Listed

I almost forgot to write this morning. I had to get out of the house extra early to take the husband to the airport. Most of my day yesterday was spent either schooling the kids, reading, knitting and visiting with friends that are in town for a short while. I did get one of the Armenian lace pieces listed in my shop, but that's about it. I listed it in black and cream, but it can be custom made in any other color.

 I don't really have any solid making plans today either, but I'll probably spend most of my time knitting again. It's so much slower than tatting or knotting so I need to work longer to make sure that blanket is done in time. The day is already getting started, so I'm off to it then.

Weekend Recap

My weekend was mostly filled with wonderful evenings of friends and days of cleaning, so I didn't really work on anything for the shop. I also started a knitted blanket project because my brother and his wife are having a baby in the spring. Most of my sitting time was devoted to that. It's just a small baby blanket so if I keep at steadily, I should get it finished in a couple of weeks.

I also got a couple of sales in my shop over the weekend. One piece was a quick remake, but I'm still deciding if I'm going to remake the other or not. It's the necklace with the beetle wings and remaking it is definitely a project. I think I might try to get the new Armenian lace pieces ready to list first. I didn't make them in any more colors, yet, but I can still just list them with available custom options. That way I also won't end up with pieces that never sell because I picked the wrong colors. So I guess that's the plan for today. This week promises to be an odd one though, so we'll just have to see how the rest of it goes.

Two New

So, guess what? Yep, I actually made some things yesterday. They aren't groundbreaking or anything, but I like both pieces. As soon as I have them both made in a few colors, they'll be heading to my etsy shop. The first one I made was probably because of my tutorial videos. I guess I have fancy single side stitch stuck in my brain. This one it a bit different than the other Armenian lace pieces because I made the lace section shorter on purpose. I wanted it to be able to be worn looser than a choker if wanted.

Then of course that idea gave birth to another idea. That was to take the basic idea and take a step further to just a pendant section, but on the same type of cord. I don't know if I meant to make a triangle in the first place, but that's what I ended up with and I like the way it turned out. I've already made a second one of these in black. Of course I kind of made it for myself, so I'll likely make another so I can have it for the shop.

Because the lace sections are shorter on these, I can make them much faster as well. Much faster also means I can price them less and hopefully that will help them sell, because I really need to be selling more. Hopefully by early next week, these will be in my shop with some color choices.

Not Post-Worthy

I'm afraid I have even less to share today than yesterday. I managed to not think of anything to make, so instead used the morning and afternoon after schooling to clean up the house a bit. I know, I know, terribly exciting and completely worth writing about, but habit you know. Near the end of the afternoon I started making up a new necklace. So far it's just a crochet cord and a vague idea, but there's a good chance that it might become something today. At least that will give me something to post tomorrow morning. For today I'm afraid that I'm already out of things to share. Here's to today and creating something post-worthy.

Well

I messaged my customer again yesterday and did get a response back, so I had a bracelet to finish. It took me two tries to get it the right length. The ends are done in Armenian knots, so they are far less size precise than tatting is. It's done now though and that's what matters. I'll get her order out in the mail today and then I've no other tasks in queue. I also didn't take a picture of the finished bracelet, so this blog post is not going to get any more interesting. Here's to something interesting soon, because if not, I'm going to have to resort to cleaning or something.

Not Much

Everyone had the day off yesterday, so really I should have just saved my weekend recap for today. I really managed to do absolutely nothing yesterday save for laundry. I have not yet heard back from the customer with the sizing issue, so I couldn't work on that. I had gotten the center pieces done while waiting for an answer to whether I should do a fourth medallion or more mesh at each end. I suppose I'll have to message again and risk badgering them, which I don't like doing.

That is about all I have for you though. Unfortunately today doesn't look to be any more productive unless I do hear back, or get another sale. So here's hoping.

Weekend Recap

Okay, if you hadn't noticed I completely flaked on doing a new video. The demonstration wasn't coming together like I would have liked. Then the weather was particularly loud and the cats decided to sit exactly where I like to make the videos. So essentially I blew it off and blamed the world around me for it. I'm sure I could have worked harder on the idea, moved to another room, or at least tried to find a quieter place, but instead I sat, covered in cats, and read. My apologies to anyone that might have been waiting for me to get my act together.

Not much else happened over the weekend save for a family birthday party, some movie watching and a nice walk out during a brief break in rain storms. I did get an order in the shop, but I'm stalled on it as I wait for a response from the customer. They ordered a bracelet that measures 6.5 inches and then noted at checkout that their wrist was an inch longer than that. Unfortunately it is not a design that I can simply make longer. The listing doesn't say that it can be sized at all and while I sussed out a couple of possible remedies and presented them, both will make the piece look significantly different, so I await the customer's choice in the matter. Until I hear back, I'm in a holding pattern on that. Of course the post office is closed today anyway, so I'm got at least another day before I feel like I'm being slow and neglectful. On the plus side nothing else horrific happened, so I'm going to go ahead and call the weekend a win.

Two

No distractions yesterday at all, though I wouldn't have complained about maybe a sale interrupting my work, but I digress. I got the choker finished and opted for a regular adjustable clasp. Though I think the ribbon would have worked as well, the clasp just makes it far more wearable for most people. It also means it sits a bit looser on the neck which is quite comfortable for me at least. It's listed in my shop now.

After I was done with that I thought a it about today's video which will likely be how to start round laces. I'm still not completely certain, but I have the morning to work it out. I followed that with working up a pendant necklace from the central motif. This is the first go round with it. It's interesting, but I agreed when it was suggested that it needed something added to it. Unfortunately I have very little in the way of charms or drops on hand. It's an ongoing side effect of selling less and less over the last few years.




This is what I was able to come up with from what I had on hand. I know the picture is not very clear, but I added seed beads to the picots and a round drop to the end. The chains are simple crochet cord and it closes with a macrame slide clasp. I still haven't decided if both or either are going into the shop, the reception for the design so far has been less than enthusiastic. Maybe I'll try it in color and see if that changes my mind, or maybe I'll just move onto one of the other ideas and see if the motif works better in bracelet form. We'll just have to see how this weekend treats me.

Almost There

I hesitate to say that yesterday was good, but it was certainly a step in the right direction as nothing new went wrong and I actually got done the thing I said I was going to get done. The tatting on the necklace is complete. I did make a couple of small adjustments from the prototype, but mostly it's the same except in black. I'm still trying to settle on the best closure method for it. I'm leaning toward a ribbon for a corset-like closure, but I know that those are a pain to do up. I think I'll play with the other clasps I have on hand and see if any of them work better and then I should be able to get it listed in the shop.

Just in case you were wondering, that's my oldest daughter modeling the piece for me. She was the only one in the house with a v-neck on yesterday and I was being too lazy to change. I don't think it'll be too much longer before everything I make will look better on her than on me, but she's not keen on modelling. Anyway, I'm really going to try to get this listed, then I need to get prepped for tomorrow's video and finally move onto the other ideas from this motif. So if I can again avoid distractions, I should get some things done today.

A Bit Better

I suppose yesterday was a bit better anyway. I got a little more done on the choker, though I fear I am taking far too long on it. Yesterday's excuse was that I chose to take some time to work on our taxes. Then while working on those, the problem that had the at&t tech out here yesterday reared its ugly head again. It was again beaten back, but I fear the situation isn't yet really resolved and well, the day was still better than the one that preceded it, so I'm going to try a little optimism.

Here's the progress I made on the choker. I'm hoping that today presents fewer anxiety inducing distractions and I can get it finished today. I'd really love to have some new tatting in my shop. Then I stall have a few more projects in mind based on the central motif I used here. I'm not yet certain which ones will actually work out, but it's nice to have ideas to work on. So again here's to a better day, week, and hell, year ahead while I'm at it.

Ugh

So yesterday continued the recent trend of being long, frustrating, and sad. There was an hours long ordeal with the at&t tech, who was nothing but pleasant throughout, but it was still hours of things not wanting to be easily fixed. Also, we woke up to our fish dead and the oldest daughter had to have one of her pet rats put to sleep after sad health spiral. Add all that to the days before it and honestly I'm just hoping that the universe is finished kicking sand in our eyes.

In other news, between all the other stuff, I got a tiny bit of tatting done. I started work on the final choker piece. I've got tons more work on it though. It was just too distracting yesterday to work on anything for more than a few minutes at a time. Again I'm really hoping today turns a corner. It has been exhausting lately and that does nothing good for creativity, or well anything really. So here's to a better day and week going forward.

Armenian Knotted Lace Video, The Third

We've had a pretty rough weekend around here. There's just been a whole lot of things adding up to create a stressful environment for our family. I don't really want to ramble on about it, but I did want to put it out there as a vague explanation for any odd behavior I may be unconsciously expressing.

Luckily before things starting piling up I did make and post the newest Armenian lace tutorial. This one is on the square loop with a little extra instruction at the end regarding adding new thread. I'm not certain what the plan is for this week's video, but if you have any requests do let me know. For now here's the video and I'm crossing my fingers that this weeks goes better than the last one.

Done and Done

It took me most of the day, but this is the first section on the new choker made to length. In case you were wondering why it's in tan, I'm only working it in this thread because it is a prototype. The final piece will be in black as is my way. I'm just holding it on my neck here to check for size and shape. Anytime I make something with a curve, there's a risk that it will be too straight or too curved, but I think it worked out okay here.

While I think it looks nice as it was, I did decide that it at least needed another round at the bottom. The top is high enough on the neck as it is I think. I had also initial conceived of the bottom edge more dramatic like the piece I just finished remaking, but after a bit of thought, I opted for a more subtle edge to make it more wearable. I had to play with the stitch counts a bit here as well before they were good and I might still make a change or two before the final piece, but I think the basic design is ready to go. As usual, I've also got a few more pieces thought up using the basic motif here, so once the final piece is done, I'll still have a few more new pieces coming.

I'll work on that and hopefully the next Armenian lace video, this one is to be on the square loop with perhaps a bonus adding new thread at the end. I generally don't know what's going to work out until I do it, so I guess keep an eye out for the link to that later.

New

I had a nice busy day of my own making yesterday. After schooling I got work finished on the choker I've been making. So that means this pieces takes about three days to make if I work all day long. There were no orders in my shop to give me something else to make, so I had to rely on myself. Luckily this piece was giving me ideas for a similar piece.

In a rare occurrence I actually started this one by drawing out the basic motif. My skills in this regard are very minimal, so I usually just start tatting and hope I can hold the picture in my head of what I'm trying to create. This time I'm glad I took the extra step. This is actually the second try on the prototype. The first was a fail of stitch counts. This one seems to be working up just fine.  I still have a way to go before this section is complete and the plan is to add to this base, likely on both the top edge and the bottom, but that's still yet to be designed.

I imagine that this project should keep me busy for at least a few days as I design, then work up the final piece. I should still take a break tomorrow to do the next Armenian lace video. It sure is nice to have projects in queue. Too bad I don't get paid for them.

Almost Done

Another day spent mostly tatting on this necklace. I still have one more day of work left on it as well. I'm sure I could have gotten it finished yesterday if I had chosen to, you know, not eat or do anything else at all. There was no rush though, so it'll likely be finished today and then popped back into the shop.

I am noticing that this time around the tatting is a bit tighter than the last time I made it, so I'm making a conscious effort to loosen it a bit, so the size is at least close to the same. Since the piece is actually laced up though, it's a bit better that's its smaller so that it can be worn by anybody.

I'm kind of hoping that I get another order in the shop when I finish making this piece so that I have a good reason to keep on tatting. Of course I think I might actually have a new idea for another of this type of piece, maybe it's finally time to make something new.

Working

It was day two working on the is tatted choker necklace. It is by far the largest design I have ever done, so remaking it doesn't happen too often. In fact I think this may be only the third time I've made one. It should come as no shock that I don't have a pattern written down, so I needed to get as much of the new one made before I have to ship the sold one to its new home. I still have at least one full day left of work on it, but I got enough done last night to have the stitch counts for the remaining sections pretty much down.

It was definitely nice to spend a day tatting and since I still have much work on this piece, today should be about the same. Oh and thanks for the lovely feedback I've been getting on my videos. I will definitely add changing thread to the list of techniques and feel free to suggest anything else that might be helpful for future tutorials.

Armenian Knotted Lace Video, The Second

Friday's plan worked out just fine and just in case you didn't see the video link on one of my other social media spots, here it is embedded for you. I did only the fancy single side stitch for this one, so it is nice and short. This week, when I get my quiet-home time, likely Friday, I'll do one on the square loop.


I also got an order in my shop yesterday for a large necklace, so I've got something that I really do want to remake this week. I started tatting on it last night while watching commercials, but it's going to take a few days I think, so a great start to the week.

Today's Plan

Sorry, it was another achievement free day, unless you count getting the laundry done as an achievement. Yeah, no, me either. So instead of writing about yesterday I'm just going to focus on the plan for today. Once schooling is wrapped and kids have headed out with Grandma for lunch, I'm going to get the next Armenian lace video made and posted. Of course that's supposing everything goes according to plan. So if everything works as I hope, I should either have one video doing the next two stitches or two videos with one stitch each. It all depends on how long it takes to demonstrate each one. I want to keep the videos really short.

I won't post the video link here until Monday, but It'll show up if you subscribe to my YouTube channel and I'll post on my Facebook page, Twitter and post it on Instructables as soon as I get it done. So here's to today going as planned.

More Nothing

I fear I have less to share today than yesterday. Much of my afternoon was devoted to altering several pairs of pants for my sister. It wasn't a horrible way to spend the afternoon, chatting and sewing, but hemming pants does not exactly make for a stirring tale either. On a related note, I was pretty shocked to hear how much she would have paid to have them done in an alteration shop. Sometimes I forget how a useful skill like sewing can keep one from ever having to learn that sort of information.

In answer to yesterday's comment, here's the fourth cat not pictured yesterday. So that's three white and one black and definitely no deaf ones in the bunch. They are siblings and at least they provide photographic distraction when the day has lacked a creative expression along with their innate destructive behavior.

Nothing

I got absolutely nothing done of import yesterday. There was a family walk, some reading, and a little cleaning, but nothing to share really. So here's a picture of some of the cats being adorable.

The kids are back to schooling today and so I doubt I'll get much done today either, but soon routine should kick back in and with it hopefully some orders or ideas. Until then I guess it's cat pictures and crossed fingers. The next Armenian lace video should get created on Friday.