Only wire for today

These pictures show my results at trying Sarah Thompson's "Chalice" pendant design in wire weaving. I followed the instructions in her article in "Step by Step Wire Jewelry" magazine, Oct./Nov. 2016 issue. This project was quite challenging for me, but I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Christmas was filled with music for me this year, since I sang in the Choir and for some songs played cello in the instrumental ensemble. I loved it! Looking forward to more music in 2017!

Internet access went down here for a couple days, but today a new modem was installed and I'm "knocking on wood" that it'll keep working well now.

Still no tatting to show, but ideas are simmering. I think for 2017 I'll try to come up with some men's tatted jewelry designs. Some of my previous designs are quite suitable for the guys, such as the "Atom" pendant and the "Celtic Triangle", but I'll see if I can come up with more.

New batch of "Snowflake" hand dyed thread

Just added to my Etsy shop, this colorway has pale blues with some light purples and pinks to give a frozen winter effect.

Here's a photo of the dyeing process in progress, so you can see that each skein of hand dyed will be unique, with subtle color variations:

The colors always look much darker when the dye is wet. After the thread is painted with the dye, I wrap it in plastic to let it cure. After it's cured (set), then I wash the skeins with a special detergent called Sorbitol to wash out any excess dye and rinse thoroughly, then lay them out to air dry.

I've no finished tatting to show today, but I hope you've enjoyed seeing this little peek at hand dyed thread being made!

The Bead&Button Show class catalog

 In yesterday's mail I received the Bead&Button Show 2017 class catalog, and you betcha I eagerly paged through it to see how my own classes looked! :) No kidding, I'll be teaching 2 tatting classes at this prestigious event, which is quite an honor, seeing as how it's promoted as a gathering of, in their own words, "the best in the biz" of jewelry teachers. Well, as far as I know, I'm the only jewelry maker specializing in tatting who applied, therefore providing the only reason I'm promoted as "best" ;)

To wax philosophical, I believe that tatting should be showcased alongside other art and craft forms, otherwise how will more people become inspired to see its potential?  Oh yeah, and the show is in my town, so no travel expense for me :)

Also on the calendar for 2017 is teaching a beginning shuttle tatting workshop at Shake Rag Alley.

In my life outside of tatting, I'm playing my cello again and singing soprano in the choir. We are preparing a lot of Christmas music. It's nice to be part of a group effort. As tatters/crafters/designers, we spend a lot of time in solitary activity, don't we? Be sure to take time to get out for doing something meaningful with a group. We are all multi-gifted people, and we never know how many people we inspire by sharing our talents.

Steampunk Gear Tatted Earrings

The Winner!

The winner of the giveaway is JB! Congrats, JB, I've sent you an email.

Thank you so much to everyone who commented on my giveaway post. I enjoyed reading all those wonderful comments!

To answer Michelle's question about the handsome guy next to me in the photo on that post, it's Weihnachtsmann - a German "Father Christmas" or "Santa Claus". It was taken during a visit to the Mitchell Park "Domes" in Milwaukee in a previous year. There was a large display at that time of how cultures around the world pictured their symbol of Christmastime gift-giving.