Iro Iro tats and beads

Lately I've been thinking about changing my blog name.. cos Iro Iro no longer only knits, she has been tatting, and beading, and lately seriously contemplating making bears again.

This is what I've been up to in a sudden burst of inspiration - all in like 2 days.

Tatted using : (left) Oren Bayan thread, motif from Blomqvist and Persson's book, (right) "Forest" in Size 80 from Yarnplayer, Christmas tree motif from an old booklet. This is my first time using Size 80 thread and I have to say, it's not for me... I much prefer the crispness and solid feeling of Size 30 knots!



Stitchmarkers! This was what started the whole beaded jewellery craze for me.... I've been practicing those triple loop headpins (those flowery looking ones) cos I love the look so much. The last 3 markers are a combination of beads & tatted motifs.



Christmas themed earrings in Green and Red ... I like 'em long and dangly so these are gonna be for me.

Pendants. From top left : Egyptian Nile (the wire wrapping and color combi just reminds me of Egypt), Mistake Key (cos I made so many mistakes that the wire kept getting cut shorter and shorter and in the end there was only space for 3 little seed beads), Oriental Xmas (christmassy colors in jade and clear quartz), and bottom : Green Chalcedony on silver.

A last minute present

As if I didn't have enough hobbies, the notion of beading popped into my head one day. Nothing fancy, mind you, just the bare basics to make a simple pair of drop earrings, maybe. I really don't have enough space for stash for another hobby.. horrors.

This morning I toyed around with a tatted floral motif, and thought how pretty it would look as a pendant for a little girl. So I found the basics on YouTube (how to make a wire-loop, how to open & close jump rings)... and came up with this :

The pearl bead has its coating completely worn off at the top cos I abraded it so hard with one of the pliers. The gold coating of the wires has also been rubbed black in certain places where I had struggled to make a loop... and I'm pretty sure the bead doesn't hang quite straight. In spite of all that, there is a certain sense of satisfaction - my first piece of hand-made, hand-tatted jewellery. Ta-dah!

I also found the perfect brown choker and fushcia jewellery pouch in my stash to complement the pendant.. Nothing makes me happier than digging around in my stash to find matching materials to finish a project - it's like going to my very own craft supplies store in my pajamas......

This little pendant is now ready to be gifted. Not bad at all for a morning's worth of work. Now just cross your fingers for me that nothing drops off....

Baby Blossom Dress

Pattern : Blossom, by Melissa Wastney (published by Magknits)
Yarn : Sirdar Pure Cotton 4 Ply in Cream
Needle : 3.5mm

This turned out really cute and it was such a fast & simple knit too. I started it on a Tues evening and probably had it done by Friday. I find that if I just cast on without worrying too much about fit and gauge and wearability, I can actually start and finish a knit pretty quickly. Shows the paralysing effect of overthinking...plus the fact that the recipient's mommy was gonna be induced that very evening of course!

The original pattern had embroidered flowers, but being totally useless with that, I opted to personalise the dress with my latest passion. I had several tatted motifs that were made when emptying the shuttles, and was pretty excited about just sewing those motifs on with 'invisible thread' aka monofilament or beading thread, so that nobody could spot my lousy sewing skills.

Lesson No. 1 - Invisible thread is invisible not only to others, but also to the sewer.
Lesson No. 2 - It's in-VI-sible; not in-VIN-sible - tugging too hard breaks the thread and it takes the patience of a saint to locate the break point and redo.

It took me nearly 2 hours to sew on those motifs. Will take clearer pictures when my eyes stop crossing and my hands stop shaking....

Surfing eBay in the wee hours

Well folks, this is what happens when I can't get to sleep cos the little one is inventing some new form of kick-gymnastics in my tummy. Started randomly surfing eBay and found a store selling the Turkish tatting threads that I love so much. And because I have to blame someone / something, I blame the wonderful seller of Demi's & Julie's Crochet Heaven for being so responsive and nice, and uhhh.... I blame the pregnancy hormones.

Here are the results of my insanity - all 27 balls of them. They are gorgeous & I'm torn between leaving them intact in the ziploc bags and never ever using them, or immediately tatting something of each color... arggh.

Peaches

Blues

Pinks

Purples

Yellows & Black

Greens

More tatting

Remember when I said I had a new addiction? Well....

More floral bookmarks (from left) : Altin Basak Size 50 thread, Yarnplayer "Snocone" Size 20, Flora Size 20, Altin Basak Size 50. I love the smoothness of the Altin Basak thread but it is a little soft if you prefer the sturdy bookmarks. The size 20 threads seem to hold up to bookmark abuse better. I spent about 2 hours at Spotlight picking out the perfect shade of ribbons to match these thread colors... talk about obsession. These are gonna be for gifts for some old school friends of mine.

My first tatted cross. I used relatively fine thread and a basic cross pattern from "The Complete Book of Tatting" by Rebecca Jones .

Some motifs, and a little experimenting with bead tatting. I found these beautiful Japanese seed beads that were green lined with pink (leftmost motif), but somehow the beads are kinda lost in the motif. The centre motif seems to showcase the pearl beads much better.

The tricky thing about motifs - what in the world do I do with them? Tatting books tell us to use them as notecards or greeting cards, though the idea is sweet and beautiful, but since I'm one of those who tend to throw cards in the bin (yes, sorry, shame on me), I can't expect others not to do the same. Maybe keychains...? Ideas are welcome.. in the meantime, I'll just keep tatting 'em!

Another type of lace

Instant gratification is my middle name. Some might say this is the result of being an only child but I leave these Freudian theories to more qualified people. All I can say is, life is short, why not spend time on pretty things that makes one happy?

Enter my newest instant gratification addiction - tatting.

With tatting, I don't have to plan for hours in advance, thinking of whether to make it a cardigan or a sweater, substituting different yarn to achieve that perfect gauge, and then spend days or weeks worrying about whether I got gauge and whether that size will fit the recipient.

With tatting, I just pick up any color thread that grabs my attention, select a random motif or bookmark, load the shuttle and go. If I make a mistake along the way, I cut it off and start again. No commitment, no hours of endless worry, no advance planning needed.

And at the end of that hour or two, I have a delicate piece of lace. And I can then think about what I want to do with it.. or simply just hold it and admire the crisp knots and lacey picots.

I have a feeling this addiction is here to stay...

Tatted floral bookmark
Pattern : available on the web from Kersti
Thread : Altin Basak Turkish thread in Size 50



Tatted floral vine
Pattern : available on the web somewhere
Thread : DMC Embroidery Floss (3 strands)

Some inspiring sites that showcase the fresher side of tatting :

25 Motif Challenge - a tatting showcase of sorts, lots of pretty motifs

Yarnplayer's Tatting Blog - she sells the most beautiful handdyed threads at her etsy shop

Jon's Blog - beautiful pictures of tatting & tatted items on her site

Threads from a Tatting Goddess - just look at this tutorial on card making