Needle Tatting and other Nonsense

The Grindstone

2013-05-20T04:50:00.000-07:00

During schooling Friday morning, the large order I'd already been working on went through. When it was all properly laid out I realized that although it was about the same number of items as the last time they ordered, the pieces this time around were primarily more complex ones. Last time it was tons of earrings, this time tons of large cuff bracelets. As you might imagine I spent most of my weekend hard at work.

On Saturday, we did make a family trip to see the new Star Trek movie and it was a lovely break from the grind. Also, it was a completely gratifying film. Other than the movie and a few quick errands, we were at home and when we were at home I was tatting away. Also, for probably the first time ever, I'm going to need all the time I quoted someone to make their pieces. Why? Because I got another order on Sunday that needs to be made and it's a mask, which means it takes no little time to make itself. I feel like I'm on a serious clock to finish the large order, which has several pieces left in it to make, so I can get to the mask. I even got a third custom order last night, but luckily, it was for a custom ring and I just took a short break to whip that out so it isn't added to the queue.

I know I always say I like being busy, and I really do, but forgive me complaining a little about my
sore shoulder and the fact that I have nothing of import to share with you...oh, wait, I just remembered. Over the weekend the Spun exhibit opened at the Denver Art Museum and the lovely Celtic Katte snapped this photo for me of my ankle corsets on display. I imagine the rest of the display is quite interesting as well, but since I'll never see it, I'll have to live vicariously through others. So here I go, back to the grindstone.

Working

2013-05-17T04:47:00.000-07:00

The order I'm expecting still isn't finalized, but I do have a list of the pieces they want. So rather than sit on my hands and wait, I thought I'd just get to work on them especially since a few of them are some of my more complicated bracelets. As you're aware I rarely write out my patterns so when I remake sold ones I rely on my somewhat spotty memory and photographs which can be troublesome. When I actually have the pieces on hand it's much easier. So along with making the ones needed for the order, I'm going to try and make an additional piece of the hard to make ones before they leave me. Of course that means that I feel the need to work faster so yesterday was just the first of many, nose to the grindstone days.

I felt like I got a lot accomplished, but I think in the end it was only three bracelets. In my defense they were large and more difficult than most of the ones I've designed. Add that to the general frustration I was feeling over the unrelated problem of bloody all day email issues and it was kind of an exhausting day.

I did wake up to my email miraculously righting itself so perhaps it's going to be a great day even though it's basically the same plan for today. I'm just going to continue to make and make and make some more, likely for quite a few more days. It really is a good thing though, isn't it? When I'm busy I feel productive and generally satisfied with myself, so I'll happily get back to work now.

More Things Finished

2013-05-16T04:49:00.000-07:00

Well I was half right about about I'd get up to yesterday. I did get the choker completed and listed, though only after stalling for a spell in the morning. It takes me longer to get around to listing things that require I show my face in the photos. I mean when I think of the sheer number of photos of myself I've managed to put online in the last six or so years it turns me all shades of red. Don't even get me started on what I discovered after uploading feet pictures for barefoot sandals...it's disturbing.

So anyway, after that was done I stalled some more. Then I finally got an order in the shop so I remade the sold piece. It was one of my interwoven three color bracelets that are a bit of a pain to make. The pattern itself is pure simplicity, it's the often strange joins I have to make to make it work that cause the difficulty, not to mention making sure I join on the right side. Since they are different colors, if I make a mistake I get those annoying color blips at the joins. At least it gave something to do that I hadn't done in a while.

It wasn't until late in the evening that I heard back from my large order. This one is to the same museum store that my last really big one was to that had the Steampunk show. It still hasn't been finalized, but I expect that some time today. So I'll just get a jump on those pieces. They've ordered multiples of several pieces so I have plenty that will need making in the next week. Of course that also means I will likely be quite boring in the coming days.

That's reminds me that I failed to remind you of something. Quite some time ago I was approached about adding a piece to a textile exhibit at the Denver Museum of Art. The exhibit opened yesterday called, Spun: Adventures in Textiles. I, of course will never get around to see it, but if that's your neck of the woods, I have a pair of barefoot sandals on display with their section on tatting that you can visit for me. I hope to get some picture from them soon and if I do I'll share. That's interesting right?

Finished

2013-05-15T04:49:00.002-07:00

Guess what? I stayed on task yesterday. That's right, I did exactly what I said I would do. I tatted until I had both the new bracelet and the matching choker made up and then I read some Sherlock Holmes. I never did get around to any video game playing though.Just not enough hours in the day.

Right after schooling I worked up the final version of the pattern as a bracelet. I made a few changes from the prototype. I increased the stitch count on the upper chains and I added small joining picots for the bottom points. It may not look much different, but it's a bit longer and much sturdier. Since almost everything I make is meant to be worn, it's important that the design not only look good, but also that it can withstand that stretching and pulling well. The way those bottom points were before was fine for decoration, but the would have twisted around when worn without the added stability.

I stopped tatting just long enough to get the bracelet pressed and listed. Luckily this pattern repeats at just the right lengths that I was able to list it as being available in lengths of 6,7, and 8 inches. Right after I got this up I started on the choker version. I completed the tatting on that one as well, but I didn't bother putting the clasp on yet because I knew it wasn't going to get all the way to listed yesterday. I shall leave that task for today.

So today I'll finish up the choker and hopefully get it listed. The shop is going through another, hopefully short, dry spell, so getting new pieces in there is helpful to keep it looking fresh. Then I'm hoping to hear back from a potential order I got word from yesterday. If that happens I'll have more than plenty to do, otherwise I think I'll muck about in the vintage pattern books for inspiration again. Not that the shop 'needs' to be any fuller, but it either that or the video games. At least with the tatting I have something so show for the wasted time.

Lazy Days

2013-05-14T04:52:00.001-07:00

What a wandering sort of day I had yesterday. With nothing that 'needed' doing, I did a little bit of everything in a state of near lounging that can only be attributed to the heat. Once schooling was wrapped for the day I lazed about while accomplishing a little here and a little there, never focusing for too long on any one thing.

First I decided that I must get some tatting in, so I looked though the vintage Finnish book that has inspired me in the past and found an edging that I felt I could twist to my will. I made up a bracelet prototype, adding onto the design as I went. Once it was done, I posted it about for feedback and since it was generally positive I began on the final piece which I had already determined would need a few more adjustments. Of course about five rings in I realized that I had been miscounting picots and tossed the whole thing to the side to mess with later. Clearly the weather stopped me from a proper level of concentration, at least that's the story I'm sticking to.

I spent the rest of the day oscillating between the puzzle video game I received for Mother's Day and reading more Sherlock Holmes. I really have become quite determined to complete the cannon, sooner rather than later. I'm trying to read them in order and most recently I knocked out the novel, The Hound of The Baskervilles. So far it's the only one that hasn't been chronologically contained within the larger Holmes universe and the only one I was previously familiar with having watched the movie in school...the book is better.

So I'm hoping for a bit more focused of a day today. I will get the final bracelet piece made up and I mean to follow it with a matching choker since the measurements lend themselves well to it. If and only if I manage to stay on task and complete those two things, then I'll allow myself a bit more reading or game playing. Of course the weather promises to stay unseasonably hot so I may still be derailed by that. I will try my level best to stay the course and hopefully I'll have more tatting to show you tomorrow, at least that's the plan.

Weekend Recap

2013-05-13T04:47:00.001-07:00

Once again, a long weekend full of things there were not tatting. Though Friday did begin with me finishing my tatted demi gloves. I wasn't actually tatting then either, I was embroidering, so really no tatting at all then. When I got done with all my other Friday business, I cleaned some and then I decided to finish the crochet tank top I had started in black alpaca yarn. So now my break time projects are all done as well.

Saturday was a Lowe's project with the kids in the morning and lots of errands so we wouldn't have to go out much on Sunday. Lot's of shopping and when we were home, lots of cleaning. Seriously, there are too many floors in this place and too many cats to befoul them. The amount of fur around here is utterly ridiculous. It's really too bad there is no way I could ever be comfortable with having a house cleaner because there would certainly be plenty of things I'd be okay not doing anymore. Never going to happen though, it's just too odd and uncomfortable.

Sunday was a lovely Mother's Day around here. The kids and the husband did well picking out gifts and we had both our Mothers and the rest of the family over for a nice BBQ lunch. Even though it was ridiculously hot for this time of year, I think it hit 100º, it was quite pleasant. For once I didn't feel too overwhelmed cleaning up afterward either. I played some new video games, my gifts, and even managed to get some more reading in though still no tatting.

The coming week is pleasantly packed with no extra events, just normal schooling. There are no big tatting projects in queue, in fact there are no, any kind of tatting projects in queue. That's means I need to either figure out what I want to accomplish this week, or ignore it all and just play more video games. I'm leaning toward the later, but you know I can only go so long without tatting, so I guess only time will tell.

Still Working

2013-05-10T04:51:00.004-07:00

Day three with nothing of interest to share. Seriously I spent all day yesterday, save for time spent schooling, on those demi gloves. I even managed to mess up once or twice and had to cut out bits and start again. I'm very nearly finished now, but I still have more embroidery to do. The design is simple, but I'm using metallic blending filament which has it's own issues. I have to use it in short lengths because the metallic strip begins to stretch after repeated pulls through the lace and it separate from the other two fibers in the filament. Even tying it off and hiding the ends is a pain the arse. So it takes a long time to do a very little embroidery. The picture is of the last pair I did. I think this go around I've done a little better on it actually, but I'm certainly not going to bother taking new listing photos.

So today I finish up these and then I'm almost all caught up again. I do have a pair of barefoot sandals I could make, but they're already listed as a custom piece, so there's no real rush on that. It's what I'll probably end up doing though...unless something more interesting or pressing presents itself. I do have the house to clean as we're hosting for Mother's Day and I haven't bothered with the floors in a little too long, but I might save that until tomorrow. I also have one last quick meeting with one of the kid's teachers, but that won't take long at all. Here's hoping for something interesting to surprise me today and a lovely weekend ahead. Since I won't see you until Monday, Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies out there whether your kids be two legged, or four legged, or both.

Umm

2013-05-09T04:49:00.002-07:00

I'm afraid we are now at day two without anything interesting to show you. At least today starts without me being nervous. In fact yesterday's incident resolved so pleasantly that I fear I really rather overreacted with stress. Of course if you've been following me for a long time you might remember that things have gone much worse, painfully worse in times past. I'm not going to waste anymore thought on all that old business though.

I spent all of yesterday immersed in the business of remaking the pieces that are flying out today including the demi gloves that were giving me so much pause. I managed to even finish tatting one of them even improving my methods...I think. I can't really be certain since it had really been too long to remember how I went about construction last time. Either way, I'm making progress and I'll be at it again today to hopefully finish the second glove and start with the embroidery.

I always feel so boring when I'm immersed in remaking. I have nothing new to share unless you want to hear about my day long headache, which I'm fairly certain you do not. So I'll just move along then and thanks for the commiseration yesterday. I try not to go off like that too often, but it is cathartic. Hopefully today will bring something new and interesting.

Sorry About The Rant

2013-05-08T05:04:00.000-07:00

I'm running a bit late this morning because I'm a horrible, selfish person. Okay, perhaps I'm being a bit too hard on myself. I felt the need to send a 'please don't sell things made with my patterns' message again. I hate doing it and so I write, delete, write again, ponder, realize that I need to be firm or I'll regret later as more people assume it must be okay if I let that person do it and then I send it immediately wondering if I really should have and now I'm terrified of the response. Seriously it's such a little thing really and it makes me a wreck.

Aside from my general lack of skill in the matter and the time I just don't have, one of the biggest reasons I can't see myself doing a pattern book anytime soon is not having any real control over who would make and sell the pieces. Sure that might not matter one day when my etsy shop isn't my livelihood, but right now that scares me. I'd go crazy if I tried to police that, so if I ever do a book it would have to be things I was no longer making. I do not want to become the crazy lady that gets overheated when someone just makes and posts a picture of something I designed, but I do need to hold the line I drew in the sand and wrote in the patterns, right? It's not too much to ask is it? Gah, I feel like an awful person.

Moving on then. I spent most of yesterday working on the order I have in queue. I'll still be working on it most of today and if I bite the bullet and start remaking the largest piece I sold, I'll be at it for a few days at least. I'm still saving that one until the end though, it's a complicated one with crystals and embroidery at the end, my demi gloves. I fear I should get around to it late today meaning I'll have my head down and ignore much of the world around me while I work. Luckily I do have a prototype on hand so I have something solid to work from, but it's one of my more complicated builds and it's been two years since I made them. I guess I again have my days work cut out for me...for a while.

Baby Bugs

2013-05-07T04:53:00.001-07:00

Another tired morning. I have no idea what could possibly be making me more tired than usual, so I'll blame the odd weather. I did manage to get done all that I wanted to yesterday. In fact I managed to go all the way through to the back up plans.

I finished all the pieces that I needed to tat up a little after lunch time because schooling was short and
because the odd weather kept us inside. Then I proceeded to read a little followed more crochet.

Oh, but I forgot what happened around lunchtime. We've kept mantids as pets for years now. It started as a catch and keep, but we long ago graduated to mating them and waiting for the egg cases to hatch out the next Spring. Some years we've bought oothecas and some we just wait patiently to see what last years cases bring. This year we bought some and one just exploded with nymphs. If you've never seen this, it's quite a sight. Most of these have been released to the yard, but we'll keep and attempt to raise a few.

I woke up this morning to a rather large and unexpected order. It contains at least one piece that needs making and a couple I was sure I was never going to sell at this point. So over the next couple of days I'll need to get one piece made and try to make sure I have good enough pictures of the sold pieces so that I can get them remade properly. It's easy to remake things that sell often. Their patterns are actually fairly well committed to memory, but the ones that sit in the shop for months or years before selling are quite another matter. I'll need really clear photos since I never wrote out the patterns. I guess I have my work cut out for me today.

Weekend Recap

2013-05-06T04:51:00.002-07:00

I'm actually having a little trouble getting focused this morning. I've had yet another odd, meandering weekend where absolutely no tatting got done. On Friday I was determined to complete my crochet project and I did.It fits nicely, so I went digging through my yarn stash to see if I had anymore suitable yarn and I found some black alpaca in the right thickness. It probably won't hang as nicely as this one which was done with the pattern requested cotton, but I figured it was worth a shot. And because I was asked, the pattern is just the outside tank from a Patons Yarn pattern that was in their most recent newsletter. You do need to sign up to get the free pattern though.

The rest of the weekend was diversions that took longer than we thought they would. On Saturday we went out for an early lunch then a matinee of Iron Man 3, which was a wonderful time, followed by a trip to the comic book shop for free comic book day. That last bit is where our Saturday went off the rail a bit. A short trip stretched to a couple of hours and by the time we left it was time for dinner and then a whole lot of nothing.

Sunday started out normal, but then I got a text from my sister telling me her washing machine was broken and I of course offered the use of ours. This meant a house full of my nieces and nephews and the entire afternoon was given over to chatting and I never once picked up a tatting needle. Luckily Friday night also brought a couple of sales in the store so I do have a few things that need remaking today. Yes, I'm aware that I could have worked on them over the weekend, but I didn't. Lately I've managed to claim back my weekends from tatting unless I have orders that need making. As much as I really do love tatting, it's nice to do a little something different with the weekend whether it be adventuring with the family, more reading or just a different fiber art. I think the change lets my brain relax a bit.

So today I'll get back to work and remake what needs it. Maybe more tatting tasks will come to me later, or maybe I'll go back to crochet, or Sherlock Holmes. I now have a plan for the day, a backup plan and another backup plan. At least I won't be bored.

Work To Do

2013-05-03T04:53:00.001-07:00

The stars must have aligned because while I was doing schooling yesterday morning I got a message asking for a necklace in a custom length. It was just what I needed, something that actually needed to get done.

After schooling I put my head down and got to work. Normally this necklace takes at least a full day to make, but I think I was just so ready to get to work I knocked the whole thing out by late afternoon. It still needs it's hardware and a good pressing so it won't go out to its new owner until tomorrow morning, but the bulk of the work is done. It felt good to be tatting with purpose again instead of just doodling with no direction at all.

I even had time to get back to the crochet piece. It is coming along nicely as well. I think I may be working too quickly though because the finger I wrap the working yarn over was getting a little rope burned. Of course it looks fine this morning, so I suppose it was just rope irritation and I'm just not used to it anymore.

Personally I'm hoping for the same sort of day to occur today. A tatting task to be handed to me followed by some time to crochet. I think I should be able to knock out this project before the weekend is out either way.

Before I forget, if you happen to be in the Chapel Hill, North Carolina area, my work is part of the Steamworks: Art, Stories, and Adornments show at the Ackland Museum store starting May 10th. I am of course nowhere near there so I can't tell you much else about it, except that I know several of the other artisans from my various Internet adventures and they are all incredibly talented. I guess that's the end of this week. Here's hoping the next one is more adventurous.

Different Direction

2013-05-02T04:47:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately May did not begin with a bang as I'd hoped. There was no orders or requests. I didn't suddenly have a great idea that I went straight to work on. No, none of that. I did put forth the effort to list the new motif as a pendant, so at least that's done.

At lunch time I was requested to run errands. I decided that since I was going to be out anyway that I would stop by the craft store and pick up the yarn I would need for a free pattern I got in my email. I get a ton of craft emails as you might image and they are largely ignored. This time I was in possession of the rare combination of liking a pattern i could actually use as well as having a bit of extra time on my hands. Even better, the required yarn turned out to be on clearance.

Upon retuning home, I closed my computer, determined not to dwell on the slow nature of the shop and started crocheting. It's a neat spider web kind of pattern so it's working up quite quickly. That is exactly what I needed. Something to not only keep me busy, but also to give me a sense of accomplishment with visible progress.

I'm just going to keep working on this project today. Sure, I'll stop if the shop suddenly springs back to life, but otherwise, I'm enjoying the small change of pace. I guess sometimes you have to stop walking into a wall and just walk in a different direction until you find a better way around.

More Motifs

2013-05-01T04:52:00.002-07:00

I was not granted any new tasks yesterday, so once schooling and the morning walk were out of the way, it was a whole lot of nothing around here. Okay, that's not entirely true. There was laundry and dishes and after staring at the motif from yesterday for a while, I tried a few more iterations of it. A few were tossed right in the waste basket as they were compete failures, but there couple were interesting enough to share.

The top one is the version that I think will actually make it into the shop whenever I get around to it. The only real change there was the outside chains are now zig-zag chains. I find that they are stiffer and hold their shape better which works well for a longer chain. The bottom one I did because someone on Facebook noted that the original motif was reminiscent of a Celtic cross so I thought I'd expand on that and see if I could get even closer. I'm not in love with it, but perhaps with a few tweaks it too may make it to the shop.

I didn't do much else with it that's worth sharing. In fact I didn't do much else at all yesterday. I mostly played catch up with recorded shows. In fact I only managed to read one Sherlock Holmes story and that was during schooling while the oldest read her novel. It was a completely lazy end to the month. Here we are at the start of a new one though and I sure hope it begins well and stays busy.

Mini Motif

2013-04-30T04:44:00.000-07:00

With nothing set in stone to do yesterday, I admit I started with reading. One story later I remembered that I had started a pair of ankle corsets for extra stock and had never gotten back to them, so that was my next task. They were almost complete when I got to them, so it wasn't long before I was again reading. I knew I had to do something more physically productive with the day, so I opted to do some small doodling.

This is the second version I came up with. The first go around I was playing with lock chains. They just did not want to behave the way I wanted them to. I'm glad that I let them go though as I like the way this one turned out. It's much smaller than the last motif, so it won't be turning into much else though. I'll get it pressed today and if all the bits are behaving after that it will likely get listed as a pendant.

Upon more thought, I might muck around with it a bit and see if I can build upon it. I do hate letting a motif just become one thing. I think I might also see if I have any beads on hand that would look good in the center there. I guess I have a few tasks on hand for today after all. Here's hoping for many more.

The Weekend

2013-04-29T04:49:00.000-07:00

It was a bit of a strange weekend and really I have nothing much to show for it. We headed out to Monterey on Friday. We go there often enough that the trip is generally without much surprise or stress. It was a lovely, cool, but sunny day and the almost complete removal from the computer and online life was a great distraction. I had brought tatting for the car ride, but without a project in queue, I didn't even touch it, preferring to just watch the world go by.

Saturday, the kids and myself were obligated to attend a baby shower. I dislike these things very much and was quite prepared to have an awful time, but the mother is a friend whom I like very much. Fortunately the one other person besides the mother-to-be that I knew was also a good friend and was as adverse to the social situation as I. We had a fine time with the aid of some champagne she brought and our complimentary senses of humor. Even the children were amused and the day was saved.

Sunday kind of slogged by as we had filled the days before it with so much. Again I read more Sherlock Holmes. In fact I think it's affecting the way I'm writing even this morning. So, my apologies for being a bit odder than usual. As I've only knocked out 13 stories so far, I fear I'll be like this for some time as I fully intend to read them all.

I still have no tatting in queue as the shop was fairly quiet all weekend. I'm hoping that it's just an end of the month lull and it will be back to normal in a couple of days. In the meantime I'll try to think of something interesting to create or make so I don't waste away the entire day reading. Not that reading is a waste of time, but it certainly won't contribute to my income nor creative body of work. So here's to a day of inspiration or tasks to complete.

The Injury

2013-04-26T04:47:00.000-07:00

I managed to acquire myself a nice injury yesterday morning. Now, for most people this wouldn't have been a big deal at all, in fact it is the epitome of minor. During schooling I was pulling a worksheet out of the child's math book when I received a nasty, bleeding paper cut right across the cuticle of my left index finger. Why am I telling you this? It's a silly paper cut right? Put a band-aid on it and move on. Well, I did put a band-aid on it and became a handicap tatter for the day. Have you ever tried to needle tat with a band-aid on? It's cumbersome to say the least.

Right after schooling I decided that I needed to finish remaking the necklace I was working on so I tried and I finished it...hours later. Every loop of the thread had to be bigger to clear the bandage and the thread would snag half the time anyway. Then I would have to run the needle close, but not too close, again snagging the bandage with the needle, poking myself in the injured spot and generally having a bad go of it. Sure in the wide scheme of things, this was nothing, but it certainly slowed my day to a crawl and when I was finally finished with that necklace I happily dropped the needle for the rest of the day. The finger looks to be healed enough for liquid bandage today, so it was just a one day ruining ouchy.

There will be no tatting today either as we adventure to the coast for the day. It's the same adventure we always take, so there is literally no stress in the day. We go, enjoy, and return, only wishing we could have spent more time there. The rest of the weekend contains just one challenging task and the rest should be mild as well. So please go forth and enjoy your weekend when it starts. I hope to come back refreshed from mine.

Listed

2013-04-25T04:50:00.001-07:00

I'm just not feeling very productive lately. I mean I got schooling done, then we went on a walk, mostly to get the kids away from the computers for a while. After that I worked on laundry and getting pictures done for all the new pieces. I got them listed, I sat down and then I proceeded to do next to nothing.

I mean it all starts with tasks aplenty, but then I just can't muster the energy to do much more than read some more Sherlock Homes or catch up with the shows on my dvr. I've knocked out two novels and four short stories so far, by the way. Of course that leaves like sixty stories left including two more novels, so I don't think I'll be an expert anytime soon.

I guess I should just focus on what I did get done. I named the new pieces 'Garden Portal'. I added the subtitle horizontal to one bracelet and diagonal to the other. I hope the difference is obvious enough to folk looking at the two. They're right next to each other in shop, at least until one of them sells. It seems most people had a clear opinion about which version they liked better so I guess only time will tell which will sell better...or at all.

Today I have to double up on classes with the girls because we're taking a day off tomorrow to adventure. My husbands jury duty interfered with the adventure we were going to have during their actual Spring break, so we're just going to carve out some time. After that, I do have one necklace newly in the queue to be remade, so I have at least one clear task for the rest of the morning. I do better with a nice clear list for the day. Let's hope I can focus then.

Two Ways

2013-04-24T04:55:00.000-07:00

Well I got part of what I intended to do yesterday done, but not everything, by a long shot. Schooling was better, but I had mistakenly believed that exercise was a good idea on Monday and I suffered for it yesterday. I mean we get out and go on walks quite frequently, but it's been some time before I did anything resembling an exercise and I went ahead and did squats and push ups and crunches and I could barely make it up and down the stairs all day. Go ahead, laugh a little...it is amusing, but it means I spent more of the day sitting than I had planned.

The other snag in my day was my desktop computer. The hard drive has been telling my husband that it was sick for some time and I finally got a new hard drive to cure it, so it was out of commission yesterday. Since I use my desktop for all my listing pictures, I didn't get the new pendant or bracelet listed, but I did work on making the bracelet.

In fact I made two bracelets. I just couldn't decide which way I preferred the motifs to join, so I made it both ways. I thought I could figure that out when I saw them both completely made, but no. They each have their own distinct look and feel.

The bottom one was the first way. It's the easiest and most straight forward way to join them and has a very structured look to it with the row of rings across the center. The top one I did second and it required adjusting the pattern with a creative join as well as a new loop for the hook to attach to. It has more visual interest and this neat 'X' pattern. I posted this picture to the facebook page and opinion was split between which was liked better, so I'm just going to list them both.

Now that the computer is back, after schooling today, I will get these new pieces listed. I'm not sure what I'll get up to after that though because I've got all my orders finished and there's nothing left that I plan on remaking right now. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what the day brings.

New Motif

2013-04-23T04:54:00.002-07:00

Well, schooling didn't go too bad yesterday, at least not because the kids didn't want to do it. No, our problem was that the online school went down just as I was finishing up with the youngest kids classes and starting the second half with the older one. Luckily she had three chapters of a novel she needed to read so she did that while I beat my head against the computer until they finally got the problem sussed an fixed.

After schooling I went straight outside to check on all the new plants. I also got it in my head to prune the grape vine and remove a nuisance rose bush that sprang up last year near the established one. I'm not certain ripping a plant up is very "Earth Day", but it was in a bad place and I'm not overly fond of roses to begin with. Plus it will give my stargazer lilies more space to bloom. All this gardening nonsense followed by some vacuuming took me all the way to lunch time with no tatting.

By the time I got round to picking up my needle and thread I was in the mood to create rather than produce, so I doodled a bit. I literally drew the proposed image out with my finger on my couch first and it actually worked up like the impression. The first time I did it without the third, outside ring at the corners and it didn't feel complete. The second time I added it and I was already pretty happy with the result. If one was so inclined, the larger rings might even look neat with a big bead, or I suppose you could substitute the center ring with a button. Though I am definitely not a button tatting fan. It just not my bag.

I did take it one step further and began turning the motif into a bracelet, because that's what I do. It will likely be a little on the short side, but it will fit me perfectly. I might work out a few slight changes to make it fit more universally, or maybe not...I guess we'll see. I also noted that the motif would work up into a square mat fairly nicely. Though again, that's not really what I tend to do.

So today I imagine I'll get the bracelet done and then decide if there's anything else I'd like to do to exploit the new motif. Then I'll try to get it listed as a pendant and bracelet. I think I'm done with remaking for the time being. There are still a few masks that I should get made up at some point, but masks haven't been selling much lately so that's really not an immediate need. Maybe I'll try doodling again and see if anything else comes of it and I will also try not to do anymore gardening because it's a lot of work.

Break Is Over

2013-04-22T04:50:00.002-07:00

I had a pretty productive weekend. My etsy anniversary sale started out quite slowly. In fact it was
pretty much dead around here most of Friday. This allowed me to get the flourish pendant and earrings listed and I made up a new bracelet in a completely different pattern. It's another vintage pattern that I mucked with a bit until I thought it could withstand wearing. It's pretty dense so it took a bit longer than it's simplicity would suggest, but it gave me something to do while I waited for the sale to kick in. I should get it listed later today so long as I manage some free time. We're back to schooling today and there will likely be some kicking and screaming from the children which usually exhausts me.

It may have had a slow start, but the sale definitely didn't stay that way. I had plenty of orders, many of which that were custom color or length and I spent much of the weekend tatting away. I managed to get all the orders done up by last night so they'll all go out this morning. Then I just have a few pieces that will need to be remade.

The part of the weekend that wasn't spent on tatting and orders was spent planting. The college next to us has an annual plant sale in their horticulture department so we took advantage and picked up some plants we'd never heard of. Sunday morning I dug holes in difficult clay soil, planted everything, added drip lines and complained about the 90º weather even though I know it's going to get so much hotter that, I'll long for 90º soon enough. I know I should have saved a little for today, to celebrate Earth Day, I think it was close enough. So today, it's schooling, listing the bracelet, remaking a couple of things and trying not to get annoyed at the children. Should be fun.

7th Etsyversary

2013-04-19T05:00:00.002-07:00

Yesterday did not really go my way at all. In fact I completely forgot that I wanted to look at my thread inventory. I did look at what I should remake and then proceeded to do none of it. There wasn't much really, except some masks that have remained unmade for quite some time. So then I decided to go ahead and play with the flourishes.

I tried a few other things with them, but most of my 'interesting' ideas failed miserably. In the end there are just this version and then a second where I substitute a zig zag chain on the outside. I haven't decided which I like better as the difference is fairly subtle. I do like how zig zag/Victorians sets break up the uniformity of the chain so I might go with that version. Either way I'll get them turned into earrings today and listed as well as a pendant version...I think.

The only other news today is that it's my 7th anniversary selling my wares on etsy. Anniversaries always make me nostalgic, so I went looking at my first sold pieces and promptly hung my head in shame and wondered a bit how I managed to stick it out so long. Etsy was a different place back then, I would have never been able to sell that stuff if I started with it now. In fact the tatting world is a lot different than it was back then too. I was the only tatter on etsy for one and it was a couple of years before I virtually met another one. My, how times change. So here's to progress and 7 years.

I know I kind of gave up on doing something big for the anniversary, but I can't let it pass without a little something. So today through Sunday evening get 17% off (because 7% would be silly) with the code ANNIVERSARY7 at my etsy shop. I'll also include a FREE flourish pendant as a gift with all orders over $20 as well. You don't need to mention anything to get the free gift, but don't forget the code for the discount.

Color

2013-04-18T04:45:00.002-07:00

I didn't get to play with my new little flourish at all yesterday, but that's okay. I didn't get to play because I got a nice little custom order in the afternoon. So I stopped my remaking marathon to make up a few bracelets in custom colors and lengths. I actually had three to do, but I took the photo at two because I wasn't certain I'd finish the third while there was still good enough light to take a picture. The third was done in navy thread and the whole pile was a bit more colorful than I'm used to, but I think it was a good diversion from the usual.

After they were done I still had some time in the evening to work on more remaking and I think I may have actually gotten almost to the end of it. I needed to order more bobby pin bases so I can remake those though. The large order ate up all I had on hand in silver tone and black. Once those come in, I'll have to get those made as well. I should also take inventory of my threads. I know I'm running low on a few and I should take the time to figure out which so I can make a proper order, but it's such a pain in the neck.

I'll probably go over my 'sold out' list with a fine tooth comb and see if there's anything else that really needs to be remade. Then I'll avoid this whole thread inventory thing by playing with the flourish. Then I might resign myself to doing it anyway, but too late to do it right. As usually I'll also be crossing my fingers that I get approached about making or doing something that requires more immediate attention thus avoiding the tasks I really ought to do anyway. I may be a bit dysfunctional, but at least I'm honest about it.

Flourish

2013-04-17T04:55:00.000-07:00

On one hand I'm really enjoying not having to do schooling the morning with the kids, on the other hand, I am already getting bored with all this remaking I'm doing and I can't even claim to be halfway through the list yet.

For the sake of my sanity I took a small break in the afternoon to let my brain have a bit of exercise. I
doodled a few shapes and thought I'd give them a go. The first idea fell apart as I realized that the lace was not going to behave the way I wanted it to without resorting to creating the shape in highly complex ways. I was not in the mode for something to be that challenging so I tried another shape floating around in my head.This one was far more cooperative and though I don't think I've hit the final design quite yet, still a bit more tweaking to be done, it's shaping up nicely and I feel a bit better. I'll play with it a bit more today and hopefully I'll find the sweet spot and have something new to show for it.

Once I felt satisfied that I had made a creative effort I went back to remaking for the rest of the day.
We did also manage one nice walk in the morning, but the wind here was bad again making another wise beautiful day a little too cold for my liking, so when I needed a little break, I read some more.

So today I'll focus on remaking again and when I need a break I'll play with the little flourish here. I already have other ideas what to do with the shape once I get it finalized. Oh, the other thing I realized yesterday was that I had my etsy anniversary day wrong in my head. It's actually the 19th, not the 18th. About the same time I discovered that I also decided not to worry about doing something too interesting for it. I was stressing myself out trying to come up with something and that's not doing anyone any good. So to recap, anniversary is not a big deal and there will be more tatting today. Yep, that about sums it up.

Working

2013-04-16T04:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday went just about how I expected it would. I stalled for a while before steeling my nerves to work on getting the large order finished. I've often thought that if I ever hired someone to help me, which is beyond unlikely, it would be just to put on clasps and press my pieces. This time I had the added fun of also carefully bagging up bobby pin sets and earrings, but I think everything is ready to go. I'm still deciding the best way to ship them all safely, but they should be on their way today or tomorrow at the latest.

Then I got to work remaking pieces. I've gotten quite used to working with my thread and finished pieces in a large plastic bag. With all the cats shedding for Spring, it really is the only pragmatic way of avoiding too much fur contamination. I wish I could say that this gets it all, but I still spend quite some time picking off stray bits as I press them. I have plenty more to tat up today. In fact I'm fairly certain the remaking will take me the entire week, but I'm determined to take a little time off as well. Maybe a little more of that book reading and if the weather would like to cooperate, a few nice walks could be good as well.

I took one other photo for you yesterday. The cat was being strange and that seemed a good thing to share. I believe she was attacking a cat toy that was on the floor beneath the chair. Why she couldn't have done so from the ground, I really have no idea.

So here's to a productive day so I can get around to some creativity this week as well. My brain needs the exercise.