Craft Show

The craft show last weekend went well.  I sold several runners and a few other smaller things which means I paid for the booth and a bit more besides which makes it a successful show.

  

My booth setup

I didn't get a picture of the booth before the show started.  I had already sold one of my table runners by the time I thought about it.

 This is my sister's booth.  We have two spaces but put our tables together.

I think the green-over-black really made the tables look good.

I talked to several other venders from the show and they all had the same results we did: people were buying but not a lot.  That still makes it a successful show.

This year I had a small Christmas tree that I strung with battery-powered LED lights and covered in small, button-centered tatted ornaments.  I also had small button-centered tatted snowmen. Each one was a little different. 

A few of the tatted snowmen on the tree at home before the show.

I thought they came out well; everyone that saw them thought they were cute.  I put pin backs on a few but they can still be hung on the tree.  My sister asked for one to be put on a barrette and it worked for that, too.

Tatted Button-centered snowman 

© Wanda Salmans 2015

For all that it is very simple I wrote up the pattern and have added it to my Pattern tab.

This week was Thanksgiving here in America.  Here at home we've had enough ice and bad weather that we haven't been able to gather with any of our family so far.  But we are thankful that we have family that are healthy and happy even if we can't see them this week. 

 I'm also thankful that I can share my enjoyment of tatting with others at craft shows and on this blog. Thanks to all of you for stopping by.

"Thanksgiving is a time to remember...

our blessings and make good cheer with all who we hold dear."

Eleonore Edging

I made several edgings this year going for a certain look.  This is one that isn't quite what I was looking for but not bad and works with the material I attached it to.  I'm not sure you can see just how well the green in the edging goes with the green in the material.

Eleonore Edging © Wanda Salmans 2015

I used Lizbeth Leaf Green Medium #684 and Ecru #603 in size 10.

It's interesting that much of the fabric I found this year have this shade of green in them.  I could almost use this color in every table runner I've been working on. And I have found a lot of fabric this year, so much that I could make runners for several years and never buy any more material except for backings.  This fun fabric is one that I picked up at the store that is going out of business.

I was having a hard time coming up with a name for this edging.  It doesn't necessarily look like anything, I didn't make it for any particular person, and I don't want to name it by the color, so what should I name it?  Did you know there are places that generate names?   I tried a site called "Behind the Names: Random Name Generator and it gave me 'Eleonore'.  It works.

I've been spending a lot of time getting ready for the craft show this coming weekend, sewing in ends, coming up with prices, and planning the booth layout.  I'm feeling pretty good about it right now.  We'll see how I feel come Friday night. :-0

"A poet's work is to name the unnameable, to point at frauds, to take sides, start arguments, shape the world, and stop it going to sleep."

Salman Rushdie

Table Runner with Queen's Crown Edging

Do you remember way back in February I made the edging Queens Crown Edging?

Well, I finally got it attached to the material! Yay!

Queen's Crown Edging © Wanda Salmans

I like making edgings and seeing the tatting on the material, but I really don't like sewing the tatting to the material.  This part of the process is a necessary evil to finishing a table runner.

The finished table runner is 11 1/2 inches wide and 46 inches long, including the tatted edging which is Lizbeth #693 Linen Medium size 10.  I think it turned out well.

I have several other edgings already tatted and ready to go on material.  My sister is very sweet and offered to sew the material for me as her sewing machine is always out.  I cut the material for several runners then she sewed them.  I will turn them right-side out, stitch up the hole left for that and sew the edgings on.  I feel it takes me forever to do the hand stitching but it is worth it.  I'll be sharing more table runners in the next few weeks.

My sister and I are going to be in a local craft show next week.  We usually participate in this one every year because it is local, making it much easier for both of us to go.  Going to craft shows much farther away can get complicated with our jobs.  Sometimes we do well, other times not so well, but we both enjoy participating in the show because of the festive atmosphere, the customers and the other crafters contributing to an enjoyable day.  Last year I did well with table runners and I'm hoping to do so again this year.

Something funny about this edging: I made this one and two others and put them in a drawer when they were finished, planning on putting them on runners when the material was sewn.  In the course of tatting other things and life happening I forgot about them until I was looking for something else. I also changed my mind on what material all three edgings were going to go on. But they all look really good finished.

Yay! 

"Of course I talk to myself when I tat. Sometimes I need expert advice."

Many-tailed Tatted Paperclip Bookmark

A favorite aunt of mine had a birthday recently.  I always try to make something for her as I know she really appreciates handmade items.  I also know she doesn't need more things sitting around her house, so gift ideas are for things that can be worn or used.  For this year I made her a paperclip bookmark.

Many-tailed Tatted Paperclip Bookmark

This bookmark is specifically made for my aunt to use at church.  Lutherans use a hymnal that has a liturgy in the front and hymns in the back and during a service you go back and forth between the liturgy and the different hymns.  I've been thinking of making a bookmark like this for a while, one where you can mark several pages at a time. This bookmark actually has more tails than are usually needed for a normal service but it looked cool with the different colors hanging from the clip.

Many-tailed Tatted Paperclip Bookmark with a button

Isn't that button pretty?  I hope you can see it.  This is one I picked up just this week from a fabric shop that sadly is closing.  The good news about that is that everything is on sale.  I didn't pick up a lot of buttons but I did pick up a lot of material. There'll be more about that later.

My aunt really liked the tatted paperclip bookmark.  I think it worked out well. 

'If you love to read, you know there are three kinds of book-markers: the dog-ear-er, the any old flat object that will hold my spot-er and the beautiful "I even spent money on a bookmark"-er.  Of course, if you read an e-reader you totally miss the point, but that is neither here nor there.  I fall into the "I even spent money on a bookmark" category.  To me, a bookmark is a friendly "hello! we're glad you're back!" statements as I immerse myself back into the text to tackle paragraph after paragraph.'

Being Geek Chic, beinggeekchic.com