I became 102 yesterday

Aha, bet you thought the old git meant herself then, didn't you? Well I actually felt I was 102 yesterday as I had one of 'those' bad nights sleep the night before. 

No, what I'm talking about is the fact that I got number 102 sailing boat in to my inbox yesterday. Here is the link to the story about where it came from and who sent it.

This also gives me the opportunity to say that the introduction to Tat It And See 2015 will be available before the festive season gets underway. Mainly so you can be sure you've got all the equipment needed!!!

Nothing exciting today!

Sadly all I have today is another snowflake.

I really ought to sort them out before I blog them (one of it's arms is wonky) but if I did that I'd lose them on the way to the scanner. Well there's another problem too as I'm always losing things UNDER the scanner too!!!

Do you ever do that? Scan something and then walk away and leave it there. Then a few days later there's a mad search of the entire house looking for the 'missing item'. Well I do and all too regularly.

Wonder if there's a cure? Are there any tablets you can take for it? Please let me know!

Pointless technique?

So, having discovered that I could get out of my predicament I worked the second attempt again (no I won't give up!) up to the first SSR (hiding one colour in it).  Then I went to bed.

The next morning I sat down with my graphics pad on my lap and shuttles at the ready.  Of course you can guess the next part.  I'd forgotten overnight how I'd done it!!!

A few hours later and a lot of cussing to myself I'd managed to remember and draw it out.  I then did a technique page.  Not that I feel it would be a lot of use to many people but I know I'll certainly use it myself in future!!! So, I should probably call it my 'reminder' page.  

Well after running it past Georgia (won't tell you what she said!) I thought I'd better finish it properly and put it up on my technique pages 'just in case' there was another soul who may one day come across the same problem.

Here it is and here is the centre of the doily once more.

Vive la difference!!!

Here's the answer to yesterday's question although lots of you spotted it - well done.

If you look at the first one closely from yesterday you'll see that where the A arrow is pointing I have a split ring that's wrong. This was simply because I was trying to climb out from the centre ring. It was latish in the evening and I carried on as obviously parts of me were - well half (or more) asleep!!!

Oh, this is the centre of this doily which I originally worked in one colour. Me, being me, had forgotten why I'd done it in one colour and just got out these two threads as I want to make it for my friend who has a birthday right after Christmas.

So, what did I do after I realised this boo boo? Did I carry on or throw it away?

Can you tell?

Can you tell the difference between these two motifs? 

If you can't then I've wasted a lot of time drawing up a new technique!!!!  Well I think it's new and I think I'd rather call it a cheat than a technique. 

I'll wait for comments and then explain all tomorrow!!!

Not quite!

Not quite what you'd think of as Christmas colours but these two work so well together that they're irresistible. I'm chugging through the snowflakes with odd 'spells' of stiffening them in between!!!

I think I need about 15 - 20 but I'll try and do a few more than that.  The problem is that I have an earring urge coming over me.  I haven't made any for a year or two mainly because I've got so many!!!

Another snowflake

Sorry about yesterday's post but it takes an awful lot for me to get cross - I really don't have the energy for it but when I do I act on my feelings nowadays and face them head on. 

Well the issue that had upset me such a lot ('almost' copyright theft) seems to be slowly resolving and I hope not to have to blog about it in the future. Be sure I will and will also name names if the small thing I asked doesn't happen.

So today I have another of the Christmas snowflakes that I'm making for giveaways. I used a darker green for the inside bit just for a change.

I've quite a few to make so will be getting on with them over the next week or so.  Also I'm now chopping up the TIAS ready for 'future consumption' after Christmas!!!

Too cross

I'm not posting today.  

Another tatter has made me so cross that I've got to think out a post to tell you about it.

I'll tell you all about it tomorrow.

Oh dear what is the matter

What IS the matter with me? Every year I have this urge to knit. To knit socks and socks only!!! 

I usually ignore the urge but this year I gave in and got a pattern and some wool. Then there was the problem of knitting needles - none fine enough to be found in this town but I suddenly thought of the charity shops and found a set of four needles that were 'just right'.

Here are the socks. Now will I ever wear them? I doubt it very much but I got that urge out of my system and hopefully it won't return for a few years!! I did enjoy knitting them but that's led to other things - more to follow another day!!

Snowflake 4

Before I start - there are still some shuttles left in the Etsy shop here.  This way of listing made life a lot easier for BC3!!!!

Right - panic is setting in. Somebody said something about a festive season coming up the other day so I thought I'd better get back to these - my giveaways for this year. 

As soon as the Mop is over in our town the local council start putting up the Christmas lights. Must admit that they are rather splendid each year and, added to that, there will be another laser light and sound display show being displayed  on Shakespeare's Birthplace. Even though we don't do much at Christmas some things are worth getting the aged body out of the armchair and out in the dark to see!!!

Valencia again

I MAY get the new batch of shuttles up in Etsy later today - if not they should be there tomorrow. Keep your eyes open. Here's the link.

Well here is the next row of the Valencia doily - finished and shown the iron. Not blocked as I rarely, rarely do that and once this is done it won't need it. 

It's an amazing pattern to make as it's interesting and totally not boring. I just WISH I knew or could track down the designer.

It must have been designed around the 1960's, I'd guess. That's some years after my gran and I learned to tat. I would guess it came from an ordinary magazine - not a tatting one as there is an article on the back. If anybody can help find out who designed it I'd try and get permission to write and draw it up.

I'm now on the next two rounds before the outer motifs. I doubt I'll be able to scan it next time so the camera will have to be found and used.

Shuttles - all sorts!

Flash post today. 

I got news last night that the following shuttles and winders will be arriving Chez Eborall today. It will take me a few days to photograph the new woods and list them but they will be on my Etsy shop sometime next week. 

I want to get them up there as soon as possible so that I can get them mailed out before the Christmas rush starts. I'd hate them to get held up in that!! I'll let you know the day that they're going 'live' as soon as they're up and sorted. I think this time it'll be a case of listing them when I can with no particular time that they'll go 'live'. Just as soon as I've got them ready!!!  Oh, I'll post pictures  of the new woods and the new decorated shuttles and winders too as soon as I've taken them.

OK, here's the list.

POP-A-BOBBINS 

1 IROKO £17.50 

1 YEW £17.50 

2 ROSEWOOD £17.50 

2 OLIVE £17.50 

3 OREGON MYRTLE £17.50 

2 0AK £17.50 

1 JARRAH £17.50 

2 AFRIMOSA £17.50 

3 SEQUOIA £17.50 

3 EUCALYPTUS £17.50 

1 SPALTED BEECH £17.50 

1 KINGWOOD £17.50 

1 YEW £17.50 

POST SHUTTLES 

2 APPLE £14.50 

2 PEAR £14.50 

1 PINK IVORY £14.50 

1 ROSEWOOD £14.50 

1 VIOLET ROSEWOOD £14.50 

1 AUSTRALIAN BURR £14.50 

1 YELLOW HEART £14.50 

FLAT SHUTTLES 

3 PURPLEHEART £6.00 plain 

3 BEECH £6.00 plain 

3 ZEBRANO £6.00 plain 

2 ASH (Christmas Trees) £7.00 decorated 

1 ASH (bell) £7.00 decorated 

2 SYCAMORE (bells) £7.00 decorated 

1 SYCAMORE (tree) £7.00 decorated 

THREAD HOLDERS 

3 CHRISTMAS TREES (beech) £5

Hanky edging

This hanky has been my 'go to' project for months and months. I finally finished it a week ago and now I can share it too!!! 

I like to have something to pick up when my brain stops working on what I'm doing. Usually it's a hanky nowadays. I've no idea why I've chosen those to do as there must be something else less boring to fill that time. I wouldn't sit down and decide just to do a hanky but they're fine for now and then! 

This one is good 'tatting wise' but the quality of the handkerchief isn't that great. Not sure why as I'm sure I've used that make before.  

I always use a size 80 thread for handkerchiefs and the edgings have to be wide enough to be seen and done in one row. I couldn't bear the boredom of going round the same hanky twice.  I always sew the edging onto the fabric - never work directly onto it.  That way I can be sure it'll fit and also if I muck up the linen/cotton then I can cut the edging away and put it on another piece of fabric.  Makes sense to me!!! 

The story of a lanyard

Now this is something I simply HAVE to show you. I'm afraid I've forgotten who gave me this at Tat Days but it WAS a lanyard for my name tag. 

Tat Days goes so quickly that I didn't have time to change the one I'd got to this one while I was there. BUT since coming home I've worn it loads and loads. No, not because I can't remember my name and need to wear a tag but simply as a necklace. I took the latch keys off and joined the two metal split rings together - least I think that's what I did. I'll check when I go back upstairs!!!!

I've worn it and worn it and no end of people have commented on it too. So, would whoever made it and gave it to me please stand up and wave so I can say my thanks to you personally.  Now, do I have enough money to fly over the pond to do that?  Hmmmmmm!!!

Little Bo Peep

Well she lost her sheep but I only lost two!!!!  The difference between the myself and Little Bo Peep is that she knew she'd lost hers but I didn't know I'd lost mine!!!!

The only reason they got found again is because another tatter asked me via Facebook if I'd got a sheep pattern. I then remembered I had.  I realised that I had worked on one ages ago. 

So, off I trundled to look for it on my pattern pages here. Where was it? I couldn't find it. That got me thinking and so I went to 'finder' on my main computer and searched for 'sheep'.   I found it lurking in the design folders - in the 'animal' section.  Least I'm methodical sometimes!  When I took a closer look I realised I'd not quite finished it. It just needed the final links put in.

Before I did that, however, I thought I ought to make two - just to check it was an OK sort of pattern.  So, here are the ewe and her lamb just in time for the Christmas crib which is what the tatter wanted it for.   Oh, the link is here!!!

More about the BIG oops!!!!!

So, if you read this post the other day you'll remember that I had to cut out most of this round due to a failure of the brain!!! BUT what I haven't told you about yet is the fact that while doing it I had an even worse disaster.

Do you ever have 'those moments' when you know that you're going to do something totally stupid and also know that you can't stop yourself? I had one of those while cutting out the round. I'd bought some new lovely small scissors from Karey Solomon at Tat Days and I really, really love them but they weren't to blame at all - it was down to the 'driver' of said implement!!!

I did the inevitable - I CUT A PICOT! 

Now I wasn't prepared to cut off the rest of this round AND the previous one or mess with it further so I thought about it and had a BRAINWAVE. Yes, from BC3. So, what I did was - well, probably best if you go and look at this new technique page.  The results were fantastic and I was using a size 40 thread too on the doily.  Hopefully you'll never need to use this but it's there if you ever do cut a picot by mistake!!!

Starfish or star - you choose!

So this came about because somebody wrote to me a few days ago saying they were having problems with my starfish. I decided that the only way to see what they were having problems with was to tat it myself once again.

Hmmmmm, not as easy as it sounds, I found. There were parts that I couldn't understand either!!!

Now, bearing in mind that this pattern was written some 8 years ago and that my style of writing and diagramming changes over the years I wasn't surprised. I wrote this in the days when I assumed that tatters would be able to work out when to put a bead at the back of the hand before starting a ring it was needed in and also assumed they'd know when to switch shuttles or close or reverse work. Nowadays I try to remember to put all those things in as I notate the pattern.  Probably because my concentration goes on holiday too from time to time.

Thanks to the person who wrote about the starfish I can now present you with a - well starfish OR a star!!! As stars are usually five sided and snowflakes six I reckon this is a star but equally I'd call it a snowflake - just cause I'm awkward!!!

So the starfish is in it's usual place on the animal page but I've added it as a star to the motif and snowflake page.  Here's the link - and below the picture.

Valencia with oooops

You have NO idea how much hassle I've had with this round!!! NO IDEA!!! Sally suggested that I throw it in the bin but I'm a very, very stubborn old moo.

I took it with me to America as an ongoing project which was fine although I didn't do a lot to it but I had started this round when I was with Joanie. 

I kept counting and counting to make sure I was on the right track and all seemed fine until I got to the end!!!! I'd made a mistake. That was when I was cross with myself and Sally said to chuck it away!!!! BUT I couldn't 'see' where I'd gone wrong and for two days I kept going back to it over and over again.

Finally BC3 woke up and I saw it. So, out came the scissors and I cut it back to where the mistake had happened. At each end there are two places where there is a difference and I'd done a join instead of letting a small ring 'float'.

The rest of the story continues as matters get worse. And I MEAN worse!!!

Another new EXCLUSIVE member

Jeff sent in his mouse yesterday with the following comment:-

"I finally finished my bauble tatted mouse.  This is my second attempt. The first one seemed wonky near the beginning.  My mouse doesn't seem as long as should be; I think I may have tightened everything a bit too much.  I'll have to try a few of the other critters once I've made something else for a while.

Jeff"

I've added him to the exclusive tatting club members list on the page at the top of this post. 

I'm looking forward to your next critter, Jeff. Thanks SOOOOOO much for joining in the fun as I know you're a busy chap.

Finished angel

The worst part of any design for me is giving it a name!!! I HATE that part but sometimes it's necessary. Being of no religious belief I know very little about angels so resorted to google. I found lots of names and some covered all sorts of religions. Quite interesting, really. 

Anyway, in the end I've called her Angelica - just because I quite like the name!!!!

So, the final tweaks consisted of:-

a) A larger head. This meant, of course, working out how many more beads would be needed for the halo. I've used this method to make and 'anchor' the halo so it doesn't slip.

b) I changed the joins at the top of the wings/arms by moving the vip's to the top of the split rings.

c) Added hands to the ends of the wings/arms.

d) Made the dress (or whatever an angel wears!!) longer.

e) Added more picots to the under part of the wings.

Now I'm happy with it and I hope you enjoy it too.  Oh, heck, better give you the link!!!