One Finished Curtain - with attitude!

So my plans to sit in the garden to make this curtain have proved a washout so far.  One afternoon is all I've managed.  Instead I've been sitting inside (avoiding the cold and/or the rain) watching iPlayer on the laptop in Tat Corner.

That's allowed - sitting in Tat Corner to crochet as I checked with BC3 first!!!

Now, it's really hard to know what the finished size will actually be when you're doing something like this.  Well, it is for me!!!!  I spent hours doing the maths on it and doing trial pieces but I find that hard so in the end just got on with it.

So when I'd started out, the curtain was meant to run from bottom to top (or, t'other way round!) as in the top picture below.  BUT when I laid it out on the floor I realised that the width was slightly too much.  It would give too much of a 'ruffle' effect.  I'm just SO lucky that it works t'other way round as in the bottom picture.  PLUS a big bonus is that I think the design looks better that way too!!!

Ferris Wheel motif mat - AGAIN!

Having finally come to a halt on the mat I now have to decide what sort of edging to put round it!!!  This is HARD!

Below you can see three attempts to make one and two of these failed dismally!!  I knew they were no good and thankfully Sally confirmed that for me when she stayed last weekend.  Here are the three attempts.  

The first one (excuse the colours but I used manky thread) seemed to be OK apart from the stitch count.  The second one was sort of OK but Sally thought it ought to be in just one plain colour which I agree with totally.  It also proved to be too 'wavy' even if I'd put on another round after.

The third one is what I'm working on at the moment - again a thread which is very old and which I'm just 'using up'.  This one MIGHT work but I really want to tat a bit longer on this just to be sure.

I've yet to decide but I will get round to it one day soon!!!

The bracelet has a name!!

Having made a bracelet for Ros I decided I really, really 'needed' one for myself!!!  

So off I trotted to my thread drawers and as so often happens to me, Rainbow Taffy smiled at me so I smiled back and hoiked him out of the drawer.

I'm (as regular readers will know) hopeless about naming patterns but this simple name has stuck with me throughout so it's going to be called the Starry Button Bracelet.  Least I SHOULD be able to remember that!!!!

I'll soon have the original earring pattern ready and will shortly start on the bracelet one.  Text is done but finding time to do the drawings seems to be the problem!!!

The end - nearly!!

So, 36 motifs finished of the Ferris Wheel motif.  The outer round motifs have no buttons in the centres - just because I wanted to make sure the pattern worked with and without!!!!  

Now I want/need to work out an outer round as it just doesn't look finished.  In fact it looks disastrously naked!!!  Naked tatting?  YIKES.  Send for the tatting police!

Sally was up here over the weekend - this is her blog.  She brought up a dozen pop a bobbin shuttles - all with hooks.  For those who have never met a pop a bobbin shuttle - please visit the tab at the top of this page for more information.

As there are so few of them I'm just going to list them when I have time.  It'll be a case of whoever sees them and wants them - gets them.  I did that a few weeks ago with the last batch and they went within a few days giving those in other time zones the opportunity to see them and me a lot more exercise trotting up and down to the Post Office.

No, that's wrong - in my case it's down and up to the Post Office as there's a slight incline down into the town!!!

My Weekly March 2003

I thought I'd finished with these but I was WRONG!!  I found another!!!

Now there's quite a story behind this article!!!!  Are you sitting comfortably?  Then I'll begin!!!

It all started with a phone call from the arts editor at the magazine (My Weekly).  We'd obviously become friends over the previous few years.  Elena asked if I could please do a seahorse pattern.  Well, of course I said 'yes' and asked what the deadline was.  'Tomorrow' she said.  Oh, she might've said next week but I know it was a very, very short time.  This must've been in 2001 that the call was made.  That's (duh, come on out BC3) 12 years ago when my life was megga busy.  So I made a seahorse.  This embarrasses me now as the tail is really the wrong way round!!!!  Neither I nor Elena noticed at the time!!!!  

So the pattern was completed against all the odds in just a few days, submitted and accepted.  I was as ever, dead chuffed.

Roll on a couple of YEARS and it was finally published!!!  

This seahorse  (although one of my favourites of all time) has caused me a lot of upset as a few years after publication somebody 'stole' it.  They changed it (NOT for the better) by putting in some picots and missing out a nose ring!!!  In fact I've put a picture of the 'damaged' seahorse below.  This was published in a tatting newsletter under another lady's name and the editor of the newsletter said it was 'fine to do that as it had been changed by more than 10% so the copyright now belonged to her'!!!  That's a myth as we all know!!!  I queried the amount of changes anyway!

I finally spoke to the 'designer' who was a very, very old lady who'd seen a picture of the seahorse and copied it from that.  She'd no concept of copyright issues.  I couldn't be cross with her but I was with the tatting newsletter people as, if they considered themselves 'experts in tatting', they should've checked and double checked the pattern.  By the time it was published it was already on my web site.  

Anyway it's all 'water under the bridge' now but it's worth a mention that by taking other people's work you can damage their health and temper!!!!!

A new bracelet for Ros

So, after the earrings that I showed you here I can now present the bracelet to match.  Well, not quite a match as I didn't have enough of the beads that I used on the earrings!!!!  

My stash of beads is quite considerable but finding the 'right' ones each time means I tend to use the same favourites!  This eventually leads to a dearth of the favourite colours - time for another look in Ebay, I think!!!

I'm going to start doing the drawings for this soon and once I've made a few of these bracelets (with adjustable clasps) I'll put some in my Etsy shop.  They'll have to be a tad more expensive than my usual 'stuff' as they take ages to make (nearly two evenings which is about 6 hours) and are (as you can see) 'bead hungry'!!!!

Question is - how much do you think I should price them at?  I find it SSSOOOOOO difficult as I rarely sell stuff - it gets given away or thrown in a box!!!!

Curtain at 22 inches

First of all - number 117 pram has arrived here on the TIAS blog.  Thank you, Ray.

I thought it was about time you all suffered an update on the filet crochet curtains.  Well, that should be curtain at the moment.  

This is still an interesting afternoon project and one which is still slowly progressing in spite of the 'grand tidy up' that is ongoing in the house.  Don't you just HATE having to do that?  The tidying up, I mean.  

Red Winsomes

So another look at my vast collection of tatted earrings and a thought about the only red pair I've got.  

Now this red pair are based on this pattern and when I made them I extended the long beaded picots on the side and bottom rings.  I thought they looked fine until people started commenting and calling them my 'cross' earrings.  That stopped me wearing them as I didn't want anybody to think I was in any way 'into' any religion!!!!  So this weekend I decided to make a new pair of red earrings.  This is the pattern - the ever useful Winsome Drop earrings.

I bought these lovely glass beads while I was in America last September.  I really love them.

Earrings Ros and compare

Having made the one pair of these earwigs for myself as an experiment I then decided that my friend Ros would probably like a pair too.  Now Ros is even shorter than me and a lot, lot slimmer so she doesn't like big earrings.  

I made her the pair that you can see at the top using the same pattern - which I WILL get onto my site once the manic tidying up has been completed here in the house!!!

The picture below shows the comparison between my pair and 'hers'.  Dying to give them to her now and hope to see her later today.  I've also made her a bracelet which I'll show you soon.

Earrings

I'm pretty sure that it was Joanie who gave me the earrings you can see in the top picture here when Sally and I were staying with her.  My apologies if it wasn't.  

Anyway I've looked and looked at them and finally the aged brain sort of decided what to do with them.  The bead is REALLY sparkly so I didn't want to hide it inside the tatting like my first thought would've done.  I was originally going to use this pattern.  It would've been fairly simple to construct this round the bead in situ.  

After some thought and a dash to the tatting cupboard to find my pliers I took it apart instead.  The bottom picture shows the finished pair.  

As you can see the beads in the chain are moved into position on the core thread.  BUT me, being me, I decided that this earring needed to be finished with no ends to sew in.  Thus the final chain is a split chain.  I had to work out how to do this with the beads still on the core thread - it's not hard but took me a few minutes to work out.  The pattern itself is really quite a generic one which has been 'designed' many times by many people so I don't really think I can call it my own.  Beads are added over the small shirt button in the centre.  Now the question is - do you think it's worth me putting a page together or not?

My Weekly February 2003

This is the last of the magazines - I think!!!  Bet you're glad about that!!!  

You'll see that this one was one of my first 'experiments' with buttons.  Well, buttons AND beads, of course!!!  The pattern is now on this link if you should want it.

Since this foray into buttons I've done several other button patterns too and am playing with them again at the moment.    

Curtain progress

I haven't given up the day job (crochet) and this is just a quick update on the first curtain.  The curtain is what I'm going to do while sitting in the garden this summer.  Main problem is that summer came and went.  It lasted two days which happened last week.  In fact we're now back to winter so I'm doing it inside on spare minutes in the afternoons.

The top picture is the original 'picture' one that's up there at the moment.  

The next picture is a 'long distance' one to show you progress.  At the moment I've done 11" of the 30" (ish) required so that's just over a third of the way - IF that's how it turns out.

Of course I have to keep reminding myself that there's another to do and MAYBE another pair (slightly smaller) for the bedroom but I'm not planning on that (the bedroom) at the moment!!!  Time and inclination comes into that equation!!!

The final picture is a closeup so you can see the pattern that's repeated.  Here's a link to find the pattern.  It's interesting enough to not get boring but not complicated like the picture one.  No rows and rows of 'just open filet' to work either.

26 motifs - HOW many?

A further update on the Ferris Wheel motif and the mat I'm still working on.  Least I call it a mat although it's not going to be useful for wiping feet on!!!  I mean, who ever would imagine a doormat with huge holes and gaps in it?

Anyway, it's now up to 26 motifs.  The ones in the middle have all been done round a button but the surrounding ones are 'naked' and have no buttons.  I'm quite pleased with it so far.  Time will tell if I'll still like it or not!!!

Giveaway again!

Hope the title has caught your attention!!!!

Dear Elizabeth who won the Irene Waller book puzzled about it and then realised it was in a box of books she'd still got packed away.  She's kindly offered it up for 'giveaway' again.  

So, back to the iPhone app and this is the random number it generated this time.  Number 51.  This is Rukodelka who lives somewhere where the language is Czech!!!  How do I know that?  Because this is her blog and when I visit it my browser translates it into English and that's what it says at the top - 'translated from Czech to English'!!!!  

If you go down her page you will see some stunning tatting.  I'm so pleased that this time the book is on it's way to another country too.  The reason?  Because the friendly Post Office staff are always interested in the places I post to!!!!

Congratulations to Rokodelka - please send me your address so I can get this into the post as soon as possible.

Winner of giveaway.

Well after last week and the random generator online giving me a suspicious number almost in the middle I decided to try another one that I've got on my iPhone in a very useful app.  This gave me the number 23 out of the 87 who commented on the blog and on Facebook.  Trouble is - I've no idea who this is apart from her name which you can see below.  Oh, she's a clogger too.

So, I'll wait until Sunday for Elizabeth to get in touch and then I'll run the numbers again if I don't hear from her!!!  Congratulations, Elizabeth - hope to hear from you soon.

Oh, for those who live in the UK and who love Lizbeth thread and all sorts of crafty things - get into this shop fast before I buy the rest of her stock!!!!  Note that over £19 it's free delivery too.  WOW.  Well worth a visit - AND she takes Paypal too.  I've shopped here before now and the delivery is FAST.

For the man who has everything.

Namely MEEEEEE.  Joking apart - this is for Nick.

He already had a magnetic bookmark with a badger head - he has a lot to do with badgers and their welfare.  Anyway, that bookmark got lost and probably ended up in the library.  

He asked me to make another for him and as these Wrap It, Flip It and Mark It bookmarks don't get lost very easily I thought I would make him a 'whole' badger instead.  He was drop dead chuffed with it. 

Oh, I do have more of these bookmarks for sale here in my Etsy shop - along with bags too.  Bottom picture is the badger playing in the grass.

Before I leave  you today and start on the dreaded H work I must tell you that I have 84 names in the pot at the moment for yesterday's giveaway.  I'll draw it later today and let you know in tomorrow's blog post.

Second giveaway

Before I start - number 116 of the TIAS has arrived.  Well, two prams from one person!!!  Here's the link.

Today I'm 'in the mood' for another giveaway.  This time (as you can see) it's Tatting by Irene Waller.

This is an inspirational book which really was 'before it's time' when first published in 1974.  In fact I'm pretty sure I went to a lecture by Irene around that time held in an old school somewhere here in the Midlands.

Please feel free to enter wherever you live.  I will use the usual random generator on Friday sometime and will let you all know via the blog on Saturday morning.  Good luck to all.

16

Sixteen Ferris Wheels now done.  What shall I do now?  I'm asking because I could take it further as I'm still enjoying it.  I think I'll make another round to this.

Actually I think that I'll do the other version now - the pattern without buttons.  It'll be interesting to see if it'll work out OK.  No reason why it shouldn't but .....

New project

Now in the summer (IF we get one) I like to have something to do when and IF I sit in the garden.  Something that doesn't need beads or is too fiddly to do.  I HATE the sun so always sit in the shade.  Sometimes I just sew in the conservatory but at the moment (having made 20 roly poly sets) I'm 'off' sewing bags.  

A week or two ago I had to take some 'stuff' up to the tip.  Next to the huge skips is a shop where you can take items that are too good to throw away and which somebody else might like to have.  The profits from this shop go to the local day hospice in Stratford.  

Of course when taking things up there an old git just HAS to go and look around the shop and look what I found.  Yarn.  4ply acrylic   I bought this HUGE cone which is brand new for just two pounds.  I'd already got an idea of what I intend to do with it so grabbed it and came away.  I'm going to make curtains.  There was only the one cone so if I run out I'll have to resort to ebay or Amazon for more.  

I will use filet crochet to make them so once I've decided on the pattern I'll start.  I made curtains for the windows (which are still fine, by the way) some years ago and they're 'picture' ones.  I'm bored with them and this time I'll make slightly 'fuller' ones with a repeating pattern.  

More in the future.  Meantime I'm still working on the Ferris wheel motif and thoroughly enjoying it although I'll be putting it aside while I do some test tatting and also make a bookmark which has been requested - a Wrap It, Flip It and Mark It one.

My Weekly November 2001

Well, well, well.  Look what I found!!!  Has anybody ever made this pattern, I wonder?  I know I did but I've no idea where the pieces are now.  Probably squashed in the box where I chuck everything when it's finished - unless I give the thing away, of course!!!!

The pattern is here if anybody wants it in digital form.  It seems like another lifetime since I did this.  Strange coming across these magazines again after all these years.