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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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!

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