Oh, Weekends

I tried to come up with a phrase to describe the weekend as an opening line to the blog. Trouble is, the weekend was so all over the place, I really have nothing that works in my vocabulary. The German probably have a word for it, but I don't speak German. Of course, that's neither here nor there, I shall just break the weekend down by days instead. Friday was quiet with the kids spending a long afternoon with Grandma. I tatted, watched bad movies on television and got little done. I was working on the reticule since I had no other tasks. The shop is getting really slow so I'm happy to have a large unwieldy project to work on. I figured out the bottom bit and doubled the height, so even after working on it off and on all weekend, I'm still only maybe halfway done.

On Saturday we left the house around 10:30 to go to an early lunch and catch a showing of The Avengers. Yes, it was am awesome movie completely worth waiting in line for. Then to cap off the comic book spectacular we headed down to the comic book shop. It was Free Comic Book Day and not only were some of our lovely friends who we see much less than we would like there, but we also got our copy of the new Dark Crystal Novel doodled in and signed by Alex Sheikman. Of course when I say 'doodled' I really mean a gorgeous sketch done so quickly and expertly it's crazy. I am so jealous of that kind of talent, but I digress again. After that we headed home and rested up a bit, but the day was really over by that point.

Sunday we opted for yard work. After a normal Sunday morning we headed outside to work on plants and then I got the crazy idea to stain the kids play set. The paper wasps have been at it since we put it up a couple of years ago. I only meant to test a bit of it, but then got into the project and kept going. This left me tired, sore...and oh, so very sun burned. Ah, the first sun burn of the year, it there anything else so...um, uncomfortable. The job isn't even done yet. The whole top half that will require a ladder to complete waits for another day and on that day, I will wear sunscreen and a hat.

So what awaits this week? I really don't know. I've fielded a couple of custom inquiries, but haven't heard back, so I'm not holding my breath there. I guess I'll keep working on the bag knowing I probably won't even put it up for sale because the price will have to be way too much for something that appears so simple. Here's hoping for something unexpected and pleasant to occur today and the rest of the week. I need a jolt of unexpected about now.

Winner & Reticule

Know what the hardest part about giveaways is for me? Not increasing the number of winners based on who amused me so much that I really want to give them something. Seriously, read through some of the entry comments and you'll see what I mean. There was 'creepy' Fox and Victats trying to undermine all the other entries and a few others that had me in that quandary. In the end I must, must, must rely on the random number generator to save me from myself. The winner it unemotionally picked was Dreaming Tree Soapworks. If you haven't heard from me yet, you will be later. I really do appreciate all the entries and the kind words contained within them. Some of the best were the ones that admitted that I had some part in them wanting to tat or my loyal customer who actually confess to loving the pieces they already own. That is so incredible to hear, really...thank you!

Now onto what I got up to yesterday. First, I thought I'd show you the box I got yesterday from my friendly UPS man. I'm not going to tell you how many balls of thread are in there, but I bet you guessed it's a lot. When I opened it my oldest looked over with that, 'what did you do?' expression on her face. I needed to replace some colors and thought I'd use the opportunity to get a few new ones as well. I get more custom color requests than you think and the more colors I actually have on hand, the better.

What I really got up to yesterday was finishing the bag prototype. I learned quite a few more things from it too. I knew about halfway through the second element that there were more issues with the design that needed to be addresses, but I was determined to finish it regardless. First off, it's too squat, the side element needs to be longer. Then there's the joining of the bottom and the side where there is too much space that needs to be filled in. I didn't line it yet, but did stuff some muslin in it to see how it might look filled in. Lining is going to be particularly annoying. In fact before I start the next version, I think I'm going to get the liner sorted by estimating the size from the prototype so I don't have to figure it all out in the end.

I added a ribbon to the end there, but I think it might do better with a crochet chain as the tie. Of course that just adds even more creation time to the piece. I think I mentioned embellishments before and I was thinking about some sort of dangle from the bottom of the bag. Probably not a traditional tassel, but definitely something in that family. I don't have any other projects to work on, no orders recently either, so it's likely that I'll start on a final bag. That is unless I get frustrated, then there are still a couple of pieces I have yet to remake. It should be a busy family weekend too with yard work and movie adventures and Free Comic Book Day. Thinking of the weekend really shouldn't tire me out, should it?

Questions

You still have one more day to enter the giveaway by comments on yesterday's post, but today I thought I'd address some of the questions and comments I have already received. First of all thank you for all the lovely compliments of both me and my work. Yes, it managed to mostly cheer me up, though I confess, the malaise is still hanging about. It'll pass soon enough, now onto the comments.

Let's see first my hair, it is currently blue and purple and it has been for quite some time. The inconsistencies in the shades are due to the natural fading of the vegetable dyes I use. When freshly dyed both colors are so dark they seem the same. I was also asked about the bridal veil I made. It was not edged in tatting I'm afraid though. The tatting was the clip or fascinator bit of the design and it was added to a simple birdcage veil. I though that way, the tatting would be more of the focus. You can see it here.

I got a couple of questions about needle tatting too. First, yes, it tends to be faster than shuttle tatting at least in the beginning. I call it an Othello craft after the game from the 90's with the tag line, 'a minute to learn, an a lifetime to master'. I think there's a greater learning curve with the shuttle, but once both crafts are mastered, I imagine one can hardly tell the difference in speed. That being said, speed is relative to the person and the amount of practice. I tat everyday, sometimes for many hours, so I better be fast. On a related note, I was asked if I recommend any books to learn. I only bought one, Learn Needle Tatting Step By Step by Barbara Foster. It was exactly what I needed. After I devoured that, it was just me and the Internet as my teacher. Of course nowadays there are a plethora of online tutorials including my own at Instructables.

One last thing was a recommendation by two different people to tackle a small bag or reticule. Now, let's be honest there are dozens of vintage and antique patterns for those, but where's the challenge in doing what's been done. I was going to do one, changed my mind since there were so many and then changed it back after looking at tons of patterns and not seeing one like I would make. Most of the design are either a rectangle folded upon itself or two motifs sewn together at the sides. What I saw in my mind was a drawstring pouch that was basically a circle drawn up to a gather. I did realize that it might be a little much so I compromised and started making a bit a bowl shape.

A few things are immediately clear about this piece. One, it is going to take some time and the first one is likely going to bother me something fierce with it's inaccurate proportions. Second, if I do get the piece past prototype, lined and ready to sell, it's going to be one pricey little bag because this is a lot of work. Don't worry though, I will at the very least finish the prototype and get it lined so you can see if it works. I even have some ideas for some possibly interesting embellishments for it.

I hope I addressed everything I wanted to, I do have a nasty habit of forgetting to respond to people if I don't do it straight away. So, remember one more day to enter the giveaway in yesterday's comments and the winner will be pulled tomorrow morning. I guess I'll be working on the reticule today unless something else strikes my fancy and this was a rather longer post than I had initially intended, sorry.

Want A Bracelet?

Lately I've been a little out of sorts and I'm not at all sure why that is. Things are generally fine around here. Sales are slow, but not frighteningly so and I'm getting things done both new and old. Could it be that I see the end of the child's school year just ahead and Spring fever is manifesting itself as malaise? Or could it be as simple as allergies and the headaches they bring putting me in this mood? I really have no idea, but I certainly hope it sorts itself sooner rather than later because I don't like it...not one little bit.

So to raise my spirits a bit, I thought I'd have a little giveaway. In order to do my latest Instructable, I had to make another bracelet so I could photograph it at the different stages of construction. The result is that I have an extra Immortal Corsage bracelet lying about. Want it? Well, if you do just leave a comment at the end of this blog post with an opinion. I'd prefer the opinion relate to me or my work, the easiest would be to tell me your favorite piece that I've made, then I would know that you've actually been paying attention, or you could tell me what you'd like to see me try and make, but I digress. Leave said opinion in the comments and I will use a random number generator to pick the winner on Friday morning.

Sure, I have a few more things I could talk about, but I'll leave it here with the giveaway. Don't forget, it you actually want to win, I must have a way to contact you other than a public announcement. Acceptable means are an email address noted on your blogger profile, a twitter handle, an etsy account or just note your email in your comment, otherwise I'll just pull another name. Thanks in advance for playing and hopefully pulling me out of this hole.

Free Pattern: Tatted Lace Corsage Bracelet

I'm not certain why I got it in my head to release a pattern yesterday, but I did. Even before I started schooling for the day i was hard at work making up the sample piece so I could take pictures the entire time. I know I could just publish the pattern, but I really do love the format at Instructables that allows a much more comprehensive approach so that even non-tatters can give it a go. I didn't finish writing it up until well into the afternoon, but it is published now. You can find my newest free pattern here: Tatted Lace Corsage Bracelet. The link has also been added to the sidebar with my other free patterns. The reason I chose to do this one was because a few days ago someone had asked for it in order to make a gift. Of course I didn't have it written up, but I really had no objection regarding this pattern. I suppose I felt it was the perfect excuse to get something new up. Please do let me know if I've made any mistakes or anything.

In other news, I also managed to get both the new Peter Pan collar necklaces listed. In fact I felt rather too productive for the day even though all I did was get photos taken since the camera was out anyway. I was pretty proud that they looked like they were supposed to when worn. Sometimes I'm just not sure I got it right until its really too late to back out. Once all this nonsense was taken care of I even got back to remaking things. I got some supplies in the mail that I needed to remake one piece, so I worked on that. If I hadn't had an allergy induced headache most of the day, I would have been extraordinarily happy, but I did so I was merely pleased.

Today promises to be a much less productive day. We have the last face to face teacher meeting of the year with our homeschooling teacher this morning. They're always pleasant and relatively short, but it throws my precious schedule off a bit. I'll likely use the rest of the day for more remaking and perhaps thinking on my next possible project. No, I have no new ideas, just trying to seed them by putting that out there in the Universe.