TWO SHUTTLES

Hearts doily

2012-01-26T01:41:00.001-08:00

Here is the first motif that makes up the pattern posted online by Craftown. The original picture was so small they shouldn't have bothered putting one up. Although my phone's capacity isn't that great, at least you get a better feel of it. Made with size 20 Mocha Swirl Lizabeth thread. This is a piece that MUST be blocked and starched to maintain form. I tat pretty tightly, and I made sure to bring tension within a fraction of thread snapping, but it still needed blocking. Maybe when I attach more motifs it'll help with the flimsiness/daintiness of the piece. Since the picot gauge stated was for size 30 thread, and I used 20, I didn't bother using one since dimensions will be off. Forgive me the grey of the core thread, my hands were dirty (gasp!) and I thought to wait until the doily was completely finished before giving it a bath. :P

pieces

2012-01-25T14:11:00.000-08:00

When I'm down to a small bit of leftover thread I usually do two things; toss it or make a chain of hearts. This brought up the issue of what to do with them. For now, they'll be joined to another ring just to keep them from popping up and randomly attacking me. ^_^

I know there's more out there lying in wait for me.

That bit left

2012-01-24T23:41:00.001-08:00

I was unloading a shuttle and decided to make more of Ruth Perry's Tea roses.

My favorite so far is the brown one.

Here they are clustered together.

Yes U can, yes I did

2012-01-23T22:45:00.001-08:00

Finished the challenge doily from Intatters.com. All it needs is blocking.

It's under control

2012-01-22T13:52:00.001-08:00

I went in search for a shuttle with a particular color wound on it. What I found was a mess. Instead of heading out and buying yet more containers, I thought to try and make one. I have a jumbo box of Popsicle sticks that I use for mixing. I also have a hot glue gun that I used way back in the days when I made baby memory books. Combining the two gave me a more organized drawer.

I made the slots thinner because I wanted to see what thread was on the shuttle before I picked it up. I tend to get distracted easily. One of the reasons for my many UFO's. I am thinking of finishing this drawer the rest of the way in this same manner. Those smaller containers have yet more shuttles that need taming. Originally, the containers were for holding larger projects 'in progress' and smaller finished motifs. I think it's time to give them over to their original purpose.

My youngest has been sick for a few days. Her brother brought this lovely bug home from school and decided to share. It's easy to say that any crafty moments are during the twilight hours, in which case I'm left zombie- fied. I thought that something that wouldn't require took much thought would be the way to go. Why I thought cross stitching was it confuses me still. I started over three times, but at least this time I'm doing better.

YES U CAN!

2012-01-12T15:44:00.001-08:00

The progress on the original doily. I remember Lace loving Librarian Diane making a comment that the final row was tedious. I have to agree. I think because you are so close to the end that you just want it to be done already. I found a nifty photo lens function for my phone and couldn't resist. Especially since the colors reminded me of sea shells and surf. I just remembered I didn't get the canvas to make my cluny loom. It's alright I'll give it one more try since I've got my anti-imflamatory pills now.

Tomorrow's my little baby's first birthday. I can't believe it's been a year already. Time sure has passed me by quickly.

Vases and spaces

2012-01-10T22:55:00.001-08:00

Today included a trip to Micheals Craft Store where I finally picked up some floral wrap and a styrofoam cone. The vase I got a the dollar store. Even though it looks pretty sad and empty right now, I plan on it not being big enough for all the roses by the time I'm finished. Every day I'll see it and be reminded that it wants friends to play with.

Moving back to this months theme..Iris's doily was eaten up by my daughter. I'm glad the thread is cotton, so it will pass through rather quickly through her system. I was going to start another but didn't because I remembered the Yes U Can doily needed to be finished. I looked everywhere but couldn't find the container it was stored in. Then the memory surfaced of working on it during the Disneyland trip. I still couldn't find it. So I began yet another one. And as fate loves to tease me, Honey handed it to me ten minutes ago saying it was in the baby's bag. Now I have two Yes U Can doilys in the works.

My youngest will be turning one year old this Friday. As much as I would like to throw a party and have the whole family celebrate, I'm not feeling it. I know, it's her day, but I just don't have the motivation to deal with all of it. I suggested we escape out of town (pass holders to Disneyland), and Honey's eyes light up like a Christmas tree. Then he said it wasn't fair for the rest of his family. I was kind of tempted to say "So?". But I can't be selfish like that. Tempting as it is.

Sewing

2012-01-07T23:53:00.001-08:00

I got two beads into it when I made the decision to make another one. This time adding the beads as I tat. I came across a few different trials for the cross but none were to my liking. Simple and clean. I am trying to sketch out another cross idea. Perhaps this one will work. As far as the rosary as it stands..it can go into my bits tin. My youngest seems to enjoy playing with it, so I can always use it as a distraction tool. I've already received requests for both the pattern and to make a few by others. I don't mind sharing the pattern, but I do have to iron out the details before it can be posted. It most likely be graphed, since long hand tends to play tricks with my mind.

Let's get some knowledge!

2012-01-05T22:29:00.001-08:00

My son starts his first day of school tomorrow. Pre-kindergarten, because he falls into the next school year which they base off birthdays. And miraclously, he went to bed on his own, no resistance at all. It's only a half day but I know the social exposure to other children will help him out alot.

For my next doily I went way back and pulled out Iris's TIAS doily. I used size 80 thread. Lizabeth color Redburst, and Coats & Clarks Periwinkle. I saw fire and ice. I haven't given up on the cluny rose, but I did have to set it aside for now. Creating the loom is too much for my left hand to manage. Until I can take another trip to pick up a plastic canvase star, it's being shelved.
Back to the doily, I finished the first set and have 3 more to go. The colors are kind of off, sinve it is indoor nightime when I snapped it.

Rose 3

2012-01-04T00:44:00.001-08:00

Oops, here's the third rose. I don't know why I forgot to post it. It's Kim's Forever Roses, but just the first group making a rose bud not the full flower. And I also need to make the calyax for it. I think I should invest in a styrofoam cone to start placing these as they are made before they get lost or given away. I used size 20 Lizabeth Dark Plum thread and a hat pin rather than floral wire. It was eadier to use the curved tip to gather and hold the petals by the bottom picots this way.

Cluny roses and headache doilys

2012-01-04T00:30:00.001-08:00

I restarted several doilys from different magazines because they were confusing me. It's not that I didn't understand the instructions, more like my fingers didn't obey my brain. So I'm taking a break and starting another rose for my memorial bouquet.

I saw these beautiful roses on the online tatting class and had to try it out. Now clunys and Josephene rings are my arch nemesis'. Still I had to at least try. One good thing is they wrap around one another so at least the uneveness of the petals isn't as obvious. I did have to youtube how to weave the loom, and thankfully I speak spanish so that's one hurdle conquered. If I can figure out how to link stuff from my HTC phone, I'd have clickies to help navigate. For now you'll just have to settle for google and names. The pattern belongs to Carmin (sorry that's all I got) over at the Online Tatting Class. You'll find it in the summer special of 2011. I believe July is the month you'll need to go to.

I think that's how I'll tat...doily,rose,doily,ect.... Happy tatting! I would say Tuesday but I have no clue as to the day of the week. *_^

A new year begins

2012-01-01T23:19:00.003-08:00

Happy new years everyone! My year started with lingering pain from my surgery, but it's not as bad as it may seem. Since I'm not allowed to do anything but take it easy, harder to do than you'd think, out comes my shuttle therapy!
This month will be doily month. I hope by theme-ing my tatting time, I'd be more productive. Every month my subjects will change which will help to beat back my flakeness and boredom. So let us begin with the first doily. The pattern is from Teri Dusenbury and is called Daisy Octogen doily.

Rosary moving

2011-12-30T01:31:00.001-08:00

The progress on the rosary is coming along fantastic. I'm really proud of it. All that is left is designing a cross incorporating the flowers and butterflies together. Then the final touches of hiding ends and sewing in a center bead on all the blossoms. I didn't add them in because I was afraid of it being overkill. Now I'm glad because it allows me to place the beads down first and see if it will turn out right. Although I've used glass beads up to this point, I'm trying to find beads with a lighter weight to them..here it comes, plastic. I may end up with glass because of the tactile feel and right now crystal is out of my budget.

Wishes

2011-12-24T18:34:00.001-08:00

I want to wish all of you a happy holiday weekend. I was up all last night putting the finishing touches on some oraments for my coworkers, so busy I forgot to take a picture.
I was also hoping to have my mother-in-law's rosary done. The little kitty decidead that the tatting was interesting and took off with it. After starting over I knew it wasn't going to be done in time. At least I can tease you with the works in progress.

Snow

2011-12-21T14:34:00.001-08:00

This past week has been busy. From my surgery (all went good) and all the planning it entailed, to sibling rivalries and boundaries, holiday planning, and helping a brother move. Phew, I'm tired. I did manage to get some tatting done, if not rest. Snowflakes galore!

Melted snowflakes

2011-12-12T21:51:00.001-08:00

I was trying to layer some snowflakes with Piney Woods's celtic base but some curious minds got involved. This was as far as I got before she chewed through my thread. I think it was the sound of the bell that peaked her interest. I let her have it. Perhaps the color grouping wasn't the best of choices but it cheered me up.

I couldnt wait for Santa

2011-12-10T10:14:00.000-08:00

I noticed the picture from Piney Woods didn't show up. Here it is! Normally I wouldn't do this, but........ I went and ordered a nice craft load that would be my Honey's Christmas gift to me. First off, ALL the neat toys are online and Honey isn't Paypal savey. Second, it's all the same to him, he wouldn't know what to get. At first he shook his head but then agreed he had no clue as far as crafts go. ^_^ So when the packages started arriving, temptation was too much. When I saw these thread holders I was thinking, "Would I ever really use it?" After the latest thread/baby disaster I decided to give in. Oh my goodness, it is the best! No more untangling. I was trying to pick up only a few balls, ironically one of the colors I was on the fence about, was the free ball that came with the holder! And of course I had to pick up a pair of the Starlight shuttles. They hold alot of thread, a little over half a ball of size 20. Wow 0.0 I saw this on etsy, then I found the artist's blogger. My interest was peeked because it comes apart. How neat is that?! By the way her name is Anika. These hair sticks are going to be embellished with tatting. Hopefully now that I've upgraded my cellphone I can update more easily and faster. At least until I get my final gift this season. *wink,wink*

Thread giveaway

2011-12-05T00:26:00.000-08:00

Tatting corner along with Tatted Treasures are having a Lizabeth thread giveaway! Go on over and check it out. Edit:fixed the broken link. Thank you Bree for notifying me ^_^

2011-12-01T20:04:00.000-08:00

Another week spent testing my stamina with the kiddies. I did manage to sneak in a little bit of tatting. This is a needle tatting motif from Rachel at The Piney Woods Tatter. I just finger tatted it. I went to pick up some tiny bells from Micheals to have them jingle. My Honey has an android phone and I noticed that you can get mobile coupons from this store on it. Well I ended up with a 50% off coupon that I used to get this. It's made from Clover and I thought it would be perfect for when I tat with size 80 thread. It has to be the tiniest crochet hook ever! Normally I use a needle threader for joining, now I won't have to. I also managed to finish Frivole's snowflake even with baby interference. It was also during this time that I decided to go ahead with my surgeries. I was postponing them in consideration for my work, but after receiving my latest scheduled allotment, I saw no reason to continue in this. Now to finish up my little gingerbread house and begin the third rose

Lazy days and 3Ts

2011-11-29T13:19:00.000-08:00

Phew! This was one long weekend. I'm grateful for the time I did get since I seemed to have pissed off the wrong people. My political skills at work are very rusty, not having had to deal with such things much this year. As a direct result, I'm not getting much work. Mixed blessings there, since now I have time for my kids and crafts. Like this video I made of Ruth Perry's Tea Rose. My little Katalina snatched it right up as soon as I took that last frame. Those are her little fingers coming into focus. I made it for fellow Facebook tatters which led me to another Tea blossom at Paradise Treasures. I currently have 2 rose buds completed. Oh but wait! Frivole has a new snowflake pattern I want to try out. Let's see if Honey will be a dear and make me some Cinnamon tea...

Giving thanks

2011-11-24T13:56:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. We are at my gmom~in~laws getting ready to eat some really yummy food..mmmm

Tea roses for Tuesday er Wednsday

2011-11-23T13:24:00.000-08:00

Thank you everyone for your kind thoughts and prayers for the passing of my grandmother. Sometimes all you need is to hear someone else say, " I understand.", to heal. The rose bud was from Ruth Perry and can be found here, the Tat Calendar. It's the tea rose. I didn't think of her because, well quite frankly, when I hear her name I think celtic. Like this lovely Stargazer Lily. Now I'm off to work on rose #2, this one being Kim's Forever Roses. I'll most likely make the majority in this style with different colors.

The first rose

2011-11-22T20:52:00.000-08:00

This is a simple ring and chain pattern I had a diagram of. I don't have the designer info so if you recognize it,please let me know. I used Lizabeth size 40 in Coral and leafy greens, to make the rose bud. I'm sure everyone recognizes Anne's Dragon by now. Thread used is Crimson greys by Yarnplayer in size 80. I was beginning a spinner table mat by Jan but only got this far before I realized I wouldn't have enough thread to do a full mat. Now I have an ornament for my tree. It surprised me how big it turned out with the size 80.And finally we have the progress of the gingerbread house. I'm using Lizabeth 40 Rootbeer float. I'll have to search for the original printout, but I believe it's from the Online Tatting Class.

Rememberance

2011-11-22T12:28:00.000-08:00

Yesterday in the very early hours of the morning, we recieved an international call, my grandmother passed away. She lived to a full age of 94. Now why I am sadden by the news I'm also relieved she's at rest. Last year she stayed with us for a few weeks. Her mind had already begun it's decline, confusing or forgetting things and people. In a moment of clarity, she told she wanted to return to Mexico so she can rest next to her parents and siblings. She said she was happy with the life she lived and was ready and waiting to move on. My mother and brother visited her earlier this year, and we knew she was ready to go. While she wasn't very crafty, she did love her roses. There isn't a single memory I have of her without her roses. So, while I can't travel to be at her funeral and mass, I can pay homage by making a bouquet of 94 roses.

Unexpected time

2011-11-19T16:18:00.000-08:00

I've been given alot of short or whole days off recently. I've wasted that time doing a bunch of nothing. So allow me to entertain you with pictures ... This motif was resin encased to be a hanging ornament. Here is the second attempt with a magnolia. I suppose I should just stay away from white thread for these projects. Below are random pictures of the kiddies. My teenager doesn't like me to take her picture anymore.

2011-11-15T21:41:00.001-08:00

Happy Tatting tea tuesday! I enjoyed a few cups of cinnamon tea and gave the Yes U Can doily from Intatters, another try. On the last one I attempted I noticed the rings with bare thread looked like sea foam. Loaded up a pair of SewMates with size 30 white and blue hand dyed thread by me. I only had one EZbob left with this thread and was hoping it will last. So far so good, the shuttle is still half full and now I'm on the final round! Even though I had to cut off a bit on this last round, I still found the previous round of medallions more tedious. It did take me a few trys to realize how to work the final round and after restarting now I'm wondering why it wasn't so clear the first time. It's so obvious to me in retrospect. I plan to graph my version of it out later on. I still have to hide all those ends. I left them for last because I was afraid that this would turn into a UFO otherwise. I lost my 2 smallest crochet hooks that I use for joins so I'm going to have to make a stop at Micheals craft store later this week. I WAS supposed to have surgery tomorrow but got the rescheduling call early this morning. I'm thinking of putting it off until the holiday season ends because I will be off my feet 6~8 weeks for recovery. Now is not the time to take time off in the retail world. I still am left with the rest of the week off so I need things to fill in the time. Hmmmmmm, whatever shall I do...*laughing*

2011-11-12T19:20:00.001-08:00

I killed my laptop. I had left my soda next to my computer, stepped away for a bit then knocked my soda onto it. I'm hoping to replace it on Black Friday. Now my phone is acting up. I'm just not safe around electronics right now. Turning back to my shuttles again. They have been sadly neglected with life's shinanigans. I did manage to print out some christmas patterns a few weeks ago so I have that and a few tatting books to work off of. First off is a motif that can be a snowflake but is actually the main motif to a table mat by Jan Stawasz. Then I made a couple of magnolias from be-stitched.com.Those are to resin encased. The first trials didnt pan out they way I hoped. Lastly we have the start of a gingerbread house ornament. I dont have the designer info next to me right now, my apologies for that.

Birthday at Disneyland

2011-10-22T11:28:00.000-07:00

The family and I had a blast. I couldn't wait for Monday to get here, then when it did, time went way too fast. We did one day at California Adventure then spent the second day at Disneyland Trick-o-treating. We got so much candy! We had to buy a second bag to hold it all and even that started ripping at the seams with the weight of it all. We are definitely going again next year.Afterwards we both had to spend a day recuperating from all the fun. Now with my battery cells recharged, I can get crafty! Or at least get semi-crafty, the youngest likes snagging my shuttles and even twists her wrist to mimic me. I have to catch her on video doing it, it's too cute.

2011-10-16T11:39:00.000-07:00

They didn't quite come out. Learning moment here. Getting the next batch ready for encasing.

One day to lift off

2011-10-15T23:27:00.000-07:00

Today was spent visiting my Grandparents-in-law. Turns out the tatted edging I was making for G.G. was not the correct one. I was so embarrassed. She just laughed it off and pointed me back into the direction she really wanted. I was also embarrassed and more than a little peeved at Honey because turns out he forgot to send out the packages I asked to have done. I went back and sent two of them myself on Friday but Sharon, I'm adding some more to yours since you have waited so patiently for it. That however is still in the works and needs a few more days to complete. The little envelope is turning to a small box..*laughing* But here's a sneak preview: I was working on the Yes-U-Can doily but lost serious interest after doing two rings. It's the bare thread, it's hurting my tatting mojo. I do enjoy seeing how 3L is doing chains on hers. Sorry I shortened the name because I'm updating via mobile. There was also a beautiful colored one being done by Wanda. Maybe what I need is a change of color. Oh like the new one I recently acquired. No matter, it will have to wait until later this week. Tomorrow is the last minute packing and such for our Disney Halloween/birthday trip and I still need to find red fairy wings in my size and pick up some duct tape for Honey's Zombie costume, he was supposed to be Luigi from Mario Brothers to match our son since I'm matching the baby. Hence, his forgetfulness, he was distracted.

Self evaluations

2011-10-11T21:55:00.001-07:00

I learned a valuable lesson today. The Magic Thread trick does not work for me.

See that ugly loose ring? That is the result of the trick using Pearl 12 thread. I’m going to have to cut that ring area completely off.I used floss threaders for the Magic Trick. That’s too much sloppiness for me to leave. I don’t mean to sound conceited but when you are used to judging your own tatting you soon find a scale you will rate what is acceptable and what goes in the scrap bag. Which is where I pulled this from by the way. I’m looking for remnants to make little tatted baubles with. I have some mold making putty and am having a blast playing with it. I also have some of Heather’s Hummingbirds and Gina’s Hearts plus I’m making a couple dozen random motifs from some old time tatting magazines.

I also went into my local Micheals with the intention of picking up some dye. As I browsed the isle I decided that I wasn’t really feeling the whole thread dyeing vibe so I went in search on other things to use a 40% off coupon on. After much wandering about the store I settled on this:

It’s a lot of beads for not a lot of money. Funny thing is that I got a 50% off coupon when I was done paying for this. Now I think I can justify getting that storage caddy I was eyeballing. As long as they don’t put it on sale next week that is! *giggles* When I got home I had a lovely little package waiting for me.

Yarnplayer has this gorgeous grey to red/fuchsia necklace as her avatar. She finally made a batch of thread using those colors. I had to snag at least one skein of it. I wish I could have picked up more but it seems like I keep buying supplies and not actually using them. I have to justify mentally my purchases. With my three packages safely on their way to their new homes, I find I need something to get my shuttles singing again. Then again there really isn’t much of a hurry since I do have time off starting the day after tomorrow. I suppose I’ll go work on the Yes-You-Can doily for a bit. I’m not too happy when working with thread spaces instead of chains but in keeping with the final design I’ll keep on with it.

2011-10-10T15:07:00.000-07:00

I have vacation starting this Thursday. Until the end of the month! The first week will be spent celebrating my birthday, then I was promised at least 3 days of un-interrupted tat time. I can hardley wait. We are going to be down south for that week so I'm prepairing for downtime by printing out a few patterns I want to make. I also have two more motifs to finish to send off to make my Tatted Shuttles, I have 3 in the works. No tatting to show for now, but I will next week! ^_^

Thread Winners!

2011-10-07T20:22:00.000-07:00

I went to random number generator and hit that button 10 times for the first winner. Congratulations SUSIE! Then hit it 17 times for the second.. Congratulations NEENERAL! Now if you would be both kind enough to send me an address to send the thread.There should be an email contact info thing in my profile..^_^ I hit those buttons those numbers of times because they are my birthday! Yippee! I haven't measured the thread since I just got off work but I wanted to make sure I had my winers so I'd be sure to send the packages out. Speaking of my winners...Sharon your's will also be on it's way. I've added the final touches so it's good to go!

Nightmare

2011-10-06T00:27:00.000-07:00

This is one of the hardest threads for me to work with. It slides smoothly, when I can get it to slide. The problem? It's so incredibly thin I need tweezers to close my rings. I didn't have any on hand, so now I have no thumbnail, er, not much left over. I applaud anyone who has the courage to tat with superfine thread. The spool gives me plenty of thread to work with. I just hope I don't pull my hair out in the process. That small bit took a hour to do. I was afraid of snapping my thread so I gently pulled and tugged until I got those rings to close. It was easier to close a split ring than a regular ring.

The only reason I was trying this out was to make a small enough motif to fit one of the molds for my next resin project. Unfortunately that is gonna be a no go.

A small tickle

2011-10-03T20:04:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling the maple leaf bug too! I actually purchased this pattern last week but just found time to make it. I agree with others that it is super fun and easy to do. Yarnplayer is the wonderful designer and I used Lizabeth color 138 on it. You remember the greens I was dissapointed with? Well they do make lovely leaves. I like this one so much it's going into my resin bag..meaning I'll make it into a pendant or keyfob. I also have another cross I'll be finishing up. I'm not really feeling the thread though. It's the electric blue Atlin Basak. I think I'll pass the remains of this foward to you wonderful people in Tatland once I finish the cross.Yay, a thread giveaway! Granted only a small one but I know I will not use this again. Pretty sure I only used a small portion of the ball so to be fair, I'll measure and split the rest in two so that way more than one can win. Just leave a comment, and I'll split and send this on Friday.

A new mental challenge

2011-09-29T21:40:00.000-07:00

Here's 10 days of abuse on my resin pendant. I think it's holding up well, all things considered. I also decided to join the Yes U Can challenge over at Intatters. I seem to fall into a tatting funk when I put in full time at work, and lately my body has definately been protesting. This is as far as I got last night before I went to bed. I didn't realize until I took the picture that I was using the wrong shuttle on the next round. It's okay, not too noticeable I think. I'm working with size 12 pearl dyed by Yarnplayer on it. I'm also split ring/chain climbing from row to row because everyone knows I so do not like hiding ends. Tomorrow, I both look foward and dread tomorrow. It's my day off but I have to run errands all day. Work has been very physically taxing on me this past week, but I do love what I do.

Magic Glos Pendants

2011-09-19T18:59:00.001-07:00

I finished the first pendant and wire wrapped it. The one on the left shows the front side. And the right is the back side. It is flat on the back with more of the glitter showing than the rounded front side which shows the tatting more.

Just a quickie

2011-09-18T20:35:00.000-07:00

Just a quick stop in to say I have made another blogger for all the different resin projects I'll have going on. Why bother with another blogger? Well, I was thinking that I'd used other stuff besides tatting , so I didn't want to bog this one down too much with off topic things. I'll post pictures of finished projects that DO have tatting in them, but I won't go into too much detail here. Usually I'll update both on the same day so if you see a picture you'd like to know more about, you can head over and read the story there. No more new bloggers, 3 is my limit, my mind will forget and I doubt I have more time for any other crafts. Here's progress on the dragon. It is being made with wire as the core. I didn't want to bother with having to stiffen later on down the road. Using the wire, has made it more time consuming though. Ignore my hair there in the picture. The great thing of it being wired is that I can adjust to whatever position I may need it to be in. I have the other elements in mind, but I am still undecisive if I will go with a smaller thread for it or use size 10 to finish it off. Using the ten will make the work go faster, but if I use say, size 20, the dragon would stand out more because of its size. The only options for other colors in 10 are black, white, or pink so that may impact the final outcome as well.

Okay now...

2011-09-17T18:17:00.000-07:00

My little mold tray arrived today. So I made a mess with it. I didn't realize that I needed measuring cups for the EasyCast, glad I read the instructions first, so I left that for Monday. I basically get 2 days off in a row twice next week so I have time to play. It's official: I am not safe to be around glitter. No more adding glitter to my projects, hence the mess part. I wasted half a new bottle of the UV resin because of it. I'm currently working on only 2 pendants and assuming they come out right, I will be doing a giveaway with one or maybe both. Again depending on how they turn out. I worked out how to drill a small hole to add a jump ring. I'm also working on making a small mask for myself using some size 10 burgundy thread I found. Here's the teaser: I'm using Anne's Dragon..hehehe On a side note: I noticed that there are some random text highlighted and underlined. These little links lead to spam-ish ads. They are not my legit links to people so please don't be tempted to click them. I only link to other designer's/bloggers or to the shop I go to on Ebay(and ebay is rare). I'm trying to find a way to remove them, since they do annoy me to no small extent and if I wanted ads on my page, I would add them myself.

2011-09-16T20:15:00.000-07:00

I had hoped to be able to dazzle everyone with the newest resin projects.However, I'm seriously disappointed to have to say nope, nothing new. The reason is my molds have not arrived. I ordered them literally a week ago, and this is the first time it has taken so long for a package to arrive. Especially when you stop to consider the place of origin is only 130 miles away. I'm tempted to contact the seller and see if they have a physical store to do a pick up. Even packages coming from the other side of the country makes my doorstep within 5 days. *sigh* I suppose a bit more patience is in order here. The overnighters at work are done for now. We have another one awaiting approval to set up for the Christmas season. My body and mind are exhausted but I'm sure next week's paycheck will make up for it. Extra spending cash to indulge in my tatting addiction. *laughing* They were kind enough to give me the rest of this day as well as tomorrow off to recover. No way I'd get Sunday off, I'm bilingual and my people come out to spend that happy green. I'm trying to negotiate having my hours for next week condensed ( 3~ 8 hour shifts vs. 5~6 hour shifts) so I can have time for my crafty projects. Of course I'm not gonna tell them that, they may not be so gracious. So for now, I'll see how everyone else fares in Tatland.

You did WHAT?

2011-09-13T14:44:00.000-07:00

I just couldn't help myself. I did have a 50% off coupon, that's the only reason why I gave in I suppose. I purchased a small box of the EasyCast 2 step epoxy, and I order a small multi-shaped mold. So now I can do a comparison on the two types of resin. But that project will have to wait a week or two. I'm working some over nighters this week and it's creating havoc with my internal clock. If I wasn't being compensated so well for those crazy hours I would have never agreed to do them. Can you say extra tatting supplies? Well my mind can! I most likely won't update again until this weekend, since that is when I will get a day to myself again.

Sneak peeks

2011-09-10T20:07:00.000-07:00

Here's a sneak peek at the final resin project for now. I've used up half the bottle so far. The hanging hearts are Gina Butlers and are dipped in the resin to see how it holds up as an ornament stiffener. The Ezbob has been adapted to a mold. I wanted something with an opening for an edging. A sort of micro bracelet or large circular pendant. That little bat(all I have on the designers name is Abby) in the background was for me to use as a pin on my lanyard at work, hence the little pin in the picture. I got carried away with the glitter again, it seems I'm just not safe around that stuff.

Resin Tatting take 2

2011-09-08T18:32:00.000-07:00

What's up with blogger? It is being very uncooperative lately. I took a trip to Joann's Fabric to pick up those mold trays and another bottle of the UV resin (just in case I get carried away), only to find out they no longer carry it in store. It is available online, but to make room for *cough* fabric *cough* they've done away with the whole section where this would have been found. Only mildly disappointing since Micheal's Craft Store is literally on the next block so I went there. They in turn had a section of Lisa Pavelka paraphernalia except the molding trays. The resin cost the same as what I paid on ebay if you take into account the shipping costs, so now I at least have a local connection for this resin. I also found the Easy Cast 2part epoxy there so if I ever feel like mixing or going harder, I have options. I did pick up a cool looking faceted pendant package thinking it was a mold, but nope, it was the actual pendants. Oh well another trip back to Micheal's tomorrow, I go. One of the workers there suggested I try a bead shop for my molds, but I think I'll just go online and buy them. I'll have fun making molds out of stuff around the house for now. Like for this little puppy, I'm using a bead cap to make the pendant. I wanted to get frisky a bit and added some glitter. Maybe I should have used less as the tatting is getting lost in the party. The pattern is Sherry Pence's aka Lady Shuttle Maker and the thread is some size 30 I dyed earlier this year, or maybe it was last year...(mind trailing away) I would have poured it into the bottom only that the inner ring would have left the tatting smushed. Honey likes this one so it's going to be turned into a key fob for him. He claims to know what happened to my Dremel tool, some sad and suspicious story connected to his brother and his weird hobbies. EDIT: Oops almost forgot, some of you had questions. Kathy, yes it is a one step resin. It comes already premixed in the bottle. StringyDogs, Love the name it makes me giggle just saying it, um, it did dry to hard plastic feel. Now it was a little gel-ish in the center, that was because it wasn't completely done curing. I left it exposed to sunlight for another hour (I forgot it was outside) and when I went to touch it, it was solid and hard. On the back I used sand paper to scratch it up. I'm not sure how resistant to day to day wear it is. I'll take it out for a week in the real world and see how it holds up. Thank you for all the thoughtful words. It's always nice to know I'm not talking to myself here. *laughing*

Tatting and Resin

2011-09-07T13:45:00.000-07:00

As I type the final curing of the resin is taking place. But here's how it began. Please note that on most of the pictures you can click to see a larger version of it for detail. For the UV resin I used Lisa Pavelka's Magic Glos. You can find it online and I found out my local JoAnn's fabrics carries it as well. I purchased the 1 ounce bottle which depending on where you find it will run between $8 to $12 USD. I went through my scrap bag of tatting pieces and pulled out a simple one to use. For this, it's the inner motif to Frivole's Quatrain pattern. It was tatted using Yarnplayer's Celery thread size 80. I also incorporated some random seed beads that I thought would enhance the piece. I did not have any regular molds to use. I just emptied out a section of one of my bead holders and used that as a template to start this. I did allow it to cure long enough to be able to pull the base out but it did have some texture transfer from the plastic casing. The amount used in layering varied because, well frankly, I don't know what I'm doing. Trial and error at work here. This is the second layer where I placed the actual tatting in it. You can see where the texture transfer over in the bottom right hand corner. This will be fixed later on. Now I was not working on a level work surface so one side became fully coated while the other only partially. I wanted to include the side views so you can see how thin the layers of resin are as they cure. I let in sit in full sunlight for roughly 5 minutes between layering. One thing I want to point out, light colors do not do well with this. The tend to go clear as well. In the thread there is a section where the light green is almost white. As you can see below, the pale green went completely transparent as well and the core thread, which just happens to be darker, shows through. That is not a bare thread. The double stitches can barely be made out. This is where I added a few beads. I should have made sure they were all the same size to reduce the layers I would have to add later. That glittering effect is still the texture transfer from the bead box. One other thing is that I did not catch all the air bubbles. I did get alot of them, but I think that it was completely my fault. After I was done squeezing the bottle I let some air be sucked back in. Naturally when you squeeze again that air is going to come out as well. I simply pushed the bubbles to the side and popped them there in future layers. You can see where it is thicker on the bottom than the top. This is what happens when you don't have a level work surface! But this little problem was self correcting in the next step. I flipped it over and wanted to take care of the texturing from before. I only added a small bit of the liquid and it spread it self out. Self leveling and filling in the grooves. I liked that part of it. I only had a few bubbles this time, as I learned to not squeeze so hard on the bottle by now. I did have to go and push some of the liquid out to the sides to make sure the thinner section received the majority of it to level it out a little bit. The above shot was taken indoors out of the sunlight so you can better see the transparency effect this gloss has on lighter threads. At layer 7 it looks like ice melting a bit doesn't it? Now the website from the manufacturer stated that this can be drilled, sanded, baked, and so on. I'm going to put that to the test. I'm going to first sand the sides off to give it a bit of a smoother finish with some 100 grit sandpaper. Then I will go back and depended on the final shape I get, drill a small hole into it so I can add a jump ring. I could have probably added the ring in layer 4 or 5, but I wasn't thinking that far ahead at the time. I really wish I could have found my rotatory tool (Dremel) because hand sanding sucks for me. I went ahead and scratched the back surface to give a contrast. The small green beads did not show up too well. Total time making this: 3 hours including sanding time. I'm not going to attempt to drill a hole until I can locate my dremel tool. In case you are wondering, yes it does dry to a hard plastic. The center was a bit gel-ly feeling but that it turns out is because previous layers still had a bit of curing to do. No problem, I just left it exposed to sunlight longer, and it turned hard pretty quickly.

Blah, blah, blah, says the cat

2011-09-06T21:14:00.000-07:00

Today was a semi-productive day. I spent the day assembling some of the exercise equipment we sell at work. I grossly overestimated the strength my body has now. Last year I could push out a treadmill in 30 minutes flat. Now, thanks to back issues and whatnot, it took me four hours, between customers of course. Funny thing is my body's muscle memory was tricking my mind into believe it could still work like it used to. And my mind was starting to buy into that hype, until I had to flip that treadmill to it's side...*sigh* I had to take a breather. Still it felt so good to be working with my hands rather than my mouth. I suppose I'm getting burned out on being a salesperson and just want to be one of the grunts in the back. Tatting, well, I added a few rings to a cross pattern I picked up online. More on that tomorrow. I also recieved in the mail today, the UV resin. I was so incredibly tempted to try it out. So I did a quick whatever sample. It did not come out well since the sun had already begun to set and I do not own a UV lamp. I need to go and pick up some molds from my local craft store. So tomorrow that will be on what to do plate, along with the first true samples of the tatting pendants..are you excited? I am!

2011-09-02T23:49:00.000-07:00

It's close to midnight and I cannot sleep. I pass the time blog-hopping and doing random searches. Now a few weeks back I mentioned the tatting begin encased in resin. Well, I thought to expand on that idea so I went in search of tutorials of how to go about doing it. They all pretty much say the same thing, follow the manufacturer's directions on use. There was one site that was a craft forum that was a bit more descriptive. The issue I'm having is the mixing. I wanted something easy to do even when my mind was being scatterbrained. Then I found UV curing resin. There was basically only 2 different manufacturers of it so I went in comparing prices. OUCH! It can be very pricey. Finding some of the UV resin on my trusty and much used friend, Ebay, I went ahead and purchased a bottle. It should arrive by Wednesday of this coming week. Then I went to the manufacturer website and watched the tutorials she had listed. This one describes exactly what I want to do. Now I don't know how well this will hold up, not as long as using a 2 step epoxy, I would imagine. However it is a bit more cost efficient to at least try out. Can you imagine a keychain made with tatting similar to that pendant? This is a forum that shows how one person encased and wire wrapped their tatting. Another forum that shows a simple 10 step process of encasing some tatted butterflies. Now I can get molds to make this with here locally, so I didn't order those. Then my brain starting thinking, what if I wanted to make something larger than those average molds would hold? Simple solution, buy a bigger mold. Or rather make one with clay. I have some air-dry clay that I purchased for my son to make little monsters with, so why not make some molds with the left overs? I would have to remember to apply mold release to them before I thought of using them though, it's like adding Span to the pan before you bake that cake! Well, we'll see what tomorrow brings, seeing how it's Saturday and I for once, have to day off unrequested.

Optical illusions

2011-08-30T02:37:00.000-07:00

I noticed this pattern in the central mat from Jan. I don't know why I didn't see it before, but when I was redoing the blogger layout, it popped out at me. I couldn't sleep until I tatted it. I wonder how many other patterns have these hidden motifs in them. It kind of reminds me of those visual illusions, like if you stand further away you see something completely different than when you were standing closer. Either way, good night out there in Tatland.

Little bit of this, little bit of that

2011-08-29T12:57:00.000-07:00

I admit it, I've been blog hopping all day today. I click on one person's blogger, then open up any new links to other bloggers I'm not already following, and repeat the same process again and again. It's how I find new tatting blogs.One of the projects was finishing up Jan's Doily. This is from Robotki magazine. There are alot of his patterns printed with this magazine company. As you can probably make out, the white is too bright. It makes the grey look, well, dirty. So it looks like when this is finished, it's going to get a dye job, something dark and mysterious. Other than that, I haven't tatted anything. I've looked at my wonderful stash and I planned to do something with it, but honestly I don't have much time. Why? This little fellow is so demanding of mommy's time, he doesn't want to play with daddy no more. My grandmother-in-law stopped by and had the kids make my Mother-in-law a shirt with the kids hand and feet prints on it. Here's Katalina wondering what's going on. She just woke up from her nap so please excuse her out of control hair.I think I'll change my blogger background. Tomorrow can be for tatting.

Not a thousand words but...

2011-08-25T15:06:00.000-07:00

It seems that last round on the hanky will not be completed afterall. I went back and counted the spacing of the chains to make sure it will lay correctly and realized I needed two more chained sections on one side to make the corners work. Still, with just the two rows it looks good so I'm going to clip of the start of the third and call it a day with the hanky. Honey is busy steam cleaning the carpets, and the kids and I are ' supervising' on the other side. This is my 'tatting' time but the kids followed me and I think Honey just wanted to be where we are at and keep busy. I have only two projects on my to-do-list and I think I'll finish those. I didn't get my entry for the fair in on time so I have the entire year to work on the pinata. It does make me wonder if this year will be another 'quilt' year or if the other two tatters will enter again this year. No pictures today but seeing the progress Michelle has made using Frivole's Quatrain pattern is giving me an inclining to make a tablecloth for my table now. It's just a little mental itch, I most likely not do it since there are so many individual motifs to make to cover my table.

2011-08-24T18:20:00.001-07:00

Starting the final row I decided that it too should be done in sections. Especially since I wanted the rings to be color and the chaining portions white. It wasn't until I began that I realized another way of working the pattern in a less confusing manner. The only catch is that the center corner ring will have to be white. I can live with that.

In control again

2011-08-22T15:57:00.000-07:00

All is well again in my little bit of the world. Thank you everyone for your wonderfully kind thoughts and prayers on our behalf. My packages arrived the same day as the unfortunate events did. As you can see I already began using the newest supplies. I got Rootbeer Float, Coral, and Leafy Greens in size 40 Lizabeth thread. Although, I do feel it a bit disappointing with the shades of green on Leafy greens, but maybe I may change my mind when I actually tat with it. I also got Red Burst in size 80 and this ball of thread, I LOVE! I've just about used it up tatting up small crosses and butterflies that I gave away. Gorgeous colorplay on it. The book speaks for itself, and I did already have this book, my mind wasn't playing with me afterall. I had loaned it out to one of the girls I was teaching tatting to and forgot about it until she saw me with this new copy. *laughing* I also recieved another 5 card of Sew Mates shuttles off ebay. I've been watching for when they pop up since this is the only way I have to get them. I haven't nurtured them but I will soon, the points are too sharp for my preferences.I did get a couple of projects completed these past two weeks. First one is the small cross from Mary's book. I actually did half a dozen of them but I only kept the first one for myself. A simple straight foward pattern I can space out to. I placed it in plastic name badge holder. I don't know why I it never occurred to me that is a good way of storing smaller pieces. I had begun to decorate a scrapbook that was supposed to be for my tatting pieces, and now I have a wonderful way to add the actually tatting to the book without damaging it. Maybe this will be incentive enough to keep the wheels rolling on that project. I finished the first of three rows on the hanky! This was extremely tedious work and I'm happy it's done. Next time I will tat then attach later. I like the way it looks as it is but I must finish the pattern. I don't want to wonder "What would it have looked like if I did it all?" One side is longer than the other and I think it's the tension that caused this. It did work out to the same amount of groups on the two opposite sides so I think the pattern can still be worked.I found this flat shuttle while searching for the next balls of thread for the hanky. It was part of my Secret Santa exchange from Intatters this past year. I always wanted to try making a shrinky-dink one but was intimidated because it required oven use. I'm not safe in the kitchen so I stayed away from anything that required flame or heat to prepare. Microwavable stuff doesn't count. Thank You Honey for being a wonderful cook, we'd starve if we relied on my cooking skills to keep us alive.

going awol

2011-08-12T22:37:00.000-07:00

Sorry my friends in tatland but we had a family emergency and I'm going to be offline for a few weeks. I may get online to read up and for a bit of happiness, but I will not be posting for a bit. I will try and keep my shuttles for solice. Thanks for understanding and I wish the best for all of you in Tatland.

2011-08-12T12:27:00.001-07:00

I was so happy to find my new battery charger arrived in yesterday's mail. It included a portable adapter so I can charge it in the van and an extra battery. Score! Now I can take much better pictures. This weeks tatting consisted of edgings. My grandmother-in-law made a whole bed set out of some Elvis print material. She was looking for some rick-a-rack to edge the shams she made but couldn't find some so I offered to tat her up some. She wanted some different thread size choices so I started with size 10.

These are both from Anne Orr's collections. I um 'modified' it a teeny bit. The left is exactly as the directions say to make it. On the top version I thought it looked unplanned and crowded, so while technically the stitch count didn't change the picot placement did. Another example of how the slightest DS can and does make a difference of the finished product. As for the lower one the only changes were a stabilizing picot to the clover leaf. I made my picots too small and so that middle ring is now resting comfortably behind the clovers instead of besides them. This is a test run on another of the batches my son helped me to dye. It looks washed out so I'm going to redye it. I have to dye some black in size 30 since I couldn't find it locally anyways. This is the start of the Tea Set pattern by Freedman. It should be a saucer and cup plus he has a pattern for a spoon to go with it. I thought it was so cute. I picked up some beads at Walmart for a doily I'm making. It was only $1.50 USDs and I couldn't believe what a deal it was. They are size 11/0 glass gold and I'm pretty sure it's enough for my project. The little kitty pendants I picked up from Micheals craft store months ago and I was thinking it was time to give them new purpose besides looking pretty in my gadgets drawer. Today is a trip to G.G's house and we'll see which sample she prefers for her set. I should probably take a few booklets to give her more options in case she doesn't fancy either one.

Shhh..it's a surprise

2011-08-09T14:09:00.000-07:00

I just received some extra fund-age(bonus check!) so I decided to splurge a bit. Handy Hands had a summer discount of 15% so I went there in search of some more Lizabeth threads. I picked up a few balls, didn't want to get too carried away, all in size 40 except for one in 80. I did find that for some reason the other ball of Lizabeth 80 I have tats up a tiny bit thicker than DMC 80. I double checked the labels to make sure I wasn't confusing it for 70 but nope, it was 80. Maybe it has something to do with the way they're twisted.*shrugs* I also ordered a book I could have sworn up and down I already had but couldn't find anywhere..Mary Konior's Tatting with Visual Patterns. And with everything it came up to less than half a tank of gas for the van..*evil giggles* I also picked up another pair of shuttles from Old Tyme Antiques . These are super tiny. I got them for some size 100 thread I was considering getting. I changed my fragmented mind on the thread but keep the shuttles. They are made of Hickory Wood. A Clover shuttle for comparison. I also managed to get a teeny bit of tatting done. That is a definite Tatted Shuttle motif. I already have 2 on order and since I did have a 'bonus' I ordered one more. That motif was made with size 80 DMC red thread and it was "lifted" from a hanky edging from Book 229 Coats and Clark magazine. I'm having to do most of my tatting into the super late hours of the night because I have very curious children who demand 100% attention, which is fun most of the time but it does leave me wondering what day is it and where the hours went.....

Ideas, ideas, ....

2011-08-07T22:01:00.000-07:00

I'm getting distracted again. I saw a blog post somewhere, about 2 or maybe 3 weeks ago about encasing some tatting in plastic and making pendants with it. *My memory is horrendous sometimes it's a miracle I remember my name* I do remember I followed the link through Gina's blog on the left sidebar.....Or at least it feels like that's how it happened. The point of this ramble? Well I was thinking of 'blinging' up some of my clovers as I've seen done by many people lately. And that got me thinking that someone made bling with tatting...*mind wandering again* And wouldn't that be nice to have a use for some of my smaller tatting bits? Make keychains or whatever out of it...googling a picture....Mahiru made some beautiful examples. I didn't post the picture since they are not mine but click on over and peep if you like. This isn't the blogger I found it on either, but nice to know others are trying it. If I do eventually do it, I'm thinking end of year-ish time frame here.

3D pictures

2011-08-04T13:53:00.000-07:00

Since my Kat won't allow me to tat right now I looked to see if there were any sites that could host my 3D pictures. I found a few and so far this one seems to have the best view without the glasses online. Another thing is that I can buy a 'toggle' picture so I can have a physical 3D picture. You remember those collector card for kids that when you move it left to right the image changes? Same concept but much better results. Now I realize it kind of looks like a animated gif a bit, but I love the idea behind it. Okay I'm not selling for them, just spreading the word. So if there's anyone else who has the ability to take these type of pictures, now you have an option of a online host for them. Plus it's free. Now I can take some pictures of my 3D tatting and have them host it! Yeah, just as soon as I make some more 3D tatting.

I apologize for the clarity or lack thereof

2011-08-04T10:38:00.000-07:00

I was trying to empty a shuttle, so I tried to find one that wasn't full. Ah, the good ol' days when I had empty shuttles to spare, how I miss you. I found one and it had the thread my son helped me dye, so I went in search of the thread winder that held what was left of it. I tried different motifs, just to use it up mind you, but seeing how I still had a bit of thread left over I went in search of a larger project. The heart is Jon's Hearts Entwined pattern. I had a small bit of thread left over and I used Gina Butler's Heart String. A wonderful way to end it since the dimpled hearts pretty much lock themselves in so I was able to clip the thread close to the ring without having to hide ends. The cross is one of Terry Dunesbury's crosses. She seems to have pulled her blog offline so unfortunately I cannot link to her page. This is just the tatted version, she has a wonderful blinged out version that she made. I may just do that and bead it up, not sure if I want to invest that much time on it though, since the point was to empty the shuttle not make new projects. And the top little butterfly is Sharon's simple bookmark. I didn't realize I didn't have enough thread to make the tassel. Below are the clearest color pictures of the thread that I could get. I really need to get a new cable for my camera so I can charge the battery.

Edit: I added better quality pictures taken with my Nintendo 3DS gameboy. I wish I could find a way to host the 3D version of the pictures online since they do come out rather stunning.

Wonderful morning

2011-07-31T08:59:00.000-07:00

Summer doesn't officially end for us here in the valley for another 2 months. However, this particular morning, it was gorgeous. Cloudy and cool it has so much coastal temperature feel to it that it has revitalized me. At least for a bit. Now if only the little ones will let me play. I found these hanky's at my local Dollar store. Hey at 50 cents each, how I could pass up the deal, so I got a half dozen of them with different prints. Now I've never actually tatted on one of these before. I have done the edging for one but never got around to sewing it on. That project has since gone missing. When I started this I had forgotten that you make the edging first then sew on later, so I carefully laid my tatting rings next to the edge and joined where I thought would cause it to lay relatively flat. So far, so good. This is also one of the first times I have to keep a needle out to put a little hole in the edge so I can join to. Doing it this way puts less stress on the thread I'm using. The only downside is that it is tedious work. The pattern is from this.. it's french and that's the extent of my knowledge. It's diagrammed and while there isn't any actual numbers, you can easily count the stitches. I was once asked where I find my books and such, Ebay my friend, Ebay. I also frequent my local library which gets me plenty of gems to play with. Like the above, which is on loan for 3 weeks. My mother is currently in Mexico and I asked her to pick me any magazines with tatting in it she can find. Down there it's mostly Il Lavoro Chiacchierino, but you can sometimes find it under the list name of Frivolite. This is the current progress. Not bad considering that I just began this last night. There are a total of 3 rounds and this is the base. And what the end project is supposed to look like. Thread being used is size 80 DMC white and Celery by Yarnplayer. I may add another blueish color to it in another round, I still haven't decided but I do have Luna in mind, also by Yarnplayer. I have to thank Marilee for having dyed such beautiful colors.

Why tatting never gets done

2011-07-28T14:31:00.000-07:00

Pictures are worth a thousand words...here's my story.Oh what are you doing mommy...let me see. Oh you're making the Fantasia fan for Sharon? These are some really pretty colors. Your stitches are nice and even. Oh except right here where you can see some thread you forgot to trim. These butterflies are nice. Here let me look closer..

Okay I applaud your efforts and all but I have some doubts. While the butterflies are nice to look at, I'm not sure they're going to work out in the end. It's still early so maybe they'll grow on me. If not you still have that purple to use. And there is another swapmeet this Saturday so maybe we should take a trip down there and "browse". Maybe you'll find more colors to play with. Love you mommy.

Long vent, then whine but no cheese

2011-07-27T17:46:00.000-07:00

We did my mother a favor and drove her, last minute, to the LAX so she could catch her flight. It seemed to be a doomed trip as soon as we arrived in the Los Angeles area. We got lost twice! I can't understand how it happen since it's a pretty simple and straight forward trip. Then on the way back..PoP! we blow a tire. It was shredded, which was a scary ordeal on it's own but this happened on a busy LA freeway where the most inconsiderate people are issued licenses. It was a miracle that we avoided hitting or getting hit. Then after talking with our insurance people and being assured that we would have no out of pocket expense and that all will be taken care of, they slap us in the face. First they give the tow truck people the wrong directions. Did I mention this happened at 1 AM and since it was last minute we had no sitter so our two little ones were with us? Silly me to leave that important detail out. Not to mention that since we are on a freeway with no markers we had no clue as to what city we where in. Then when the tow guys finally located us, they tell us they can't help us, we are out of their jurisdiction. Okay we call the insurance people again, since we waited an hour for a call back that never came. Once again we are assured no out of pocket expenses. A second tow truck shows up but can't tow us because the insurance people 'forgot' to tell them we had 2 small children with us and their cab was not set up for them to travel in it. But they can tow our van for us without us. Nope, we stayed with the van. The tow guys felt bad and returned with a spare tire( the little donut only good for X amount of miles) for us to use to get off the freeway and they would lead us to the shop where the tire is supposed to be replaced at. It is now 3 AM. The shop is supposed to be 24 hours, it's not. There are no hotels within sight and the spare had breathed its last breath. We were stuck. Now we spend 5 hours in a van waiting for the shop to open with no place to get food nearby either. I got no sleep since I was playing sentential so Honey could get rest enough to finish driving home. The shop finally opens and they fix the flat but there's a problem. The insurance company said we were 100% responsible for the bill. Turns out nothing was documented, so to them, it never happend. Now it wasn't a simple 2 or even a 5 call situation. We spent so much time talking with different people it had to be at least 10 and they're trying to feed me the BS that not one of them noted even speaking with us?! I snatched the phone out of Honey's hands and demanded the highest supervisor with the name and rank before they transferred me. We got fed alot of flowery apologies but they wouldn't help us. Fine, I told them to cancel ALL of my policies on the spot and I wanted confirmation emailed to me immediately, they just lost alot money from me. Not to mention all my family members that did business with them when I told them of what happened. I also told them to be specific as to why they were canceling and tell them how they treated us. You do not play games with a family that barely avoided a serious accident and had to spend the night in an unfamiliar city sleeping in their vehicle..ooops sorry it wasn't documented so we won't pay. The supervisor had the nerve to say we were better off actually getting hit instead of avoiding it and it would have all been taken care of. The tow, hotel arrangements, rental arrangements, if needed, even a gift card for us to get food with while we waited. But since no one was hurt, including the van, it's our problem. Not to point fingers(okay, I'm lying) about this blatant display of horrible customer service, but now I know why dinosaurs went extinct. Now we are safely within good hands. /end of rant now here's the whine.. I had two pair of shuttles fully loaded and tatted nothing. All that time and nothing to show for it. *sigh*

2011-07-26T10:38:00.000-07:00

I'm officially on vacation for two weeks. Whoo-hoo! Let's see if time off equals progress made. I did find an edging that sparked my intrest and I made a test round of it. There are alot of lock joins to keep it's shape since it's basically all chains with the exception of the small ring of the center of the flowers,with the occasional split chain to move from one motif to the next. This design works well since adding the frilly chains should be a simple matter. It just has a few picots to connect to but that's okay since the base will be covered up in the end anyways. No use in making it fancier than this.Now the next part will be figuring out how to add the next round and keep it balanced. To move down to the feet should be a simple matter of reduction. If I use each level of the flower there as a frill row, there is potentially four rows of frill on this piece alone. That way I can control how much fluffiness I have in the end.

Simplify

2011-07-22T11:20:00.000-07:00

Honey, being the honest loving critic on my tatting, shared his words of wisdom. "It looks too complicated babe." He was right. What's so great about the classics? Simple clean lines. I guess I got caught up in the novelty that I forget the cardinal rule...Less is more. I went through my many files looking for inspiration to strike. It took a while. First things first. I needed a base. Make the donkey shape first, then I could simply add the long picoted chains later. So with that I'm off to try out a few basic shapes and see which one I end up with.

2011-07-20T14:27:00.000-07:00

I seem to be on roll. All I want to do is work on this pinata. I can't think of anything else, my mind keeps straying to it. As I work this, I'm also trying to figure out how I'm going to put this in pattern format. It sounds confusing when I say how I'm doing it out loud to my Honey. He get's confused, er, he says it sounds confusing. The next row I added a stitch to the rings and had every other stitch be a picot on the chain. I was just eyeballing the picots on this point. It has a fuller feel to the frills. I want to use simple ring and chain but don't think it's going to shape the way I want to be. Then I thought to make the base feet then go back and using just a chain between the rings, add the long picots for the frills.

Pinata incarnation take two

2011-07-18T20:39:00.000-07:00

It would have made more sense to sketch it out first. The pinata, that is. Instead I jump in and just start tatting away because in my mind I already know how it's supposed to look like. Of course it hasn't turned out the way I hoped. The first draft was too busy. I looked to simplify. If I plan on making it a pattern, it has to be simplified. Make it too busy and people will lose interest. Less is more..blah, blah, blah. My mind is fighting with my fingers right now. Step 1. Remake the base. With it simplified like this I thought it would be less mind-numbing to do. Especially since you have to do four legs. Step 2. This is part of the foundation chain. Step 3. Now the problem was how many rings there should be. Since they will be cone shaped as you move further up, I started with 2DS rings adding more as I went up. I don't really know what I was thinking and it seemed like I added too many on this row because it cupped up bad. It did give me an idea on how to make the saddle part of it though. And I also know how to attach it so it works like a hinge so I can use it as a bank afterwards. Step 4. I decided to skip one of the smaller rings to use as more of the foundation. The two rings next to each other are supports for the 'frills' of the pinata and the smaller ones are where I will join further rings for the next row. By doing this, the bunching up is smoothing itself out. I like how it's starting to take shape. The picots on this are not very long, since this would be considered the last row next to the hooves of the donkey. As I go further up, I have the option of making the frills longer and I will definitely need to break out my picot gauges to keep it even. Since the legs are three different colors, I thought to make three or four rows of each color. It is so difficult to tat with my little Kat awake. And she only naps for 15 minutes or so at a time. I can't tat because she cries with some high pitched screaming when she doesn't have my undivided attention. I'm hoping Honey will be able to give a day to myself, although, he only holds her interest for a hour maximum and then starts crying for me again. I love that she loves being with me, I just wish I had a bit of time to accomplish other things with my day.

No pictures...sigh

2011-07-15T20:21:00.000-07:00

I lost the only charger for my camera. And buying a new battery charger costs more than the actual camera. I do have other options, my 3DS from Nintendo takes pictures, and there's my phone, also a Flip style camcorder. The only problem is that I don't get the clarity of Macro or really close up pictures. They always come out a bit blurry when I try to zoom in for detail. Now I'm off to Ebay and see if I can score a new one but until then here's the start of the pinata... I think for now I'll start from the bottom and work my way up. This is the start of one foot.

Plans in the works for the county fair

2011-07-14T14:32:00.000-07:00

I have a basic idea of how to begin the pinata. It's form will be of a donkey. It's the most common and easily recognizable piece as a pinata. There is also the traditional nine pointed ball but I was thinking that it might be confused for a snowflake and be mislabeled by the fair personal. Now the question is how big should it be? I was thinking of getting more Omega No.2 in a few more colors since they are so vibrant and pinatas are bright and very colorful. The nylon will also require less stiffening, but I'm hesitating because I'm not sure how much I'm going to need. Locally, there's only one place for me to get it, my local swapmeet. I could start in size 20 thread but that would require dyeing and I'm not really feeling up to it right now. Honey unfortunately is still recovering from his foot surgery and I promised not to buy any fancy threads until he can go back to work, in an attempt to save some money. Thread and dye I already have, it's just a matter of the doing. I'm kind of stuck of where to go, especially since Yarnplayer has some new bright colors. Ah temptation, you are evil. *giggles* Well let's work with what we have and see where that takes us. I may put up the pinata pattern up after all the fair hoopla ends and I sit and diagram everything. I absolutely must remember to take plenty of pictures of the process for reference. It's something new right? I don't think anyone out in Tatland has made a tatted pinata before. I'm also going to remake the 3D kitty I modified Jane's Teddy Bear pattern from. I entered it 3 or 4 years ago and it got wonderful input. This time around I'll make it with larger threads (I used to tat solely with 80 back then) to make it easier to see. I also have the two general tatted items to enter. It seems that in years I enter more people add to the tatting scene. The same thing happens when we go out to eat. The restaurant could be completely empty, we sit down and place our orders, next thing we know, the place is full. Time to go diagram and practice tat....

Flowers, flowers everywhere

2011-07-13T15:19:00.000-07:00

The current workings. The top is a Epoxy Shuttle pattern from Anne Burvold and is one designed for the Epoxy Shuttles being made by The Shuttle Shop . The bottom one is from Elizabeth's Lace. The top I made a while ago and ran that pin through it with the intention of putting it somewhere I can't miss seeing it. That way I'd finish the second motif and remember I need two more to send and have my shuttles finally made. I made the bottom one with size 80 thread and it measures to the exact extent of the sizes allowed right now for the shuttle blade. So now I have a physical reference point to compare the Green Knots that I already made. Unfortunately, it's too big. I do have some size 100 thread that I'm trying out and boy is it teeny tiny. This seems like a more logical choice for a motif that is Celtic in nature since the knots are not very thick even where they overlap one another. The only downside is tension. I keep breaking thread. What else have I been doing? This past weekend was spent house/dog sitting for the inlaws. I didn't get the chance to pack any shuttles since I wasn't aware we were even doing it until after the fact. I did have one shuttle with some size 12 pearl, so since Micheals Craft Store is only up the street and around the corner, I picked up another ball but no shuttles since they were out. And guess where my fingers took me... I started with just the bottom butterfly and ended up here. I couldn't help but laugh when I realized what I was making. I was thinking I'd work on the rosaries. And as for the current larger version I wanted to use up all of the thread I wound onto the Tatsy shuttles because I didn't want to keep having to reload them time and again. Here are some of the bits that go between the flowers and butterflies further into the fan. Also I managed to get one whole flower out of some loose thread I had in the box. After threatening to hide Honey's Xbox games if he didn't help me out, he sat down and help me decide which of the two colors to use for the butterflies. The variegated blue. He said it stood out enough to not look like the flowers. Good point Honey, you can have your games back. I do have more days off in the next coming weeks than I normally would get ( thanks to a scheduling glitch in the software at work) so no work interruptions to deter from my mission! Why did I think today was Monday? It's Wednesday..sheesh this week is going by too fast for me. I have to get started on my Pinata for the fair. I received the entry catalog today in the mail.

2011-07-08T23:36:00.001-07:00

I ran out of thread. Only two and one third squares away from the end. Since it is pale grey I'll finish it with white n see if it's too obvious. If so, I'll have to do an over-dye to get the colors to match.

Sometimes you just need some color in the day

2011-07-04T15:28:00.000-07:00

I'm determined to get the fan finished. Determined, I say! *giggles* I thought to use some color. It's a little washed out but the green is a minty green. Yup, I'm using the nylon thread. It is closer to the size promised and the infusion of color has helped keep me motivated on working up the design. It's much prettier in person. For the butterflies I'm debating between the purple and the variegated blue. What do you think Sharon D? Or would you still prefer the monochromatic one? Which would look more pleasing to the eye? In any case, this is one of the top three projects being worked on. Another one is a doily by Jan Stawasz. I shamefully started back in February and haven't really worked on it since. There was a mistake made where I climbed out wrong on a split ring so I'm having to restart there. Only 7 more square motifs not counting the one being worked and that would end the center of it. I hope I have enough of this light grey to finish. I dyed this thread last year and I don't think I'll be able to replicate it so I'm crossing my fingers that there's enough to finish this portion at least. For the outer layers I have a charcoal-ish dark grey that came out of my recent dye play with my son.

Coins and confusion

2011-06-29T16:29:00.000-07:00

My pathtag trade has safely arrived. Thank you kind postal person for bring me treasures and not bills. *giggles* And this is the other tag I have, the 2010 honoring Mary Konior. Then I began to work on the Fantasia fan again. Multiple tries on this. I don't understand why I'm having such a hard time with my projects right now. I didn't remember to do the blimpless join by Jane Eborall, so I restarted. I just realized that it's kind of hard to make out on this picture. But, the black butterfly frayed really bad on one side. How this happend, boggles my mind. I supposed I could have just cut that piece off but the way I carried the thread made it such a headache to hide those ends. I began again. Then I noticed that the flower count was not right. I seemed to have added an extra ring to the white flowers. Then I stabbed myself with my crochet hook which had me bleeding over the flowers in question. But hey, at least this time, I remembered to do the blimpless join! I think I'm just going to give up on the size 10 thread. This is the only thing I can think of (okay blame) for my inability to finish this. The thread is just too harsh, er big, for my hands to manipulate. So now I'm going to try with some Pearl 8. I do have the necessary colors in size 20 but I did promise a large fan and 20 wouldn't give quite the right size envisioned. Maybe I should just do it in the 20, I remember the larger Pearls being flimsyish and I do not want to stiffen this within and inch of it's life. It's lace not plastic..right?