Button Bow

I am still knitting, but doing other things as well.  When I first received Martha's book 'Button Jar Tatting' I made two of these bows, but can only find one!  Sometime in the future I intend to make it into a choker, there are two large picots at the top on each side to work a chain, you can just about see them.

Then I decided, rather foolishly, to try my hand at macrame.  The reason being that I want to teach people to do it at the next adult craft club.  So ended up buying a job lot of string off e.bay and wondering if I have done a wise thing, now in a right knot about it all, the idea is not going to plan!

Also 'im in the garage has been making more shuttles, only this time to order as people have found out about them. 

Having a break from Tatting

Sometimes you need a break from things, call it a holiday (vacation), respite, whatever.  Don't get me wrong I enjoy tatting but I was finding the time I spent doing it very limiting. I needed to do other crafts, so  decided on a bit of knitting, haven't knitted for years.  The aim is to knit a throw. I am in no hurry either, was going to crochet one but the wool I have is a little diverse and did not think it would look good if used for crocheting. Below are the two plain colours to start the project.

The picture does not show the true colour it is a dull lilac and the pattern is Harebell.

Again this green is dark but probably not as dark as the picture and is knitted in Daisy Stitch. The aim is to knit lots of strips like this in different patterns and then join them together. I will have to crochet around the edge, but expecting this project to last at least a year!  Need to return to tatting at some point!  As I said just taking a break!

Still playing with threads

After awhile I always come back to Martha Ess's Canopy Bookmark especially if I am winding two threads together as I love the way the long picots show up the different strands.  This was so difficult to photograph as I was trying to get some natural light to show up the colours.

I think it is time to get back to some one strand thread tatting as this method was beginning to get a bit of a challenge when I got into a tangle after starting another project!  

Thread Find

Not only have I been clearing out and tidying stuff at home I have also been tackling a huge store room in the church which also contains a lot of craft stuff.  Some of it has been left over from previous children's activities, which have now come to an end.  In the find were these threads, I wound them together with cotton threads in my stash and made snowflakes.

The snowflakes are from Lene Bjorn's book.  The top one is The sixth Day of December and the bottom one is The tenth Day of December.  I am now experimenting with more colours and different thicknesses of cotton thread. Sadly you can't see the sparkle on them very well. 

Watering Can

The tidying is still continuing but it is going to be a long time before I see any benefits from the exercise.  The reason being is because I am actually taking storage space away to allow for a sofa-bed to be put in the room, so big decisions are being made with certain items. Although so far no tatting thread has suffered whilst this project is being carried on!

I made this watering can, another of Jane's patterns. I wound together some 80 white and 80 black and white, so it looks like a weathered galvanised watering can.  Hoping to make a few of these to put on cards.

New Year Resolution

My New Year Resolution is going well so far, I am having a massive clear out and being quite ruthless and throwing lots of things way.  Mainly stuff that I have kept because "it will come in useful one day" and of course it never has, and probably never will!  Amongst my finds were some blank cards, some I have thrown away, because they looked a bit grubby, but the rest I am adding tatting to so that they can be transformed into greeting cards.

The only tatting which I had to do for this card is the wheelbarrow which can be found here on Jane's pattern site along with the butterfly and the slug. All other bits were found in my stash.

New Earrings

I like to see what earrings people (generally women) are wearing because some of them fascinate me especially the elaborate and colourful ones.  Although saying that just simple stylish ones also draw my attention.

Now I do not have pierced ears myself so when Jane gave me lots of clip-on findings I really wanted to have some new earrings.  These cross ones were originally for pierced ears and in my stash, I altered the findings so that I can wear them now.  It is a pattern I designed and my favourite earrings were a black pair ones, until I gave them away to a young girl who also did not have pierced ears.    

  

Then I looked in my stash of beads and made these