Saturday, December 7, 2013

Céleste-ial Cussing

Oh you bet.
There was lots of it. LOTS!  
Poor Mr. G!

Now I know Frivole is a superb designer and I adore her  patterns - all of them, but I have to tell you I found this snowflake particularly demanding yet perfect for a challenging tat. It took me hours to finish. You can find Frivole's pattern here, on Etsy.



It is tatted with #40 Lizbeth and I happened to have just the right beads for it. 

There were two disasters; out cane the scissors... But it is still presentable enough to take to a tree I am going to meet tomorrow!
xxxxxxx

The pink and grey has been shelved forever. I got to the end of the fourth ro, had to cut and evaluated things. 

Pretty as the colours were, I found it suddenly too flimsy and wispy. And you all know me - I never quit in the middle of something - well hardly ever. This was a BAD space.



It might have been the DMC - which I do not like - but I felt as if I were all arthritic thumbs; could not tat if my life depended on it; was completely inept. You know THAT mood - ready to throw in the shuttles.  I just wanted to be... EPT!

Perhaps I am leaning towards a heavier thread again. I love tatting with Sulky, but nothing finer; Sulky Blendables is rather like a #60, not an #80 or #. Luckily, I have not ordered any thread yet!

Toward the end of that episode I was so disgruntled with tatting that I was wondering what was next! My mind was blank on that question, which was upsetting. However, after some shut-eye, I found the mood had abated - thank goodness! Back to the present wonder...

17 comments:

  1. Your snowflake is beautiful. Love the gold beads on the purple thread. I've made two of these and the second one was much easier. Practice makes perfect.

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  2. I love your version of Celeste! - pretty beads. I suppose that threads are just not on-size-fits-all - you have to choose according to the pattern. I love DMC 80, but, once again, it has become difficult to find here. Lizbeth 80 is good, it's lovely to work with, a bit stiffer than DMC.
    I do hope you will soon find a thread that you like, you seem to have been discarding more than a few choices recently!

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    1. Thanks, Maureen. I have just ordered some grey and pink in Lizbeth #80! I like the pattern... will give this thread a go. Ladytats sent me some a while back and it was, for me, much better than the DMC...
      Fox : )

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  3. Hi Fox
    Beautiful snowflake, I have the pattern but not tried it yet.
    I am sure it will look lovely on the tree when you meet it?
    What a pity about the doily the colours were looking lovely, poor mr G I hope his ears are not too bruised by your mood. Please give him a cuddle from me.
    Have a better day.
    Margaret

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  4. Hi Fox, I'm sorry Céleste was testing! You've done a good job though. And as mb said, I like your choice of colours. The long picot between the end rings and the chains does look a bit long to me - you did use the shorter of the two picot sizes for that one? Please tell me which part made you "cuss" the most?

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    1. I am not tatting anything easily this last week - so it is not just Céleste. : (

      I suppose I am not used to using the picot gauge and that along with the beads i the thin thread just seemed awkward. Plus the pattern is small so my hands felt all scrunched together.

      It was 1 or 2 in the morning as well...didn’t help! The next try will be easier, I am certain!
      Fox : )

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    2. p.s. I did use the shorter of the picot sizes where indicated... Probably used the wrong conversion from inches...

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  5. Just beautiful snowflake! and nice color choice too! I am that way too have to make the item twice to get the flow of it! And love the colors on this doily too.

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  6. I hope you emerge from your dark tatting place intact! Frivole's snowflake is lovely, and I'm sure it would be easier second time round, as mb duke says. I like the pink and grey together, though it's not as vibrant as the other one you did.

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  7. It's true anything tatted in size 80 (any brand) will not have the same body as something tatted in a heavier thread. I generally think of it as delicate and graceful. But if it's not what you want, it's not what you want.

    The thing is, you've got to tat something, because you can't give the pink and white doily as a gift. So you have two choices: either make a familiar pattern that you enjoy, or find something new. What's it going to be?

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    1. Your comment has inspired me to order 6 balls of #80 Lizbeth! Two of them are grey and pink - I am going to try this one again, but in te Lizbeth. I have tried it before and I like it a lot better than the DMC... I really cannot happily use the #40 at the moment. Picky picky picky picky.... Thanks for the inspiration! Fox : ))

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  8. I haven't tried the snowflake yet, but I do love the pattern. Yours looks marvelous to me! I'm sorry the pink and grey didn't work for you. The colors do look lovely together.

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  9. 3 very nice colors!! I love that pink and grey frlly thing with large picots!!

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  10. I like your lacy looking Celeste with the longer picots.
    I like the color too.
    hmm what to do with the pink and grey? well let it sit until another day. Maybe something will pop into your head.
    Good luck with your new thread order.

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  11. Your snowflake is gorgeous!!!! :)
    And the doily is very pretty(even if it doesn't get finished)! :)

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  12. The snowflake is very nice, I like Frivole's patterns, too.
    I have it, but I'm not used to use the picot gauge (that looking as stairs) because I always keep taking the wrong picot size, instead I prepare little cardboard strips, putting a name on it or the size. It works quite good for me. I'm looking forward to hear news about the #80 Lizbeth thread.
    Hugs,
    Nin.

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    1. Hi Nin!

      I have that ladder gauge as well but was too lazy to make little strips so I used it and it added to the awkwardness. Next time I will make those little strips. I use old credit card or plastic cards for making the strips, which works very well. I like them better than cardboard. : ))
      Fox xxooxx

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