And now for THIS year's post...

Hello world!

Can't really say what I've been doing with my time for the last year or so.... Crocheting, knitting, not a lot of tatting, working, child taming..... All the usual stuff.

So once again, it's time for a camera cleanout!  Hopefully I'll find a few things I'd forgotten about!

Working backwards... I finished (yes, FINISHED) this a couple of weeks ago.... Have been meeting up with some tatters in town lately, and one has been hand dyeing threads!

So this is what I made with my first purchase...... Lovely thread makes tatting a joy, so this one got finished in weeks instead of years.  If you want to look up Alenalea Tatting on FB, she's got some luuuuurvley threads....

The pattern is from the "Renulka Frywolitki" blog and starts here.... http://renulkowy.blox.pl/html/1310721,262146,169.html?3 

This is a hanky edge I did for my MILs birthday last year.... I think this is out of Mary Konior's "Tatting with Visual Patterns" book.

Last year's show entry.... It's out of a french pattern book (can't remember the name just now, I think I've mentioned it in a previous post somewhere).

Some random earrings.  They've got plastic rice beads in the centre of the rings.

A tatted poppy.  The pattern isn't mine, but I've lost it in the mists of facebook.  Google "tatted poppy patterns" and I'm sure it'll show up.  =)

A bookmark I should call "The boomerang" - because it came back.  I made it for Dad's 70th birthday several years ago.  Unfortunately he passed away not long ago.  I found this again going through his books.  I believe this was in a Phantom comic omnibus.  =)  

I've given it to my eldest son, he's very pleased to have it.  I think I mangled an edging pattern for this, but whose escapes me.

I'm currently working on this year's show entry.... So I may finish TWO (!!!) doilies this year!!

As well as this, I've got another "must tat" pattern stashed, but I have a baby blanket, another baby gift (undecided as yet) and a "proof tat" pattern to do for a friend first.... Blog updating possibilities abound.  =)

I've joined a few FB tatting groups this year, and there's quite a few patterns get posted (especially on Just-Tatting), so I'm getting a bit inspired again.... Especially now I've got a supplier of reeeeally nice threads fairly local...... 

And no, the baby blanket is not for me.... but I'm sure my kids would like some more blankies anyway.  We're big on blankies here.  =)

I went slightly mad last Christmas and decorated my dogbox at work with tatting.  

And me being me, it's August and they're still there..... It's fffffreezing right now,, so snowflakes are somewhat appropriate at the moment.

It does cause some double takes, as I'm next to a walkway.  Beats the pants off the giant fluffy black fake spider that hangs over a workspace upstairs.  (Used to be my hubby's.  A friend now has it.  Very easy to locate him, just look for the giant spider! )

And although it's not something I've produced, I've got to give a special mention to my lovely recently acquired cousin Kate (aka "Cuz"), who made this lovely quilted tatting holdall for me..... Did a trade of a couple of hours of tatting lessons for it.  I live in hope of swelling the tatting ranks!  

If you like your "quilty pleasures" pop on over to https://talltalesfromchiconia.wordpress.com/ and say hi.  Kate is a prolific quilter, crafter, and much more prolific blogger than me.  =)

Well, that's it for now, back when I've finished something else.  I may be a while.  =)

Happy 2011!

Hi all! Happy 2011! Have just looked at my 2010 posts, could've sworn I'd posted something since July, but apparently not.... Forget mobiles, where's the brain-computer interface when you need one?? =) Haven't finished much in the way of tatted UFOs, but the major one (DS#2) got done about 10 days ahead of schedule.... Bub turned up in a bit of a hurry. He gave us a bit of a fright by being completely the wrong way up at 38 weeks, and spinning back to wrong way up after being turned by the doc, prompting the doc to schedule him for delivery by cesarean in 3 days time. Bub didn't like the sound of that, and I went into labour the same night. Luckily for all concerned, he'd managed to get himself in the right position by then, so labour was kicked along with some drugs so as not to give him the chance to turn again! Anyway, here he is, the cause of all the concern:

Needless to say, not a lot of tatting has happened recently. =) I did however manage to get some Christmas related stuff done beforehand. I've been doing a few snowflakes in spare moments during the year to put in with Christmas cards. Of course, I've forgotten to take a pic of those sent, but the ones below are pretty indicative of which ones I've been doing this year. The enlarged pics are the ones I did the most of.

These are mostly from Jon Yusoff's book "Tatted Snowflake Collection". The left two in the middle row are from "Tatted Snowflakes" by Vida Sunderland. I've added the beads to sparkle them up a bit. The doily below is from Jan Stawasz's book "Tatting Theory and Patterns". It's just called "Doily" on page 65. A friend will be getting this for Christmas (rather belatedly), but she doesn't know that yet. =)

It's extra special, as it incorporates one-of-a-kind feline derived fibres.

Translation - the cat wouldn't budge, so it's full of cat hair. When you're being sat on by a 10ish kilo (20 pound) cat, you *stay* sat on. I swear he put on weight in the 4 days I was in hospital, so he's now on a diet! No, it's not Tigger (my usual svelte tatting companion), this is Greebo - the runt of the litter (no, really!).

He's just a (reeeeeaally big, and very soft!) softie. =)

In the Santa stakes, I asked for (and received) some size 80 Lizbeth thread to try out, and tatting book in French called "Frivolite dentelle au navettes" by Pascale Provost. (Pardon the lack of accent on the "e" of "Frivolite", can't figure that out at present.)

It's a hardcover book completely in French (which I don't speak, but can guess at bits and pieces of). The photos are good, and the patterns are diagrammed with stitch counts and different colours for different rounds, as well as being in longhand. Also has a lot of instructions (and photos) about basic techniques. I picked up a new thread joining in method I hadn't used before, so that was good.

I came across the book from following up Pascale's work from Snowy's blog. I really like geometric patterns, which this book has in spades.

Now how to force myself to finish some UFO's instead of just creating more from this and Jan's book??? I have plenty of will power - it's the won't power I'm lacking. =)

Have a good 2011!