The Voices In My Head Are Arguing

Earlier this year I was suffering from "tatter's block."  I had trouble finding any project I felt like doing, or that would hold my interest once begun.  A little voice in my head said, "you'd rather be spinning."  I held it at bay until I had managed to eke out enough patterns to apply to teach at Palmetto (yay! they accepted me), and then I got out the spindle.

I had this batch of mixed BFL from the Spinnery in Gatlinburg that I was eager to try.

I was having such a good time that I ordered some more from Etsy seller Beesybee.  (I am "spinning from the fold," long draw technique, in case anyone cares.)

The batches are quite similar, just differences in lighting.  They will look good plied together.  

And then, as I am about halfway through, the voices in my head say, "It's time to tat!  It's time to design.  You CAN produce a book this year!"

Dare I listen?  It's a little later than usual to start in on a book to be ready by Palmetto-time.  Can I pull it off?  Should I try? The voices make my head spin.

UFO No More

I finished knitting this a long time ago, but only last week finished blocking and sewing in ends.  This is the Freya Shawl designed by Renate Haeckler, a free pattern on Ravelry HERE.

The pattern is for a 3/4 circle shaped shawl, but I did fewer repeats to make a half circle so my yarn would last for more rows.  I knitted until I ran out of yarn, but I don't remember how many rows short of completing the pattern I was.  It came out a good size though, about 28 inches deep after blocking to a lacy effect.

The yarn was hand spun by me on a drop spindle using some slightly variegated Romney roving, about 9 ounces.

Spinning and Knitting Again

I think most of us practice more than one craft.  While tatting is my favorite hobby, I also do a bit of spinning, knitting, crochet & etc.  Here is a project I completed in November.  I can't remember when I started.

I started with roving that I bought from Karey.  Her hand-painted thread is famous in Tatting Land, but you may not have realized she dyes yarn and roving as well.  She has a remarkable feeling for color. I spun it on a hand spindle and two-plied it.

I started with a the Esperanza pattern from Ravelry, but I took a few liberties with the design.

Here is a picture to give an idea of the finished size.  And you just try taking a selfie with your back to the mirror sometime.

I'm already pretty advanced with my next spinning adventure.  I'm trying to do the long draw drafting method and spinning from the fold.  Look at all those words I picked up on Ravelry, so I can pretend I know what I'm doing.

You Lose Some and You Win Some

I tatted away all last week on my Lace Mat, only to discover after finishing Round 4 except for the little clovers, that I had made a Dreadful Mistake and had to cut off the whole round. Bother.

I didn't feel much like looking at it for a while, so I knitted all weekend. I eyed my dwindling skein of yarn with some trepidation, but finished the project with a whopping 2 yards left over.

The pattern is "Wingspan" by Maylin Tri'Coterie Designs, available as a free pattern on Ravelry. In a thicker yarn, it works up as a shawlette, but my rather thin yarn came out as a scarf,which is what I wanted anyway. I spun the yarn with a drop spindle, using hand painted Blueface Leicester top from Three Waters Farm.

You can see my earlier progress near the bottom of this post.

Needing a Break -- Athalia

I was working on a involved project for so long that I was desperate for a change of pace. Fox's Athalia pattern provided an excellent diversion. Both of these are with size 20 thread, the upper one is Tat-ilicious' Harvest and the other is some Lizbeth. I didn't have any filigree doo-dads like the pattern, so I substituted buttons. The upper one is 1/2 inch and the white one is 3/4 inch. Diane at Lace Lovin' Librarian just happens to be having a give-away of just that sort of finding. Better hurry, it's first come,first serve. Many thanks to Fox for sharing the pattern and Diane for giving away doo-dads.

Meanwhile, in the garden, can anyone identify this plant?  The standing up one, not the crabgrass beside it.  A few of these came up by themselves in awkward locations so I might try to move them.

Also, in the garden, or NOT in the garden, I don't have any tomatoes.  I had some just starting to ripen, but one morning they were all gone, except one on the ground with teeth marks in it.  Deer I suppose.  I see do-it- yourself recipes for Deer-Be-Gone, but they all seem to include raw eggs.  Has anyone tried this?  Does it work? Just how bad does it smell and how long does the smell last?

Meanwhile, on the spinning front, the roving I once showed you has been

spun,

plied,

and skeined.  Now to select a pattern.....

Ta-tilicious Thread & etc

Jess! at Tat-ilicious has very generously sent me some of her HDT.

This is her "Harvest" colorway, with a nice mix of red/gold/brown in both size 20 and 80.

Here is some "Red Velvet," a very warm rich reddish brown. The other is a skein from a trial run that wasn't what she was looking for, but I like this one more each time I look at it. Sort of grey/yellow/fuschia. I will have to find good projects for all of these.

I am excited to hear that she will be coming to the Palmetto Tat Days this year. It is so much better shopping for thread in person since cameras and monitors don't always capture its true personality, especially for HDT.

The spinning adventure continues. Here is some very brown undyed Corriedale, and some bright hand dyed Blue Faced Leicester.  Before I started this, I thought wool was just, well, wool.  It turns out there are umpteen varieties of it, not to mention fiber from other animals.

Believe it or not, I actually do some tatting once in a while. I made several butterflies last week, but I've been too lazy busy to work in the ends and block them.

But I did find this picture of a piece I made a while back and never showed. This is Karey's Heart of the Rose from her Hearts Belong to Tatting, made with some her own HDT. Since it comes from a book, I can count it toward my own special rules 25 Motif Challenge. I think this comes to number 10 for this round of the challenge. I haven't been doing too well getting this round accomplished.

My New Toy

This is my new toy.  Well, sort of new.  It was a Christmas present, and I've actually been playing with it a little over a month.

Last year, I went to an event at the park which included Revolutionary War era crafts.  A lady there showed spinning with a drop spindle.  I was seized with the desire to spin some yarn and knit a shawl.  Which was insane, since I hadn't knitted in years, perhaps decades.

I find spinning to be a bit like meditation as I can do it and empty my mind of all else.  It is very relaxing, (except when it's frustrating).  My yarn is still thick and thin with occasional lumps.  It takes a lot of practice to get good.  It has been a long time since I've tried to learn something new, so this is a good experience for me.  Besides hours spent spinning, I've spent hours lurking about on Youtube and Ravelry trying to learn more.

Next time, back to tatting.