Converting a hummingbird!

First attempt at converting the hummingbird into an angel!!! NOT happy with this one though so it's back to the 'drawing board'. It MAY look OK to you but to me it needs a lot more tweaking. 

Thought for the day

If tatting is a 'lost art' then am I a member of an endangered species?

Guess I could be a dinosaur?  

Christmas colours

I suddenly decided to do the Inside Out Snowflake in Christmas colours. Strange for me to do that but it seemed a good idea at the time!!!! 

A lot of the people I give the motifs too for Christmas never put them away but keep them out all year so I feel that Christmassy colours look wrong in the middle of summer!!!  That's my perverted way of thinking, I guess!!!

I made this one last week but only remembered to take a photo two days ago. Not a very good picture, I'm afraid. Still it gives an idea of what it looks like.

What happened to the hummingbirds

There's a story behind the hummingbird pattern. First, as I mentioned the other day, I never thought I could design one because I'd seen so many really, really good ones on the internet and didn't think I could do one any better.  I'm definitely NOT saying mine's better but it's OK.  It'll do for now.

As you probably remember when I was over in America at Tat Days I was going to stay with my friend Joanie who now lives in Florida. Other times I've stayed with her she's been living in South Carolina and I've always been mesmerised by the hummingbirds at her feeders. She told me ages ago that there were no hummers in Florida (well, not often around her area) so I decided she 'needed' some. That's how the design was inspired - by Joanie missing her hummers. 

The picture below is what I made for her and took with me on my trip over the pond.  

Another two hummingbirds

Another two hummingbirds which I made for a very good reason.  I'll show you the 'reason' another day. 

Meanwhile I've added the pattern to the site and you can find it here.  Why is it called 'Joanie's Hummingbird'?  Well it's named after Joanie who has hosted me on so many occasions when I've been in America.  There's more to come about our friendship in another post.

Due to judicious 'nagging' (not really - it was more of a suggestion) from Sally  I am now working on converting this into an angel.   She's 'into' angels and I'm not!!! Never dawned on me that this could be one but it will be shortly!!! 

In fact I started on it yesterday so should have it ready and on my web site by the end of the week.  I'll keep you posted on progress.  Not sure but I think it'll need a halo - what else does it need?  Suggestions welcome, please.

Hummingbird

Now this is something I've always wanted to do - make my own hummingbird!!!! I've never got round to it before because others have done such good ones and I knew I couldn't do better. 

However I finally thought I'd have a go when I saw a picture of a hummingbird here which was looking sort of upwards. I made mine slightly different though - just because I'd seen others that were more 'heads back'.

Yesterday I was messing around on Facebook which is something I don't allow myself time to do very often. I'm not a great lover of Facebook and usually just upload 'stuff' from my phone when I've been walking and quick links to the blog in the mornings. Well I was sitting at the main computer when I decided to go into my account to change the profile pictures. Don't know why but I was looking through the files and suddenly found this hummingbird so used one of the pictures to change the profile. I must admit I was amazed at the reaction over the following hours.  Seems that people quite like it.

I did this pattern months ago and then forgot about it as I got into preparations for my trip to America. I'll finish it off over the weekend and add it to my pattern pages as soon as I can.

A new Valencia started

Do you remember the doily I teased you about earlier this year? It was Valencia which you can find here.

Well I enjoyed making it so much that I decided to do another but this time in a size 40 thread. The progress you can see below is where I had got to by the time I got home from America. In fact I started this doily as a piece to take with me and work on while I was with my friends over the pond but I didn't get much done!!! Probably because we talked a lot and enjoyed each other's company.

I'd actually started on the next round before I got back but an accident happened and a cup of coffee made intimate contact with my tatting bag!!! I must admit that the biggest casualty was the beige ball of thread that you can see in the picture. I did rescue a lot of it and then decided that it was going to the place where all thread must go when it gets old - in the bin!!!! Actually that ball was probably one of the first balls of thread I ever owned so could be almost as old as me!!! So, considering I'm 71 and started tatting at 13 it could be positively ancient!!! In fact it was becoming very stiff to work with so it was given the ultimate order - 'in the bin'!!!!

As no decisions have been made on what colour thread I'm going to use and when it doesn't matter if I haven't got another the same colour!!!!  I've got a ball in a similar shade and that one may well be used later.  Time will tell!!!

Another Snowflake

Now I prefer this colour but the photo isn't that good!!! I'm experimenting with taking photos at the moment although usually I tend to scan all the 'flat' stuff. Easier than looking for the camera etc.

Snowflake experiments continue

Here's another one. Not sure if I like the colours of this one, though. I'm going to keep experimenting until I get the colour combination I really like.

Meanwhile some good news. The TIAS is gradually 'getting there'. I think I'm on about the sixth specimen and it's really beginning to look like what it's meant to be. Probably another six re-tats until I'm happy it's done!!!!

New EXCLUSIVE EXCLUSIVE member

Now really I think that Sharon should be called just that. An exclusive, exclusive member of the Exclusive Tatting Club.

Well, what CAN I say about her membership except that that accolade should be hers.  Look at what she's done. Talk about being addicted!!!! I can see mice, a hedgehog, a possum and the wonderful flowers that I've not been brave enough to start myself. Plus the dragonfly too.

Ah, you're thinking 'but I can only see a hedgehog and a possum'.  That's deliberate on my part as I want you to spare the time for just one click here to see her whole picture!!!  I can be mean sometimes but I'm sure you'll see why when you look.

On a final note Sharon does have a blog which has been neglected for a while but perhaps we should all get together to nag her to update it as she's obviously a very, very keen tatter.  Here's the link.

For comparison purposes only!!!

I thought it might be a good idea to show you the two motifs (the inside out series) together. 

You're going to get very, very bored with these soon as I'm making them when I fall out with the TIAS!!!! That happens regularly. This year for some reason it's a real struggle to get it done. Not sure why as I'm really excited about the 'subject matter' I've chosen. Mainly excited cause I thought it up all on my very own with no outside assistance!!!! Well, to be honest, I just suddenly thought about it one day while I was walking.

Finally it's done!!!

Not going to tease any longer!!! Here's the link to the Inside Out Snowflake.

I hope you find this as easy to work as I do. BUT I hope you don't get addicted like I have once you've tried it!!!!

Another bauble has arrived

If you pop over to the Exclusive Tatting Club page at the top of my blog you'll find the latest member who has made a bauble/bobble. It's Elizabeth who calls hers - well, you'll have to go and look!!!!

Welcome to the club, Elizabeth.

Another to tempt you!

Well, are you watching my blog? 

Here's another to tempt your taste buds - or, snowflake buds!!!

A whole day with no rain yesterday so managed to walk miles with a friend.  Let's hope I find time today to finish off this snowflake page.  Keep your fingers crossed!!!

Now for something new- ish

So, yesterday you got the original motif and now I'm working on tweaking this - the Inside Out Snowflake.   I'll have the pattern ready by the end of the week - tat's a promise. 

Why?  Well, the weather is appalling here at the moment so I can' get out and about as much as usual.  Rained all day yesterday while I was dealing with internal leaks from a heating boiler which came through to the kitchen - drip, drip, drip!!!  Wet outside and wet inside!!! Boiler fixed but I can't find the right plumber to stop the sky dripping!!!  

Any suggestions would be welcome - that's on the subject of stopping the sky from dripping!!!

It's out there

Ready for use should you want it. The new motif.

I've called it the 'Inside Out Motif'. Not cause it's inside out but because that's the way you work it!!! You do the outside first and then the middle.

The reason for that is because it's not easy to do a lock chain with a neat picot in unless you do a regular ds before and after the picot.  If I'd done that it wouldn't have been a decent looking lock chain in the middle.

Oh, before you go, there will be another motif shortly.  The new one is, I think, pretty darn good.  It's the one that will be my Christmas giveaway.  Hope to get the page finished this week but life has become a little 'difficult' in my 'other life'.  Hope to get things on the way to being sorted today - but who knows!!!!

As threatened!

I've been telling you from time to time that I'm going to work further on one of the Crazy Mom Tats motifs so here are two that I did while I was testing and re-testing this pattern.  Sheeeesh, just noticed that I squidged the blue one slightly when I put it on the scanner - the lock chain down near the bottom on the right.

I'm really, really fussy about my work and have to be sure that the whole thing is done to the best of my ability. Now my ability is not always awake and working with my three brain cells (aka BC3) so often there are small mistakes. 

I should get this little motif (it's got a whacky sort of name too) up on my site very soon (hopefully over the weekend) although I have become side-tracked by an off shoot of this which will become my Christmas giveaway for all those people that I send a 'round robin' letter to at that time of the year.  

The last one!!

This is the last of the eight motifs.  Well it's the last that I did for Crazy Mom Tats. 

From these I have now developed a new motif (pattern ready shortly) and what I think is a pretty good snowflake. 

As usual it's getting the pages sorted that's holding things up - that and other distractions that find their way into Tat Corner!!!!

Yet another!

Yes another of 'those' motifs.  BUT I can assure you that I am making progress on making one of them into a 'proper' pattern - or two.  

Now I bet you'll recognise where this one came from!! It's the centre of the Catherine Wheel motif which you can find here.

This part of the Catherine Wheel always appears to me to be cheeky!!!!  Always looks as if it's on the way to somewhere but with no idea where!!!  A rolling stone.

Sort of reminds me of my journey through life - on a journey but with no fixed place in mind!!!  

Another technique

It was Saturday afternoon (I think) and I was sitting in Tat Corner knitting when a notification from Facebook with a question popped into my inbox. It was Corina who was asking about the daisy picot technique.

I thought I might be able to help her but got intrigued with what I THINK she was trying to understand. Well, after a while temptation got into me and I grabbed a couple of shuttles.

Now as y'all know with the daisy picot technique there is always a small amount of the 'petal's' thread carried over the top of the central doubles. It occurred to me that this COULD be avoided if you held the two shuttles together while making this part of the technique.

Sooooooo, this is what came about (see picture below).

Being the owner of a silly sense of humour I've called it the 'Dandelion Picot Technique'. I know it doesn't 'look' like a dandelion but as dandelions live with the daisies in my lawn and the two techniques are sort of similar I thought it was a good idea - at the time.  I can easily change that if anybody knows of a former name for this. I ran it past my favourite tatting guru (Georgia Seitz) and she said she'd not seen it before. It MAY well be new. Anyway I can see lots of possibilities for this and will be looking again at this little butterfly to see if it makes for a bigger body and a less 'cluttered' look.