Author: DW

Pub and train tatting

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I was hoping to get home in daylight to photograph these, but no such luck! So a speedy shot for now of two versions of a Mary Konior pattern – one blocked of course, and the other not.

The blocked one was started in a pub and finished on a train. The unblocked one was train journeys all the way.
It has to be said this pattern is ideal for a commuter – one shuttle, no ball – it’s just rings on repeat. You can tatt this sitting on a train, or as I ended up doing for a while, standing on a platform waiting for a train. (You have to do a bit of magic with the hook, if you’re not a built-in hooker, so to speak.)
It’s also the ideal ‘end-of-shuttle buster’. I emptied three shuttles making just the first one!*
Amusingly, each motif has a mistake caused by its surroundings. The one tatted in a pub has one ring too small – a friend arrived and I lost count of my stitches. The one on the train has seven rings where there should be six. The train was dividing, and I wasn’t 100% sure I was in the right bit. (You know that feeling?) In the end I decided to make two sections with seven rings and pretend it’s a feature. (I work with web developers, there’s a nice little saying: ‘That’s not a bug, it’s a feature!’ Works for them, it can work for me).
They might not be perfect, but I’m rather pleased with them, really. They were so enjoyable to make.

blocked and unblocked

*why do I have three shuttles of the same thread? Well… it’s the only thread I have of this size, and I’ve decided it’s my favourite. But I’ve refused to buy any more nice thread until I get through some of what I have, and more to the point – finally decide on a bigger project. Also, I’m not sure what size it is… so I thought I should figure that out too. More of that soon.

WIP

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In a rush! (About to go out), and very tired. I stayed up far too late working on this. It’s for a friend’s daughter – actually, he asked for a Little ‘un but his daughter is very young, and the small ones are a bit fragile – I wasn’t sure she’d last that long. This one is wool and cotton – that Rowan Siena cotton is really vibrant, and I thought the colours might be more interesting than the more muted version for a little girl.

I tat for process

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I read a piece on Make and Meaning a little while ago, talking about crafters making things because they enjoy the process, or making things because they want the product. It’s popped into my head quite a bit since I read it, and I have to say, with crochet it’s probably 50/50 – I like the process, but I like having the finished product so I can give it to people.

With tatting, I think it’s all about the process. It’s so great learning something new – I taught myself split rings last year on the train on the way to work and was so excited I almost had to tell the stranger sitting next to me. Last weekend I finally took a look at ‘onion rings‘ (really easy – as it goes) but it’s such a joy when you get it all to work. I love the action of tatting, and the size of it. I love that you can chuck it in your bag and take it anywhere, you can tat at the busstop or fill a shuttle even when you don’t get a seat on a commuter train.

The thing with being all process is that once you understand the process you don’t mind if you don’t finish the product. I’ve got a pile of small tatted things (bad light at the moment – will take a photo at some point) that could be made into a bigger more finished ‘thing’ but it’s feels done now, I know it did or didn’t work so I’ve moved on to the next thing.

tatting

This is a Mary Konior pattern I tried at the weekend, after I’d been looking into ‘onion rings’. It doesn’t actually call for them, but you can use rings for the first two in each motif and finish it off with a chain around the outside. Because I’m an idiot I messed up the third motif, in all kinds of ways. I kind of tatted it backwards, which gave me a twisted picot when i joined two rings and then in a fit of madness I created a whole other ring I didn’t even need. I’ve managed to open closed rings in the past but i couldn’t open this one and decided to quit while I was ahead. But what now? Should i remake, or move on to something new. For once, I’m torn with this. I kind of feel like I should remake it actually. It’s really fun to tat, partly because it’s such a pain in the bum. Process, see. I didn’t even like the pattern that much when I started.

Little ‘un

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So, after the complete joy of finishing elephant number one (who, weirdly, is much loved but still nameless) I decided I should make another one. You know, just to see if the first one was a fluke, and to indulge my odd habit of making the same thing in different thread for no apparent reason.
I only really have one other thread for this kind of thing, and that’s some crochet cotton I bought online. I’ve got three colours, beige, white and dusty pink – and thus elephant number two had no choice, she was to be made those colours, or nothing.
I’ve used this thread before – I made a monkey with it, but what I found amazing this time is that if I’d made her any smaller, the backs of the safety eyes wouldn’t fit in her head. Poor wee thing. She really is quite small.
As I’ve mentioned before, the pattern for this is really nice. I made the head in super quick time – you know when you’re on a roll and just want to get things made?
I dawdled a bit with the rest, mainly as I’m still having a few neck/shoulder issues and I’m trying not to do stuff for too long. I was going to add two buttons to her dress – hence the slightly odd positioning of the one you can see, but even though that button is weeny, there still wasn’t much room for another.
I spent a silly amount of time choosing ribbon for her scarf. She was really rooting for bright red with white dots, but could I find that style ribbon thin enough? No, I could not – thanks for asking. She quite likes this daisy pattern though, and so we’re sticking with it for now.
I actually went ribbon shopping in Liberty (as well as John Lewis), and an assistant came over and squealed a bit when she saw her. As she very kindly helped me look, she asked if I would be selling her. I was bowled over with flattery, but I did say that she’d be about £300 at the rate I crochet and I wasn’t sure anyone had quite that much money to spend on… Well…
What exactly *is* she? Well. Half way through making her, I’d decided she should be called Atish, which I know is a boys name, but sounded like a good name for a shrew. (Atish Shrew! Bless you, etc). But she’s a kind of babyelephantyshrewymousey kind of thing, of course! I’m rather offended you couldn’t tell.

Some things are so hard to photograph

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Like this wee lady for example:

Honestly! If she wasn’t snuffling at the camera, the camera was misbehaving in low light. I swear I’d post a lot more if I could just get a decent photo of some of the things I’d been doing. Anyway – a baby mousiephant. More when I’ve got a better shot!

Speedy Elephants

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I’ve had a few problems with my neck / shoulder / arm. It actually looks like the problem is in my neck, trapping nerves and transferring the pain down my arm, occasionally making my fingers go numb too. I’ve had it on and off for the past year, but it’s been more consistently painful, and much worse for the past week or so.

I had a horrible feeling the/a doctor would tell me not to crochet any more so decided to make this at speed, so at least it was done… And isn’t she cute! I made her last weekend on and off, just before things really kicked in.

Crocheted Elephant

This is the pattern, available on Etsy. It’s very easy to follow, and there’s some nice details. In the end, as I was trying out the invisible decrease, I didn’t do some of the back-loop stitches, which would’ve made the pads of the feet and arms more defined. I only mention it incase the pattern author should see this and get annoyed that I’d ignored her very good instructions! As I had the pink yarn I thought I might aswell use it for the feet/arms. It might be the pink that makes this look a wee bit like a cross between a mouse and an elephant when you see it in real life.

It was a also good excuse to use one of the teeny buttons I bought at Ally Pally Knitting and Stitching show last year too. Not really needed, but the buttons are so nice it’s great to use them on *something*. I was going to put two on there, but it was an after thought and I couldn’t get the needle down far enough without puling out stitches.

She has a scarf of course, as I suck a bit at sewing on heads to bodies. i didn’t do a terrible job actually, but she looks kinda nice with a scarf anyway.  Unusually, she doesn’t really have a name – but she’s clearly a girl, whereas most of the monkeys I make are usually boys.

( This monkey is really a boy – I’ve taken his hat off, and he does seem very grateful. He’s accessory-less, and and I think that’s the way he likes it).

Knitted Amigurumi

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I have a few things to blog about, by no daylight time to take any pictures! I’ve been making a few tiny tiny things which will make more sense with photos, but in the meantime I stumbled across Dangercrafts. They sell fantastic patterns for knitted toys, like this:

and this

I can’t actually knit (more of a crochet girl), but they’re so nice, I thought I should share, just incase you can. (Because, y’know, you probably *should*)

In the meantime, I’m trying to think of a bigger crochet project to make. Like an afghan or a blanket – but… I dunno. Not a hexagon one or a ripple one, because as nice as they are, they wont really go with our house. (Not that I know what would, actually…) Also I made a hexagon the other day and managed to make it with one side too many, which was rather impressive…

I was thinking about making this though – because it is beautiful:

This is made by Yarn Theory, on Flickr. She did a fantastic job – and its actually much nicer than the one shown in the pattern. So we shall see. If you have any suggestion dear lone reader, let me know. Thanks!

Lunchtime links

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I’m not a knitter, but if I were, I’d think about making these – Totoro gloves!. The link is to a pattern on Ravelry – you’ll need to be logged in.

This is also wonderful, and huge. A crocheted Super Mario blanket.

And finally, Shauna Richardson has been commissioned to crochet three 30 foot lions as part of  ‘Artists taking the Lead’, for the Olympics in the UK. It’s a huge undertaking, which she estimates will take about 2 years.