Coming Along Slowly

 

    Yes, it has been a while. I am slowing down. Getting old.  Some days I can get to it to tat, some days I cannot.Still lots to do around the house, especially since it is fall. And do my leaves fall. But I like my trees, so I tolerate it. Even if I do have to wash the cars more just to keep the tree droppings off.

    This is round 6 done on the Stawacz doily. I have added 3 rounds since last post. For each round I have been able to do fast and easy, the split chain, to advance to the next round. Round 7 is like round 6, but has two more stitches on the chains. I will be glad to get to round 8. It will, at least, be different. 

    I just found out our county fair is on and open tonight. I think I will go. And carry some tatting (this piece) with me. Just in case. I doubt there is any there, but you never know. Perhaps next year I will enter something.

Split Chain - The "Fast and Easy" Way

     Slowly working on the Jan Stawacz Doily VI. Round 3 finished. I am moving to round 4 with a split chain, thanks to Marie Smith's "Fast and Easy" method. Then a split ring and do round 4. It will keep me busy for a while. I think I can do several more transitions to the next rounds using the split chain. I really prefer it to cut and tie. If you have not tried Marie's method, get it from Jane Eborall's techniques pages and try it. Oh, and once I found this method and saw how easy it is, I thanked Marie in person!

Doily VI

    Now that I have completed the Renulek doily and I have given it to my friend for a wedding present, I need something to work on. I do a lot of doilies. I give away doilies. I have plenty, but I just enjoy making them. People seem to like them. They are practical and they are amazed at how intricate tatting can be.

    I started something else, but I found the pattern was not working for me so I stopped. I started going through books and once again find myself returning to Jan Stawacz's patterns. This is from Tatting Theory and Patterns. Doily VI, page 83. Let's see if this one works for me.

    I plan to make two of these. One for the lady at the hardware store, maybe both. The one in the photo, well, I think it is obvious what I am using. I love King Tut thread. The one I make for her, if all goes well, will be size 20 Lizbeth. The shuttles are rosewood (darker) and cherry (lighter). Love my pop-a-bobbins!

Renulek's 2020 Spring Napkin - Done!

 

    It took a while. I finally got this one complete yesterday. The last round has 32 repeats. I was able to get to a couple per day, so it went pretty quick. At least for me. This measures 24" (61 cm.) across. There are 18 rounds. Two shuttles required.

    The friend I am making this for came by a couple weeks ago but never mentioned it, even though it was in plain sight. I wonder if he even remembers it. He is getting married end of August, though, so that may be his wedding gift. He originally wanted it for his mother but as it got larger he started saying he may keep it. I did make his fiancee a pair of wave earrings (Corina Meyfeldt's pattern) and she loved them so she will probably like this. Perhaps this would look good on their dining table. 

    Because it took so long, the center had started to get dingy. I took care of that by soaking in Orvus and a half teaspoon of bleach in a half gallon of water for an hour, then I laid it out and sprayed it with Oxyclean. No more dingy. Then I laid it out in the sun for a couple of hours. Finally, I lightly steam ironed it. No starch and it lays pretty well. Now the question is how do I "package" it to be given to someone?

One To Go

 

    One round to go. It has been a long round but I got round 17 done finally. This is the 2020 spring napkin by Renulek I have been making for a friend. I think he may have left town. (Got married and moved to Savannah.) I will hang onto it and if he comes looking, I will let him have it, but first I have one more round to go. If he doesn't come get it, it does look great on my kitchen table, doesnt it?

Question About Craftree

    

No tatting to show for a picture today. Just a question. Has Craftree been closed down or something? I try to login and get an error, then go to the dashboard and see nothing since 4/22/24. I tried to do as it asks and file an error report but that just gave me another error. I tried to post and got the error. I have been trying for over a month to get in normally. Does anyone have any information about this? Am I doing something wrong?

Courtship

 

    Sometimes there are patterns that are just fun to do. I have done these several times.

    Here we have Errol (white, snow dragon) courting his girlfriend. What? You didn't know the girl dragons are bigger? You haven't read "Guards! Guards!", have you? It's by my favorite author, Sir Terry Pratchett. There are 41 books in the Discworld series and this is from one of them. They are hilarious.

    The female dragon (forest dragon) is in size 20. The white is some sewing thread I had laying around, probably a size 100 or so. I have seen online that some do not know you can use regular split rings in place of the SSSR's. Your choice. I do the regular split rings.

    The pattern, if you don't know, is Flying Minor Norwegian Dragons, by Anne Bruvold. You can get it here: https://nuperelle.net/drager/monstre/MinidragerEng.pdf. There are also several other places it is available, such as Craftree. The pattern is free. Thank you Anne!

Only 2 Rounds To Go

 

    Only 2 more rounds to go. This is a pretty good sized doily, but then, I think all of Renulek's Spring Napkins are. That is one of the things I really like about them. I just finished round 16 of 18. The next 2 rounds are way more involved. Round 17 is similar to round 12. Round 18 is the last one and is decorative so as to be a closer. Right now, the doily is at 20.5 inches across. I did iron it so it would lay flat for it's portrait so I measured it. I expect it to be about 23 inches when I get done.

    I think my friend's mom will be pleased.

Spooky!!

 

    Ok. Challenge accepted. Jane Eborall graciously gave us the pattern to her Celtic Ferris Wheel. I had to try making it. Ever the rebel, when I saw required materials said size 20, I had to do it in King Tut thread. It came out ok. Not as precise as hers, but ok. I did try one change. The ring at the top of the spoke. I added picots and joins, thinking that might make them more stable. I am not sure it actually did, but it's done. I see a few that I got a bit too big, though. By the way, mine is 3 inches across. Nice pattern to work out. Thanks Jane.

    This morning I decided to post this, as I had just finished it last night. I took the photo, then checked her blog to get the name right. Great Caesar's ghost. She has a variation in almost the same colors! Is she watching me? Spooky!!

Back To Business

 

    I finally finished round 15 of the doily. We are finally getting some warmer days and I can sit on my deck, where the light is better, (sun). This is Renulek's 2020 Spring Napkin. It is the one I am "slowly" making for a friend, when I don't get distracted. It is not neat at present because I have not done any blocking or ironing. The lower left looks a little out of kilter but later that will block out.

    I finished this round by getting to the middle of the last chain, then doing a split chain so I could climb out with the chain in round 16. The entire round looks like what you see in the photo, a chain with a (floating?, thrown?) ring. What is the correct term? Anyone?

    Those of you who know me know I prefer Pop-A-Bobbin shuttles. The darker one is rosewood and the lighter one is cedar. I have a couple dozen of these and I do not have all the woods that they are available in. It has been a while since I bought any, though, and I need to see if Nick is still making them. What I would like to do is figure out what woods I do not have and order those to complete the collection.

New Store In Town

     We had a new Michael's Crafts store open this past Friday. I was the 3rd customer in the door. I went early to see what they have. There were just 2 other people waiting and we chatted until they opened the doors. When I went in, they asked if I was looking for anything  in particular. Of course, I said tatting. They said "What's that." I am sorry, but I have to be an ambassador for tatting everywhere so I pulled out the phone and started showing them tatted items. They were amazed, but unfortunately, the only tatting related items they have is beads. I found a few things  could use. The lady helping me was quite nice and when I got to the checkout, another lady was also very helpful. Well, I cannot let that go so I asked them what colors and made these for them.

 

    And now you know what I am doing while I am watching The Masters golf tournament.

Not In Love With It

     I may soon get over this earring kick I have been on. I had to find one that I don't care for eventually. The colors are for a friend of a friend. It's not the colors.

    This is one from IL Mio Chiacchierino number 3. I have not made the other one yet. I really don't care for the construction or the look. Doing the cabone was simple enough, but I think it needs more stitches. The instruction asked for 7 stitches between the picots. I think 9 would be better. 

    The second round starts with the ring attached to the cabone, then goes around doing ring, ring chain. No problem, but the way it ends is horrid. The pattern goes to the chain, ring, chain and attaches back to the black rings. I just don't like that, and I need to get better tension control on the chains. They are supposed to sag a bit. One of mine is almost straight and the other is too loose. 

    On top of all that, there is the gap in the black rings at the top of the cabone. To me it looks incomplete. I think it would look better if it would go all the way around without the gap.

    I don't think I will make a second one, and I will probably take this one back apart and redo it to see if modifications will help. Maybe.

Books, Books, Books

 

    I cannot help it. I have to collect.This is a good part of my tatting book collection. I currently have over 300, which is not as big as some collections I am aware of, but it is mine. I recently had an opportunity to purchase more books from a private sale. I was shown photos of what was available and picked out the ones I wanted. The problem was, do I have this book or that book already on the shelf?

    I have a great way to help with that. There is a piece of software available called Readerware. It is a database. You can get it for books, music, and videos. I have the one for books. This software could (and may) be used by libraries to check books in and out. I use it to keep my inventory. The nice thing is, there is a PC version (paid) and a smart phone version (free). I usually enter my data on the PC, then I can sync between the PC and the phone. You can find it here: https://www.readerware.com/index.php

    For the book sale I mention above, I went through the offer with my phone in hand checking to see if I have it or not, then was able to select the ones I wanted without duplication. If you find yourself in a similar situation, you might want to look into this software. It is really quite good and no, I have no other affiliations with the software other than very satisfied customer.

Now I Remember

 

    OK. Now I remember. The scanner doesn't really show the shine on this thread. It is Lizbeth Gold Metallic. Since I have been making earrings lately I thought I would do a pattern from the IL Mio Chiaccheirino #2 magazine. I wanted something different so I decided to use gold metallic thread. Not too bad, I suppose, but I wish the "gold" showed up better in the photo. I didn't use beads because the thread glitters and I think beads would not be seen very well.

    But now I remember. I remember why I rarely use metallic thread. Hard to handle, feels sticky, wants to undo. Now I remember. It does come out pretty, though.

Once Again

 

 

    I have to admit, Corina Meyfeldt knows what people like. A neighbor down the street saw another set and wanted some for his wife. He had done me a favor so I did not mind doing one for him. This is turquoise Lizbeth with gold lined glass beads. I really like the color.

    The guy I am making the doily for saw these and now I have to make a set for his fiancee. Those are a different blue and I used a different center bead. I may post those later. I am almost done with them already. 

    I like to make them, but I don't wear them so if someone wants them, I will usually make them and give away. These are habit forming, hehe.

I Have The Cure

     I have the cure. Do any of you suffer from high blood pressure, like I do? Well, now I have found a new medical device that will help with that. Even if your medications are now working as planned, just like mine, this new device can help. 

    My blood pressure can go over 200/100 if I don't take my medications. With the medications, I can get it down to 155/85 and my doctor has doubled my dosage recently. This new device lowers it dramatically. I just finished using it and took my blood pressure. 122/66 and my heart rate has increased too. (It is usually 48-50 so I need it to be higher.)

    So if you just cannot get that pressure down enough, consider getting one of these. You might be glad you did. 

    (To be honest, I think it is just get off your duff and move. So how was my sales pitch for a rake? And yes, I have started round 15 of 18 on the doily.)

2020 Spring Napkin Round 14 of 18 Done

 

    I am still slowly working on the 2020 Spring Napkin by Renulek. This will be given to a friend for his mother. Round 14 is done. Only 4 more rounds to go. The next round is really difficult (sarcasm here). It is make a ring, make a chain, make a ring, make a chain, all around. Hopefully it won't take as long.

Everybody Into The Kitchen

 

     I needed a break from tatting so I decided to make these. I got a recipe from the Joy of Cooking cookbook, but I don't really care for it. The dough came out too dry and it did not make the stated quantity. It said 60, I got 38. I do not think I made them too big. About the same size as other recipes for 60. I really think this one should have said 40. They do taste good, though. Now go make some cookies!

For A Friend

 

    Here is another pair of the Wave earrings, this time in brown and gold. My brother had shown the black ones to a friend who liked them. I don't know her, but he sent a photo of her to me. She has the prettiest brown hair. I immediately thought that this color combination would complement her hair. I sent this photo for his approval and his response was "She loves them". The earrings are already in the mail. (He lives about 400 miles away.)

    I don't know why, but I like making these. I suppose it is instant gratification or something because it only takes a couple of hours to make them. It could also be that women just love this design. Corina Meyfeldt really knew what she was doing designing them.

Another Pair.

 

    It has been a while, but I have revisited Corina Meyfeldt's "Wave Earrings". When she first designed them and put them up for sale, I purchased the pattern. Now she gives it away, but it was well worth the few dollars she asked for it. I think I have made around 50 Pairs and given them away. I'm not going to wear them. I just like making them and the pattern is so easy.

 

    I was showing my brother how I do them, making the rings, sewing in ends and then packaging them. He was surprised I put them in ziplock baggies, one on each side of a card. How else to transport them to someone that wants them without damaging them?

Glossy Mags!

    I probably shouldn't have. But they are so nice! And the glossy paper makes everything look so good! I already had a few. The temptation got to be too much. I did it. 

    I had 5 of these already. The magazine is IL Mio Chiacchierino. It is Italian and is all tatting patterns. Mostly jewelry. Remember the earrings I did a couple weeks ago? They came from issue No. 1. I told myself I don't need more, I have enough patterns, but then, there are only 15  issues in the entire run. Since I do collect tatting books, patterns, magazines, etc. I had to have the complete collection. Just got the last ones yesterday from Handy Hands. I want to make at least one item from each copy. Probably earrings, though maybe other stuff too. I definitely want to do the doily from issue No. 15. That's it on top. Maybe in King Tut?

    Oh, and now I can spell tatting in Italian. 

Round 13 Done

    Round 13 of Renulek's 2020 Spring Napkin is now finished. My hand is working a lot better now and I am getting my speed back. The next few rounds are simple and should go pretty quickly.

    Pleasant surprise this morning. I have been checking her website for the 2024 Spring Napkin every day. The other day, I emailed her and asked when and if the 2024 would be out. She didn't email back, but this morning it is on her website, here: http://renulek.blogspot.com/. I have already been to Etsy and purchased the pattern. I know I could just follow along on the web each week, but I like to support designers. I also like a written pattern. It will be a while before I get to it, but I do collect them and have all of them so far.
 

Some New Earrings

 

    I have not made earrings for a while so today I thought I would. Something different to do. I found  the pattern for these in an Italian magazine called IL Mio Chiacchierino, Issue #1. It asked for DMC #90, oranges and yellow, for spring or summer earrings. I had Lizbeth 188, Coral Splash. I think it looks about as good. Now to find someone who wants them. I think I will check with the girl who cut  my hair the other day.

I Did It My Way

    I decided to try making the happy pill as a "continuous" piece instead of 2 pieces joined. Joining in the middle seemed to be a little fiddly (one of my favorite words) more so than I care for. That probably has to do with big fingers and little thread. Also a bad hand. I still drop the shuttle a lot and have a hard time controlling the direction it is pointing. 

    So anyway, I tatted the first half, then tied off the thread leaving a tiny fake picot. I left the threads a little long, maybe 4 inches, so I could tat over them. I rewound with the second color, green, and started the next ring as 3+3 on a picot 2 ds back from where I tied off. Then I made the second half of a split ring as (vsp 3 vsp 3) cl. I made a normal 3+3/3-3,cl. Next ring has to be where the end of the last round was so I 3+3, joining to the tiny fake picot and covering threads with the second set of 3 ds. I finished the ring with /3-3, cl. Now just finish the round and go on to the next 2 rounds as usual for this pattern.

    I got up and went to the next room. Why did I come in here? I start to go back to my tatting and remember -- Get some polyfil. I hate getting old. I do that a lot, too. So now I stuff the pill. Next I make the ring for the bottom, joining to the 5 picots on the previous round.

 

 

    This time I decided not to make the pill so Goth. I used red lipstick. I am not too good at applique, but it works for me. So, my experiment worked. It made it a bit easier for me to make this. Not quite so "fiddly".

Tatted Amigurumi

 

     Jane Eborall had to post a happy pill pattern yesterday. I just had to make it. It was an interesting tat, mostly split rings. I am glad she wrote out the pattern. It was handy to use because I probably would have made mistakes without double checking with it. My result is in the picture. Isn't this amigurumi? In tatting?

    I got to wondering about the pattern and the progression. Since I did the red part first, what was the best way to do the second part, the blue? The instructions are, more or less, the same progression for both, joining in the middle to end it. Would it be a little less fiddly to stop the red, switch to blue, then continue from the center to the end? I may try that in a day or two.

A Good Book - Public Domain

     

    Since I am slow at tatting, I am posting other stuff too. (But my speed is somewhat returning!)

    I am re-reading a really good book, shown above. Flatland was written over 100 years ago (1884), but it is easy to read since it is not 1600's English. It is a mind bender. If you know the difference between 2 dimensions (2D) and 3 dimensions (3D), then you can read this. It is about a 2D "person" that discovers the 3D world. It really is about perspective. 

When you think that we are so advanced in our technology and understanding of the world, then find out that people way before us were this advanced, it does blow my mind, and probably yours too. Give it a read. 

You can download the audiobook here: https://archive.org/details/Flatland_Book .

A copy of the book (I like PDF) is here: https://archive.org/details/flatland_202012. 

Oh, the movie is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avMX-Zft7K4

Bird Feeder

 

     I am tired of the squirrels stealing all the bird food I put out. I hung it from hooks, trees, the eave of the house and still they found a way. Now I have it licked.

    I drew up a plan on the computer, then went out to my wood shop and made this feeder. Took a couple of hours. Then I installed it. It is about 6' off the ground and at least that far from the eave of the roof, on the front of my shop. They cannot jump to it or climb to it. Just what I wanted. It is not fancy but it works. And the birds like it too! Now I can help them through the winter. The squirrels can have the 26 million acorns in the yard.

Round 12 Done

 

    I'm still working on my hand so it is slow going at times. Tatting is great physical therapy for hand injuries.

    This is Renulek's Spring Napkin 2012 that I am making for a friend's mother. Round 12 is finally complete. Only 6 more rounds to go. It will probably take a while. I just don't have the attention span I used to have. On this round I would do one or 2 of the spikes (Florets? Clovers?) then do something else. On to round 13, one of my favorite numbers. Nope, not superstitious at all.