Centerpiece

So I was going to write earlier this morning, but my youngest daughter's computer had a heart attack just as she was starting her schooling. I had to sacrifice my laptop to her because let's face it school is far more important than me rambling on about thread projects.

Speaking of thread projects, I actually have one. My shop has gone quiet again, but that's not terribly unusual for this time of the year. I was starting to get a bit antsy when I was asked to create something for the center of a table. I poked around my collection of antique and vintage pattern books and PDF's picking out a few possibilities when I inexplicably found my self inspired to design my own doily.

The first bit was a piece I found in a German book from 1921. I added the flower in the center and then built it out from there as I went. I don't really have a plan going forward other than to make it large enough to serve the purpose as a center piece on a square table. I don't ultimately know if this piece will be the one I remake for the table project, but either way I've gotten to stretch my designing muscles again.

I other news I did finally list the choker I made the other week. The pictures are disappointing partly because I find myself less photogenic as the years go by, but there's nothing for it. At least I managed to get the project across the finish line. So here's that: My Immortal Corsage Necklace.

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.

Listed

Schooling went really long yesterday. This week has gifted the children with long, end of the semester tests. They don't like them, nor do I really, but there's nothing for it. I almost sat down after schooling without taking care of the new Black Star bracelet, but I remembered. I got it pressed, photographed and listed in my shop. I really like the way it looks and fits. I may just have to make one for myself as well.

After that I deconstructed the choker version to use for another idea. I'm trying to see if I can turn it into barefoot sandals. It's too soon to tell if it will work though. I made the mistake of wearing long socks under tight jeans yesterday so I couldn't try them out unless I wanted to go change my clothes and I'm too lazy for that. So today I'll make sure I wear short socks so I can remove them to check the fit of the piece and I suppose I'll know pretty quick whether they're going to work or not. Admittedly, It looks a bit weird right now, but I think it may look nice when worn. I'll find out later. If it doesn't, I'll deconstruct again and make myself that bracelet out of the bits.

Mulit Star

I started the day by reading the last book of the Dark Tower series. I started the whole thing over a month ago and it's a bit weird to be leaving that world, but I was satisfied by the ending, so I'm good. You figure I would just take a break from reading now, but no I went ahead and read the last book in another trilogy that I was reading before. The last one came out while I was reading the Dark Tower books, so I really wanted to finish reading that story as well. I might take a reading break now, maybe, probably not.

I did also get to some tatting though. I worked up the star in a different color for each round and I really like the way it looks. I went with grays and black, because, well I'm me. I think I'll turn both the black one and this one into a pendant, though they are pretty big as one.

I also went ahead and worked a little more on the necklace version. I divided up the star and used just two points worth to add to the ends. I think I'll finish it off with a split ring chain so it lays well. Sometimes those Josephine knot chains have a mind of their own, but I'll have to see how it looks. I might even use a lock chain and split rings. Clearly I have no idea what I'm doing next. I'm sure I'll figure it all out soon enough.

Stars

I spent a huge part of the day reading, though I did tear myself away to catch up on dvr'd shows that have been piling up. It was while watching shows that I decided to go ahead and see what happens when I join the starts together. I also redid the pattern just a bit to make the outer chains stand out a bit more from the rings they are around.

It's far too big for a bracelet, but I have an idea bout turning this into a necklace. The rest of it will have to be freshly designed as it just wouldn't work to go all the way around with the large stars, but I have a good idea about how I want the rest to look. So today's task will be to work on that and finish reading the book I'm on. I'm so close to the end I can smell it. I'm also a bit curious as to what the star would look like were the rounds done in different colors, so I might play with that just for fun as well. All that should keep me pretty busy I think.

Done

On Friday, after the pumpkin patch, I gave another round one last try on what has clearly become a doily. I really wasn't sure I was going to be able to pull off any more rounds, but this one came out just fine. It's so fine in fact, that I proclaim the motif all grown up. That's right, this is it, I'm done. The completed pieces is about 8.5 inches across at the widest points.

In other good news, I actually started writing up the pattern on Saturday. I stopped about halfway through as it was hurting my head, but I do plan on finishing and eventually getting it listed as a pattern in my shop. I'll need to remake it one more time to test the pattern once I write it and I might do that in multiple colors just to help show the chain weaving rounds. This week might be too busy for it though. There are teacher meetings, another outing, and I've got to prepare for Halloween,which is also my mother's 60th birthday. That means hosting a get together here as well, which means cleaning. I'm just tired thinking about this week.

I did also get to some of the gift cardigans over the weekend. I ever so slightly redesigned the center motif so that each of the girls don't have the exact same one. The all picked different colors as well, but I thought I'd do just a little more. I still have two more of these to make, so I will have plenty to keep my hands busy anytime I have any free time. Of course I'm not expecting a whole lot of that this week. Well, guess I'll get to it then.

Two More Rounds

Despite a doctor's appointment, I managed to be fairly productive yesterday. We sped through schooling, so once lunch was over, I got to sit right down and get to work. Of course at this point the work is just, well nobody's paying me for it, so it's just, well let's go with art. Anyway, I got two more round worked up over the course of the day. This first one here is pretty open because I assumed that I would try another round of woven threads next which is what I ended up doing.

Weaving these longer round is getting harder though. Since I have to cut off the working thread so I can pull it through the tatting, I'm dragging a longer and longer piece of thread. Those long pieces love to tangle up and I'm having to stop more often and undo the mess. I suppose that's one argument for a motif round at some point. I can weave those all I want without the mess.


I started another round after this one, but it was a complete mess. I got almost halfway around before I scrapped it and cut the whole thing off. I think I'll just have to stare at it some more and see if it actually wants to be any bigger at all. It's about 8 inches across at the widest point right now. I'm not sure if that's a good size to stop at or not. What do you think?

We have a pumpkin patch outing today after schooling, so I will likely not get anymore tatting in today, maybe over the weekend though. I was hoping the last batch of sales in the shop signaled a sea change for the season, but it appears it was just a strange fluke. So I'll keep working on this and maybe I'll get some yarn to start the holiday circle cardigan presents. All while crossing my fingers for sales.

Bigger

It took the entire day to finish up the mask I was working on. Okay, not the entire day, but much of it. I was starting to think I was never going to finish covering the wire, but late in the afternoon I was able to. Of course I blame my slowness on laundry day. That plus schooling and hair dying chewed though most of the day easily. At least I slept on fresh sheets and my hair is a dark shade of blues and purples this morning.

I had just enough time to tackle one more round of the growing motif. I would have had more time, but I had not one, but two phenomenally bad false starts. I never draw anything out before I start tatting and on this piece I've been spectacularly lucky that every round has worked out just fine with my 'make it up as I go' method. This round needed some planning though. The third try was the ticket and I absolutely love the shape it's in now. 

I can't seem to decide which direction I like it best in. I think
it's this second one, but I like them both. I'm tempted to stop work right now and leave this as it, but I am equally tempted to keep working. So as a compromise, I think I'm going to leave this one be and start another from scratch and let that one grow some more. It will probably take me all day to get another just to this round though, so tomorrow's post might be a dud. It is nice to be tatting all day again though.

New

After another short morning of mini schooling, I was straight to work on my idea for that crochet cord. I knew I could do a couple of rows of small loops before I was forced to do math, so this is what I started with. It also confirmed my theory that the cord would be a good base for the Armenian lace. It was perfect. If you're unfamiliar with the crochet cord used for Romanian Point lace, it has perfectly spaced loops on the sides which I found ideal for starting the knotted loops. It's also a nice firm, thick cord, easy for hiding ends of threads and holding onto.

Next up was some math and some doodling. I had a plan, but I needed to work out whether the base I had created would support that plan. It never fails to surprise someone that I need math to make lace, but this stuff, every kind I've tried anyway, is so based on counting and planning, that math almost always is necessary. Of course I've gotten enough practice in some things, like tatting, that I don't have to write anything out. Not on this though, there was much math. Anyway, the math and the drawings got me my plan and I went to work on a design.

A few hours later I went ahead and called it complete. Of course the whole time I was working, I was having other ideas. I think I might do one exactly like this, but with seed beads on the rows of long loops. I thought about how I could make a bigger version with more rows, or a thin choker with just a couple of rows, or a huge triangle shaped one out of just simple loops. Really, I went into creative overload.

I'm going to try to get this necklace up in my shop today and I'll be straight to work on one of those other ideas. Then this weekend it's a short trip out of town to see the Zelda Symphony with the family as well as a visit to the California Academy of Sciences as a last goodbye to summer.

Old

As predicted shuttling the oldest child to and from testing complicated the morning, but once afternoon was upon us I was able to sit down and work. I decided that if I couldn't come up with any new ideas that I would rely on some old ideas. I grabbed my stack of vintage and antique pattern books and started flipping through them for something to work with. I've done this countless times before, but this time I was going for something simple that I overlooked before. I thoroughly intended to make something as written just to relax and get tatting.

Of course that's not exactly how it happened. I chose an edging pattern in an Anna Valeire book. The pattern was hard to even read, but as it turns out I was going to muck with it anyway, so it mattered very little was the original pattern was. I tried once the way it appeared to be written and immediately decided to change a few things. This is the second version I made with some extra elements and stitch changes, but shortly after I took this picture, I scrapped it and tried a third version with further revisions. I shortened the top chains and lost some extraneous picots. I also enlarged the lower rings.

I'm really liking what I've come up with now, so it's on its way to becoming a choker I think. I was hoping for a bracelet, but the length doesn't look good for it. Maybe an anklet might work. I guess we'll see once I get a full length of it worked. So that's the plan for today. I'm also going to keep that stack of old books near so I have something to make when I need to.

Round

I managed to a get a lot of things done yesterday, not that anyone would notice. I spent some time pulling weeds in the yard. With a water shortage, the last thing I want to do is waste it on weeds though I'm guessing that you can't tell from the street that I did a thing. I still have the back yard to do as well, but my legs are killing me, so it'll have to wait a bit while my out of shape self recovers. There was some crochet while I watched television and I also finished one book and started another, though I suppose it's debatable that any of that is getting something done.

I did get a bit of tatting done too. I started with this doodle that is clearly a little wonky. I owe the wonky to the short split chains I attempted to climb out of each round with. I seem to be much better at them when they're a bit longer. These short ones are just not stable enough. No worries though, I made a second motif with out using them and the design looks much better. I'm tossing about the idea of building off of this for a pendant necklace with maybe another tassel, but I have yet to sell any of the last tassel pendant, so I might be silly to add more tassels if no one really likes them. Just because it's fun to make something doesn't mean it's a good idea.

Again, no orders or projects in queue today and nothing out of the ordinary with the kids on the schedule either. I guess I'll play with the new motif and see what I can come up with. Hey, at least it's kind of a plan.

Mermaid Tail

There was quite a bit of stalling yesterday after schooling the kids. I'm not entirely certain why, but I just didn't want to do, well, anything. After lunch though, I buckled down and got to work. I had two design problems to solve, making a tassel and securely attaching said tassel. I figured out the tassel pretty quickly, it wasn't particularly hard, it was just something I'd not really done aside from the occasional sad one on the end of a bookmark. I wanted to make sure this one would look good as jewelry. Once I had one made, I knew I just didn't want to tie it on. I decided to add a tight loop to the top so I join join it into the piece like a second tatted element. It seems to have worked well.

After I popped some chains on it, I was hankering to try it with different colors partly just for the practice. Mermaid green was suggested as a color, so not being certain what green would be considered 'mermaid', I used a hand dyed green I've had for ages. After that I grabbed a Victorian red to try as well. Neither of those have chains yet, so that's on deck for today. The green suggestion did give me a name for the piece though. It is clearly a Mermaid Tail.

As soon as I posted the finished piece on my facebook page, I got asked if the pattern was available for sale. I guess I just find it crazy that the minute I finish making something new, someone thinks I've already created a printed pattern for it. Man, that step takes forever and come on, can't I just have the creation to myself for a bit. Okay, rant over.

I should get these finished up and in the shop today unless something else interesting happens. I might even make it in another color before I do, maybe variegated. I actually enjoy making the piece, split chains not withstanding and it might be neat to see what a variegated tassel looks like, or it could be horrifying. I guess the only way to know is to try it out.

Second Guessing

Okay, so I lied about getting yesterday's edging turned into a necklace and into the shop. I kept looking at it thinking it needed something else. So in the end, I added yet another row to the design. As I was working on it, I shared it on my facebook page. Someone commented that the top row, the one on the right here looked "wobbly...and uninspired". At first I was just indignant and annoyed at the comment whose sentiment I thought could have been expressed less rudely. Then it had me second guessing myself right out of listing it. I may or may not change my mind at this point. I could tear out the top row and try again. It absolutely has to have one for structure though, so I guess time will tell.

While I was contemplating the fate of that piece, I decided to finally get on designing the small pendant that I will release for sale on International Tatting Day. I came up with something really simple based on some classic designs with hopefully enough of a twist to make it worth purchasing. Remember I offer the pendants on April 1st for a special one day price. The design might stay in the shop, but the price increases the next day.
 Obviously I can't actually show you the design as it's always been a surprise. By always I mean for the last few years that I've been doing this. The very blurry close up of a small section will have to do for now. It's likely that I will also offer the pattern for it on the same day, so mark your calendars.

I guess today will be all about deciding if that edging really is a necklace or can be with some work. While I'm thinking I'll make more of the new pendant so I have several colors to list, please post any requests on that point! Other than that it's just crossing my fingers for some sales in the shop that aren't just patterns to pay for whatever the mechanic eventually says is wrong with the car. Yeah, it's going to be another one of those days.

Luck

I thought that I would use St. Patrick's day and all that luck talk to attempt to get some for myself. I had mixed results. Schooling went fairly quickly and we were able to get outside and walk, so good there. I offered a one day coupon code for the shop to try and jump start some sales, not a single nibble, so not so good with that one.

Then I chose to just get tatting. The first go was a complete failure, not sure what I was trying to make, but I ended up with a bit of a triangle blob. Again, we ended at not so lucky. I was pretty determined to do something worth doing though, so I kept at it and failed a second time, but out of that failure I managed to see something worth trying again. I thought this bit had potential and it was actually different than any of my other edgings. I opted to add a second row to the sample piece here, hoping that it would be enough to turn it into maybe a necklace.

I think it actually works. I did end up doing some more adjusting to the design in the final go though. I don't have any photos of that though. I worked on it the rest of the evening and I'm optimistic that I should have a final piece made and maybe even in the shop today.

Of course my luck roller coaster had one more down phase before the day was out. It ended with mysterious car troubles that will likely cost far more than we wish it would. That left me back at worrying over my shop sales and my inability to provide the kind of income to the household I once did, yet again. Fresh edging design aside, I don't think that the luck of the Irish was with me at all. Here's hoping for some good luck soon.

Medallions

Well I got a lot of tatting done on Friday, but nothing made it into the shop. This is mostly due to the gloomy weather that precluded taking decent photographs, and partly because I was feeling particularly lazy over the weekend. Back to the tatting though, I started by adjusting some small details of the medallion I've been working on. Though I liked the longer chains in the outer round, they made the piece a little too unpredictable. I shortened them and the result was a more compact and polished piece.

The next thing I did was play with colors. I tried to ask for color suggestions, but I was getting no feedback at the time, so I just grabbed the thread on top of the pile. Yellows and oranges are definitely not my go to colors, but they did demonstrate clearly how colors would play out. I couldn't leave it there though and since I was clearly not getting them ready for the shop yet, I dug deep in my box of thread and pulled out the purples. They are definitely more to my liking. I finished up the day with grays, but never managed to get any of them in the shop over the weekend.

The rest of the weekend was just family adventuring. The oldest child got an extreme haircut. I stained and painted a memorial box for my cat Shade's ashes. The children had me make necklaces out of pendants they got from Michaels when they were out with their grandma. There was a lot of making over the weekend, even a small pendant that was ordered was tatted up, but I still felt really lazy. I should hopefully get all these medallions turned into pendants and listed in the shop today. I just have to rely on a little sun breaking though, so here's hoping for that and a little more motivation.

Medallions

Another couch bound day meant more television shows removed from the DVR after watching and more tatting accomplished. First I finished up the collar necklace I was working on yesterday. It's an old design that I've made for years after adapting it from a 1940's era collar pattern. Lots of other tatters have had the same idea over the years of course, but I still like my version. It's one of the few pieces I make that must have some Swarovski crystals and rounds to be just right.

After that was done I struggled with what to remake next. I know there are more pieces in my sold out items that I should get back in the shop, but nothing stuck my fancy. I kind of wanted something to jump off the page at me and nothing did, so I decided to do a little tatted doodling.

I rarely start these sort of things with a plan, I usually just start tatting and see what happens. Not that the world needs any more tatted medallions, but that's clearly what I ended up making. Sometimes I wish I was a doily person, because I think I could design tons of those. Of course they wouldn't be anything I would likely be able to sell in my shop though. Anyway, I'll probably make this up in another color or two and hopefully get it listed in the shop as a pendant after I fiddle a bit with the stitch count I think. At least I have a little bit of a plan for the day.

Bracelet

Another long morning of schooling. Well really it's the end part where the child reads that makes it so long, but that's fine. I managed to finish reading another comic book series I was woefully behind on  and I've started reading Station Eleven at the suggestion of Fox. It's a much easier read than that last trilogy I read. Strangely both the comic and the book and one television show I'm watching are all set with a killer virus destroying people at the beginning. I'm not sure that means anything, it's just weird is all.

Anyway, I did get to a little tatting. Not as much as I should have though. I decided to try to turn the new design into a bracelet. It did take a little fiddling to not only lengthen the design, which I did with simple split rings, but also to reduce the bend in the center a bit. It has been suggested that it could be a beginning of a slave bracelet, but I don't think the simple design would survive tacking another section onto it across the hand. It was also suggested that it looks a bit like a headpiece and I am tempted to try that out. It would probably need to be slightly larger and definitely longer and I think that I would need to put a shiny of some sort in the center ring.

Unfortunately I probably won't even get around to getting this in the shop today. let alone work on new pieces. We have an school outing with the kids to a local nature reserve which will likely suck a good chunk of the day away. At least we'll be getting outside on a relatively nice day, which is supposed to be followed by days of rain. At least that's what we're all hoping in our drought stricken area of the country. Either way, sounds like I'll have a few tatting days soon.

The Dark Queen

Schooling seemed to go one forever yesterday. The oldest child had to start reading a novel and since it's homeschool, that doesn't get assigned as homework. Of course that gave me time to read my own book. Since the back quarter of book I'm reading was quite the page turner, I finished it yesterday. The Prince of Nothing trilogy has been entirely consumed. Never mind that the author is currently writing the third book of the next trilogy that follows this one. The family is trying to convince me to just wait until that last one is done before I start to read the first two. I do have plenty of comics to catch up on and I probably need to remove myself from that world a bit.

After all that I did get my new necklace in the shop. My daughter named it for me, The Dark Queen. She said it reminded her of a medieval hairstyle. I told her it reminded me of Maleficent's horns, so she called it the dark queen. She is incredibly pleased that I went with her name. I asked on facebook, what other colors I should make it. The first response I saw was variegated, so I grabbed the first one I could find in my pile and made one up. I honestly done like it much. The construction of the piece just doesn't lend itself to the changing colors, the split work makes it flow wrong, so I don't think I'll be doing that again.

I did make another up in a solid purple, but I didn't snag a photo of that one. I might get it in the shop today, or just share the photo and see what people think. I'm also toying with the idea of making this an anklet or maybe bracelet. I'll need to play with some changes and it might need to be stiffened more to work, but I guess I have a bit of a plan at least.

New

Since I had just one last day off before schooling begins again, I used my best stalling powers to avoid doing anything productive. The morning was spent reading and lounging, but by lunch time I actually wanted to do something. I certainly didn't want to make the other ankle corset like I should though, so instead I doodled some lace up. I wasn't sure what I was going to make, so I started with loose split chains and eventually joined them up for what I can only describe as a sort of sea shell. This is about when I had an actual idea.

I took the basic structure I created and added a second one to the other side. It took some creative thinking to get all the pieces to look like I wanted them to. It's funny how sometimes the simplest product can have such a complicated beginning. Anyway, after some stitch changes and some tension fixing, I ended up with this necklace. I added some thick, but very light black chain to the sides and I was done. I had toyed around with adding a dangle to the center, but in the end, the clean line won out.

So today after schooling, I'll get this up in the shop. I might also play around with other things I might do with this new technique. Okay, it's probably not actually new at all, but it's new to me. so I'm going to play with it. I might even bust out some colored thread and make a few of these up with it mostly to cement the skill. Either way, I have plenty more things to stall with now. I may never finish those big pieces now.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Things were going so good yesterday. I was hard at work tatting up the pieces for the matching ankle corsets. I had decided due to fog, that I wouldn't even bother dong the finishing work on the necklace. Anyway, I'm doing both pieces at the same time. Well really I'm doing one center motif, then the other followed by the smaller motifs around each one. See all that progress there.

Then as I started the second rounds of the smaller motifs, my mistake showed itself. I had attached every single one of the smaller motifs in the wrong orientation. At first I thought, well maybe it won't make that big a difference and I'll just  make some small adjustments. So I went ahead and did the second round on a couple of them to see. Turns out I was really wrong, the difference was significant and the results would have been an entirely different looking piece.

Since I'm making these to match the necklace, that wouldn't do at all, so out came the scissors and I clipped them down to the center motif. The sense of defeat kept me from picking them back up and starting over. Instead I just read my novel, which is incredibly near the end, and ignored the lace for the rest of the day. Thankfully the day was already close to over, so I didn't lose too much time.

Today I'll start fresh, pay more attention and hopefully get these made up. No sun is really expected today either though, so it will still be a while before I finish up the necklace and get it in the shop. I also thought perhaps the motif might make an appearance as a new lapel pin or hair pin. I also have yet to just make it up as a plain pendant. Maybe I'll just get all these pieces made up and photograph them at the same time. Then I can put them all in the store and pretend it's a 'collection'. That sounds fancy, right? Who knows, I do have to get them all made first and that should take a while so I can decide all that later.