Stiffening tatting

I know this is an old 'chestnut' when it comes to talking about stiffening tatting.  

I NEVER use sugar water - did that about fifty years ago and that tatting looks dreadful now and in fact a lot has been thrown away.  I've never tried hair spray  either as I've never owned any (well I had a can in my teens once) - perhaps I should buy some just for tatting? 

So, on the whole I try NOT to stiffen anything.  

A few days ago (Sally 'persuaded' me) I thought I ought to look once more at this pattern which I did back in 2002 to see why I didn't make many.  First of all that's a totally HORRID snowflake on the page which would NOT appeal to me (or anybody else) as something I'd want to tat!!!  

Yes this is a design that does need stiffening.  I think I've found the answer now and will share it with you as it's useful for anybody who wants to stiffen with PVA.  I do like that glue for stiffening but I usually water it down.  In this case - well, read on..........

First of all before stiffening I feel that any tatting needs to be pressed.  I can hear somebody out there (can't quite fathom out who it is, please speak up) saying - 'how the heck can you press something 3D?

Well my solution is to wet the finished item thoroughly and then place it flat on the ironing board.  I then put a cloth over it and press firmly.  I do this again  moving the 'arms' over and pressing it the other way.  It looks almost as flat as a pancake by then but when you move the 'arms' into 'snowflake position' it looks GREAT.  Then to keep it looking good I get 'neat' PVA glue (white school glue) and squidge it in with my fingers into the now hot and damp thread.   Actually this is a method I've been using now for the past few months.  I think it's having the piece really wet before squiggling that helps.  Let me know if you've every tried it and how you get on.

You can see one of the 3D snowflakes that I did a few days ago below my ramblings.  It's not easy to photograph these little stinkers!!! 

I've changed the pattern quite a bit so will get the improvement up within a few days.  Please bear with me.

Now to dress up the ears!

As promised yesterday -  here is the pattern for the earrings.  

These are very similar to the bigger trees that are here and could be worn together - as a brooch and matching earwigs!!!  

I used a clear button for mine as they happened to be lurking in my button stash.  I prefer to have a more 'solid' earring as that stops the dreaded 'bendy disease' which can happen even in spite of megga stiffening!!!

A forest!!!

Here are the trees that I found lurking around the house.

Sally and I have inherited the same genes from our ancestors - we both consistently lose things, especially bits of tatting and beads.  We're both good at putting things in an 'obvious' place or even a 'safe' place but then we can never find them again!!!  I found a bag of trees yesterday and here they are!!!

Anyway, this is just a 'filling in' blog post to give me the time and the 'nudge' I need to get another version of this pattern ready and available for you tomorrow.  It's going to be the earring version.  That one is done solely on a button (shirt button sized) as it really does need a button to keep it from going 'bendy'.  

There's nothing in Tat Land worse than spending time making earrings only to find they 'bend' even when stiffened.  It's one reason my earring designs have a more 'solid' appearance.  I either load them with beads (which helps) or make more dense ones which solves the problem of the 'bends'.  No, I don't go deep sea diving either but I know about bends in earrings!!!

So, tomorrow, hopefully there'll be another 'dose' of trees!!!!

Trees without buttons

Well that was a busy day yesterday!!!  I managed to get the 'buttonless' tree done and you can find it here.

As it rained nearly ALL day I was stuck in the house and so got back to doing more to the TIAS.  I managed to finish the drawing which has been ongoing for a week or two and then I started the 'big chop'.  Obviously I have to have a clear head for this as it's too darn easy to lose track and delete the 'master copy' of text.  I've got four days done so there's still a lot to do.  

Once the 'big chop' is done it's a matter then of 'pdf ing' the files, uploading them, adding links and re-pdf ing them, checking the links etc etc.  

It's all really a way to keep me busy and out of trouble.  Not that I go looking for trouble - it finds me!!!!

More button trees!!!!

Once I'd started I couldn't stop back in September/October when I started on this project.  They'll be my little additions to a round robin letter I send out to a few friends in December.  I really don't like Christmas cards as they're so impersonal.  All you do with those is stick a stamp on them and scribble a quick message - I always make life more difficult for myself!!!

Anyway today will be spent finishing off the version without a button in the middle.  You may see more of these over the next few days - or until I get bored!!!!

Before I wander off to get breakfast - here's the link to the pattern.

Did somebody mention?

Thanks for all the comments on the TIAS - it'll go ahead as a slightly longer one than other years!!!  

So who likes Christmas trees and who likes buttons?  Answers on a postage stamp to:-

The Old Git

Somewhere in England!!!!

New pattern coming shortly - yet another I nearly forgot to add to the pattern pages but I'm working on that part of things NOW!!!!  There'll also be a 'buttonless' version for those who don't like them AND another very small version which are just right for earrings.  Those are made on tiny shirt buttons.  Just give me a few days to get the links etc done, please!!!

Lots more patterns!!!

Sorry, not mine this time but look what arrived yesterday - the Palmetto Tatters CD of all the patterns from last Tat Days.  Now, where do I start?  

Sadly, nowhere at the moment as I'm having a TIAS crisis.  Well, more than one, it seems.  

First of all I'd got a pattern ready and was about to 'chop it up' when I saw that somebody had done something along the same lines.  Now there wouldn't have been a copyright problem with it as mine was a lot different but it put me off continuing.  

So off I went on another idea.  This one has proved a nightmare.  I like how it's looking and it's not complicated (mainly SR's and 2 SCMR's) but it's a much longer one than I usually do.  Thing is - would you all be prepared to tat a longer TIAS?  If not I'll just finish it and put it on the pattern page.  

It's a design I've been asked to do several times so I know it'll be acceptable.  I suppose I'm sort of in the doldrums with it at the moment!!!  It's also taking a long time to draw and check too.  It'll be another week or so before I can get it ready for the 'big chop'!!!!  Please let me know if you think a longer pattern would be OK.

Heart for box

Well this is what I decided on for the little boxes.  You can see them here.  

Naturally it needed beads and there's one big one in the middle too.  Next task will be assembling them and also making another heart for the other box.  This is another of my patterns which I remember calling 'heartache' cause it was a pig to design!!!!  Easy and fun to make, though!

Isn't life fun when you've got these sort of things to play with?  

Makes you want to spit

Must tell you about a shock I had yesterday.  I was trolling around looking for something tatting related on the internet and came across my pattern on a blog.  This blog, actually.  No mention of where the pattern came from or who designed it.  I found something of Jon's on there further down the blog - but that has her name on it.

I've left a comment on one of her other posts about it but cannot find any way to add one to that particular post or any means of contacting the blogger.  I would appreciate it if a few more people would point out to her that the design can be found on my site here and that there are diagrams that go with it too.  if you can find some way of doing that!!  

Something that really annoys me is that it's been copied from the pdf file (not easy to do) and copied BADLY with spaces and repetitious RW's even and no diagrams.  Any help would be appreciated by BC3 and meeeee.  It's not the end of the world but it's mildly annoying and needs stamping on in case further stuff is taken!

Another little gecko today this time made in Lizbeth Ocean Sunset - number 155.

Just another gecko today

Well I've a bit more than that to say!!!  

On Thursday I met up with another online tatting/lace friend.  Andrea is from Wigan and was in Stratford for a few days with her husband and smashing grandson.  

I usually avoid churches and anything to do with religion but Andrea's grandson wanted to see Shakespeare's grave so that's where we went.  I don't think I've ever sat in a church and tatted before Thursday but that's what we did!!!!  I rarely set foot in a church anyway as I feel very uncomfortable in them!!!!  It was somewhere to sit on our walking tour!

The thread used for this little guy was Lizbeth 172 - Pink Marble.

Boxes again, YIKES!!!

Remember this?  

Well it's when you get to this stage (below) that you start to say to yourself - 'why DID I do that'?

Here is one of the boxes after the scissors!!!  This takes me an hour or two per box as sometimes the twiddly fancy bits are sewn down very, very tightly and the metallic cord is hard to unpick too.  I take great care not to 'nick' the fabric.  

Still, here they are ready for the next stage which is the 'what on earth do I replace those fancy bits with'!!!!!  Deciding on which pattern will fit the lid is quite a hassle but once started the OG just HAS to proceed!!!!!

I've tried tweezers to get the little thread ends out but they don't work so I've decided to mount the tatting onto another piece of fabric first.  That's the second picture which you can see below the YIKES picture.

Gecko number two!

Another gecko!!!  They're breeding like crazy over here in my part of Tat Land!!!  Isn't it strange how sometimes the silliest things can take over your life?  

I blame Tatskool for this little rampage.   After meeting her and her husband a few weeks ago I remembered that he is a gecko expert.  I named this pattern for Tatskool as I've a feeling she asked if I could do one for her and her husband many moons ago!  

I found time yesterday to update the page here so you now have a plethora of diagrams!!!  The trick, when drawing diagrams is, to draw the whole thing out first.  Sometimes I use layers and 'trace' over the original.  

Next step is to copy and paste and repeat that as many times as needed.  Each picture is then chopped up to make the diagrams needed!!!  Great satisfaction in chopping - now where's my ex husband's head?!?!?!

This little guy is made using Lizbeth Butterfly Breeze number 127.  I'm experimenting at the moment with another piece of scanning software after doing the Mavericks update on the computer.  The reason is for that is that the Epson drivers aren't yet available for the new update so I'm finding another way to scan.

Gecko improvements!

Now this is the reason for doing the new easy block tatting page.  I decided it was about time I re-visited this little gecko guy and try and improve the pattern.  I'll try and get it finished and on the pattern page as soon as possible - just need to check links and get it 'up there'.  

It was while working this first little guy that I decided to fiddle with the joins in the block tatting so here he is - gecko number 1 and he is made using Rainbow Taffy number 153 with beads in the centres of the body SR's.  

This is one of my favourite threads and I'm going to play with others so sit back and expect a glut of geckos!!!

Last 4 of the season!

I'm going to list the last four Tatting Tidy pots today here in my Etsy shop.  These are the last of this season and I'll see how they go before I make anymore!!  The sewing machine has been put away for the winter so it'll only be 'emergency' stuff made over the next few months!!!

I'll still be making the Wrap It, Flip It, and Mark It bookmarks as I still think they're a stonking GREAT idea.  In fact Nick's still using his and mine's been in constant use since BC3 invented them.

For those who haven't seen them before.  The tape wraps round the back of the book and the marker is 'flipped' in so it marks your place.  The beauty of these bookmarks is that they can't get lost and it's also very difficult to lose your place as the motif stays in place.  

I like (personally) the snowflake types myself but I can do smaller critters if asked.  Always very difficult to 'guess' at what people might like!!

'New' (?) Technique

Well, not sure if it's new but it's an answer to a problem that's annoyed me for ages.  

I'm currently testing and improving an old pattern of mine which has a lot of block tatting in it.  I'm bone, bone idle and hated the way block tatting used to be done 'in days gone by' by switching shuttles and turning the work round.  That's why the new way appealed to me greatly and it's the way I always use now.

BUT I didn't like the regular lock join on the return chain as it always seemed ugly to me.  So, fiddling around the other evening I found a better way to do it.

The ordinary lock join works fine on the 'odd numbered' rows but NOT on the even ones.  So off went BC3 with me tagging along behind to see if a better way could be found.  It worked - BC3 found the answer!!!  This new idea is SOOOOO easy and doesn't interrupt the flow of work at all.

I decided after a few false starts that the best thing to do was just start again from scratch with a whole new set of drawings and text too instead of trying to update the block tatting page.  So here's the link to the easy block tatting page with the new join.  I've no idea if this is going to be useful or not or if anybody's worked this out before but that's of no concern to me.  

All I know is that it kept me out of trouble for several hours and that's the best medicine that Nick could ask for - a quiet OG!!!

Boxes, little boxes!

Now these little boxes are as rare as hen's teeth to find - well, for me!!!  They're OK just as they are but of course I can never, ever leave things alone and always 'see' tatting involved!!!!  They're sturdy little things so worth some effort to 'tat them up'!!!!!

Here are two I had two years ago and what I finally did with them.

More on what happens to these over the next week or so!!!!

Sadness is ........

The cardboard middle of a ball of thread!!!  Specially when it's one of your favourites - RIP dear Lizbeth Rainbow Taffy.  

Good job I've got another one, isn't it?  As the song goes 'Always look on the bright side of life'!!!!

Another celtic snowflake

Here's another of the Celtic type of snowflakes I've made for presents - just like the one I did yesterday.

Threads used are Lizbeth 664 (Ocean Teal) and 125 (Sea Scape).

You can see again the difference between the ball and the actual tatted piece.  The best place to judge what a thread will look like is by the little butterfly that Barb puts next to the colour on the Handy Hands site OR look in her gallery here.

Having done these two flakes I'm now in the mood to open each of my new Lizbeth balls to try them out!!  I need a pattern, though and I think I know which one I'm going to use!!!  It'll serve as a dual purpose - I need to check out the instructions and maybe even do new drawings as this may have been designed before I took the big step from Microsoft to Apple.

Oh, how I mathered over that step for years but I'm SOOOOO glad I did it.  OK, it cost a lot to make the move but by now I'd have had to replace a PC as I do rather 'over use' them.

The iMac?  Well it's working as well as the day I bought it and I LOVE it.  No, I've NOT been offered a job in an Apple store (don't you just LOVE the atmosphere in those stores - both here in England and in the U.S.A.) but am just a happy old git!!

Sort of Celtic snowflake

This is the first of a couple I'm making for presents.  Also this post follows on from yesterday as I'm using Lizbeth Rainbow Splash (number 184) for the main colour.  It still doesn't look as good on my photo as it does in 'real life'.  It does really zingadingding.  I've also used Mocha Brown Light (number 690) with 'random' beads!!!

Don't the two parts of this pattern look funny on their own?  Put them together and look what happens down on the third picture.  No sewing, no hassle!!!!   Oh, the pattern is here if you want it.  Rings, chains and a few SR's plus beads thrown in.

It's also easy to extend the 'arms' of the snowflake by an extra ring and chain at each point.  Must try that again some day!!!

Part 1

Part 2

Both together!

NEVER judge a book by it's cover!!!

Now when my wonderful box of threads arrived from Handy Hands recently I must admit that I was a tad disappointed when I opened it and saw the Rainbow Splash that I'd suggested.  It didn't look half as pretty on the ball.  More to come on Rainbow Splash in a day or two.

I then took myself in hand and reminded my other half (BC3) of something that happened a few months ago.  An online friend who was then running an online craft store here in the UK emailed me to say that she was selling the business and did I want any Lizbeth threads at a reduced price.  Well I had a look and bought £20.00 worth (to get free postage) and was pleased when they arrived - having chosen carefully, of course.

Life moved on for another month or so and she wrote again to tell me that she'd just got a few left and that they were even more reduced.  I looked and thought for a while about the colours left.  None really appealed to me.  Anyway, I thought 'what the heck' and ordered the rest of her stock.  I realised that they'd come in useful for trying out new ideas anyway.  Well, when they arrived they weren't as bad as I thought they'd be - in fact they were delicious.  So I'm now firmly convinced that you can't judge a ball by it's looks!!!

This is Rainbow Splash on the ball.  Wait til you see it made up.  Your eyes will pop!