A pretty useless technique!

Now the new pattern I'm working on needs the tatter to join a final split ring to a first split ring. 

Don't know about you but I find this can be a bit 'messy' so I settled down to try and resolve this issue. It works well for me but not sure how many times it may be needed.  

I only try new things out when I absolutely need them.  I don't go 'looking' for problems - they find me!!!

I have a feeling that this maybe useful in other situations but I can't think what at the moment!!!

Anyway, just in case you should need it - here's the link.

Another round added

Here's round two finished. I do wish I could kick this addiction to making Fandango doilies!!!! It's really, really NOT me making doilies as I'd never ever use them!

Done and dusted

BUT I now want to make more!!! Is this another obsession I feel coming over me? Yes, I think it is!

So, back to the paper and printing more templates and the sewing machine stays on the table in the conservatory.

Oh dear

OR - not so 'oh dear'!!!!

I had an accident a few days ago. A stupid silly accident and one which could've been avoided IF BC3 had remembered from one minute to another.

Winter (which was a 'non event') here in England was mild but when we got to Spring it got darn cold so my winter coat was never quite 'not needed' until a week or so ago. So it was time for the coat to pay a visit to the washing machine.

First task - empty the pockets!!! How MANY handkerchiefs does one old git REALLY need when out and about? Till receipts, small purse with small change in and assorted other odds and ends all got removed. Great. Into the machine, washed and on the line in the garden soon after. 

BUT - guess who forgot to take off the bauble tatted brooch. Yes, you've guessed. BC3 and ME!!!

Didn't it wash up well and the baubles have kept their shape too. I wonder if part of the reason they've done so well is because I sprayed them with Scotchgard when I first made them?  That keeps them clean and I suppose that may have kept the water from soaking in too much too.  Don't you just LOVE tatting?

Another thought!!!

Looking at the three motifs I showed you last time - I wondered what they would look like when put together. 

These were plonked (beg your pardon, placed) on the scanner to try it out.  I'll make another seven motifs and work them together - will show you when I've done that.

Meantime I managed to get the garden sorted yesterday as rain is forecast today. Lots of herbs sorted and new ones planted. Moved pots here, there and everywhere - bring on the Summer!!!

Round 1 done!!

Even though I'm working hard on the square Fandango doily I still have time to play with the third rectangular one that I'm making.  I duck and dive between them both - oh, and another project too.

I'm going to get that little hexagonal motif up on my site as soon as I can but the weather has been sunny and the garden needs my attention!!!  I'm not a keen gardener but I do like to control the weeds as much as I can!!!  

In the picture you'll see I'm trying another variegated thread for the second round but really I don't like the sample so it'll be back to diving into the tatting cupboard to find another colour that will work.

Getting grumpy about Etsy

It's a smallish grump but it's causing me to consider leaving Etsy altogether. 

In fact I'm actually going to leave when the bags and tatting I've got in there finish their 'time'. I'm going to move over to Folksy and will give you the links/details when I move. Oh, that will be when I get another supply of shuttles from 'im in the garage which I hope will be within a month or so.

The reason? I cannot abide being forced to view everything as it's now set up in the gallery view.  I LOVED 'list' view and I can't find any way to change it when visiting shops.  The latest way of viewing items (see below) is just tooooo big and horrid on my laptop or iPad.  Actually it's too cumbersome anyway.  I loved being able to view things in a list.  I could go to a site, click on 'list view' and get a (what I'd call) a resume of what was in that particular shop.  Now I'm forced to see it in a way that I'm just not comfortable with.  So, I'm not going to view other shops either as it annoys me.  
Does anybody else feel like this?  
Sorry folks.  Grumble over.  

More experiments!

Time for more experiments. I wanted to see how this idea would work if I put 'spokes' into the corners as well as the sides. Again a little bit of 'tweaking' is needed. In picture one I've added them so that they join to the sides and corners, picture two to 'just' the corners and picture three to the sides only.

I've also changed centre drastically too. I've a feeling this may just work out well in the end.

Another day - another round!

Well I'll be honest - this took me two days to do!!! It's going well although there's quite a bit of re-writing and drawing but that's good - keeps me busy.

I'm enjoying avoiding the variegated threads and am using the same colour on both shuttles too. 'They' say a change is as good as a rest and that's proving to be the case with the doily obsession!!!

Another diversion!

Diverted again!!! This time by comments left on this blog.

I just love making the Fandango doilies and have another on the go at the moment. As I've said before - they're useful to have to work on while I'm at craft groups nattering!!!!

This time I was asked if I could do a square Fandango doily. Well I'd forgotten that I'd already done one here. Having looked at it again I realised that this isn't what the person who suggested it really wanted but I thought I could use the centre part. So, here it is - the new 'not so new' centre. The next round will NOT be like the other one so it'll all need re-writing and drawings copied and altered accordingly. 

That should keep me out of mischief for a few days!!!

Hmmmm

This may not look a lot different to yesterday's post except that I've been experimenting with stitch counts. Bain of my life is 'how many' or how few doubles do I need!!! 

Maybe it will look better in a different thread?  Ah, I know what's wrong - it's still the centre. 

Back to the shuttles - I feel another idea coming over me!!!

No, no, no - this WON'T do.

Do you remember this pattern which I finished earlier this year?

Well it was meant to be a hexagon motif. I WANTED A HEXAGON. Simple you may think. Why didn't it work out? Lack of BC3 in the right frame of mind at the time and it all went wrong, wrong, wrong.

I've now recovered from that disappointment and decided to have another go. This time I thought I'd start with the outer row and make a hexagon - HOOORRRAAAAYYYYY. That worked. It's a true hexagon too. So, this is called the inside out hexagon. Well - at the moment. 

See the centre? Pretty awful so it's going to be 'back to the drawing board for a while. To make it I used a lock chain, a chain, a vsp, a chain, a vsp and another lock chain again. Totally NOT happy with that idea!!!

Happy whatever to ME!!!

Now, why that subject for today's manic ramblings? Any guesses?

Well, here's the reason. Tomorrow it's the tenth anniversary of starting this blog. Do you realise that I've been rambling on about tatting (mainly!) for ten years now. That's a lot of knots to talk about. Here's the link to that first post.

I've also managed to achieve around 2,714 posts with 1,233,339 page views. Not that these figures mean anything as all I want to do is talk tatting!!!!

Tittle tattle tatting talk!!!!  Right - off to play with shuttles again!

Sew time goes on

Having finished the owls I decided that I really rather enjoyed 'straining the brain' to make them and that foundation piecing needn't be QUITE as complicated as they were. So I searched the good old internet and found a lovely log cabin pattern here.

I needed something relatively easy to plod along with and really wanted to use the fabric I've got in a creative way. Do other people 'suffer' like I do with having lovely fabric/threads/beads/wool to play with but then thinking that each new project 'needs' a new purchase? 

Anyway, I resisted the urge to re-stock with more fabric (fortunately our house is small and we're limited on storage space) and started off making the first few coasters. That's what I wanted to make - coasters or mug rugs or whatever you want to call them.

After I'd done the three below I decided that 12 was a good number to make so that meant I could cut out 9 more, sew them and by then I would be bored. Well, we'll see how things work out!!!

Meantime I'm tatting away on another new motif AND a square Fandango mat. Life ain't boring!!!

Here we go,

Here we go, here we go. Yes another start to another Fandango doily.

Having started this a week or so ago I've since had a worm placed in my brain by Maureen in a comment a few days ago. She has sort of suggested that it might be a good idea to make a square Fandango doily!!!! 

Thanks, Maureen. Once this one is under way I'll be exploring that idea. The reason for the proliferation of doilies is because they're useful to take with me to the craft meetings I go to. The pattern is easy to remember after the first round has been done - or, even before that.

Meantime I'm working on 'another new idea' which is coming on very well. I''ll start sharing that soon.

Finally!

The owls are finished. Took me a bit longer than I expected as I've had a few interruptions in life but, I must add, nice ones.

I'm not really happy with the border as it just didn't 'go right'. I followed the destructions but I did struggle with it. Still it's done and now I need to decide what to do with it - when I find it again!!!!

It has inspired me to want to do more of this type of work so I'll now start looking around for new projects but they'll have to be a bit simpler than this one!!!!

Pink round 4 finished

All finished on this one now!! 

You're not going to believe this but I've started another one. I need something to do when I go to my craft gatherings (twice a week now) and something that doesn't need a lot of concentration as we talk more than we craft!!!! It's great, though, as we share ideas and expertise especially the knitters and crocheters.

Finished peacock

Well as promised - I present you with a peacock!!!!  
Here's the link to the pattern.  

This is a 'how not to' post

Definitely a post about how not to design!!!! 

As you know I rarely start off with anything drawn or totally 'thought out'.  I 'tat from the heart'. Well, not really as my heart doesn't have fingers!!!! I tat from experience and ideas of what may work and with the benefit of my three remaining brain cells - also known as BC3.  I do study images of a critter if that's what I'm trying to do - particularly cartoon drawings as cartoonists have a way of making images that remove the detail and take your attention to the true basics of an item.

This is how I started off with the peacock.  Well below are some of the pieces  I produced while trying to get what I wanted - others got assigned to the bin.

Now for the 'good news'. I've just got to finish off the pattern page and get it up on my site and you should be able to have it tomorrow. Hopefully you'll see that it's a lot better than the 'trials and tribulations' shown below!!!

Another round.

This is the third round which is simply a repeat of the first one!!! Not sure why I like this pattern so much but I THINK it's cause it's interesting but easy!!! It's what I 'do' when I can't think of anything new to play with!!!

Actually I do have another new pattern to put on may site and which has been ready for a month or maybe two!!! I'll try and check it out today to see if it's in a fit state to be put on there!!!