A Tatted Victorian Reticule

That's a little drawstring tatted bag to you and me ! I've just finished the 3rd round, , only 8 more to go.....

It's going to be a very small evening bag. I'm hoping it turns out nice. It's taking aaaaaaages to make !

Downhearted :(

Well the disaster that was Saturday's summer fair has really got me down. Everyone oooohhhssss and aaahhhhsssss over my jewellery but no one ever buys it. Yet I see similar stuff online that sells for 2 or 3 times more than I ask for mine.
I love tatting, its my hobby, I don't expect to make a fortune selling it but other people sell plenty of it. Just having a bit extra money would be great. It would pay for my hobby for a start.

Why is it people would rather spend money on mass-produced crap than buy something handmade and unique ?

So do I bother trying to sell my jewellery or just give it away ? I won't give up  tatting because I love it. But I'm wasting my time at these craft fairs.

Feeling very down.

Getting ready for tomorrow s fair

Very much looking forward to the school fair at Peases West School tomorrow ! Just washed /stiffened a load of very girlie bracelets, they will be getting clasps on later when they're dry. I really enjoy doing fairs, would be even better if I sold  lots of my stuff !

Hectic :)

Not posted for aaaaaaages ! Life takes over again. 

Anyway I did Fyndoune Community College summer fair a couple of weeks ago and this weekend im at Peases West School summer fair too. So I've been making lots of girlie bracelets, amongst other things.  I'll get some pics up tomorrow.

Getting ready for Spring rides

SPRING is almost upon us so I've been getting my bike ready. She's been out a few times over the winter but not much. So off came her pannier bags and basket and out came the cleaning cloths. She's now sparkling all over. The only thing I didn't do was the tyres, I'll have to wait for a sunny day for that. Even did the Brooks leather treatment on the saddle. And of course when I was polishing the spokes, Pitch the cat had to supervise.

* I love my bike *

Flu

Urgh I have been really poorly for nearly a week now. Not been able to get any tatting done til yesterday when I started the first row of a necklace. It's going to be quite a lacey one this.

Ho hum

Saw this dirty great big trike when I was out shopping today. So I parked my lovely bike up next to it and took a quick piccie. Well, it made me smile :-)

Something that isn't making me smile at the moment is my tatting. Try as I might I just can't seem to do anything right. I'm having artists block I think!

First attempt at motif in a ring....

I've been wanting to try putting tatted motifs in tatting - covered rings for a while now. This is my first attempt and it's far from perfect! But it's a learning curve and yes it's a total cliché but... Practice makes perfect.

This one will be cut apart and started again from scratch.

Once I get it right I'll be adding a couple of faceted crystals on the bottom to make Suncatchers.

Just listed in my store

Beautiful Black Lace Hand-Tatted Gothic Choker
I love this, I've just listed it on etsy, ebay next. Going to have to make one for me too.

Yes or No?

This thread was given to me after the family of an elderly lady cleared out her house. I received a large bag of vintage Coates Tatting thread, all in shades of cream and beige. The sizes are 20, 40 and 60. This one is size 60. I just can't make my mind up about it. I'm making a choker which will also have some beads hanging from it.

But I can't decide if it looks vintagey ( which is what I want) or if it just looks crap, grubby. Because the thread is so fine and the design is quite intricate ( this is just the first round) it will take me a very long time to make.

I suppose all I can do is see what it looks like once I start on the second round. It's such a pain when you spend a lot of time tatting something then realise it looks rubbish!

Ouch!

Sometimes I can be very stupid. Today I decided to enlarge a hole in my new belt. Being in a rush, I had the brilliant idea of grabbing a crochet hook out of my tatting bag and pushing it through the belt. That's the belt that was in my hand. Surprise surprise the hook went straight through the belt and into my finger. DEEP into my finger.

After much cursing I expected lots of blood but there was very little. A tiny little dot marks the point of entry. But my finger is throbbing like when Jerry hits Toms paw with a hammer!

Sooooo no tatting today. I can't even bend my finger. I'm about to start the last round of a Victorian style collar / necklace. But it's going to have to wait. I'll see what it's like tomorrow.

I feel very stupid lol.

Changing Blog Name.. Hello The Black Petunia

Finally got round to changing the name of my Blog. It's been months since I posted and I always say I'm going to start posting regularly.... Life is hectic sometimes tho :-\

I also recently opened my own etsy store, The Black Petunia. It has only a couple of items of tatted jewellery at the moment but I'll be listing more over the next couple of days. I've put a button on my profile that will take you to my store and also there should be some thumbnail pics too.



I'm also learning Luceting and will be starting to learn to crochet soon too. This fibre arts malarkey is sooooo addictive!