Cello string choker

Well, I just thought it would be cool to make a piece of jewelry using one of my spent cello strings.

The tatted motif is one that I made up, sort of as I went along. It's a bit odd, but fits the string.

I used size 20 Lizbeth cotton and size 11/0 seed beads, with a jet faceted teardrop at the bottom.

"Knitty Gritty"

The latest "Knitty Gritty" batch. It's autumn-y, but different from the showy fall colors up in the trees. More like the dried leaves and seed pods on the ground, with some worn out green.

Purple "Stirred in Space" tatted earrings

These earrings are a combination of Flora thread, some of my hand dyed (Corsage), and Swarovski crystals, with a few glass seed beads worked into the tatting. This is another of my original "Stirred in Space" series.

The next dye batch I am planning will be "Knitty Gritty". It's a combo of dark, earthy colors that seems to turn out different every time I attempt it. Maybe this time I'll finally get it "right" :-)

Boomerang version of "Stirred In Space"

I really like the streamlined, modern, futuristic look of this (way out there!) design. It took me many, many tries to finalize the exact "boomerang" shape that I really wanted.

Here's the same design worked in bright green, with the red-orange accent provided by using hand dyed thread along with a contrasting bead.

To get this style of tatting, I used some lesser-known techniques, including Node Stitch, Catherine Wheel Join, Loop Tatted Ring, and Lock Stitch Chain.

I learned about these techniques from the websites of many generous tatters.
It's fun playing with new ideas!

"Stirred In Space" variations

Here's a peak at what I feel are the more successful results of my latest designing experiments. On each of these, I added a bead to the center.

In the pink pair, the bead dangles from the black thread. I've also used seed beads on the core thread. The reason I put them on the core is because I wanted the curved line to stay relatively smooth in the design. If beads were dangled from picots, they'd stick out and make the line bumpy. Gravity would cause problems, too.

On the ecru pair, the bead dangles from the thread used in the main motif. I didn't unwind my shuttle to make the tatted ring on the other side of the bead. I just pulled the thread through and made a loop tatted ring.

The technique of making a loop tatted ring is described by Bina on her website.

Someday I may get around to posting in-progress photos of the various techniques I'm using in these experiments, but for now I'm still trying to achieve the results that I really want in this design. These 2 sets are sort of cute but the basic pattern still needs tweaking. I'll keep working - I'll know what I like when I see it!

"Stirred In Space"

Abstract modern art is the type of design I was trying to achieve here, which I have entitled "Stirred In Space". Parts of it I like, but it still seems to need something. I'll keep working on it.

For those who are curious about how I did it, I used Node Stitch chains. Georgia Seitz has a wonderful page describing several types of tatted chains here.

I also used Catherine Wheel Joins. Debbie Arnold has excellent instructions on this type of join. Her website is here - scroll down to find the link to Catherine Wheel join.

Back to the drawing board for me!

Sugar Maple

A quick walk around the neighborhood today turned up the prop I needed for today's photo shoot - a colorful Sugar Maple leaf! I'm quite pleased with how my hand dyed thread looks in comparison to nature's beauty.

There's not much bright yellow showing in this particular batch, although I did paint yellow on. It sort of got blended into the surrounding colors - although some of the skeins show more yellow than others. My plan for a future batch (a remake of "A Leaf Falls") will have more yellow in it and green, but no orange. Then, at some point I'll try to dye something with darker, brownish shades.