Still block tatting

I also posted over at Intatters yesterday about my blocks.... I didn't get very many ideas, but I did get a few suggestions. One was to put VSP's ever so often, which will stabilize my chains.... I'm going to try that.
Also, I'm planning on trying the idea Bri from Bri's Bits - which would be the simplest, now that I think about it : make the felt inside first, then sew the tatting to that once it's done.... Very forgiving, very logical. That explains why I didn't think of it on my own! :)
Enjoy your day!

Idea in the Works... Opinions & Suggestions Most Welcome!

I've been searching on Etsy, Ebay, Artfire, & pretty much the Google Universe for a new sewing box/project bag/container for WIPs... I had in mind exactly what I wanted, but haven't been able to find it. And all of a sudden, I had *another* idea!
When you search "project bag" on Etsy, there comes up alot of patterns, fabric, & other things not really what I was wanting. But also, there are needle cases. Like little wallets of varying size & shape. Now at the moment my needles are in their original (somewhat tattered) cardboard cases in my stash box. I keep the one I'm using tucked down in a ball of inactive thread in my project bag. Not very safe, not very stable, & I have to hunt for it more than I use it. So I was perusing these little cases, thinking how neat it would be to have either one of them, or one of the hand turned, hand burned little jars also available.Then it hit me -
MAKE ONE SILLY!!! So I ho'ed & hummed around here, seeking inspiration. And now i have this idea - I want to make the outside out of block tatting, then put a piece of felt on the inside. Maybe fix a button or snap to it, but that'll come later. At the moment I want the outside done before I worry about findings, fasteners, insides, or decorations.
But I need help! Here's what I have - After making a few blocks of 6x6 stitches, I realized it would take forever to attach them. So I realized that a box of 20 rows of 20 stitches would make one side. Then another of the same side would make another. Joined together, they would be the perfect size. Problem solved. Except how on earth am I supposed to make a block that big? I tried 3 different times last night & can't get it to come up right. The chains just won't fit together like a regular, nice square block. Grr... So I was thinking I might try 4 blocks of 10x10.... But then, how on earth do I join them together? It looks wonky if I sew them together....
SO - I'm not gone off the world, I'm just working on this project. I still have the flower doily going, but this is consuming my whole brain right now.... Could ya'll please help me out?? :)
Enjoy your day!

Boredom....

Well, things are looking up! I can bend my finger & close my hand into a complete fist with only minor pain... woohoo!!
I still can't feel anythign from the middle knuckle all the way to the tip, & touching my (admittedly purplish) palm sends tingles all the way to the end of my index finger. So no tatting for Randa. And yes, I'm going NUTS! I'm stalking here, etsy, ebay, books.... Staring, wishing, blogging about it.... darn it...
So I'm bored. I'm a nail biter (ew, I know it's gross but it's just as hard to quit if not worse than smoking! It's not like you can just not buy more fingers, & you carry them everywhere you go!) and all this boredom & idle hands time has my poor fingers looking like I've been grating cheese without the cheese... Great mental picture I know, but it's honest.
And here I was all burnt out, wanting to take another break..... Like they say, you miss it more when it's really gone, huh?
Enjoy your day!

Horse Related Accident

So... Ya'll know I have horses. Or so I say from time to time :) Well, as of today I'm a hunt & peck typer, & a not at all tatter! My index finger is... well it's easiest to say it's out of comission with a pinched nerve that shoots pain all the way back to my elbow if I bend it out of the "relaxed" position. :( I hung it on the saddle horn yesterday (the part that sticks up in the front) & hyper extended the index finger to the side, if you can believe that! I thought for a while it was broken, but it didn't swell or turn blue, & I *can* bend it if I have to to almost half normal dexterity. But I can't feel anything past the knuckle & its very painful to bend it, so I can't hold the thread. Go me! Fortunately, it's on the right hand so I can still write & feed myself :)
Hopefully in a few days I'll be back to normal. If not, I'll be going crazy!! Cross your fingers for me!
And in case you were wondering, this post took around 20 minutes for me to type! :)
Enjoy your day!

Super Excited

So I officially have my first Etsy sale... WOOOHOOO! I was beginning to think it'd never happen - I listed my first item back in around mid-May & haven't sold a darn thing. I'd actually gotten pretty lazy about checking it, slacking off to every other day... But I've been kind of away from the computer for the last day or so & when I got online tonight, low & behold, I sold the very first pair of earrings I made!!!
Apparently I didn't post a picture of them here, so I'll show you one now. I'm sorry for the size, I haven't figured out how to copy & paste without using the same size. And yes, this is the same picture I used in my listing.

Happy Dance, Happy Dance, Happy Dance for ME!! =-D
Enjoy your day!

Something Awesome! A new Shuttle!!

 Okay, maybe a PAIR of new shuttles!! And they're GREAT... I got them off Ebay, & to be brutally honest, I wasn't expecting to love them. Like them, but not LOVE them. They're handmade, but for the pair they were $10.95 US, or $6.75 for one. After all these years of oogleing David Reed Smith shuttles but being sad about the price, I wasn't expecting the same quality. They're Cocobalo (spelling sorry!) wood. I'm not sure why they came one with a pick, one without, but I kinda like it that way.

 Yep, they're the same size as a Clover - pretty great, huh? They're polished smooth, but not so smooth they slide out of my hands.

 This is the one I've emptied a shuttle to use... see how thick the wood is? Not fragile at all, even at the tip of the pick. It holds a little less thread than a clover, but not enough less for me to notice. I did have to sand the tips to fit my thread. I left it a little tight, so it's a little fiddly, but with time it'll stretch out. That's why I left it tight! :) I'm thinking of ordering another pair that I can sand out for #80 thread.... I haven't tried any on this set yet, but I think I might have made the gap a little big for anything smaller than 40 or so... Haha, darn! I'll have to order another set!! =D

 Side view of both. Yeah, I know it doesn't have a hole in the post, but I don't usually use the hole anyway. I imagine if you asked they could put you one in....

For size comparison. The pick is straight on the wood one. Ohhh, I love mine. I totally recommend at least trying them out. The guy was super nice, & he really wants to make the customer happy. You can get them all the way up to 3 1/2 inches I believe, so if you like a bigger shuttle, you can get one. The link is here & it'll take you to what is going to be their home page; it isn't finished yet, but there's a link to his Ebay store. They sell parts for old saws & tools, as well as tatting shuttles. I thought it was an odd combination, but I suppose it fits. For those of you that love the look & feel of wood, but don't have mega $$$$$ to spend on them, I would SO try these out. OldTymeAntiques is the name of the Ebay store, & Jeff Erickson is the super nice man that sold me these shuttles :) Oh - & I ordered them late Friday night, & they came MONDAY! if you get any faster than that, I'd have to have a time machine :)

Strep Throat, Snuggles, & Tatting... Sort of...

So... Tuesday I had to take my little girl to the doctor - a 102 Degree (farenheit) fever for 3 days worries a parent, ya know? - & turns out, she has her first case of strep throat... 1 week before her 2nd birthday! Of course as soon as we walked in the door of the doctor's office, her fever was gone & she felt fine. But, she got some of that awesome pink medicine that all little kids love (including me) with strict orders for lots of fluids & stay in the house time for the next 10 days. Which is great for someone with a child that doesn't LOVE being outside. For those of us with babies that were practically born in the barn, it STINKS. "Outside? Outside? Mama! Outside! MAMA OUTSIDE PLEASE OUTSIDE!!" has been the standard war cry around here for the last few days. And the cherry on top?? Now *I* have a 104 degree fever & honestly, if my head fell off right at my shoulders, I wouldn't mind. Maybe hitting the floor would make the throbbing stop. Fortunately, I've been the lucky recipient of lots of little girl snuggles & "love mommy"'s the last few days.... Would be nice if she realized braiding my hair with a barbie comb doesn't help, but how could I possible say no when she's being so sweet?? :)
Now for the tatting. Yes, there has been tatting. Up until today - I can't stand to look at anything that long. I promise, I have sunglasses on right now over my glasses so I can stand to look at the computer screen. It hurts that bad. I can't even stand to put my contacts in so I don't look like I'm looking through the bottom of a bottle.... But I'm so bored I have to do *something*, & this happens to require the least movement, & I can do it laying on the couch while Untatter plays on my legs. I'm telling you, she's being strangely sweet... :)
All of these pictures were taken day before yesterday, but the work still looks the same. The work was started (some of it finished) a week or so ago.

 These are earrings.... They're supposed to be snowflakes, but to me they look more like stars... Hmm... they came from my Rebecca Jones book - I love that thing; every time I flip through it, I find something else I haven't seen before! The color is Lizbeth, but I can't remember the name. I just know it's a lovely bright turquoise/teal color.... I might change the colors, but I need to empty these shuttles first :)

 This is what came next... It was supposed to be a pendant to go with the earrings, but I'm not sure it won't be too big once finished. But I like how the motifs surrounding the center make a kind of spoke on a wheel kind of thing..... When I finish it we'll see how big it is...

 This is the bigger project I'm working on. It's "Rose Garden Doily" from Big Book of Tatting. The outer chains are supposed to be white, but I thought green might make it more interesting. It's kind of a pea green, instead of the regular leaf green, but I like it. My pink & yellow are also brighter ones, instead of a rosy mauve color  & a pastel yellow. What can I say, I like to get punched in the face with color occasionally! I wish my camera showed up my colors better!

Here's the picture from the book. It isn't a very great picture, but I basically wanted to show the original color, as opposed to what I'm going to do. Which one do you like better?
I hope ya'll noticed I'm still using sew mates & clovers.... I originally wound my Boyes for this project, but ended up changing them over because I just wasn't enjoying using them anymore. To the point I actually wasn't tatting because of how uncomfortable they were. So maybe I'm a convert. 6 years later, I'm a convert to small post shuttles. Now... I just *hate* plastic! I need something pretty! Something that I'll be able to pass on to Untatter's children & say "this is what's special about this" someday.... It's quite possible that's the reason I clung to the metal Boyes for so long before using the more comfortable shuttles.Hmm... :)
Enjoy your day!

P.S. I should edit - the earrings were finished & taken pictures of a little over a week ago. They're already in my etsy shop... But the rest is pretty accurate. Now I just have to remember to post pictures of the Arches doily - it's finished, in a frame, & I LOOOOOVVVVEEEE it!!! I'm keeping it for myself buahahahahaaaa :)

Testing, Testing

So... Since apparently either my computer or blogger (I honestly have no idea which the problem is) won't allow me to comment on blogs, or to read half the ones on my follow list, I'm testing to see if I can actually post. If I can, can anybody see it??? Please comment - I'm seriously getting annoyed here... (with my computer, not with all of ya'll!)