What to do?

This morning I was looking through some of my tatting books that focused on beads and found an envelope with this choker in it. I'd forgotten all about this piece. I bought the book the pattern is in, Creative Tatting by Judith Connors, during my visit to Australia in 2005.

OMIGAWD!...pause to catch my breath here....That Amazon listing for this book says $110. LOL! Judith is an excellent designer and her books are well worth the money but I just bought this a few years ago. I don't think it is out of print...and I have a SIGNED COPY!!!

hehehehe...I suspect that is wishful thinking on the part of the seller, but if that is the current value of the book, maybe I should put it under lock and key. Insure it? I honestly don't understand...I have an original book of Emmy Liebert's patterns and I'm sure it doesn't sell for anything close to that.

Okay...back to the tatted choker. You can't really tell from the scan but the beads are a beautiful cobalt blue. I must have gotten them at the Craft Fair that Maureen took me to, as I remember buying a lot of beads there. Anyway, anxious to try out some of the patterns, I sat on my bed one night and tatted this choker. Now...I rarely wear tatted jewelry to begin with and especially not chokers. I think I sort of had my granddaughter in mind at the time but without her around to measure her neck, I was just guessing so I gave up on that idea. I just wanted to tat. You know the feeling? Doesn't matter if it's useful or not...you just gotta tat.

This design is tatted on one side and then completed on the second side and that's why I needed the neck measurement first. At any rate, I had fun and it's beautiful but what do I do with it now???? It's 10 1/2 inches long.

Hmmm...it would make a nice embellishment on the front of a bag if that were the mesaurement. Perhaps it could go on a dress or blouse front....a placket that only came down that far or a bit more would work. Some black velvet ribbon would extend the length so that it could still be used as a choker. I suspect I asked this question when I first returned home and blogged about my trip. I seem to remember someone mentioning the black ribbon extension. At the moment, I'm thinking I like the idea of it on the front of a blouse or dress...I'll have to keep my eye open for something suitable.

Anybody else end up with these not-really-UFO's?

I've been tatting since 1997 and I'm beginning to accumulate quite the collection of motifs and partial edgings....bits and pieces that I've tatted to try a pattern or technique out but with no particular destination in mind. It's not like colors and thread sizes and beads coordinate either. Lately, I've been turning motifs into bookmarks and they've found homes quickly but some things I like to keep just to have a record to refer to. The blog is a nice record-keeper but it's still not the same as a real tactile experience.

okay....I need to mow while it's sunny and dry!