Mignonette Fever

I have a confession. I never liked to work mignonette or any other pattern with bare threads. I'm horrible measuring the bare thread without picot gauges and using them slow me a lot. But one of the tatters from Frivolite en Espanol, made a double picot gauge. It's just a plastic gauge folded in half. This permits the gauge stay in place while tatting and you barely have to hold it. Great! I had one of those moments "why I didn't think of that?!" It's really convenient! Here is the video. It doesn't has audio but you can see clearly what she's doing.


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So I made a couple of double gauges and made this small doily. Actually is not a doily but a coin purse. It measures around 4 inches wide and I made it with Omega #20 pastel mint green. I'm thinking in making now the purse but in #10. The pattern is from Tatting by Adeline Corset No. 5. Handy Hands newsletter published a few pages. I'm looking if someone has all the book and can share with me the rest of the pages. The book is circa 1916.

I modernized a little the pattern and was able to made it all in one pass with 2 shuttles. Or can be done with shuttle and ball. After making the rosette, cut around 1 yard of thread and it will be enough to go from one round of the mignonette part to the other. Thinking now in adding beads to the mignonette part. So much ideas so little time!!!

Ready to go camping at Maricao nat. Fore

Ready to go camping at Maricao nat. Forest!

Modernizing an old pattern

On Frivolite en Espanol at Ning we're making a huge Group Work. We are translating to Spanish and modernizing the Priscilla Tatting Book No. 3 It will take up to December 13 to work all the patterns in the book. The members are all excited and they are working diligently on their assignments. One of the students worked Fig. 15 on the book and then made an example of how it will look with beads. The result is a gorgeous collar.

I couldn't find my gold colored beads at the moment but remembered the twisted bugles. I used white #10. Also with a repetition of the pattern I made a pair of earrings to complement. It's a really good way to modernize an old pattern.

Edging Pattern on a Hanky

I have been making edgings for several hankies and because the edge of the hanky is scallop I had trouble looking for a pattern. I started doing this one after some trial and errors. Another "here I am" design. It ruffles a little, because I like hanky's edgings to ruffle just a little so it looks more feminine. I have done already 3 out of 6 hankies and I think I'll keep doing this pattern.

How much does a person would pay for a hanky? $20? $30? Would like some input.

The Tatter and the Omega - Based on a True Story

In a far away little island there lives a crafty Queen, known as NeedleDreams. She spends her day doing little knots. Knots that transformed, as with magic, into beautiful things. But the Queen was a little sad. Because all her work were starting to lack something. Colors! Lately she noticed that all her works were the same color: white; and this was making her depress.

"Oh, if there where some colors in my little knots I'll be happy!" thought the Queen. Then one day the Queen had a visit from a far away friend and told her that she found out that there was a place where they do have colors. Both of them went to this place and came with a bad news. The place indeed had colors once but now it was running out of them and they were not going to get more because the producer of the magical colors was dieing.

Oh, poor Queen! What she was going to do when all the colors fade and she was left with only white?She returned to her kingdom and consulted with her court. The also make knots and they could tell her where to find the colors. One of them, a fairy from a nearby land, told her that she lives near the Great Wizard of Colors: Omega! She assured the Queen that he was not dieing and that she will find some colors for her Queen.

Days passed and the Queen was getting more depress and even stop making pretty knots. She was out of inspiration and her upcoming birthday was near. The Queen always gifted to her followers with a nice pattern of knots. But this year, lacking of colors, she didn't have the inspiration. Then when she thought that the fairy forgot about her a royal ambassador came with a treasure chest. The poor Queen's heart started to beat fast.

"Could it be...?"she say, her voice trembling and hands shaking as she approached the chest. Oh yes!!! It was! Inside she found a pyramid and a river of colors! Shinny colors! Brilliant colors! Colors as the sky, as the flowers, as the rich earth and jewels.

The Queen was so happy! Now she can make her pretty knots again; knowing that she would not be afraid of loosing her colors again because the fairy will always be near her when she needs more colors.



Top photo: Pyramid: Omega #20 , Skeins: 1-4 Acetato "La Abuela", 5 &6 Rayon Perle (#5) "La Abuela"

Thanks to Maria Alcantara from Mexico for the threads. There was a rumor that the Omega thread was descontinued. She lives near the Omega fabric and she even called the company to see if it was true that they were discontinuing colors and threads and they said no. She sent me these ones as a "sample" of the new (at least new for me) line of La Abuela. They even got new products Clover and other names. If you wish to visit their web site is http://www.hilosomega.com.mx/

Keyed Up

I got from Marilee this pattern. It's called "Keyed Up" and you can buy it from her Etsy. Lovely pattern to work with. I think I have made like a dozen of them already in all colors and changing the beads. These are made in white #10 with a turquoise color bicone and a 6mm rocaille. Simple patterns like this make my day a little brighter. It's not easy to combat depression without medicines. But need to be patient until my health insurance starts again on Feb. 1st.

Closing Time

I'm tire right now and the situation with the health insurance, the lack of medicines and a HUGE personal problem with an ex is making me more tire. After years of going up with my treatment, the fact that I stop it so briskly have taken me back to almost the beginning, when I was diagnosed with Lupus and Depression.

I'll close all my online shops at the end of the month. Will not consider any other site. Last time I made a sale was in October and was for a package of the belly dancing gold colored coins. Haven't sold a single shuttle nor anything tatted. This take a lot of time also. So from now on I'll only tat for pleasure and if someone ask me to tat something, which I doubt since have been years that I have made a custom order.

Will keep blogging and posting a design now and then; as will continue writing the Frivolite Newsletter in Spanish.

So if you want something from the shops before I close them here are the links for the last time:

Artfire

Visit Needles-N-Shuttles's ArtFire Shop

Etsy

A Swedish - Chilean Cat!

Have been a "blah" kind of week. It's not fun to discover that for my first 40th BD I'll be on the red again. Nothing new here. But this time is more stressful because of the problem with my meds and the health insurance. *sigh* But I won't go there again...

Anyway, arrived from Walmart just now and when I went to check if Netflix sent my movies I found an envelope from Sweden! WOW! BTW... No Netflix yet. :-(

Inside the envelope came a nice card with this cutie pie inside. It's from Isa @, one of my students from the Spanish Tatting Group in NING. Isn't it cute? I love it!!!! It's a felt oval with a stylish cat and around a dainty edging in silver thread with black beads. It measures like 2 inches tall. This surely makes the rest of the night a bright one!

Thanks so much Isa!!!!

Now to my corner...

Woven Friendship Bracelets

I haven't post in a few days because I got in a frenzy to tat these bracelets. Yes, they are bracelets. Very easy to do with striking results. The idea is from Jane Eborall's Frienship Bookmark where the center is a woven braid of split rings. This one I made it a little different.

I first made a whole strip of Split Rings, 15 in total. Then I started another strip but before closing the ring I inserted the one already made, front to back. Then made the second SR and moved the inserted strip back to front. I continued in this way until all the first strip was woven with the second one. To tie the band I left around 6 inches of thread at the beginning and end of each strip. Then tied an over-hand knot using both strips end and voila!

I have made like 15 of them and has like a dozen on the process. I was hoping that the ICP (Puerto Rican Culture Institute) call me for the San Sebastian Street Fest but they didn't. So I'll place a few on my shop and see if they sell. My sister Naida asked me one in pink and burgundy long enough for her to hang her PSP Go on the neck. So when my shuttles empty with the threads they have now, then I'll start her strip.

I don't know if the pattern and idea is original enough for me to write the pattern. If people think it's okay then I'll write the pattern and post photos of how-to.

Lovely lunch with Aileen

Guess with whom I met? With the famous "Wicked Tat" from Singapore. Isn't it cool? Aileen has been visiting Puerto Rico to see her "better half" and I called her to see if we can meet at Heirloom's in Caguas. Heirloom's is a cute LYS that I often visit to buy some threads and go gaga over the embroidery sewing machines. My dream is to have a awesome embroidery machine, one that goes over $700 and does almost everything with just the touch of a button. But unless I find the elusive Birthday Fairy or win the Lotto jackpot I'll keep dreaming.

In the photo from left to right is mom, Aileen and me.

Anyway, to our surprise, the shop was close. Today is holiday (Epiphany Day or Three Kings Day) and most of the places close the day before and probably tomorrow too. So instead of spending the lunch at the shop gazing threads we went to a nearby restaurant to eat Puerto Rican food. Aileen loves "Mofongo" :-) That's a ball of mashed green platains with a lot of garlic and bits of friend pork skin bits. I get mine often without the pork. We talked a lot and laugh and we exchange some gifts even. I wasn't expecting anything but Aileen surprised my with a small bag full of goodies.


Aren't they cool! I got threads, page ups, a wood needle case, keyrings and magnets from Singapore, a teddy puncher, the cutest and smaller folding scissor I've seen, a chinese knot keyring and one of Eileen's paper clip of a butterfly in a pretty variegated blue. Ah, there's a bag hanger that will be used a lot! I'm all the time throwing my bag on the floor! :-p

Though the time was short, we spent a very lovely lunch. Tomorrow Aileen is returning to Singapore. I wish and hope one day I can return the visit to her. Thanks a lot dear!