Another exclusive member

Don't forget - day 11 is now available on this link.

Today I have the pleasure of welcoming Sara to the Exclusive Tatting Club. She's sent in a mouse to share with us and says:-

"I have made a mouse too, so maybee I can join your exclusive club now!? My mouse eyes and ears is a bit funny looking, maybe I made something wrong there, but it was a lot of fun making it! I thought I should find it boring to just do knot after knot, but it was just fun to see the mouse be created between my hands!Have a nice day, and thanks again just for beeing Jane who makes tatting even more fun!!"

She's really right about the 'not being boring'. I find it fascinating to see the little critters forming in my hands. Hats off to Randy and Gary for devising the whole book. There's not just critters in there - there are flowers, baubles of all types. I reckon it's really good value for money compared with a lot of books.

Well I am biased, I suppose but then I love making the critters and have several pairs of earrings too.

Day 10

Day 10 is now available on this link.

Day 11 will be ready on Monday. After that there will be two more until it's all over!!!!

Yawn, yawn, yawn!!

Another chicken wing doily, I'm afraid. I think I've got another one or two 'inside me' waiting to come out!!!

This one is again done in Yarnplayer's thread - size 20. I think this one is Fall Garden with another plain. The plain is probably a Flora one but the label is long gone!!! 

I'm sure I've told you this before but I'll say it again as it might be a useful tip for others. 

When I make something I always fill up shuttles. When I finish the project rather than make small doodles with the thread remaining or winding it onto a piece of cardboard or a thingy that you wind embroidery thread onto I always wind the thread back onto the ball. 

Of course, if there is less than a yard left it's not worth it. Why do I do this? Simply because if I put it on an embroidery thingy then I'd never know which ball it came off!!! By putting it back on the ball I know it's the right colour and shade in the right place. I also put a slip knot on the end that you can see so that I know that the thread I'm about to wind back onto another shuttle for another project in the future isn't going to be a full shuttle's worth. 

Does that make sense?  If not then file it under 'silly old woman rambling'.  Which actually is the truth!

A grump.

OK, today I'm going to do something I don't often do. I'm going to have a major grump.  Now, you may well ask, what have I got to grump about. Well, personally, not a lot as the subject of the grump doesn't affect me.

My major grump is about what is happening to my friends.  I'm grumbling about places like Pinterest and other similar boards where you can 'pin' things like patterns from books and magazines etc.  This sort of behaviour also happens on Facebook to a lesser degree and on blogs too - but not so often on those platforms.

I can understand why people scan books/patterns - I do as I want to preserve the book and not use it in case eventually it falls apart.  So, why DO people scan them and then put those scans online?  What do THEY actually gain from doing that?  Fame?  Fortune?  Followers?  It truly puzzles me.  All they're doing is denying another person or company of their income.

This action boils down to theft. Stealing. Robbery.  It's robbing the person who created the pattern/book of their income. Sometimes it's large companies and other times it's the self employed self publishing designer.  Even the large companies are affected and are less likely in future to invest their time and money in producing more pattern books.  Same with the small self publishing designers - they will give up too and probably even sooner.

Our craft only survives because of the patterns we already have and those who have the talent to provide more - don't let's destroy it.

So, please, if you're thinking of scanning and uploading ANYTHING that's from a  printed book or magazine THINK FIRST and please DON'T. Wherever you put something online it can be accessed and passed on.  

Would YOU publish your banking details online?  I think not.  By doing this it is exactly the same as publishing somebody else's bank details so that others can steal from their bank accounts.

Right - grump ended.

Day 9 and a mouse

Here is the link for day 9.

Well here is another new member of the Exclusive Tatting Club.

This time it's my friend Sue - also known as Pigmini. Her mouse arrived yesterday evening in a search for cheese, I think.

This is an unusual mouse as it's an albino one. If you go to this page you'll see him/her in the exclusive section of the club!!!

Another associate member

Yesterday was again thankfully busy with the TIAS but I'm going to hang back with day 9 until Wednesday to give the stragglers time to catch up. Also it gives me a day or two to catch up with myself too!!!!

Yesterday morning I had another application to join the Exclusive Tatting Club - see the page above this post. This time it was from Kristen who sent in a bauble so now becomes an associate member. I bet we'll soon be seeing her mouse!!!!

She says:

"I would like to apply for an Associate Membership in your exclusive club with this, my very first bauble attempt!!"

I hope to see you in the Exclusive club shortly, Kristen!

Do you like pink?

Now I DO like pink!!! Any sort of pink will do but pink it's got to be. Another chicken wing coaster for you to see.  Actually any bright colour is a favourite!!!

I am doing other things but with the Tat It And See taking a lot of time (which I LOVE) there isn't much left to do new things. 

I am trying to develop another pattern from the TIAS one and have been working on the new version since before the game started. I just find that some days BC3 just won't cooperate!!!!

Day 8

Day 8 is now ready on this link.

Just thought you'd like to know that I've been tatting along this year too!!! Well, I usually tat with everybody so I can help people out if they need it. Here's my offering!!!

More of the same!

Day 8 tomorrow!

Well here's another coaster. I'm afraid I'm going through a 'just playing with colours' phase at the moment with no real reason!! I think it's cause the Tat It And See is stopping me concentrating on one thing for very long. 

The thread for this one is Pansy by Yarnplayer (that's the pretty one) along with a plain something or other. Least I THINK I've got that right!!! Not sure what size this is but it's probably 20 but there again it could be 40. Sheeeeesh, I wish I had a brain that could do 'remembering' properly.

Having said that I'm 'just playing' - I am also working on another old pattern on my site as it's one that I love but could never quite explain the final join on the second motif. That's caused me hours of struggling to 'get it right' which I hope I'll eventually manage!!!

Day 7

Again I haven't anything to show you in the way of tatting. I have been doing some but not as much as usual as I've been busy with the TIAS and out for two days on the run. No, not actually running but out 'doing things'.

This is the link for day 7.  As today's part is short I have decided that Day 8 will be on Sunday.  

Busy day

Yesterday was wonderfully busy with the TIAS blog so I didn't manage (and forgot!) to get anything prepared for this blog!!! 

BUT I can tell you that Day 6 of the TIAS will be available tomorrow so stand my folks!!!!

Two old patterns return!

Day 6 is now available on this link.

It was kindly brought to my attention by a member of Craftree (still haven't found out whether there's anything happening about the TIAS on the Craftree site - any help, links would be welcome) that two of my patterns probably weren't on my site. 

They were originally hosted by the Ring of Tatters which I've now left. I asked them to take everything of mine off their site as I wasn't happy with it being there.

So the past two days I have been sorting out those 'missing patterns' and they're now available in the 'doodles' section and the 'motifs' section on the pattern pages.  I re-tatted them and re-wrote and drew them too.  That's why yesterday I was glad of a 'quiet' TIAS day!!!  

These are the two patterns that had 'gone on holiday' - a tiny star and a shuttle shape!!!

First of all - Day 6 will be out tomorrow morning!!!

Now I can't remember ever working a project in size 10 thread. I've always used 20 as it's what I first used as a kid. When Sue Anna generously sent me the last present of HDT there were a few skeins of 10 in the bag.

So I thought it would be an idea to try it out. I'd got the ball of off white which has been lurking in my cupboard for more years than I care to admit so the Chicken Wing Doily called out to me to that it needed an outing. 

What surprised me was that although it didn't look so good to my eyes while I was working it - one quick blast from the iron made it look really good.  I'll certainly be giving size 10 a whirl again another time!!!

So, here it is. The Yarnplayer HDT is called Tourmaline.

Sorted!

Over the past week or two I've been gradually trying to sort out the tips and techniques pages on my web site which you can find here.

I thought they were confusing so I've sort of categorised them all and put extra pages in to make the whole thing easier to navigate. 

The TIAS is going well - nobody has guess what it is so far. Least that's my story and I'm sticking to it!!!! Of course I could be teasing!!!

Day 5 now available

Day 5 of the Tat It And See is now available on this link. Hope to see you later in my inbox!!!!

Day 4

Here is the link for Day 4 of the Tat It And See. 

I will be posting Day 5 on Sunday too because day four is short.

Yet another

Tomorrow (Friday) will be day 4 of the TIAS

Now this is another of Yarnplayer's HDT threads in size 20. 

Oh, the outer is an old Flora, I think. I'm hopeless at writing down what I've used - I apologise.

Since I've 'cured' the silly middle of the coaster/doily I really love working this pattern.  

Downright theft

I've had something stolen off me again.  It doesn't often happen but when it does I get cross - VERY cross.  This time it's that wretched tooth fairy.  Now honestly, what HAVE I done to upset her?  Surely she's got enough teeth without stealing mine.  AND she didn't leave me any money - she charged ME for taking two of MY teeth.  I don't much like emergency visits to the dentist which result in the tooth fairy grabbing TWO of my teeth. She ought to get a life!!!

While the TIAS is going on I can't really settle to anything large or that will strain BC3's resources.  So I decided to have a go at the chicken wing doily as I wanted something pretty to give to a friend for her birthday. Currently I'm going through a 'number 40' phase so that's what I used for this. 

You may have noticed (or not!) that there is a slight alteration to the centre of the doily. This was because I don't like very large picots - specially ones that have to be measured (I have to make a gauge for this). I don't normally use gauges!!! So I changed both the coaster and doily patterns and they're already floating around in cyberspace in their newly changed 'state'. 

Links? Nah, go look for them!!! OK, I hear that Pigmini cursing me so here they are. Chicken wing coaster and chicken wing doily.

Day 3

The link for day 3 of the Tat It And See is here . 

Please feel free to join in at any time if you haven't already sent in the first two days.

5 chains and 4 rings

Day 3 of the Tat It And See will be out tomorrow - Tuesday.

Yes, that's all this doily needed to finish it. If you read this post you'll see what happened. 

Being a bit of a dozy old moo I'd set out to make the doily with Yarnplayer's pretty, oh so pretty hot pink and lime HDT. Never gave it a thought that I wouldn't have enough. That's how dozy I am. When I got to the last round I did sort of start to wonder but carried on regardless as with me - there's no going back!!!! I'm the sort of person who (when disaster strikes) think to myself - oh, heck, that's happened so let's see what is ahead and not regret whatever it is. My attitude was sorely stretched in my late 40's to early 50's when all the bad things happened within the space of four/five years but even then I used to think not of what 'might have been' but of what I could do to carry on. 

Unfortunately when you run out of an HDT and there's none in the seller's shop you tend to just push the item you're making in the drawer and try to forget. I suppose one day I may have cut off the final row but it would never have looked quite right.

As you know Marilee and Sue Anna 'bailed me out' and I've now finished the doily. I'm really, really pleased with it and it will make a great present for a special friend who loves bright colours like these.