Tatted train-doodles make it home

July 23, 2012 DW2 Comments

It’s amazing what a difference a camera can make. Mr Occasional Crafter took the above photo on his camera, as for some reason mine just wasn’t really cutting it. It’s far too blue, but I decided not to correct it, because I love it! It makes my tatting look amazing, I think.

Back to harsh reality now, and the photos I took. Sorry!

I’ve continued to ‘doodle’ with my tatting recently, which I’ve rather enjoyed. While one part of me worries that I’m not tatting with a purpose, the other part is quite enjoying wingin’ it. I’ve been tatting daisy chains again – or rather daisies, and then joining some as I go to create more solid shapes. The plus side of this is that it really shows how useful split rings are – without them I’d’ve needed to cut and tie a few times, the minus side is that I could really do with actually planning it a bit to make a more fluid or useful shape.

I’ve been using a lovely silver grey DMC thread (size 80), which tats up beautifully. It seems to have really good stitch definition for some reason – almost more than other colours – and I’ve loved using it. This weekend I decided I’d stitch it onto… *something* and then decide what to do with it. For once, I decided against linen – maybe the tones were too similar, I’m not sure, but it really didn’t look that good. I almost went with black, but at the last minute switched to grey. That old grey sheet I saved from the charity shop is really earning its keep!

I pinned it out before stitching it, as you can see. Then I unpinned it as I stitched and completely changed the arrangement bit by bit. It seems appropriate. Tatted as a doodle and stitched as one too.

Sorry – the photos really are all over the place in terms of colour, but at least you can see the layout here – and the beads. I sewed the lighter beads on first (they’re actually a silvery grey), and then at the last minute, after realising I had some, I sewed the black beads on for some contrast. I wasn’t sure about them initially, but actually I think they work quite well.

I’m not sure yet what I’ll do with it… maybe a panel for another drawstring bag? It’s a bit big for a lavender bag. Actually, maybe I could use it as a panel on a fabric basket? I’ll have a think. All suggestions gratefully received!

Either way, I really enjoyed making it. Also, it does look rather nice. So nice in fact, I’m quite surprised I actually made it. (I’m not showing you the back though).

In the pink

July 1, 2012July 7, 2012 DW9 Comments

I’ve had a very nice afternoon, but by the time you read this, it will’ve been a week ago. I’ve been making a present for my mum, and I know she reads my blog sometimes, and so I wont post this until the gift is given!

This is not quite what I was intending to make – I was going to use the daisy chain to decorate this, but it wasn’t working that well. After some consideration I decided to decorate the bag with a different piece of tatting, and add some beads which would co-ordinate with the top section of fabric.

I love the beads and the fabric actually – they’re a nice muted sage green. I sewed the beads on as I stitched the tatting to the fabric, which worked quite well. Biggest problem was finding a needle small enough to go through the beads – I keep buying needles and can only assume that the Borrowers get to them before I do, as I can never find them!

I really like the piece of tatting on here – I was unsure about it before, but I think it looks perfect on a bag like this, embellished with beads. (I’m tempted to make another one now! It was from this pattern, and looks rather different here.)

And there’s the pink! I used a pink lining for the inside, which just peeps out at the top. I’m really pleased with it, as I think it just adds something a wee bit extra – I love how muted the rest of it is, with pink to add some contrast.

I had to hand stitch around the top as the bag was too small for machine sewing. It’s not perfect, but I did my best. I hope she likes it.

Monkey (and other) business

June 24, 2012June 24, 2012 DW4 Comments

I meant to post something here last week, but by the time I got around to getting started it was too dark to take any photos.

Another mixed bag this week – odds and ends of things. Above is my current train tatting – still on the daisies, but this time pink. I just loaded up the shuttles with what looked like a sensible about of thread, and will carry on until it runs out. It’s lovely to tat like this – there’s a few onion rings in there as leaves (not shown above), and a few standard daisies as well. It’s just a bit of meandering about, no set pattern, which is quite nice for a change. I was thinking about getting some gauze, the kind people makes scarves from, and tatting an edging for it… I thought it could be a good ongoing project, perhaps?

In stark contrast, here’s a new drawstring bag I made! For christmas I received an extremely generous gift – a voucher for the Make Lounge. I spent a long time thinking about the type of class I’d like to take, and in the end, decided on screen printing. I wanted something that would be fun, but that I could possibly do at home. (I thought long and hard about sewing, but classes are all taught on an electric machine, and it felt weird being unfaithful to my Singer!) Then of course, I needed to think of something to print, so drew a monkey, and some elephants:

Now, the thing with this type of screen printing is that you have to cut it by hand — and we didn’t have time to do repeat patterns, and so I adapted the characters a little on the night. (I prefer the planned monkey, but went a bit nuts and cut it differently by accident!)

Unlike everyone else, I took some calico with me, and screen printed a couple of extra prints. I wasn’t too sure – I’m still not too sure – what to do with them, but once you’ve got the screen working, seems a bit nuts not to make the most of it. I pre-washed the calico, and flippin’ eck, it’s not easy to iron, is it? Yes, I DID iron it while it was still damp, but to no avail. Amusingly, I saw that Patch had the same issues last week.

They gave as a little bag to screenprint, which you can see on the left. It’s really cute – child sized. I also have a tea towel with a monkey on each end.

It was a great evening – amazing how fast you can relax and forget about work and all your troubles when you have something fun to do! I’m not sure if I will screen print at home – does require space, and creates a lot of mess, but it did get me thinking about lino printing, which I’ve not done since college, and used to love. I know you can do that with a roller for the ink and the back of a spoon for a press, so we shall see…

And finally, I thought I’d use up a few scraps, and try a log cabin lavender bag. As you can see, this ended up rectangular rather than square as I decided it was getting too big. The patch with the ‘7685’ on it is the selvedge of the dotted fabric, which I quite like. It’s an odd little thing, but quite cute in real life. Now it lives in the monkey bag with the other scraps and makes them smell nice.

Hope you’re all having good weekends!

A mixed bag (may not contain bags)

May 13, 2012May 13, 2012 DW15 Comments

This little piggy has been a bit frustrating. I’m not sure what to do with him/her, but I think it’s not over yet. This is body number two – I actually finished the whole thing once, lived with it for a week or two and then took it apart. This is the body as written in the pattern, but I think it’s a bit messy. Too many decreases, which just don’t look good. It’s a shame as the head is such a great shape and so nicely written up, but I just think the body doesn’t do it justice. It also doesn’t suit a scarf – or anything else I can think of as yet – to distract you from the not-very nice shape. Will think on. Any suggestions appreciated! Poor little piggy!

I’m a fan of the yarn though – it’s lovely! It’s the Sidar Simply Recycled, and is lovely and soft. The colours are also really nice, quite muted – a bit more natural looking. I’d definitely use it for making toys again. This little chap is much bigger than the last one.

This is an experiment, made the other week. It’s tatted in size 40 thread, and is actually the pattern for a bracelet. The thread is much thicker than I would normally use – but probably a bit more of an appropriate size for jewellery – that said, as a bracelet I think it would drive you nuts! I love the idea of tatted daisy chains, but maybe just not this one. Rather than waste it I made yet another lavender bag. (I think I underfilled it too – after all my months of overfilling I’ve tipped back too far in the other direction!)

But look at this – it’s knitting! A waffle scarf (ravelry link), and it seems to be going ok (she says, touching wood, with crossed fingers). Now I’ve got the hang of it, I’m really enjoying it. It’s a very simple pattern of course, but nice for a beginner, and a great TV project. I’ve already planned my next project – bought the pattern and the yarn, but I’m going to be good and finish this first. Very exciting!

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.

The final episode: a new life for a baby blanket

January 15, 2012January 15, 2012 DW7 Comments

Previously, on Baby Blanket: The Occasional Crafter was in a panic. What could be the final visit to her pregnant friend before her friend gives birth was fast approaching. The Baby Blanket needed more yarn, but the forces of evil were conspiring against the Occasional Crafter and the yarn shop was failing to deliver. Could this be the end of the line for Baby Blanket? Would Occasional Crafter finally admit she should leave more time to finish things? Only the postman could tell, and you know what they’re like. Hope was fading fast…

The final Episode: A swift email was sent to Texere customer support. They didn’t see fit to reply. In desperation our ‘heroine’ orders another ball of yarn from Purple Linda, which is dispatched immediately. The Occasional Crafter wonders why she didn’t order it from there in the first place. Both balls of yarn mysteriously arrive within a day of each other, despite being ordered a week apart.

Picking up one ball, she sets to work. It’s quite a big blanket, really.

She adds shell stitch to the final two sides and thinks to herself ‘This yarn is a bit splitty. Even after all this time I’m not 100% sure I like it’. Banishing such pointless thoughts she wonders again about blocking. ‘Can you really wet this kind of yarn and block it? Will it dry in time? What on earth am I going to block it *on*’. She remembers the wise words of the Ravelry group and decides to iron it into submission instead. It’s not bad. She’s seen worse.

With a swift glace at the clock, the she spots its fast approaching midnight. ‘I’ll just thread this ribbon through before I go to bed, wont take long’. It’s clear at this point the Occasional Crafter has no idea what she’s talking about. It takes ages. she gets there in the end as the clock makes its weary way to 1am. It’s finished though, and if she didn’t have such a bad back, she’d probably sleep soundly.

Saturday morning arrives, the day of the hand over. She gets up early and wanders downstairs, eyeing the weather. Its neither good nor bad — it’s not really decided yet, and standing in her pj’s she couldn’t really blame it. She takes a bunch of Baby Blanket photos in the less than perfect light and hopes for the best. She wraps the parcel, congratulating herself on the previous purchase of some pale purple tissue, matching ribbon and brown paper.

Annnnd… there is a happy ending! I gave it to my friend (on time) who loved it. For some insane reason she’d not bought a baby blanket yet, and it was also the only handmade gift for the baby she’s received. I thought it was the law that you had to have something slightly terrible knitted or crocheted by a mad female relative? I’m happy to be a substitute on this occasion. My friend is gigantic. She’s at the stage where it looks like she’s got a perfectly round ball stuffed up her jumper. But she also looks brilliant.

A relief all round. One day I might mention to people I know that I have a blog. Only problem about that is that I wont be able to talk about them when they’re not looking 🙂

—
If you want to make one too, I used:
• This pattern by Alicia Paulson
• 11 balls of this yarn, Kool Kotton
• A 5.5 crochet hook

Now – just incase, You’ll need more than one ball of yarn to do the border! That was my mistake – please don’t make it yours too. Also, there seemed to be a shortage of cream Kool Kotton. No idea why but everyone was out of stock, so I ended up with white.

The pattern is super easy. It’s the ideal chatting or TV crochet project. Question is, what on earth do i make now?

Real snow

December 2, 2010 DWLeave a comment

Turns out mother nature makes snowflakes quicker than I can tatt them…

We’ve had about 15″ of snow in the last few days.

I’m not complaining yet though… I know the trains are disrupted and it’s a pain n’ stuff – and it’ll be terrible when it starts to melt – but look at it! It’s really beautiful.

Tatting in two colours

May 23, 2010 DW4 Comments

After getting my new thread haul the othe week, I’ve been itching to try tatting in two colours. Nothing dramatic, but I just thought slight tonal variations would be good. The downside of buying online is that you can never be *that* sure of the colours you’re buying, but I think the ones I got are working together ok…

The blues are very close to eachother – but in a nice way actually. When you see them in real life, they’re really delicate. The greens are a bit further apart, but they still seem ok – and as you can see, I’ve had yet *another* go at the Mary Konior pattern. I had a longer uninterrupted train journey this week, so it was a chance to try it out again. I’m back to onion rings again and I think it does look neater.

Also, I think the pic at the top shows the back, rather than the front. As it happens, this was just a test to see how it went, so I didn’t wind on much thread. I’ll start again on a real one soon. I keep thinking the second ring could use a few picots to keep itself in place actually. I’m really tempted to try again and add some in… or is that just getting ridiculous?

In the meantime, I’ve been trying out an afghan pattern. I’ve been looking for one to make for ages, and I must admit, there’s something really lovely about this pattern – or is it the colours? The colours are really lovely.

I tried out one square with colours I had knocking about – you’ll recognise the grey from the elephants, maybe.

It’s so weird to work with such chunky wool after the size 80 thread. But the square is so cute in real life! I should think it makes one hell of a warm blanket – it’s really chunky, but so soft and puffy! It’s like a crochet marshmallow. I have a vague feeling I might be 90 by the time I start and finish it as an afghan, but I am tempted… Time to go yarn shopping? Maybe.

Oh! And talking of elephants, one of them has err… flown the nest (you know how well elephants fly!) and reached her destination…

(I mentioned to the recipients mum that I’m on hand for repairs when needed ;o)

A big fat, annoyed, tatted sigh.

May 16, 2010May 16, 2010 DW2 Comments

I’d really enjoyed working on this. Took me four attempts to actually get it started, and although it was’t looking *amazing* it was at least getting finished.

Until the very last day.

No seat on the train, so standing up in the isle I thought, ‘well, there’s only a bit left, I might aswell finish it’. In the squeeze, in the rush, I joined two wrong rings and now it needs unpicking (unlikely to work, the thread is size 100, so I don’t fancy its chances) or a bit chopping out. It’s really not worth it. It’s not neatly done, and so I didn’t have great plans for it, I just really wanted to finish it.

Never mind. Better luck next time I guess.

I think actually onion rings did look neater, when I do remake this (I still think I will) I might switch back again. Has anyone else made this pattern, incidentally? It’s Mary Konior, Ring a Ring O’ Roses.