I never ever realised.

This is nothing to do with tatting but worth reading, I hope.  

Yesterday I attended (accompanied by 'you know who') a special and lovely dinner and presentation.  I was given an award.  Something I'd been working towards, despite a few hiccups, since I was about thirty two ish.  Even though I'd been on this 'campaign' for all those years I didn't realise quite what I'd achieved!!!

You can see me in the picture BUT the bravest and most courageous people were standing either side of me.  They stood up and spoke about their children (one a teenager and the other in his early twenties) who had died tragically of leukemia.  I tell you it nearly made me cry to hear them speak and to hear how much help they'd needed to gain an extra few months (for one couple) and a year (for the other couple) of life for their children.  Sadly they both died.

Please, please PLEASE do help people like them as it's so easy to do.  All you need to do is donate a unit of blood regularly.  Not a lot to ask - it doesn't hurt and it's a good health check for yourself (that's a bonus and one which I was grateful for a few years ago).  If you know ANYBODY and particularly teenagers who are eligible then please encourage them to donate wherever you are in this world of ours.

Oh, I got a badge, a glass crystal plate, a big clap and the photo below as well as a stonking good meal and all I did was lie on a bed 75 times, bleed into a bag, scoff tea and biscuits and trot off home.  See how easy it is.  


Oh, by the way, here in the UK we do it for free too.  I believe that in America people are paid for their donations so even more of a reason to donate!!!

A looong time ago!

Selling off the leaflets last week brought back memories.  When I was young the only booklets with patterns that were easily available were the Coats and Penelope ones.  I had little choice (like most of us 'back then') on what I could make.  I used to buy them with my pocket money as a teenager.  I did actually use some of the doilies I made but wouldn't ever put one out now as I'd have to find room for them (IF I still had any!!!) in all our 'clutter'!!

Penelope book 4 on page 11 was perhaps the only doily I ever 'took to' and I remember making it many times.  I certainly must've made it in size 20 white as that was all I had available but I do remember making it in a fine silk sewing thread too - for the sake of working in colour.  Do you want to see the pattern?  Here's the picture in the booklet.


A few days later and a miracle has occurred at Chez Eborall - I found the silk doily still backed onto a piece of manilla card!!!  It must've been done about 40 years ago at a guess (certainly a looooong, looooooooong time ago!).  Not bad for it's age, eh?  Remember that I'd never seen or heard of picot gauges or blocking in those days either.  


Now I also found another doily in silk but that'll have to wait for another day!!!

Seven motifs second round

Well, not strictly true but seven and one 'bit' on the second round!!!!

As I said yesterday that photograph was taken at the Buzz last Friday.  I've made a bit of progress since then as you can see.  Back last Friday it was 3 motifs and two 'bits' of the next on round two.  I've also added a few infills too since then.  

Next time I take a photo it won't be on our grubby flagstones on the patio!!!  I'll find a cloth to put it on first.  


I think this should be a lesson to all those in tat land who don't sew in their ends as they go along!!!  Can you imagine how tedious it would be to sew in all of them on this project once you'd finished?  


I must add also that to start each diamond I use this method (scroll down the page) and this to get the closure (I use the way with the extra part where you get no blip).

Further progress!!!

Well here we go again!!!!  More boredom for you all!  

This is where I'd got to when I was at the Buzz Cafe.  Since then I've done a bit more but haven't got round to taking a photo.

I'm going to revise my timing on this as I think I must be getting faster!!!  I reckon it's now down to 40 minutes per diamond.  On this picture I guess I'm almost a quarter done on this round and the end is still not in sight!!!  Still enjoying it, though, which is a bonus!!!!

I also drew up some idea of what this will look like when the round is finished.  I can now use this to count and keep track of where I've got to!!!!  This is only a very rough drawing!!!!!

Buzzing along

First of all thanks to those who helped with my problems yesterday - I'm not telling Nick how long I've spent so far on the diamonds!!!  He MIGHT insist I do some of the 'H' word instead!!!!


Yesterday I did a 'stint' of demonstrating tatting at the Buzz Cafe which is in the centre of town - about five minutes walk from where I live.  This is a new venture and a brave and forward looking one too.  Here's a link for more information about what happens there.  I thought you'd like to see some pictures of the cafe so that when you visit the town you'll know exactly where it is and where to pop in for a stonking good sandwich, cake, cuppa tea or anything they've got on their menu.  

So, the first picture is the outside.  The second picture is taken from exactly the same spot but I turned round about 45 degrees and zoomed in slightly.  Can you see that old building over there to the right of the tree? Well, that's Shakespeare's Birthplace.  

The third picture and the fourth pictures were taken inside the Cafe. 

Fretting about things!

Some people think I've got a good 'eye for colour' but it's not really true as I've never studied colour at all.  I use that good old fashioned thing called instinct!!!!

So, first today I'm going to ask you to look at the original diamond mat I made a few years ago.  See how the 'flowers' repeat in the rounds?  Now look at the one I'm working on this year.  I've repeated the flowers in this first round.

So here comes the BIG decision.  I've decided NOT to do the repeats in the next round.  No, no, NO!!!!  I'm just going to 'go with the flow'!!  The main reason is because I have so many drop dead gorgeous threads that I want to use and in some cases probably not enough to do 3 repeats.  Part of the reasoning for making this whole thing is to use the threads I've got and NOT order more (the temptation is always there, though)!!!!  

Now, can you see in the third picture where I've paired them up?  I've got a variegated for the centres and 'plains' for the outlines as usual.  I've also numbered the pairs so I know which should sit next to each other.  BOY, is this going to be fun?  I just need to finish the in fills of this round and then I'll be off on the next!!!  


When all the infills are done there will be 66 diamonds.  Each diamond takes roughly three quarters of an hour!!!  This means that I've already spent a long time over this - can anybody work it out for me?  Now the next 'round' of flowers will be made up of 90 diamonds but I'm not going to work anymore out as I'm hopeless at maths even at the best of times!!!  


I would love to know how many more days, hours etc this is going to take but there again perhaps it's best NOT to know!!!  

Book sale part 3

These are the final three leaflets - these are £1.00 ($1.50) plus post and packing.

11.  Coats leaflet number 988

12.  Coats leaflet number 461

Finally there's a crochet leaflet again from Coats and numbered 1087

Book sale part 2

All yesterday's leaflets are now spoken for - thanks, folks.


Following on from yesterday here are the rest of the booklets.  


Must quickly mention the Learn to Tat book (330) as it was from this (pages 6 & 7) that I re-learnt how to hold and manipulate the shuttle almost 20 years after I'd started tatting.  As I picked up the craft from my gran (she was learning too) the way of holding the shuttle was never mentioned!!!!  I'd lent my copy of 330 to somebody I was teaching and she pointed these pages out to me!!!!!

6.   Coats Tatting number 469

7.  Learn to Tat number 330

8.  Coats Time for Tatting number 813

9.  Coats Learn Tatting number 1088

10.  Coats Ten Tatting Designs number 1127

Tomorrow there will be three more leaflets which you may be interested in too - they will be £1.00 ($1.50).