Anyone tat?

[Spirit Deer]

Let me know how it goes.  I couldn't get tatting needles yesterday.  All I have is a doll needle and I'm not sure that'll work, so haven't tried it yet.

[Spirit Deer]

Well, today was the day and I taught myself to needle-tat.  EASY!  And fun, too.  I even had an opportunity to test-drive my little tatting bag, as I had to go to an appointment where I had to sit and wait.  I really like that, so for now, it's a winner.  I don't think I even need to mod it, except maybe tat something to decorate the pocket with.  I'm about a third done with a cute little Christmas wreath.  It took me three tries to get it right, but that's okay. 

I'm using a doll needle and keep stabbing myself, plus the eye is a little bigger than it should be, so....

...I ordered two four-needle sets of tatting needles from Overstock.  OUCH!  $22!  But it's still a pretty cheap hobby.  I pick up crochet cotton cheap at garage sales and have a decent stash to get me started.  I have some pattern books too, and I was just looking at patterns online and there are a ton of them free for the printing.  Yea!

I found some red/white/blue variegated worsted weight yarn in town today too.  I may make up some slippers for the Ships Project.  Or a hat.  Or buy more yarn and do both.

And I found the perfect pattern for a pair of fingerless gloves for myself, too.  I just love them and I'll be able to learn to cable stitch with that pattern.  I got a giant bag of sport weight yarn for $4 Saturday at Goodwill, and one skein of it will be perfect for that project, I think.  And a bunch of cable stitch hooks, too. 

I'm going to be busy all winter.  Especially since I usually come down with a huge case of bead fever in winter, too.

 

[Spirit Deer]

My first tatting project. 

[lola521]

^^^^Wow that was quick!! You can make some nice little arts and crafts things to donate to a church bazaar, or even sell at a arts and crafts show in the fall, but it sounds like you already have some great and much better ideas.

Have fun!

[Sunrise camper]

Very nice Rae!  Good luck with your projects.

[Spirit Deer]

Needle tatting really is quick!  I remember trying shuttle tatting about thirty five years ago and it took me FOREVER to make a tiny one-inch flower.  It was a frustrating experience and I haven't tried any tatting since.  Wish I had discovered needle tatting back then.  There is no comparison as far as the ease of doing needle tatting versus using a shuttle.  I'm going to have fun with this!

I'm a crafty person so it's hard to admit I was defeated by the shuttle. 

[Spirit Deer]

Today I converted a tote bag we bought on vacation last year into a knitting bag.  I think I'm going to like it a lot.  The bag was just a simple bag with no pockets on the inside and one pocket on the front outside.  I added another pocket on the outside back.  I picked up a long, shallow bag at GW last week.  It had loop tape along the back side so I added hook tape inside the tote bag and attached the small bag inside for all the little knitting accessories.  Then I added a nylon band to the top of the tote bag, with a drawstring at the top.  This extends the size of the bag upward and also allows it to be closed. 

I also drilled holes in the tops of two plastic food containers so I could use them as yarn dispensers.  They work great, hold a couple skeins each, and fit perfectly in the converted tote bag.  I really like the wide openings on the top for putting yarn in and also getting at it when it snarls up. 

Now all I have to do is collect a few more tools like small scissors and a good tape measure and I'll be all set.

Cost of project:  $5 for tote bag and fifty cents for the narrow bag.  The nylon for the top was a scrap I had laying around.  It just seemed appropriate to use a souvenir of our travels to make a knitting bag to take on more trips.

Bag before modifications:


Bag after mods:


Converted canisters:

[pony280]

Nice Christmas wreath! You are definitely inspiring me to try needle tatting. And I love the knitting bag mods --I am always on the quest for THE perfect knitting bag.

[Spirit Deer]

I made the wreath with a doll needle.  I think the head is a bit too big and it's also too sharp, but it did work.  I was expecting my tatting needles today but they didn't come.  It should be any time now though.  I'm curious what they'll look like.

I picked up a little bag with one tiny zipper compartment and a pouch on it out of a free box at a garage sale a couple weeks ago.  I don't have a real use for it but I was looking at it today to see if I could figure out a way to use it in my knitting bag, and if I wanted to.  I decided with minor mods it would work great.  I can put my darning needle for sewing projects together in the tiny pocket, and add a zipper to the pouch for cable hooks and some other little stuff.  I'm going to use hook and loop tape to attach it to the back of my bag inside.  Should be perfect.

I don't know that this bag is THE bag, but so far I'm liking it quite a bit, and it's working out well.  I'm not afraid to tweak if further if it needs it, either.  If I see another likely prospect cheap, I might pick that up too.  Seems like I always have plenty of projects needing containers, and I doubt knitting will be any different for me.  For some reason I keep thinking I need one of those fancy-shmancy wood framed folding knitting bags.  I don't know if anyone even uses those anymore, or if it would pack very well for camping.  We'll see what I find.  A new Goodwill just opened here a week ago, and I never know what I'll run across at places like that!

[Spirit Deer]

I picked up several bags of yarn at the new Goodwill last week.  It was amazing!  Once I got my treasure home, we totaled up what I'd gotten.  I got 44 new skeins of worsted weight yarn for .39 each!  Various sizes from 3 ounce to 8 ounce.  That'll keep me busy a while.  There were also quite a few partial skeins.  In one bag, there were four new skeins of faux mohair yarn, two partial skeins, and a four-foot knitted scarf, partially finished, of the same yarn.  I haven't decided what to do with all that yet, but it's sure a soft yarn.  I might make some socks for myself someday.  In my spare time.    One bag had seven skeins of dark green, five of light green, and three of white.  Must have been for an afghan.  There were also some partial skeins in that bag, and I got the whole works for $5.  What a deal!  I might make a sweater.

I'm going to have to be really careful when I go to Goodwill and not get too many knitting projects ahead of myself.

Now if I could just pick up a big bag of crochet cotton in various colors, for tatting.  

[pony280]

 Wow! That was a great score on yarn. I should go through my stash and donate some to Goodwill. Either that or make up some kits with yarn and extra needles for the local women's shelter. Because I believe I have achieved what some of us call SABLE (stash acquisition beyond life expectancy), and yet that does not seem to keep me from buying more yarn. 

[Spirit Deer]

I will have to remember SABLE.  I have several stashes where that may apply.  I've been dumping some of it to Goodwill, fabrics and things.

Good idea about the women's shelter.

I finished another pair of slippers today using a yarn called Baby Cloud.  It was a total nightmare.  I don't recall buying this yarn but unless I can find a pattern that's workable and easier, I'll be donating that soon.  I suspect the problem is it requires a large hook or needles.  I'm going to look online and see what I see.

I added another little accessory to my bag today, a two-pocket thingy.  One pocket had a zipper and it's perfect for my darning needle so I won't lose that.  I had to add a zipper and adjust the size of the other pocket, and now it's perfect for my cable hooks.  It Velcros to the inside of the bag now.  I'm slowly getting more organized.

I think I'll end up with another, smaller bag for small knitting projects like gloves and socks.  I know I'm weird but half the fun for me is being able to set things up as I want them and organize everything to death.

My tatting needles came today!  Nice!  I'm going to have fun with those.

[robo77]

I Tat... but it's a nice design on my back shoulder :)

[Spirit Deer]

I knitted a red, white, and blue cap today.  The colorful stuff goes mostly to sailors.  What else can a dedicated NCIS fan do?    The cap was really simple and went fairly quickly.  I'm hoping to get two more pairs of slippers done and another cap before the end of the month.  I hope to ship a box of stuff the first week in January.

I need to do a shawl and maybe a pair of gloves for my mom for Christmas, too.  I've messed that up so badly I have to rip the shawl apart.  Grrr.  And I want to get back to the fingerless gloves for myself, but half to rip half of that back too.  It's fun to learn new things, right?

[Spirit Deer]

BTW, the instructions that came with my tatting needles are the exact same thing as the link I posted above for tatting instructions.