TIAS 2 Sizes

    To try out the Pop-A-Bobbin shuttles I made another Crinoline Lady, as Jane called it. I call it a duchess, as the "hair" reminds me of the duchess headdress I have seen in fantasy movies.

    I did the second one in Lizbeth 689 Light Mint, size 80. Now I have the duchess and her child, the little duchess. I think they are headed to the ball.

Needles for tails

    I sew in tails when I am through making something, of course. I sometimes have to sew in short tails. That can be a trick in itself. To help make it easier I decided to look for a better needle. I found side loading "easy thread" needles. They do work well, and I can thread one in a second without struggle.
    After I found the needles, I needed a box to keep them in. I tried the little tin that has a sliding top, but it is not easy to choose a needle and then reach in and pick it up. The little magnet inside is not all that big. I remembered seeing a box at Wal-Mart the other day and thinking I would have no use for it. Now I find the use. I searched around and found out JoAnn Fabric is having a sale on that box, for $4.99 instead of $7.99. Almost half off. I bought a couple. Well, 4 of them. It has a magnetic sheet on the bottom of the box to hold needles.

The box is large and easy for me to sort, select and pick up the needle I need. I'm glad I found them.

New Shuttles!

   OK! Now I am all excited! I just went to the mail box and found what I was waiting for. New shuttles. Pop-a-Bobbin shuttles. Jane is selling some, but I actually ordered these direct from Sally. She put them in the mail last Tuesday. They are here this Tuesday. Only 7 days across the pond and through customs? Amazing.

    Anyway, I had to try them out. The wood feels so good in the hand. I loaded some size 80. The hooks fit it well. One thing I really noticed was that these are the first silent tatting shuttles I have ever seen or used. I mean no clicks either from the tips as the thread passes through, or from the bobbin as in winds and unwinds. One thing I will do, though, is leave the little sleeve on the hook. I have a nasty habit of catching on everything. That is one of the reasons I don't usually use a bobbin shuttle. I can remove it to make a join, then put the cover back. Not a problem. I don't get in a hurry.
    I got one in apple and one in ebony. I like ebony. Very stable wood. That's why they make piano keys and oboes from it. I like the look of the grain in the apple and the color is just beautiful. Together they make a nice contrast for shuttle one and shuttle two.
    I am leaving Sunday morning for a week long business trip to Tampa, Florida. When I am not working, I know what I will be doing in the hotel room. Silently.

Bracelet

   
Sorry, only managed to get one bracelet done. This one is the first one I have completed, so I see a few minor things I need to address to make it look better. Still, it does not look too bad. I see I need to  adjust the tension and thread location on the side of the heart, get the proportions a bit more even, and work out how to get the tension right on the wrist band sections. I think the next one will have a magnetic clasp. It is just easier to use.
    I did this one with the beads that were given to us at Tat Days along with the pattern. However, the pearl in the center was not part of our package and I just thought it looked better than the other larger beads we were given. I know someone who wants this, so I will probably give it to her this week.

    And thanks to Muskaan for designing it.

New Old Projects

    I am working on the carousel, but now and then I have to do something else. This is one of those times.
   At Tat Days this year Muskaan was gracious enough to allow us to use her pattern "Bonds of Love Bracelet". This is a beautiful piece and it came in our goodie bags. I am just now starting to work it. I did two of the centers so far to see what colors I like. Guess what? I like them all!.
    I started with the green and gold. The red beads came with the pattern. There are a couple other things in the bag that I do not know what to do with, but they do not appear to be part of the bracelet as far as I can tell, so I set them aside.
    The second one is in Lizbeth 163, Blue Ice. I used a Swarovski crystal in the center and the rest are crystal silver lined Czech glass beads I found at Hobby Lobby. I think I really like this one. I have not seen the movie, but Frozen keeps coming to mind.

    I hope to finish these two this weekend. I have a friend who said his 11 year old daughter would just love the Blue Ice. I suppose I will give her that one.

A Break and a Butterfly

    I have to take a break from the carousel. The rings are so bad that I decided to redo the last 2 rounds. I am going to cut off the brown round and get the ring count corrected. I may start that today. Hopefully, I will be able to tat today instead of installing another dishwasher. Haha.

    That said, I went to our meeting of the Palmetto Tatters Guild yesterday. We worked on a tatted tube to insert into a pen. We probably did more chatting than tatting.
    I got in a copy of Iris Niebach's book on butterflies and made this one. I took the book and passed it around. Someone said that one of the teachers scheduled for this year at Tat Days is going to teach one of the butterflies. That is something to look forward to.

 

    They did like my butterfly. Of course, I had reasons to start with this one from the book instead of one of the others. Mostly it is the simplest to get going with. Secondly, I saw it has clunies, so I got my loom out and went at it.

What To Do

    I have tried to follow the pattern and photos shown in the book to make the floor of the carousel, but now I am pressed hard to make a choice. If you look at the last round I have done you will see it is not really laying very well. Sure, it is flat, but before I pinned and blocked it, it tried to cup severely. The rings are pulled , not round. The pattern is calling for increases in the counts of the rings of about 12 rings per round. I don't think 12 is going to increase it enough. I do not know how it was done originally, but I counted her photo and that is what she had done.
    If I continue, she says use 84 rings around. I have done a little math and measuring and I come up with 108 rings at this point. Perhaps I am missing something, but I have tried to be careful. It just isn't adding up. I think I will adjust and press on. Perhaps I should make some of the ride ornaments, like the swan or horse, to compare sizes so I get the floor the right size.

    Also, at the rate this is going, I don't think it will be ready this year. Not a problem there. It will be done when it is done. Things like this do make me want to stop though. Perhaps a break.

Not Tatting

    This morning I had planned on getting up, doing day 10 of Jane's TIAS, then spending at least the morning working on the carousel doily. This afternoon I wanted to work on my TAT program, which I have not done for a couple months. I really, really need to get it done and submitted.
    We all know the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray. And they did. I haven't gotten to tatting at all, other than the TIAS, which is what I did with the morning coffee. Just as I finished the TIAS and sent it off to Jane, the wife puts dishes into the dishwasher and runs it. All over the floor.
Somehow, the machine is leaking.
    Now it is running fine again, but only because I checked out the machine and it somehow had a small hole in the side of the cabinet. That let it leak. A lot. I went to Lowe's and bought a new one and put it in. It is working fine now. Actually, we have needed a new one for some time, I was just waiting for something to mess up. Now it is 4:30 in the evening, the dishwasher is doing its first load and I think I will tat. At least until the Super Bowl starts.😉  (Hey, this thing does smilies!)