It's Growing!

Here's what my cousin's table runner looks like so far:

I was thinking of doing this row in solid blue and the next in solid red to make stripes, but just before I started it, I started to envision a completely different pattern. You'll see when I show you the next row. That's the great thing about a piece made of separate motifs; you can change the patterns created by the colors however you want.

As always, you can find this pattern, by Jon Yusoff, here.

I would like to share a new blog with you all. I don't normally plug any particular blog; there are so many great ones out there, and so many tatting friends. But Murray's writing is so beautiful that I really think everyone should read it; even people who don't know anything about tatting will find it inspirational. So give yourself a treat and go visit The Tatting Whisperer.

Off to do laundry now-- I've been noticing that my dolly bag from Jane, which I use as my tatting carry-all really needs a good wash. Goes to show that I use it a lot. And then I'll have to replace the drawstring-- again-- because little Squijum just can't keep his teeth off of it.

Cat and Mouse

A couple of weeks ago, I bought a box of 4 dozen toy mice, because Squijum will go through them all eventually, and it's cheaper to buy them this way. I put the box on top of the fridge; he had never gotten up there, so I figured that way I could just give him a couple of mice at a time. The next morning, I got home from work to find the box on the floor and mice strewn from hither to yon. The little cutie-pie has been on top of the fridge every day since then.

This is relevent to a tatting blog because I was thinking that I could try putting my tatting up there while it's on the blocking board, and he wouldn't try to eat the pins. That won't work anymore. There's still a bookshelf that I don't *think* he can get all the way to the top of, so I'll have to try that next.

And he looks so sweet and innocent.

Well, he is very sweet, if not entirely innocent.

I guess it's not nice to take a flash picture of someone who just woke up. Sorry.

Tatting and Nails

Does anybody else's thumbnail look like this?

My nail is split from pushing stitches up snug. You wouldn't think cotton thread could do that. Maybe I should relax and not try to make my chains quite so tight.

I've made some more progress on the table runner but haven't photographed it yet. I'll show it in a couple of days.

Making Progress

Here's another row finished.

I can do this, I know I can. Much as I would like to join in the new TIAS instead, I am going to maintain my focus and work on this until it's finished. And then I won't do another large project for a very long time!

Honestly, it wouldn't even be true to say that I'm tired of this, or bored with it. It's just that I would like to do something else once in a while, and I feel like I can't because I'm on a deadline to finish this. But the truth is that, thankfully, I am still enjoying this. Actually it is kind of nice to have a pattern I don't have to think about; I can watch a movie-- even one with subtitles-- while working on it. But still, I wish it were done. I'd rather work on something that's more of a technical challenge.

In case you're new to my blog or have lost track, this is the Clover Mat by Jon Yusoff, and I'm making a table runner. It's really a nice pattern; because it's made of individual motifs joined together, you can vary the size, shape, and colors any way you want. You can create some very interesting visual patterns with designs like this.

Squijum, Bookmark, and Resolution Maintained

First off, have I mentioned lately that I have the cutest cat in the world? I just got him this new toy, which he seems to enjoy. It's based on the principle that a cat's favorite thing is whatever they can almost but not quite get.

And here he is with a chew toy which he has completely ignored for months and is now suddenly fascinated with.

And I couldn't resist showing this one.

On a completely different subject, in today's mail, I received one of Jane's magnetic bookmarks.

Here it is in my binder of tatting patterns from the internet.

I'm pleased to report that it really works. Squijum was unable to pull it out, despite his best efforts. Now I just have to remember not to set it on top of the computer.

On to my own tatting. I've been working diligently on my cousin's wedding present, as resolved. Here is the progress to date.

Erm, the problem with large pieces is you have to fold them up in between working on them. This one will probably need both blocking and pressing. But, hey, you get the idea. This row will have another red motif the mirror image of the first one, then I will start a few rows of red and blue stripes. Once again, I really must thank Jon Yusoff for making this pattern available.

New Year's Resolution: Focus!

Much as I would like to immediately re-do the damaged motif from my last post, I've got to focus on something else right now. Remember my cousin's wedding present?

This is Jon Yusoff's "Clover Mat". My original thought was to make a set of 8 placemats, a table runner, and a matching edging on 8 napkins. I knew from the start that this was not realistic, but I figured I'd see how far I could get. Then I decided I'd just do 4 placemats and leave it at that. Well, then I got distracted by Christmas. So now I'm just going to make a table runner. That should be manageable if I keep my focus.

The good news is, it is now too big to fit on the scanner, as you can see where it's cut off at the top. That means I am making progress.

When my cousin told me she likes the combination of deep blue and brick red, I decided to just use the blue, on the theory that reds are harder to match and I don't want to use the wrong shade. My cousin is an artist, so color is important to her. However, now that this is going to be one single piece instead of a bunch of smaller ones, I've decided that it really does need something to break up all the blue. So on the next row, you'll start to see a bit of red thrown in. The nice thing about a table runner is that I can make it however long I want to, depending on my attention span, but I will have to make sure that the red patches are symmetrical.

I'm counting on all my faithful tatting friends to scold me mercilessly if I start getting distracted!