Day 9 And SABLE

 

Hmm, I think Jane has us stumped with her tat it and see this year!

I didn't do the Renulek Spring doily last year, but I really want to do it this year. Question is, do I have enough thread? I have a condition called SABLE - stash accumulated beyond life expectancy - but nonetheless, it's surprising how often I don't have the requirements for a specific project! Renata said in her initial post that her napkin used 90g in size 20 thread. I had a look through my stash and found two 50g balls of size 40 white thread, which should be ample.

 I might struggle to keep up in the later rounds, there seem to be so many interruptions now I live in town, but I'll see how it goes. In any case there's no obligation to keep up! I have done the first two rounds:

Bottoms Up and Day 8

 

I thought I'd show you the bottoms of the little beaded bags I'm making. The spokes pattern makes increasing very easy, I just increase in the stitch before the contrast bead, which means all the counting is done while threading the beads. The one on the right has a final round of 72 beads, whereas the other 2 are 54 beads. 

The tat it and see is given in very small bites, but one needs, nevertheless, to pay attention! I looked at the wrong part of  the diagram and thought I'd made a mistake. The split ring wasn't easy to open, I don't know why some open easily and some don't, but there you go, I spent a long time untatting. And then realised that I hadn't made a mistake at all! I think of the headline I saw on a blog recently that said, 'I am a plonker'. 

Day 7 And Another Bag

 

It looks like an amoeba swimming along. But where it's going to, I don't know.

The second beaded bag is much more the size I was after. My handbag is turquoise, so I thought I'd use turquoise beads for the main colour. Plus flowers in nine different colours, and green leaves. 

Day 6 And A Little Bag

 

Well, it could still be a fish....

I've been wanting a little coin purse to put coins in so that they don't fall out of my handbag. I used the same principle as for the beaded balls, like this one. It came out more or less as I visualised, except that it's too big. I will have to make a smaller one! I'm not going to line the bag because I like how the inside looks:

It took me a couple of tries to get the top done. I thought I could continue the beadwork above the eyelets for the ribbon, but it looked messy. I quite like having the crochet cotton above the beadwork, like a little bit of petticoat sticking out! 

Day 5 And Ears

 

Well, it's still looking like a fish, I'm sure we're going to be tatting a tail soon.

I've been making animal ear headbands as part of my collaborative project. In truth I find it difficult to get excited about animal ears, but collaboration is collaboration, so here they are:

They're not easy to photograph, we need a baby to model them for us. The patterns can be found here.

Day 4 and Beaded Split Rings

 

The tat it and see continues, little bit by little bit. 

I also had a go at the Anne Orr method of adding beads to split rings, which Ninetta explains very clearly here.  Um. I'd need a lot more practice to get the tatting looking smooth! But I did add the beads to the split rings, so that's good. 

Rhubarb And...

There was enough rhubarb in the garden for another batch of jam. Last time I made jam, I combined the rhubarb with ginger. I didn't have any ginger on hand, but I found this recipe for rhubarb, lemon and vanilla jam, for which I had all the ingredients. The funny thing is, I could have just walked to the supermarket and bought more ginger. I've lived far from shops for most of the past 40 years, so I'm used to just using what I have available - I don't have a town mentality! Anyway, the jam turned out really well. It has a nice tartness.