Life is a Carnival

When I first received "Tatted Jewelry" by Marilee Rockley, I got hooked on the Keyed Up pattern.  Then, I finally figured out shuttle tatting and, well, didn't have the bravery to touch the book.  


A few weeks ago (okay, probably more like a month and a half ago), I tried the Carnival pattern.  I could not get rings to close for me at all.  I mean, to the point where I thought that I just couldn't tat anymore.  I finally got to the point where you add a bead and Bam! I realize that I wasn't supposed to cut the thread from the ball. 


Well, I revisited the pattern today...

It's sloppy, but it's done! :-)  (Sorry for the terrible scanned images; my cell phone wouldn't take a clear picture either...).  This time, I didn't have a problem until the very last ring (go figure).  Sometimes, when I think, I need to relax a bit before I tat that, I should listen to myself!


Here's another scan (with my tatting friend, a yellow jar opener, in the background. 

It's tatted in LizBeth size 20, Silver with pearly size 11 seed beads, a blue sapphire-y bead and an 8mm Faceted Cat's Eye bead (also sapphire-y).


I think it's going to end up attached to the zipper on my purse (Where it will end up destroyed and I'll cry...). 


I finished another coaster in blue and black, but I still need to hide the ends...


Well, happy tatting everyone!


♥,
Stephanie Grace

Sulky Blendables

Not a real post, but I know that a lot of you have been trying Sulky Blendables (which I'm finally reading with the pesky 'l'... Hehe...) so I thought I'd just share that JoAnn has them 40% off. It's only available online and free shipping doesn't come into play until you spend $50, but it could still be worth it.  :-)  (Of course, my Hubby isn't taking the bait to let me order anything... *sigh*)


http://www.joann.com/sulky-blendables-thread-30wt-500-yd-many-colors/xprd1130585/#pro_colors

♥,
Stephanie Grace

Shuttlin'

So, where ya been strangers?  ;-)  It's been such a long time!  I can't believe that I've barely said a thing since January!  Which means, I also missed posting last month about reaching my two year tatting anniversary!  I'm not sure if I can't believe I've been tatting for two years already or if I can't believe that I've only been tatting for two years.  The former would win, I'm sure, if I sat and thought and about it enough. 

Anywho, since my last post, I haven't even touched my needles.  I'm starting to feel a bit bad for neglecting them, but I'm hooked on the shuttles.  I'm sure some pattern with a split ring will make me grab a needle again since I can't seem to do them on the shuttle (yet), but I digress. 

I've done this pattern before and kept telling myself to do it again.  Well, I finally did.  

This is one motif of Wild Rose Luncheon Set from The Tatter's Treasure Chest Edited by Mary Carolyn Waldrep, (pp. 54-56).

This one is in LizBeth size 20, Red and Victorian Red.  It came out looking better than I expected, but I wish the red was just a touch duller.  It just looks too bright.  I love this pattern, but I think I like one motif as a coaster instead of them attached.  It's such a busy pattern and I think it gets overwhelming (and too frilly for my taste) when it's more than one. 


I also did this one in two variegated threads which is incredibly busy in appearance, but I finished it anyway. ;-)  This red one was actually to make up for that one!  :-)


What this pattern forced me to do:  Retro/Un -tat!  I got all the way to the end... I was literally on the last chain and realized that I'd missed a join in the preceding chain.  Usually, that would make me give up.  Then, having to open the ring wasn't going very well; again, that would usually make me give up.  I didn't give up, though!  I unwound the shuttle and made it happen.  :-)  I was so proud I nearly did a dance!  LOL.  


I've also started taking notes and measure how much thread gets used when I tat a pattern, so that I don't waste too much thread or end up with not enough on the shuttle.  I think the scrap paper I wrote the numbers for on this pattern got thrown into a pile of papers so I don't have them right now, but I'll share them as soon as I find it.  ;-)


Well, I'm sure I've taken up enough of your time with my rambling, so I shall see you all tomorrow... I hope! ;-)


Happy Tatting to all!


♥,
Stephanie Grace

Something nifty

I"ll give a proper update soon, I swear...  but I just saw this and thought it was too cool to keep to myself! :-)  I think it's an awesome way to store threads... For those of you that work with wood or have woodworking husbands, the possibilities would be endless!!!

http://www.festotu.com/blog/blog_eng/tutorials/family_tutorials_how_to_thread_rack/

♥,
Stephanie Grace

♥Gina♥

I'm not sure that I truly have the words to write this post or give justice to the grief and sadness that so many people from all around the world are feeling right now, but silence would only feed my own sadness.


I wish that I could say that I was closer to Gina -I always hoped to be, but I knew her through comments and e-mails.  Her comments, encouragement, and tips were always a great comfort to me and made me feel like more of the tatting community.  You see, I have this list in my head of 'tatting celebrities' --people that I admire and am awed by, people I am afraid to approach because I know they are far above my station in Tat Land.  Gina was high on that list and it always felt surreal to see her caring about anything I'd have to say.  


Some people forget that, or fail to recognize at all, that there are real people at the other end of our computer screens.  Gina knew that.  I do too.  This poem is old and badly written, but I feel like it's appropriate today:

Online Friend

Oh! How quickly my icy heart does melt

Whenever the warmth of friendship is felt!

Finding myself within another's heart,

To my soul, they become a vital part!

With a few words and a simple smile,

a friendship can cross many a mile!

For though you are a name without a face,

Within my heart, you have a special place!

And though we may live on and never meet,

In my heart, you will always have first seat,

For I know that you will always be true,

And that is one reason why I love you!

Our words, unspoken, but typed full-speed,

Contain a voice, though it is only keyed.

And though the tone may be a little off,

At the feelings, no one could ever scoff!

Through wires and words a friendship was born,

And, silently, a sacred pact was sworn,

A pact declaring we shall always be

a part of one another's family!

                                   -Stephanie Grace

                                                          (10/13/2008; 10 syllables per line; aabb).

Gina was more than just a name without a face --on the contrary, every picture that I've seen of her has made me smile.  Her energy and joy --her sparkle, comes through in each and every one and it's contagious!  She was more than those pictures too.  She was ...Gina.  I can't think of a better way to describe her.


Even beyond tatting, she was a continual inspiration to me.  It seems like everything she created left me awed --and a wee jealous. *blushes*  She was more than just a Tatting Goddess; she was a creative goddess, an artist, a beautiful role model, and a soul to be be admired and remembered throughout the ages.  How many people can ever touch as many people in as many different corners of the world as Gina did and will continue to do through her words and works and our memories?  


I drooled over so many of her shared creations and thought, 'I could never do that!'.  I know Gina would argue with me about that and give me a push to TRY.  Well, Gina, I started this year saying that I would learn RPL because I was so in love with your creations and I think I will --and, if I can do it, I know that I will think of you with every motion of the thread and will have you to thank for every smile (and frustration) that comes with learning the craft. 


Thank you, Gina, for all that you gave to this world and, most of all, for allowing me to call you a part of mine.  You will be missed more than words can say, but remembered longer than you could have imagined.  We will all be sharing our memories of you throughout our lives in such admiration and love that your memory will pass from one generation to the next and the next and... You get the point.  From your contagious love of art to your contagious smile, there was never any space left to doubt your goddess status --and there never will be!


Rest in Peace, Gina.  


My heartfelt condolences to her family and friends.  She touched so many lives in her time and has truly left a legacy of art, laughter, smiles, tatting, and through and through beauty!  


I'm going to go have a good cry now.  Love and happy tatting to all.


♥,
Stephanie Grace

Relax... Just do it...

I was up by five o'clock in the morning yesterday.  Don't ask me why; I just couldn't go back to sleep.

You'd think that would indicate that I got a lot done.  On the contrary, it left me lethargic and quite cranky all day long.  It probably didn't help that the first thing I did in the morning was untat the split ring I'd messed up the night before in my TIAS project --very discouraging.

So, I decided to tat one of those Heritage crosses that I've tatted over twenty times.  Of course, the shuttle I'd wound way too much thread on for something else emptied before I even finished the first portion of it.  That led to me doing a few stitches of finger tatting, just to try it, and then I moved on with my life. 

At that point, I was hoping sitting on the couch rather than pouting in bed, would make me sleepy enough to snooze.  Instead, I saw this cross sitting beside me: (LizBeth, Country Side, Size 20).

The next few hours of my life were spent tatting and untatting to create another cross, this one with shuttle and ball:

 I chose LizBeth Carousel and the supposedly matching Antique Blue Med because I figured that I'd mess it all up and I don't mind 'wasting' Carousel.  Surprising, I actually completed the cross!  

The Pattern is Gina B's Basic Ring-Chain Cross Bookmark .

I learned plenty while tatting this cross, including that I could be just as relaxed by and while tatting with the shuttle as I am with the needle.  

Now, I just need to start learning how much thread I should put on the shuttle for project (how it's estimated, etc...).  Methinks I'll try a few patterns which include the amount to be wound. 


Love and Happy Tatting to all!


♥,
Stephanie Grace

I Blame Jane.

While learning tatting, I've learned that it's a continual learning process.  Perhaps we like it so much because it's a constant challenge or because we're always learning something new.  Either way, The Wonderful Jane mentioned me comparing my experiences with needle and shuttle in the current TIAS in an e-mail and it led me to this...

Adventures of a Self-Indulgent Mock Tatter 

While I am still learning both methods (are we ever truly done learning?) and especially just learning shuttle tatting, I've decided to make a new blog to note the differences and hopefully help beginners by sharing what I wish I would have been told when I was starting out.  Those that have or have had a relative that tats or tatted may find it of little use, but that wasn't the case for me so I know that there must be others in the same situation.  With all the changes this world has undergone in the past few decades (and especially centuries), less and less is handed down in such a way.  We may not have blood ties, but that doesn't mean we can't be family; even if you've only been tatting for a day, please, go visit my new blog and let's share our experiences.  If you've been tatting from the womb, then you should be there to guide our trembling hands! ;-)

Okay, that's enough from me for today (or is it?).  I'm going to debate the next entry for the new blog... and hope that I don't wake up to a bunch of tatters outside of door with pitchforks and torches!

Love and Happy Tatting to all!

♥,

Stephanie Grace