Magic

I wasn't sure about this one, but it grew on me. It has a circumference of 8 beads.

It feels like a kind of magic that this jumble of beads turns into a pattern. But then a lot of craft is magic, isn't it? The correct hand movements turn thread into tatted lace; a knitter can use two sticks to transform wool into a cardigan. Perhaps we need to contemplate the magic now and then.

Dehydration

My cooking's not keeping up with the onions in Jack's garden. It looked as though they were going to go to waste until I had the idea of drying them. The weather is perfect for it at the moment - dry, cool and windy. Jack cut some onions up and spread them out on a net on top of a wire mesh table:

He folded the net over them and weighted it down, to protect the onions from dust and dirt:

After a couple of days, they were ready for storage. I put them into a box that tea came in (labelled of course) as I don't think plastic would be a good idea.

 Since it seems to have worked fine, Jack is going to dry some more. Then I just have to remember to use them!

Harlequin

This pattern is called Harlequin, here's a link to it.  I'm happy with how it turned out. It has a circumference of 7 beads and is easy enough to work.

Feedback

I have my competition entries back,, with the judges comments. Some of the comments are fair enough - I agree that the armholes of the gilet are too big. The comments on the crochet top are harsh, I have to say - the tension is too loose, the front should have a mirror image, the finishing off is too tight, it's not well blocked... Makes me wonder how it got that far in the competition! Anyway, one  can't enter a competition without being willing to take criticism, so there we go. I'm glad to have my things back. I  plan to use the beaded bag myself.  The comments on it were mostly positive, the only criticism that it lacks a fastener.

Lace

I've been working on the hearts and flowers braid (my name, find the pattern here ). I keep waiting for the tatting to become automatic, but with its twists and turns, it requires a certain amount of attention. There has been un-tatting!

My Own Pattern!

I've made a bracelet before using different sizes of beads, but in a very simple spiral pattern. It looked like this:

What would happen, I wondered, if I did a zigzag pattern instead of a spiral? After working the 10 around necklace, I thought I knew how a zigzag works. I grabbed some scrap paper and drew out what I thought was required. I had to tweak it slightly after my first attempt - my zag was  longer than my zig - but it basically worked as I visualised. Here's the pattern, with A to D for four different sizes of beads:

It is very textured. Here's another angle to try to show that:

Easy

After working my way through the 10-around necklace, I thought I'd crochet something quick and easy. The threading pattern is on Ms Crochet's blog. Lily used beads of the same size, but the pattern works well with beads of different sizes.