Odds n’ ends

June 10, 2012June 10, 2012 DW14 Comments

Hello! I’ve had a few days off, weekends away, and various house guests, which is why I’ve been a bit quiet recently. I have been tatting a tiny bit, although not as much as I’d like – mainly as I can’t always get a seat on the train, which is where I usually tat. Spare evenings are still taken up with The Knitted Scarf, which is coming along nicely. (Although not without a fair bit of unpicking, whilst trying to watch Alien in the dark. Unpicking knitting is quite frustrating, isn’t it? Not so with crochet.)

Above is the trusty Stormtrooper, engaged in a bit of a scrap with some train end-of-shuttle doodles. I do like these daisy chains…

These are size 80 thread… I’ve not really decided what to do with them yet.

They’re not that big. Perhaps the right size for a bracelet or a necklace, but a bit delicate. I’ll stitch them on to something, I think. Not sure what yet, but it would be nice to use them for something.

This little piggy is currently in transit. He lived on the shelf for a little while, and then decided it was time to head out. I love making things for people – but I just can’t make them to order! Ages ago, after a lot of not-so-subtle hints, I made my friend and elephant. Her mum and I were with her when she opened it, and her mum really seemed to love it. I always meant to make her one too, and then time wore on and I forgot. As I was wondering what should become of the pig, it dawned on me that maybe she would like it, so off he popped in the post. Hopefully she’ll get it next week. It’s always a bit tricky as they’re not *that* sturdy, so they’re not really toys for very little kids. They’re shelf dwellers really, but they do like to be loved. I hope she likes him.

In other news, I went to Yorkshire for a few days which was lovely. I had a brilliant time (seaside, countryside, cream teas and brilliant company!). We went to Nunnington Hall, and spotted this lovely crewel work:

There were three panels, all quite large and they were beautifully done. They had chunky stitching and felt quite free-form, although they were carefully planned out with lighter stitches before they were filled in. I loved the feel of them though (visual – I didn’t touch them!) As I’ve said before, I’m not a needle worker, but I would potentially make an exception for something like this… Like I need another hobby!

Monkeys, crochet, tatting, sewing, triumph and failure

April 15, 2012 DW10 Comments

Yes, this post has something for everyone. Or at least something for everyone who likes a bit of craft – otherwise, look away now.

I was of course making a pig, last time I posted. It’s still at the head stage, because the Ipad refuses to display the second page of the pattern, and I’ve not really been sitting at my other mac, which displays it perfectly. I will finish it, but over Easter as I was away visiting family, I grabbed two balls of yarn and a hook and decided I’d try out some yarn I bought for monkey making a while back.

(Look at her there – relaxing mid-photoshoot! Honestly. It was quite hard to get her to pay any attentional at all.)

The yarn was £2.00 a ball and is Rowan hand knit cotton. I must admit, I don’t love it for this kind of thing, I’ve decided. Two main reasons:
• I crochet really tightly anyway (which is actually very good for making toys) but it makes some yarns tough on the fingers – and this is one of them.
• The stitch definition is a bit too good! Its an odd negative, I know, but I think sometimes the fact it shouts ‘I’ve been crocheted!’ can really get in the way of the character of the toy. Something a little fuzzier is probably better.
While I was away, I made all the boring no-brainer bits: ears, mouth, hands, feet and I started on the rest of the head. I finished the head in the week and today I forced myself to make all the limbs and sew it together. Sewing of course, being the worst job of all.

Usually I put scarves on my monkeys, but today, with sore fingers, I couldn’t face crocheting anything else. Out of the blue I decided to make a dress instead. The monkey is actually an odd colour in real life, and just as I was about to chop up some linen, my head said ‘umm, you’re doing this in a rush, with no idea what you’re doing. Use something you don’t care about’. For once I listened and used a bit of old sheet instead. I must admit, I’ve done a dreadful job on the dress sewing! It’s appalling – and worse – the monkey is trapped inside. I had to sew her in, which is something I really don’t like (it’s sloppy, I think). Having said that – Look at her! She’s hilarious. As I sat down to sew her in, I spotted the crochet flower – it’s been knocking about on my desk for ages – I crocheted it in tatting thread a while back.

I makes a big difference I think. Without it, she looks like she’s in very drab school uniform. Having said all that, I quite like the overall effect, and so I’m going to ponder on it all and probably remake the dress, but better. I did a quick google search before hand incidentally, and found this tutorial. It’s not brilliant, but gave me enough confidence to have a go. I didn’t pin anything or measure anything… it shows. Next time.

If you wanted to crochet your own monkey, I used this pattern again, and just personalised it a bit as I went. So that’s the crochet – and the sort of triumph, on to the tatting / sewing / failure next.

Before Easter I thought I would try making a ‘lunch bag’ style bag, to put tatting on. Most of the tutorials I’ve seen have all been for bags in one colour, but I wanted side panels on mine.

Only thing is, I also lined it, and by the time I’d finished, it doesn’t really fold over properly, which is really annoying. I think it’s all too small for the thickness of the fabric.

I know it needs a button – but even with it, it’s a very clumsy looking thing – so back to the drawing board on that one.

Also, I’ve been trying out using tatting for a brooch – and I’m not keen on that either!

This is it 3/4 done – but I’m still thinking about whether to finish it or take it apart. I made the edging in the week (my own pattern, for once) – but it’s really there to hide the fact the circle isn’t perfect. So… how do people make and hem circular brooches? Actually, even as I typed that I think I probably know the answer to that one. They’re better at sewing than me 🙂

Never mind. You don’t know these things till you try ’em.

In other more exciting news – I’m learning to knit! I asked specifically for no chocolate this Easter, and so instead of an egg, my mum gave me a massive ball of practise yarn, a pair of needles and some of her time in teaching me. She’s a brilliant knitter, but doesn’t enjoy it, so it was very sweet of her to put herself through it. What a lovely present. I’ve been forcing myself to get that monkey finished all week, so I can get on with trying to knit a scarf! I’ve got the basics of knit and perl, and I can just about cast on and off (with a bit of prompting). Needless to say I have grand ambitions but like all these things, *trying* to take it one step at a time.

Phew.

Doing something (else) with my tatting

March 28, 2012 DW12 Comments

(side note – clicking any of these photos will make ’em bigger.)

Last year, when I decided I was producing a lot of tatting and it was about time to do something with it, I made some lavender bags. A complete sewing novice I thought they’d be a good place to start. Actually, they were… Tiny practice pieces, all a bit wonky, none of them with the motif actually in the middle. Luckily lavender smells lovely and if you squint a bit the wonkiness fades, so they do the job quite nicely.

After my quilting adventures, and an earlier attempt at a drawstring bag, I decided it was time to try something new with my tatting. Still all straight lines of course, but, you know – no point rushing in to curves!

I’m quite pleased with this. Made a few mistakes but learnt a bit too. I did have to unpick the sewing that holds in the drawstring about 5 times – it’s actually very tricky at that size on the machine. Next time I might do it by hand. I’ll also plan to sew on the tatting in advance rather than in the middle of everything, because I got so impatient with it!

I mentioned in my previous post that I finally sewed in the ends of a few pieces of tatting I’d had sitting about, including the Mary Konior pattern made in Valdini thread . I must admit, I really wasn’t that keen on the colours of it at all, but after blocking and sewing, I’ve changed my mind.

In the end, I just wanted to use it for something – anything really, and so I bashed out another lavender bag. I think I overstuff them usually, but this time I was a bit more sparing, and it makes it look a lot more professional! I think the linen knocks a bit of the garishness out of the colours – generally mutes it a bit. Now I’ve actually gone from not liking it much at all, to loving it!

So, all good. Room for improvement, but ok for a Sunday afternoon.

Back to the tatting chat

March 25, 2012 DW7 Comments

What with all the quilt euphoria, you might think I’ve not been tatting, but I’m still clicking along in the background. When I can get a seat on the train I always tat – it’s a bit like meditation for me. Stops me getting angry that the trains are always late, and gives me time to mull over the day ahead or just gone. Sadly, the above Storm Trooper refused to sew in the ends, and so I had to finish this off alone. The pattern is from here, and I must admit, does benefit from some beads or other embellishment. It’s a bit plain as it is. (The Storm Trooper helps.) I’m tempted to make it in green though, with red beads, as it does make a nice little holly wreath. Perhaps nearer Christmas.

While we’re talking sewing in ends, this is the pile I’ve forced myself to deal with this week. The beaded one on the right I only made a week or so ago, but the others have been lurking about for ages. In the end, I left them on the kitchen table, and forced myself to do a tiny bit of sewing when I was waiting for a kettle to boil or something to cook. Bit by bit it wasn’t too bad. As a person who crochets, I’m always reading about the chore of sewing in crochet threads – but seriously! Wait till you have to deal with size 100 tatting thread!

This is 4/5’s of a Susanne Schwenke snowflake. I love this pattern when it’s complete – while it’s a single section on repeat, theres something about it that feels a bit erratic, reminds me of sparks flying off a sparkler.To be honest there’s absolutely no way you’d see that from the above, but trust me, it’s nice. Anyway, This was the first attempt, but I wasn’t thrilled with it. It’s a tricksy pattern, and there’s the tiniest bit of bloc tatting in there, which I’ve never done before.

That’s me learning block tatting. It’s almost like you tat a chain on one side of the thread, and the next chain on the opposite side. Also, I finally learnt how to make a lock join – tatters, isn’t it hard *not* to flip the thread? Seriously, it felt like I was defying the laws of physics. All that time you spend learning to flip it correctly, and suddenly you have to unlearn it. Anyway…

This is the second attempt, and I remain unimpressed. The block tatting in it is only three passes, and in size 80 thread, it just looks like a bit of a mistake. Also, I’m thinking that the 4 rings at the end of each ‘arm’ would be much better as SCMRs. As it is, they’re standard chains, attached with a normal join, and it does look a bit messy. So I’m going to tackle it again, with a few alterations… Has anyone out there made this – and if so, any thoughts?

And finally, I’m making a bigger version of the Little Piglet! I love this pattern, the shape of the head is so cute. I hope I manage to make his body live up to it.

And that’s all for now.

Except, one last thing – look at this brilliant woven bookmark made by a friend of mine! Such a great idea, and I love the thought of a bookmark created for a specific book.

A sad loss for the tatting community

February 16, 2012February 16, 2012 DW1 Comment

One of the things I love about tatting is the tatting community. While I’m a bit of a lurker really, I think the community is wonderful. They’re enthusiastic and kind, encouraging and patient with beginners and always up for sharing the new techniques they’ve learned. I think everything I know about tatting has come from reading tutorials and blogs, or watching the videos produced by different members of the community.

I read tatting blogs every day, just to see what things people are making and what they’ve discovered. I pick up tips and get inspiration and a little insight into other people’s lives. One of the blogs I read was Gina’s, and so I was shocked to see in January that she’d been battling cancer, but was so pleased to hear it was in remission. Yesterday I read that she’d lost that battle on Monday.

It’s such a shock to read news like this, and such a strange situation. I read her blog, and she was kind enough to comment here – compliments, encouragement and places I could look to find out more about the things I’d been thinking about. I wasn’t lucky enough to know her in real life, but the shock is still there, along with the sadness.

Reading through everyone’s blogs last night, I thought what a wonderful place the Internet is, and how brilliant people can be. The shared kindness of strangers who grow to feel like friends. A little light has gone out in the tatting community, and Gina will be sorely missed.

Tatting & crochet update

February 12, 2012February 12, 2012 DW8 Comments

I’ve had a busy week in terms of train projects. I started the week with the above — it’s the middle part of a wreath. It’s the wreath at the bottom of this post, in fact. Once I’d finished it, it wasn’t in any way flat. It was like a 3d circle – rather than a flat ring – if that makes any sense? So I quickly blocked it before I raced in to work and hoped that it could be cured. Luckily, it could, so the Storm Trooper up there is providing not only a sense of scale, but acting as a security guard until I get a chance to do the next round. (I’m also hoping he’ll take it upon himself to sew in the ends, but I’m not holding my breath).

While the wreath-middle was blocking, I needed something else to do on the train. I’ve had this sitting about *forever*. It’s tatted in Valdini thread, and it was probably one of the first tatting threads I ever bought; it’s between size 80-100 I think. This is the Mary Konior pattern (again), but I only ever got round to tatting 3 squares, because I just wasn’t that sure about it. This thread is an odd one. I don’t like the way the colour variations work up, it’s a bit busy, and there are white patches occasionally which make it look really messy. I actually bought it because it looks like autumn leaves, and the weird thing is, it feels like them when it’s tatted up. It’s quite dull (no sheen, not boring!) and feels almost dry and papery – like leaves do.

So I forced myself to tat the last square on the train. I finished it on a Friday night on the way home from after-work drinks. I did question the idea of doing this with thin/breakable thread after several g&t’s but luckily it all worked out fine. Does need blocking though, as you can see.

And finally, there’s this. Do you ever get that thing where you have to make something IMMEDIATELY? I had that with this. I bought someone a cowl (from Accessorise) last weekend as a last minute birthday present. It was really nice, and I suddenly decided all I really need in life is a cowl. I had to have one, literally how on earth have a been living without one? HOW? I decided I should make the Calm Cowl – (a ravelry link) and I should use up the 4 balls of yarn I had left over from my mum’s scarf. Not sure how I overbought by 4, but my gain is… my gain. I have a feeling this might really need 5 balls, but I’m not concentrating on that right now…
—-

PS – anyone know if there’s something up with Blogger? I’ve tried to comment on a few people’s blogs and it keeps saying the captcha word is incorrect. ie – the word you type in to validate the post. no matter how many words it gives me to type, they’re always incorrect… Just wondered)

A half hearted Li’l Heart (from Birgit Phelps’ pattern)

February 5, 2012April 26, 2021 DW11 Comments

UPDATE: 20 Feb 2021 – sadly the pattern for this heart is no longer available online. / UPDATE 2: 26 April 2021 – Anke pointed out in the comments that you can still find this pattern on the Wayback Machine!

A little while ago, the lovely Katy commented on a post saying that she wished she could finish a tatted motif. I blithely commented back that she should make Birgit Phelps’ ‘Lil Heart’ because it was small and wouldn’t take long. Then I realised I’d never even made it myself!

Feeling guilty, I got on with it. Luckily, I was right – it doesn’t take long! Also, it’s really pretty – as you can see up there. As ever, I wound too much thread on to the shuttle, and when I’d finished, I wasn’t sure it was enough to make another one – so I thought I’d try something out. I halved the stitch count on everything, and made a smaller one (below):

It worked a treat! I must say, I did sit on the train congratulating myself for my sheer brilliance. I do appreciate it would be a bit more brilliant if I’d actually made up the pattern myself, but you can’t expect miracles at that time in the morning.

That’s what they look like both together. It’s size 80 thread, and so it actually makes quite a dense heart when the sizes are halved. And just to provide you with an odd photo finish, this is how big it is really:

Fits on the end of your finger. I’m not 100% sure what to do with them now, if I gave them to my other half I think he’d think I’d lost my mind. But I really enjoyed making them, and so if you’re a tatter and haven’t tried this pattern yet, give it a go.

Tatting shuttles for giants

January 22, 2012 DW14 Comments

I’ve only just developed a shuttle obsession. The internet is to blame of course, because I’ve only ever seen about 2 shops with shuttles in the UK, and usually they’re the Clover ones with a pick on the end, or the Pony ones with a hook.

On the internet there are loads. Vintage, modern, plastic, wood, Bakelite, celluloid, silver, brass. With hooks, with picks or with a gentle point.

I’ve always been intrigued by the Boye shuttle, purely because it’s metal. And actually, it looks a bit brutal. It’s not an airy fairy messing about shuttle for frivolous lace. It looks like a shuttle that means business. The only thing I’ve always wondered about was the flat hook. Looks a bit… well, dangerous, obviously, but not that practical. Looks like it would catch a bit.

Anyway. We all know where this is going – I bought one. It was listed as ‘vintage’ and came with a celluloid shuttle too. To be honest, I have no idea if either of them really are vintage, (you can still buy metal Boye shuttles brand new), but the price for two was the same as the prices I’d seen for one, so it seemed like a fair enough deal.

And here are all the types of shuttle I own. On the right is the Boye shuttle, and next to it the celluloid. Next there’s the blue Pony (like an Aero, but I have a feeling, not as good) and then there’s the good old Clover. Until now I had no idea how small the Clovers were. LOOK AT THE BOYE SHUTTLE! It’s GIGANTIC.

Usually I use the Clover as my main shuttle, and the Pony as a hook. I did try the Pony as my main shuttle for a while, but the bobbin got a bit loose and it annoyed me. Anyway.

The Boye arrived this week, and I started to use it – it was already loaded with thread, all be it rather brittle. It takes some time to get used to. I found I was holding it with my fingers further to the back, and when you pull it through a loop, you have to sort of hold it more upright than normal, to clear the hook from snagging. There were moments when I thought it was ok – having a hook attached is brilliant – and moments when it was not ok.

As expected, I didn’t love the flat hook. The rounded one catches less – and should the thread catch, it slides off. With the flat hook, if you get caught, it’s more effort to un-snag yourself.

I did like the fact it was metal though – feels more like science than craft! There’s also something nice about the bobbin tension – it’s actually pretty tight, so wont let out thread unless you really want it – which is the problem I had with the Pony.

In conclusion – I think it’s just too big for me. I love that it’s metal, and I like that it has *a* hook – I just don’t like *this* hook. Having said that, I hate to be defeated, and so I think I’ll persevere a bit longer. In between speeding along with my Clovers, of course. (Also, now I’m hankering after a small David Reed Smith wooden shuttle with a hook but I’ve notice they have flat hooks too…)

Talking of persevering and stuff that is bigger than expected – I decided to try again with the size 40 thread. Above you can see the same thing in size 80 (left) and 40 (right). I was using up some of the 40 thread I had left on a shuttle (just didn’t have enough to finish this). I’m not in love it with it. It still feels too big for me. That was a test to see if this motif would be more useful in a bigger size – and I’m not sure it would, especially if I don’t like it!

One thing I do like size 40 for, is clunys. I’ve still not really mastered them, and so I’ve given myself cluny homework. I’ve made this pattern before, but I still don’t think I’ve mastered it. The finished one was made in one pass, with a large split ring at the top. Not sure why but it never seems to come out quite the right shape – the clunys might have too few passes? (Should they be bigger?) Also the joining picots in the middle are too big and it looks really messy.

The ones in the middle of the half finished one are a much better shape. The one sticking out is a bit rubbish as I finished it on the train. If you’re a tatting commuter, this is an FYI: if you can get away with the embarrassment of getting your fingers into the right position for a cluny, then that’s awesome – but do remember they’re a lot harder to chuck in your bag unfinished when your train arrives! Packing away a half finished ring – or even a join – is ok, not so sure about a half finished leaf.

If you fancy learning clunys, there’s a bunch of links to videos and tutorials in the tatting pattern section. They’re by no means exhaustive, just ones I’ve found that have helped me.

New year, new-ish tatting and crochet

January 8, 2012 DW12 Comments

Hello, happy new year! I can’t believe new year was only last weekend. It seems like a lifetime ago already. It’s been a tricksy week this one… Two steps forward, and while not quite two steps back, not really the four steps forward I was hoping for.

I snapped this little pile while I was packing up. Look at the colour of the ecru thread on the white cotton! It looks so yellow. I know it sounds odd, but I love looking at little piles of tatting like this. I still can’t believe that my fingers can make something this delicate. I’m not a delicate person. I’m a jeans n’ trainers girl through and through – about as delicate as a herd of elephants.

Anyway. I digress.

I was hoping to be able to be able to present a finished baby blanket this weekend, but sadly I need a bit more yarn:

All I need is half a ball to finish the shells on two sides, but sadly, despite ordering from Texere on Tuesday and paying extra for first class post (and the fact that it’s listed as in stock) I’ve yet to receive a even a dispatch notice, let alone any yarn, which is really frustrating. I’m hoping it comes this week, as I need to give it to my friend next Saturday. Tempted to order another ball from someone else as a fall back…

That aside, the blanket came with me to my parents for the Christmas holidays and to friends for new year. With all the travelling, I put my billions of lavender bags to good use, and stuffed them in with the blanket each time I packed it in a bag. It smells great!

These are two I made but never blogged. They’re made from an old sheet, and I gave them an extra seam around the edges. I put less stuffing in than some of the previous ones, and they look quite different I think. (Still not that straight though, which is why I didn’t give them to anyone!)

I finished the other beaded posy I was making – just need to sew in the ends and block it:

These beads are TINY. I thought the red ones I’d used for the other one were small, but these are about half the size of those. They’re bronze, and actually only show up against certain backgrounds, but I really like them.

I’ve been back to work this week, and so back to commuter tatting. As ever, I didn’t have a pattern ready, so I thought I would make use of my ingenious pre-planned project.

Yeah. Not so ingenious when it’s in size 100 thread and you’re working in size 80! So I might have two ingenious pre-planned projects to carry with me in different sizes.

Incase you’re wondering, the ingenious part was that whenever I got stuck on a journey, I could work on a new square if I hadn’t had time to look up a new pattern. I know this pattern off by heart, and it’s a good travelling project. Foolproof, even. Or not, as it turns out.

Anyway. Onwards! I’ve just ordered a new tatting book from Susan Schwenke. There’s a snowflake in it that a lot of people have made recently, and I love it. I had a plan to make a load of snowflakes *now* so I don’t have a panic next Christmas. Will that actually work? Who knows. (It wont, will it?)

We shall see…

Broomstick lace scarf no: 2

December 22, 2011 DW2 Comments

So, a while back, a Ravelry friend happened to mention that Kemps had a big sale on baby bamboo yarn. I have to admit, until that point, I’d remain blissfully aware of Kemps – but if you’re in the UK, and you don’t know them, keep an eye on their newsletters, as they have great deals for all kinds of yarn.

I bought 12 balls of blue baby bamboo and decided I’d make a broomstick lace scarf for my mum for Christmas. It’s been an ongoing project for a while – it’s a good TV making project, really. I’ve made one before – if you haven’t and you’re looking for a tutorial, I used this video – it was the first one I found when I searched!

Like the previous scarf I made, I decided to edge this, as I worry about the bare threads catching. (It’s unblocked in all the photos, incidentally). For this, I did one row of single crochet, one row of double, and finished off with a picot every 4 stitches. It’s a really chunky scarf – which I like, but actually, now I’m worried it’s too chunky for my Mum…

I really like the raised rows you get on one side of the scarf. I usually do the row of looped stitches, and then two rows of single crochet above that. I know some people don’t do the rows in between but I like the texture. Overall, this kind of crochet is great – it looks really clever, without being too over the top, and it’s very easy to do (and quite forgiving if you miss a stitch or two here and there).

In the meantime, I’ve also been making a scarf with laceweight yarn. Actually, it’s a bit thinner than lace weight. Stupidly, I decided to make quite a dense scarf:

Having said that, it looks really nice. For some reason the colour is really hard to get with my camera, but take it from me, it’s a beautiful mossy green – hand dyed, so different tones. It took forever to make this – to the point where I ended up sacrificing tatting on the train for a while to get it done. (I really missed the tatting, way more than I’d expected).

Frustratingly, the scarf looks so nice and delicate in real life and just rubbish in pictures. But anyway, after all this, I think this one will be the gift for my mum, with the option of swapping it for the other one. I have a feeling she’ll like the green one more… We shall see.

Occasional Crafter

Crafting, occasionally.

Category: tatting