Slow and Steady

I'm started to feel a little like a broken record as I work on this doily day in and day out. I mean I can see that it's noticeable getting bigger, but when I stopped working in the evening I still had two more rows of this fancy side stitch before I get to even go onto the next section. That's right all I did was the same stitch all day long. One length of thread doesn't even finish a round anymore, but if I make it longer it's too unwieldy.

Sure I used the repetitive nature of the stitch to relax a bit and read at the same time and got through nearly half a novel. I was also able to watch some shows with the kids all while knotting away, so there's that. I even took a break and cleaned out the pipes beneath our bathroom sinks, which was a horror show. Why? Well they were running slow and 30 minutes of horror plaque removal beats emergency plumber when the sinks have an eventual heart attack, right?

So today I'm hoping that I can at the very least finish this section and start the next one. I will have to find something else to photograph it on soon though. It's getting far too big for the kindle to be the background. At least that means I'm doing okay with progress, slow, but steady.

Congrats!

Good Friday morning all! First, a little business to get out of the way. The WINNERS of the 3000 sales giveaway. I will be emailing you as well, but a public announcement is needed. The winner of the Dark Doily necklace, as chosen by random number generator, is SharpTeethOfLove and the winner of the barefoot sandals is Janis Wakeley. I'll announce the winner of the Facebook necklace over there. Thank you to everyone who entered for the lovely comments and for reading and supporting my work. Hopefully the next 1000 sales will come faster!

Now back to usual business. It was another busy day and a few unexpected things occurred. First, one of my fancy masks, the Metropolis, was sent off to a new home. I had to overnight it so it would arrive in time for a Masquerade. It's always bittersweet to send these away. They take so much time, and a little blood sacrifice to make that they feel like children. Seriously, all the sewing of crystals and sequins always results in more than a few pricked fingers. I'm inclined to try to make a new one soon to replace it. I suppose that's not like children.

Other than sending off the mask, I got in the other thread I ordered in and worked double fast to finish everything in queue, save for remaking the things that had sold. The most recent custom order was in another variegated thread. This time, Lizbeth, Caribbean. It's quite a bright combination. To avoid just ordering that one thread, I also picked up one ball of the new twirlz thread and a couple other variegated ones. I don't use them often, but I suppose a little color now and again is a good thing. So many you'll see something in those colors soon.

I should have all my recent orders in the post today and hopefully relax just a bit before tackling the sold pieces over the weekend. Though I wouldn't complain in the least, if a few more orders rolled in. I really am enjoying being busier than I've been in a couple of months. I feel useful again.

Another Monday

Well, it was certainly a long weekend if nothing else. I went into it with that custom order to attend to and the thought that if I managed to knock that out I would get back to the ornament order too. Of course I didn't even get close and I am still working on the custom order. It never fails that when I need to make pieces for an order, I need to make more than one and they are never small pieces.

I even packed up my tatting and brought it with me as I accompanied my husband to a doctor appointment on Sunday. He had to have a test done that required I be there to drive him home. So, for two hours I sat in a waiting room and tatted. The only interesting thing happened about a half an hour before I left. A nice older lady started to comment on my work. She asked if it was tatting and then continued with her surprise to see someone my age doing it and of course the whole 'lost art' speech. Then there was another lady who had to comment as well. Before I knew it I was pulling out my phone to show them my etsy shop to show them what I make. That was because I was making ankle corsets and try explaining that without a visual aid. Needless to say it was an odd morning.

Unfortunately that is really all I got up to over the weekend. I had a few other etsy conversations that I might tell you about later if they come to anything, but for now, today is booked for more remaking and then back to the ornaments...maybe.

Felted

So yesterday I made a mistake I had surprisingly never made before. We ran some errands in the morning and I dropped an order off at the post office heading to Canada. When we got home I pulled up the order on the computer to mark it shipped when I realized that I had packed the wrong pair of bobby pins. Yikes. In my defense the order came in Christmas day and you know I wasn't in the proper frame of mind to distinguish a white pair from a white and ivory pair. I sighed and thought and came to the conclusion that I best just remake the accidentally shipped pair and get the right pair ready to ship. I suppose it could have been worse. I could have not noticed at all and then the customer would have contacted me all upset in a week. At least this way I was able to email the customer and let them know what had happened and that I would be shipping the right pair today. I also figured letting them keep the wrong pair would be much easier than asking then to ship it back.

Since that was all the tatting I got done I thought I'd show you the needle felting project I did on Christmas eve. Go ahead and mock if you must, it was my first ever attempt and wings in articular leave much to be desired. After I worked this up I used some of the left over roving to practice the concept some more and I believe I have it down now. Sure, I should have done that first, but hindsight and all that, right?

I tried to find more roving locally so I could play some more. I know I probably won't have much time for it, but I'd still like to have some around. Shockingly I could find none anywhere. I suppose I'll just have to suck it up and order some online if I ever want any. There are lots of kits on etsy and I might even try to trade for some.

In other news, we had all the nieces and nephews over for a sleepover last night. They still slumber upstairs. That's eight children between the ages of four and twelve so as you might imagine it took hours for them to finally fall asleep, chatting and laughing just loud enough to keep us from sleep as well. We'll cook them a big breakfast and then they play all morning while I get nothing done. I still have one kid's neck warmer to finish and that's the end of the family projects. I'll probably stall for a while trying to figure out the next side craft to tackle. I might get a couple of pieces remade for the shop or maybe I'll start plotting my new year projects. I feel so adrift without my schedule and no one was around to comment on my mask yesterday...uh oh, the whine is starting, I'm off.

Done And Done

Here we are at another Monday. It was a pretty busy weekend so personally I was hoping for another Sunday so that I can recover from the one I just had. We had decided that before more toys rained down on the children during the holidays we had to get into their toy room and purge or at the very least clean and organize. We didn't end up purging much, we are after all pack rats, but my back is killing me this morning from the cleaning. They now have a floor and couple more clear tubs with sorted toys in them. We just can't bring ourselves to get rid of so many things we collected for them and let's face it...ourselves. I mean there are a lot of toys I wish that I still had from my childhood, but aside from a bag of stuffed animals, I have nothing. So, we 'save' them so that the children have a chance to keep these or we will.

In other news I finished all the tatted gifts I wanted to make. I assembled snowflake ornaments, adding a little bling and a fancy hanger to them. This strange photo is the prototype for the final gift I made. Once they've been given I will treat you to more stories about their creations and show you some real pictures which I swear have been taken. I'm pretty proud of this one and I will make a public thank you to the pattern I got much help from once they are revealed, but man am I glad there are so many other creative tatting designers playing online for me!

The shop was pretty dead most of the weekend, but I did wake up to two customs orders this morning, so I guess that's what I'll be working on today. I'm still hoping for a nice big rush of orders before people start thinking they can't be delivered in time. Still trying to make up for shopping early, but at least we're done with it all.

Ups and Downs

It's always best to start at the beginning so I'm afraid I shall start with complaining yet again today. You see, I started yesterday by attempting to call the postal service. The web page gave me a number I should call to 'document my issue' regarding the seemingly lost package, only nowhere in the automated phone line could I find a place to do so. I couldn't even manage to find a living human being. I ended my frustration by sending an email regarding the issue. I'm not certain that it will do any good, but I tried and I now truly hate that damn phone line.

On a positive note, when I relayed my futile attempt to my customer and offer a refund or replacement, they responded with grace and understanding. They offered to wait a while to see if it does in fact arrive this week and then they requested a replacement if it does not. If relying on the postal service is one of the low points of my little business, having customers like this is one of the highest.

So the rest of the day was spent remaking some barefoot sandals for the store and starting to remake the contents of the missing order just in case. I honestly have little faith at this point that it will, so I might as well get on it. The evening was a lovely trip to our monthly comic book store meeting. Really, it's a lot more engaging than it seems. It's a lovely break from conversations online and with kids. I returned late to a couple of orders and I'm crossing my fingers that the rush is beginning. Getting the holiday shopping done early felt great, but it left quite the hole in my wallet that needs filling.

So today, it's finishing up that missing order and then more remaking. I ordered up some of the new charcoal  colored Lizbeth thread from Handy Hands last week and it should be here today or tomorrow, so I might take a break when it arrives to make something with it. I have been waiting for a dark gray thread forever. Now, I just need a medium between their silver gray and this and I will be a happy tatter. Wow, that seems like a much odder statement than it is when you read it back. Oh, well...off to it then.

Busy

I was fortunate to have another busy day. The orders came in throughout the day so once I have finished remaking one piece, it was time to start on another. While I thoroughly enjoy being busy, it makes me a boring blogger. I had no time to play, to invent, to work on side project gifts or create anything new. I schooled the child, scheduled my Wunderkammer blog and began tatting. I only stopped to get orders ready to ship.

Oh, wait...I did play dress up for a while. My brother's wedding is this weekend and since I rarely have the opportunity to dress up I am no longer confident in my ability to put together a nice look. So I played dress up until I had a couple of outfits put together. See, even that adventure scored me no pictures or anything really interesting to share.

I'm just going to stop writing now...maybe something interesting will happen today that I can write about tomorrow. Crossing my fingers.

More Working

Yesterday was definitely quieter than the day that preceded it. There were not dozens of emails to field and the children were actually quite calm most of the day. So, yes I spent a great deal of the morning waiting for the other shoe to drop while not getting much done in the process. Then I managed to focus and got to work.

I finished up the ankle corsets I was working on and the custom length bracelet. I lengthened the chains on two sold necklaces and I got the whole lot ready to ship out. This is the point where I was faced with a decision. I could go ahead and start remaking a few things or I could get started on the custom request that has yet to actually be purchased. Normally I wouldn't even consider such a foolhardy thing, but I actually wanted to see how this project would turn out so that's what I spent the rest of the day doing. It's not finished yet so I'll be sure to get a picture of it before the day is out so you can see it, just in case it does in fact get purchased as planned. Otherwise it will just get listed in the shop anyway. Oh, what is it? It's a small scale version of my sugar skull mask and by small scale I mean it's more of an eye mask and thus loses much of the sugar skullness. It should still retain the hint that it represent a skull though.

So I'll send out that order reminder email to that customer this morning and finish the mask either way. Then it really is back to remaking things for the shop. Every time I seem to get caught up, I just slide right back into the whole. I may be exhausted, but busy sure beats bored any day. We are also taking our annual trip to the Northern California Renaissance Faire this weekend. It's supposed to be a cool 74º in the mountains and it should be a lovely time. It also means I will likely spend Sunday just recuperating from walking about the day before thus getting nothing of interest done. I should at least have some nice pictures to share with you though. That will be nice right? See you all then.

Kitty Ears

As of this writing, we just need one more person to enter the giveaway and I'll throw another super secret prize into the mix. I'm gonna go ahead and assume that happens and let you know what that prize is... it's a pair of my In Bloom Ankle Corsets. So if you still haven't entered by commenting on the giveaway post, you might want to get on it. This is the last time I mention it and I will pick winners Monday morning before I post and you know I post at an ungodly hour.

I was off most of the day with the kids at a field trip to the park. There was much play and merriment and I was pretty exhausted when we got back. I did however have an interesting idea. You see the whole tatted mustache thing got me thinking about about other costume bits I could tat up. I thought why not kitty ears on a headband? Well it turns out as easy as working up a tatted triangle is, making it attach standing up on a headband makes this a bit of a challenging project.

What I have here was the first prototype and though I wasn't happy with the stitch count, I had figured out the attachment method. I added along the bottom edge a set of mirrored chains that created a stand for the ear. An unexpected bonus was a slight curve in the design that means I won't even need to stiffen the lace. I really don't ever like stiffening my work, so that was a really great development. I still need to pick up some black headbands so I can sew a set of ears on, so these may not appear in the shop for a little while. I also need to make sure I can ship them in my existing envelopes...they should fit, but it's not something I've done before and I'm too lazy to get up and get measurements right now.

Other than the cat ears, I don't have any real tatting plans this weekend unless I get orders to take care of. I know I really should get some masks listed as custom made up just in case I start to get Halloween traffic. Honestly though, I don't get as much as you think...I'm pretty sure it's because there are a plethora of much cheaper masks to buy, but I digress. I have also included a picture of one white kitten in the basket that the cats have all appropriated with the help of the children and I'm off and you all enjoy the weekend.

Unpleasant

Well, we had quite the interesting and occasionally unpleasant weekend. The unpleasantness began on Friday when finishing piece number two of the custom order. I had used up the first ball of thread and began the third piece using the second. A few segments in I placed it down on the table next to the other pieces and realized that while the two balls of thread said they were the same color, the dye lot was very different. I've not had them be quite this off before with the second being lighter. I mean I immediately saw a difference. While I'm not certain the customer would have immediately noticed, it was enough for me to stop work and make that thread order. This left me with a task that will not be completed until that thread arrives. Luckily I built this sort of set back into my time frame for custom orders.

Saturday was humming along nicely. Our usual trek to the Lowe's building thing was fun. Our errands to the Target, comic book store and Costco were fruitful. We were winding down in the evening when a friend brought over a piece he had drawn for my husband of his favorite comic book character and everything was just lovely. Just before bedtime the children requested we put up a new kids shower head we had purchased earlier. This brought the next bit of unpleasantness. As the husband worked, he stepped back onto the rubber tipped hook portion of a shower caddy I had just put in the bottom of the bathtub, you know to get it out of the way. Yes, the afore mentioned hook bit punctured the arch of his foot...bad. The kids were in the room too and freaked out as copious amounts of blood were unleashed from the wound. After the kids were calmed and the husband bandaged we all had a rough nights sleep.

This brings us to Sunday where a large portion of the morning was spent in the doctors office waiting for the husband to be seen and then receive that all important tetanus shot as his last was oh, eighteen years ago. The wound was examined and announced to be uninfected, though it's obvious someone will be limping about for quite some time. Also I am totally being blamed for leaving the shower caddy where it could be stepped on. I suppose that's fair, it was him moving the coffee table that caused me to break my toe the first time. Thus ends the unpleasantness.

One last this before I begin the Monday. I did get something new made starting before the Saturday incident and finishing after the Sunday doctor visit. This one is the prototype worked up as written in the antique pattern. Well except that I doubled it upon itself to make a wide cuff. I laced this one on for the photo, but after this I started on the final piece with my little stitch counting changes and hooks for closures. When I worked it up the second time I also figured out how to work it in one pass with a couple of chains which also gave it a more finished look on the edge. Hopefully I'll get it photographed and listed today. I have to wait for my thread order to finish the only order I have in queue so I'm also hoping for something that needs doing to come my way. Or perhaps I'll get working on some masks before Halloween is upon us. I guess the day is wide open, but let's just cross out fingers that there is no more unpleasantness.

Chainmaille Complete

Yep, I did exactly what I thought I would do yesterday. I schooled, I cleaned a little and when I tatted it was ring after ring of the chainmaille scarf. I kept going until that ball of yarn was so small I couldn't get another ring out of it. I did end up adding a single ring to each end to give it more of a finished look and it ended up being about 3' when laid out and almost 4' when hanging stretched. The rings have a lot of give and movement, but tugging on the outside rings pulls it right back. I still haven't decided whether I should put it in the shop or not. I probably wouldn't wear it, so I suppose I will. I'll ask twitter and facebook about it today and see if anyone has an opinion. Please leave your too, if you have one.

Speaking of the shop, I tried out the idea of a flash sale yesterday. I put my four charm necklaces on sale for five hours. I tweeted, I facebooked and I got nothing out of the deal. There was a little increased traffic yesterday, but I think that most of that came from this Russian blog where my mask Instructable is translated. I just discovered that one a few days ago in my stats for my etsy shop ans it's been steadily sending eyes to the shop.

Just as I was getting ready for bed last night, one of those custom order inquiries turned into an order for three large pieces all in a sapphire blue. So today's task is set before me. I need to pick the best blue to match the request and immediately order more of it since I only have one ball of most shades and I'm fairly certain that it will not stand up to all three of these pieces or if it does there will be none left at the end. I should be tatting this order for a few days at the very least. All the other custom order inquiries I've been receiving lately are for multiple pieces as well, so if any of them actually do come back and make orders in the next couple of days expect me to start acting all overwhelmed. Of course that scenario is still better than the sleeping shop. Well, off to it then.

Newest Instructable: Needle Tatted Chainmaille

Sometimes an impulsive comment like, 'I might make this my next Instructable.' turns into an actual thing without much planning on my part. After schooling and laundry and the wunderkammer were all done yesterday I sat down with my tatted chainmaille again. As I worked I realized how simple it would be to get shots of the construction as I worked since each ring works up quickly. So I stopped weaving and got a surplus of rings made up so I could do just that.

You can find the tutorial up on Instructables here: Needle Tatted Chainmaille if you're interested in working one of these up, though if you're already a tatter and know even a little chainmaille, you will likely have already figured it out already or can now that the idea has been presented. That's the point of posting on Instructables though, it's for those who aren't tatters, those that need to see the off center things you can do with the art before they give it a go. I have been so very fortunate to reach such a large uninitiated audience there...I love Instructables.

I got back to the scarf once that was posted and it's at about 25 inches right now. I figured I would just going until I run out of yarn and hopefully I get at least three feet, four would be nice. I'm not even certain that this will make it into the shop at all. I guess I'll make that decision when its done. I do have to take a break on it now so I can work up a custom colored necklace for one of my favorite customers. I still don't think my shop is fully awake yet though so I should be able to finish the scarf soon.

So to recap, the tutorial was yesterday's task and today is just making, though I am still tossing around the idea of making a quick video of making the ring needed for the chainmaille since it is a true ring, not the usual mock one generally used in needle tatting, but I'll just wait until I'm better motivated to do so, or someone actually asks. I have also had another streak of custom item inquiries where the customer doesn't get back to me at all and I fear that they will all return at the same time, though actually that would be awesome for business, so forget about that fear thing I just said. Wait, no, it still scares me, but it's unlikely to happen, so I'll just take a deep breath and hope that future inquiry discussions actually come to a conclusion at all, whether it be to move forward or not. It's the not knowing that causes all the stress. Crap, I'm rambling again...I'll just leave now before it gets worse.

Nothing Much

Well, it's another too tired morning. Even though we packed it in around ten, the rest of the neighborhood just kept right on blowing stuff up sending patterned light, booms and pops right into our room at unpredictable intervals. I have no idea when the noise and lights gave way to sleep, but it certainly wasn't soon enough for my taste.

We spent the rest of the day exposing our children to the entirety of the Lord Of The Rings film trilogy. I think they actually became invested in the story despite it's dramatic length. We took a bit of a break for meals and this unfortunately pushed back the last movie to the point where we were unable to finish it for the day. They did want to know when we would see the last hour, so I suppose it was a success. To be fair, it was asking a lot of children to sit through that many hours of movies, but it was like 104º outside, so we certainly weren't going anywhere.

As for tatting, I was fortunate to sell a few small things during the day and I busied myself with remaking them while we watched the movies. I also made up the new bracelet design from the antique edging, but as you'll notice, I took no time away from Middle Earth to get pictures. The first attempt was too short, so I gave it to my oldest daughter. The younger sister then had to have one as well, so a pink was made for her. Will they destroy them? Yes, they will, but the design was fairly straight forward and not too much time went into making them happy, so it was worth the effort.

Hopefully today will be a bit more focused and productive. I have beetle wings to drill to finish a necklace and then I wanted to make the necklace version of the bracelet I made. I've got pictures of that to take and I may even attempt mask photos as well. The tricky bit with this mask is the sparkles. I just don't have the requisite photography skill to properly highlight them in a picture. I might wait until tomorrow on those anyway since I'm heading to my sisters house this evening for a much needed haircut and the more put together  I look, the better the photos will be. Well that's about it, but I didn't want this to be a completely photo free post, so enjoy this closeup of the fancy mask and have a nice day.

Remember What I Said Yesterday

I got a whole lot of nothing done yesterday. The combination of the holiday, the house guests and the afternoon barbecue that lasted well into the evening sort of precluded getting any tatting done. At a few points in the day I was able to sit down and sew on crystals to the new ankle corset, but that was it. I've also learned, after years of selling online, that a day offline is generally a day when you sell nothing/ Aside from blogging, I've been basically offline all weekend and have the lack of sales to prove it. Hopefully I'll get some real work in today because tomorrow it's back to more offline with a family dental appointment and a school outing.

Tatting plans are the same as yesterday. Since I didn't even finish one ankle corset, I couldn't cross anything off the list I made yesterday. So, there you have it in a nutshell, we can just pretend that yesterday didn't happen and everything I said then applies to now and I better get to it.

It's Raining

I must have used up all my creative energy on Monday as I was just feeling production mode yesterday. I started with a necklace that needed remaking and after schooling was done, proceeded to debate my next move. Rather than make anything truly new, I decided to make another maille piece, only in brown this time. I decided to make just the simpler version, but attached with rings like the larger one. This meant I could just make each motif separately thus the stack picture. I did actually finish the necklace, but had no energy to take pictures.

I also made a pair of the earrings in brown and I did finish up the necklace made with the large medallion from yesterday. I originally hung it from a long chain as a diamond, but the piece is so big, the free swinging would just distort the crap out of it. So I shorted the chain, added a few little bead bits in gunmetal and was done. Again, I got no photos, I just did not feel like getting them done. I know I said I must've used all the energy on Monday, but I think it was this gloomy weather. I had gotten so used to being able to go outside and bask in the sunshine a couple of times a day, that this rain just sucked the life right out of me. Unfortunately the rain is suppose to still be with us today, so I may have to work extra hard to pull out of the funk and get these photos taken.

So the plan today is to fight the weather to get some photos taken. Then I have one necklace I need to remake. Most of my sales recently have been small or sale bits that I don't plan on remaking, so that's why I've been able to focus on the new pieces. I am however, ready for some good, big sales that I really have to work at. I sort of miss the feeling of a deadline...is that weird?

See, Look, Tatting

Well, that was more like it...a typical Monday. There was schooling and dishes to do. There were children playing roughly and loudly and there was tatting to be done. I'll start by showing you the new necklace. Again, it's just another tatting over rings piece. This time I just just joined them together in a stacking pattern after making up each ring as I went. I wonder if I will eventually be able to know how many stitches I can get on a ring, because right now I just keep going until I run out of space and plan the next round at that point. I hung a grayish bead from the end that was part of one of my infamous grab bag purchases. It's probably just glass, but it resembles a smoky quartz and fit the design well.

Next up was a custom red mask and I actually got it done fairly quickly. I think I might have been itching to get back to work so it was like my fingers were spring loaded. I even got to start work on another custom piece. This one is a pair of barefoot sandals for a wedding, complete with eleven coin pearls sewn into each one. That will be today's project and then I still have one more sold piece that needs remaking. Then if I have some time left I might try the stacking necklace again with different bits handing from it.

In other news, the large order I've been tracking on its journey away from me has been signed for. Half of me is still expecting something to go awry, but that is certainly one less thing to worry about. I'd also like to use this opportunity to state that it would take some serious flattery and likely many dollars to make me ever go through that sort of drama again. Weeks of tatting one order, communication issues, payment delays and very stressful overseas shipping...many, many dollars and much flattery.

In other, other news, my youtube channel has been steadily getting more subscribers and the total views on all my videos has well exceeded 100,000 views. No, I'm not bragging...this time, I'm setting the scene. Along with all the views have been more questions and comments recently, so I think it's about time to set up for another video. I'm thinking I might try sharing two color tatting, even though it's not my favorite technique to use. Doing so will also allow me to show tatting with cut thread which I also do not utilize often, but it is certainly useful to know. I have no idea when I might get around to actually making the video, but I will start be coming up with a small project that I can use both techniques on. I'm sure I have something lying around, but finding it is another story. And I think that's all for me this morning, have a nice, normal or amazing day.

Wonky

What a wonky day. Boo, the cat was dropped off early for his dental work and I already had my nephew over as well. Honestly watching him is a breeze since he just plays with the girls which makes watching my own kids a bit easier, but it does keep me a bit more distracted as I try to pay more attention to where they all are and what they're up to. An extra kid usually means an extra mess and my kids doing things they wouldn't usually do alone.

I completely meant to remake a bracelet in the morning, but instead I decided to play with old patterns. I found a hanky edging that held promise, so I dissected it, rewrote a few bits and added a few others to come up with a new earring. I hung these ones from hoops instead of hooks because I'd had a customer request hoops. She has gauged piercings and hoops are easier to wear. Of course that customer disappeared before making a purchase, but I liked the idea of the different option so I got some hoops with my last supply order.

Then I spent much of the afternoon attempting different ideas and failing miserably. Nothing was working at all. It might have been distraction due to cat surgery, which went fine by the way, though ended up costing even more with 5 teeth being pulled. I wish I could say we'd be brushing all the cats teeth from now on, though we might try, I really don't see that working out well particularly with the older cats. I really do like my fingers in an uninjured state.

Toward the end of my babysitting duties, when I knew the cat was fine, I finally had an idea to revive the shoulder jewelry concept. I scrapped the original as it was not going to work at all. It was, my friends, full of fail. I decided to go the chain route and I think I almost have a working piece. It's a bit over the top, but wearable. I might try to get some photos today, but the at&t TV guy might also be coming to do something about our picture issues. I have loved uverse since we got it when we bought the house almost two years ago, but lately it's started freezing and pix-elating and the sound pops. It's awful and the online support said our problem requires a technician, so I scheduled one online for this morning. I will honestly be surprised if one shows up because that would be too easy, but if my TV doesn't return to me soon with a smooth watchable picture, I will get hostile.

So, I suppose I have no idea how today will play either. I had hoped the homeschooling break would have been more of a break for me, but I might have expected a little too much. Just two days left and not much to show for it. I guess that's life. You still have one last day to get entry comments on Tuesdays giveaway post. They're are quite a few, but I know there are more of you out there to enter. I'll likely choose a winner Friday afternoon so I time to count the entries and get them all properly numbered for the drawing. Thanks again for helping me celebrate.

Wow

Dude... I wish that I could tell you whose people I got an email from last night, but I can't. I will try to explain as cryptically as possible though. I was presented with an opportunity of quite possibly epic proportions, by people of similar proportions. Now, I am fairly certain that as I write that this opportunity will pass me by because when it comes down to it, I am not a fashion designer. Sure, I play at it a bit, but I do it in my own way. I don't sketch designs, so I can't provide them those. Instead, I make crap up as I go, but you know that. I start with a concept and I occasionally grab a box full of tatting and start playing with it in different configurations to cement an idea, but it's nothing I can share in any real informative way. There is also a very short deadline on the project meaning I would have to fly by the seat of my pants anyway. I did email them back with as much detail as I could muster, because I have to at least try to take advantage, so we'll see.

The most incredible part of this likely passing opportunity is that it means I have been seen by people I never would have imagined would notice my work. That, in and of itself, is amazing. Hell, I thought the email couldn't be real at first with it's confidentiality clause at the end, but a few minutes of searching the details online led me to believe it was. So now you know less than I'd like to share, but maybe in a few weeks I'll be able to come back and tell you what it would have been had it worked out. Yes, I am aware that it could indeed work out, but I'd rather not gets my hopes up quite yet.

In other news, I still haven't heard back from the large order people I mentioned yesterday, but I am still working on that, just in case. I'll send them a message today to 'touch bases'. I am not going to get too ahead of myself on this one, especially with this new thing looming. I did also promise you a picture of the black custom mask that is going in the mail today. Sure, it's a bad picture as I waited until this morning to take it. It's headed out today and then I am caught up on all outstanding orders...except for these two projects standing firmly in the 'potential' column. Boy, things have been weird in my world lately...really, epically weird.

Working

From a day full of milestones to a day full of, well just working. I finished tatting up the custom mask as well as the matching necklace, but I still have the embellishing to do on the mask. It's one of my newest masks, 'Such a Sad Love' in black and tatting it is just the first step. It needs crystals sewn in, embroidery around the edge and the beaded dangles ending in crystals. I didn't always make it in that order, but eventually I understood that adding bits that swing first makes everything harder. Yes, I'm aware you probably didn't need that bit of advice.

Toward the end of the afternoon I also sold one more of the 'For Japan' Medallions so once the mask is wrapped, I am pleased to be making another of those.  I did re list it again and I do hope to sell the last two I can make, allowing me to donate $120 to the Red Cross. I have made more than a few things over the years that were used to earn money for causes, but this is the first time, I am personally doing the donating and it feels rather nice. Of course I would go broke doing it all the time, but maybe a little more often anyway.

I'm afraid I don't have much else to share as it was definitely a production day. I will try to remember to get a few pictures of this custom mask before it's out the door to show you though. The day after a milestone or anniversary is always a bit of a let down even when little fuss is made. I always need to spend some time looking at numbers, evaluating and figuring out what the next goal to work toward is. I find creating finish lines, no matter how small or insignificant, goes a long way toward keeping me motivated and moving forward. A friend of mine on twitter commented the other day that I possessed the qualities of "Persistence, patience, focus" and that she found those qualities inspiring. Well, it's those finish line that keep me there...well that and the ever present childhood dream of one day being famous. Well then, I'm off to make goals, live famously and probably do the dishes and I think scoop the kitty litter too.

New Instructable

I decided to try and stay on task and get some sold things remade and since I was starting with the barefoot sandals, I kind of veered off task a bit to take pictures of the creation. I have been meaning to do an Instructable on them for quite some time but I never seemed to make the time. Why would I bother doing an Instructable when I have already posted the pattern? Well, it's because the audience there is completely different from my usual tatting friends. Doing these allows me to introduce tatting to new people in a much more visual way. I can step out processes like joining together a first and last ring which seems to stump folks. Heck doing these is what got me to make the short videos and those have sucked in countless new tatters so it really is a win.

You can find it here and the wonderful people over at Instructables have featured the tutorial on there main page as well. This just exposes it to way more views and again that's wonderful. Of course this does not help me remake pieces that need remaking, so I must get back to that today. I also had a request this morning for a great many pieces to send overseas. I'm a little hesitant as it is a very large order with a small discount I offered before I knew just how large the order would be. There is also the matter of shipping all this stuff. I've not worried about my small packages being considered a commercial shipment before, but this one seems to cross that line and I'm not certain I know how to handle all that. Of course if I ship with UPS, I think they handle all that business and I just have a huge shipping cost which I would of course have the buyer pay...maybe I can do it. I think there is more thinking involved here.

I also got the two pieces with bad pictures listed with better pictures yesterday. The first one up there is the redone piece. I really am so much happier with the way it hand now. I still has the same belly dance flavor with the bells, but now it's much more wearable and supported by the extra chains. The other is also listed and it too has a nice weight to it, but still hangs very well. I suppose I've just gotten better at assembling chains and my tatting over the past few years. It was bound to happen, practice and all that. Anyway, I'm going to go stress over that crazy order and get the day started.