Dead Computer

I'll be gone for a while... My computer contracted some kind of violent, unhealable disease day before yesterday & has gone on to the world of unused electronics. So now I have to borrow Sister's when I can think of it. So if you don't hear from me in a while, I'm still alive, just gone for a while :( Hope everything goes well for all of you, & I hope to be back soon!

Two days in a ROW!!

I tatted last night for what seemed like a short time, but by the time I was finished, I'd made a whole snowflake (which is rare for me - I never get to finish what I start on the same day)!  It's another from the Vida Sunerman book. It's not as nice to tat as the others, but I think I like the end result. I won't be tatting it again in the near future though. Partly because I don't have anymore danglies that I'd like for the center, & partly because I just did not enjoy tatting the outer round. It took for.ever. for me to get done - from around 8 to almost 11 p.m.... I was waiting for the dryer to get done so I could hang up Husband's work clothes before they had a chance to wrinkle, so I got some good "alone to tat" time.

I like the angel as opposed to the sequin.... Besides I'd never use it otherwise lol Thread is Lizbeth Jellybean #20.

Here are a couple of pictures of the earrings I mentioned yesterday. No beads or sequins, just an earwire on them. I was mostly trying to empty a shuttle after the larger snowflake, but I kind of like them. They look so different done in black. Now "snowflakey" or Christmas-ee at all, I think. Sorry for the pins - I wet them & blocked them & they weren't completely dry yet.

Enjoy your day!!

Camera isn't cooperating....

I was *going* to do a post today about tatting tools. It always interests me to see the tools other people use in their crafts, especially tatting tools. I think I have a relatively small stash & number of tools, but I find that asking, alot of times, shows me something I either need or don't need. But. Since I can't get a picture of my tool bag to take in a way that you can tell it isn't just a yellow blob of stuff I won't. But feel free to show & tell what you keep in your bag. I have a few things in mine all the time, & a few I put in for special occasions. How bout you?
I *do* have a picture or two from my last couple of days' worth of tatting.

 This is a snowflake from my Vida Sunderman (hope I spelt that right!) book. It's always interesting to me to see what a simple change of color can do to an item. This is called "Trefoil Snowflake" but with black thread & pink beads it doesn't look very "snowy" does it? I made a few pairs of earrings from the leftover black thread, but haven't go pictures of them & the light isn't very good here right now. Maybe later :)

I've never added beads at my joins before, but looking at all Fox's pretty beads made me want to try it. Unfortunately, this is what happened. It's not a very clear picture, but you can see the bend can't you? That's the only #14 crochet hook I happen to have in my possession at the moment. Grr.. But I did get it straightened out a little. Enough to make do until I need enough new supplies to justify the shipping it would cost to get a new one sent to me. My hobby lobby doesn't carry them that small that don't come in a kit & I certainly won't spend $14 for one crochet hook that I only use when I'm using beads or small thread (not that often)!! So I guess I'll just have to be super careful, right?
There are a few other small things in my bag right now, but I don't have pictures of them & likely won't until they're finished. Also in my purse I've got a small star pattern that I'm working on. It's pretty much a memorized thing, & I'm making it until I empty 2 full shuttles & I'll probably move on to something else. They're a gold color I'm no particularly fond of, but I think they'd make good Christmas decorations or crazy quilt add ons. They'll definitely hit my Etsy listings when I get a suitable number. At least they're good enough to keep me busy in the truck back & forth between shows.... Ahh the horse shows....
 I think when I get bored with snowflakes & angels again I might just pick up one of my "resting" WIP's.... Maybe the blue one or the rose garden thing... Well it would have to be one of them because they're the only ones I have that aren't finished.
Back to horse shows.... I'm pretty sure I've never done as poorly as I did at the last one. I actually almost fell off & stopped in the middle of my pattern. Two things I've NEVER done in my life. Back to the drawing board before another show. Seems I've neglected to teach Horse that he can't just sling around a barrel at full speed like a lunatic - he actually runs faster around a barrel than he does between; this causes him to drop his shoulder & slam both of us into them. Yep, that hurts the shins considerably. To look at me you'd think someone beats me with a broom handle from lower knees to upper ankle. I'd forgotten how bad a metal drum feels agains the leg. Fortunately, there aren't any shows until mid Novermber so I have time to work on it. Checking up at the barrels is a must for this little pony apparently... For the sake of my mobility!! I'm also working on picking up some speed. It's not him, it's purely my nerves that make us go so slow. Does anybody have any suggestions to help with anxiety? It's never been this bad & it keeps getting worse. It isn't the horse, it's the people standing around the fence. Though I'd never tell him, it's alot to do with the fact that my Daddy is standing there watching.... He's not critical or hateful.... I guess it's just an exageration of when I was a kid & I always did a little better when he was standing there at the fence... Made me push harder I guess lol Am I a weanie? Why yes, Yes I am! But if ya'll know of any (non-medicinal) helpers with the crazy nerves, I'd appreciate it greatly!
Enjoy your day!

Has it really been over a month??

I looked last night at my posts, & couldn't believe it'd been that long since I posted!! Yeah... Sorry for those of you who read me :) I'll try to be better I promise! It's been such beautiful weather here that I've been outside more than not, & I don't like to tat outside (unless I'm waiting at a race, which I've been doing again BTW)...
Speaking of - I finally went to my first race! Yep... And we placed! We got 2nd place in the 3rd division, which makes no sense when explained to anybody that hasn't ever run divisional barrel races.. NBHA is the big one I can think of. I know other Associations do it too, but that's the one that comes to mind. Anyway. Have been to 2 since then & didn't place, but he ran alright. Still working on speed... Apparently I'm not pushing him as hard as I thought I was. Have to work on that. I'm getting old & sceery is what my sister says :)
On to tatting. Not much to show I'm afraid. Still struggling with that stupid baby bonnet. Ugh. I'll be SO glad when it'd done, & unless I owe you BIG, no more will come off my shuttles. I'd buy them before I'd make another one! Bleh!

 Here's a picture of it in progress... Bleh.. I hope it's supposed to be cupping like it is or I'll never get it blocked & I refuse to start over.

 Side view, so you can see how much it's cupping...

 Made this cross as a diversion... I needed one. It's from Traditional Tatting Patterns, & it's some of the Cebelia Fox sent me :) It was apparently meant to be worked in smaller thread than #20 because it's supposed to be a bookmark, but it's HUGE. If I ever work it again, it'll be done in either smaller thread or with four "flowers" instead of six on the long arm. It hangs out the edge of an average sized Bible, so that tells you how large a bookmark it'd be. Maybe a wall hanging instead? I'm not sure of that either, because it's so plain... Hmmmm...

 I made *this* a while back, & have been meaning to show it, but haven't. It's Yarnplayer's "Arches" doily, done in some vintage Star varigated thread I got off Ebay a while back. I loved it so much I decided to fram it & keep it for myself... Despite several "I want its"... I adore this pattern & will be doing it again eventually. But this thread just makes it make me happy :)

 Next is something out of my normal area of conversation. These two (above & below) pictures are the phots on the front of two "Star Thread" giveaway pattern sheets I recently came across in a box of yarn a relative gave me. Now... I can crochet, but I'm by no means an expert, & I don't follow the patterns well. I'd rather tat, or make rag rugs, which is a new thing I've picked up, out of old bedsheets. Anyway. If you would like one or both of these patterns for yourself or someone else, I'd be happy to send you the original that I have. I don't have a scanner so I won't be making more than one copy. Anyway. It's first come, first serve, so leave me a comment with a way to contact you & I'll do my best to get it to you. I haven't yet posted them elsewhere, but if no one wants them here, I'll add them to the crochet chat thread over at Intatters. So there you go! Let me know something - I don't need them, but I can't make myself throw them away :)

Enjoy your day! :)

Okay... A *little* progress...

So. With some *very* helpful hints from Judy over at Intatters & StephanieGrace here on Blogger, I decided to give it another go. And this was the result. I did it while Untatter was napping today, so it took me about 2 hours or so. I'm really quite proud of it. It does look somewhat "padded", & it is quite floppy, but I'm altogether positive that that is a result of my lack of practice. A smaller needle & some practice would probably help alot. I do like the fact that my end join wouldn't twist if I'd asked it to. LoL.
Now, working with the needle, I made a couple of observations. Feel free to correct me if you feel like I'm incorrect.
1. It seems to me that while shuttle tatting is a bit more compact, it would be easier to needle tat on the move. Say at the doctor's office, because when you lay your needle down, it doesn't leave a loop of thread hanging to pull & become tangled. I *hate* laying down a ring in progress because it never fails - something always gets tangled up in it, & when I go to untangle the mess, it pulls my ring close enough together to make a mess when I try to loosen it back up. I'd have to be more practiced at it so it didn't take me a year & a half to reverse my work & tie the knot, but it's something I'm thinking about. It also requires (slightly) fewer tools. I might need a needle, & scissors, but with my shuttle, I carry several tools & use them. Hmm..
2. It seems like it'd take alot more practice to be good at. I know alot of you say you learned to needle tat because you couldn't get the flip. But for me, it's SO hard to get the stitches off the needle without twisting them up in a knot! Then I have to tie the knot at the end, which for me is an ongoing challenge of how to turn it the right direction so my next chain doesn't twist. Bleh.
3. I totally see why some people think it's faster, but I don't. A practiced shuttle tatter (even myself) can tat & pull the rings closed with at least the same speed. It just takes practice I suppose. Not that I'm a pro, or awesome, or super fast (actually quite the opposite)
4. I do like the way the chains close up better. Once they're "closed", or off the needle, they're done. No fiddly sliding the stitches back & forth to keep them where you want them.
5. Maybe with more practice I'll change my mind, but all the tying knots at the end of every element seems fiddly to me. Maybe I should practice more.
6. And finally - while I do believe it is useful to know both techniques, I AM a shuttle tatter. For now anyway. Not that I'm permanently putting up the needle, or that I'm looking down my nose... Just that the shuttle is my preferred method. For now.

It's tatting, I can't deny that. And when the needle isn't stuck up in my finger, it's actually enjoyable. I plan on more practice, and I do hope I haven't offended anyone. It is truly (to me) just as complex as using a shuttle. I look at a needle just as you look at a shuttle :)
Off to haul hay for the winter :)

Why I'm a shuttle tatter!

On occasion, I'm inspired to try something different to what I normally do. This happened the other night while doing my normal reading over at Intatters. There was a post asking if anyone else is into Cro Tatting. There are links to both the post & Youtube here and here.

At the moment, I can't afford to purchase the set of CroTat hooks they sell at Handy Hands for right at $34, especially on something I"m not sure I'll even enjoy. So, I searched through all my crochet hooks & couldn't find anything that would work. I tried. So... At this point, I thought "well, at least I can brush up on my needle tatting skills until I can find a hook that'll work"....Right....

This is my needle tatting. After 3 hours of trying, this is all I got. That cute little ring on the bottom there? That's supposed to be a chain. What I didn't take a photo of was the miles of thread bits & the first joint of my index finger that looks like a pin cushion. Bleh.Maybe it isn't worth it to me because I can use my shuttles instead... Eh...
Methinks I'll just shuttle tat rings & bare thread, then crochet over it if I want them both together. I've already picked out a picture of a rings only doily I plan to try this out on. Shuttles are wound, all is right in the world again.... :) Hats off to you people who can use the needle!!!
Enjoy your day!

For once....

All my dishes are done, all the bills are paid for the week. My floors are mopped, & my bathroom is clean. All my laundry is even washed, folded, AND put away....Untatter is watching "Word World", so she doesn't have any interest in Mommy - unless I choose to bring out my tatting bag.

So I can't do that, despite having nothing else to keep my hands busy. So. I'm talking to you about the things I've been doing.

This is the beginnings of my new carry around tatting bag. It's not sewn together yet, just laid up there. It's scraps from a pair of jeans that finally gave up the ghost when I put my foot in the stirrup to get on my horse the other day... Yeah, my drawers were showing. Fortunately, I was at home & no one saw! The light part is where I made my pocket. I wanted the outside of the denim showing inside the pocket.

 This is the crochet "outside" of my bag. I'm not a good sewer, or a great crocheter, but I can muddle my way through a few basic stitches, one being the double crochet. That's what this is done in. I had this yarn laying around the house. Found it under the bed a month or so ago when I was looking for something else & have been pondering what to do with it. I honestly thought I'd either used up or given away all my yarn, but I have a bag of this stuff - it amounts to about 4 skeins! Eek! I like it though... It's a nice, soft, denimy color of blue & white, & it seems pretty strong. Survived the Untatter tug of war last night.... When I get the last piece made to cover up the inside pocket, I have a swatch made that I'm going to sew to the back outside to put maybe a pattern in. I'm thinking it needs a pretty button or something on the outside, aren't you?? :)

 This is my tatting project in the works.  Yep, it's blue too. I'm alot like Lace Lovin Librarian in that I love blue. I always have. Can't control myself, sometimes it just shows up. I'm not sure if this will be a table cloths, a runner, or just a big square doily.

 It works up in individual motifs, & since I don't know split rings or chains, I have to cut & tie them each. But I don't mind. I actually kind of enjoy finishing each one & checking it out before I move on to the next. It was meant to be worked as four of the motifs, & be around 5"x5".... But I did the four & decided I wanted to do more. The plan originally was to work until I got tired of it or until I finished that ball of thread, then decide what I wanted to do with it. It's Lizbeth, so I figure I'll be able to get more. It was a break from the Rose Garden doily, & from the snowflakes & angels. I get bored easily nowdays. I think it's this time of year - I'd rather be outside, but sometimes it's just too hot to have Untatter outside for long periods of time.

This is the pattern. It's by Cherie Wheeler, if your screen won't show that up. I've had it for ages & never even tried it. I'm glad I finally looked at it & thought "oh this will be easy enough for me" :) If anybody wants it, I can send you a link. The web address shows up on my printout. It was a free pattern. Thank goodness for those generous people who design & post!!
I've also been riding every chance I get. I'm hoping by January (when the new NBHA season starts) I'll be ready enough to join again & start racing. I've missed it so much! It's been almost 5 years since I turned a can in competition & I never really realized how much a part of me it was until I got on another good horse. I've had horses in that time - one mare I'll have until she goes to heaven; I just can't really ride her anymore, & a less than great one I'm glad is gone... Even if I did lose money when I sold her, it was worth it - but none that truly touched my heart like Chico has done. No, I didn't name him. It's a part of the registered name he had when Daddy decided we matched. My father has this way of doing things so you don't realize it until it's already done... He asked me to ride this horse as a favor to him.  A month later, the papers were transfered & he was mine - or I was his, depending on who you ask! I'd have never taken a horse from him for nothing. Haven't done that since Melody (I've had her 15 years), the mare I'll always keep.  Much less one of the quality... Well now I'm bragging. Let's just leave it at I don't deserve it, but I have a wonderful father that still looks after me even though I'm almost 26 & have a small family of my own. He is truly a blessing that I thank God for every single day. Enough mushy stuff.
I've also been searching thread online. They've discontinued my favorite (Flora), and so I've been kind of searching here & there for something else nice. I use Lizbeth, but it's kind of hit or miss in the quality I've been able to find. Even when I order from Handy Hands, some of it is just.... not right. It could very well be just my taste in thread, but I just don't care for it. I love the colors, but I just don't care for the thread. So now, I'm asking if any of you have any suggestions. What kind of thread do you favor??? :)
Enjoy your day!