Monday, July 15, 2013

The Unsung Hero...


To whom I pay homage,
for the border would have gone here, 
but for the blades:



WHAT was I thinking? The Valdani is much too fine for me and it is just that stubborn streak a mile wide plus the ability to bite like a Pit Bull that keep me going. I WILL finish this and I will NEVER tat with this thread again.


#80 Lizbeth or DMC is small, but a 6-ply can be very enjoyable to tat with, in my opinion. But polyester, silk and this, this - I don’t know what to call it - is beyond frustrating.

I must say Valdani #35 cotton is very strong. Though it fluffs and shreds when grappled with over a knot, it seldom breaks entirely. I have had to break it (a multitude of times) because it had become too fine to work with, yet it held together better than anything I have used in the past - there’s something going for it - and the colour - at any rate!

My pointer finger is raw from un-picking and I can’t get the rings to close very well, or entirely in some cases. As I have lost most of my mind during this misadventure, I have also become careless rushing along, trying to finish as soon as I can, and the quality of the tatting is rapidly deteriorating..

As usual, I have begun another pattern that is now waiting in the wings,  rather like having a treat or a prize at the end. Keeps me going.

I started the pattern a few days ago and now will not touch it till this border is finished and sewn on.


Is it too early to identify this? : ))

12 comments:

  1. It must be one of J Stawasz patterns.... Like maybe one of the square ones? But looking at the pattern and what is done it looks like you are changing it up a bit..... So I'm not sure.
    I love the thread you are using! It's going to be lovely!

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    Replies
    1. Absolutely bang on, Marla. But I must follow his pattern exactly, because it is hard enough just to get the right stitch count, let alone trying to change it up!

      The HDT is Jess’s Tatilicious, #40.

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  2. Fox - in five years' time you will not remember the frustration, and this finely-edged handkerchief will be beautiful forever. At least for a couple of hundred years, anyway.....
    It's worthwhile going through the process to work towards the end result.
    And Yeats said: "Nothing can be sole, or whole that has not first been rent...."
    Just don't rend it TOO much!

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    Replies
    1. Never read that one before, Maureen. Wise words! Thanks. : )

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  3. I feel your pain! I did think, like Maureen, that when it is done you will forget how much trouble it gave you and just admire its beauty.

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  4. Hi Fox

    Oh dear, in years to come you will look back on this and look at the edging and think how well you did and how beautiful it looks on the hanky.
    Sorry as yet have not tried your sample you sent, I am sitting on the settee feeling sorry for myself with stitches in me. I will as soon as I feel up to doing it I will. So far yesterday I picked up my shuttles and did one and missed the other ring unpicked the chain, did the ring and then the chain again. Did just a couple of inches all day.
    Marla beat me to it, I am looking forward to seeing which pattern you are doing.
    Love to Gian
    Margaret

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  5. Too early......well...a Stawasz square it looks like......YUMMY...no probs with that pattern!!

    Valdani sucks...almost as much as perle threads!! And for the price you have to wonder who in the world uses the stuff.

    Some threads are just not worth the effort and heartache. Hang in there Fox...you will be victorious and will use this peevedness to make masterpieces in the near future!!

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    Replies
    1. Sucks, does it!!! Just wait till the mail comes.... Hahahaha! : ))

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  6. Your edging still looks beautiful even with all the frustrations!! :)
    I like to move to something else on and off to keep from getting to the over frustration point. And I try not to do too much of a pattern that drives me crazy or a thread that bugs me so that I won't want to quit or give up. :) Sometimes little progresses make things better. :)

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  7. Your perseverance is admirable! It truly is a beautiful piece but I completely understand the "never again" and the sore pointer finger. I think all great artists suffer, think Michelangelo...

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    Replies
    1. With delusions of grandeur, I am taking your words to heart, twirling my shuttle and eying the ceiling!!! Thanks, Michelle. : )

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  8. Yes, all previous commenters have it right, just like giving birth, once the creative labor is done, we look fondly on the finished project as time goes by and don't remember the hard work we put into it. And generations will only see the artistry and marvel at your skill.

    The new motif is going to be wonderful.

    I too have not tried the thread sample you sent. it is way too humid here. everything sticks, and the next several days are forcaste for 90+ F and high humidity.

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