Flapper-Style Hat

Need ideas.

I found the pattern for this hat on Ravelry, and really love it. I love the 20's style hats, but have yet to find one that fits me, so this pattern was perfect! It's felted, so I was able to shrink it to fit my head.


This is what it looked like pre-felting, and this..

is what it looks like while blocking. Lucky for me -- I had a giant ball of fuzzy yarn that I got for Christmas that I wound into a cake and found a Styrofoam ball the correct size for my head!

Now, I find myself wanting to add some embellishment to it. I have some lovely cream ribbon that is just begging to be tatted, and it matches the colors in the hat! My only problem I currently have is I don't know what pattern to do.. Should I make a simple snowflake, or make a few rosettes, or even some medallions?

Any suggestions?

Pattern: Beacon Street Cloche
Hook: Size J/6.00 MM
Yarn: Lions Brand Fishermen's Wool
Total Time Spent: appx 6 hours

Tatting in Public

Oh no! She's got a drill! Y'all run!


Seriously though, several things in this post. First of which is some tatting that I've been working on for a bit..

How many remember the bracelet from a few weeks ago that I was having problems with? I finally finished a full prototype (and, consequently, figured out that I need to re-work the pattern again..). Here it is:


Sorry for the awkwardness of the images. I took these by myself while my sister watched Betty White on Lenno tonight. This has been blocked, but I've learned a few things about this:

1. Perhaps one less repeat of the ring/chains would be in order. It's a little (ok, A LOT) loose, even on me.
2. Start at a different point. The last few joins are a bit fiddly.
3. Hiding ends as you go is way easier when you have a better-quality bead needle than those you can purchase at your local Wal*Mart.

I'm thinking on trying this with smaller beads and a size 20 thread. This was made using 4mm glass pearls and size 10 Cebelia. The middle bead I have no idea about the size -- it came from an up-cycled bracelet that I destroyed. This is motif #23 for the challenge. I'm hoping to make some earrings to match, and possibly a necklace. I may be offering this pattern up for free, but haven't decided if I should..

Next up is a bit from when I was at the doctor's office with some family.

I had some size 10 thread left on my new shuttles, so I tried to do a rings-only bit of edging. For not having some picot gauges, I think I did pretty well! Spacing is my biggest problem, if you couldn't tell.. The motif on top is in size 40 Lizbeth and is a doodle.

The entire time I was in the office I was self-conscious about tatting. Mainly the clicks that can be heard from winding/unwinding the shuttle. Anyone else feel the same? There weren't many people in the waiting room, mostly people that worked in the office and a family who spoke more Spanish than English. They kept staring at me, but never said a word to me!

Also finished up a pair of the Owl Mitts, but I still need to embroider on them to show the outlines of the owls and add buttons for the eyes.


My sister is modeling these, and really wants them for work and before Christmas. I'm working on a pair for myself, but in a lighter heather gray than the last post I did on them.

I also had an unexpected trip to the Gwinnett Arena this past weekend. I got to hang out with Mack and Kelly (which I don't get to do as much as I would like..) at the annual Japan Fest. Sorry, not many pictures were taken, although I did manage to take this one of some Ikibana:

It looked prettier in real life. I have never been able to fully grasp the idea behind it, so I enjoy what others have done! If I can find the pictures from last year, I'll post them on my Flikr.

Another good (splurge) thing to come out of the trip was some washi paper that I can use for my cards. That is, if I can find the will to cut the paper! I'll share later, once I figure out what I want to do with them.

As for the drill..


Need I say more?

New Technique - Cables!

Well, it's not fully a new technique for me, but as this is for crochet it is a new experience!

My sister LOVES owls, and loves to wear fingerless gloves. I have found many free patterns on Ravelry for knitted gloves with cabled owls, but I have never worked in the round with double points. Since I already know the basics of crochet, I'm trying them out!

This pattern is called "Owl Mitts" and is by Erika Ward. Link is to Ravelry, again. It's free, and if you're a knitter/crochet.. er..(?) then check it out!

I apologize in advance for the large file size. I've recently had to restore my laptop and can't resize images without major loss of detail.


This is as far as I've gotten, and I've found that I'm doing one too many owl cables.

Hmm.. Now that I'm thinking about it, I'll be making my next glove in a lighter shade rather than Heather Gray, while trying to take some pictures of the actual technique. Hmm.. Perhaps I'll be able to do this today?

I do have some tatting pieces that are nearly finished, so pictures of those will come later. 'Till then!

New Family!

Well, new plants.. Remember this one?

I posted this picture way back nearly a year ago (wow has it been that long??), and this orchid has since lost all of its blooms and went dormant. I thought I had nearly killed it, but it's started growing some new roots and leaves.

I have since added to my collection, and wanted to show them off a little before they all go into hibernation. These first two are my largest, with two and five flower stalks on them. The deeper purple one I got as an early birthday present from my sister, and has the most flowers on them. The second one is the inspiration for my dyed thread "Orchid Blossom," and is a lot deeper in real life.

The next two are TINY. Their blossoms are about the size of quarters, and are so quirky!

I have since bought another of the small ones but it only has a single blossom on it. I'll take a picture before it falls, but it's coloring is a mix between the two larger blossoms up top.

I've also expanded into Miniature Roses and African Violets, but only have this picture to share:

Yes, it's a phone pic, but it's all I was able to get of my violet before the blooms faded!

No new tatting for now; been trying to get better organized. I have way too many crafts and hobbies now!

Hand Spun - Glowing Embers

This will be my last bit of hand spun yarn for a bit, at least until around Halloween.

This is the Glowing Embers colorway by Slim Chicken. I spent a little extra time with this one, splitting it into eights instead of fourths like my last one. It's approximately 100 yards, and is still lumpy. I'm getting better, but still not consistent.

This is destined to become a set of wrist warmers later on this year. I used my new spindle first, which took a bit of getting used to, then used my fist spindle. After spinning, I plied it into a 2-cord yarn, then blocked using dish soap, vinegar, and water.

I really enjoyed this colorway, and will be getting more of it in the future!

Stats:

Fiber: Superwash Longwol

Color: Glowing Embers by Slim Chicken

Weight: 2oz

Time to produce: 3 hours spinning, 24 hours blocking.

Single Shuttle Split Rings

So, I was trolling through some webpages the other day after hearing mention of SSSR's at tat days and (re)found a pattern that I really, really loved. It's the Ringtrim dragon, by Anne Bruvold, and is absolutely cute!

So, I followed the link to the technique and learned how to create them, and then did a few in sequence.

It took me a few times to fully grasp the concept, but I think I got it eventually. These are rings of 3-3/3-3, in a size 10 thread. I then switched to a size 40 (because I got some while at Tat Days), and my new shuttles.

The colors are Lizbeth "Antique Violet Light" and "Purple Splendor". I think I jumped the gun on this a little too quickly; I had only used this size thread for one other (unfinished) project, and so wasn't fully used to it's size.

All in all, I think he turned out pretty cute! I have loads of thread still on my shuttles, so I will be making more of him later today as practice. He's also not going to be counted for my 25 motifs since I'm still learning this.

Will be dying later on this week. Gotta skein some thread first! ^^