Forget-Me-Not Handkerchief

I started this hanky border during the last few days of the Easter holiday.  I had been inspired by Diane's version of it and decided to make one too.   This is Mary Konior's forget-me-not pattern from her book "A Pattern Book of Tatting".

When I went outside to take pictures of it, I found we still had a couple of patches of forget-me-not in our garden.  So here is the hanky pictured with the real thing!

I used Lizbeth size 40 so it grew quite quickly.  I crocheted one row with white thread around the hanky first, then used the pink thread and crochet to attach the lace to the first white row. 

Simple, but pretty I think.

Best wishes,

Rosy Ironbark Bookmark

I know many of you will see this post at In Tatters as well but here it is too.  Karen Bickerton has just made available this new pattern of hers and the proceeds go to help the flood victims in Australia.  I really liked this pattern as soon as I saw it, the flower tassel particularly appealed to me.

The colours are a bit washed out on this photo, the pink is brighter "in person".

Makes a nice change for a bookmark.  I like it!

Now must go and get some jobs done...

Best wishes,

Easter Serviette/Placemat

I'm back!  Had a lovely, relaxing holiday and I hope you all did too.  I managed to finish the serviettes I was making for my Mother-in-law for Easter with the bunny edging.  The fabric I found was a bit thicker than I was looking for and she may use them as placemats rather than serviettes (I made two) - but the colours were just right for the variegated thread I used.  They're not perfect, but bright and cheerful for Easter.

Lizbeth size 20 (Spring Garden) and DMC Spécial Cordonnet also in size 20

Best wishes,

Lace Quarter-Glove

This will be my last post for the next couple of weeks as I am going on holiday with the family... somewhere with no internet access!

This is what I've been working on with the border from the previous post.  I have seen a couple of these "slave bracelets" on the net and fancied having a go at making my own.  I don't like the name "slave bracelet" though...  That's why I called it Quarter-Glove after having tried a few other terms:  hand embellishment, lacy hand adornment?  Any other suggestions?

I combined beading with lace-making in this one and made a beaded ring to hold the lace around the middle finger.  It closes with a button on the underside.

Close-up of the beaded ring.

Just a bit of summer fun!

I wish you all a lovely Easter break - Feliz Pascua - Joyeuses Pâques!  

See you in a couple of weeks.

Best wishes,

Another Idea in Progress

My head is so full of ideas it will burst at the seams!  Sometimes I don't know where to start as there are too many things I want to try and I don't know what to start with.  So as you can see, I often have multiple projects going on.  Some get finished if I like them enough, others remain as little experiments.

Anyway, I started on this border last night as I have an idea in mind for it.  I hope it works out and that I can show you the finished item.

I like it a lot.  I has those "opposite direction" chains which always appeal to me.  It is from "The Tatter's Treasure Chest".

On a different note, I have a word of caution regarding "Finishing on a chain".  I used it yesterday to finish a bookmark but then made the mistake of trying to attach a twisted tail onto the picot of that last chain... well that picot pulled out!  Tragedy!  I need to think more about that problem before I can discuss it further and think of a solution.

The sun is shining, it's another gorgeous day here in the UK.  Have a lovely weekend everyone!

Best wishes,

Beading Interlude...

Well the doily got binned!  So I'm back to the hanky edging (the flower one) and another project which I've started but haven't shown you yet.  The edging is nearly done so hope to show you that soon.

In the meantime, I'm showing you my latest beading effort.

This medallion was improvised as I went along.  I'm pleased with it.

Best wishes,

Doily?

Sometimes you start something and you get to a point where you're not sure whether to carry on or not.  This is one of these items...  It is Mary Konior's Flowerpiece doily.  I started it yesterday whilst I was waiting for some thread to arrive for my handkerchief edging.  I always like to have more than one project on the go anyway as I like variety.

But I'm not happy with the way the chains look.  Even on the round where I am, though the chains have the same number of stitches, you can see that they don't all have the same curve because of the shape of the motifs in the centre.  It's very difficult to make these repeated chains look perfect anyway as the slightest change in tension as you snug up your stitches can make a difference to the chain.

Also, though I love the shades of "Juicy Watermelon", in practice I find it distracts too much and prevents the eye from seeing the design and for that reason I think I should have used a different thread for the centre.

So, should I try to finish it anyway?  Or cut my losses?

Best wishes,

Lacy Treasure Earrings

I had another play with Marilee's pattern this morning.  I think I'm happier with the result.

I think the whole design is more harmonious now.  This is Lady ShuttleMaker's "Marina, a silk thread in size 20 (but it works up smaller than a cotton 20).

Best wishes,

Stardate Pendant

This is Marilee Rockley's "Lacey Treasure" pendant.  Made in size 10 "Stardate" thread (also by Marilee).  I'm not completely happy with it but just a little something to show you.  I'm not sure about having to sew the centre pearl on at the end and might try to find a way of incorporating it into the tatting so it doesn't stand out so much (not obvious from the photo but it's really "on top" of the tatting rather than into it).  The drop bead at the bottom is not quite right either but that's all I had on hand.

So I need to find some more appropriate beads if I am to re-do this pendant.  I will also try it in a smaller thread for a pair of earrings.  I saw Monedido's earrings (at In Tatters) and they were so perfect that I fancy making some too!

Best wishes,

Tatting Shuttles and Bobbins

I love Aero shuttles.  I can tat the fastest with them (without the tail though!).  The old English Aeros were by far the best.  They seem to never wear out.  The newer Aeros are still good but not quite as robust and they tend to loose tension over time.  I use both the old and the new ones so I've had to find ways to fix them when they get a bit loose.  One idea is to put a small piece of wide rubber band rolled up in the hole of the bobbin (1/4 inch elastic).  This increases friction between the shuttle and the bobbin and I found that worked well in many cases.

Another I recently came up with are these little rings above.  They are cheap to buy (from office supplies shops and the like) and they fit just right on top of the bobbin as you can see in the photo.  You can add one, or two, or as many as you like until you get the tension the way that suits you.  And you can replace them easily when they wear out.  Simple.

Now of course for someone who likes Aeros, I had to try the Pop-a-Bobbin shuttle.  Very nice, well made (though still a little thick for my liking), lovely to handle.  And it's very pleasant to tat "silently".  But I do have tension problems with them.  I don't know if there are tiny variations in the thickness of bobbins but some work fine whilst others practically "free-wheel"!  Again, the little paper rings came to the rescue.

Also after seeing Fox's, I was then brave enough to change the hook on mine too.  I have two and changed the hook on both.  Really happy with them now as I wasn't getting on very well with the hook that was on them originally.

Now I hope I don't appear too critical of the Pop-a-Bobbin as it really is a lovely shuttle and I think it's great there are people out there who are making all these beautiful shuttles for us to enjoy.

Best wishes,