Black Lace Scallop Necklace

I finished working on the doily. It is just so fragile - I'm going to recommend that she avoid handling it too much and frame it as soon as possible. It really is not usable as a doily because of the condition the lace is in. I wish I knew what had caused the problem - whether it is the type of thread, starching method, how it was stored, etc. so I could avoid doing that to any of my own pieces! This particular doily has a lot of sentimental value to the owner so I tried to get it in as good a condition as possible so it can be framed and become a family keepsake. Hopefully she will be pleased with the results.

I was hoping to have finished something in LadyShuttlemaker's Peach Pandorea thread, but unfortunately I did not have any beads to match. I will have to go beads shopping! Instead, I pulled out Pamela's Coral Reef and have ideas for a necklace. However, with trying to catch up after missing a week of work, I didn't actually even get it started.

So instead, I'll show a different necklace I finished recently. This one is tatted with black thread and shiny black delica beads (a whole lot of them). It is a simple scallop pattern which I *think* is in the book "The Tatter's Treasure Chest" - up until now I have not been good about keeping track of where I get my vintage patterns from - but I'm trying to do better. I have so many books - they take up crates and crates. Anyway, here is the finished result. The little flower in the front is a lightweight acrylic bead made by another artist.

The matching earrings are a very simple basic earring I've been making from the very beginning of my business - I call it my "Tat" earring because it contains all of the most basic tatting construction in just 32 little knots - it has one ring, one chain, and one picot. I vary the pattern a lot with colors and beads, and I make a lot of these earrings. Again, the bead hanging down from the base is from the same artist as the flower on the necklace.

Happy Valentine's Day

Well, I'm only a little late to the tatted heart posting party...finally recovered (for the most part) from the flu. This heart necklace was quite large - I made it so long ago (and never did make another) so I wish I knew where the heart pattern came from originally, but when I went back to look for it again I couldn't find it - if anyone knows, post in the comments and I'll add the information here.

The rest of the necklace is beadweaving with pearls, seed and other glass beads, made to look like hearts as well.

I have been tatting while having the flu - in short bursts between naps, sneezing and coughing, the chills and having the sweats so bad the thread gets all wet and you can't do anything with it. I also am currently working on fixing a doily for a friend. Her mother tatted the doily but it is very fragile - I'm not sure if it was treated with some kind of starch and then not stored well - but almost the entire outer row had "broken" off of the rest of the doily - in other words, the picots are broken so there's nothing to do but take a fine thread in the same color and sew it back together. Unfortunately, it is so fragile I've managed to break a few more picots while trying to work on it. I'm at the blocking point now - I've blocked it once but it needs to be done a second time.

Lots of wash to catch up on, and I have to go do some bookkeeping for a non-profit organization I volunteer for today as well - so I'm off!

Roses in Bloom

I found this pattern (the part at the front of the necklace) in a vintage tatting book. I thought the edging looked like flowers so I had in my mind how I wanted to use Yarnplayer's "Roses" thread and make it really look like flowers - unfortunately, the pattern wouldn't cooperate and I ended up doing it in two layers instead of just one like the pattern was written. So then I stopped it short and created the rest of the necklace afterwards. I still like the way it turned out, but I have some more ideas.

I need to tweak the pattern a little more to get better results. Unfortunately I have the flu and can't think straight, so I'm going back to sleep now.

Back to Blogging

Hi everyone :-) I wonder by now if everyone has stopped even bothering with my blog as I have been gone for sooooo long. Work and my fall show season got the better of me, and I found myself with no time and no desire to write anything at the end of a long day. Even though it is now tax season, without shows I have a little more time to do things, and so I thought I'd resurrect the blog. I can't promise a post every day (what in the world would I talk about!?), but I'll definitely try to be more consistent than I have been.

Anyway, I thought I'd try out this new pattern by Yarnplayer - found here. How I wish I were as prolific and talented a designer as she is. How I wish I had the time! Fortunately for me, and for many of you too, I'm sure, we have wonderfully talented designers out there. I just loooove this pattern, and wanted to make earrings out of it the moment I saw it. Enjoy!

Beadweaving and Felting Fun

I have been wanting to learn more beadweaving techniques. I do use some simple ones, but I also felt a bit unknowledgeable about different types if threads, needles, etc. and though a good class might take care of that. WELL....The Bead Expo was here this weekend and I got to go! It was huge! I got to go bead shopping which I love - I just have to see beads in person before I buy - but best of all I got to take four classes!

My morning class was Beginning Peyote with Nancy Zellers. We learned tubular and flat peyote stitch and Nancy was a fantastic teacher. She spent the first hour talking all about threads, how to conditions them, what size to use, needles to use, how to finish projects off, and lots of other great beginner tips. It was a great start to my day.

In the afternoon I had a class in felting, "Felted Pod Brooch" with Gail Crosman Moore. I had absolutely no experience with felting (this class was in wet felting) and thought it was very interesting. I bought some wool to try to make some felted beads to use with my tatting.

I took another class with Nancy Zellers in the evening - this one was one of her kits and involved brick stitch - "Dragon's Treasure Bracelet" (you must go see the picture of her completed piece, it is gorgeous). I am totally addicted to brick stitch. When worked with delica beads it is so even and beautiful. I find it as relaxing as tatting! And it totally feeds those perfectionist, OCD tendencies I have. Here are the two beads I completed (only 19 to go LOL).

This was my Thursday. On Friday I just took and evening class with Rosita Pisarchick. I found this class, "The Best Beaded Cabachon" to be the most challenging and frustrating, but also to probably have the most practical application for my jewelry, as I have been wanting to do beaded bails on my tatting for a while now, and not use any metal at all (all fiber and beads). Rosita was a great teacher, I just had difficulty with getting the thing to look as "perfect" as I wanted it too. I know, I know it was only my first time! This is an imperial jasper cabachon in brown seed beads. It isn't finished, as you can see, because I ran out of thread as the class came to an end.

All in all, it was a great experience and great fun!