New supplies

Just got a new shuttle a couple of days ago, a starlit. It's taking some getting used to, it's enormous! The spare bobbins are for my "go to" shuttles-- my lacossettes and Jane Eboralls.
So the reason for this giant is some new thread that was recommended to me, Anchor Aida. I bought some in size 10 so I need a BIG shuttle! Currently tatting a frilly cuff bracelet. Pics when it's done.

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!

Not keen on new phone....

I decided my upgrade was NOT going to be another iphone. I set my heart on the new Samsung galaxy s3 that launched last week. It's my first foray into the android market, and, 3 days into it, I'm not impressed. Don't get me wrong, some of it is awesome. The big screen is beautiful. But everything was simpler on my iphone 4. And the games in the android store are bloody rubbish. I have already given my iphone 4 to my partner, who loves it. So I'm thinking about selling this s3 and buying the iphone 4s. I think I'll give it a few more days but I can't see me falling in love with my new phone :(

Snap - Happy

Got a bit snap-happy on the way back from the school run. We are lucky that we live less than 10 minutes walk from the school. And a sunny spring day like today means a detour through the park and some pics. They're taken with my iphone so they're not brilliant but I like them anyway.

So at the minute I'm chilling out with a bottle of water but then I MUST catch up with the housework. The place is a mess. Ye gods, I hate housework. I have a plaque on the wall in my kitchen which sums up my attitude -

Anyway, yesterday I was also snap-happy, taking pics in my garden. These are some of my aquilegia. They were already here in the garden when we moved in, they're spreading lots.

And these are the yellow-horned poppies in the front yard

This is the heartsease I found next to the wildlife pond

And if you look very closely you can see 2 of the pond snails floating about munching on some food.

I love my little garden :)

Gardening today :)

Hot hot hot in Durham today so I've been gardening. The weather here has been so weird, it has meant I am late planting stuff. Still, today I planted Lunaria, Vervain, Moonflower, Dirigible Plums ( that's Chinese Lantern Plants to non-Harry Potter fans lol. ) Also planted beetroot and runner beans, and also some jalapeno in the kitchen window. I moved the fern which couldn't take the sun next to the pond, planted the Hosta near the black Elder, moved one of the Lemon balm plants to the borders.

And then I found this, nestled by the pond.

It's Heartsease. It's a gorgeous little wildflower with many medicinal properties. I hope more of them grow.

The Buttercup corner is in full bloom.

And the Herb Robert has really made itself at home.

And after looking pretty dismal last year, the Thrift is flowering.

A couple of weeks ago I found some bluebells too but the men who came to replace next-door's fence squished them. :(

I also re-potted the sunflower and snapdragon seedlings.

Here is the corn I planted a few days ago, no idea if it will work out but at least I tried !

When we moved here, there was a clump of aquilegia which is now spreading beautifully, pale pinks and purples. Some clumps of montbretia, not quite time for their fiery-orange blooms yet, and snowdrops and daffodils in the springtime. And wild poppies, lots of them. At the minute, only the yellow ones in the little front yard have bloomed, but I'm sure the pink ones will appear sooner or later in the back garden. The little buddleia I got is now starting to grow and the lavender is looking very green, looking forward to that flowering.

I sat for a while next to the pond, just looking around the garden. It is almost 2 years since we moved here, and the reason we came was to have a garden. I'm just learning (hopefully) as I go, and enjoying it.


It's not the tidiest garden. Not one of these show-home types ! But I love it, it's coming together nicely.

Sunday morning

It's 7.27 am on a Sunday morning. The sky is blue but wow it is cold !

Pitch the cat has been meowing at the door to go into the garden for ages so I've suited and booted him up.

He wears a harness and is attached to a long lead so he can wander about in the garden but hopefully not escape. He will sit in a small clump of bushes and spy on the birds for ages. Occasionally he might chase a bug. He's easily pleased !

Or he might sit next to the pond. That's my little wildlife pond, I hope one day to have frogs in it. My friend gave me some frogspawn for it a while ago but I haven't had any tadpoles, I think the cold weather might have killed them off. :( Still, there are damselfly larvae, waterboatmen, bloodworms and some other unidentified bugs so at least there is some wildlife in there !

Yesterday I went to Bishop Auckland and bought a few bits n pieces for my tatting. Got some black satin ribbon ( for chokers ), some tools for turning it into jewellery, and some storage for findings.

It was a good day. I went with my little boy, who was bored looking round the craft fayre but brightened up considerably when he a) got a happy meal and b) got a game for the xbox!

Anyway, I think I will make the most of this quiet time by getting a bit of tatting done.

:(

Haven't done too much tatting the last few days. There's been a few deaths ( unrelated ) in the town where I live and everyone seems to be affected by it. There is a general feeling of gloom.

So I have tried a few times to get some tatting practice in but my mind hasn't been on it.

Reading has been a good way to get away from it all. I spent the last 3 days immersed in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I can slip completely into the HP books and forget about things that are on my mind.

Life is so precious. Appreciate it.

Some of my tatting

Thought I would post some pics of my tatting that I have been doing. I've only been tatting a couple of months so it's not perfect, but when I get better at it, I want to start selling tatted jewellery. This is my fave so far I think. Going to do it in different colours ( black should be nice ) and it will be a bracelet.

I really love tatting, it's the first crafty thing I've ever enjoyed and I think I'm doing ok, but my stuff needs to be a lot better before I can sell it. I just hope it DOES get better.

These are also bracelet ideas I had, just trying out different designs etc. 

 This is one I'm working on, it needs another row adding to it.


So, like I said, I hope I'm making good progress. Would be great to find a tatting group up here but I haven't found any yet. Moral support, you know ?

Nature Always Finds A Way

There's an old school (VERY old) in my town which is now used as a small office/ business centre. It has a low wall all around the grounds. And every year, in the little nooks and crannies, wildflowers appear. And I think it's lovely. Sometimes dandelions ( yes I know people consider them a weed, but look at them, they're glorious ) and lots of this.




As a species we are making a go of covering this wonderful planet in concrete. But always, nature finds a way.