Just Like Yesterday

Some days are so very nearly the same as the one that preceded them, I feel odd bothering to write about them at all. Of course you also know that by the point I am somewhat compulsive about writing daily whether I should or not. Yesterday was, as you've already guessed, a repeat of Monday.

After schooling wrapped, which was a bit later than usual, I dug through my collection of beads to find as many as would fit the size and shape needed for spiders and I tatted. I made up spiders all day while catching up on all my recorded shows. By the time I was finally finished with the pile of beads, I had enough spiders for 14 sets of 6 when added to the ones done before. I did, however, use up all the beads that would work, so I'm done with spiders now. Either I hopefully, sell all of them, save the left overs for next year, or I give them away on Halloween. Whatever way it plays out, I'm done making them.

Of course that means I need to find something else to occupy my tatting time. I might actually have to get to designing again, but every time I say that I think, what else can I do? I mean I've designed so much already, why do I think there is anything left in me to create? I know that's nonsense, I'll think of something, but I really am afraid that one day I will run out of ideas and then what? Well, I suppose that's enough existential anguish for the morning, I do have things to get to after all. The day waits for no one.

Spiders!

While I was determined to make yesterday a 'tatting day', I just couldn't get any fresh ideas. Instead I fell back on old ones, with a bit of a twist. I made spiders, lots of spiders. This time, I used some of the vast collection of beads I have acquired through buying grab bags. I figured they would never get used otherwise, so the kids picked out the ones they liked with the right size and I tatted the day away.

It took me a bit longer to decide on how to sell them. I mean they don't take long to make and the beads are from a grab bag so they're all different. It would take forever to list them one at a time, plus it wouldn't be very cost effective to do so since I didn't want to charge much for them. I finally opted to sell them as inexpensively as possible as a random set of six spiders with the option of adding metal jump rings to make them charms if desired.

I also noted in the listing that you may request colors and I will try to accommodate those requests, but it is on a first come first served basis. I did already sell one set so some of those pictured are gone, but they're are plenty of creepy crawlers left. If you can't buy any, but you have an overwhelming desire to add tatted spiders to your life, I did do an instructable for their creation last year. Just a note, I did have to adjust stitch counts to fit each bead better since they vary so widely, but it's fairly easy to do with a little trial and error. Just share your spider creations with me if you make some!

I'm not sure what else I'll get up to today. I thought about making more spiders, but I really ought to wait until some more sell or I will be overrun with the things. Of course I could always give away the left overs on Halloween so maybe I will spend the day with my new growing arachnid family.

Spiders

What a day, what a day. I mean the first day of school is always a bit of a challenge, but add a two hour park day interruption, laundry, extra instructional email newsletters and a dozen other small tasks and the day seemed to stretch on forever. The kids were pretty good about doing their work, only mild complaining, but there was a lot more of it. As I prepared for today's lessons, I realized that the middle of the week will be worse. Don't worry, I'll stop complaining once we settle into the routine which should be in a week or so.

I did get some tatting done in the evening though as I needed to decompress. I knew I couldn't handle anything big and a trip to Michaels over the weekend reminded me that Halloween is getting close. Okay, sure it's still over two months away, but that's close enough to start tatting spiders right?

They're easy to make and they help take my mind off everything else. I have listings already created for these and a couple of spider jewelry pieces. I deactivate them after Halloween every year and then just pop them back up again when it feels like it's time. So they'll likely reappear in the shop later today.

I don't have any orders in queue and I don't think I'll try to get up to anything big since my tatting time has been reduced to just a few hours in the evening, so today will likely produce more spider-lings. I just make them until I have a nice pile and then hope a few people out there feel the need to decorate with them. Here's to day two then.

Bead In The Belly

Another day of headaches, but this time more metaphorical than literal. It was my duty to shuttle my mother to and from the hospital for an outpatient procedure. The to-ing in the morning interrupted schooling which made the children adverse to finishing what needed to be done. They did, but it was less than pleasant. The from-ing in the evening was full of extra drama as I was lost in the  hospital thanks to high school volunteers who sent me all about and then for extra fun, the hospital called after I had fetched my mother because they had forgotten to give my us the discharge forms. This meant I had to go back to get them and take them to my mother who, by the way, lives across town. Why can't anything be simple?

Between all that though I managed to do something slightly productive, I made another Instructable. Something old and something new at the same time. I did one on the simple spider whose pattern I've shared repeatedly, but I added the bead belly variation which allowed me to teach how to put a bead in the center of a ring with needle tatting...my version anyway. You can find the Instructable here: Tiny Tatted Spiders.

I'm sort of hoping that I get some nice quiet time soon so I can do a video on the bead technique with the needle. Though I should probably check youtube first and see if one already exists first. There's no point in doing one if someone already did it, right? Plus, finding quiet time around here is like finding a mythical lost city.

I finally made a sale of items I can remake last night. It's been painfully dead in the shop lately, add to that my first customer return in a really long time and I've been feeling particularly bummed about the shop lately. I'm sure all the headache nonsense might have a little to do with that, but I was just plugging along, waiting patiently for an uptick. I'm hoping it comes soon so I can start complaining about too much to do instead of too little.

The Spiders Are Back

It actually took a couple of minutes this morning for me to remember what I did yesterday that might be worth mentioning. There was schooling of course and I was working on getting a large choker made up for the shop. When that was done, rather than work on more remaking, I decided it was time for the spiders to get made. I always sell a few of them this time of year and they're fun to give away to kids. They're also one of the few tatted things even the nephews think are pretty cool.

They're the same ones I listed last year when I also made this post for them: Spider. It has a few vague tips at the end on how to make your own spider. Just to recap more clearly for this year though. It's a simple two ring design.

R: 4ds 1p 4ds close
R: 4ds 1 very long picot(vlp) 2ds 1vlp 8ds 1vlp 2ds 1vlp 4ds close cut and tie.
Snip the picots in half for legs and done.

Variations on the theme include, increasing stitch counts for bigger spiders, encapsulating a bead within the body or leaving a thread space between the rings for a smaller spider hanging from it's web.  You can even stiffen them and shape the legs so they stand on their own. These are my favorites though, perfectly simple and they are wonderful for using up the otherwise useless ends of the thread ball.

I just thought it was about the right time to share these again and you'll have plenty of time to make swarms of them up to decorate for Halloween, or everyday if you want. I'd love to see your spiders if you make any. I'll toss photos up on the blog near Halloween if I get any. My email is in my blogger profile. Enjoy.

SPIDERS

Sometimes you just don't know where the day will take you. Yesterday took me to spiders. Lots of little tatted spiders. Why? I have no idea. Honest, I'm sitting here trying to remember what prompted me to work up that first little spider, but I'm coming up blank. What I do know is after I made that one I proceeded to dig through my grab bag of supplies for red and black beads and became determined to kill off the rest of a waning ball of thread with the little buggers.

I even used the opportunity to try out several different methods of making the same piece. Once the beads were gone I made some more plain ones until the thread was gone and the result is this small spider armada. What am I doing with them, you ask? Well I grabbed a few of them and made a pair of earrings and a necklace with some costume jewelry chain. You know, the mystery metal available in Michaels on a spool. At least I know it's lead free. Anyway, since the findings are so cheap I listed them as very inexpensive Halloween pieces.

The remaining spiders will be with purchase giveaways. I'm still trying to decided how best to set that up, but it should be soon. When I first started selling I would give customers a tatted bookmark with their order. This was of course back when the sales came once or twice a month and I had plenty of time to make up extra things. I look back and sigh at that since I probably spent more time on the 'free' thing than their actual purchase, but you can't go back. These spiders however are quick and easy.

I'm still sitting in a sales dry spells and my supply order won't be here for days, so I begin today with no project on tap. Again, we will just see what nonsense I get up to without an agenda.

Spider

It's going to get really real over at my place soon. My 5 year old in now officially enrolled in the virtual academy. I've received a call from her assigned teacher, whom I get to meet next week and her materials should arrive early next week. This means my lackadaisical approach to homeschooling will now be overseen by an actual public school entity. Part of me dreads the attention and another part of me welcomes the support. At least if I fail, it's only kindergarten and I won't have caused and irreparable scars to my child. I know I can put in the hours for her, but I'm fairly certain they will now be in a nice little scheduled block. Just having the two year old to look after will take care of that. I guess the only thing for it, is to give it a go.

The children went off with their grandparents yesterday for lunch and visiting. This left me all by my lonesome and aside from freaking out a bit over the schooling thing all I did was catch up on television I'd been dvr'ing for weeks. I did work on the ankle corsets some more, but decided to take a break to make something new. Well, now to be honest, it the worlds second easiest tatting pattern, the first being the flower doodle and well everyone has made one I'm sure, so new it's not. All I did was add a small ring to the other side of the web to attach the spider to metal necklace and there you have it, a spider necklace. Simple as a dimple. If you haven't made one of these doodles yet, give it a try. All you need to do is make a ring of whatever amount of double stitches you like with 4 really long picots, close with a long tail, then cut the picots to make the legs. Perfect little Halloween decoration. Of course you could add a second ring for a more elaborate spider, which is what I plan to do for the next necklace.