"But, really, why does anyone create? You feel a... a restlessness inside, a need to make something new, something no one has ever seen before. You want to add to the beauty and the richness of the world with a gift, an offering that is uniquely yours. It's an act of selfishness and generosity, all rolled into one."

-- Bruce Coville,
The Last Hunt

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Fire and Water

We've certainly had plenty of fire in New Mexico this year. We're starting to get a little water in the form of rain, but not enough yet. It's been especially hard on the farmers. The largest apple grower in the state, for example, lost their house and barn to fire, so if you see an apple grown in NM, please buy it!

I actually didn't have any of this in mind when I chose the colors of today's bookmarks. I just thought they looked good with the pattern, and also that they might appeal to male customers, especially the "water" colorway.


This is Jon Yusoff's "Chinese Coin" bookmark. I really love this pattern and can do it from memory by now. Jon puts a tassel on it. I'm not good at making tassels and don't enjoy it, so instead I always add a tail finished with a final coin motif. No matter how many times I make this, I invariably forget how much thread it takes. For a bookmark 5 motifs long plus a tail and 6th motif, it takes about 15 yards on shuttle 1 and 8 yards on shuttle 2.

The "fire" colorway is Tatskool's "Flame Lantana". I never expected to find myself enjoying this colorway so much. I'm really not a fan of orange and yellow. I bought it because I figured I should try to make some things for people with tastes different from my own. But these colors are so bright and happy looking that I really love working with them. A certain Bear of Very Little Brain (although he was actually very wise) once said, "Nobody can be uncheered with a balloon." Likewise, nobody can be uncheered with Tatskool's threads.

The "water" colorway is "Sea Glass" by Krystledawne. This colorway never ceases to amaze me. The way Krystle blends the colors makes it look like it's really shimmering, even though it's just ordinary cotton thread. Scans and photos never do this colorway justice.

I still need to block these bookmarks, but only slightly. The pattern is well-designed, so any little wrinkles are entirely due to my own variations in tension.

8 comments:

  1. Oooh, very nice! I like both of them.

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  2. Love your bear-quote almost as much as I do the threads you have used for these bookmarks. Really great colour. Not to mention fab pattern!
    Fox : )

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  3. Love those colors! I like the additional coin motif at the end of the tail. Nice!

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  4. Wonderful! I've wanted to tat this bookmark for a long time and even started it once but very foolishly, in a thread way too fine...fine enough for a fairy book, not a regular one! So it is still calling my name. Thank you for mentioning the yardage. It really helps in planning!

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  5. Beautiful bookmarks and I love the colours, its looks a lovely pattern, her patterns are lovely and you have done a lovely piece of tatting.
    I am sorry to hear about your weather, ours has not been good eiher, spring was hot and very dry with farmers complaining the crops would be ruined, now we have had a lot of rain I expect it to wont be enough for them, the weather seems to be changing around the world, we just have to change with it.
    Margaret

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  6. Like Gina, I have wanted to tat this bookmark for a long time. Seeing it in Tatskool's luscious Flame Lantana and Krystaldawne's Sea Glass HDTs makes my fingers tingle to load up shuttles and give it (Chinese Coin bookmark pattern)a go. (Must finish current WIPS...)

    Both bookmarks are exceptionally fine and your stitches bring out their best!

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  7. Those threads work really well in the pattern. Good choices!

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