Ribbon Christmas Trees

In recent weeks I have taken my tatting to some Christmas Fairs, although I have only managed to sell a very small proportion of what I have made. Many of the items are seasonal tatting and so they will be stored away until next year, or be given to friends. 

I sort of got hooked on this pattern last year and made quite a few of these trees and did manage to sell four of them to one person today, apparently she is going to hang them on the door knobs of her kitchen cupboards!  The pattern can be found here and I really recommend it to those who have just started making split rings, because after making these trees you will be super good at them!  

The latest news from the garage is that all the wood making equipment is being maintained and serviced, it has had rather a bashing in the last few months.  Also there were some shuttle blanks on the work bench when I last looked, so production will be resumed as soon as possible. I hope those who have already received their shuttles are pleased with them. 

50 years ago

Today is a very momentous day as most of you are probably aware for it marks 50 years since President J.F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.  But it was also the day when C.S. Lewis died in his home near Oxford, England but of course his death was rather overshadowed by what was happening in America.  

Tomorrow marks 50 years since the first screening on UK television of Dr. Who and so there is a special episode to mark the occasion on Saturday evening.  Although my childhood memories of Dr. Who were more to do with hiding behind the sofa as I was so frightened!

But there is no good dwelling too much on the past we have to look forward and tomorrow marks the day when the next batch of shuttles will go on sale at 20.00 GMT, and here are a few photos of them.

These are pear and holly wood

And a pair of Christmas earrings, sorry not sure where the pattern came from as I have had it on my computer for ages.

Mrs Odum's Daisy

A few days ago I posted three parcels to the USA, all in connection with tatting, so I hope the recipients enjoy receiving their shuttles and other bits and pieces.  Because these parcels were international the Post Office here in England is getting very much stricter about the contents. Because of this I decided that unfortunately it would unwise to put  any red sunflower seeds in them, which was my original plan.  

On many blogs it is evident that  Christmas is coming and the usual tatting related items are being shown. I find it interesting to see the wonderful variety, even from year to year, that people produce with their shuttles and thread.  This little gem was on Jane's blog three weeks ago Mrs Odums daisy (see also link to Elizabeth's blog) , and therefore I had to have a go at it before Christmas tatting set in! 

For the centre I used  little rings from a bracelet they are slightly smaller than the rings from the toothbrushes, but work well and I plan to use them on other patterns especially if they call for a ring in the centre.  By covering a ring it is possible to move onto the next row with a split ring so avoiding a join and also the centre is much firmer.

The next batch of shuttles have now arrived at Jane's house (my sister), she needs to sort them and list them and they will be put into her shop very soon.

Poppies and a Winner!

As promised I can now announce the winner of the giveaway from the last blog post.  But before I do, thank you so much for the wonderful memories that you shared, all of them were really so touching and personal and just made me think that these little gems from our lives make us who we are.   

And the winner is the person who made the 14th comment........ 

True Random Number Generator

Min: 1

Max: 43

Result:

14

Powered by RANDOM.ORG

is mb duke, please can you send me your address to popabobbinshuttle@gmail.com and congratulations!

Today is Remembrance Day when at the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month the armistice was signed in 1918 to end the Great War.

I made this poppy four years ago, it was my first and last attempt at this technique which Martha so kindly shared, perhaps it needs revisiting.

         Here is the one that my son made, no he is not a child but now aged 37 years old!

I will never forget Remembrance Day this year as  I moved into another part of the church building today where there is now a new Parish Office.  Well have not actually completed the move but the computer and main bits of equipment are now in there.   In fact it was really hectic this morning,  one of the pre-school helpers was dressed as Luke Skywalker, an electrician was sorting out the odd bits left from the recent building work.  The Vicar and I were trying to move office equipment and another person was sorting out the computer etc so it was a manic and crazy morning!

Remember, Remember, the 5th November!

In England we mark this day with bonfires and fireworks, although as the years have gone by it is less and less observed.   The reason we are called to remember the 5th November is that on this day in 1605 Guy Fawkes was caught in the cellars of the Houses of Parliament, London with several dozen barrels of gunpowder. Guy Fawkes was subsequently tried as a traitor with his co-conspirators for plotting against the government. Which is the reason why a 'Guy' is made by stuffing newspaper into some old clothes to look like a man and then it is put on the top of the bonfire. 

Remember, remember, the 5th of November
The Gunpowder Treason and plot;
I see of no reason why Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.

So if you have stopped reading this blog by now you will not have realised that I am holding a 'giveaway' to mark this my 300th blog post, a day to remember for me and possibly you!

This is what you will win when you comment giving one thing that you will remember for the rest of your life, the memory can be happy or sad.

This cute little bag was made locally and it is a handbag organiser, although it doubles very well as a tatting organiser!

I also plan to put a few other things in it, which I have yet to source, but of course a 
pop-a-bobbin shuttle will be neatly tucked inside.  This particular shuttle is made from apple wood.  A great many pieces of wood that are stored in our garage have a story behind them. The apple wood this shuttle is made from comes from my late father's garden which was situated on the banks of the river Avon in Stratford-upon-Avon, so my memory at this very moment is of him and where he lived.

You have until Sunday 10th November 4 pm GMT to comment.  I will announce the winner by using a random number generator on Monday 11th November, which in England is Remembrance Day. A day when we remember all who have died or who have been injured in the World Wars and subsequent conflicts. 

So share your memories with others and may be you will be the winner of this bag and shuttle!

Daisy

With help from Jane, who patiently looked through my pattern writing I can now give you the ............................

DAISY PATTERN © Sally Kerson 2013

Abbreviations:

R ring 
Ch chain

Cl close 
p picot

LBP long bead picot 
vsp very small picot

SR split ring 
RW reverse work

+ join B bead

MB move bead from core thread 
Cl close

Btn button 
T & C   tie and cut

Materials required: 1 four hole shirt button 11 mm, No 20 thread in two colours, size 11 seed beads

Wind two shuttles: shuttle 1 yellow and shuttle 2 white (or any colour which will suit the petals of your daisy)

Round 1 - (there will be two LBP in each hole of btn)

Using shuttle 1

SR1: 4 attach to 1^st hole of btn with LBP (2B) 4/2 vsp 4 vsp 2 Cl

SR2: 4 attach to 1^st hole of btn with LBP (2B) 4/2 vsp 4 vsp 2 Cl

SR3: 4 attach to 2^nd hole of btn with LBP (2B) 4/2 vsp 4 vsp 2 Cl

repeat until 7 SR have been worked

SR8: 4 attach to 4^th hole of btn with LBP (2B) 4/2 vsp 4 vsp 2 Cl T & C to base of SR1

Round 2

Shuttle and ball thread

Add 64 beads to shuttle thread 16 more are needed to add to picots.

(3 B at back of hand before starting)

R1: 3 p 8 BBB MB 8 p 3 Cl RW

Ch: 4 (with wrong side facing of Round 1 + any vsp on round 1) 4 RW

(3 B at back of hand before starting)

R2: 3 + B (R1) 8 BBB MB 8 p 3 Cl RW

Ch: 4 + (next vsp round 1) 4 RW

(3 B at back of hand before starting)

*R3: 3 + B (R2) 8 BBB MB 8 p 3 Cl RW

Ch: 4 + (next vsp round 1) 4 RW*

repeat from * to * until R16

R16: 3 + B (R15) 8 BBB MB 8 + B (R1) 3 Cl RW

Ch: 4 + (next vsp round 1) 4 to base of R1 T & C

See this link for diagram of adding beads onto top of buttons

                         = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

By missing out a bead on the BBB you can make room for a jewellery finding or stem/leaf, but the daisy will look just as good as an embellishment on clothes or bags etc. 

On my next blog post I will be announcing a give-away to mark an important blogging milestone so be sure to drop by or you might miss out!

Three Geckos

There would have been more than three geckos but my concentration levels are a bit poor at the moment and so a few rejected ones are lying beside me, with their legs in the wrong place!  

The pattern is of course from Jane's site and it is called Pamela's Gecko and can be found here  I have actually seen Pamela's Geckos in real life! However, the main reason for taking a break from daisies to tat these little fellows is because of someone I was talking to in the village where I live.  I have known this person for many years but what I did not know was that she had a son who also lives in Singapore, her daughter-in-law makes pottery and has named it Gecko Pottery.  So that is why I decided to make a gecko so that it could travel to Singapore.   But first I made one from variegated thread because they look so much fun in the different colours. 

Having lived and visited many places in the Far East, the last time being June, I am quite used to seeing geckos.  When my son came back from one of his trips to Asia a gecko must have wanted to return with him.  A dead one was found when sorting out the luggage recently, obviously it must have crept in there at some point during the holiday so you can imagine the horror at its discovery!

I am really looking forward to going back to the daisy pattern and hope to get it written out and posted on the blog soon.