Another test tat

I just LOVED making this design. Martha calls it 'Marquis' and it was a delight to make.

I was pleased with the colours I used - the buttons are some I've had for a while and are really lovely.

I've still got one more test tat to show you but that'll have to wait til next week.

The ballerina - again!!

Well here she is!!! The 'other' ballerina. 

I'm hoping to make a few more so Abbi can give them to her friends if she wants to. She has one special friend that goes to ballet classes too so I'm hoping Ava will be 'allowed' to have one or two. 

Better get back to making more!!!  Time is running out.  I made a couple a few days ago but they've gone AWOL!!!!  Oh, to be a tidy tatter!!!  Where DO things hide?

A trip to the ballet

I'm off to the ballet on Saturday. Not Sadlers Wells but a VERY important ballet. 

My ten year old granddaughter is taking part in her first performance and I'm really looking forward to it. 

So this was a good excuse to pull out the Katrina Ballerina pattern to see if it needed improving. Of course - it did!!!!

I also had to re-draw it too as it was done on a PC and not on a Mac. Darn!!! Still it's done and dusted now. I'll show you the other view tomorrow when I've sewn in the ends and pressed it!!!

I didn't know I could still do it!!!

Just before my 'bad patch' a few weeks ago I went with my friend Sue to Birmingham. We went to our favourite fabric shop and she noticed that there were patterns on sale (half price). 

We both came away with patterns but I couldn't find any fabric I liked so I was doubtful this pattern would ever be made up!!!!

The local fabric shop (last remaining decent shop in town) is closing shortly and has fabric on sale. I found this (below) and decided I'd give the pattern an outing!!! 

Actually this is a navy background and I'm reasonably happy with the finish. I wonder if I'll make any more?!?!? It must be around thirty years since I made any garments!!!

Not the best photo as it looks sort of 'scrunched' at the front but it isn't.  Honest!!!  There's a pleat at the bottom of the neckline at the front and another at the back.

A few more hanky holders!!!

You'll maybe recognise the cat hanky holder as being the same fabric as the coasters I made. 

I love the ladybugs too. Finding contrasting fabrics for the lining/edges is not easy when you've got limited supplies!!! 

I'm afraid I'm thoroughly enjoying doing these!!!

Lotsa snowflakes in gold

In those 'odd' moments and while I wasn't feeling too good I made these snowflakes using the new Liz metallic thread.

They actually look better than this picture shows!!!

I'm now back to 'normal' thankfully so am working on other bits and pieces until I can decide what I want or need to do next. All suggestions very welcome.

Just for a change!!!!

If you've read my blog in the past you'll know I have a love affair with Rosemarie Peel's design in her book called 'Tatting Basic Patterns'. 

When Sue (Pigmini) and I were talking at some point last year about travelling and tatting I suggested she tried 'Rachel' as a relatively easy tatting project to take with her. 

I always measure out the quantities I need and wind that onto Ezbob's and I can get two 'lots' of size 40 thread on each. That's two Rachel's!!!

This Rachel is made with HWT.  Two strands of sewing thread wound together on shuttles.  

Martha's smaller butterfly

Today's blog post is to show you the other butterfly that Martha asked me to test tat for her.

This was a delightful tat and I love, love, love this design too. 

The great thing about doing all this test tatting is that I'm finally getting some of my buttons out of their containers and doing something useful!!!!  

I MAY have to source more buttons within the next 100 years!!!!!

Hanky holders

I always carry a small packet of tissues in my handbag and they ALWAYS get scrunchy/grubby looking. 

A friend was making these covers and selling them successfully to raise funds for our Tuesday group so I thought I'd make one for myself. 

I searched the internet for 'how to make them' (as you do) and found this great site.

This is almost the end of this great fabric and I'm going to miss it SO much. Always cheers me up!!

Saved!!

Not probably from 'extinction' but certainly likely to be thrown away. 

I found these two shuttles in a charity shop in Alcester just over a week ago. They simply HAD to be saved. Well, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!!!! The lower of the two is actually a lovely shade of yellow which seems to be lost in the photograph. 

I'm already overrun with Milwards and have probably still got in the collection the ones I bought 60+ years ago with my pocket money!!! As I've tatted for so long and never been sidetracked I'm sure some of the originals have survived. 

I now use mainly the Aero bobbin shuttles (or the new Clover bobbin ones) but when the Aeros first hit the shops and I tried them I couldn't get on with the design at all. Eventually (as Milwards were becoming hard to find) I decided it was the 'Aero bobbin shuttle or nothing'. 

It always tickles me when I see people blogging or talking on Facebook about how you have to wind and hold the Aero to tat. Particularly which way the hook has to point (up, down etc). I once bought a French Aero which actually showed how the thread was loaded into the shuttle and which way the hook should 'point'. I adopted this method and have 'hooked' on Aero ever since. 

I will add here that the way the shuttle is held is entirely up to the tatter but I would suggest just persisting at finding your comfort zone.  There is no 'right' or 'wrong' way!!!

Finally and finally!!!

Well you're going to fall off your seats today. I've actually finished the beaded version of the square motif which you can find here. 

The link is here.

Obviously this can be played with too with variations using the SLT and also three colours (or more?). I leave it to you!!!

Yet again!!!

Sometimes test tatting can lead to a 'what if' situation!!!

I love the angel that I did for Martha a few days ago but I 'needed' to see what it looked like without the picots on the rings!!! I'm not particularly fond of lots of picots as when I started tatting (back when the dinosaurs were around) everything had lots and lots of picots. I think I outgrew them.

So, I decided to do this lovely angel 'naked'. Of course I'm now regretting not adding beads to the picots that I did leave in!!! Do I feel another angel approaching? Maybe, maybe!!!!

More coasters.

Just thought I'd show you another set of the coasters I'm making. 

There's something so relaxing about making these!!!

I love the pink ladybirds (or, as they're called in America - ladybugs). 

Actually I think that's a far better name (ladybugs) than ours as they're just NOT birds.

Another treat for you

Another treat from Martha. 

This is a button angel which I test tatted a week or so ago. A delightful tat too. I'm sure you're all dying to get your hands on Martha's new book but it'll be a while yet as there's so much work involved with putting a book together.

One of the toughest jobs must be putting up with ME as a test tatter!! There's very little to do with test tatting Martha's work as you can guess but concentration is essential as a tester. BC3 really has to turn off the rest of the world when he's at work.

Revised pattern finished.

I had to keep this back for a while so I could play with it a bit further!!! I do like to play!!!

This is the revised square pattern which is here and here.

I decided I wanted to know what it would look like if I used three colours of thread and so I've been playing as you can see!!!! It's thrown up some different patterns within the whole thing but I'd still like to experiment more with some SLT's!!!!! 

Anyway, before I forget - here's the link to the re-vamped pattern (no beads on this one) and you'll see that the original has seriously been consigned to the bin!!!! Now I've got to work on the beaded one!!!

Another!!!

Martha sent me a heart to test for her this time. 

What I LOVE about this design is that you get all the buttons onto the tatting within the first few elements. Why do I like this idea so much?

Well, I'll be honest. I go to the tatting cupboard and source the thread, beads (if required) and buttons needed for a project. Easy. I then take all back into the living room (a few steps away) and into 'tat corner'. Easy. So, what can go wrong with that? Well nothing, you'd think, but it invariably does.

How on EARTH 'things' can get lost when you know EXACTLY where you put them and you know darn well that they've not been moved. I swear I could lose my head if it was loose.

Nick knows what I'm like and often says (as I walk out of the front door) - beware of those big red things called buses!!!!

Something relaxing

In October I'm having a 'table' in a craft/artisan fair. 

This will only be a small one (table and fair!!!) as it's being held in an upstairs room at the local library (where I help teach silver surfers). I'm going to make several of these snowflakes as it's going to be quite close to the festive season. 

As we're a hundred yards away from Shakespeare's Birthplace we may get some footfall as long as we're well advertised. 

I'm not sure what this thread is but it's pretty sparkly. I'm sure it's not the Lizbeth metallic as it came in a box of wonderful odds and ends that I bought off Sue Hanson.

More coasters

These were finished before I was 'struck down' and I've just found the pictures on my phone!!!

Sadly I no longer 'own' them as a neighbour fell for them and insisted on buying the set of four off me. Bless her as that's an incentive to carry on. I no longer have enough of this cat fabric left to make more BUT I do have some scraps which I'm considering using for another project!!!

Being a 'war baby' (born towards the end in 1943) I never throw anything away and all the offcuts get used until the 'bitter end'. Remember the tatting bag I made?!?!?!? Here's the link to the small amount I finally had leftover!

A new book in the pipeline

Sometimes what you need to enable you to recover from something nasty is a challenge. One of the nicest things that could happen to me was that Martha Ess wrote to ask if I'd test tat this butterfly for her.

Now I LOVE Martha's work and test tatting for her is a real pleasure. She's working on a new book which will be tatting on buttons. I love using buttons in tatting too so this was a delight to get my 'teeth' into.  Sally is quite jealous when I've shown her what I'm up to as she loves buttons too.

One thing which she mentions in the introduction is a method of joining to the button that I'd not thought of so this is on my 'to do' list to add to the techniques pages. It really makes for a much sturdier join and I wish I'd thought of it before her!!!!!

I'm BACK.

Well, sort of!!! Just not used to being ill as it must be 20 or more years since it happened. Still, that's behind me now and it's a case of 'upwards and onwards'!!!

This is another rendition of this motif that I had done before I stopped blogging last week. 

If you remember - I'm currently working on a re-write of this pattern. You can see the motif (naked) here, but today I can show you the same little stinker with 'clothes' (aka beads) on. Of course there could be many variations on the use of colours but this is what I've done so far. Keep watching for further progress - or not!!!!