Monday, August 13, 2012

nuntium octagesimum tertium (83rd post) old dog, new trick

So many things to say!  I'm brimming!  But first, if you came here for an audio Latin lesson, I haven't done it.  Next time, I hope.  (I can hear the sighs of disappointment across the land - tee hee.)
On Saturday my elder daughter and I tried our hands at another market.  This one was billed as an Artists' Market and even though we had to pay a very small fee, it was much better than the flea market in July.  First the weather was stunning, then it was in the parking lot of a very popular coffee house in the neighborhood and there was also free music.  We didn't have scads of people but a good showing.  We had gone to the library the day before and I'd seen this little lovely in an Elgiva Nichols book there. I quickly tatted one up and put it in this pendant. Isn't it just sweet?
motif #8
I put some other things in the pendants too.  Just little butterflies but I thought they were cute.
Didn't sell any though...
I even tried a new butterfly from Ellen Lai.  The one on a paper clip.  Isn't he adorable?  I decided to try with two colors but I know for next time size 80 is too small.
motif #9

Here's the other stuff except the bookmarks.
The wackiest thing is that we sold pretty much one of everything, one ring, one bookmark (the one made with Jess!' Mindanao Gum thread- very eye-catching and the first thing to be bought), one set of envelopes, one hairpin.  No clear and obvious crowd-pleaser.  Huh.
I *was* going to make snowflakes for my sister who is brilliant, talented and crafty and has plans for them but instead I made a pair of TotusMel's slave bracelets for elder daughter.
motif? #10
And this is where we get into the new trick for this old dog.  For the life of me, I could not figure out how everyone made these beautiful josephine chains.  Even after Happy Bluebird's brilliant post (ha!  I just looked this up to put the link and it's almost exactly a year- talk about a slow learner) last year about them, they just escaped me.  But at the market we had wifi and I decided to see if there was a video.  Thank you, TotusMel!  Don't laugh but I never caught on to the idea that one should physically put the shuttle/needle around the core thread!  DUH.
Elder daughter and I were each going to make one of the bracelets but she kind of gave up after the first two "medallions" and asked me to finish.  It is really interesting to finish another tatter's work.  Her tension is different and she'd made a mistake which I didn't notice until quite a bit later and had an extra chain to somehow fit in there. So the two bracelets aren't the same but only other tatters would notice.  You might know my fear of designing but I persevered and ended up with a pretty nice one.  No picture, she whisked the second one out of my hands as I sewed in the ends and they've been on ever since!
Lastly, my sweet husband read an article in the paper about the IOLI convention in Saint Paul and said that we could go for a mere $5 as general populace on Wednesday.  (I had decided that the convention fee was too steep and had resigned myself to not going at all.)  We went together, like a date! and it was very fun.  Some of the display laces were out of this world lovely and we got to go to the vendors too! It's so wonderful to be able to look at the books, not just the covers and see if what's inside is what I would like.  And then we saw Majestic threads, something I'd never heard of before and the colors were so rich and lovely, my DH bought me a whole bunch!
I just LOVE these colors!

Look at these amazing pieces from the 1850s.  This was the first time I'd seen pieces with the picots tied together.  (I would never have been a tatter then.  I hate tying.)





I know it wouldn't be very practical but I'd love to wear a cap like this.

Oops, there goes the time.
Latin for today = tempus est coquendum!  = Time to cook!


12 comments:

  1. Great bracelet! Congrats! Terrific colours you have there! Waiting patiently to see what you do with them...
    Fox : )

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  2. This post was a lot of work in itself - lots of photos and interesting information!

    One of our local bobbin lacers was teaching at the IOLI convention, so she wasn't at our event at Vicary Mansion. Bobbin lace is her passion and she started back in 1981 and has traveled the world because of it! I met her at my first tatting event in 1990. I'm glad you got to go as a spectator! The tying of the picots always amazes me!

    Glad you had good weather for your latest event. Cute pendants and interesting items for sale to make people aware of new directions in tatting!




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    1. You are always so kind and thoughtful in your comments, thank you! Sorry we stole your bobbin lacer, I hope she had fun here!

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  3. #1. Love it all!
    #2. I love that your husband supports your habit... you know that I can relate. LOL. ;-)
    #3. Tying picots... ehh.. no, I don't think I would have done that either. I would have been the one going, "Can't you just tie WHILE you're doing it?" which would have led to me tatting just to figure that out, LOL. I'm just that bull-headed. LOL.
    #4. Other than the unintended change, did you change anything in the slave bracelet pattern? Or did you needle-tat it? I ask only because I started one for a friend months ago, but stopped because I finally converted to the shuttle...
    #5. (Should have been #1, but I wanted to save this for last). I love the pendants! Not only are they are beautiful in their own right, but they led me to other thoughts... They remind me of little Sun-Catcher kits that my mom bought me years ago. I can't tell the actual size of the pendants, but I want to put an idea in your head: Pressed flowers. Just as background or for added detail. Think about it... Plain, ol' pressed Baby's Breath with a colorful, tatted butterfly? GORGEOUS! Even tiny buds to "mimic" a ring with picots... Then, you could market them as pendants, sun-catchers, window charms, etc, etc, etc... You could do the same now, but seeing the pendants made the hamster in my brain run twice as fast on his little wheel. I also don't know if dried/pressed flowers and thread would play nicely together, but... Maybe you can let me know. :-P

    ♥,
    Stephanie Grace

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    1. Despite owning needles and trying it, needle tatting is not my thing. It seems slow but of course I have many, many more years of shuttle tatting under my belt. I made the bracelet with my trusty La Cossette shuttles- love them!
      Thanks for the kind words about the pendants. I like the dried flower idea but the space between is VERY limited. If the thread were any bigger than size 80, I don't think I could get both pieces of glass in the frame. But it's worth a try!

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  4. What an interesting post, I am glad you enjoyed the market, it is hard to know what poeple will buy, it's strange I have found that bright strong colours seem to sell well.
    Lovely thread, looking forward to seeing what you do with them. That is a beautiful cap, I see it was made in England, I am sure it was taken over the pond when the pilgrims arrived in your country well that's what went though my mind when I saw the pictures. Thank you for sharing them.
    Hopefully your next Market will be even better, snowflakes do sell well at mine from October onwards.
    Have a nice day
    Margaret

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    1. I think I may be done with markets until next summer. One has to actually have a business with a tax ID number to actually participate unless your sales are under a certain amount. I'm well below the amount but with school tomorrow, all other activities come to a screeching halt! : )

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  5. Wunderschöne Arbeiten, sie gefallen mir alle.

    Liebe Grüße Cornelia

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  6. Love the pendants & butterfly!! :)
    And the bracelet!! :)

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  7. I have tried to comment on this post several times and it just doesn't stick - ipad doesn't do some things well.

    I love the pendants, especially the green and white one. My sister got me some of the glass and frames to make some pendants but I couldn't find just the right pattern to make. I was looking at it all wrong - there is no right pattern, they are all right. Yours are beautiful.

    I especially love the stationery! Have you ever thought about opening an etsy shop?

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gratias maximas- it's wonderful to hear what you have to say!