How I survive

Two posts in two days?  It's like Christmas, I know!!!

One of the more difficult things for me when it comes to being a production tatter, is when I end up having to make the same things over and over and over.  And Over.  You get my drift.  Certain designs in certain colors just fly off my displays and it's hard to not get bored at times.  My strategy to combat the tatting doldrums has been to add some new aspect to what I do every now and then, something to re-spark my interest and creativity.  This year, I took myself up to Fusion Beads in Seattle, and purchase the tools and materials to start doing some wire work, and also make my own custom findings.  So far, I've been playing around with brass, copper, and bronze.  Eventually I will add some precious metals into the mix.  It's been fun, and here is one of my experiments-

 Kinda hard to see, but the bead hangs forward of the flower. It looks better worn I think.

 Terrible Iphone pictures, I apologize.  Below is me playing with some patina solution on brass.  More fun.  Still learning.

  One good thing has come from all this metal work... I'm just a terrible snarly beast once every 28 days...ehem, and beating on the bench block has become a very theraputic solution for me hahah!

Also, all this metal makes me want butane torch to do some more damage with.  Perhaps a metalsmithing class is in order before I go that far.  Or not. :-P

A booming season

Hello Tatters! Summer is here which means I'm eyeball deep in tatting thread of course :-) July and August are my busiest months down at the Farmers Market. I'm making jewelry in every spare moment... In fact, this weekend we are going camping, and a good portion of my supplies will be coming with me.
  One thing that has been happening at the market, (and elsewhere), is that more and more people know what tatting is! I love it when someone from my generation recognizes it, because that means our almost lost art is not going to be lost after all. 
  Well, I'm off to take care of some things around the house.  If I manage to get enough done today, I have half a mind to do a batch of hand dyed thread (gasp!).  It would be good to get back into it.  I still have one of Dr. Vonthreadmore's contest winners that I haven't done yet, and I am all out of some of my favorites as well.  I have been itching for some more Getaway because it has been such a good summer color. 

Well, I'm off now.  Here's to me blogging more. And updating a bit around here perhaps?  Sheesh, that profile picture is probably three years old.  I've got long hair now!

Bye!