Robin, badger and no blips!!!!!!

I wonder if I can explain how I feel about the patterns I do?  It's a bit like having a baby.  Takes months and months to nurture it and carry it around with you (in this case in the mind as well as on the shuttles) and then you get there and it's finished - eureka!!!!

Once it's born (finished!) I then find that I don't want to let it out of my sight for a while.  I can get VERY possessive!!!  Then it becomes a teenager and you can't wait to get rid of it!!!  I actually forget about them too which is why sometimes you see things that I've finished and then they don't appear!!!  Also some go off on trips to other places like the badger and robin.  

The robin was taught by Riet at the Palmetto tat days last year (and by changing colours can become a bluebird too - click on the image on the pattern page for a surprise!) and the badger - well he's been lurking around my computer for years in various 'disguises'.  I think he got rather sett in his ways at one point and wouldn't come out of hiding!!! He doesn't have a 3D head in case you were led to believe that by remarks you've seen elsewhere - it's as flat as a pancake.  

I've also added the 'no blips' link too.  Seems it's going to be pretty useful!!!  All three pages can be reached from my home page here.

More little critters!

Thanks for all the input after yesterday's post.  There seems to have been a bit of discussion about the 'no blip' join and I must say it appears to be at first  a 'normal join' - specially for the second half of the SR.  I'd just like to point out gently that the 'no blip' way adds ONE small extra movement to the join to extinguish the blip for once and for all!!!   Thought I'd clarify it for those who thought it was the 'normal' join!!!!

Now for today's real post!!!  Here's another group of shuttle critters which have now gone flying over the pond to Erin and Chris.

Can't make up my mind which I like best!!!  I think the hummers but you never know what's going to 'pop off' the shuttles next - least I never know!!!!

Thank you to everybody who tested the 'no blip' idea yesterday - I'll add the link to my web page tomorrow - along with two more patterns!!!

Talking about BLIPS!!!!

Today's ramble will be about blips!!!!!  I've spent hours and hours on this over the past few weeks until I nearly drove myself round the bend - and back again!!!  Having got it 'sorted' I was then not sure whether it's going to be of much use!!!  BUT Sharren says very enthusiastically that it WORKS and that it works well.

Blips are an annoying part of anybody's tatting and they drive me bonkers!!!!  You know - the 'blips' of colour you get when joining two very contrasting colours.  This happens with rings or split rings.  The front of them look fine until you turn them over and this is what you get - the dreaded blip!!!

I saw another idea years ago but can no longer find it - 'lost in cyberspace', I think.  Anyway, I found it a bit complicated to follow so never got into the habit of using it.

I THINK I've found an easier and faster way to get round the blip problem when joining rings. First of all the front without a blip followed by the back.

This then sent brain cell 3 off on another train of thought.  What about the joins on the second side of the SR?  What IF you could get rid of the blip there?  So here's how it looks after this method of joining.  First the 'right' side followed by the 'wrong' side.   Not that there are any right or wrong sides to tatting, of course!!!

Would you like to know how to do this?  Well, here's a link.  It might look a bit complicated at first but I assure you it's drop dead easy.  IF the majority of people think it's worth adding to my web site then I will but I'd like some feedback first to see if it works for others too!!!!

More shuttle news!

Before I start - I must tell you that a shuttle posted on 15th December has turned up two months and four days after mailing!!!  If only it could speak I bet it could tell a tale!!!  Would it be about Royal Fail or USA Snail, I wonder!!!!!


Now most of you will have seen and heard a lot about 'im in the garage's Pop a Bobbin shuttles and post shuttles all made in wood.  If you haven't seen them please look in the Pop a Bobbin Shuttle page which can be found above this post.

What I'm going to natter about today is another type of shuttle being made by Chris and Erin Hinton.  They make wooden ones usually but have branched out (scuse pun!) into epoxy ones too.

Erin asked me if I could make some diddly critters to go in them ages ago so I thought 'why not'!!!  Out came 'you know who' and off we both went hand in hand!!!!!  I've still got other ideas but below (right at the bottom) are a few of the next batch.  Hope to show you the rest in a few days.

This is the finished shuttle that they've already made - a seahorse on one side and a fish on t'other.  If you one of these shuttles with a critter in, or anything else - don't ask me please, as I live too far away from Erin!!!!  DOOOO contact her on this email address. 

Ziltch, nada, nowt!!!!

You're not going to believe this but I've got nothing to SAY or show!!!!!

An extremely long, very busy and stressful day yesterday so I did nothing in my little corner of tat land!!!!  In fact I sat down with a couple (note, not one!) glasses of wine in the evening and - well, just did nothing!!!  Oh, I did eat a WHOLE bar of chocolate too which was very hard with having to make the oh so tired jaw work.  Yummy, though!

Please don't send for emergency services - I'll recover.  Watch this space on Monday, though!!!!   I hope to be able to make up for my silence!!!

A parade of kitties

First of all - I've sourced some more shell beads from the shop where I bought the originals.  Here's the link although the guy is going to be away next week - I can wait until he gets back.  I also bought some of the rings he's got on his front page.  Do I need neon rings and what would I do with them!!!  I also bought some of those in orange and blue when I was there!!!!!  I MAY have to play with those soon.  Also I'm going to make another magnetic bookmark with that new starry pattern but which colours shall I use?  Decisions, decisions, decisions!!!!

Inspired by Ridgewoman's new soul mate (Pippa the cat) I started in on this design a few weeks ago.  I kept putting it down, picking it up and generally messing around with it!!!  

I started off with a standing version (which I'll go back to next!) and thought it was a bit boring.  Then, looking at pictures of cats on the internet, I decided that a stretching cat was what I'd do.  If only I could stick to the simple things in life!!!

Anyway, here's a progression and degression of the kitties with the final one at the bottom.  Well, I THINK it's the final one but I'm not sure!!!  Having scanned it I'm even MORE not sure.  So, back to the drawing board - or, rather, the tatting shuttles!!!

What I have to ask myself (and anybody reading this) is if the bottom one needs more tweaking.  No, perhaps it doesn't, yes it does, no it doesn't.  Darn it - another break from kitties is called for!!!!

More of the same!!

Here are more medallions.  Once I get a bee in my bonnet I have to get it out!!!  Before it stings me!!!

The missing shuttles

I found two more shuttles which had slipped into the inactive part of the Etsy shop!!!!!  They're now listed!!!!

Yesterday I spent ages and ages doing something really HARD for me - tidying up!!!  I did all the space around me and then tackled my email addresses.  I've deleted all those who I used to mail with updates from my Ring of Tatters section.  That was a LOT of email addresses!!!!   So anybody who used to get a notification will have to keep an eye on me here to see what I'm up to!!

Then, as a treat, I thought I'd buy some more colours of the shell beads I've been using for the centres of the new motifs (see new one below) so took myself off to search for some more.  Nil, zilch, nada, nowt, NOTHING - not in the UK shops anyway.  So, that was the end of that.  You wait til I get to the USA - watch out all the craft places!!!

I also managed to put Jane McLellan's choker pattern up in my guest designer's section.  This is mainly thanks also to Isdihara who put it all together with Jane's permission.  Here's the direct link.

Here's the finished bookmark which will (or should!) get into the shop later today!!  I may make another bluey/greeney one before going back to another design I'm working on.  Unless I forget, of course!!!