I have been

Plodding along with my bright green sweater.

Talk about 'straining the brain' - this one certainly has.  It's taught me the excitement of never knowing 'what comes next' in a pattern.

The top picture (look at right side of photo) shows how I finished up with what looks like a ‘strap-y’ top which is NOT what you want a sweater to be!!!  

If you look at the left side of the same picture you’ll see that the ‘strap’ is almost gone.

The bottom picture (although it’s not that clear) shows how I’ve picked up stitches around the armhole and have almost finished the short rows to make the top of the sleeve.  It’s a very interesting experience and not for the faint hearted.  The pattern can be found here.

The next project!!

Well this and yet another project are now 'on the go'!!!

After the huge success of this jacket I decided to make another but this time with squares.

I'd got an old fleece which I rarely wore (the black one in the picture below) and which will hopefully make a warmer piece of clothing. The original is a Spring/Autumn weight and I wear it a LOT. I'm often stopped by people who say they love the jacket - complete strangers (we get a lot of tourists in the town) and it always pleases me no end. Specially when I point out it's homemade and onto an old shirt. 

Here's a few pictures to show you where I'm at as I started this new one a couple of weeks ago. 

The first picture is the fabric for the back completed. Then there's work in progress and finally the 'original' fleece. The thing with doing this sort of project is to not plan too far ahead!!! After my last jacket I thought I'd make all the fabric first this time and then fit it over the fleece. I may top stitch over the squares but I'm not sure yet. Any advice would be VERY welcome!!!

The Coronation

As the world knows we are celebrating the Coronation of King Charles III tomorrow. I hate to admit this but I remember the last one - I was heading towards ten years of age and we had a TELEVISION in our home.

It was a miserable day (weather wise) and all I wanted to do was go to the big party which was happening over the road after the ceremony. 

Anyway all these years later (but not wiser, I might add) this Coronation will be spent watching it on a colour television. 

The day after will be a street party which the neighbours have been preparing for for ages. We've got a road closure and bunting etc so the day should be full of fun. At our local group where we meet to sew, knit, crochet, craft etc we've been working on our annual quilt and this is this year's offering. People will be able to buy tickets to win it. 

One or two (well, all of us!) think it's the best one we've done so far. Jo has done an amazing job putting all our crazy quilt squares together. Thanks, Jo.

Cozy production

Well I'm running out of friends!!!!  No I've not been upsetting them - least I hope not!  I'm running out of people to give these to!

I love making these - they're so simple to do  and so useful when done!!!  

For those who don't know - they're for putting a bowl into the microwave on so that you don't burn your fingers (or laps!) with hot stuff.

Progress on Robin's doily

Now I hang my head in shame!!!  I forgot to scan round 5 of Robin's lovely doily but I've remembered to do one of round 6 - even if it no longer sits entirely on the scanner!!!  

Number 90!!!

Well here we are!!!  

Janet has sent in her aliens and here's the link to what she has to say.

Thank you, Janet.

Monday Moan

Please would designers think about the amount of pages their designs take up AND how many instructions they actually need to write down.  I know I've done this moan before but I feel it's worth going over again. 

I've recently been looking at a pattern which is 32 pages long and would cost a fortune in inks (lots of dark backgrounds) and paper to print out (let's try saving our planet).   If I had been asked to write this simple generic pattern down it would take 3 pages (maybe 4) to describe, draw and present.  New tatters need to learn the craft thoroughly before venturing into designing.  Starting with researching what has gone before.

Another thing that's worrying me now is that due to YouTube people are now using other designer's patterns to show 'how to make' a design (hopefully with full permission given).  I've watched one or two of these and feel we're doing our craft no favours at all.  Why? We're teaching people to follow like sheep and not have to think.  This is the same for some of the patterns that are being sold online too. Pages and pages telling and showing how and when to turn or reverse the work but not necessarily writing it down in the pattern instructions.  Again this is going to lead to laziness in understanding how and why the lace 'works'.

My biggest moan of ALL for today is that these patterns NEVER give you a comfort break!!!! I know - I'm being silly now but soon they will be including instructions on how and when to take that break too!!!!   Too many instructions will lead to the death of tatted lace and  our brains too.

Must stop now - I need a comfort break and another cup of tea!!!!  A picture of some pretty flowers I saw on a walk the other day.

More aliens!!

Now this gang aren’t going onto the TIAS blog as they’re from Pamela who asked, a few weeks ago, if I’d done the whole pattern yet.  Well she shouldn’t have asked as she then put herself in the position of becoming the test tatter!!!!

Here are her aliens and the pattern will get onto my website - eventually!!!  Why ‘eventually’?  Well because I need to do so many things at the moment which need to be resolved before I can add aliens to websites.  

Another cozy

Now this one hasn’t got a home - yet!!!!   I’m deciding what to do with it while I make a few more which will also need to find homes!!!!  Keeps me out of mischief making them, though!!!

A new sewing project!

Heading now for (hopefully) warmer weather and the sewing spirit has risen within my body!!!  Spring means sap rising to most people but to me it’s the sewing bug which hits!!!

To get back into the swing of it I’ve started making bowl cozies.  I’ve got one which was given to me when I visited Canada years ago.  I LOVE it but as it’s grey it tends to be hard to find in my kitchen drawer!!!  The first one I’ve made is for a friend who lives nearby and this time round I’m making them with thicker wadding.  Why?  Well that’s because that’s what I was given!!!!  I LOVE Freecycle!!!!!  

We’ve got to 90!!!

Well, almost!!!  The next one will be number 90 as over the weekend two more aliens arrived - hot off the ferry from Ireland!!!  That’s, of course, the flying saucer ferry!!!

Here’s the link to find out more.  

Please visit the

Tat It And See blog today.  I’m not going to tell you anymore than that but I will share the link!

I’m a bit quiet here at the moment but that’s because I haven’t got anything to say!!!  Enjoy the rest - I’ll be BACK!!!!

Robin’s Doily - round 4

Well round four is done.  As you can see I haven’t put the iron on it yet but it really sits well.  That’s down to good, careful design skills.  It doesn’t need ‘blocking’ or anything.  Brilliant design.

Jumper

Another update on the knitting progress.  

As you can see I’ve now got below the armholes and it’s all joined up in one long round.  This is now a lot more interesting but a lot slower to knit.  I’ve got a digital copy of the chart on the iPad and use markup as I progress each row.  This means I can erase each row as it’s done and move upwards to the next one.  

I’ll add part of the chart to this blog post so you can see what Im doing.  

Coriolis

Hallie has sent me another of my designs that she’s done and I’ve checked it’s OK to share with you all. Here’s her comment.

“Good morning, Jane,

Since you said you like knowing people are enjoying your patterns, here's my latest effort: the Coriolis Motif. I'd only done block tatting a couple times before, but it works so well in this pattern. Thanks again for sharing your BC3 with all of us!

Best wishes,

Hallie in Wisconsin”

Oh, the pattern is here, by the way. 

Yesterday

Just in case you didn't notice - another alien arrived in my inbox. A great start to the week. 

This one is from Claire and I'll give you the link so you can see what she says.

Still hoping that a few more will fly in as I know there are still quite a few 'out there' waiting to land!!!! 

Monday

Yes, Monday but no moan!!! In fact I don’t really have a lot to say at the moment. 

Yesterday was such a busy day and I was too tired to do much. Hope to have more to share later this week.

Just a pretty picture from one of my walks.

Round 3 of Jan’s Doily

Well I’ve managed to tear myself away from the knitting at odd times and had actually finished this before the Gloucester tatting day!!! How’s that?!?!? 

In fact I took the doily with me to work on and when I got home found that I’d done the usual ‘thing’ of ‘talking too much and not concentrating’ so had to pull out a good deal of round 4!!!  

I don’t know if there’s something wrong with my BC3 but I never mind taking work out and re-doing it.  I guess it’s because I probably do more of that than getting things right in the first place!!!  I really ought to sit and read things through and understand BEFORE I start.  I do it with almost everything in my life!!!  Don’t ask about cooking!!!!  That’s a hit and miss affair too!!!!

The green jumper AGAIN!

Well here it is a few days ago. You can see that I’ve now got a front and a back on the jumper. The top picture shows that the front (the top part of the photo) is shorter than the back!!! I think the next stage will be to join the front and back under the arms. Can you see that stitches have been added to the sides of the garment?

Hallie’s Easter egg

Today I’ve got Hallie’s egg to show you.  It’s not often that people show me what they’ve made with my designs but it’s always VERY reassuring when they do as it shows I’m not really wasting my time and it also reminds me to look at them again to see if they need improving on.  This is what she had to say.

“Good morning, Jane,
I wanted to thank you for the bugle bead Easter Egg pattern (2019), and your technique sheet for simplified split chains. I'd looked at both previously and said, "No way!" 
But I recently sent in my T.A.T. Apprentice work, and felt up to another challenge. And to my delight, the beads weren't nearly as hard to deal with as I'd feared, and the simplified split chain method worked great.

Best wishes,
Hallie in Wisconsin
Keeping my fingers crossed that enough aliens show up to encourage you to let us have another TIAS treat next year!”

Yes I hope more aliens arrive too, Hallie!