last week and was surprised to find that I'd been so busy!!!

I tend to blog rather than 'do' Facebook as stuff on that platform gets lost in the morass.  If I put things on the blog I can look back and find what I did and when I did it.  Not that I need to often but it's good when I need to.

It works!!

My notes and pictures worked for the little pouch. Thank goodness!!!

Now I have another problem - what to do with them when I've finished them.  I want to make a few more as I now enjoy doing them.

What tickles me about them is that even the smallest coin doesn't slip out into my pocket.  They're also ideal for a small tatting project as they easily take two shuttles.  If anybody wants one I'll charge £5.00 plus postage.  I doubt I'll make many more so I won't list on Etsy.  Well, I may do but they'll have to be more money to cover their charges too.

Again for those who missed the original link to the pattern - here it is.  

My own instructions worked fine but I'm going to stop making more for a few days so that BC3 has a chance to forget them and thus test the destructions again - when he's forgotten.  

Back to the pouch problem

Well I decided that I really needed to write this pouch pattern down in words and pictures for myself.  Obviously this isn't my pattern so I won't be publishing it in another format even though it's probably OK to do so. 

The adventure started with the pictures shown below (and trying to follow the video) and as I was putting such a lot of effort into it I decided that I'd 'involve' the velcro idea too.  

Now I have a 'thing' about velcro showing on the outside of a finished item so where to put the second velcro so that it wouldn't show when the pouch was closed was a BIG problem!!!  Poor BC3 took ages puzzling it all out. 

Here are the pictures that I took as I was making it.

Another little basket

This time one in cream.  I'm really going to have to give some of these away soon as they're taking up space.  I'll be looking for 'victims' so be warned!!!!  

I'm sure somebody will like them but I may have to resort to stopping people in the street and foisting them onto them!!  They keep me happy making them and that's all that counts!

A better looking visor?

I'm taking you on another trip down 'memory lane' but it's not that far to go this time!!!  

Remember what I thought was the ugliest visor ever seen?  Here it is.

Well - it was!!!!  Below is the new rendition of it.  I wanted something in more wintry colours and this fabric just happened to be in my stash.  It looks a big wrinkly on the band part but it isn't as bad as it looks on the photos.  Anyway, I'm a happy soul now that the ugly has gone!!!!

A new little pouch

Do you remember my Monday moan from last week about video patterns?  If not then here's the link.  

I really struggled to make this little pouch but got there in the end!!!  

I did this one exactly as the pattern showed but with one difference.  I used an old fashioned press stud to close it.  Here's the pattern I'm talking about.

Now I don't own one of those popper tools anymore as I could never get on with it.  I've decided that the next pouch I make will NOT have a press stud but velcro instead.  

Of course this will add to the problem so BC3 is going to have to have his thinking cap on for the next one!

A lavender basket.

Now after the success of the knitting basket which you can see here I decided to use some more of my finer threads to make a smaller ‘trinket’ basket.  

What I love about these is that you can make the base (which is a pretty standard ‘pattern’) and progress it until it’s the size you want.  Then you just carry on without increasing.

It’s ideal for BC3 when he’s in an ‘I can’t be bothered’ mood!!  

Another project

I wandered into an outdoor shop a week or so ago as I was looking for a visor to protect my eyes.  This is the only one they had and I think it’s probably the ugliest one I’ve ever seen.

It had one good thing going for it - it was cheap as nobody wanted it.  

I took it to the till and said to the young lady - ‘this is the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen’!  She was surprised I was buying it but I assured her that it wouldn’t look like this in a few days!!!!

Time to get BC3 out for a bit of sewing, I think!

Monday moan

OK so today I’m going to be quite controversial and I know that a lot of you will totally disagree with me. 

I’m not talking about tatting videos but they do come under the same moan really.

My lovely friend Sandra sent me a link to a video on how to make a pouch - a sewing one.  I’ll show you another day.  Now this is ONLY on a video.  There are no written instructions.  No sound except music and not a lot of text either.

I am afraid that I’m of the ‘old school’ and I need written ‘destructions’.  Videos are fine for a technique but to do a pattern takes a lot more skill from the presenter.  With a video I miss being able to make my own notes on the pdf as I go along so poor old BC3 has to keep rewinding all the time.  GIMME proper written patterns with diagrams/pictures any day.  This constantly rewinding drives me MAD!!!  I suppose being an OG (old git) has got a lot to do with my problems but honestly ……..

I also am wondering if videos (now talking tatting) won’t make people ‘lazy’ and finally unable to read a written pattern.

Back off my soapbox and back to the wretched video.  Here’s a picture to cheer you up!

A new knitting basket

I hate to throw things away and after taking apart the waistcoat which I fell out with I had the two balls of variegated 4 ply yarn to ‘deal with’. 

The balls of plain purple and green are becoming a scarf which you can see here.

So as I needed another means of containing the yarn while I’m using it I crocheted a ‘basket’. I’ve used the two balls of yarn together to give it some ‘body’ and it seems to have worked.

Finished duffle bag

I did enjoy this challenge and the best thing about it is that I haven’t ‘damaged’ the original bag at all and could easily ‘restore’ it in the future. This is what it looked like originally (second picture). 

Now I’ve got a bag, which I’ve always enjoyed using, but which is a bit ‘brighter’ and in which I can put my cup which I take with me when I go ‘walkabout’ in case I ‘need’ a coffee while I’m out!!!!  Also I can put my hats inside when I go indoors without losing them!  

If you look at the last picture and the one above it you’ll see I’ve lined the bag and that I’ve used the original metal eyelets as they’re very well reinforced.

Mimi’s snowflake

It’s always a delight and a surprise to see that people actually use my patterns and none more so than a well known lady in Tat Land. Mimi Dillman who is a fantastic teacher of the cluny technique in tatting. How do I know that? Simple - I’ve been in two of her classes over the years.  Here’s Mimi’s page which is WELL worth a visit.

She wrote the other day to show me the Scintillating Snowflake she’d made and she did comment that her bugle beads weren’t ‘quite’ long enough so she’d added a seed bead to the ends of them. 

 Now this made me realise that when I did the other pattern using this technique, which you can find here, I did put the extra bit in about using 4 seed beads instead of the bugles. When I get the time (and inclination) I’ll add that to the Scintillating Snowflake pattern too.

More progress on the Coats doily

Now back in the dark ages (well, not quite!) I started on this doily and you can see the progress I’d made just over a month ago.

Well I finished the next round of motifs and have just started on the next round. The end is in sight but it won’t be happening any time soon as I’ve been distracted by ‘other things’!!!  Just tracked progress back to the start of this project and it was on the 7th March so it’s going pretty well - for an old lady with just a BC3!!!

Another hat

Well this one was a BARGAIN from a charity shop.  Of course it 'had' to be decorated, didn't it?

I actually sprayed both hats with Scotchguard - not to make them waterproof but to try and keep them from not getting 'quite' so dirty 'quite' so quickly.  I wonder if that will work?

The large motifs are the new one I put on my pattern site last week and the butterflies are the SCMR one also on my site - somewhere!!!  

Zigzag finished

Finally I got my act together to finish off the web page for this amazing doily.  Many thanks to Bev for all her help with it as without her it would never have got put down on 'paper'.  

I started working on it before Christmas and here's the previous one done in size 20.

I just absolutely LOVE this pattern.  This yellow version is done in a size 40 thread and measures 15” in diameter.

There are split chains but no split rings (are you reading this, Diane?!?!) and the split chains could be avoided too.  

Excuse the 'wobbly' look to the picture but I took it out on the grass which is by no means totally flat!!!

Here's the link to the pattern.

Patchwork project

The start of another idea.  

Pamela in Ireland gave me this duffle bag (second picture) waaaay back in time.  I used it a lot and it’s a really sturdy bag.  I re-found it recently lurking underneath other odds and ends and decided that it was waaaaay too good to be sent to a charity shop and even more waaaaaaaaaaay too good to be thrown away..

As our poor old planet is suffering from global warming and as I have leftover fabric from the patchwork jacket which is here I decided that I should cover the bag with the leftovers from the jacket!!!

Each square is 2” and I need a lot of those to cover it.  

I now ‘need’ a bag when I go places where I need to ‘park’ the new hats and that’s a ‘problem’.  I need something to put the hats in that I can hang on the back of a chair - or whatever.  

If you can’t follow my ‘reasoning’ then don’t worry.  My brain works in a strange way!!!

A hat!!!

As I’m getting old.  Yes, old.  I’ve realised (and been told!) that I need to take certain ‘actions’ like wearing a hat to protect myself from ‘summat up there’.  

So, I bought this hat.  It is a nice hat (even though I’m not a ‘hat person’) but it was boring.  Plain and boring.  So I’ve decorated it with a couple of seahorses.  That’s a ‘selfie’ and I apologise for the ‘grim’ expression on an otherwise pretty old and boring face!

A quickie today

Just wondering if there are anymore dragons to come in from the TIAS? 

It’s a month since the last one arrived and that was number 85!!!

When I’m sure there are no more to arrive I’ll put the whole pattern on my pattern pages.

New snowflake motif

I put a teaser of this pattern on Facebook last week.  Now I have added it to my pattern pages.

This uses a technique that I came up with a while ago and used on this design and this one.

What I like about this new one is that it’s quick to make and is ‘just the right’ size to make as giveaways for Christmas.  I’ll confess - I’ve made loads of them already!!!  

Here’s the link to the pattern.

Finished blanket

This is the blanket I started waaaaay back to use up my stash of yarn.  It’s a good sized knee blanket as opposed to one for the bed.  Why?  Well I didn’t run out of yarn (reduced it by half) but I got bored.  Just couldn’t face another 11 knitted squares (at least) to make it bigger.  So I put a crochet edge around it and ‘called it a day’!!  

This will get donated to a charity - just got to find one that wants it.

For those who’ve not seen this before here’s the link to the pattern which I used and which meant no sewing the squares together at the end!  Win, win for me!