Teddybear Pumpkin Zipper Pull

I meant to put this up in September but time got away from me.  The teddy bear bead used for the center can be found at Dollarstores or bead stores.  Its a very common bead but you can use a 6mm bead instead.  Really its just what you have handy.  I used DMC thread because I have a crap load of it but I think that size 20 tatting thread is a good substitue.  I made the pattern last year so I can't remember what other threads I tried at the time. 

Teddy Bear Pumpkin Zipper Pull

Vicki Clarke 2010 victats@gmail.com

Materials
2 yards DMC size 8 orange thread
Bear Bead ( or substitute a 6 mm bead)
Wind 1/2 yard on shuttle CTM with ball
Split ring finding (if making a necklace or zipper pul)
Green sequin (optional or substitute a green bead)
LS- lock stitch
lj- lock join

Instructions:
Pull thread through bear bead from bottom to top and hold loop using paperclip

Round 1
Ch1 LS 3 p 4 p 4 p 4 lj (to space held by paperclip) 4 p 4 p 4 p 4 lj (to beginning just under the lock stitch)

Round 2
Ch2 6
R 3+ (1st p of ch1) 3
Ch3 10
R 3+ (2nd p of ch1) 3
Ch4 8
R 3+ (3rd p of ch1) 3
Ch5 12 lj (to space above 1st lj on ch1)/ ball join to sequin and split ring finding (when pulling up the thread leave it slightly loose so the split ring can turn easily)
Ch6 12
R 3+ (4th p of ch1) 3
Ch7 8
R 3+ (5th p of ch1) 3
Ch8 10
R 3+ (6th p of ch1) 3
Ch9  6 join back to beginning. Cut and hide ends

Guess what I got to do this morning!

I got to make shoes!   Okay, not actually a shoe from scratch but I got to tear apart a shoe and start adding stuff to it...kinda like remodelling a house.  I'm taking a course on foot wear and one of the things we get to do is modify a shoe.  So today I got to sew a sew, rip the bottom off a pair of shoes and glue...lots of glue.  I go in on Saturday and will take my camera with me so I can take a few pictures.

Pumpkin Patch



All 3 together


I keep seeing altered pumpkins when checking out the early Halloween decorators.  I've kinda grown attached to those crazy pumpkins and decided to try tatting an altered pumpkin brooch using beads.  I guess its kinda interpretational but I like what I turned out.  I find its challenging to take pictures of tatting when there's crystals involved.  I find I get one aspect really good and compromise another.  Either the beads or the tatting, rarely both at once.

You can't see the stone very well but the tatting really shows up



The stone and crystals show up but not so much the stitching



All 3 again but the black ones don't show up very well.  I thought the black looked better than the orange. 

Busy weekend

I had a busy weekend.  Me and a few other suckers..oops I mean leaders took a bunch of Brownies and Sparks camping.  We went to Camp Woolsey which is close to Ottawa.  It rocked!  Even though the weather was cold and a little windy the girls all cooked their own hot dogs and s'mores over the fire.  Pretty exciting for a 5-8 year old!  I'm not sure who suffered more- the leaders in the cabin with the girls waiting to cook their lunch or the ones outside in the wind.  I guess its a draw.

The girls did the clean up afterwards and had duties that they had to do after each meal.  As a reward they got this wonderful duty roster pin for on their hats!  Isn't it great?

You know the best part about this camp?  We all shared the planning.  All of the groups in the area pooled resources and we got together to plan the weekend.  A few people picked up the groceries and a few did the crafts.  BEST CAMP EVER! 

Until I locked my keys in the cabin and had to commit a felony in order to drive home.

Waiting for pictures...

Every time there's a tatting seminar I look for pictures.  While I feel a bit like a stalker looking for the pictures I want the 2nd hand experience the pictures provide.  Last weekend there were 2 great events going on so I'm looking forward to hearing about the mayhem.  Its sad to miss out on a gathering of tatters.  What do you call a group of tatters?

I made up for missing out on tatting by attending the Annual Gem and Mineral show here in Ottawa.  I got a great deal on some beads but regretted not buying more.  When there's a big selection I always feel like I bought the wrong stuff no matter what I buy.   The same happens when buying threads during a seminar.  I get home and wonder what I was thinking and why didn't I buy the other colors!  I could solve that problem by having an unlimited amount of money so I could buy everything...but unfortunately that's not reality. 

I felt much better about my choices once I started to make stuff.  I ended up finally making a bracelet I've had in my head for awhile.  I had the clasp ready and waiting I've just never had the right time and right stones.  Although I didn't use a pattern I think that both Kaye Judt and Yarnplayer Marilee Rockley sell a pattern very similar.  The picture really isn't great and it doesn't show up the shades of white-grey-black in the stones. The amulet on the left I made with the center stone in the tatting and then sewed moonstones on afterwards.  The picture is crappy but its pretty.

Going to go check the blogs for more projects and pictures from the weekend....

busy summer?

This is the longest I've ever gone without posting. I've started a few posts but haven' finished any. Its been a very busy year...I'm not sure where the time has gone.  I think I've completely missed summer.

Well, I kinda know. At the beginning of September in 2010 a Chiropractor in Stittsville hurt her wrist and asked for an emergency replacement to see her patients. A few of us pitched in to help and I ended up working alot of extra hours. Unfortunately it turns out she really blew out her wrist and it wasn't a common injury. In health care you want to have a common injury otherwise no-one really knows what to do...so it was a wait and see game for a long time. I had no idea how long she would be injured and when she started working again she had to do it gradually. Chiropractors can't work without their hands. Finally in the last week of August she went back to full time work.  So now I'll have a little more time.

Last night I almost had a catastrophe when I accidentally send ALL of my photos into the trash.  I'm not sure how I did it and it took me awhile to figure out what I did.   Maybe I should back up my pictures and files eh?

This is a picture of some of the stuff I've been working on.  Hopefully a kit for the snowflake with the button is winging its way to SC right now.  I sent out a package through USPS on Sept 4th and it hasn't arrived yet.  I'm screwed because I didn't keep the receipt so I don't have a tracking number.  The lady at USPS customer service assures me that there is no way for them to find that number. I can't believe that I'm the only person in history that has lost a receipt and this hasn't come up before. Since the lady on the phone couldn't help me I'm just waiting to see what happens...

Finished projects from Finger Lakes

I have been working on finishing projects from the Finger Lakes weekend.  One of which is a garden newt which I didn't take as a class but I couldn't resist tatting the pattern.  I haven't had a chance to do the garden spider but its next.

As mentioned in my last post I'm addicted to making peeps.   There was a copy of The Tatting Times which is published by Karey Solomon in the grab bag.  I love her patterns and this one is lots of fun!  This is one of many.  I've done a few where the center flower is in a contrasting color.  I purchased more thread when I was at the Finger Lakes seminar so I have plenty of choices.  I did something annoying and didn't check the sizes so I ended up with 3 balls of size 40 Lizbeth instead of size 20.  Fortunately the colors match and I'll still be able to use the thread.  Still, I'm irritated with myself.