Insomniac Tatting

So what's a girl to do when she can't sleep? A bit of tatting of course! I didn't want to do anything major since I did want to go to sleep sometime that night. Just something small and simple to relax me and hopefully help me to drift off into slumber.

I had Youtube already up on my laptop as my new addiction has been watching Rick Steves' Best of Europe travel videos. His videos are as close as I'll ever get to traveling outside the US.

I got interested in many of the tatting pattern tutorials, especially those from other countries. I soon found myself, with needle and thread in hand, trying out the patterns presented. I did eventually go to sleep that night, but not until after I made this lovely flower from one of the tutorials:

Here is a link to the tutorial if you are interested in watching: 

And So It Begins...

Well, this is something I never thought would happen. A change has happened in my focus as of late. 2015 was the year that I rediscovered quilting. I have enjoyed my stay in the quilting community and just as I started to think the quilting world was my home, I found myself called into another direction.

Changing crafting directions comes naturally for me. I'm use to it now. Read far back enough in my blog and you will see that I have been a knitter, jewelry designer and lace maker among other things. But this new direction has completely caught me off guard.

A few years back I purchased a rigid heddle loom on Craftsy.com. I don't know why. I never had any interest in weaving before. My mom had just died and I just felt like I wanted to make something. But I didn't. I ordered the loom and there it sat, never opened. For three years it just sat.

Rigid Heddle Loom

This past December I finally opened the box. No actual reason for it. It was there and so I opened it. A couple of Youtube videos later I had the loom put together and the warp dressed. It was a slow process weaving. I had no desire for it. I did a few rows here and there, but nothing to write home about. Actually it felt a bit boring, and I seriously questioned the mental state I was in when I ordered the thing.

First woven scarf fresh off the loom

Then, near the end of December something happened. I was moving the loom out the way to get to some other project when I decided to do a couple of rows. This time something in my brain seemed to shift. Before I knew it I had finished a scarf. That same day I tied off the scarf and dressed the loom for another scarf. Over the course of the next two weeks I would make six more scarves. With each scarf I would shake my head in pure amazement. Weaving was the last thing I ever wanted to do and now I couldn't get enough of it.

Full view of woven scarf

Throughout my crafting life, I have always chosen my next crafting adventure. But this time was different. This time the craft choose me. I'm not sure where this weaving adventure will take me. But for now I walk cautiously into this new territory of fiber arts and making sure to document my journey along the way.

To Not Choose The Easy Road

This week in my weekly online tatting class we have been working on a cute little hat designed by Gina Butler. It is called simply, the Tatted Red Hat. The challenge of this pattern has been doing mock picots, split chains and split rings. I had never done any of these with a needle, so this presented an even harder challenge for me.

At first glance it would seem easy enough to just do the simple tie and cut on each round. I could finish this pattern quickly. Pat myself on the back and be on my merry little way. But what lesson would I learn taking the easy way? What was I to gain in a quick finish?

We are taught to get things done in the easiest why possible." Don't make work for yourself."" Don't make things harder then they have to be." We even managed to break these words down into one easy to remember word- K.I.S.S., meaning- keep it simple stupid. The faster we get things done, the better. But is it really? Is time truly wasted if from it we gain knowledge and possibly a new skill in the process?

As easy as it would have been to tat the hat they way I knew how, I decided that instead of avoiding extra work I would welcome it and see what I might gain from it.

The first was to learn how to do a split ring. I looked through my notes and samples from the past and realized that I had once done a split ring. So I knew it was possible, I just needed a refresher on how to do it.

The lovely Katy of the RustiKate Youtube videos refreshed my memory on how to make a split ring:

Needle tatted split rings by RustiKate

Now it was time to learn how to do a split chain. For that I went to Shannon of the blog Me and Mine... She has a video showing how to make a split chain with a needle. I'll be honest, it took me watch that section about four times before I finally understood what I was suppose to do.

Re-threading needle to close split chain by Shannon

And finally, I learned how to make a mock picot. Much easier then I thought it would be. Thank you Maria Papia for your demonstration and to TotusMel for her clarity.

Maria Papia showing a mock picot

So, with the new knowledge gained, I went forward with the red hat. . . .

The Fox Says Two Color Tatting

Sunday found me again confined to my bed as I continued to suffer through my Sickle Cell crisis. I took my pain meds like a good girl, praying hard that this bout would not result in another stay at the hospital.

As much as I enjoy the free food, stronger medications and unlimited movies available to me during my hospital stays, I could really do without the IV's, blood transfusions and 2a.m. blood draws. So the hope is that I will be able to manage this episode at home.

While confined to my sick bed, I tried to make the most of the hours that I was awake. I've been reading Fox's Tat-ology blog, starting with her very first post and working my way forward. I always do that when I find a blog that I really like. I enjoy seeing the growth a person goes through- both in their blogging style and in their craft. Fox's personality is much like my husband's, (very OCD and Type-A). She makes me laugh with her tatting pitfalls and the visuals are lovely.

I was on the blog post about the tatting in Piecework magazine, when I decided to try my hand at the sample shown. It is two-color tatting, which I had never done before. I quickly went in search of a tutoral on two-color needle tatting. This Youtube video by TotusMel helped get me started.

I made a small, yet very cute sample. Enough for me to understand the structure and method. I do not normally think of working with two colors this way, but it is nice to know that I can should the need ever arise.

As I spent time doing a Google search through tatted lace images I also got an itch to make this little motif. Just a sweet little Cherry Blossom Heart from Grace Tats done up just to make my day.

Now I'm on the search for another bookmark pattern. I plan to make one for my daughter's teacher for Teacher Appreciation Week.

Bobbin Lace Fast Fingers

Since this weekend marks the 20th Annual Lace Day hosted by the Lacey Ladies of Arizona, I figured I'd celebrate with blog postings this week that pay respect to the beautiful art of Bobbin lace making.

Behold, I give you a YouTube video of a very talented quick-fingered lace maker. You may need to play this video twice, because if you blink you might miss a whole section of lace.

Music To My Ears

I've been addicted to YouTube these pass few days. Since time and money never seem to work out for me to see anyone in concert, I've been watching recorded performances online. Jamie Cullum has been the artist whose music I have been listening to the most. (Is that really any surprise?) Now, I figured I'd give you a sampling of Jamie's work so maybe you'd have a better understanding of why I love his music. (And maybe make a new Jamie Cullum fan out of a few of you.)

These are clips from some of Jamie Cullum's live performances. The first clip is of Jamie performing a blended mix of Singing In The Rain and Umbrella. (Yes, Jamie performed this long before the cast of Glee ever did.) The second clip is a mix of Sexy Back and Don't Cha. The last clip is of him singing Nature Boy, which I must say is one of my favorite songs and Jamie's rendition is wonderfully soothing. Enjoy!