Recently, I signed up for a very neat online class about tatting and design. I’ve been really remiss and haven’t done a single snippet of homework for the class.

I’ve been focused on finishing up the designs and projects for a new book, and have been totally immersed in it.  Oops…. the homework  for the tatting class got  pushed to the back burner.
I decided today that I would play catchup, and get going on the homework.
I filled a tatting shuttle with rainbow colored hemp cord and tatted up the first exercise.
I decided that it would make a great bookmark….
so…… I tatted …read more

Melody MacDuffee is a creative genius.
She developed a crochet  technique, called ‘crochet overlay’ that creates a kaleidoscopic effect.
Her book: Crochet Overlay Jewelry
is a collection of stunningly beautiful crocheted pieces that will inspire awe.
Melody teaches people how to crochet pieces that are like mandalas, with exquisite geometric progressions. You can see how mathematics and artistry have melded so harmoniously in her work.
I met her a few years ago, when we were both teaching at a national conference of the Crochet Guild of America. Unfortunately, when you’re teaching a full slate of courses, you don’t get to spend a whole lot of …read more

For months now, I have had a cap sitting in the studio, whining at me to finish it.
I have carried it around in bags, moved it from table to desk and back, taken it out, put it back, taken it out again, sighed, and put it back …. and  just haven’t been able to finish it.
Why, why why, I snivel? It’s a simple little cap!
Alright.
Yesterday, I read a note about March being crochet month. I even joined a Ravelry group in celebration of Crochet month!
I decided- this is it!
Crochet Month is here- I am gonna finish that cap in honor …read more

I am making a cap for a friend. He wants it in synthetic yarn, and it has to be quite thin yarn, so I went mooching through my stash looking for the perfect yarn.
I had some discontinued Caron Shadows that I had used in another project that was rejected, so I figured I would be eco friendly and recycle and upcycle the yarn.
By splitting it, I was able to divide out the color shifting sections and use them in the design of the cap.
Splitting yarn is a pain in the neck if you don’t have the secret to doing it …read more

Of course, I couldn’t stop at just one bracelet…
so I made a second one:

Because I had a plan…. bangle bracelets look better when there are more than one….
(BTW, the flash does nasty things to the bracelets…. in real life, they look smooth and kind of irridescent. The flash seems to expose their undies. How rude!)
AND, because I love Furoshiki.
What’s  Furoshiki?
It’s an ancient and elegant Japanese solution to carrying things in the greenest possible way.
Here’s a link: FUROSHIKI
I’ve impressed the heck out of all kinds of people by whipping a headscarf out of my purse and tying a couple of knots …read more

My husband started it all. He bought me a bag of mystery synthetic cheap and cheerful thread at our favourite second hand store, and then magically made it appear in my studio.  (He’s such a romantic! He knows that I am addicted to thread in all it’s manifestations – even cheap and cheerful mystery thread! LOL)

Part 1- upcycling a bag of funky mystery thread
So, I got out some of the tatting shuttles that I love to carve and filled them up with multiple strands of the threads:
Part 2 – Choosing colors and loading tatting shuttles
Now, some folks might say that …read more

In Part 3, the tatting finally began!
This is a rather unique approach to tatting…. there are no lacy bits, no loops, picots, chains, just plain Josephine Knots over a simple flat wooden bracelet with upcycled funky thread.
(Feel free to do this with gorgeous thread! It will be – well….. gorgeous!)
Now…..
What if you want to change colors?
Easy peasy….
1 choice is to cut the first color, leaving a few inches to spare.
Just pick up the next color, and hold the thread end from it together with the last  thread end, and carry on as if you were in your right mind.
When …read more

Once I had all the tatting shuttles full of the mystery thread, I started working on the bracelet:

I didn’t tie the thread to the bracelet (by the way, this would work on any bangle bracelet).
I just took the thread through, and pinched it to the bracelet with my left thumb.
Then, I started making Josephine knots over the bracelet. What’s a Josephine knot?
Basically, it’s the blanket stitch.
∞The tatting shuttle goes through the bracelet, from the front to the back, and a loop of thread goes over your left index finger.
The shuttle comes up through the loop and then is pulled …read more

My lovely husband, Jim, brought me home a goodie bag of mystery thread from the Sally Ann.
Not primo for sewing… so what to do, what to do….
Hmmmm…. good for spinning… yes! Will set some aside to use when spinning ‘designer yarn’.
Wait a minute…. this is T H R E A D, right?
T H R E A D !
Thread = tatting……yessssssssssssssssssssss………..
And, then I HAD it!
I decided I would  finally get around to finishing some wooden bracelets that I made last summer.
My plan was, cut out plain wooden circle bracelets and crochet yarn around them.
Good plan…. but – I have a …read more

The other day, this treasure magically appeared in the studio.  Woohoo! Obviously my Hunnybunny had paid a visit to our fave 2nd hand store. Mmmmmmmm yum! a bag full of fun…… now what to do with it….Obviously, it’s super cheap and cheerful mystery synthetic thread – and I don’t trust it to hold together anything vital. Visions of dissolving garment or accessory being lifted out of washing machine in pieces after cheap and cheerful thread goes ‘boink’.
(You weren’t supposed to WASH me, human! I no hold together when wet!)
Loved the colors, tho’, so had a little think about it……

(image source: …read more