Tatting commission delivered

If you remember, I mentioned in an earlier post that a colleague had asked me to make her two tatted wings and two flower clusters in tatting. Here is that post. It has indeed been so long, that I've forgotten what I'd written.

Well, after several weeks, I showed her my prototypes. She liked them and off I went to make them for her. Here they are, in pearl cotton (mostly):

 

They are pair of wings from Wanda's knotty thoughts and two blossoms by Muskaan).

I have to say that Frivole's snowflake test tatting has taught me how to make an unflipped chain and this was very useful for the wings. I made each of them with a shuttle and ball.

The blossoms were a real delight to tat. I really liked the simple patterns and the colours were so cheery!

I did them all in one weekend (overall 8 hours), hoping to catch up with my colleague the next week, but sadly we only saw each other a few weeks later, on this Wednesday. l gave her the lace and I'm glad to say she really liked them. She even asked me for two more blossoms in slightly different colours.

My wrist has been a bit bad the past few days with tendonitis (I blame crocheting hehe), so I will get to it when I'm sure I've recovered enough.

I'll come back with more pictures when I'm done.

Test tatting Holly Snowflake

I know I have been talking about crocheting, but this week I've been tatting.

One of the projects that have kept me busy was test tatting Frivole's new Holly Snowflake pattern. Since she has posted my photo too, I will show it as well. Of course, the ends are now all hidden away.

It's looking frosty in blue

It was my first time test tatting. I must say it was interesting following written instructions to the letter and working in a regular way. Maybe you don't know, but I usually go by the diagrams and I have my own version of some of the joins. But this was no time to go rogue.

I really enjoyed making the snowflake. I learned a few things that I wasn't too familiar with. Coincidentally, one of the techniques helped me in my next tatting project. And I hope my observations were useful to Frivole in turn.

What I like is that the inspiration was a real snowflake and the tatted one really did end up looking quite similar to it. I'd say definitely check it out.

Planning a crocheted skirt

I've been watching a very interesting series of videos on Youtube, called Vintage mystery crochet. A lady has some "anonymised" crochet patterns from vintage books, works them based only on the written instructions, then guesses what they could be. It's loads of fun and reminds me of the TIAS that Jane Eborall was hosting (which I always missed, to my shame) and got my fingers itching for a crochet hook.

I have a few crochet works in progress from some years ago that I got stumped on and would like to either finish or frog and start over.

One of these is a skirt in fine yarn. Which is all fine and dandy, but I gave myself the extra challenge of using variegated yarn, so not any pattern or stitch will look good. After searching high and low for patterns and stitches, I've decided to try and design it myself. It's funny, since with tatting I prefer following a pattern, but with crochet I've been mostly making most of it up as I went along. I guess I made a lot of wearables, so I personalised them a lot. And the easy "undo" feature of crochet lends itself to easy designing.

Here is my idea for the skirt so far:

The top around the waist will be unjoined rows with light invisible increase (random increase points) until the hip widest point. I would later on add a button hole tab and buttons by working on the edge of the slit.

Then I would work in the round, with regular increases, depending on the initial row length. The increases would create a whirl, which could be accented with a special stitch. Or I could go for an invisible increase.

Lacier bits can be incorporated when the skirt is long enough: open gaps or special stitches next to the increases or within the rows.

I was also thinking of adding some tatting somewhere on the edge, if I find an edging idea that fits.

I'd say that's a good plan for a start.

Now, years ago, I made a few rows, but I'm not happy with the increases, so I will frog most of it.

According to my notes, I was working one of my favourite stitches at that time, one loop single crochet. I went with single crochet because I wanted a tight stitch, so maybe I could wear this without s slip. We'll see. And the one loop only (in this case front) would create an interesting pattern in the fabric. In fact, I really like the way the yarn changes show up on it. You can see it in the main block in the pictures below.

I thought however to experiment with other stitches too, maybe I'd like others more.

I tried the moss/linen stitch. It looked interesting from the online pictures, but it's not as nice as my original idea. Plus my tension was a bit wonky, sorry about that. Dishwasher detergent makes my hands slippery. Well, one must wash dishes though! Crocheting and tatting won't exempt me from it.

Moss/linen stitch at the top 3 rows

The other idea was regular single crochet. But, as you can see, one side is a bit bland, while the other barely shows the colour in some rows.

Regular single crochet side one: kind of meh

Regular single crochet side 2: where did the colours go?

So I guess my first idea is my favourite one. What do you know! Now it's time to frog and measure and crochet and measure and... I foresee lots of frogging in my future! Heh.

Luggage tag, but not quite

I'm always glad when I can marry off any of my little bits and ends of lace. Even better when they get a good purpose.

Three such pieces ended up on mom's luggage today. She wanted a sure way of identifying her trolley and asked me for some of my tatted lace. She chose two almost identical coaster centres that never made it into coasters because of a wrong stitch count. She also had a brooch I had given her a couple of years back that was bright and visible.

I attached the brooch by its needle, but it wasn't secure enough apart from that, so she asked me to sew in the edges too. I did, but the brooch back was standing off too much, so, after a bit of wiggling, I convinced it to come off through a gap in the lace, without having to undo my fresh stitches.

My tool of choice today was the curved needle, since a straight one would have been too difficult to get in and out of the tough bag facing from just one side. It worked like a charm. And with the help of my trusted pliers, the work was quick and painless. It's great to have good tools!

Here is my little handywork. I think it looks quite jolly. Mom sure likes it. My lace is once more going places, hehe!

A little wing and flower commission

I have a commission, yay! Why all the excitement? Well, few people in my circle of friends and family care about the fact that I tat and crochet and as such they don't rush in with requests. I'm glad when I can help with the odd garment repair (of course I sew too), but I'd like to make more interesting things as well.

And I'm sure a lot of crafty people have noticed that a surprise hand-made gift will not always be appreciated or used much. So I am always happy when someone requests something. I also suck at deciding on gifts.

One of my colleagues caught wind of my tatting skills and has asked if I could make her a few small pieces to sew onto a jacket. She chose a few cute patterns (a pair of wings from Wanda's knotty thoughts and two blossoms by Muskaan). She also chose some pearl cotton threads, which are very fine, but which I had in lots of pretty colours.

I set about to tat a couple of mock-ups in pearl cotton to let her get a feel for the actual size. I was tired when I made the wing, so I made one inner ring too few, but it's still going to be ok for a mock-up. I actually hid the ends and blocked the white blossom, since I might use it for something anyway. It certainly came out alright.

 

Now, to take these to work with me to show her and hopefully it will be a good start on my little commission project.

Crochet twisted cable scarf (pattern too)

The last time we saw my scarf, it had been frogged a couple of times.

Well, I can happily say there have been several more froggings since then, some of them starting from the beginning. No, I have no regrets.

And at last, my super bulky crocheted scarf is now completed! Yay!

It's folded a couple of times here to show one of the twisty ends.

It's now just wide enough to wrap comfortably around my neck, but it's pretty long, to make it drape a bit due to its weight.

The twisted motif is only at the two edges. Due to the way this is worked, the scarf is not reversible. Well, it is, if I just want a plain scarf.

I'm going to give you the pattern, if you're inclined to give it a go.

Like I said, I made this to work with my bulky yarn, so please consider it a fair warning. The length is whatever you want it to be, so I didn't give instructions for how many rows of hdc should be made.

Of course, feel free to let me know any opinion you might have on this, good or bad.

Crochet twisted cable scarf

Yarn super bulky
Hook US M-13 / 9mm

Hdc: US half double crochet

Bpdc: US back post double crochet

For super bulky yarn foundation stitches 11
R0 11 foundation hdcs
R1 11 hdc
R2 5 hdc bpdc 5 hdc
R3 hdc bpdc 3hdc bpdc 3hdc bpdc hdc
R4 11hdc
R5 2hdc bpdc 2hdc bpdc 2hdc bpdc 2hdc (the posts of the dcs from R3)
R6 11 hdc
R7 3hdc bpdc hdc bpdc hdc bpdc 3hdc
R8 11 hdc
R9 4hdc 3bpdc 4hdc
R10 11 hdc
R11 4hdc 3bpdc (in the reverse order posts) 4hdc
R11 11 hdc
R12 3hdc bpdc hdc bpdc hdc bpdc 3hdc (continuing same posts)
Then go in reverse
Make only hdc until almost the end, then repeat the above, making sure you're working on the front side of the scarf

Have you been frogging again?

Who, me? Ehehe. Maybe.

Ok, I definitely did unravel the scarf after about 25 rows. No, I have no regrets.

I went through my notes again and noticed I was doing something wrong. I was using only 1 ch to turn to the next row in hdc, instead of 2 ch. Also, my edges, especially in the beginning, were a bit wonky. Plus, the turning chain made the right side of the twist look wider. Just a tad.

Argh!

I toyed with the idea that maybe people wouldn't notice. Or that they would think that's normal for crochet.

Nah.

It had to go.

So I unravelled everything and looked up tutorials for smooth edges. While I was at it, I also looked up the foundation stitches. There were too many chains and I was feeling shackled by them.

I then practised until I got the elements right and went for foundation hdcs, but with a beginning of 3 ch instead of 2. I wanted to count that as a hdc and I needed the little caps to work into. Then I used the stacked sc instead of turning chains on subsequent rows and always counted that as a stitch, since it was bulky enough anyway.

Evenness achieved!

Well, evenness enough for my standards.

Now, will I decide it's too wide and uncomfortable and frog it again? Only time will tell. I will decide when I have enough length to wrap it around my neck. Until then, here's a photo of the beginning twist:

 

'Tis navy blue, I tell you! You just have to take my word for it.

The twisted cable scarf is emerging from the big yarn head

The big yarn head has been turning into a scarf. I've finally begun the creation of the Frankenstein monster scarf from the remains of the old vest. But don't worry, the scarf isn't scary.

I've been reacquainting myself with crocheting lately and decided to just dive into making this scarf already. I found a lot of very lovely patterns and stitches on Youtube and after drooling over them for some time, decided for a cable stitch pattern: https://www.throughtheloopyc.com/fairbrook-scarf-free-pattern/ I know I said I would make something lacy, but it turns out I'm not... Maybe next time.

However, mine being a super bulky yarn, I had to make fewer repeats, which meant just 3 cables. And, not wanting to make anything too bland, I decided to make it look like the cables were twisted together at the middle. I know there must be a pattern for that out there somewhere, but I figured that trick out all by myself and I'm awfully proud of it, I must say! Heh.

Here it is, well, the first twisty part anyway:

My phone never manages to get the colour right. This is navy blue.

I have been pondering if I should make 3-4 of these twisties one after the other until I reached the optimum scarf length, or if I should only do one at the beginning and one at the end. I eventually decided on the latter. It shouldn't be too busy or bulk up too much around the neck. The two ends that usually just drape down are enough to show off the accents.

Of course, feel free to give me any kind of feedback about it.

As a side note, I was trying to follow the video tutorial for this first, but it threw me off that they kept using back loop only, even if in the end that would have been too much ribbing. I had a few false starts because of that. The rest were me remembering how to crochet properly or experimenting with the design.

I have a set of notes I always keep handy when crocheting, since I'm still more or less a beginner. I have decided to put them up on my page here: My crochet notes and tips. Maybe someone will find them useful. I definitely do!

Ideas, wishes and maybe-laters

Not much to show for today, except for my huge ball of super bulky yarn that used to be a vest. It's as big as my head. It even has ears. Those were not intentional though.

I could not get the colour balance right on the photo...

It looks a bit scary. It will be a scarf, hopefully loose and airy. I have been practising crocheting after a break that lasted several years and I am so happy I took very detailed notes for myself. I knew I would have to relearn things at some point and there's no need to reinvent the wheel too, as they say.

 I'm still undecided concerning the pattern, I might just use one fancy lacy stitch... Or create my own weirdness. Time will tell, after I practise more.

I have a few ideas for other things I would like to make...

• A phone sack/strap/thing to carry my phone around the house on days where I wear no pockets. How can one be without pockets? And for a while, all the pockets on any jeans I found in stores were just too small. It's a conspiracy. Women have the right to pockets too! Ok, I'll cool down.
• Cross stitched pixel art on t-shirts. Instead of printed t-shirts, I could have stitched ones. I'm a big gamer, so I will definitely find very pixelated stuff I could stitch. I got the inspiration from another gamer who likes to cross stitch. Btw... I've never cross stitched except for on cardboard as a child. How hard can it be? I already have the hoop and a pen that writes on fabric with fading ink.
  
• A choker necklace in tatting that is less flowery and more metal. Because I'm a bit of a metal head. I might design it myself.
• I have a tatted dragon I still want to stitch to something. Jeans or a t-shirt.
• A proper cuff bracelet for my entire forearm. Maybe in tatting. Maybe in crochet. Maybe with a dragon attached to it. Hmm...

And I didn't even mention the works in progress that I still need to finish. Now, all I need is the mental energy for it.

Those who are about to be unravelled salute you!

I don't know if you recall, but a few years ago I started to learn how to crochet.

A friend of mine from work gave me a couple of very thick acrylic yarn as a gift: Bravo Big by Schachenmayr. It is a super bulky yarn in a pretty dark blue colour.

I thought for a while what I could make with it and decided on a sort of vest. A super bulky vest. Erm...

Yes, super bulky it was. I had to buy a third ball of yarn to finish it too.

The pattern is my own idea, the body is two sides half double crochet, with an off the shoulder yoke at the top in a sort of wave stitch. Please bear with me, I haven't crocheted in a long time, so my terminology is rusty.

The vest was cute alright, but it was too tight to move in it easily, plus it was very thick.

So in the end, after not wearing it for more than a few times, I think it is time to unravel it and use the yarn to make something more wearable. Like a scarf.

But first, one last photo:

It was a fun crochet and I learned a lot from this experience. If I were to redo the same thing, I would also make the base of the yoke a starting single crochet, instead of a chain. If anyone wants the pattern of a beginner, I can share it. I keep notes with everything I make.

Now, time to frog it! If only I could find the last end...

Adventures in foreign places

I haven't been here in a while. I haven't tatted in a while. Life has been tossing me around and I myself have thrown myself in a few storms.

I have been on a small adventure recently. I went to a place far from home, a place I'd never been to before. And it welcomed me like I belonged there. Few people know where that is. It is my little dreamland.

I went there with a small companion, a very unlikely companion indeed. A little tatted flying pig (the pattern is by Jane Eborall). You might have seen it.

The little oinker come with me on its little keychain ring, attached to my shoulder bag. He was my little companion, but luckily, I wasn't feeling quite that lonely there. Sadly, he got a bit crumpled on the trip, so a little stiffening would do him good.

I also went to a yarn shop there. I had a nice chat with the shop keepers and showed them my piggie. I also bought myself some tatting thread, seweing thread to repair the inside of my bag and needles to sew with.

The brown thread came in handy too, as one of the buttons on my brown shirt fell off soon after this purchase.

I know this little post isn't saying much. I guess I haven't written prose in so long, it came out a bit jumbled.

But one thing I know for certain. I will go back to that beautiful tranquil place and sit a while in the grass and tat.