In cleaning up my computer I found this picture of an attempt at dying thread with turmeric.  It worked out better than I expected and was pretty easy.  I used hot water and soaked it for a few minutes.  I put it in a fixer for a bit before rinsing.  I’m not super excited about the color since I prefer darker colors to the lighter colors, but it was nice to do a bit of dying with natural dyes.

After this batch I try doing a bit with beets, but it rinsed right out.  Unfortunately, I had tossed out the beet water out before I rinsed it and so couldn’t try another batch with fixer.

I wound a couple balls of DMC thread into skeins so that I’m ready to dye a few whenever the feeling hits me without it being a big production.

As I do every time I play around with dying thread I end up being more and more impressed with people like KrystleDawne and LadyShuttlemaker who make such gorgeous hand-dyed thread.  I’m always especially impressed with the consistency of their dyeing and how they’re able to do the same variation lot after lot.

I’ll keep playing around with dyeing threads occasionally, but for the most part I’m going to leave it to the expects!

I’m looking for a test tatter or two for the earrings I posted earlier this week.  I plan to send the pattern to the IOLI who are looking for lace patterns to include in their CD for this year’s convention.  Don’t know if they’ll choose it, but it would be awesome if they did.

Submitting them means that I would need feedback on the pattern in the next day or two.  Anyone interested?  I’m pretty sure the pattern is free from any mistakes, but would like to have someone else tat it to be sure and to check for any wording that is awkward or unclear.  They earrings should take under an hour to make, I think.  I’m not always a good judge of that, but they’re not very complicated.  The pattern does include split rings and shuttle joins.

I’m going to make this the free pattern pulled out of the book of other patterns inspired by this edging from the Priscilla Tatting Book, so if you can’t get to it in the next couple days, don’t worry, this will not be your last opportunity.

Leave a comment with your email, or send me an email at jessica@snapdragonlace.com.  Thanks!

Tax season is over and I’m excited to be getting in to the summer.  (For those that don’t know, when I’m not tatting I’m an accountant.)  It was a very busy tax season and I’m looking forward to having a bit of time to catch my breath and get some tatting projects done.

I had a wonderful time at the Shuttlebirds Tatting Workshop in Spokane this April.  It’s hard to believe it was just two and a half weeks ago.  I miss it already.  My classes went well and I think my students learned a lot.  I’ve already got a couple ideas for what I will teach next year and have even gotten the handout ready for one already.  How’s that for staying on top of things?

I have a number of patterns I want to get put together and published, so I think that will be my focus for the summer.  One booklet will be a series of variations on a pattern from Priscilla (two of which I taught at Shuttlebirds) and the other will be one of some easy bracelet patterns.  For the second, I’d like to come with about 12 or so designs and so far I’m at about 5.  It may be a bit of time before I get that one done, but it will be a nice summer project.

The earrings here are part of the series of patterns that are variations on a Priscilla edging.  I want to sell the booklet with all the patterns, but release one as a free pattern.  I’m currently thinking it will be for these earrings, but I have another one that I might do instead that I have to write up still.

I also have a couple of beginning tatting classes coming up so if you’re in the Seattle area and interested in learning how to tat, please let me know.

All my mentioning of summer should probably come with an asterisk since it’s currently a typically cloudy Seattle day, but we had a couple of nice days in the last week and hopefully that will pick up again.