Questions

Row eight completed and four left :

I do most of my tatting very late at night - or rather early in the morning! This causes very problematic situations, probably because of poor light and tired eyes, let alone fried brain.

Last night I noticed, just as I was about to pack it in, that I had completed row #8 and skipped a picot join WAY back near the beginning of the round. Horrors.

This time, I acted in a rather rational way - for me.  I thought hard about my options, cut out split ring at the missed spot and tatted in the extra three split rings - all the while holding my breath and chanting: you can do it, over and over again. You get the picture, I am certain!

Luckily, I can find the spot with some difficulty, but this time, rather than pondering the visual issue, I wonder how the piece will hold up over time (though it will probably go under one of The Boss’s bedroom lamps and I am not that concerned.)

Also, I realized at the end of the night that I tatted the three little flowery rows on the back side, even though I checked repeatedly to make sure that I was on the front - too late; too dark; too tired. I almost cut back the rows, but then would definitely have to have purchased two more balls of thread, so I just shrugged and carried on.

Funnily enough, the little side picots kind of stick up because they are on the “wrong” side and look very appropriate for this pattern! Good bad luck!

But, it is questions I have. Do you have vintage tatting where you can see breaks in the thread where there were repairs? Do folks repair old tatting as they do crochet or knitting? Though tatting is generally washed in a delicate manner, do the fixed bits stay put because of the general knot construction of the stitches or can they loosen over repeated use or cleaning?