Tatted Eye Patch

I sold a tatted rose eye patch yesterday, so I spent some time tatting up a new one to put in my etsy shop, which I have been woefully neglectful of as of late, because of, well life. I've also been keeping busy with a new activity in my life. Actually it's a really old activity that I used to spend all of my time doing, but I haven't been doing so in over twenty years. I'm doing theater again. My daughter started over the summer and once I was back in a theater, I couldn't stay away. I'm in rehearsals now for my first show since college. Yikes, right? It's called Men on Boats and it opens in January for a two weekend run. So yep, still tatting and crocheting, but also writing and acting, and look I even found the motivation to write here, so yay! Maybe it'll stick this time...don't make any bets on it though.

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.

Holiday Sale

My how I have abandoned this space. I have been feeling less that creative with my needlework lately and that means I have little, it anything worth sharing. I have had a few small orders in my etsy shop, so I've remade a few things, and work on the Armenian lace piece is ongoing as ever. I've done a little crocheting and some knitting and I'm still hard at work writing. I'm still muddling through the editing of my first novel and my hope is that I'll have something to share before the year is out. I'm also writing daily on at least three different projects, though there is currently much doubt as to which ones will survive to completion. I may have bit off more than I can chew on that front.

‪Knotting up an Armenian lace pineapple tassel pendant today.‬

A post shared by Pamela Quevedo (@totusmel) on Nov 19, 2017 at 12:53pm PST

Last bit of news to share is the SALE in my etsy shop. No coupon code is needed, but you do need to spend at least $20 to activate the 20% off. It will likely be up through the holidays, but sooner is always better, especially if you want anything custom.

Birthday Sale

I've not got much to share this week. I've been working slowly on the Armenian lace, but most of my time has been spent reading and writing. I'm at 66,000 words now so if I keep working at the same speed I should be done with the first draft of the book by the end of the month. Of course I really have no idea where to go from that point. I made a point of not thinking beyond the actual writing of the thing, so I don't have a clue what might or might not happen with it after I edit and proofread it. I guess I'll have to do some research at that point.

That's not why I popped by though. It's my birthday, so I've set up a coupon code for a birthday sale. It looks like soon I'll be able to run a proper sale in my etsy shop as tools for that have just been released, but won't be live until next week. So for now get 25% off anything in my shop through Friday with this link: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TotusMel?coupon=BIRTHDAY25 or you can use the code BIRTHDAY25 at checkout like usual.

Armenian lace piece is 42.5" across now.

A post shared by Pamela Quevedo (@totusmel) on Aug 8, 2017 at 1:26pm PDT

Sale is Still On!

I haven't had a lot of takers for my sale, but it is still on until tomorrow at least. You can get 25% off with the code SUMMER25 in my etsy shop. In the meantime I have spent my days reading and writing. I've managed to pen over 16,000 words now and I am not yet burned out, so there's a chance I might actually see this one through.

I did get a few orders in my shop including a custom order for gold and gray bleeding heart earrings and this wide cuff bracelet, whose name escapes me at the moment. So I've been tatting quite a bit too, just not as much as I wish I was.

Unfortunately I've also had a package go missing in France. It was marked as delivered, but the customer has not been able to locate it. It was likely stolen off a porch or by a carrier, so that means I need to make a new bracelet and send it off again. The worst part is that postage to Europe is ridiculously expensive so honestly it's costing me more just to send another than I got from selling it in the first place, never mind the loss of the bracelet on top of that. Insurance would have been too much on such a small order. Oh well, that's the cost of doing business when you have to rely on others to make final delivery. Luckily the customer seems patient and kind about the whole thing.

So just to recap, I'm alive, reading, writing, tatting, oh and I'm still knotting away on the Armenian lace as well. I'd really like to make a few more sales, so I may leave the sale up for another week to see if that helps. Otherwise I'll keep on working like I have been and I may try to start writing more often again. I think it might help with my other writing if I'm doing so. Time will tell.

Update & SALE

Happy Monday morning world. So the last couple of weeks have been a bit of a slog. First there was our broken air conditioner. You might remember that it went down two Monday's ago at the beginning of a triple digit heatwave. It took nearly two weeks to have a new one installed after we found out that it was something that just couldn't be fixed. We finally got it last Thursday, unfortunately it also came with a rather sizable price tag. On top of that we also had my mother staying all last week while she transitioned to living at my sister's house. That wasn't really a big deal, but it definitely contributed to the demise of any sort of routine.

I did manage to spent some time working on the Armenian lace piece and I got one whole order in that time. I tatted up a replacement bracelet as soon as I got the order. Other than that I have been writing everyday for a week now. I'm up to about 7500 now, but it's just the beginning so no one has seen that yet. My plan is to keep writing everyday until I've managed something that could be called a novel, good or not. Only time will tell whether or not it will see the light of day.

In the meantime I'm going to offer a 25% off sale to try and get some sales and hopefully put a tiny dent in that air conditioner bill since it pretty much ate up all the savings we had. So for the next week use the code SUMMER25 in my shop to get 25% off everything and please do share. I can use all the sales I can handle right now.

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.

2017

The family has today off as well, but I figured it was best to get back to a sense of normality before I completely lose my routine. If it wasn't for all my morning habits I don't think that I would get anything done at all, so here I am the first Monday of the year writing about the not much that happened over the weekend.

I started making a doily for my brother. I didn't make him one for Christmas, because I thought he wouldn't want one, but after consulting him, it turns out that he actually would. It'll be in black and hopefully I'll remember to take some photos for you. After I get that wrapped in a week or so, I think I am going to start to put together a tutorial for Armenian knotted lace, at least my version of it. No promises on the quality of it yet, but I'm making an actual plan to do it.

Also at the last minute of New Year's Eve, I added a sale to my shop. There won't be another one until probably April. You can get 25% off with the code YEAREND in my shop. The code is good through Friday, but there have been no takers yet. Here's to the year ahead, may we survive it and perhaps thrive in it.

Weekend Recap

It was a busy weekend full of cleaning, wrapping, binge watching The OA on Netflix and sitting about waiting for packages. On Friday I worked on remaking this necklace. It's actually one of my favorite designs because it reminds me of a crow. Of course this is just it in progress so it's not very crow-like at this point. I still haven't put the chains on it yet, so it's not back up in the shop. I might get around to that today, but then again I might not.

I used any sitting time I was granted over the weekend to work on more beaded double bracelets. I'm up to eight total now. You've seen the green and tan ones, but I also made up one in black with gold beads and a dark gray with purple beads. I added them to the listing yesterday, so they are all available in my shop and ready to ship. I'm getting faster at making them, but they still take a good amount of time, particularly the beaded crochet cord.

I think that I'm done with the bracelets for the time being, though I am making a couple as last minute gifts. I'm got more wrapping to do today and more house cleaning. I'm pretty sure it's going to be a busing week, just not knot-busy.

Nice and Busy

I started out yesterday with some Orchard Green thread and seed beads during schooling. I did finish this bracelet, but I haven't gotten it listed in the shop yet. I wanted to get another one done before I added them to the existing listing for the Beaded Double bracelets. Right after I finished this one I got distracted by the best sort of thing, an order.

The order had two custom pieces that needed making in cream thread. This one is the beginning of a scallop earring. There was also a bracelet to make in cream and then a few pieces that would need remaking for the shop, I was on such a roll that I finished all of that save for adding hardware to the pieces. I'll get that done this morning so that I can get the order in the mail today. It's definitely the time of the year for working quickly and efficiently.

I woke up to another order, though this time it's just one piece and I have a second already made, so I'll get back to the beaded double bracelets. I have a habit of making new pieces in as many colors as I can. This time I'm limited by what beads I have on hand, which is probably a good thing. I usually end up with pendants in colors no one wants that just sit in a box forever. I'm certain that will happen with these as well but it likely won't stop me from making them anyway.

Beaded Double

I worked through schooling in order to get four of the new bracelet designs made. I wanted to have a similar collection to the other ones, but these ones definitely take longer to work up. It was well after lunch when I finished the last one and got them all listed in my shop. I am calling them Beaded Double, though it's not a very creative name, is it. Oh well, I do like the way they turned out though.

Not surprisingly, my favorite is the black one. I think I may do another in black with gold beads, since I don't have to worry about matching hardware and I have some on hand. I don't like gold for me at all, but I still think it would look striking. I'm also thinking about making myself one since they are so easy to wear. Oh, and I did actually sell one yesterday! The ocean turquoise one is off to its new home today and I'm just about finished remaking one to replace it. My thumbs are not liking all this beaded thread crochet, but I am certainly pleased to be creating something new.

Can Do

So, I've been told I've been a bummer lately, sorry. I really didn't mean to foist my rut on all of you. The husband surprised me and came home early on Friday and we went out of town to finish Christmas shopping and get me out of the house. What he didn't know is that after a message from someone who reads the blog on my answering machine, I felt like I needed to pull myself out of the funk anyway. Speaking of that message, I didn't return it, and I feel a bit bad about that, but I am not particularly comfortable with strangers on the phone, I much prefer email unless I know you in person. I appreciated the sentiment, so thank you for the message though. Okay, back to the point, I actually got some work done. First off I got these necklaces that I had already mostly made finished and photographed. They are made with the crochet cord, the macrame closure and a simple line of Armenian knotting along one side. The cords do take quite some time to make, but I love the simplicity of the finished piece.

Then I actually got them listed in the shop here.  They're made and ready to ship in all four colors. Then after sharing them on Instagram, someone asked if I had made matching bracelets. I wasn't sure if the design would lay right on the wrist, so I decided that was the push I needed to try something new and I spent some time on Saturday trying that out. They do in fact work well as bracelets and I made two more over the weekend. a variegated purple and a gray. So today, after schooling, I'll be photographing those and get them listed in my shop as well. I promise I'll try not to bum you all out anymore this holiday season and focus more on what I can do.

Very Nice

Well, yesterday turned out much better than expected. I decided to do a sale after I blogged and assumed it would be a bust, but I actually got a few sales out of it from some lovely repeat customers. Even better I got two more sales this morning after the sale was over. Yesterday I worked on remaking the first piece that sold, a necklace I designed based on one of  Marilee's patterns. It's a favorite of mine with a nice, unique silhouette.

The next two orders I got in both had custom color pieces to make up, so after the necklace I started on those. I've still got one more of those to make before I get those two orders in the post. With the other orders I got this morning, I have quite a handful of pieces that now need to be remade, so I guess I have my work cut out for me for at least the rest of the week. I shall be happily tatting away to get all these orders made and the pieces replaced in the shop as soon as possible.

Thank You

Good Friday morning all. I meant to write yesterday morning and then got distracted with preparation for the holiday dinner, not that I had much to share. I had spent Wednesday cleaning the house including my most favorite tasks like the bathrooms. Yep, I know you missed that information.

Anyway, yesterday was lovely and exhausting. I still have a sink full of dishes, because I couldn't be bothered to wash them all last night. That means that I will be washing them all today, and cleaning the house up a bit, and probably pulling out the Christmas stuff to start to get that all up.

I know I haven't done a sale in my shop in a while and it's too late to start one that would be effective at all, but here's what I will do, get free domestic shipping throughout the holiday season with the code HOLIDAYFREESHIP at my etsy shop. I know it's not much, but thank you all out there for reading my ramblings and supporting my work!

Weekend Recap

I don't want to jinx anything but I got another order over the weekend. Seriously, I just stopped typing to knock on wood, but I've been loving the increase in tatting in my life lately. I've had time to work on other things as well, so the balance is just right, so far. This is the bracelet that I sold yesterday. I remade it one for the shop while reading.

The rest of the weekend was full of house projects and running about with the family. I still haven't finished putting together the oldest daughter's costume pieces, but I know how to do them now and I still have time. I did also finish the small gift doily I was working on. I opted to make it smaller than the others so it would be completely different. I've already started on another for one last person. At least I think this is the last one, who knows if I'll think of someone else who needs one in the next month.

Do today, it's making the new doily and crossing my fingers for more more orders in the shop. You know, a normal Monday.

An Order

Right after schooling wrapped, I went to work on a custom ivory scallop bracelet. It's been awhile since I made this one, but it's a simple one, made in one piece. I had it done by the middle of the afternoon and started on remaking the other piece from the order, a black choker. I finished the choker as well, but never got around to working on the Armenian lace doily though.

Since I finished the order I got, it'll be put in the mail this morning.
I suppose I'll go back to the doily and cross my fingers that the more frequent orders I've been getting lately are the beginning of a trend. I'm sad that every few days is now my definition of more frequent. There's nothing for it though, I'm certainly busy enough with other life stuff as it is.

An Order

I got the lovely surprise of an order in my etsy shop just as we were starting the schooling day. It was my last cat ear headband, so I sent it right off in the post and as soon as schooling was wrapped I started making a couple more of them.

Between the tatting, a spot of cleaning, and errand running, the afternoon was completely covered. I think I managed half a round on the doily before the evening was over, so I have nothing to show you from that project. I did suss out the method to make the pieces I need to for the child's Halloween costume, but didn't start that either.

I'll get back to the doily today and probably save the fun fur sewing project for the weekend. I'm not really looking forward to the mess it might make. Crossing my fingers that I make it through tonight's debate without downing a whole bottle of wine.

Joy

Well I woke up to a nice sized sale in my shop, so I'm starting the day with tatting tasks and the pieces are big enough that it should keep me away from the purple thread for a couple of days at the very least, so yay! Not that there is anything wrong with the purple thread. It's great for keeping my hands busy and my mind at least a little distracted, but nothing beats having lace to make for other people.

Yesterday was another story of course. There was no walk out and I spent much of the day engrossed in a book and tying knots. As I neared the end of this row of pineapple motifs, which I love, I was afraid that I had given the piece too much ruffle. A quick press and the piece flattened right out without any real distortion of the design. In fact it occurred to me that had I just tugged outward on the piece while working the same thing would have been achieved. If I can manage it, the plan is to keep going just repeating these two sections. One of pineapple motifs followed by a section of  small loops. I think the pineapples will have to get bigger as I go, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. For now, I'll get on to my tatting tasks and bask in the feeling of joy I get from actually selling my work.

Routine

Well, here we are at the start of a normal week. I've got no plans, no adventures, nothing. I was even treated to a tatted lace order over the weekend that gave me tatting to do. I did start with some knotting on Friday after I restocked my etsy shop though. I finished this last black simple Armenian lace piece and hopefully I'll get my act together this week and get them all photographed and in the shop. It's been quite some time since it was actually busy around there and I really need to do something to increase business.

Then I got a tatting order on Saturday. It wasn't custom, but it gave me a reason to tat up the pieces that sold before I can ship them this morning.  It was a bracelet and a necklace. I was so happy to be tatting that I got them both finished on Saturday leaving me nothing left for today. I'm still lacking that creative push to really get me into the groove of working again, but I'm crossing my fingers that that is right around the corner. In the meantime I've got a small house project and I think I still need some vacation recovery time to get back to that routine I love so much.

A Good Day

Yay! The shop had such a great day yesterday and that means I had a great day of tatting and Armenian lace. I even woke up this morning to another order which means I have plenty of tatting and knotting to keep me busy for another couple of days. I started the day very early remaking this neon green necklace. It had been so long since I'd sold and made one that it took a bit longer than it should have for me to remember what little tricks I employed to make this small piece work.

Next up I got to remake an Armenian knotted lace necklace. Luckily I already had a crochet base made up so I got to start straight away with the knotting. Since I've been working on the tablecloth pretty much nonstop, I've gotten used to using much longer lengths of thread, so it went a bit faster than before and with fewer starts and stops.



 


After that I has an order for barefoot sandals and one for a bracelet. I knew I didn't have time to finish the barefoot sandals yesterday and the bracelet was yet another piece where I employed mystery tricks to make it work, so I opted to spend the time remembering how I did that one. It was trickier than I thought, but I managed to finish that piece as well.

That brings me to today. I've got those barefoot sandals to make and a couple of Armenian lace tassel pendants as well. I'm crossing my fingers that the weekend holds more, but even if it doesn't I'm pretty pleased with what I've sold so far. This much work might even inspire me to create something new soon. Now, I'm really crossing my fingers for that.

Remember my sale is good through the 24th! Get 25% off with the code HAPPY10TH on anything in my shop.