Friday, October 11, 2013

Lizbeth Lament

Well, once again I had to abandon the Lizbeth#40 - WAY too twisty and knotty. Very naughty. Honestly, I have NO luck with this thread. The pattern is by Iris Niebach: Milena, from her "Tatted Doilies" book.

Here it is in Sulky:


Stephanie sent me this sample of Sulky, which InTatter’s Rachael says is about a #100!

How peculiar that the one round pattern in a #40 was impossible, so I tatted it in a #100 instead! Of course - makes perfect sense, Fox-style.

There was no need to press this ttting though I did wet it a bit to make the colours more vivid. The thread is very pastel when dry.

Here it is in Lizbeth:


Much pressing was done before this photo was taken.

Before the Lizbeth, I tried it in Perfect Quilter, but the pattern was too confusing in the variegated thread, both in the resulting tatting and in my ability to understand the directions. I could not see the flow...


The Perfect Quilter followed my first attempt, which I posted earlier, in a DMC #80 thread sent by Ninetta:


There you have it. I am finished with the pattern. As pretty as it is, long chain patterns are definitely not to my liking, and this one falls into the tortuous tatting category for me. 

Good to know I could now tat it, if I had the inclination, now that I finally seem to understand how this pattern works!


MYSTERY DOILY UPDATE 
Moving on to Row #4!


Lastly - this is fun to tat, from Nancy Tracy, in the Be-stitched Newsletter pattern:

21 comments:

  1. Judith Connors, at the Qld Tatters' meetings, tells everyone to walk the shuttle up the thread - it takes a lot longer to wind, but it does stop the twisting. Perhaps you could try that with your Lizbeth and see if it works for you?

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    1. Thanks, Maureen. That never worked for me and I use bobbins anyway. Seems I get defective balls as well. I do have the worst history with this stuff. The #40 is way better for me than the #20, but still problematic, depending on the dyes I think. Some are better than others. The #80 is the best of all I think - for me!

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  2. Hi Fox
    I thought you were on a roll, at least you did try the pattern and it looks a lovely pattern by the way, Your mystery doily is looking lovely how many more rows are you going to do.

    Love to Gian
    Margaret

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    1. Hi Margaret. I will do all 6 rows - only 2 to go! But each row takes forever!
      Fox : )

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  3. Oh, Fox, I was trying to do an Iris pattern in Perfect Quilter at the same time, and also getting lost in the process! I decided to go back to an easier pattern and a different thread...Lizbeth 80 and Cornelia. I am half way round, and only a couple of mistakes so far. :)
    I took the PQ with me to have a second attempt while in the UK, but I didn't do as much tatting as I had hoped. I was trying Delia rather than Milena...alphabetical order. They are hard to follow, but inimitable as to the satisfaction once it grows.
    Oh and BIG well done for winning with the Honey doiley!

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    1. : )) I am going to have another go at it - #80 in DMC this time as the variegated threads made me dizzy with that pattern! Plus, I have to use coloured pens on the pattern to be able to understand it, so it is a bit of an abstract mess!

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    2. Well, I will be looking out for that, and eventually will be able to show my progress on Delia...sort of like a tat-a-long! :)

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  4. Wow, your mystery doily is looking fantastic. Interesting experiments on the motif. What is the pattern? Did I miss something? Looks as though the pretty pink one would be a relief to tat!

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    1. Thanks Jane. I fixed it - Iris Niebach pattern from Tatted Doilies
      Fox : )

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  5. Oh, I love Milena -- that is the Iris Niebach pattern, right? I think I've made three or four of them. But, you know, every one of them is done in size 80 thread. I wonder if I've ever tried it in the larger thread? Maybe it needs that fine thread to behave! I really like the one you've started in Sulky. It's very pretty thread.

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    1. Yup - Milena, it is! I am going to try again in another #80 and see what happens... Thanks for the comment; I am encouraged to try again!
      Fox ; )

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  6. I agree that Lizbeth is very twisty, but I keep buying the stuff because the colors are so great. How do you like Sulky thread to tat with?

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    1. I never buy it anymore. The Sulky is very nice and has better colour breaks than the PerfectQuilter, in my opinion! I like it a lot.
      Fox. : )

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  7. I have troubles with long chains too, but looks like you tried hard!! :)
    I love how elegant your mystery doily is!!! Can't wait to see the finished result!! :)
    Your pink motif is sweet!! :)

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  8. I have a similar problem with Lizbeth40. Most of the balls I have, when I tatt with them, run to sudden knots/ breaking constantly. It's very frustrating, especially as I do enjoy tatting with this size thread. I just wish it wouldn't break so much.

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    1. Reassuring to hear this as I always feel like such a crank! Because I am around no other tatters, I feel as if I am the olny one who has the Lizbeth probs. Thanks for the comment, Red.
      Fox : )

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    2. Nope....Given up on it here Fox. Too unpredictable for me. Going back to the old Venus 40....lovely thread. If only Perfect Quilter was a size 60 or 40.....

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  9. I don't like long chains too, and also I don't like big rings, more than 30ds. But patterns by Iris Niebach are stunning, and your variegated thread is very very nice, even in that complicated motif!

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  10. Dear Fox, I have a link heren from a Dutch lady who sells yarn for different types of nedlework. I am NOT suggesting that you should buy from her. It is just that she has an interesting list of yarns sorted by type of needlework.: http://www.heikina.nl/nl/category/garens-geschikt-voor-frivolite

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    1. Thanks for the link, Tally Tatty. It is a very interesting site I have not seen before.
      Fox : )

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  11. Wow you did lot's of tatting, and I find long chains only better if I place an extra thread for support in there, but then that's annoying too! and extra large rings get to be trouble for me too. I also agree with you her patterns are tricky, but when in the mood or up for that kind of changeling thing, they are pretty when done!

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