A bit of a diversion!

One of my lovely silver surfer students asked me for a snowflake last weekend. 

I've got a few for her to look at as you can imagine. That's a bit of a lie as I have boxes full of 'stuff' that could be given or sold but I always want to make something new!!! 

I decided to use this pattern but in one colour. 

Well this can now be worked without needing a SSSR when there's only one colour involved as this simply becomes a split ring instead. The only thing I found was that I didn't get the quantity of beads threaded onto the shuttles quite right but that just meant that next time I'll add a few more to each shuttle 'just in case' I run out method.

More bells!!!

Here are more of the bells that are part of my current addiction!!!

The one on the left is made of the Lizbeth variegated red/white thread. I'm not a great fan of this colour way as the colour changes are a bit sudden. BUT I do love Lizbeth threads!

The one on the right is another of the HWT threads from Sue. Love this one as the colours are so subtle. 

I've now finished working on the new version of this pattern and it can be found in it's usual place which is here.

The bobbly yarn - finished!

Well here's the bobbly yarn which I showed you here!!!

It only took a couple of afternoons to knit it up!! It's not the sort of scarf that you 'throw round your neck' as it's nowhere near long enough. BUT it's absolutely just what I've always wanted to put in the neck of my winter coat. It's SOOOOOO snug and warm that I can't wait for the really cold weather to arrive so I've got an excuse to wear it!!!

I'm glad I've done it and had the experience of knitting with this sort of yarn but I don't think I'll do it again!!!!  Well I may do if I find another bargain ball in a charity shop!!!

The new whirly motif

You probably remember me doing this single whirl a while ago.

Well you know what BC3 is like - he HAD to find out what it would look like when done in multiples!!

This was a bit of a challenge actually because the whirls kept putting me on a wrong foot with the joins. A few sessions of backtracking (undoing!) occurred but I'm pretty pleased with the result. I have even memorised the pattern so I can take it 'out and about' with me as I'm making another mat in the same way!!! How's that for progress!!

I wasn't happy with the first scan so put a green background on the second time. 

There's a very funny story about the green background. 

I have some sheets of card by the scanner for white pieces of tatting so I chose a very bright fluorescent piece out of the stash. I scanned the mat a couple of times and it came out with a cream background. I was really puzzled about this and went off to ask Mr Google why this was happening. Then after a search which came up with no answers I decided to call it a day and picked the card off the scanner to put away. Well, imagine how stupid I felt when I realised that the green fluorescent was only on the ONE side of the card!!!! 

Now why did I tell you all that story when it just goes to prove what a dozy old moo I am?

Bells galore!

I'm still working on the bells!!! I'm afraid I've got rather hooked on these!! 

I had a hunt through my threads and decided that the ones I'd got from Sue Hanson a while ago needed another 'airing' so these are made with some of those. No idea what thread it is but she'd wound them onto little card thingies as 3 strands of HWT. Naturally I decided to be awkward and 'reassign' them to two threads wound HWT!!! 

The thread is lovely to use (and re-wind too!) and not a single inch was lost in the process!! Amazing really. 

You can see that the one on the left has a 'dip' at the top which was an experiment but one which I'm not going to follow up on. 

Well, actually it was a mistake, to be honest!!! It was an evening when I was really tired and I missed the split ring coming out of the centre!!! 

Another revamp!!

I'm wondering if anybody out there in Tat Land has ever made this pattern up?

I decided that it might be another good class project so I'm currently redoing it. The pictures on the site are pretty darn awful but they were done around fourteen years ago. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!!!!

I'm still playing with it and the first thing I did (if you look at the picture below) is remove the central ring. I'm looking for a cleaner look to the whole bell. 

The stitch count needs a bit more tweaking too!!! All I need is time (and inclination!) to get it done!!!  I think that if I get it sorted this week then I'll make lots of them and use them as my giveaways this Silly Season.  

A charity shop purchase

A month or more ago I was out in Alcester looking round the charity shops as usual when I came across this yarn.

Now there's a lady who goes to Crafternoon called Irene (lovely lady) who knits lots and lots of baby blankets using this sort of yarn and it's always fascinated me!!!! So I bought from the charity shop. 

Irene always has HUGE balls of this yarn and I knew that I didn't want that sort of commitment so this looked 'just right' to me!!! Three balls of 50 grams each. Just right - but what for?

So, I actually remembered to take my yarn and some knitting needles to Crafternoon last Friday and dear Irene gave me a lesson on knitting with it. 

It's not easy to work with but I'll show you progress next week - IF I've made any. Oh, we decided there was probably enough for a scarf but we'll see!!!!

Crochet finished

Well as I said back here - winter is coming!!

I'd just started this waistcoat back then and meant to take some work in progress pictures but, as you can see, I forgot!!!

This was an easy straightforward piece of crochet once I'd worked out how many chains to start with. If you look back at the link you can see that the bottom of the original is quite different to the top yoke part. I didn't like the look of the lacy bit but the stitch count was different (and the hook size) between the two patterns.

BC3 had to work out how many stitches he/she needed. All went well until it came to the finishing off. I was appalled to find there was no guidance whatsoever on how many double crochets to make round the armhole or down the front/neck. Still I did it and I must say I'm pretty darn pleased with it too. I've EVEN worn it!!!!

August snowflake - progress

Well as you know I've been playing around with the August snowflake on and off for a while. If you look at this link you'll see that I was wondering whether to continue - or not!!! 

Well if you look at this picture you'll see that I decided that I'd carry on!!!

This is an easy pattern for me to remember when I'm sitting in a craft group and talking to people. It's also easy to undo when I make mistake after mistake!!! Funnily enough nobody seems to have noticed the difference between 'doing' and 'undoing' which always tickles me.

Over the years I've found that it never ever worries me to take work apart. It's just part of being me, I guess!!! Mistakes happen in life and the only thing a person can do is either walk away or put them right. I'm a 'putterrighter'!!!!

New whirly motif

In my quest to find ideas for teaching I've been looking once again at this Catherine Wheel Motif pattern. I showed you the original test one I worked last week on Friday.

This is a new version of the same idea. Now I prefer this one as it doesn't have two rounds!!! I know - I'm lazy!!! 

All I need to do now is to re-write the pattern and do the new drawings. As the centre is roughly the same then it shouldn't be too big a project.

BUT - this is a BIG BUT - BC3 now wants to know what would happen if I joined these together!! I guess that means I'm heading out on another adventure!!! I'll be back!!!

Spooky or what!

Last Sunday Nick was watching Dr Who on the telly and there were ENORMOUS spiders on that episode. 

Just as a huge one emerged from a bath these two arrived in my inbox!!! They're from Katie who said.

"Hi, Jane, thanks so much for the spider pattern. Fun to tat! Decided not to stiffen them; only steamed them a bit. Hope the legs don't get too wonky!

Made earrings for my daughter and for my daughter in law--just in time!"

Thanks for the giggle at the coincidence, Katie.

Another commission piece

One of the people who took my details from the library popped into our new craft group in the local Stratford library last Thursday to confirm an order for a purple bracelet.

She'd seen the button bracelets that I'd got on sale (I had a brown and a red one) and she wanted a purple one. So that's what I settled down to do over the weekend.

Now this lady also wants to learn to tat. As I hadn't got my teaching 'kit' with me we arranged for her to return next Thursday for her first lesson. 

I've got the kit packed and ready to go with me in my 'take it and go' bag. I hope she likes it and gets the hang of tatting too. 

By the way it's properly packaged now too.

Found in a charity shop

I'm trying to rationalise my wardrobe. This is NOT easy as you all know.

I have clothes in there that must be 20 or more years old and it's NOT a big wardrobe either. So a few clothes were taken out last Thursday and I toddled off down the town and took them to my favourite charity shop - the air ambulance one.

Of course I had to have a smooch round to see what was there and I found a pile of 3 Coats thread boxes. Number one (when I opened it) was a total disappointment with just a pile of grotty threads. Number two was slightly better but still didn't appeal. 

Number THREE was, at first glance much like number 2 but I did rummage my fingers through it and noticed a shuttle. I bit more rummaging and I found two. I decided they needed to be re-homed and I paid for the box and left. 

When I got home two hours later and got the threads out I found the bone shuttle hiding in there too. The metal one has no markings on it so I haven't a clue what it is. Do I need more shuttles like this in my collection? Of course not but my theory is that they might have been thrown away if I'd left them there!!!! That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it - even under torture.

More experimenting!

Now this is one of the Catherine wheel motifs that you can find here.

Again I'm looking for something interesting that I could take to a class that has block tatting (the lazy way) as it's a technique that I'd like to encourage. So, I pulled out this pattern and made the one below.

Well it's fine as it is but it involves two rounds which never appeals to me. I like any tatting to work in one 'hit' without ANY cutting tying etc until the whole thing is completed. 

This idea hasn't 'quite' been consigned to the 'not a good idea' folder but I won't be using it as it is. 

Then along came BC3 and suggested that perhaps the general idea was OK and that me (his boss - I think) should think about it a little longer and see what I could do to change the basic idea to make it work. So, that's what I'm doing!!!

Scary spiders with beaded bendy legs!!!

Well here it is. The link that you've both (Sue Duckles and probably one other somewhere in the world) have been waiting for - scary spider earrings or  pendants or whatever you like to use them for!

I'm exhausted now - that was quite a rush getting the pattern done in time for Halloween but I did cheat!!!  I not only used the Terry Nimmer pattern but also used the Tatbead family idea for the legs.  Here's the link to that idea.

Here in the UK Halloween was not heard of until it became an 'American import'. We used to celebrate Guy Fawkes day on November 5th but that's become quite secondary nowadays to the 31st of October!!!

Here's my pair and I'm wearing them today - well, that's when I get dressed, of course!!!

Another commission

I was sitting at the new Thursday group last week and a friend asked if I could make a pair of spider earrings for her daughter!!!

When I got home I decided to look and see if I'd done spiders before and lo and behold there was one that Terry and I had worked on 8 years ago. Here's the link.

Well I decided that that one wasn't going to be an easy tat and I wanted something a bit more 'blingy' so BC3 was brought out of the cupboard and we came up with this - see below.

Now this has been a bit of a challenge even though it's a lot easier to work than the other one. Why? Well somebody told me that it's Halloween next week and I thought somebody somewhere may like to play with it before then and time is running out!!!

It will be available tomorrow when I've done a final test tat.  I do need a pair for myself now!!!

More seahorses!!!

Well after talking to lots of people in the library sale I had several ask for special commissions. 

I'd made some small handouts which I encouraged people to pick up so they'd got my details. I only put on my website and email address - no phone number as I try to remain pretty private if I can.

The first of the commission orders came from a lovely lady who must live locally as once they were done we met up at the end of her lunch break outside Shakespeare's Birthplace!!! That's one of the MANY good things about living in this town - you can arrange to meet people in easy to find places!!! These were for a friend of hers. 

Problem is - I'm now tempted to make another pair for ME with this super thread!!!

Now don't ask me why

The question is 'why did you make this little elephant'?

The answer would be 'I don't really know why'!!!!! 

I was experimenting with making it to offer as a class lesson should I apply to teach somewhere next year. 

Making a pattern for my own enjoyment (or, should that be torture!) is a totally different thing to making (or should that word be designing?) one for a class. 

Why? Well a class has a limited time slot and lots of people expect to finish a project within that class. Now this is almost impossible to design for as every student comes with different skill levels, different speeds of tatting etc so it's a bit of a guessing game for the teacher to get the pattern 'right'. My objective, too, is to get any new design element within the first half hour of the students arriving so they can get maximum benefit from the class. 

The elephant failed my test!!! Well, for now he has and will be put aside.  

While I was working HIM I thought of other ideas and, actually, while I'm typing this I've thought of another one!!!!

Another 'thing' out of the way

Weeeeeellllll, nearly!!!

I finished this while I was sitting in the library last week.  What a relief although I must admit I've enjoyed playing with the possibilities of HWT (hand wound thread) and I'm sure I'll do another project like this sometime in the future.

The photo is of it pressed and laid on a piece of black fabric which I will sew it to.  Why?  Well I've found it's easier to store like that.  

Yes, another candidate for the boxes of tatting that I already have!!!!  

Now, what shall I do next?!?!?

Winter is coming!!

Yes it's on the way and instead of getting colder it's (so far) been getting warmer!!

I don't feel the cold. Not nowadays. Probably because I'm getting too much weight around my middle - must do something about that!!! 

Because I don't feel the cold I don't need bulky clothes especially on my arms. I can 'manage' with long sleeved t-shirts (or tops) for most of the time but it's nice to have something extra to put on when I go out in the cold wind. So I decided I really 'needed' a sleeveless waistcoat (vest for those who don't speak English English!!!!). 

I have the pattern in the picture way below and I made it up as a cardigan a few years ago. I'll admit - I've not worn it above two or three times but I thought the sleeveless version might be better for me. I've started it but instead of the 'fancy' pattern below the bust I'm going for the plainer pattern at the top - treble crochet with 'holes'!!!! 

It's taken some brain power from BC3 to work out how many chains to start off with but I think I'm on track. Time will tell!!!!  Wish I had Jane McLellan's talents with crochet and knitting projects.