New And News

Ah, back to tatting. I spent yesterday afternoon discovering a new design to exploit from those antique pattern books. I think I've found a good one and I've finished the first piece using it and I'm well into the second which will be far more dramatic as is my way.

I'm calling this piece 'Starburst' because of the small star shape in the center, but it began life as a pattern for a lunch cloth, whatever that is. I was looking far to hard for a ready made medallion when I noticed this shape within another pattern. The next piece will be a choker and I think I'll work on a gauntlet or bracelet as well.

In other news, the etsy steam team has been back from Steampowered for a few days, but they're still getting great publicity for the team along with making more regretful that I did not go. The newest is a mention in the Make magazine blog. The picture links to the article, so click away.All the members present for the photo got a store link and they clearly had more fun than I did last weekend, though trick or treating with the family was important too. I however am terribly jealous and I vow that the next event the team attends on this coast will find me present, even if I have to drag my family along with me.

At Least I Don't Have A Headache

I am finding myself in the hangover phase of endeavors both mundane and creative this morning. The Steampowered convention has wrapped up and even though I'm still waiting to find out whether I sold a single thing, it is all over and done with and outcome has been determined. My tatted Halloween costume has been worn and subsequently retired. I will probably remove the tatting from the corset and add it to a nicer one I just bought. On the mundane front, I have finally had all my doctor's appointments for the year from teeth to eyes and there are no big events on the horizon except birthdays that have already been shopped for. I have no new magazine articles waiting to come out or features coming up. I imagine that after tomorrow, I will experience an election hangover as well.

Though I don't have anything new for the store, I am working on a custom caplet order based on my Victorian Lace collar. It is proving to be a little more challenging than I thought to increase the diameter without changing the pattern. It's working out okay, but I'm having to resort to math which I do not enjoy. I should be done today, barring any unforeseen disasters.

While, I'm not loving this picture, I promised that I would share my tatted Halloween costume with you today, so here it is. A better shot is the picture of the family after we had returned from trick or treating. We had blissfully clear weather for the evening after it rained off and on all day. The kids had a great time and people seemed shocked to find me and my husband dressed up as most parents seemed to hand out on the sidewalk while the kids went to the houses. I figure there are so few opportunities for us to play dress up, that we ought to take advantage of every one. Well I think that's it for this Monday. Hopefully the hangover will be short and I'll find some great things to work on soon.

Nothing Of Consequence

It another of those mornings. I've nothing of consequence to share with you. I've been spending a little too much time shopping through Twitter. I downloaded a desktop widget called Tweetdeck that keeps Twitter in the background all the time so I seem to always be eavesdropping on some conversation or other. I also keep clicking on links for new listings and sales, it's a nasty habit that I need to squelch at least until my sales pick back up. It is so much harder to justify shopping when no one is buying from me.

I know it seems as if I've been busy since I actually listed two new pieces in as many days, but I had been working on those pieces slowly, off and on for a very long time and just finally finished them. I've been a little uninspired as of late and I'm finding it hard to get motivated to create. Perhaps it's just the letdown after sending so many pieces to the SteamPowered convention that kicks off this Friday, I don't really know.

Speaking of Friday though, I pretty proud of myself. Yesterday after a failed search for instructions on how to make a bustle for my costume, I figured one out all by myself. All I seemed to find in my search were wedding dress modifications, overly complex patterns with poor explanations and sad d.i.y. pieces with less than stellar results. My solution was a piece of leftover fabric gathered and tucked under my corset and it looks perfect. Now, hopefully the rain that is predicted for Halloween will not arrive and I'll actually have a reason to wear the costume to take the kids trick or treating. I promise, I'll share pictures if it turns out alright.

Letting Go

It was a flurry of activity yesterday as I finally packed up a box to send to my SteamTeam friends. They will be selling my pieces for me at the SteamPowered convention in Sunnyvale. I tagged and pressed the pieces and packed them and tried my hardest to come up with some displays. That last thing may prove to be a complete failure. Then as I was ready to seal the box, I hesitated. I have never done anything like this as even though I trust the hands that will be receiving my things, I felt a bit of fear. Of course it passed and I sealed the box, set it out on the porch and waited for the mailman to pick it up.

As I watched him walk away with with my box, I felt another pang. I tried to imagine what I was going to feel like if I sold nothing or everything. How would I feel if it was all lost, or worse stolen. While the actual value of the thread and random findings and beads probably doesn't equal more than $40 or so, it represents countless hours of work and I don't dare tell you the potential retail value of the box. I decided the best thing for my mental well being was to say  goodbye to the box and expect nothing in return. Even after this mental exercise, I'm certain to be a little uneasy until the convention is over the first week of November, so send calming vibes my way.

Just after the box left me, I got another front page feature. It lasted only about 15 minutes, but I still got a few more hearts and about a days worth of views out of the deal. So a big thank to MistFlowerStudio for adding me to yet another of her front page snagging treasuries! I hope to here back from a alchemy customer today as well, she has asked me to make her a longer version of the collar I showed you all yesterday. I posted the pictures on etatters and after she saw it there she contacted me on etsy for the project. I never thought I'd get a sale through that networking site. I'm just there to get feedback from fellow tatters, so this was a nice unexpected event as well. I also went shopping again with some favorite shops that I think needed a little surprise sale. I hope I helped their days.

After all of that stuff yesterday, today should be a quiet and relaxing change of pace.