Instructionally Incompetent

That would be me. I cannot follow a pattern! I mean, how difficult is that little heart posted on Frivole’s blog this a.m.?

When I received LaCossette's amazing tartan shuttle this morning, I loaded it up immediately with a new thread - Venus  #80 - sent to me be a good friend. Tatting that little heart seemed a good plan.

But, as I had opened my mail with the shuttle in a coffee shop, I became distracted with my tatting after I engaging in a rollicking discussion about Toronto's infamous mayor!

Needless to say, the tatting suffered and the Venus thread did not help the situation.  With it, I found it difficult to close rings.

However, just look at the wonderful shuttle!

It's a beauty, isn't it? 

Later, here is what I managed, with a disastrous
 4 ds mistake at the very beginning of the pattern:

I was concentrating so hard on the size of the dss in my rings that I really messed up those chains. Sigh... it's always something!

Lastly, last evening I tried out my fab Doctor Who shuttle:

ALLONS-Y!

Spring Napkin So Far

Tomorrow, I believe Renulek will post #7. : )

Stawasz Satisfaction

10 inches across

Thirty Squares completed!

Stunning Stawasz

I was not expecting to be so... so... enamoured with this piece. You know, I think in the five years I have been tatting this is my absolute favourite of all the tatting I have done. I love it.

Maybe it is the colour; this is also my favourite palette. 

There are seven more repeats to be tatted. I am so glad I rounded the corners of these elements - the shape pleases me.

Plus, the Cèbèlia in the last row actually looks amazing with the beads. Can you tell I am happy about the way this has turned out?

The baby blanket is coming along. Laid out like this, I see I have accomplished a fair bit.

Snowballing Spring

Renukek's Spring Napkin looks as if it might be one of those ... ample pieces! We just don't know what she is up to! : )

I have actually finished a few more squares. It is growing on me.

I have done four corner squares in a darker combo, thinking they will "ground" the pattern. Do you think this is a valid assumption? Any thoughts?

What a terrific aid the Random Granny Square Generator is. Frivole had mentioned it and I am glad I checked it out. It is possible with the colours I have chosen to have 100 different squares, all figured out on the diagram I downloaded. 

I ask you- where would we be without the Net? It's an amazing time we live in.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Almost forgot to grumble! 

The new #80 Lizbeth? Not so good. I am NOT impressed. The red ball is particularly bad - fuzzy, dull and inconsistent in diameter. Splits easily. Flimsy.

Wanting to compare it to another brand, and not a sewing thread like Sulky, I sampled one of the DMC #80 vintage balls that Tally Tatty so kindly sent me. No comparison.

The DMC is smooth, shiny and consistent. A joy. I am so disappointed as I now have a new, little stash of the Lizbeth. I hope my choices are not like the red ball.

Graham’s Green

What do you think? I am pretty pleased with how this worked out. It is another pattern from the Easter Egg booklet and completes the series of five for the kidlets. Not as exciting as those dragons of old, but considering I have never seen them since, I did not want to put in all that effort - if you catch my meaning!  ; ))

Here they are all together:

Blanket Update - 88 more squares to go :

Baby Blanket Bestowal

My cousin is expecting her first child. Of course I immediately thought "blanket" as that is what I first made for the five kidlets. And they still have them, so it is a worthy cause, for sure. 

But, crochet? Well, I thought, Why not?

The colours requested were "woodsy." Hmmm...difficult to get good greens unless you use wool and I cannot tolerate it, so I had to settle on these colours in another yarn. 

Seems a mature sort of colour-way, but probably better than the ubiquitous baby shades, plus I want this to weather the years as my past pieces have, so this has got to do. I hope it is also a bit woodsy!

Granny squares?  I have not done this kind of blanket before. Usually the patterns I chose were complicated, and I did try a few fancy-dancey granny square variations, but I like the no-nonsense one the best.

Also, I was inspired by the blanket that is in the works by Frivole. Thanks, Frivole! I don't think I would have started this one had it not been for your efforts.

What I find difficult is choosing each square's colours; it is hard to keep track of the sequences.

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Keeping me up late are:

1) Grahamy's egg

2) Jan Stawasz Doily

3) Renukek's Spring Doily /next Row

Busy is good.

Hacking The Hump

The last row of the Jan Stawasz doily was not working and I could not figure out why. Then I saw it.

Suddenly I realized I had tatted only 5 picots instead of 6 on repeating middle chains all around the last row!

There was no way I was going to cut the previous round, so I only snipped what I had done so far on the last row. That was quite enough exercise with the scissors.

Behold! I like it better than the original! Joy! (Mind, just my opinion! I don't mean to diss the pattern.)

You can see the different shapes, mine and Jan Stawasz’s in the photo.

I am not fond of edges that go up in a peak, or a humpy shape, as does the design that was intended. By having only 5 picots to work with, my edging has a more gentle slope to each element, a shape I much prefer.

This will take a while because of all the beads. They are tiny and the thread is #30 Cèbèlia, of which I have a lot, thanks to Sally.

 However, it frays and splits badly because the hook I must use is a #4. That is VERY tiny. Very dangerous! So, I am taking my time. Ah, it’s always something...

Spring Sensation

That would be the “Spring Napkin,” designed by Renulek, who has generously shared her pattern with Tat-Land here. Its a beauty!

Well, #80 Lizbeth is fantastic! I ordered a few balls and was nervous that I would find it too fine to work with, but it is much easier than than the  Perfect Quilter or the Sulky Blendables. This colour-way is different from my usual choices:

For scale:

5” across

Thanks Renulek! This is a wonderful pattern. I am wondering if she will be adding another row or if this is it, as it stands. Anybody know?

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Now, T.I.A.S. 2014 is at an end and our Jane has outdone herself! Thank you Jane. This year was so much fun and you kept us all guessing all the way through. 

It is most regrettable that my Titanic guess was not correct, but hey, I got to raise a lovely flag!

Breakthrough Brainwave

I was stymied as to how to finish the doily. Some of you said it was fine the way it was, as I have run out ot thread. But I feel that with this particular pattern, it is essential to tat the last round, as it really enhances the integrity of the design.

In the past, I have sometimes omitted the last row of Jan Stawasz's patterns; it always feels like cheating somehow.

Here's the last row. Easy to make an error in a moment of looking away!

At first I had chosen two colours because the turquoise Cèbèlia, used on the centre is not quite the same shade as the Lizbeth, but is the same tone. So, I tried it with a few of my remaining #40s and nothing worked. Then -  Geronimo!

It really looks good - don’t know if it translates on your screen, but it is so good!

When I added beads between the Cèbèlia and the Lizbeth, they created a blending buffer between the two shades. After a couple of attempts with different beads, I found the right ones, and ta-da!

Last Lap

Unblocked and with SO much un-tatting.

I have run out of the Lizbeth #40, so have picked out another thread for the final round. Wonder what tatters will think of it...not much choice is my excuse!

Egg Epiphany

From The Easter Egg Book:

#12 Anchor Perle from Liyarra

What does one do with a bunch of tatted eggs?  Grand kidlets! 

They still are impressed with the string bits!

Here are the eggs so far:

One more to go for the lad that fell in love with Shrek, his word for green thereafter. 

This is my plan for Grahamy:

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Not pleased with my last Karey Solomon heart, nor anything I have recently tatted, (we tatters are our own best critics, n'est ce pas?) I decided I would really apply myself in this second go-around.

I see a difference, so have decided not to chuck the shuttles just yet!

Milford #40 from Liyarra

This is the one from a few days ago:

That Milford almost drove me to distraction! 

So much splitting!

: ))

Allonze!

Woo Who! It's The Doctor!

You are wondering what I am on about? 

My mail today was mystifying...

I saw it had originated Down Under, so this meant, by clever deduction, that my good buddy, Liyarra was up to her old tricks. Sure enough:

Ever since I posted about this, here, I have been wanting one of these snd then Liyarra displayed her wonderful shuttle on her blog. I was drooling with envy! And just look what I now have. : )) Geronimo!

That is not the only treat from Canada Post. From Tally Tatty came this delightful surprise:

I have always wanted to see a Burda publication and amazing that I have my own.

Well, with my brand new shuttle (with many thanks to Liyarra's talented co-conspirator, LaCossete) and all that lovely new thread, I must surely now get to work!

Thank you both so much. I am a happy, lucky and grateful tatter. : )

Hearty Hiatus

A substantial little pattern...Karey Solomon challenges,
even with a small heart like this one.

Thanks Karey - love this (once I got it figured out!).

For scale:

I love how the thread, #40 Lizbeth and  Krystle's Wisteria Lane.

It worked out so perfectly.

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Update on mystery pattern.

I am astounded no one recognizes it!

Banishing Blunders

Earlier, before the cutting began - snip, snip snip - -  - SOB - my counts were wrong, but if you have guessed the designer you will know why! So, who is it, Tatters?

I was almost half-way around the circle when I saw the mistakes I had made, which were really not that obvious. 

"No one will ever know," I thought, and kept tatting. Two elements later, I knew I just couldn't do it; I could not keep tatting, knowing the count was so skewed in the preceding repeats. If you follow this blog, you know EXACTLY how my mind manipulated this!

I had repeated the same mistakes over and over again in this round. It is so frustrating to realize you have to cut out the same miscounted bit yet again. What I was tatting was simply not an intuitive following of this pattern, so I trashed my paper copy and turned on the scanner.

With a clean copy, I re-counted the stitches, correcting my numbers and hoping my interpretation was accurate this time. I used different coloured markers for a new and better visual aid. 

So, here is where I have arrived. I seemed to have got the numbers right and the tatting is easier. Fingers crossed that I am not running out of thread again.

The centre motif is Cèbèlia, #30, from Sally; the light blue is Monica Braxton's HDT, which I ran out of, and the outer lovely turquoise is the last of the#40 Lizbeth, part if the remaining old stash I have nearly used up.

Precocious Pussycat

I sent this off to Jane this a.m. Glad I figured it out, in spite of interference:

Jane, I see in my calculations I may have been a tad impetuous, for I now so clearly realize that T.I.A.S. this year has not anything to do with either Hansel and Gretel or The Walrus and the Carpenter, but is so obviously a depiction of The Owl and the Pussycat. 

So obvious. 

So the answer. 

Glad it is settled.  

Still Liking It

I'm Liking It

T.I.A.S. Day 11

The Answer is obvious...

To Jane, this a.m.

Okay, okay I made a slight error. It is, I see after all, The Walrus and The Carpenter, from Alice In Wonderland. Obviously. Suzanne was on to it in the first rounds. Love it when I hit the nail squarely on the head. Ha!  Fox

One-Shuttle Wonder - Okay, So I Lied: Two Shuttle

Tatted with Liyarra's #40 Venus, 

a soft but lovely thread to work with. It has lustre.

From this book:

Teaser

Can you guess? 

Day 10. T.I.A.S. 

Jane will NOT admit I am correct, but I am. : ) 

I just know it.

Here's what I told her:

"Yup. Witch. House of Gingerbread with flower garden imprisoning children found carrying thread and a pop-a-bobbin. Shuttle was never seen again. Tragic end. "

Now tell me I'm not right. Ha!

Coffee Caper Can’t Be Corrected

Remember that square in a coffee mug that got washed?

You can identify it, as the colour did not revert to the original.

But, never mind. It’s the thought that counts - right?

Lizbeth #40

From the book Iris Niebach published: