Still Alive

I'm getting awful neglectful here again. In my defense I have been hard at work on several different projects. I've finished the third draft of my novel and it's currently being copy-edited by my 10 year old. I know that might sound like a daft idea, but if you could see the skill this child has at finding typos, missing commas, and the like, you would be seriously impressed. Anyway, once she's done with that and I've tackled a few more details, I plan on self publishing it on Amazon. Regardless of how that goes I'm already at work on two other stories that may or may not become novels. The point is to keep writing, right?

Other than the writing, I did tackle an interesting tatted art project though I'm not at liberty to discuss the particulars of that. My part in the task is complete and now and it's up to the real artist to do the hard parts. I'm crossing my fingers that the idea works out because I think it's genuinely interesting and I really want to see it finished. I will of course share if and when I can.

The Armenian lace piece is really my fall back project. I work on this when I'm catching up on the scads of television I try to consume and while I read. This is the last image of it that I posted on all my social media places. I'm much better about updating those while the blog languishes untended. Of course that's mostly because I can post a picture across everything in a minute and here, well it's a much larger time commitment. So if you're actually missing what I'm working on and I know that's a big if, you might want to pop by my facebook page, twitter or instagram. It's generally the same things on all of them, so dealers choice.

I'm also been lucky at least the last week or so to have some orders in my etsy shop. A couple of them have included custom pieces, so I'm alternating the tatting of those with all my other projects and homeschooling the kids. I guess I really am pretty busy. I'm also pretty happy that the summer and it's subsequent expensive air conditioning bills is past us for now and crossing my fingers that these orders represent a trend for the fall. Here's hoping.

A post shared by Pamela Quevedo (@totusmel) on Sep 29, 2017 at 3:07pm PDT

Back Again

Well, I am certainly getting lazy when it comes to writing here, sorry. Things around here have gotten into a nice routine as of late. Schooling has reached a comfortable rhythm and I'm working on all sorts of random things like I picked up some large day of the dead skulls to paint for our walls. It's been slow going on those, but it's something different to do and that's what I wanted them for.

I've had a couple of small orders in the past week that have gotten me tatting a bit and of course work on the Armenian lace is ongoing and very close to hitting the 4 foot across mark. I've also been hard at work editing my novel. It is a glacially slow process though and I'm barely a third of the way through it. I missed the pure writing process so I've already started writing another thing. I'm less certain about how long this one might end up though. It could be a short story or a novel or somewhere in between. Since I achieved my first goal of simply writing a book, everything else just feels like cream at this point.

I may actually have another art tatting project soon. It's a little early to say for certain, but if it does pan out, I should have more to write about in the near future. Otherwise it's now schooling, painting, editing, writing and knotting for now.

A post shared by Pamela Quevedo (@totusmel) on Sep 5, 2017 at 4:22pm PDT

Monday

I really did mean to write here again last week, but I was yet again distracted by life. The children are back to homeschooling at the end of the month and the prep work for that has already begun which includes a myriad of issues that need dealing with. I did get a order for earring last week so I spent some time making a custom green pair and then remaking these firefly ones. It was nice to get something out in the mail to a customer, but that was about it on that front for the week. I have been selling more patterns than usual, which is nice, but since they are such small cost items, it really doesn't add much to my income.

I also worked some more on the new headpiece project. I'm really taking this one much slower than usual. I like the shapes I'm getting, but I think it needs more. The idea right now is to have it be worn with chains over and around the back of the head so I don't have to worry so much about sizing. I'm also debating whether or not it would be a good idea to use a wire base for the center part that's meant to sit up like a crown or just use stiffener. Obviously I'm got a lot more playing around with the piece before it's ready to move from the prototype phase.

I've also still been writing and reading a lot. I've broken 51,000 words now and the whole thing is starting to get a little unwieldy. At first it was easy to remember where each character was and what they'd said last time I wrote about them, now I feel slowed down as I reread what I've written to make sure I'm not contradicting myself. There's still no end in sight as I've still not worked out the resolution to many of the situations the characters have managed to get themselves into without much help from me really. This writing thing is real work, but I'm determined to finish this sucker.

Weekend Recap

Okay, if you hadn't noticed I completely flaked on doing a new video. The demonstration wasn't coming together like I would have liked. Then the weather was particularly loud and the cats decided to sit exactly where I like to make the videos. So essentially I blew it off and blamed the world around me for it. I'm sure I could have worked harder on the idea, moved to another room, or at least tried to find a quieter place, but instead I sat, covered in cats, and read. My apologies to anyone that might have been waiting for me to get my act together.

Not much else happened over the weekend save for a family birthday party, some movie watching and a nice walk out during a brief break in rain storms. I did get an order in the shop, but I'm stalled on it as I wait for a response from the customer. They ordered a bracelet that measures 6.5 inches and then noted at checkout that their wrist was an inch longer than that. Unfortunately it is not a design that I can simply make longer. The listing doesn't say that it can be sized at all and while I sussed out a couple of possible remedies and presented them, both will make the piece look significantly different, so I await the customer's choice in the matter. Until I hear back, I'm in a holding pattern on that. Of course the post office is closed today anyway, so I'm got at least another day before I feel like I'm being slow and neglectful. On the plus side nothing else horrific happened, so I'm going to go ahead and call the weekend a win.

A Bit Better

I suppose yesterday was a bit better anyway. I got a little more done on the choker, though I fear I am taking far too long on it. Yesterday's excuse was that I chose to take some time to work on our taxes. Then while working on those, the problem that had the at&t tech out here yesterday reared its ugly head again. It was again beaten back, but I fear the situation isn't yet really resolved and well, the day was still better than the one that preceded it, so I'm going to try a little optimism.

Here's the progress I made on the choker. I'm hoping that today presents fewer anxiety inducing distractions and I can get it finished today. I'd really love to have some new tatting in my shop. Then I stall have a few more projects in mind based on the central motif I used here. I'm not yet certain which ones will actually work out, but it's nice to have ideas to work on. So again here's to a better day, week, and hell, year ahead while I'm at it.

Done and Done

It took me most of the day, but this is the first section on the new choker made to length. In case you were wondering why it's in tan, I'm only working it in this thread because it is a prototype. The final piece will be in black as is my way. I'm just holding it on my neck here to check for size and shape. Anytime I make something with a curve, there's a risk that it will be too straight or too curved, but I think it worked out okay here.

While I think it looks nice as it was, I did decide that it at least needed another round at the bottom. The top is high enough on the neck as it is I think. I had also initial conceived of the bottom edge more dramatic like the piece I just finished remaking, but after a bit of thought, I opted for a more subtle edge to make it more wearable. I had to play with the stitch counts a bit here as well before they were good and I might still make a change or two before the final piece, but I think the basic design is ready to go. As usual, I've also got a few more pieces thought up using the basic motif here, so once the final piece is done, I'll still have a few more new pieces coming.

I'll work on that and hopefully the next Armenian lace video, this one is to be on the square loop with perhaps a bonus adding new thread at the end. I generally don't know what's going to work out until I do it, so I guess keep an eye out for the link to that later.

Almost Done

Another day spent mostly tatting on this necklace. I still have one more day of work left on it as well. I'm sure I could have gotten it finished yesterday if I had chosen to, you know, not eat or do anything else at all. There was no rush though, so it'll likely be finished today and then popped back into the shop.

I am noticing that this time around the tatting is a bit tighter than the last time I made it, so I'm making a conscious effort to loosen it a bit, so the size is at least close to the same. Since the piece is actually laced up though, it's a bit better that's its smaller so that it can be worn by anybody.

I'm kind of hoping that I get another order in the shop when I finish making this piece so that I have a good reason to keep on tatting. Of course I think I might actually have a new idea for another of this type of piece, maybe it's finally time to make something new.

Working

It was day two working on the is tatted choker necklace. It is by far the largest design I have ever done, so remaking it doesn't happen too often. In fact I think this may be only the third time I've made one. It should come as no shock that I don't have a pattern written down, so I needed to get as much of the new one made before I have to ship the sold one to its new home. I still have at least one full day left of work on it, but I got enough done last night to have the stitch counts for the remaining sections pretty much down.

It was definitely nice to spend a day tatting and since I still have much work on this piece, today should be about the same. Oh and thanks for the lovely feedback I've been getting on my videos. I will definitely add changing thread to the list of techniques and feel free to suggest anything else that might be helpful for future tutorials.

Same As Before

Yesterday was basically a repeat of the day that preceded it. I procrastinated on the cleaning portions of the day, but got around to doing it all eventually anyway. I also finished the tatted necklace I showed you  yesterday and got just a couple of rounds done on the gift doily.

Today looks like it might be less rainy than yesterday, but we still won't see the sun for another couple of days, so I'm definitely dealing with a little malaise from the lack of light. That just means it's harder to feel motivated to do anything at all after schooling wraps for the day. I think there are a few more tatted pieces I should remake, but I'd have to look to see which ones. I may just stick with the reading and knotting today, when I'm not cleaning. I know, I know, it's really exciting. Sorry, I'll cross my fingers for something more interesting to happen soon.

A Little Of Everything

I spent much of the day on a cleaning project that won't likely be completed for weeks. That's partly because the weather makes stacking stuff outside unwise, but also because it's a big one. The rest of my day I worked on the the doily and remaking one necklace for the shop. The doily has gotten big enough that the progress is getting harder to see day to day, so I'll save a picture of that for today maybe. The necklace is an oldie. It was one of the first vintage edgings that I modified into a necklace. The stitch count has changed, but the design looks about the same as it did when I first made it years ago.

I still haven't finished the choker, so I'll get that done today. I'll probably have a repeat of yesterday after schooling wraps, some cleaning, some tatting, some knotting, and some reading. Hopefully my sinuses will survive all the cleaning as it appears I'm allergic to dust and pretty much anything that has been stored for any length of time. There's nothing for it though, things must be done.

Weekend Recap

Happy Monday all. Not much happened over the weekend I'm afraid. We're kind of, mostly, stuck inside due to the Atmospheric River. Of course I wouldn't trade the nonstop rain for the ridiculous snowstorms much of the rest of the country is dealing with. Either way, we're stuck inside, but at least we're not freezing. There was much reading and some cleaning and planning for more cleaning. I did get some knotting time though.

I finished a section of spiral, ten rounds wide. I tend to like round numbers when I work. I'm not sure if that would be in line with traditional creation methods for Armenian lace, but it's one of my go-to design plans. Well that and threes, I love threes. I started the next section with large loops and will likely go to basket stitch from there. I think this one will be one of the larger sized ones so it'll still be some time before I've got it complete.

I do want to take some time to get couple of things remade for the shop and it's also the time of year do get the books done for my shop. It was a pretty dismal sales year, but on the positive side, that means I'll owe fewer taxes. There's also that planned cleaning I mentioned scheduled for this week. So lace or no lace, I'll be pretty busy much of the week I think. So, here's to a productive week ahead.

This and That

Let's see, I finished making the custom order necklace late in the afternoon yesterday. Seriously, adding beads one at a time slows me down so very much. It is however the only way to add beads without having threads across them and that was the design I created, so that's what I did. The burgundy is actually a little more purple than it appears in the photo, but it is done now and I should have it out in the mail today.

I also got an order for a choker yesterday. When I went looking for it, it could not be found. Luckily, it's one I could make in my sleep, so I got right to work on that piece as well. I won't have it in the mail today, but that's why I say I ship in 1-3 days now. It gives me a little cushion to cover my own incompetence. I'm also fairly certain that once I finish the new one and get it out, I'll find the one I have on hand in the wrong box.

Between those two projects I also got a little work done on the doily. I'm working on a nice simple spiral section that I didn't do one any of the other doilies. It'll take awhile before it's really an obvious element, so I'll just keep at it until it is. This weekend we have the holidays to remove from the house and then some early spring cleaning to do, though I'm sure I'll sneak in at least a little knotting time.

Oops

So I just discovered this morning that I hadn't apparently clicked the 'publish' button on yesterday's post. That was weird. I could have sworn that I did. Oh well, can't go back now. I guess that means you get the post I wrote yesterday morning along with today's update. Yesterday was a lot of reading as well, but I also got a custom order in the early afternoon that kept me busy much of the day.

It took me while to remember how I even made this piece. I strung all the beads on the the thread, started tatting and then remembered that each bead was actually added onto the whole picots when they were joined, oops. I started over and as I got it right, I remembered just how much longer it takes to do it that way. Needless to say, I'm not even done with this one necklace yet. I still have about halfway to go on it. I definitely won't be making another of these for the shop not least of all because I just don't have all that many beads on hand anymore.

I should get this finished today after schooling and then I'll get back to the doily project and reading too much. Oh, I think I have some laundry to get done in the middle there too. I've heard tale that the sun should come out for a couple of days before the atmospheric river plunges us back into rain for another week, so I'm looking forward to a little light today as well.

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.

Tired

Whew, another long day full of cleaning and other super fun tasks. I did sit down and do some tatting in the morning. I fear I was too distracted by my silly new Mario game to concentrate on my tatting much though. I figured I was on vacation, right? Despite my distraction, I did manage to finish the necklace as well as one more gift bracelet.

The evening was a lovely visit with friends and their two adorable and super energetic children. Honestly we didn't even stay out that late, but I was exhausted after all the wonderful crazy. That was of course just the beginning of the crazy of the week. We should get the first house guest tomorrow followed by two more on Friday. I'm sure there is more cleaning I have to get up to and there's the family dental appointment this afternoon. I do still have one necklace I should remake, but I may just add it to the 'after the holidays' queue and worry about it then. My hands are plenty busy as it is.

Silly Cat

What a long day I had. It started with assembling a new nightstand for our guest room. I mostly mention that as an explanation for the photograph. The cat assumed that I made this object for him and climbed inside just as soon as there was an inside for him to climb into.

After that project the kids were off with their grandparents for the day, so I had errands to run. Then with an empty house, I had their gifts to wrap. That was followed by cleaning bathrooms, my favorite. I wrapped the free time by watching some Black Mirror and making more gift bracelets.

Late in the evening I got an order in the shop for a couple of necklaces, so I packed those right up and popped them in the mailbox so they'd be out first thing this morning. At least one of them definitely needs to be remade straight away so I'll start with that today. Of course there is still more cleaning and preparing for hosting house guests, so I'm guessing my day will be busy one way or another.

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.

Distracted

Okay, I have a bit of a confession. The day started out with good intentions. I started this new bracelet in a nice light tan thread with brass beads. I was working on it while schooling with the intent to finish it and one more and then get the last three photographed and added to the listing. This was all derailed quite efficiently by the release and my subsequent download of the Super Mario Run game.

I don't know how much time I lost to it, but I had iTunes credit so I bought the whole thing. It's nostalgia factor is high and it's both easy and hard to play. I did eventually put the phone down and finish this bracelet, but I didn't have the time to get onto another one. I had other tasks to get done with the holiday inching ever closer.

Right before I retired for the evening, I got another order in my shop. It's a single necklace, so I have a task to start with today. Hopefully I'll stay away from my phone long enough to accomplish what I meant to do yesterday as well, though there are more holiday tasks and cleaning that need my time today as well. I fear the kids vacation, which starts after schooling today,will be anything but time off for me.

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.