OK, a working brain!!!

It occurred to me while I was working on the two necklaces that the 'alternative' way of adding beads to the centre of split rings makes life so much easier!!! 

When I used the previous way (pulling the core thread down after having worked the SR) I used to find that I had to keep undoing the SR and 'adjusting' the number of ds's!!! 

The 'new' way, which is probably not new anyway, allows me to 'see' whether the amount of ds's is going to work before I close.  Thus making this the ideal technique for the terminally idle - like ME!!!

I'm now going to reveal!!!

I'm now going to reveal the 'boy necklace'.  

The beads were chosen with great care from a selection of necklaces in Target!!!!  The deliberations and discussions took a long time until the final decision was made!!!  Let me explain.

The brown squarish beads were chosen because 'they look like shark's teeth!'!!  The round ones (coloured) were chosen solely on their suitabiility for a boy!!!

In the centre at the front you can just see a skull and crossbones which were kindly donated by his big sister.  

May I now present a hand made, perfectly customised and carefully supervised 'boy necklace'!!!!

Child's necklace

While I was packing for our trip I found a little bracelet in my tatting cupboard.  You know the sort.  On stretchy thread stuff but with very pretty flowery and plain wooden beads.

Of course me being me I always think I can 'improve' on things so snipped the thread and made this necklace for a little girl.  

Now her brother wants  one too but with 'boy beads'.  He's provided a pirate bead as the central one but tomorrow the search starts for real 'boy beads'!!!  Goodness knows what they are but ...........

Another old piece

Again found at the bottom of the suitcase I told you about a few weeks/months ago.

This must have been made about thirty years ago. It may even have been longer as I can't remember why I did it.

I know it was revolutionary in it's time but not many people have ever seen it!!! I used beads in this piece and everything appears to be in 'node stitch' or Victorian sets.

I may have made this as a result of a book I was studying. I'm not sure if this was somebody else's design or my own. If it was my own it would've been one of the first.

As I had nobody to share with in those days this picture has been lurking around several houses and the suitcase ever since!! I may take the frame apart as it looks filthy on the under side of the glass!!!

Would that count as housework? If so then I won't break the rule of a lifetime and do that!!!

Palmetto 'tat off'

Even if you're not going to Tat Days you ought to take a peak at this page and wee pattern.

I don't know what it is but it tick-led (get it?) me to death!!!

Barbara's sense of humour is just up my street.  

If you've got time then the Palmetto Tatters always welcome bugs which they give away at their State Fair every October.  Any and every bug is always welcome.

Patchwork - tumbling blocks

Jane sent me this picture of her diamond patchwork mat.

I must admit I hadn't fully explored the extent of how this pattern could be used.

Thanks for letting me share this, Jane.  I MUST make time to have a go at it again myself now I've seen yours.

Hearts aplenty!!!

I was playing around the other evening and wanted to do some hearts to go on the purple buttons I bought a few months ago (again from the shop at the tip!).

I started off by using this pattern but changed it drastically as I didn't like the original very much.

Wonder where brain cell # 3 was at the time, eh?

Anyway, here's the result of my 'playtime'!!!!

Playing with earrings

Now this has been one of my all time favourite earwigs!!! Ah, that's the brown one below.

The number of times I've made this one and in so many colours and bead combos I'd not dare to count!!!

But there comes a time when an old git like me needs a more exciting pair!!!

The pink pairs below are my first 'real' attempt.

Well, I say 'real' because three or four others 'hit the bin' before these were made!!!

Actually these are the reason I found the new way of adding beads to a ring and a split ring - there's one of each in this pattern so that you can practice if  you choose to make this earwig.

The pattern is now on my web site here.  I've written it slightly differently so that it reminds you to add the larger beads BEFORE starting the ring or split ring.  

I did that for myself really as I kept forgetting!!!!

The final piece

I still had a few beads left so a brooch was the next thing in the 'ensemble'!!!!

Won't I be a 'Bobby Dazzler' IF I ever manage to wear them all at the same time?

Earrings to match!

First the necklace, then the bracelet and now the earrings!!!

Whatever next, I ask myself?!?!?  

Good find

Next to our local tip there's a shop. This is run by a hospice and it's where you can take things that you no longer need but are too good to throw in the skips.

I regularly go past the entrance to the tip so pop in to see what's there.

Occasionally there are beads. Necklaces and bracelets. I buy these if I like them and then cut them up to use in my tatting. The lanyard was made using bracelets found there.

One day I found a sweet little necklace and my friend said that the beads are actually cornelian stones.

They were quite pretty as they were and I nearly left the necklace to wear as bought. Then I decided to cut it and see what the dear little beads would look like in split rings. I'm very pleased with the results.

Thoughts on addiing beads

I'd like to thank all the kind people who have written to me both in comments on the blog and privately.

There has been a lot of interest in the latest two ways of adding beads to rings and split rings and I'm only too pleased that people find the two pages useful.

The thing that constantly surprises me is that this hasn't been shown before. I can't believe that it's an original idea.

OK, so IF it is then that forces me to ask another question. Having played with beads for the past (must be roughly) thirty years then why oh why didn't I think of it before?!?!?!? I can't understand why and how I came across this while fiddling around AFTER designing a new pair of earrings which needed these two techniques.

I suppose it was partly because I wasn't happy with the results I was getting. This isn't to say that the ways I was using before (making the ring or split ring and then pulling the core thread down) meant an untidy result - it really means that I just wasn't very good at it!!!!

I wonder if there's anything else that I need to fiddle around with to get a better result?

OK, I know the answer to that. Housework!!!!! FORGET IT!!!

Isn't this strange?

If you go to this link or this link you'll find two links to my blog!!!

I'm honoured that whoever owns these places thinks my 'not really original' lanyard is worth linking to.

The strangest thing of all is that I've now got hundreds of free original patterns out there but this rather 'silly' simple one that's been done thousands of times before by hundreds of people has been picked out!!!

I guess the reason is that it was put on my blog and not on the pattern pages.

Ain't life strange?

Yet another brooch!!

Before I start rambling on about the picture below can I say that I added another way to add a bead to the centre of a ring onto my page yesterday. I added a note about this later on yesterday's blog but those who had read it in 'early UK' time might have missed it!!! Here is the link.

Now this is a story of a pair of earrings that have morphed several times!!

After wearing these motifs as earrings on a few occasions I decided that they were a bit too heavy and 'bulky' for my liking. Four flowers on each ear? A bit O T T!!!!!

I took them off the hooks and 'linked' them with a safety pin to wear. as a brooch. That's 8 flowers to one brooch!! What a fiddle getting them on and off clothes!!!! So, while I was making up the last brooch I decided I'd 'finish off' this one by adding the 8 flowers to a proper brooch finding.

First, of course, I had to find the darn thing. It'd gone missing!!! While I was searching I also found another small flower that was in my 'box of completed bits' and added that to the 'ensemble'. Now I'll wear it!!! So, here we have a '9 flower' brooch!!!

Oh, NO!!!!!

I was reading comments on my posting about adding a bead to the centre of an SR on intatters yesterday evening and realised that people were talking about it as if you could add a bead that way to a ring.

I was just about to point out that this couldn't be done with a ring when who should pop out but 'you know who'.

YES you can use this method (sort of and upside down!) to add a bead to a ring too.

I will draw this up later today and let you know tomorrow when it's ready to go. Meanwhile here is the orginal way extremely well shown by Jennifer.

I'm not sure that the new way will be better but it'll be an alternative!!!!

Later the same day!!!!! Here's a link to the other method!!!!

Lanyard with beaded SR's

Now that I've found this easier way to add beads to the centre of split rings I felt it was time to make my lanyard for Tat Days!!

All I did was work out how many doubles I needed to surround each of the 2 different sized centre beads. I did this by doing a practice run - just to be sure.

Then I added the small beads (alternately) to both threads and started.

The knack, I feel, when doing something like this is to attach each SR to the previous one to avoid twisting. So, this is the way I do it. Well, actually this IS the pattern I used to make the lanyard. I made it in pink. Perhaps you noticed?

R1: 1 vsp 3 - 3 vsp 1 Cl (I left the picot on this first ring so that when I return to the UK I can add a motif to the lanyard thus converting it to a necklace)!!!!
SR2: 1 + (last vsp R1) 5 B 5 vsp 1 / 1 + (1st vsp R1) 5 B 5 vsp 1 Cl
SR3: 1 + (vsp last SR) 3 B 3 vsp 1 / 1 + (vsp last SR) 3 B 3 vsp 1 Cl
SR4: 1 + (vsp last SR) 5 B 5 vsp 1 / 1 + (vsp last SR) 5 B 5 vsp 1 Cl
Continue like this for length required finishing with another ring like ring 1 but joined to previous SR.

I wonder if this is new?

Thanks to the arrival of my dearest friend (brain cell # 3) I've found a new and neater way of adding a large bead to the centre of an SR.

I say it's 'new' but I know from 65 (and a half!) years on this planet that there's nowt new under the sun!!! That's my sister's sun, of course!!!

I've always found that the way I've done them before (by pulling the core thread down and adding the bead) made it fiddly to close the SR - AND didn't give me a totally tidy result.

So I fiddled around the other evening and I think I've found a better way.

So, here's what I do now!!!!!

Things that go on behind the scenes!!!

You're probably all bored out of your brains at hearing about Palmetto Tat Days but you're about to hear more!!!

A few days ago all the teachers were asked for a bio about themselves (one with a few unknown facts about themselves if possible). I said that I was going to look for brain cell # 3 and then I'd be back with the results.

Shortly after Riet thought she spotted the missing cell in her garden!!! He was reported to be looking pale and ill. WHAT was he doing in The Netherlands, I ask myself!!!

Martha Ess then said that if she saw the missing brain cell she was going to keep it!!!!

Erin's solution to her brain cell problem is this -

"I keep my extra brain cells in a bottle of chloroform under the bed. Raymond picks them up at Hobby Lobby for me about twice a year. Unfortunately I go through them rather quickly, and apparently mine are not the same quality as Jane gets over there in England. I hear they have them available in bulk at Walmart, as well."

Then Martha found a brain cell of her own and managed to get it to sit still long enough to be scanned!!! Here it is below!!!!

Meantime Riet is still wondering if they can be grown on trees in the garden - if so she'd like a cutting!!!

I'm wondering if we're all sane enough to be teaching at Palmetto!!!

From earrings to brooch!

Remember these earrings?

Well it's time for a confession!!! I'm always a bit 'ambitious' when designing and I did an extra round on this motif. One too many to make it into an earring!!!! So instead of throwing it into the bin I decided a brooch would be a good idea instead!!!

The flat motif at the top on the brooch finding is one I found in my 'box of bits' and didn't use. For this (and the earrings) I used Dual Duty thread.

I must find more of this thread when I'm in the U.S. of A. It's a joy to work with.

Last one - I promise

I'm in limbo with designing at the moment. Don't all cheer!!!

I do have one quite exciting one on it's way but I want to add more to it so it'll not get finished til September/October.

The other is barely started but it's buzzing well with brain cell # 3.

During this period I'm test tatting some of my older patterns and 'modernising' them. Thanks to the 'wayback machine' I've managed to track this pattern down to it's approximate birth in 2002.

I've also updated the pattern on my site too - see link in the side bar to my home page. It's called 'Celtic Motif 1'. I unpacked the new thread from my suitcase to make this one. Sadly the scanner doesn't do this thread justice. It really, really sparkles.