Flatness

Yep, another day, another few rounds on the Armenian lace doily. I thought I had an idea for something else halfway through the day, but as it turns out, I was very wrong. Well, no, I had an idea, it just wasn't a very good one, so let's not talk about it, okay?

This is where I started off with the doily in the morning. It was at about row 11 of the 20...I think. I even worked on it a bit while I was schooling the kids, because I thought if I kept at it all day I might actually finish this section. I was of course, wrong again.

This is where I ended the day with the doily. I think that I'm on row 19 now. I know, so close. I guess that means that I am certain to get to the next section of the design today. That is unless I get another idea. Hopefully this time it will be an executable one, instead of the nonsense of an idea I had yesterday. Or better yet, I could get a sale in the shop and need to get to tatting something that has a home instead of knotting a doily that really has no purpose in life except to keep my hands busy during the day. Luckily, it's pretty, so there's that anyway. Oh, and you can see that it's finally completely flat. Yep, that's my takeaway from an entire day of knotting, flatness.

Round and Round

Round and round I go, knotting forever. Well actually, I didn't even really get around to lace making until well into the afternoon. The oldest child had her first lab with the microscope. She was looking at creek water samples for signs of life. Of course she found some and and they were both entranced. The spent a great deal of time after schooling was over looking at the little microscopic creatures and taking pictures through the lens. I however, too pictures of lace. The first picture here is about a round or two into the day. There's a distinct warp to the piece still, though I think it's already abating.

At this point I was 7 rows into a 20 row section of small loops. No, of course I'm not finished with those yet. I think I ended the day on round 10 or 11, it's kind of hard to keep track. It is however definitely flattening out a bit. In fact I've started thinking on how I am to increase the loops soon. The pattern gives no further instruction on the matter. In fact the whole book assumes that you fully understand how to increase a round, as well as begin a new round without any further instruction. It's a good thing I can think on my feet. Well, really I'm generally sitting, but I can figure things out pretty well. They may be my own unique solutions, but if they work, they work.

This is the last lace picture of the day. Like I said, it seems to be flattening a bit, though I am having trouble feeling like I accomplished anything as it grows so slowly. I guess that's why I take pictures so I can see them here next to each other and know I accomplished, what, a half an inch maybe. I am getting lots of practice working from left to right and right to left as I turn the doily around occasionally to combat the tedium of the same stitch so long. Good day's work. I'll be at it again today and I don't have any illusions that I'll get past these 20 rows, but maybe tomorrow. I'll leave you with a picture of the sky last night. The camera in my new phone seems to take pretty good pictures though I haven't really tested it much yet. I guess that means you can expect more pictures of anything for a bit.

Doily

I didn't come up with something interesting to make for the shop, but of course I couldn't just not make anything, so I started yet another Armenian lace doily. It should serve as a nice project that I can set down if ever I get something else that needs doing. This one interested me partly because it's called a Spiderweb doily and partly because the beginning starts with a simple crochet chain. While it was a bit fiddly to work into the thin crochet chain, it was orders of magnitude easier than the other method described in the book, working over a small folded piece of thread. That my friends, has proved impossible for me to accomplish.

I worked on this all weekend, when I had sitting time, but we were out and about quite a bit. We also ended up using the weekend to acquire a new desk for the oldest child since she had wholly outgrown the children's desk that she's had for years. That entailed cleaning off the old desk, assembling the new one and the new chair and reassembling the computer, so as you can imagine, it was a busy building day. I actually adore putting together furniture. No, really, I do. I reminds me of when I worked backstage at the theater throughout high school and college. In fact it's probably why I enjoy making lace so much. There is just a sense of satisfaction when you finish creating something with your hands, but I digress.

I took plenty of photos over the weekend of the doily progress, so that's what I'll leave you with this morning. I did sell a tatted mask over the weekend, but as it turns out, I had two of them made, so there was no immediate need for me to get tatting another. I might so so anyway, just to change things, up if nothing else comes up, but I am enjoying the doily creation either way. At least it gives me something to take pictures of to liven up the dull blog post. So here's to a productive day of lace making and picture taking.

Tiny Bags

I started yesterday trying to create a pouch shape in Armenian lace. I wasn't failing too badly, but it definitely wasn't an overwhelming success either. There was a lot of guesswork and I was starting to worry about how I was going to attach the tatting at the end of the knot work. I was also having questions about the best way to add the tassel in the end as well. I went round and round anyway.

It was about this time that I got a single comment on yesterday's post suggesting that I simply make two of them and stitch them together(Thanks MadTatter80). Sure, I had thought of that before, but figured it would look bad done that way. I suppose the comment came at just the right time. I was certainly doubting the success of my current attempt, so I figured, why not give it a go.

It seems to have worked out better that I thought it would, though it definitely looks different than the one from yesterday, mostly because the tatting goes all the way around. After this picture I did get a long crochet cord made up and wove it though the top, so that it could be gathered on top. It looks much better when it's not, but either way it's done. I half think I would actually make a réticule handbag, but that would be a fair bit more work, so maybe when I've run out of things to make. Though, yes that's sort of true right now. Oh, who knows what I'll get up to when my hands get itchy to make something later today.

Mixed Lace

I was entirely rudderless yesterday after schooling. I didn't even do any reading. I just sat about wondering what I should be doing. This resulted in my playing with a technique I ran across online that I cannot at the moment remember the name of, to no particular end. All I have to show for that is this strip of zigzag nonsense that did get longer than this before I found something more productive to do. Well, I could have looked up the technique again and actually learned how to do something with it, but I was too lazy for that intelligent move apparently.




I did eventually get onto something more creative and useful. I tatted up this small bit in cotton and then started the Armenian lace from it. I had intended it to become a bracelet, but that lazy bug bit again and I worked it to a point. Then I used the leftover thread at the end to work the tassel directly on it. Of course since I've been going metal free with my pieces lately, I just went ahead and crocheted a cord to hang it on. I couldn't decided if I should do one from each corner or from the center. In the end I opted to just weave it through the tatting itself.

I was told that it looks like it could be a little bag and I'm tempted now to try and see if I can work a similar shape in the round. I'm not sure I have developed enough skill for that yet, but I've run so low on creative juices lately that maybe I should just take ideas where I can. Of course I should also try to get up the energy to get all these recent pieces listed in the shop too. The source of that reluctance is more likely a lack of sales that inspires my favorite mood of 'why bother, nobody cares' apathy. It'll pass, I just have to wait it out and then maybe it'll be a nice big shop update. Only time will tell.

Three

So I wear tested this necklace all morning fully expecting it to misbehave. I expected the clasp portion to work it's way to the front, or the pendant to curl up on itself as the day wore on. Neither of those things happened though. I even thought that perhaps the linen would prove scratchy or annoying to wear. In fact the only thing I did notice, was that I kept forgetting I was wearing it at all because it's so light.

It didn't take long for me to go ahead an work on necklaces in the other two shades of linen I have on hand, a dark gray and black. They were both done very soon after schooling was. Now I just need to get off my arse and get them as well as the last collar necklace photographed and in my shop. It may be awhile though. I find myself less eager to get photographs taken as I'm getting a bit older. Or perhaps it's just that there are so many pictures of me in my shop much younger since I started it nearly a decade ago. I just don't look like I used to and it's obvious next to those younger pictures. Oh well, there's nothing for it.

I'm a little stalled out on ideas at the moment. I'm going to hope something interesting happens to spur me on, so I don't waste the day with idle hands. Nothing good ever comes from that.

Four

I started out yesterday with an order in the shop. It was a bracelet I haven't made too many of, so I started to remake the piece straight away so I could use the existing one as a template before I got it in the post to its new owner. It's not a difficult one, but it another I based on a vintage pattern. I always change them a bit, so I can't really look back to the original pattern to make it. I simply wouldn't remember what stitch changes I made that make the piece lay the way I liked it, or whatever weird impulse I had the first time around. I managed to get if finished while I schooled the kids, so I could get the order shipped out in a timely manner.

Once that was done it was back to Armenian lace. I set aside the new threads to go back the medallion design I was working on in linen. I thought I had it down the last time, but I think this go is definitely my favorite so far. In fact I liked it so much I turned it into a necklace as soon as I was finished with it. I was just going to turn it into a pendant with a jump ring, but somehow hanging this from a ribbon doesn't work for me so I thought up a new method that I still have to wear test.

I crocheted a simple chain for it and instead of using metal at all, I simply strung the pendant onto it. Then I added the closure. The only issue I'm really worried about, is that there is so little weight here that it may not hang well. I am amused at how I managed to add a small bit of four different fiber techniques in this one necklace though. There's the Armenian lace pendant, the crochet cord, the ends are tatted rings and the closure is a macrame slide clasp. Mind you they're not mixed as interestingly as I'd like them to be one day, but it's a start.

After wearing this for a while, I'll know whether it will work or not and if it does, I'll add it to the growing pile of pieces that need to get into the shop. If it doesn't I might just have to think on how best to add weight to it, most like a bead of some sort, maybe wood or glass, since I like the idea of keeping it a natural, no metal piece. Not that that has been a useful selling point for me so far, but it could one day. Here's hoping for more inspiration today.

New Thread

Well, let's see, on Friday I did manage to work up a nice small medallion all by myself in linen. I still haven't gone any further with the design, except to make it a second and third time to make sure I have got it down. I haven't written it down of course, but this time it's not because I'm lazy, it's because I really have no idea the proper way to notate Armenian lace. I've only read the the one book on it, from the 20's, so I've no clue how they would write this out modernly. I guess that's my next research topic.

The rest of my weekend was super packed with family outings.  On Saturday we headed to opening weekend of the Northern California Renaissance Faire. It's about an hour and a half from us, but we love going. The kids did some crafts, we shopped a bit and had toad in a hole for lunch. We also managed to get terribly exhausted, but the people watching alone is worth it.

On Sunday it was errand running, but out of town. I used the opportunity to pick up some alternative thread types to try out with the Armenian lace. I got a small spool of a thick polyester thread, and a thinner, because it's all the had, spool of viscose (rayon). It wasn't the best thickness on the viscose, but it was just a chain fabric store, so I really didn't expect much. I'm hoping that working with these threads will at least give me an idea of how it works up in that material, so I know what would be best to order if I ever have the extra cash to justify it anyway. This is my first go with both, but as I had just a little time, this is all I managed. The polyester is on the right and the viscose on the left. While the size difference is obvious, I'm sill not decided on the work-ability . They both seem to love knotting, maybe too much and unpicking is more of a struggle, but it's really too soon to make a conclusion.

So I guess I'll be playing with the new thread for a while to see how they play. Hopefully I'll have some real conclusions for you before the week is out.

Medallions

Schooling ran long yesterday, though really the days preceding it were just unusually short. The point is I didn't get round to making anything until a couple of hours after lunch. I started with a medallion from the book and after about the point in this photograph, I put it aside. It because very clear that should I continue, it was going to be far too large to be useful as a wearable. I had also made a a few adjustments in the pattern to allow for the thicker thread, but they turned out to not be enough compensation at all.

I didn't want to abandon the medallion idea altogether, so I grabbed some thin linen thread and made it up as I went. This is what I came up with, though when I try again, I'll need to do something other than those long bare threads, at least on the outside as I can't imagine that wearing well. I did also determine that aside from a few thicker spots in the linen, it really likes the Armenian lace. The knots stay quite well and it doesn't get strained as much as it does being pulled through stitches in needle tatting.

So I guess today I'll play with more small medallion ideas until I come up with something I can turn into a pendant or earrings. Maybe even join some together to form a bracelet. In that case, the outer edge of this one is right out, but I'm sure I can come up with something before the weekend is out.

Back to Square One

I was creatively quite fickle yesterday.  Not only did I not get around to listing the newest necklace, I also didn't get anything else of significance done. I spent a lot of time online searching for any more vintage Armenian lace books and I got nothing. The only one I ran across turns out to be the same one I have republished by Lacis years later. I don't want to buy any new books partly because I like using older ones to learn from and partly because I really ought not spend any money when I'm making so very little.

So with the book search a bust, I went back to the one I had and tried out a few techniques I hadn't done very well with on the first go. I figured after all the practice I've had, they should be easier now. Luckily I was at least right about that. This is the lover's knot stitch and it beat me up the first time I tried it. I still have a few issues, but I know what they are now and it's just a matter of making the loops longer. I tried a few others as well as making my own up with mixed results. In the end I decided to try a medallion and see if I can morph it into something wearable.

I'll work on the medallion idea today and if I remember, I'll get that necklace in the shop. I still haven't found a home for any of the Armenian lace, save for the small pine cone tassel pendants. I'm hoping with Fall upon us, holiday shopping will begin soon and somebody out there will think they would make lovely gifts. Fingers crossed.

Yes, and No

I think I spent most of the day working on the newest Armenian lace choker design. It's another pattern idea culled from the creation of the doily. Of course as with seemingly everything else I do, I mucked with it until it was the way I liked it. I wanted to create enough repeats of the diamond shapes to give it a nice woven feel, I guess.

The big question came as I was nearing what I knew needed to be the end. I could decide if I should keep it straight across or take the diamond points down. I almost didn't do the point as I had to start new thread at each point. I generally dislike anything I can't do all the way across in one pass, but I figured, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

So here's the final piece prior to any pressing. While I like the way it turned out, I'm fairly certain that this is not the design to use the silk thread on. The larger thread spaces are a bit slide-y even with the cotton. I can imagine in the silk, it just wouldn't stay put anywhere. I'll still get this one put in the shop at some point, maybe even today, but I still have to figure out the best use of the silk. Right now, I'm thinking to just go with the pine cone pattern because I like making it, but I've already got two of those in the shop and I'm not sure making one in silk is going to make a huge difference in how it's viewed. Maybe it's onto another prototype experiment. I'm sure I can come up with yet another design...well, I hope I can.

Listed

Right after schooling yesterday I got the new rings listed. They're all in one listing with the ability to choose between the two sizes that I can make, your choice of color, and if you want crystals or not. I even had the option of making the crystal ones cost just a little bit more in the same listing. Now I just wait and hope that I sell a few of them. They really are very comfortable, would make a great gift and I'm fairly certain that I'm keeping a black one for myself.

After that it was back to the Armenian lace. I had another stitch design that I wanted to try out before I busted out with the silk thread. The last thing I want to do is waste good thread on a bad idea. It's turning out okay so far, but I haven't even gotten to a repeat of the design yet and I don't know if maybe another repeat makes the piece too large. There's really nothing for it, but to try and make it and see what happens.

I anticipate that working on this necklace should take up most of my afternoon. It's now become my normal to stitch while reading, so I've also managed to read several books recently. It makes me feel like I'm not actually wasting any time, even though I probably am by many people's standards. Oh well, off to the day then.

Rings

Friday I did get the new Armenian lace necklace up in my etsy shop. Honestly after that I was a bit adrift for the rest of the day. I did a search through my thread and ran across a spool of black silk thread. I didn't really enjoy tatting with it, but I thought I might try Armenian lace with it, but I couldn't decided on a pattern and I didn't want to waste the silk experimenting, so I started another cord in cotton for the pattern I was going to try. I figure cotton can be the dry run and if it works, I'll try it in silk.

I was ready to keep going with that, but I woke up to a sale on Saturday morning and that gave me something to tat up instead. It was just a tatted ring, so it was made in a flash, but making it actually gave me an idea for a new one. I first made it up in the Lizbeth twirlz thread there on my index finger. I then wore it about on our morning errands and even though doing laundry when we got back. I was initially concerned that the points of the diamond shape would misbehave when worn. That wasn't the case, so I made another in black as well.

The rest of the weekend I kept making more in different colors with the intention of listing them in my shop after schooling is wrapped today. Then yesterday afternoon I decided to also experiment with some sparkles. I sewed on some swarovski crystals to some of the rings to see what it would look like and I honestly have mixed feeling about the results. I don't think it looks bad at all, I just like the plain lace better. That being said, I will likely list both versions of the ring along with color and size options just like my other tatted rings. I know it's not the most original design, but it's new and so I'm happy with my creative weekend.

Once they're listed, I'll get back to the Armenian lace experiment and try to keep busy until the next sale or idea comes along.

I Bleed

I definitely wanted to try doing the Armenian lace from left to right after seeing it done in the videos I watched. That gave me a reason to make something else and I remembered that I wanted to try a certain design I hadn't tried out yet. That gave me a project for the day. I also inquired if anyone else knew if  one direction or the other was proper, but there was no definitive answer. I figured if nothing else I could now work back and forth without turning the lace. I did learn that even though there appears to be fewer thread movements working left to right, I still worked right to left faster and with greater consistency. Of course I suppose that will happen with weeks of practice once direction. I also shared that I bleed far more often with this than I ever did with tatting, though I manage to occasionally injure myself that was as well. I am relentlessly rough on my hands.

I did get this necklace finished and I managed to get decent at working both directions. I think I'll try to get this in the shop today along with the basket stitch choker that is still waiting for a spot in the shop.

Other than that I have no lace plans for the weekend. Again I hope for a bit of inspiration or a sale in the shop to get me working again. The heat lately has been a bit oppressive around here and it's hard to want to do anything at all. It's a battle between my laziness and my hands' need to keep from being idle. I'm sure my hands will win, they always do, but it's a long, hard fought battle.

Nope

With everything done, my free time yesterday was excruciating. Okay, that might be a bit hyperbolic. I had no projects, no ideas, no sales, and when I tried to read to fill the time, I finished the book. This left me with little to do at all.

I did remember that I had recently been shown a video of someone doing Turkish oya, so I watched it again and attempted to mimic the incredible fast video where her hands were always going out of frame. I did not do so well. I did learn something interesting though. The Armenian Lace book I used to learn was very insistent about working from right to left, but it seems all the videos I skimmed though, they work left to right. They also seem to wind the thread twice rather than once, but not all of them. I don't know whether this is a regional difference from Armenia to Turkey, or an evolution of the form, since that book is from the 20's. I certainly didn't accomplish anything yesterday, but maybe I learned a little something. I guess I'll try working the other direction today and see how I do. I've got nothing else planned.

Before I go though, I have a confession. I got an email last night asking for a pattern to a bracelet. I was on my phone and I meant to mark the message as unread so I could answer it this morning. Instead I deleted it and I cannot find it. It's not in the trash, the deleted messages, nor is it at either of my computers or in the online email archives. How I managed to so thoroughly erase something I don't know. I think the name on the email might have been Amanda, but that's all I've got. So if that's you, sorry, I'm not ignoring you and if you could email again I can apologize, but I'm afraid I don't have the pattern written up for the bracelet you asked about. I'm also pretty sure I just wrote this while paragraph in vain, but it was worth a shot.

Listed

I was so happy yesterday to wake up to a sale. Not only did I sell something, which is wonderful, but I also had something that needed to be tatted up for the shop. Lately I need an excuse to get tatting as the Armenian lace has taken over the creative corner of my brain. This is a necklace that I call flower garland. It's a slightly modified version of a classic flower edging pattern. I've made a lot of necklaces out of vintage and antique edging patterns, but I rarely leave the them as written. I can't seem to help, but muck about with stitch counts and joins until they lay just the way I want them to.

I got some of that made before schooling and honestly some during. Both the kids had online live sessions to attend at the same time and that gave me a spell to myself, though it didn't shorten the school day a bit. After lunch I still had laundry to do, a kitchen to tidy, and it seems a dozen other small tasks before I could sit down again. I even had to remind myself to rush about and get the Armenian lace necklace photographed and listed. This is it worn loose on the neck. Turns out it lays well whether it's tight like a choker or loose like this. It's also incredibly light and comfortable. It is up in the shop now, but I'm still not one hundred percent confident in the price I chose. I feel like it should be more, but with no beads or crystals or fancy embellishments, I have a hard time believing that people with see that kind of value in it regardless of the sheer amount of time it took to construct.

Well that leaves me with today's plans. I don't have many. I don't want to start another Armenian lace piece until I sell one or at least get an idea of what color or design might sell at some point. I do have a pair of earrings that will need to be tatted today, but that shouldn't take me more than an hour tops. So here's hoping for a sale or inspiration to keep me making today.

Done!

We had the day off from schooling, so I started my day working on the Armenian knotted lace necklace. I worked a row, then about halfway through the next one I ran into a mistake on the row before. I stared at it for a while trying to decide whether I could make due or if it was a fatal error that must be removed. As you probably guessed from the picture, it was deemed fatal and I had to cut out the largest swath of knotted lace to date. It really wasn't too much, just that row and a half, back to the mistake, but it was delicate work cutting each knot without disturbing the thread they were knotted over.

After working back to about the point I removed, we ran some errands. Those errands resulted in working on our front door for an hour and then finally settling on a haphazard fix when none of of the elegant, hide-able solutions would work like we wanted. Oh, and I managed to hurt myself repeatedly. Then I baked a cake. It was solely because we acquired this new cake pan in the Halloween section of Target. There were also cupcakes, because the cake pan won't hold a whole box of cake mix. We would eventually eat most of this cake and I really regretted that for most of the evening. All of this was before I was able to sit down again and work on the necklace again.


I did, however, finish the necklace despite all the household distractions. It's bigger than I anticipated and I did continue to make it up as I went with bouts of math to insure that I wouldn't mess it up too badly in the end. It's shape is a bit flatter than I hoped. Up to now all the chokers I've done have held their circle shape well, but as this one grew it lost it a bit. It should still wear fine, but lower on the neck that the others. Of course I haven't given it much test wearing yet. Hopefully today's schooling will go well and I'll be able to get this and the last necklace before this one listed in the shop. Of course that presupposes that I can come up with an appropriate price point for the necklace that took nearly four days to make, but is just simply made of knots in thread. Yeah, I'm stumped too. Maybe it'll just come to me during the day.

Intricate

I spent much of my sitting time during the weekend working on the ecru necklace. I knew I wanted it to be big, to really show off the finer thread, but I didn't have a plan for the design at all. This is quite literally made up as I went. This picture was taken on Saturday as I was working on rows of basket stitch. There wasn't much math needed for that section, though the section before was based on part of the doily I made and that needed math. It also needed me to change some things to make it work out okay. I'm just glad I've learned enough already to make design choices and changes that work.

This picture was taken late yesterday evening after working on the necklace for another whole day. Well, most of the day anyway, we did have plenty of family time before I sat down to it. Oh, and I spent quite some time trying to solve a front door lock problem, because I'm handy like that. Once I did get to work though, I added another couple of rows of basket stitch before deciding how I wanted to finish the piece. I'm opting for a bit of a scallop edge that I had to stop and math out too.

Since today is a holiday for all of us, I think I should have time to finish it. I'm now kind of dreading pricing it for the shop though. It's taken a long time and it's quite intricate, but I do not want to overprice it. Any advice on that point would be welcome. I won't even try to get it listed today even if I finish it though. I'll just try and decide what I want to make next.

Ecru

Schooling went much smoother on day three and I'm hoping that today will follow suit. Of course just because it went well doesn't mean that it still didn't take up the entirety of the morning. It was again well after noon when I got some time to be creative.

I really wasn't sure what to do with my day. I had thought about making an Armenian lace piece in color, so I looked through my thread to find what color I had an excessive amount of as a way of picking that color. Then in a turn of events I found the one ball of cebelia I had in size 30. It was ecru and that made me wonder what a choker made in the finer thread would look like. Of course I don't really have a pattern in mind yet, but that didn't stop me from beginning work on it though.

The only change so far is that I had to switch crochet hooks for the cord, but not for the extension sections. The size 30 is working well and holding up much better than the vintage thread I used for the doily. I'm sure the pattern will come to me after I finish the second row of small loops. There's a chance I'll just fall back on the pine cone pattern, but I'm hoping by the time schooling is over today and I get to sit down with it, a fresh idea will emerge. Here's hoping.

Yes, Another

I was pleased as can be to start the day answering questions in my etsy shop which resulted in a nice small sale even before I had had breakfast. The order was for one of my tatted rings. I made this one up in the larger size with chocolate brown Lizbeth thread. I was finished with it even before we started schooling for the day, but since our mail carrier has been arriving early lately it won't be in the post until this morning. It was nice to start the day with my tatting needle in my hands.

After that it was another long day of schooling. I know I keep saying that, but it's only been a few days, so I'm nowhere near used to it yet. Give me a week or two and it will just be routine and I'll stop mentioning the length of time spent pouring over lessons.

Once schooling was finally wrapped I went ahead and added that row above the cord for the latest necklace. I know it doesn't make it look that different, but I really like the way the loops on both sides kind of pull the cord into the lace more thoroughly, if that makes any sense. I haven't gotten this one in the shop yet. So far all the Armenian lace is just sitting there without much attention. I was really hoping the newness of it would, I don't know, spur more views, or sales, or something. It doesn't really matter though since I love making these pieces so much. I've already got another one brewing in my head. I even think I might try it in color soon as well...not sure which one, but not black. I guess I'll just keep crossing my fingers that the right person will run across them eventually and they'll find good homes. Until then, I'll just keep making them and at some point I intend to mesh them with tatting. Not sure how yet, but it's on my to-do list.

More Knots

Well, that was quite a day. I had warned the children that schooling was going to be longer this year. This is not only because they are both older with more work, but also because the virtual school has instituted the collection of more work samples. This means less of us doing things verbally and more writing every little thing down. I was right too, we weren't done with everything until well after lunch and having started just after 7.

Once we were done I rushed about to get the new necklaces photographed and in the shop. They are both listed now and I have to say I really like the way the beaded one drapes. It's still light, but it had a nice weight as well...if that makes any sense.

I did have a sale in the shop yesterday, but it was for a cat ear headband and I'll already made extras of those. That meant I again had no tatting to do, so I made yet another Armenian lace choker. This go around I used what the book called a basket stitch. I had started another round on this one, but it didn't look right at all. That also gave me my first opportunity to cut off work. I have to say that that process is much easier and less painful than it is with tatting. On the other hand picking back a few stitches with this is much more troublesome than it is with tatting. So small mistakes are easier with tatting, big ones that require scissors are easier with the knotted lace.

I still have at least one more Armenian lace idea to try out, so that's probably what I'll do with my afternoon. I'll likely just leave this choker as it is and start again though I do think I might actually add a row of simple loops above the cord to give this one a little more character and set it apart from the other designs a bit. Boy, I hope that these sell at some point. I really enjoy making them.

Beads

We had a long, but nice morning in the park with the school group. They've made some changes in regards to how the students are assigned teachers and that has resulted in our local teachers having more students out of town and less here, so there were fewer families than usual. Though the kids seems to have a fine time anyway.

Once we got home I finally got to work on the next Armenian lace piece. I had asked on Facebook what I should try next with this and the overwhelming response was beads. I'd had the idea to use them in the first design I made, in the thread spaces. I admit, my first inclination was to use black beads, but I thought I'd try some color since I had these red on on hand. The most frustrating part is that once I got to the bead rows I had to do all the work with a beading needle. It was either that or constantly change back and forth between needles. The bead wouldn't fit over the one I usually use and the beads had to be loaded on only as used, because they get in the way otherwise. It was fiddly, but it worked.

I think that it was worth the hard to use needle though, because the result was striking. Well, it was to me anyway. It's definitely heavier that the beadless one. I used well over 300 beads for it. Yes, I counted.

I just realized that I hadn't even showed you the other Armenian lace
choker design I made on Friday before making the request that resulting in my playing with beads in the first place. So that's this one on the right. It was a much less involved design, partly because I worked it the entire length, so there was less math.

The plan today, after the kid's first real day of school, is to get these two necklaces listed in my shop. Of course I've already started crocheting another base for the next one, whatever it turns out to be. Through making these I've some up with the easiest base ever for them crocheted in one pass. That way when I've done with the lace, all I have to do is add the macrame slide closure and it's ready to go. I'm sure I have a few more ideas to try out before I'm back to tatting, unless a sale or request gets me there sooner.