Done and Done

 I've spent much of the last week working on this doily piece. I liked quite a few of the rounds to be the end of the piece because the shaping was so different and interesting on many of them, but I was looking for a particular end size so I kept on going.

 At some points it had this nice snowflake feel and at others I got an almost straight-line hexagon. I was ultimately hoping for round and that's mostly what I ended up with.

 This is the final piece done in the vintage or crappy size 10 thread. It's loose and a bit floppy, but that's why it's a prototype. The end size was about 15 inches across which was my goal. I also quite like the negative spaces as well as the repeated motif themes I managed to hold onto.







Once that was done, I worked it up in size 20 DMC Cébélia thread in ecru. It was immediately firmer because of the better thread, but also more delicate. The end size came to about 12 inches which is also what I was hoping for with it. I don't know how I managed to guess that, maybe I've been working with thread for too long or something.

Now that I've managed to recreate it and it still lays well, I'm going to work on writing up the pattern. I kind of want to do it for sale, but I'm not sure what kind of demand there is for a doily pattern. I'll take any opinions you have on that subject. Regardless, I'm pretty happy with how the project turned out. Maybe I'll do another one after I finish writing this one up, the finished product is rather satisfying to look at.

Back to Work

I've been working hard on a mask that was ordered during my sale. It was the only piece that needed to be made before shipping. I just finished working it up despite the best efforts of the cat to distract me, so I should have it in the post to its new owner tomorrow morning.

I have a few cuff bracelets that also sold that I should get tatted up so I can put them back up my shop. I was just waiting for new hook closures to come in the mail before I could start on them and they've just arrived in the mail. I'm going to take a little break this afternoon and then get to work on them as well. Hopefully those will keep me busy and give me some tatting to share here and elsewhere over the next couple of weeks.

Pin

My tatting task yesterday was to remake a lapel pin I sold over the weekend. This one is based on a vintage or antique tatting picture, not even a pattern. I can't, for the life of me, remember where I saw it originally, but I had to use a lot of guess work to figure out the stitch counts and joins. I'm fairly certain that the ones I use are utterly unlike the original ones, but it looks close enough to the original that I call it a win. Of course now I just have to use a completed piece to remember how to make it again.

After that was done, I went back to knotting, but I don't think I got very far. I think I might have made it around the piece once, but that's really not enough progress to share, is it?

I don't have any tatting in queue today, so it'll just be reading and knotting. Well, after schooling the kids and maybe a wee bit of yard work. Not too much though, we're due for some summer temperatures today and I am not ready for those yet.  The rain is suppose to return on Friday and through the weekend, so things should be back to normal soon. Well, what passes for normal around here anyway.

Black Star

Well normally I wouldn't mention the news of the day, or yesterday, because you clearly get plenty of that elsewhere, but as it affected my day and my tatting, I should probably at least add it as context. Like legions of other people I was quite fond of David Bowie and his passing definitely had me a bit weepy and nostalgic.

 I folded paper stars while I was reading in the morning and by afternoon I felt the need to get tatting. Maybe it was feeling that I should mark his passing with a little creativity of my own since so much left the earth with him. Whatever it was got me tatting, I ended up with what seems to have become a black star. That's the name of the album that he just released Friday. The star wasn't actually intentional though, I think it was a subconscious tribute.

I've no idea what I plan on doing with the star. I suppose it makes a nice large pendant as it is, but I'm sure it has something else to be, so I'll play with it today while I'm a little less sad and see what it wants to become after this.

A Little Progress

I had a pretty listless day yesterday. This was partly because the husband went out of town for the day and won't be back until late today. It was also partly because I had a bunch of shows on my DVR that needed watching and I wanted to actually pay attention to them, so I tatted less than I usually would. Ah, the start of the new television season, how you suck my time away.

When I did get to some tatting I worked on the necklace version of the new motif. It is becoming perfectly clear that it will have a very interesting line and that it will take much longer to make than I like. With the shape that's forming it will need to be long enough to sit low on the collarbone, so I still have quite a ways to go on it. Hopefully I'll get the rest of it done today and I'm crossing my fingers that it does sit like I plan once all the pieces are in place.

That's is about all I have to share unless you want opinions on television shows, which I'm fairly certain you don't. This necklace is the only plan for today, so here's to some productivity for the day.

The Motif Grows

Since I wasn't rescued from creating by any orders or any other tasks at all, save for cleaning off the dvr, I did play with the new motif a bit. This was the first direction I went. It was long enough to be a bracelet, but it only works if worn over your hand. Don't get me wrong, I think it look neat like that, but it does severely limit who can wear it, since the size really can't be adjusted. That doesn't mean it won't become one though.




The second try was about the same really, except I changed the order of the motifs and added an element between them. This one sits low on the wrist as well, but kind of sideways if that makes any sense. It's definitely a unique look.

Aside from the these bits as bracelets I though about turning the first version into a bit of a forehead piece...if that's what you'd call it. Add a chain and it sits a bit like a circlet, or maybe pins or clips so it just attached under you hair in front. Not sure if I can make it work logistically, but it looks neat like that. I'm also fairly certain that the first version can also be extended into a necklace, though it will certainly be a time consuming one to make.

So if I have another day with no sales interruptions I might again have something new to show you with this motif tomorrow. If not, I'll just be pleased as punch to have had some sales.

Designing

I've already been up for an hour this morning as we woke up the kids to see the lunar eclipse that's still occurring as I write. They went right back to bed, but the cats knew I was awake, so I had to feed them. I thought about trying to sleep after that, but I realized that I was too awake and it was pretty much futile. So here I am awake and the rest of the day I shall be tired.

I did do some remaking yesterday, but not as much as I should have. Instead I got a little creative. I put together this small motif with no real purpose in mind. If you're wondering why it's got my name on it, it's because I was informed on the facebook yesterday of the sharing of my pieces there without credit. I don't really mind too much as long as they're not actually claiming the work belongs to them or copying the pieces themselves, but if I slap my website on there I can worry less about that. Of course I'm likely to get lazy and stop doing it anytime.

Back to the tatting, this is the first thing I tried with the piece. I was going to grow it a different way and I'm still not sure this way will work, but I think I might have a bracelet in there at the very least. I even saw the potential for an interesting doily shape, but you know how unlikely it is that I pursue that design area unless I get really bored. Someone also asked after the single motif, if it might be a mask and that's certainly a possibility. It has been quite some time since I designed a new one of those. I guess we'll just have to see what it grows into as I play with it some more. It's either that or remaking today, so it's likely this will grow into something.

Flare

I told you that I hoped to start today off in a better mood and behold, I have...a much better mood. As is often the case, I overplayed those things that were to surely ruin the day. In fact the daughter's visit to the doctor was quite enjoyable especially since she needed no shots this go around. Then I got her all registered for kindergarten through our virtual school and we ran a few errands and went out to lunch, but what really kicked the day back into the positive column was the mail.

 I got in my copy of Flare Magazine in the mail. I assume anyone reading this from Canada actually knows what that is, but for everyone else, it's a Canadian Fashion magazine and that is the magazine which used a couple of my masks for a photo shoot titled Amazing Lace. This one here is my 'Between the Stars' mask made with black and hand dyed blue thread.











Then we have my first mask design, 'As The World Falls Down' in black.

Now, I'll be honest I was a little surprised by the styling. I somehow expected a dark, mysterious lace set. Instead this is light, bright and I'm guessing pretty darn trendy. I can hardly complain though. Right there on each page is 'Totus Mel' and at the back of the magazine my credit is listed with my shop link. So there you have it, tatted lace in a mainstream fashion magazine. Hopefully it brings in new customers and more opportunities, but even if it doesn't, the magazine was a pleasure to work with so I put this in the win column either way.

I've got more adventuring with the family planned for today, but I do hope to get those butterfly cross stitches done and then I swear I'll get back to tatting. I have imaginings to make.