The results are in!

The County Fair is always great fun! This year, my entries were well received. Except for one and more on that one next month.

2018 ribbons

The best of show is the Needlebook.

The other First Place awards are for the other tatted pieces, snowman earrings, bookmark using the cluny loom, and an ornament I decorated with "binned" bits. 

The Third Place is for a bookmark I made out of my sample band I wove at the workshop.

Now on to the next project…..

Another way to mark picots

I spent some time yesterday looking for a notebook. It has my notes from meetings with the Concert Task Force. I didn’t find it. I did find a few UFO’s. A Prayer shawl started years ago (yikes) and an angel pattern left unfinished. I always wonder about what I determined was most important to do the last time I held the project in my hands. Truth be told, sometimes it seems most important to reduce my stress by setting it aside until I get inspiration to solve whatever problem came up. Not the best priority of my attention.

I’m still working on the snowman pattern. I started a version using size 80 thread. I hope to use them for earrings. Really. While I was loading beads on, I grabbed a bit of leftover thread to use as markers. Remember this idea? (insert link) Well, the brown thread I grabbed was rather slippery. I think it’s waxed button thread. Bad idea. I ended up without markers as the knots untied themselves and the thread fell away from the beads. What to do?????

Here’s my solution: 

I took another piece of sewing thread, used my crochet hook to pass it through the picots in the order that I would need to find them. It’s working out better. I can see them much easier. Still need the magnifier with size 80, but I’m working my way around joining those 11 picots! I hope to have one finished next week to show. I’d like to wear them while working on Jane’s “final” TIAS.

During Christmas

Ah Christmas….

I love Christmas. As a musician, it’s a great time to join in the general fun of carols and music. And music is a huge part of celebrating the Holidays.

I tend to unplug from just about every “normal” activity during Christmas. Today being the 9^th Day of Christmas, I figured I could pick up blogging again.

 Here’s what I completed tatting

Not finished yet. Which reminds me….

finishing…..

That word tends to strike terror into some stitcher’s hearts. Well, I’ve discovered that a lot of the finishing involved in tatted pieces really happens as you tat. You can hide ends with loops, you can tat snugly so blocking is minimal, and you can work loops for hanging and such into the pattern. Easy-peasy!!

Incidently, I tried to strategically place black beads as I was loading the clear beads for these guys. Makes ‘em look beady-eyed. Pun intended!

Loops that help

I like to test out my patterns several times. Having another tatter work through them also helps. Imagining how a pattern looks or tats up in other size thread, with or without beads, using needle just doesn’t always cut it. Getting things into thread usually does. I discovered on the third or fourth pass that I was losing track of where to join. Big time! A friend who knits gave me this idea:

Marking points in the pattern for joins; much like marking darts when sewing or where to cut. It’s much easier to cut out these little loops of thread as you join than to find a vsp amongst the beads.

I hope to have a pair of earrings to wear soon. But alas, preparing for the next few days just may have to happen first. Speaking of testing…. I should test that recipe for mulled cider. (mmmmm!)

25 motif challenge

I’ve recommitted to the 25 motif challenge. 

So far in 2016, I’ve completed

Ornament cover:

Pattern # 10 by Nadine Nunnelley

10 shawl crosses: 

Wild Rose: http://picotsnkeys.blogspot.com/2016/01/wild-rose-22.html

And a snowman: 

Snowman by Melanie Cervi

Shawl angel

4 down and 21 to go.

On the shuttles now:

Jane’s TIAS

Another Shawl angel

Flag http://picotsnkeys.blogspot.com/2014/10/flag-with-red-stripe.html

That’s pretty good for me! Just 3 UFO’s!!

That encourages me that I can tat 25 motifs in 2016! Off to the shuttles……

Bach at the Mission

I’ve finished tatting the snowman earring set. No pictures until the customer is happy though. I’ve been working on the pattern, so that should be up about the same time the picture can be released. It made me happy to get that project finished. I know I will make more pairs. Perhaps with different colored hats or different beads.

Progress on the organ studio? Not much to write about. Still gathering carpets and trying to get the brick rehab scheduled. Still getting the walls uncovered so that we can paint. But, I continue to practice and enjoy Bach Festival.

Altar in front at Carmel Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo

Here’s a link to the organ I enjoyed for the second concert yesterday.

Pipework of the Casavant at Carmel Mission

 I must get copies of the music I've heard here at the Festival Concerts. I already have a doily in mind for one piece.

of hats and Bach

The snowman earring (both for the pair) is wearing a hat. Now for the beads that will make him smile and her eyes twinkle. I'll try to get a picture when they are suitably decorated, but they won't scan well with beads and well, you know my photography skills...or lack thereof. All in due time.

That is, when I can pull myself away from the Bach festival. Now before the Bach Cantata members that lurk here get all huffy……I know it’s not the definitive Bach Festival. It’s a darn good hometown festival that professional AND locals pull together to get more Bach into the air. I know it won’t attract those doing the most cutting edge research into how to perform Bach music, but the performances are darn good! And there’s enough variety of performance styles to appease just about everyone who isn’t so grumpy with “correct” to see beauty. Ok….rant done.

I still haven’t completely processed the concert I attended yesterday. It was THAT good. I’ve notes, but each time I’ve sat down to put into words what I heard, I end up getting out my scores and creating. Sigh. I promise more at a later post.

Today I plan to get those beads on and then take in the art raffle before the performance. Maybe I’ll get there early enough to catch the Tower Music. And then, there’s the stroll on the beach. I love Carmel.

Working vertically and horizontally

My binder is starting to fill. The projects are taking shape. I am knocking tasks off the lists.

For any of you that have lived in older homes, you remember just how many panes of glass there are. I lost count at 100 in this house. We discovered a couple of months ago that 6 panes had been painted over. The same color the walls were painted…..2 coats ago. And then repainted. The clerk in the paint store gave a wry smile when I asked how often “why did they paint that?” is heard. I know people make more than one decision when remodeling that doesn’t make sense later. I’ll probably make some of those same choices. But, seriously…..paint up a window? So my vertical work is scraping paint off the glass. I make sure that I get my tatting in before I start. And that I do the hand wash to clean up before I start cooking dinner.

The horizontal work? That’s finding what’s going on the floor in the studio. I want something removable and interesting. If you’re thinking carpet, you’re close. I’m thinking rugs. So, out came the tape measure and the role of blue tape. I could kiss the person who thought up blue tape. Much better than the masking tape I grew up with. I’m sure it was a woman! Yesterday I did some “thrifting” as my daughter calls it. I found a decent rug that will need cleaning. 1 down…..mmmmm……half a dozen to go. With 4 doorways into the room and 5 columns smack in the middle, smaller and a variety of shapes seems the way to go.

So, first up today: finish the snowman.

Then, scrape some paint.

Then, draw out the room to scale so that I can take it with me to the stores.

Progress on the snowman...

In white thread it’s looking more wintery and less quacky. I know, that’s not a word. But sometimes tatting turns your brain….well….quacky.

What’s making me squawk? The joins in the body section.

 I wanted lots of picots for fluff. I’ve got that. I wanted to use size 80 for proper scale. I’ve got that. I wanted to make the center dense. I’ve got that. I’ve been so effective in working those goals into the pattern that I can’t tell where to join! Nothing new in tatting, I know. So……

From my sewing experience, I yearn for pinning or some marking chalk to mark the joins. Think marking darts; ease points; buttonholes/zippers/fasteners. You get the idea. I understand there are stitch markers in knitting. Maybe……

Gotta come up with something or I’ll go completely quacky. Ideas anyone?

Just another day in ......

The morning started out wonderful.

The sunrise was spectacular. The hills across the bay were tinged with red, the water looked glassy, and the sky through the pine boughs was getting lighter by the minute. I love sunrise. My little point and click cameras, nor my cell phone, do not do justice to the scene. I won’t make you grimace by trying to capture it that way. You’ll just have to find a place to enjoy a real sunrise! There out there. You’ll just have to look for them.

I’ve also made good progress in the project of installing the organ. I know what I need to do to prep the room. I’m finding people to help and advise me. Today I need to figure out the schedule for it all. I think I’ll leave the figure out the budget until after the trip to the hardware store. That may mean a loan. I hope not. That would make keeping the focus of my energies more difficult.

I’m still revising the written part of the angel pattern. I’ve tatted the “sketch” of the snowman pattern. I hope to finish both today. 

it did rain....really!

A smidge more than a trace. That brings our season total here to just under 15". "Normal" total is more like 21" if there could be a normal total. So, the drought continues.

I’ve had a request for a pair of “snowman earrings” for a hard working volunteer. I agreed. I mean, how hard could it be? 

Well, I’ve been enjoying my bead cap earrings for several years now. One thing I’ve learned is that the tatting must be very secure. It also helps to keep things looking nice if the tatting has multiple joins to distribute the stress of handling while putting the earrings in ears and taking them out again. 

A quick browse of the books I have, the online tatting class, the antique pattern library, and several other favorite designer blogs/website gave me only 2 patterns to try. So, here’s the body and head of pattern number 1:

head of snowman

body of snowman

The pattern has the pieces tatted separately and then mounted on felt. That could work well, but the tatting just didn’t look enough like snow for my eye. So, on to pattern number 2.

Oh and that storm that blew in? Oh and that storm that blew in? It did bring enough wind to blow things around and enough moisture to wet things down. The walking group I’ve joined walks through a couple of parks each morning. One has a small campground for hiker/biker guests. Several parties looked a bit chilled and damp that morning. Oh, and no fires permitted since we are in such a bad fire danger season. Fortunately, it just a short walk to civilization and a hot cuppa or meal.