Choker and Chains

Before I got to tatting yesterday, I played with the prototype a bit. My idea was to use metal chains in between the motifs to tie the piece together a bit better. The idea went over fairly well on on the Facebook page, but I kept having to remind people that this was a prototype and not the final color, nor are those the final chains. It's actually some cheap chain I bought at Michaels that I use specifically for prototyping. So I kept getting the, 'it would look better with (insert color of thread or chain here)'. I love the instant feedback people give over there, but sometimes I have to hold my tongue when folks don't read what has already been asked and answered repeatedly.

Regardless of that very slight irritation, I got to work on the final piece knowing that it should be fairly well received. Unfortunately, this is defiantly a time consuming piece and I'm not even halfway done with the tatting. There were also some suggestions to add a gem or a few, so once I do get the lace done, there will be more playing with chains and beads to get the right mix. There were also suggestions to trade the chain for strands of glass pearls and while it would probably look neat, I have a terrible fear of over-weighting the lace. I know that it's strong, but the more weight it holds, the more likely it is to stretch out of shape or need seriously stiffening to prevent said stretching. I like my lace light and soft. I think it wears better that way and needs far less care.

So today I'll be working on the piece in it's final black shade. There's a good chance I'll get much of it done, but almost no chance that it will make it into the shop quite yet. If by some miracle I do finish it, I still have those cat ears to tat up because I put them aside to work on this. I was also reminded this morning that there is at least one pair of barefoot sandals that I really ought to get remade and back into the shop. I have been really flighty about these things lately and I'm going to chalk it up to being distracted with other 'life' things. I'm made some good progress though and that's a positive, right?