Just another 24 hours

That's all there is until the start of the Tat It And See.

Meanwhile over the past week or two I've been making more Starry Button Bracelets and matching earrings. They're all in my Etsy shop right now.

Well, that's not strictly true as one bracelet is already on it's way to America - the beautiful blue one. So, if you look and say 'HOW much' then please remember the bracelets take an evening and a half to make and use a LOT of beads and six buttons. They really, really sparkle too.

I've added adjustable findings to them so they fit from a 6" - 7" wrist. Just thought I'd let you know they're there.

Oh, forgot to mention too that ALL the beads are included in the tatting and NOT sewn on afterwards. I never sew on after as I'm always afraid the beads will come off.

Updated pattern

Now some of you may have seen that I got a bit carried away with the button snowflake (Fandango one) just before Christmas. I've added a picture below. 

So as soon as I'd got the pattern pages sorted (yes, they're all done now) I decided to add the new version to the bottom of the page and you can find it here.

Two more 'sleeps' and it'll be time to start the TIAS.  Hope you're ready - I am!!!!

I just LOVE

Love, love, making these Starry Bracelets. I'll be listing this in my Etsy shop sometime soon - probably even today.  I'm not sure why but once I start on one I get addicted to making them and have to make more!!!! This is one I made last week.

Meantime my daytime job continues and today I can tell you that the 'odds and ends' page is finished on the web site. This is such a silly task I've set myself but at least I can find things easier now!!!  I'm receiving the odd complaint about it - mainly from Pigmini who is adding things to her 'to do' list that she's not seen before.  I'm adding things that I need to change or improve to MY list!

Finally today I must tell you about a tatting get together that I joined yesterday evening.  It was great.  I didn't even have to travel too far to get to it.

Well, I did walk from the front room to the back room!!!!  How did I do that?  Well Sue Anna Face Timed with me and she was with the Tollway Tatters.  Diane was there, Marilee and Barbara (think that was who I was pulling faces at as she tried to take a photo).  The wonders of this digital world are truly amazing.

Finally and just as I was heading for bed number 104 of last year's TIAS arrived.  Thank you, Adrian.  Here's the link to his sailing boat.

Another mouse

Well look what arrived JUST before the end of the year. A mouse from Davina-Marie. 

I'm not going to tell you all about it here - you'll just have to hop up to the Exclusive Tatting Club page which is here.

Yesterday was another long, long day sorting out the pattern pages. I've now finished the Motifs and Snowflakes page which took nearly all day yesterday (apart from a quick walk and a visit to a friend in hospital) and some of the day before too. My 'psychology' behind working the pages (in case you're interested) is to do the biggest first in the hope that the smaller pages may make the project go faster!!!

Happy New

Well, I do wish everybody a Happy New Year BUT I'm hoping that I can offer a bit more than that!!!  A Happy New Pattern Site too.

For the past week or so my poor nose (which is only small!) has been glued to the computer. Why, you may well ask. Or, there again, you may not be in the least interested.

Anyway - you're going to hear why whether you want to or not!!!

I've been re-vamping the pattern site. 

This has taken ages as I've had to upload thumbnails (after creating them) and then putting in all the links.  It's been quite a trip down memory lane too and some of the pictures aren't that good but over time I may well replace them.

This is what the first page looks like - well, part of it!!! I'll replace the usual url today - if I remember, of course. Meanwhile I'll continue with the other pages and will let you know when they're done.

Countdown

Just one more week until the start of the TIAS 2015.  Starts on January 7th.

Are you ready yet? 

Have you read the introduction here yet?

Are you taking part?

Suitable for beginners and upwards as long as you know how to do a split ring but as the game gives plenty of time it's easy to keep up and learn something new as you go.

Final Valencia

So the last few days have been quiet so I'm taking the opportunity to re-vamp my pattern site. 

It's a major overhaul so this blog may get neglected on and off for a short while. I am a terror when I get an idea in my head like this re-vamp. I simply HAVE to get it done and dusted but it's a huge task so it may take several weeks. I will update the live site as each part gets done and will let you know too.

In the evenings I've been plodding on doing several things - one of which was finishing Valencia.

There will be a short break!

Here on this blog there will be a short break over the next few days while the OG eats too much, drinks too much (maybe) and (more than likely) tats too much!!!! The diet will continue after the weekend (but tatting won't be on the diet)!!!  Spent part of this morning chasing the 'part of' a turkey we'd ordered round the car park at the local 'slightly out of town' shopping centre.  Caught the little stinker and pushed him home in my shopping trolley.  Hard work chasing 'parts of' turkeys I can tell you.  Fortunately it had been plucked and prepared for the oven.

BC3 wishes you all a Happy Christmas. May all your tats be successful during the season and the New Year.

Although I'm not a believer in anything (except waking up in the morning alive) I hope your beliefs (whatever they are) satisfy your souls.  

Last round

Gosh - forgotten I'd still got this in drafts!!!! 

This is a doily that I finished a few weeks ago and totally forgot about. I wanted to play with colours as usual and this is what happened!!!! I'll be giving this to a friend for her birthday which is soon. Poor lass - she'll have so many bits of tatting in her house that she'll soon freak out!!!

Even MORE!!!!

Well that change of direction from the Inside Out Snowflake to the Fandango one - stuck!!! Well and truly stuck. 

There's something about buttons and beads that attracts BC3 who likes the stability they provide.

Not sure what the one at the bottom on the right was doing barging it's way into  the picture but I do remember thinking it was a 'good idea at the time'.  Then I started on the others and couldn't find the brakes!!!

When will I ever learn?

That people are wonderful. Look what arrived in the post on Friday. Doodads. All the way from Miranda - here's her blog.  Thank you SO much, Miranda.  

At the moment I'm making starry button bracelets and matching earrings. Why? Not sure really but I think it's a lot to do with having such lovely beads and threads at my disposal. So, looking at the first one I've made and having more doodads this has now made me wonder if I can use them in bracelets (as well as earrings).

There - a new project for after the silly season is over (I blame Pigmini for that terminology). Just what I need although a critter has been haunting my brain for ages and I must do that too before it sneaks off again!!!

A horse, a horse

My kingdom for a horse.  Well, about two/three yards of thread!!!  For the sake of about two/three yards this doily has failed. Totally and utterly.  You can see where on the lefthand side.

In all the years I've been tatting (around 58) this has never happened to me before. Oh woe is me. Woe, woe and triple woe. 

I've plenty of the plain which is Lizbeth 635 but I ran out of Yarnplayer's Hot Pink and Lime with just 5 rings to do. So this is one for the box which will never get finished.

Sue Anna gave me this skein of the thread when I was at Palmetto and I couldn't wait to try it out. Love this colour way but now out of love with the unfinished doily. That'll teach me not to think about things before I start them!!!!  No more in her shop either and the cost of a whole skein when I still need to use up (and WANT to play with) my other HDT just isn't worth the postage either.  I suppose I could use the plain thread on both shuttles for that last bit.  Ah, there's an idea and perhaps all is not lost yet!!!!

Oh, the doily is this one.

Another bauble in the Exclusive club!!

Here's another member of the Exclusive tatting club. I'm so glad Anita has popped in with her bauble as I'd almost forgotten about this club. Also as I'm nearly finished on a current project I'm looking for something else to play with. As you know I'm addicted to this technique!!!! Here's what Anita has to say:-

"Dear Jane:

Here’s my trainee Bauble!

Hopefully this will get me in as an associate Exclusive member to your mouse/bauble tatting club.

It’s my very first attempt. It’s sort of…well….it’s the first attempt :D

Have fun with it!

Cheers,

Anita Barry, tatter

Amissville, Virginia"

Actually, Anita, I wish my first attempt had looked as good as that.

Another arrival

What a lovely surprise. A sailing boat from Axa.

You can read all about it here.

Finally got bored!

I finally got bored with the inside out snowflake so changed my allegiances and set off on the Fandango Button Snowflake which you can find here.

Well I lie. You can't find this version there as it hasn't been written down or drawn yet!!! Actually it's a simple modification to the original. All I did was switch shuttles and put a ring on top of the chain making it more 'snowflaky'. As I'm very fond of locking my designs into place I used very small picots to stop that pesky ring from twisting and turning every time I turned my back on it!!!

I will add the alterations to the pattern when I get time. I seem to be chasing my tail at the moment and that's got nothing to do with the 'silly season' as Pigmini calls it. Just life getting in the way of tatting stuff.

Continuing with the doily!

Well the Valencia doily is progressing but I'm changing the final round so that it stands out a bit more than just a round of chains. Not totally sure it'll work but we'll see.  This is where I'd got to when I last showed you.  

The light creamy rounds had to be done in a different colour than the centre due to the ball of thread having an untimely meeting with a cup of coffee!!!!  Even though it dried out just fine I decided to ditch the rest of the ball.  Well, I'd had it hanging around for probably fifty years so I thought it didn't owe me anything!!!  It had gone quite hard too.  It was a Coats thread.

Here's the progress so far.

Lots of earrings

Well just to finish the week off - here are a few of the earrings that I've made. In this picture you'll see that I've actually finished them off properly - a miracle in itself!!!!!

I've sent the pair I blogged the other day to Crazy Mom Tats. Well since her home burned down at the beginning of the year her ears have been almost naked and we can't have a tatter with naked ears, can we?

Pigmini and I have been talking about our rather large collections of tatted earrings and how we're going to have to do something about them.  Not sure what but some of mine must be roughly 25 years old!!!!  I'm dreadful at throwing things away.  

Same earrings but without doodads!!!

So having used up all my doodads on the earrings I had to go and think again about the pattern!!! I realised that I ought to do a 'without doodad' version so that's what I did!!!

This pattern is worked all in one pass. NO, SILLY, not the two earrings but each earring separately is worked in one pass. I'm not that clever!!! I really, really like this pair.

As some of you know I volunteer at two groups (or is it three?) teaching people in their 'later years' how to use computers, laptops, tablets and even phones sometimes. Well we've a relatively new volunteer who has joined us and he looked at this pair which I was wearing last week and said - 'I like your earrings'. I grew six inches in two seconds.

Well I suppose there may be one or two people who may want to make a pair like this so I suppose I'd better give you the link to the pattern!!!

I had two purple days!!!!

Still plodding on with these - in between other things!!! You've probably gathered by now that I tend to have a few things on the go at the same time - or it appears I have!!!

Actually I rarely have more than two on the go. A project and something to go to when I fall out with that - often a hanky edging. 

So the reason that I don't show you all of a project at once is so I don't frighten you all away with boredom - oh, and myself too!!! I get terribly bored with me so don't want to inflict that on others too.

So, today, two purple Inside Out Snowflakes!!!  That was definitely a 'purple day' when I made those!!!

Earrings with doodads.

Now I already have a pair of earrings like this in cream and black with the same beads and which I LOVE and wear a lot. The doodads are some that were given to me but I'm very sorry I can't remember who sent them. If anybody wants this pair (for the cost of postage + a little bit towards thread or a swap) then please shout. 

I've very few of these findings left and I'm going to make more before the mood leaves me and THEN I'll devise a way of making the same pattern but without doodads!!!  Watch this space!!!!