Tag: ring

What to do with bracelets

While at a second-hand store a while back I found a bundle of bangle bracelets for a couple of dollars. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with them at the time, but I was sure I could come up with something. So I bought them.

Bangle bracelet on wandasknottythoughts
Bangle bracelet on wandasknottythoughts

They were all about the same diameter but different thicknesses. I washed them and then sprayed them with a clear sealer so they wouldn’t tarnish or discolor any threads I might use. I set them aside until I could think about what to do with them.

I have seen people make dream catchers out of almost anything that is round but that didn’t appeal to me at the moment. A few years ago I attached snowflakes in the center, however, I wanted to try something a bit different than that.

Ring of purple on wandasknottythoughts
Ring of purple

I like this idea of joined rings on the outside, though it is kind of tedious joining those rings together. Then I ran out of thread and can’t find the ball. Okaaay, so on to something else.

Ring with spokes in the middle on wandasknottythoughts
Ring with spokes in the middle

How about rings and chains on the inside? I tatted on the ring with size 10 thread and added the first round of chains in 10 also. The rings and chains on the next round are in size 20. These two rounds were done multiple times as I tried getting a stitch count that didn’t buckle and crowd each other. Then what was I going to do in the middle? The spokes hold it tight and give it an interesting look.

Ring of flowers on wandasknottythoughts
Ring of flowers and butterflies

The idea of putting flowers on the ring was something that kept coming back to me, but what flowers and how to attach them to the ring? I covered the ring and did the chain on the outside while I thought about it. Then I played around with leaf ideas while I thought about it. The flowers and butterflies were made with the shuttle leftovers from other projects, so I just chose the colors I thought would work. I laid them on the ring with the leaves several ways before I attached them. I used fabric glue instead of trying to sew them on. Much easier than trying to sew them on.

3 Rings on wandasknottythoughts
3 Rings

So what do I do with these rings now? I will finish the purple one whenever I find the thread, but then what? This one and the one with flowers could be picture frames I suppose. Or just hang all of them up as is as decorations the way they are? Hmmm, I’ll have to think about that.

This weekend, after many delays and postponements, I was finally able to meet up with Sherry Ashberger, a fellow Kansas tatter. She contacted me years ago through my blog with the suggestion of meeting her somewhere halfway between where we live. That never worked out because of our schedules at the time. A few months ago she emailed me again with the suggestion of getting together. Things beyond our control kept us postponing a meet until at last this last weekend it worked out!

Sherry and I on wandasknottythoughts
Me and Sherry

Sherry has skills with drawing programs and she thinks she might be able to assist me with diagramming my patterns. What a great idea! We met up at a local Freddy’s and visited for several hours. It was so wonderful to finally, finally get to meet! I think we’ll be seeing more of each other.

I get no compensation for mentioning Freddy’s

My apple tree bloomed from the last week or so of March through the beginning of April. I thought I’d lose all chance at apples with a late frost, but I had a lot of blooms after, so I’ll probably have a few. Whether I’ll get any apples or the birds and bugs will get them all is yet to be seen. But the blossoms were gorgeous!

Apple blossoms on wandasknottythoughts
Apple blossoms

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Design is knowing which ones to keep.” —Scott Adams

Rings and Dragons

Fall has arrived here in the lower midwest, with cooler temperatures and leaves that are starting to change. I have made it through Halloween and am ready to decorate for autumn and Thanksgiving. I did have fun doing a bit of decorating for Halloween, including making a couple of costumes. There has also been tatting done, some in fall colors.

Tatted rings on wandasknottythoughts
Tatted rings

These two rings are made with the same pattern, one that I doodled. The ring with the button started as something else when I realized it wasn’t going to work, so I changed it up a bit and made a ring. Orange (this is Lizbeth #694 Harvest Orange Med) has never been one of my favorite colors to wear so I added the button. I had enough fun with it that I decided to make another ring, this time in Lizbeth #136 Autumn Spice. The doily background was made a few years ago and surprised me with how well it looks with the fall colors of the rings and pumpkin. I’ve been working on a couple of other things, but that will be for another post.

The local county historical society put on a costume parade for kids and their pets the Saturday before Halloween. My granddaughter was very interested in going with their dog. Her costume for Halloween was a dragon so we decided to dress the dog as a dragon, too. My daughter suggested that we dress the dog as a sheep, which would have been much easier, but it was too late, my granddaughter wanted a dragon.

Two dragons on wandasknottythoughts
Two dragons

During the week before Halloween, my daughter and her kids went shopping with me for items to make the dog’s costume. We found pink felt and fairy wings at a second-hand store that was the basis of the costume. As we didn’t know exactly what we were going to need to make it at that time we ended up using some green felt that I already had to make part of it. My granddaughter helped me with ideas, cutting out the felt, and putting it together. Amazingly, once we put the costume on her, the dog didn’t have any issues with wearing it. I think she looked pretty cute in it.

My granddaughter’s costume had been ordered online, which consisted of a tail, wings, and a mask. The sweats that were ordered to wear with them didn’t come in, so others had to be worn. But it was a pretty bare-bones costume and the mask hurt my granddaughter’s face. These deficiencies weren’t known until way too late to do anything about it for the parade. But there was time to do a little something before going trick-or-treating the next night.

Costume changes on wandasknottythoughts
Costume changes

While we were still in town after the parade we stopped and picked up some gray felt. It took several hours but I came up with a different mask, some shoulder pieces, and even horns. The mask didn’t hurt her face like the purchased one and was not as heavy, either. The arm pieces broke up her profile without restricting her movements. She still wore the wings and tail that her mom bought, as well as a gray pullover jacket to keep warm. She seemed very happy with the end result and I think the costume was much improved. I had a lot of fun making both it and the dog’s costume.

Though I plan on putting out Thanksgiving and autumn decorations I need to get busy making things for Christmas. I’m not sure what I’ll be making for family and friends this year. I only have a few weeks left, I’d better get on it!

Have you got your Christmas tatting done yet?

“Halloween is not only about putting on a costume, but it’s about finding the imagination and costume within ourselves.” Elvis Duran