Corrected and Completed

Well before the deadline in February, 

I finally got through the third attempt, 

or is it the fourth, of this gift. 

From the Dutch publication: De Frivolité(k)ring

Thread: #80 Lizbeth

Beads: 4 different kinds; white are vintage

For Scale

Back To It

I received the Lizbeth I had ordered in pink and gray, #80. So I re-started that pattern from the Dutch publication - De Frivolité(k)ring. No mistakes in the count this time!

The colours are quite different from the Oren Bayan and DMC, which I had initially used, and which I prefer, but the recipient I believe will appreciate the more intense palette. Hope so anyway!

Love the Lizbeth! Amazing to write that after all my thread woes. The #80 is a delight and there are all those colours.... This may bode ill for my thread allowance in the coming year!

Happy! Merry!

#40 Lizbeth

Pattern by Sally Kerson here:

Thanks Sally!

Lovely Lavender

It just fit in the scanner. So, you can get an idea of the size of this. Also, it ruffles around the outside - darn! I could not block it out either... Perhaps the addition of beads on the outside was misdirected. Next time I tat this I will not use beads.

Yes, this motif reminds me of lavender on the red background rather like a plaid - NO, tartan, (thank you, Margaret!) - that you might find on an Edinborough shop!

9 inches

40 Lizbeth - had just enough- and Krystle's Wisteria Lane
Delica and pearly-translucent beads

Pattern from Il Chiacchierino Vol. 3 

This is not going to be given as planned to the birthday-in-February person. 

Because it reminds me of the lavender plants that the recipient grows in her garden every summer, I thought this motif could find a home under a lavender pot...

p.s.

In a Doctor Who episode - 11th Doctor - someone said something like: 
This is what the British do to cope with stress - drinking tea and.... TATTING! 
: ))

More Minuscule

It is
Mirabelle.

This is another of 

Frivole’s delightful snowflakes, 

tatted with Lizbeth #40,
and Krystle's Wisteria Lane HDT.

Thank you, Frivole!

Imagine -  this in quilting thread!

Diane, that is just to tiny pour moi!

Minuscule Motif

This of course is Céleste, Frivole's recent snowflake pattern. I tatted it with the quilting thread that Diane sent me, which is very fine - YLI. It is teeny, but quite nice to work with.

Of all patterns to choose, of course I picked the one I had difficulty with! I'm glad I did, because it gets easier each time I tat it. This one took little time and I did not have to re-tat! Yay me!

For Scale:

Next time - beads!

Last Row To Go

Almost 7 inches now and quite sturdy due to the two rows of rings with beads.

During a break before heading into the final row, I practiced daisy picots:

Peach 'n Pink

Ah - finished and sewn on - very badly.

I have done it twice...

I might as well be stitching with a fork! 

Also, because the edge is scalloped, which I considered from the start, the job of getting the thing attached was challenging. At least I picked the right pattern, considering curves and the measurement of each side. These two facets worked out fine, but the sewing.... oh, the sewing!

Last week Frivole gave us this little snowflake pattern, here. 

Cute and fun. Thanks, Frivole!

Tardis Tatting

Doctor Who is keeping me up very late, working wonders for tatting, but doing very, very nasty things to thumbs. Without going into detail, I think I must surrender the shuttles to common sense (?) for a few days hours.

Apart from the purple piece, which continues to please me as it grows, I am finding the hankie border to be lovelier than I had imagined.

Had I not been given the sweet, silk hanky of such an unusual shade, I never would have bought this thread colour, for these are not colours I usually gravitate toward. These newly discovered colours are a joy to work with.

I think the name for this Sulky Blendable is Caramel Apple, and it does rather tickle the taste buds, as it is a warm evocative variegate, reminding me of some savoury morsel. 

So - all good on the tatting front - for a change! : )

Tatting and The Tongue...

I agreed when Maureen commented that dark green would work. Unfortunately, colour choices have become so restricted that the suggestion was simply not an option. I had only medium green and not much of that. But, so far, so good:

Tatting Trick

Midway through this tat, while tatting 

the yellow row, I re-discovered something.

My thumbs are very sore, resulting from use of #40 Lizbeth, which is a rough thread compared to softer threads on my shuttles. They both have a tiny split at the tip which when rubbed tends to open and - gasp - bleed on my work!

In desperation, when I saw this had happened the first time, I stuck my tongue on the spot and my impulse was fortunate; enzymes in the blood immedietely removed the offending splotch!

Drooling whilst tatting shall henceforth be allowed, 

even appreciated, forthwith. 

: )

Correcting Céleste

Well, almost at any rate! 

I avoided beads making whole process much quicker. Tatted in Altin Basak $50. Any pattern is easier the second time, and this one was much easier this time while still remaining a challenge. 

I’ll probably tat one more adding the beads back, just to see if I can make it look half decent this time.

This one is growing on me. In fact, it may emerge as the February gift, as the colours are spring-like and happy. Not sure how the colours will play out, because I am almost out of yellow and the amount of HDT left is questionable.

I had asked my trusty enabler, the Mighty Diane, for a sample, ONE sample of the Oliver Twist and just look what I received yesterday in the post - so neat and exact and such a wonderful array of colours for me to play with! Thank you Diane! 

On Sunday, I received my absolute favourite - white tulips; what could be prettier? 

Mr. G was even impressed...

So cute. : )

Pointy Purchase

Not only am I diminishing the thread stash at quite an admirable rate, but also am using up lots of beads. The tiny purple ones here can only be added to the work with that amazing Tulip shuttle, purchased ages ago and never used before.

But I realized, when I chose the beads (received from a tatting friend - but unhappily, I forget who it was! Maybe Wendy?) I quickly saw I would need a super-small hook.

The Tulip crochet hook is perfect, for it is the smallest I have ever seen; it says it is a 24, or .4. I do have a Lacis .4, but it is not this minute. I use it gingerly, and you very well know why.... ahem...

The thread is "Wisteria Lane" #40 HDT, from Krystle, and the pattern can be found in  Italian, in the Il Chiacchierino Vol3 book.

About the thread dithering... I have ordered some #80 Lizbeth in pink and grey and am hoping it will solve the problems I seem to be having when it comes to choosing not only size, but also brand.

I want to tat the Dutch pattern again - so much for "never!" It doesn't work well in the #40, and I don't have colours I particularly like for it in #40 anyway. Sulky was an option, but colour is also an issue there, as I have only a few spools.

So, it seems I am still on the smaller thread track, and the thicker thread is feeling a bit rope-like, but it is so much easier to tat with. Dithering on...

Oh yes, and of course all the yellow met with Mr. Scissors. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

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...

A Wreath Redeemed

Ha! 

This is tatted in Sulky and DMC Special. 

Some improvement, n'est ce pas?

Speaking of improvement...

I cannot help myself. The pattern is so lovely; I fear I did not do it justice.

It is just not fit in its recent state to present as a gift. 

Thus... #80 pink and gray instead...it will be smaller but what do you think?

Hmm... This picots are too BIG!

We begin anew... Better.

Using Mom’s beads this time..

Fatal Flaw

Once you read the heading, you are alerted to the fact that there is something amiss. 

On the sixth and last round, I realized the repeats were not going to work out properly and it took me quite a while to see where the error had originated.

It was in the fourth row and there is no way to fix it unless I basically re-do the entire piece.

There is not enough of the thread to do this and I am not feeling kindly to tatting this pattern again - not immediately. Although I enjoyed the tatting, like the design and will re-tat it again, now is not the time. Too much temptation on the to-tat list!

So, in spite of the glitch, I forged ahead and finished, leaving it till the morning to see how obvious the “fix” is. It is obvious - but maybe only because you read the heading? Blocking yet to happen.

Too much: 

Good for the soul and whatever else ails, 

but not so much for the stitching.  

: )

Success - Sort Of

I seem to have the technique down, but honestly, it is difficult to work with the #80 DMC. Anybody else find it impossibly small? 

Ninetta uses it almost exclusively, it seems, and has a marvellous example of how this motif should look on her post today, here. My chapeau to you, Ninetta!

Later: Arghhhhh!!!

Approval

This Sulky thread is the perfect colour.

Plus, it is wonderful to tat with; for once a good purchase! 

S-L-O-W

Row 6. 

I wonder what will happen when I block it. 

There is only one more round after this.

Plus Pink Puttering

Two more rows to go....

A Particular Pace

... slow!

Mr G and I are engrossed in a very compelling series of Doctor Who episodes, so luckily I do not mind the un-tatting that is accompanying the entertainment.

This pattern demands concentration; I had to re-start this row a couple of times...well...more than a few. However, I am happy with the way it is turning out.

Perhaps the slow tatting is also due to the fact that I am not white used to the relative heaviness if the Gr-8 shuttles, which have also been a source of challenge for me.

A Very Happy Thanksgiving 

To All Below the 49th!

Progress in Pink

This is more difficult than it looks, as it is dense and the many picots are a challenge. It is important to keep them consistently the same.

Also I tried this round in different colours snd concluded that the ivory was the best bet...

Farewell To A Master

Tatting by Jan Stawasz

Dutch Delight

The birthday of a dear family friend is in February, so I thought Id get this started early and hopefully finished. It is turning out to be not as large as I had envisioned it, which is just as well.

The recipient loves and truly appreciates the first small motif I gave her last year and happily displays it in her bedroom, but she is a very un-frilly individual! So this is better smaller. it will be about eight inches. I am guessing.

The pattern is from a Dutch publication. (De Frivolité(k)ring) The thread is Altin Basak #50 and Lizbeth #40. Those pretty teal beads are from Ninetta.

Also, the tiny vintage white beads are the ones my mom saved for me a few years ago. There aren’t that many left and the recipient will appreciate the sentiment, as she adored my mom, ever since she was a wee tot.

The colours are not my favourites, but the choices are very limited now.  I have used up tons of thread this year and have given lots away - especially thread that I don’t really love.

I am now extremely picky about thread and even more discerning about what I will spend money on.

Today I very nearly bought a few balls of Valdani, but a good tatting friend (Thanks, Liyarra!) cautioned me -  I have already gone through this number before  -  about it, so I have managed to refrain.

However, the time approaches (after the holiday season for sure!) when I shall have to add a few colours, but I think it probably be Altin Basak.

Wreath Refined

Pattern in Lizbeth #40  by LaRae Mikulecky

I think this one is definitely better... 

Getting the hang of it, though still a bit wonky!

Enchanting Eleonora

Iris Niebach’s Eleonora is a wonderful pattern. It is also not complicated (though I had to CUT a number of times, but I will not tell you where!)

For scale:

I tatted this with Sulky Blendables, a #80 type weight. I am getting very used to these teeny threads.

The only difficulty with this pattern is in a join where you hold the chain in a piece of thread as a downward facing picot, to later join up to with another chain. Many moons ago I had terrible trouble accomplishing this technique:

This is Vinnie’s Spring Doily, which you can find here. You can see the outer chains have a similar joining of two chains as Eleonora.

Happily, I now understand how to execute this join, which is not at all complicated, but at the time I just could not fathom it! It takes a LOT of practice and a couple of years to get these tricks mastered!

Then, as a break as I continue the edging, I remembered this seasonal motif that I like very much, but never tat properly.

Pattern in Lizbeth #40 

by 

LaRae Mikulecky

For scale:

The technique here one is still escaping my understanding...

How do you attach those JKs with a shuttle join to the space before the JK and after the last ds? That never makes sense to me and my finished piece does not look the same as the one in the pattern!