but I haven't :-)

I picked up my tatting last night and got into "the zone". Before I realised it the bobbin was empty and my 3rd "motif" for the 25 motif challenge was finished.

It's actually a really pretty variegated orange but my old digital camera hates photographing the correct colours half the time so this is as close as I could get, even after photoshopping.

At the bottom of the photo you can see the beginning of my next edging, Sunshine's antique edging which I'm working in the size 20 variegated turquoise thread that I used for my first one.

I must admit that I've been a very, very bad shopper this week. I also bought a Clover brand hairpin lace tool. I love the look of hairpin lace and the way it can be used with some many other needlework techniques, from tatting to teneriffe lace and, of course, regular crochet. So I thought I'd give the Clover tool a go.

It feels a bit awkward to hold at first but I found that once I got used to it, it's as easy to use as regular pins. The bit I really like is that you can thread your lace onto two pieces of waste yarn as you take it off the pins and it stops it from twisting when you're joining pieces or working other needlework onto it. Twisting is the main reason I haven't been terribly into making hairpin crochet in the past so now I can get stuck in with confidence :-)

To use it, you take the clamp off the top and work until the pins are full. Then you replace the top clamp, take the bottom one off and release the lace down onto the waste thread, or just off the pins if you don't want to use the waste thread. There's also an optional central pin if you want to put a thread down the middle for gathering or as a tie if you're making a 19th century style headband.