Opinions Please!

I received this sweet vintage hankie and the Cébélia #30 blue thread a while ago from A Friend In North Carolina. 

Since then, I have been visualizing the border ( Mary Konior’s Marguerite) that I have wanted to tat since I saw it on Frivole’s blog, here:

Mary Konior ’s design is the blue and Frivole added the interior bit of yettlow. So clever! So, I am going to copy that border, but do not know whether to use the yellow (which is wound!) or the pink (which I was not sure about) for the interior edging. There is no appropriate green in my stash or even another shade of blue.

So, what’ll it be? 

Pink or Yellow?

p.s. Gray (he is three) has been asking for a purple gecko! Kids surprise me all the time. 

I have a pattern from Karen Bickerton that I have begun a few times with beads and I messed up royally. 

I think I shall forgo the bling and just get the thing tatted for my sweet, little friend/grandson.  : )

Judicious Manipulations

71/4 inches

Those are just big, fancy words for 'I changed the stitch count to make the two sizes of threads work for this pattern, from Karey Solomon’s new book:'

I went from this thread:

to #40 Lizbeth for the last two rows,

 as I was going to run out of the Babylo. 

It is such a thick thread that I had to fill the bobbin three times for the inner two rows. That is the problem with heavier thread.

I was lucky that I had the end of a ball of the variegated pink and green Lizbeth, which is now gone, in order to complete the pattern in colours that worked.  There was also a small ball of a good #40 Lizbeth green in my stash.

What do you think? It works?

The frustration was so great I have ordered two of the larger Clovers, so that should I tat another of Karey’s doilies I will not have to keep adding thread!

Though these are post shuttles, I am willing to give them a shot for the larger pieces, as I have become impatient with adding thread, I’m afraid. ( I was also  AGAIN enabled by Diane. Heheheh!)

Now, 

Kathy Rocks!

She said she would put up some instructions for interlocking rings on her blog and she has quickly done it! Yay, Kathy! Thank you so much! It took me only two attempts and this is what I did, quite effortlessly, I might add!

Kathy will be adding the next part - the last join - soon. I am so grateful as it has taken me forever to be able to do these rings. And it is all accomplished with a shuttle. So cool.

Oh Dear...

I would be too embarrassed to admit to you how many hours I have spent on this... and I do not think it is right yet...

I have watched Karen’s YouTube #77 a gazillion times to no avail. So frustrating. : (

Then, I tried to add a hook from a brand new Aerlit that I bought to a brand new Pym shuttle. It never got hot enough (the hook) and I ended up melting the end of the shuttle and ruining it without getting the hook to adhere. 

Not a good tatting day.

Big Is Not Better

Though I do like this Bablyo crochet thread very much, for it is smooth and easy to tat, I am not pleased with the #20 thickness of it. I think that is why I got rid of al my #20 Cébélia. Just too bulky.

This is the beginning of a new Karey Solomon pattern from her new doily book, and it is going to be rather big. There is another row yet to go.

If I had tatted it in my usual #40 or even smaller in #80, it would be more the size I am comfortable with. I realize I do not like to tat large motifs.

Besotted With Love-In-A-Mist

I tatted this because I fell in love with the pattern when I saw Wendy’s here: I used Anchor Mercer Crochet #80, which I received from Orsi. Love this thread. 

The pattern is Mary Konior’s (as if you did not know!). It is the smaller version - the Glass Mat

Because I used a smaller thread than was called for in the pattern, I  found that the thread lengths were too long in the mignonette portion. 

By the time I realized this, I had tatted too much to un-tat. Though this is wonderful thread and fairly easy to un-tat, you can see why I was loath to undo all those little rings - no matter how easy! So I kept going, but I am displeased with the result.

If you attempt this pattern in a fine thread, I suggest you use a smaller measurement than called for and it will look a lot better.

It could have had a larger mignonette section around the outside, but I got all excited about testing the new thread sample I received from Frivole, and I just couldn’t wait any longer!

This really is marvellous thread, though it is a three ply. But, it is shiny and easy to tat with and far superior to Cébélia, in my opinion. Nice. Thank you Frivole for the opportunity to try it. 

It is my understanding that is is less expensive than Lizbeth, and though it is not as firm, it is every bit as nice to have on my shuttles.  : ) 

I believe I must now research colour selection and availability on this super product.  

I certainly have been lucky with the latest thread samples, so kindly sent to me from afar. I really like both of these new threads and will continue to tat with them. Tatters Rule!

Red and Yellow Catch A Fellow

These words are from one of my favourite childhood books “Ellen Tibbets,” and they have followed me around forever, made even more influential because I was always admonished that these two colours should NEVER be placed together.

I was about to put the shuttle away, having finished a small motif, when I paused and looked at the wonderful colours...red and yellow are right in there all right! 

So, I loaded it up, grabbed another and started a new project:

This is the thread that Orsi sent me: 

Anchor Mercer Crochet #80

I thought that I would have trouble with the tiny thread as I have not used it in a while, so I was most surprised by how different this #80 is from DMC, Star or other vintage #80 cotton threads that I have tried in the past.

This thread is fabulous! It is so easy to tat with and cannot be compared to anything I have used before. I understand why other tatters have said they will not use any of the old threads or certain other #80 threads ever again. There is just no comparison.  

This stuff rocks! I love it. Imagine, #80! Thanks, again, Orsi!

 SPOILER ALERT!

...but so cute! I came back from the laundry room 

to find Monsieur G on the bed,  perched over my book!

Lastly, I completed this Jennifer Williams motif and have mastered that pretty celtic join. Though I did tat it before, I did not really understand what I had done. Now I do! : ))

Beautiful By Barraza

Pattern by Karla Barraza   Thread #40 Lizbeth

It is called 

“Anna’s Doily” 

and it can be found here.

I was captivated by this pattern when it appeared on Frivole’s blog and just had to have it as I am also very fond of square designs. Frivole warned about directional changes, but surprisingly ( and refreshingly) I had not one bit of trouble with that!

What I did find that prompted a lot of un-tatting was that I could not seem to follow the directions - I kept losing my place on the page. 

I have run out of Post-Its, which I usually use to mark my place on the page, so that is probably why I had such a problem. Otherwise it is a very straightforward piece.

My Heart Belongs To Martha

Martha Ess, that is!

Thread is Lizbeth #40, 

found on bobbins, 

waiting for use. : )

I had forgotten about the book on 

my shelf called “Tats Amoré.”

I think I shall tat a few more...

From Four Corners

Lizbeth #40 thread from Denise in the USA 

Pattern by Renulek in Poland 

Beads from Orsi in Hungary 

Shuttles by LaCossette in England

Put together by Fox in Canada!

We do live in wondrous times.

Forgotten Frivolité Found

Being stuck in one’s bed does nothing for creative thinking. I thought I would try something new - a small sampling of a border to use up the left-over white on the shuttles, so I turned to le livre de Monsieur Peacock...

See the white border? As I was tatting it the purple one fell out of the book. Seems I have already tried this particular pattern!

What are the chances? I mean there are 144 pages in the book!

I noticed that in my fevered state I have managed to re-interpret the original pattern by leaving off the outer picots and eliminating a portion of each chain giving the repeats a rounder, more fan-like appearance. I rather like it! All is not lost.

It is from this book. Ohh, how I love this book!

Convalescing With Quatrain

Ah Spring and its stealthy viruses! I am home in bed with a nasty cold, so what else is there to do but sleep and tat?

This is, of course, Frivole’s Quatrain Flowering Bookmark, but I must have used and early unedited version, as I joined all the small rings to the centre and I notice the recent pattern does not have them connected. i also missed a bead and that has nothing to do with the pattern!

Doesn’t seem to matter as I really like this pattern and in the Mercer #40 thread that Orsi sent to me it was a fun tat. Satisfying. That is lovely thread: Anchor, Mercer Crocher #40.

Difficult to photograph white, but the combo of the gold beads and pure white thrad is really pretty in ‘real’ life. Delicate and refreshing.

I do not get motivated with white thread on its own, but with the right beads it can be so beautiful. So there.

The Difficulty With Doilies

Karey Solomon’s ‘Golden Arches”

HDT is Jess’s and the solid blue is Cebelia #30

Pretty isn’t it?  Too bad I missed all those joins and had to drop 2 repeats! 

However, Unless I told you I’ll bet the pattern is so good you would not even have noticed! Thanks Karey. This is a great design.

Seems I have reverted to my old tricks of un-tatting just as much as I tat. As well as counting incorrectly, I also missed seeing the joins to which I was supposed to attach the end of each repeat. 

As a matter of fact I realized at the very end that the first missed join was in the very first repeat. So annoying.

Doilies. 

I should have known.

Delightful Doilies Dominate...

Pattern by Jan Stawasz 

HDT by Krystle

...daily. Seems this is what I want to tat these days. You can see why; the shape is alluring in most of Jan Stawasz’s patterns. This pattern is from his new book, part of a larger pattern. 

There is a wealth of material in that slim volume, enough for months and even years of tatting; very good value for your dollar, in my opinion.

His diagrams are murder to understand, for me. I find all his differing numbers, due to his fs/bs method of tatting, very confusing and I have never completely figured out what he is doing, what he intends.

Perhaps he starts the numbers in red with the second half of a stitch on the back side? Is that what he does?

Whatever. I look at the numbers, make my own diagram and Bob’s your uncle. The above motif turned out well in spite of the instructions I have manipulated!

Also, I have used three differing thread weights in this motif - the colours worked!

That beautiful thread is perhaps my absolute all time favourite HDT: Wisteria Lane.

אּאּאּאּאּאּאּאּאּאּאּאּאּאּ

Now I have another beginning - a small motif, so I will not call it a doily. 

As a matter of fact, the motif in the top photo is only about three inches across, so should I call it a motif?  I don’t know why but I do not like the word doily. Never have. It makes me uncomfortable to say it out loud! I wonder why that is???

Karey Solomon’s newest book:

I am SUCH a fan, though this is the 3rd go-around on this pattern. 

Her patterns always confound me till I “get” them.

The one I am tatting is called ‘Golden Arches,’ 

and is the yellow one on the back cover. 

You can clearly see what changing the colour does to a design very clearly here! 

Makes it a whole new vision. : )

Picot Poem

This is the beginning of a Karey Solomon pattern from her new doily publication. It should not have been so difficult. For the life of me, I do not know how I get so snagged on such simple directions... but I do!

Finally, I just followed what was written and I did that three part bit correctly... I think I did, at any rate!

I have added the Elizabeth pattern to my Etsy shop. 

Thank you  Ladytats, for test -tatting and help with the editing. 

Simply Satisfying

Nancy Tracy Design tatted in Olympus #40 

This is a lovely pattern.

I am really enjoying small motifs with a new LaCossette shuttle. 

A Fox-treat for finishing HN : ))

Jan Stawasz squares are particularly tantalizing.

Tatted with beautiful #30 Karey Solomon HDT 

and green Olympus #40, a sample from Val.  

The pattern is from the new Jan Stawasz book.

Do you see the difference in my quality of tatting? I ask because I am curious if it shows to other tatters. I definitely see that my stitches are looking better after the marathon tat in Finicky Finca thread. But I am not sure if the improvement is for my eyes only. You can be brutally honest! I like the input.

***********************

There was another surprise in the mail last week from

DENISE!

What am am going to do with this wonderful woman 

who sends me goodies out of the blue!

Just look at all this!

I am eager to that pink Presencia thread, which is also Finca - I am wondering 

how it compares to the Finca #8 I used in the Honey Napkin. 

This one is a 3-ply and looks lovely and smooth.

This is an interesting little tatting tool...

I am not the only one who thanks you Denise.

You have another happy recipient of your largesse!

With the #50 Altin Basak metallic thread I received from Margaret, 

I tatted this from the little Angel book:

Thank you, Denise. You spoil me rotten!

Jivin’ With Jan

Stawasz, that is! 

His patterns are so challenging, so well designed. 

These are tiny and just parts of patterns from the 2nd book, but look! 

How pretty!

Diane inspired me last week, I think it was, to do this. 

I have been impatiently itching to tat it as I 

finished the HN’s last row.

This one I found yesterday and had 

lots of thread on the shuttles so here it is:

Yummy, right?