Win some, lose some

July 3, 2011July 3, 2011 DW3 Comments

I’m a bit behind with updates – although really, I’ve not made anything major. I finished the primrose posy that was on the shuttle last time I posted – and it’s already been rehoused with a friend. She’d not seen tatting before, and was very complimentary, which was really sweet. My sewing leaves a lot to be desired, but she was nice enough not to notice that bit…

This is the hand dyed thread from Yarnplayer – which is lovely actually. I have made another one, which I might put on black, if i can find something black to attach it to – really makes the colours stand out.

I decided it was time to make up my own design, so I’ve been doing that on the train recently. I thought it would be good to make an edging, so I’ve been sketching a bit – but with thread instead of a pencil:

I finally decided on a design I liked – very simple, and probably been done before, but actually, while it tats up nicely, it looks pretty terrible on the bag:

If you ignore the clash with the ribbon – which kind of goes without saying – it just looks terrible sewn straight into the fabric. It needs to be sewn into a border of some sort. What do people normally do with this kind of thing?

It’s also too long I think. Getting edging the right length could well be an art in itself.

So that was all frustrating. I need a new project to work on. I’m making another broomstick lace scarf as a gift for someone, and I have another stashbuster crochet scarf knocking about, but nothing I’m that excited about. Time to get the books out maybe…

Rinse, repeat

June 5, 2011 DW3 Comments

Since I last posted, I’ve been unable to break the habit of tatting the Posey pattern. It’s just the simplest easiest thing to do on the road. I did actually start, and complete over half, of Mary Konior’s ‘Hearts Desire’ – but managed to screw it up when I changed from the train to the bus and the man siting next to me started up a conversation. Now it’s a lacy 90degree angle, and no use to anyone.(Or does anyone need a lace set square? Let me know) so I finished off the shuttle with another posey, of course, that being the joy of a shuttle only pattern.

I’ve made three of them into more lavender bags. Another posey – not made into a bag- is loitering on my desk, and one more is on the shuttle. Actually it IS getting kind of silly. Must find something else to do.

Ages ago I made this motif when I was testing out the linen thread. It’s really dense – so dense it looks like it’s machine made when you see it close up. As that’s just been hanging about too, I thought I’d use it on another lavender bag. Then I thought I’d try adding a border to see how that looked. I tried three different borders in the end, and this is the most basic. It looks ok, but I must admit, I don’t love it… I think this linen is a bit thick for this kind of work – but at least now I know. Next time maybe I’ll use DMC Perle or something. I did enjoy making it though – perhaps this is the ideal kind of project for someone who likes making lace (in various forms) but doesn’t know where she’d put a doily. Also, I have to say, i LOVE this ribbon. It’s so cute, and umm, so CHEAP.

I’ve also been making another one of these. I must’ve made about 5 now! It’s a gift for a friend who’s having a bit of a rough time at the moment. I was wondering what to make her, and I went back through my flickr stream and noticed she’d commented on the first one I made, so I thought she might appreciate one. I really hope she likes it. It’s very similar to the one I made for myself – but I managed to fit on two wee buttons on her dress. It’s such a great pattern, probably the best, and most used pattern I’ve ever bought.

It’s chucking it down outside (hence crappy photos again). Oddly, it’s quite nice. I keep looking at my tomato and chilli plants and thinking how happy they look. It’s not been the best of weekends, but I feel a bit more cheerful now. Maybe it’s default aromatherapy. This room smells like a lavender farm 🙂

Doing something with my tatting

May 8, 2011 DW5 Comments

So, last week (the week before?) I mentioned I’d been tatting and chatting a bit, making some Mary Konior posy designs. I’ve also finished the pieces I was doing on my commute, so I thought for once i should do something with them.

At the end of last year, I was given a 1930s Singer sewing machine. It’s hand cranked, very gentle, and to be honest, all you really need to do is turn the handle – it’ll guide the fabric through pretty straight on it’s own. I’m scared of sewing machines on the whole, but I do love this one. It was given to me on the death of a neighbour of mine – she’d been a neighbour for about 30 years. Also, my parents went to a great deal of trouble to get it all fixed up and working again, so I love it because it’s simple, beautiful and sentimental.

As you can see, I’m taking it pretty slowly! I decided to make some lavender bags…

The top ones are smaller, so they have little hang tags to go on a hanger. The ones directly above are slightly larger and I finished these off with ‘piping’ – which is actually just a crocheted linen chain. I hand-stitched that and I think it was worth it – does finish them off quite nicely. I’m half tempted to tat a border for them, but they’re quite small, and I have a feeling a border might overwhelm them. They’re just to slip in a drawer to make your clothes smell nice.

How big are they? We’ll here’s a little helper for scale:

And finally, the whole lot. They smell amazing – I bought the lavender, as it’s too early to pick in the uk. I have some left too, so I’ll get tatting and make some more.

The good thing about these, is that at least they have a use… Even if you give them to people and they don’t really like the look of them, they can still chuck ’em in a drawer and they’ll do what they’re meant to (make things smell nice). Otherwise I have a terrible habit of just chucking the tatting in the drawer as it is, and that’s not a lot of use to anyone…

Now I just have to ween myself off the posy pattern. As I do most of my tatting in transit, it has to be *the* ideal pattern. I know I’ve said that before, but actually, the more I do it, the more I love it.

And then there were two

April 10, 2011 DW2 Comments

It really feels like these have taken forever. And after all that, I’m *still* not sure I like them that much. One minute I think they’re ok, and the next, I think… ‘meh’. Not sure what i was expecting – but everyone else’s on Ravelry look so CUTE. These just don’t seem as nice in real life.

As they were for a gift, i sort of feel like I need to make something else to go with them to make up for it – so much for a quick gift idea! I already made one complete shoe in different wool that didn’t work – AND changed the tongue on the shoe I posted previously. I think the wool just wasn’t chunky enough. Oh well. Live and learn I guess.

Tiny crochet flowers

April 3, 2011 DW3 Comments

Hello – it’s been a wee while, but I am still here. I’ve managed to lose the charger for my camera, so have to wait until I can twist someone’s arm to take shots for me at the moment, and luckily, today was the day.

After making the charm I mentioned in my previous post, I got a bit addicted. I switched the pattern to one I found for crocheted coasters, and with a bit of adjustment, found they work really nicely as a little bracelet:

I tried it with more than two flowers – but it gets a bit too much. One or two flowers works best I think.

Only problem with that is that they are really addictive. If you’ve made one, before you know it you’ve made at least four. I was using DMC size 12 and size 80 thread – the blue variegated one is hand dyed thread, from Yarnplayers store. (I actually bought it for tatting but am in the middle of a project using an ecru thread, and was itching to try it!).

Aside from that, I’ve been wrestling with these baby moccasins. The pattern is great – but I’m having huge problems finding suitable wool, for some reason. I made one shoe with wool I thought would be ok, in the biggest size, on a bigger hook, and it was still a bit… flat. So ditched that, bought some new wool, which is lovely – but I still think it could do with being thicker. (The laces are also too long – ignore that for now).

I’m really in two minds about this. It’s ‘ok’ – but I hate the thought of giving people something ‘ok’ that they’re then forced to be enthusiastic over. Do you know what i mean? I’d rather not give people something that’s secretly a bit rubbish. We’ll see.

Aside from that, I’m making a bigger piece of tatting on my daily commute (a Mary Konior repeat pattern) and a crochet hook case, which I’m just about to block, before I attempt to sew the inside… It’s my first sewing machine project, and a chance to try out my reconditioned hand-cranked Singer, so wish me luck… (I’m scared of sewing machines). Oh! Also, I managed to get to April’s Ravelry meet, which was really nice. I really hope I can make a few more this year.

A crocheted charm

March 3, 2011 DW3 Comments

As I mentioned in my previous post, I’ve been playing around a lot recently, trying things out. I’ve been doing a lot of crochet with thinner thread – from size 12 DMC perle to size 80, which I usually use for tatting. Generally, I’ve been using a .75 hook, which seems to work well for both thread sizes.

I spotted a great adaptation of a bookmark pattern on Ravelry. The bookmark itself is really nice, but I spotted someone had made it into a necklace, which works really well. Momocat – the maker of the necklace – graciously said I could try out her idea myself (only polite to ask!), and so I did, using a DMC Perle size 12.

As the thread is so small, I decided to make a charm which hangs off a chain, rather than a complete necklace – and I think it came out quite nicely…

(These photos are snapped with my ever reluctant camera – an over head light and TWO desklamps, so forgive the colour variations.)

I made a chain with a loop at the end, and crocheted a simple disk to pull through as a closure – seemed to work quite nicely…

I’ve made a couple more too – but they’ve not photographed well, so you’ll have to take my word for it. They’re actually quite addictive.

Hearty crochet in different threads

December 30, 2010 DW1 Comment

Well, it turns out these hearts are quite addictive.
I’ve mentioned in the past I’m not 100% sure which thread I like to crochet with best, and so this has given me a little chance to try a few things out…

• At the bottom, there’s the Rowan Siena. I love the colours this comes in, they’re really vibrant and have a great sheen. I made a red heart with this too – several in fact. It’s nice thread to crochet with, big n’ chunky. A bit marshmallowy.

• Then there’s a DMC linen thread (No. 10) I bought to try out. It’s umm… really coarse I guess. Not sure what I was expecting, but not that. It’s a bit like crocheting with string. Kinda tough, and I would imagine a wee bit hard on your hands after a while.

• There’s a couple of DMC perle hearts in there too, one red and one purple. I had this thread knocking about – maybe for tatting, but at a size 8 it’s a bit thick to tat with. Actually, it crochets up really nicely – and could be my favourite of the lot

• Finally, there’s a heart in size 80 DMC – which I actually do use for tatting. This is the thinnest thread I’ve crocheted with so far, and I quite liked it. As the thread is so smooth, you can see every detail on every stitch, which could be good or bad. Less room for mistakes!

Now all I need to do is *stop* making them. I have one more gift to decorate, and then that’s it. Maybe…

Last minute Christmas crochet

December 24, 2010 DWLeave a comment

I managed to sneak in a quiet 5 minutes today while everyone off at the shops. I’ve done all my shopping (hooraaay!), and so I took the opportunity to make my wrapping a wee bit nicer…

Isn’t that cute? It’s a heart that lots of people have made into garlands (Ravelry link), but if you add a little crochet chain they can be hung individually. I’ve attached one each to gifts for a couple of different people. Hope they like them!

If you have a spare 5 minutes, the pattern is here.

Also, I keep meaning to say, after the hell that is sewing in/tidying up ends on tatting with size 80 thread, you really appreciate sewing in the ends on crochet. It’s SO EASY by comparison! I’ve almost got to the stage where I *enjoy* it 😀

Monkeying around

December 21, 2010 DW2 Comments

I keep meaning to post an update here, and my lack of photographic skillz scuppers me every single time. I finally finished the monkey I was making for my friend’s son, and so he was packed off with the elephant I’d already made for their daughter.

While my photos of him were a bit rubbish, I was really pleased with the way he turned out. Actually, he was my best yet in that style I think. I didn’t follow a pattern for the arms and legs, but used this pattern (as ever) for the head. I always change the face as i kinda like them not looking exactly the same, and this ones face came out really nicely (even if i do say so myself). I did try a couple of different mouth positions, now i think of it. Little things like a mouth too high or too low can really change the character. This wee chap looks quite young, but bright eyed and hopeful, I think.

I posted them off just after the first lot of snow (but before the second) and they got to their destination in record time. The mum and dad loved them – now they’re packed away until Christmas, to be given to the kids.

I’ve finished a bunch of other stuff too so will try and take some pictures over the next few days, if I can. Mostly I want nice pictures of my broomstick lace scarf which I finally finished! More of that another day.

New home for a tatted primrose

October 25, 2010 DW3 Comments

You know how it is when you’re reading someone’s blog, and you find yourself with a spare 5 minutes, and then suddenly you’re off elsewhere peeking into someone else’s life? In the summer I was reading Attic24‘s colourful crochet blog, and had a wander through the links in the side bar. I came across the Little Pink Room – and actually, you know what made me love it? It was this post talking about the messy bits in houses that you never see through the window of the internet.

It made me smile, mainly as I’d just been wracked with jealousy over the sofa in this post. It’s sort of nice to know that other people’s houses aren’t as perfect as you might think, and that y’know… Your own house might not be brilliant, but there’s *some* bits of it that are ok, and sometimes that just has to be enough.

Anyway. To cut a long story short, I chatted on email to A, the owner of the room(s) and the blog in question. She’d never seen tatting in real life, and as a tatter that tats and has no idea what to do with it, I said I’d post her some.

I made the middle bit of a Mary Konior Primrose path doily – mainly thinking that it’s the sort of size you could so something with, rather than it being an end in itself. I thought it might be more useful.

Anyway – it’s found a lovely new home! How exceptionally nice! And, A, you are more than welcome.

In other news, I’ve been making toys for the children of my old flatmates. I met the children a few weeks ago and have been desperately trying to get these finished ever since…

I wanted to make something I could count on working, so yes, it’s another elephant – the fifth! Such a good pattern though, and fun to make – all except sewing the head on, which almost reduces me to tears every time. It’s *really* annoying and fiddley.

I’m also getting close to finishing a monkey – yes another one…

I quite like this little chap. That’s the second mouth – I’m really picky with mouths and eye placement – it makes a massive difference to the final character. The first was too serious. A bit grown up. This one feels a bit more friendly, and just a tiny bit cheeky – a bit like the little chap he’ll be living with.

And work continues on the broomstick lace scarf. How it’s taking so long i just don’t know. Every other comment I read from other people who’ve made it seems to make out like they practically finished it before they started. Still. It’ll be nice when it’s done – and oddly, I’m still enjoying making it.

And finally – for any UK tatters out there – I ordered a book of snowflakes from Roseground and they’ve sold out. They even went to a fair to try and buy more in person and their suppliers had sold out too. I asked it I could swap it for a different book of snowflakes and they have none of that left either! So it sounds like there’s a blizzard of tatted snowflakes on the way this winter.

In the meantime, I’ve ordered Jon’s Tatted Snowflake collection as I’m taking a wee break and I wanted some small but interesting little things to make on the journey. If I can remember how to work a SCMR, all will be well. I’ll let you know.

Occasional Crafter

Crafting, occasionally.

Category: crochet