Perfectly Perfetti

Robin's new Winter Frost design is lovely. I was one of the fortunate tatters who had the privilege of test-tatting her pattern. : )  Thanks Robin!

Here it is in #60 DMC Cordonnet Special:

I found it a bit of a fiddly pattern to tat and for some reason my stitches really are not consistent or nicely formed. Not sure what the problem is here, as the thread is DMC, which is generally great to work with. So, the uneven quality is all my doing, not the fault of the design.

A few days ago, I completed another of Robin's pretty snowflakes:

This one is tatted with much more consistency. Perhaps I was pulling the threads a bit more tightly.

Now, I must say I am glad the last Jan Stawasz didn't work out as I have decided to tat it in #80 Lizbeth instead and realize how much happier I am using #80 - even if it is Lizbeth! Actually, this coloured ball is very good: very smooth; consistent.  love the colour, whatever it is called.

Lastly, I'd like to thank all those tatters who must have voted for my Ben Fikkert doily. I see I have won an award over at Crafftree. Quelle surprise! THANK YOU!

Focussed on Flakes

Well, the first is actually a wreath - a brand new great pattern

from Renulek, which you can find here. 

Then Posy by Mary Konior.
White Thread: DMC Cordonnet Special #60

Then two pretty snowflakes by Robin Perfetti:

The thread is Karey Solomon’s HDT, #40.

For Scale

I am currently test-tatting Winter Frost for Robin. 

You are going to LOVE this one!

Not At All Impressed

Mr G may not be impressed with my tatting...

But I am certainly taken with his fine teeth! 

We brush!

Taking a Jan Stawasz break, 

I felt like a few small Mary Konior motifs, 

tatted with the remaining Karey Solomon HDT, #40.

Then another of Frivole’s - latest pattern Snowdrop,

this time tatted in DMC #60, a WONDERFUL thread.

This one is smaller than 

the DMC Cordonnet #30tatted previously:

The hankie edging - Hedgehogs - in #80 Lizbeth is a slow one to tat. 

Not hard, but very time-consuming. I really like this Mary Konior edging.

Miscalculation

There was a fatal flaw; I found it as I began the final two rows of the mat; a Jan Stawasz pattern. 

Something just felt off- it had since the middle of the tatting I had done, but I could not see an error. Finally, I counted repeats in the photo ( taxing enough as it is so small ) and then counted elements in my work.

Yup. There was one error that meant I had increased the elements by one and had kept tatting. There was another mistake as well, but it was not as critical. Both boo-boos were towards the beginning.

I had spent about half an hour looking for the problem; sometimes it is so very difficult to find mistakes.

At any rate, I do not have enough of Karey Solomon's #40 or the #50 DMC to tat a new one. So, I am going to re-tat it in #80 - gasp - Lizbeth, as I have a lovely colour to use. I like the pattern; I find it a pleasing design.

Redo

I was really not pleased with the first Starlight Doily, tatted totally with Lizbeth #80. It was a twisty mess and I had made a lot of stitch count errors.

So, I tried again, this time using DMC Cordonnett #80 and blue variegated Lizbeth, which I had in my thread box and knew it was a pretty good ball - smooth and non- twisty.

This one was so much easier to tat; I could see what I was doing; the tatting stayed flat and the threads had no slubs, twists; it did not break once.

The DMC is certainly a lovely thread to use.

Fortuitously Finessed

I was indeed lucky with this Hoop-la edging by Mary Konior.

I managed to finish quickly, and end up with the perfectly correct dimensions for the hankie. 

I couldn't be more pleased. It is a lovely pattern to tat and with Lea's HDT, the entire exercise was very enjoyable. No complaints!

(You see, I don't ALWAYS grumble!)

More Than Enough

I am so lucky! I have finished the Hoop-la border, with inches to spare. Whew! Now to sew it on, which is always a daunting task for the needle-and-thread-challenged.

Thank you, Tatters. for the interesting  and varied responses about how you sew on your hankie and tablecloth edgings.

I find that like Muskaan, I tat almost to the end, attach and then finish the last bit. This time however, I finished the border completely, as it was a perfect fit, not floppy or deep. 

While working on Hedgehogs and Hoop-la at the same time, I found I needed a break, as I kept getting the two edgings confused because they have similar stitch counts. Many mistakes ensued!

So, I chose to re-tat the Starlight Doily. Unattractive colour thread aside, there is something very wrong with my tatting of that piece.  Perhaps it was wrong stitch counts or bad tension, but whatever; I am very displeased with the end result, so am re-tatting it.

Roaring Race to Repeat

I need 10 more little elements and it is done. But, all remaining thread is wound on that bobbin. Bets?

Question: Do you join up the square edging before you sew it to the hankie, or do you sew it on and then attach the first and last element?

Peripheries

This is Hedgehogs, an edging by Mary Konior that I have been wanting to tat since I saw it here, on Frivole's blog. I have had the pattern photocopied, in the book and ready to go for years!

My rendition is in #80 Lizbeth and so looks a lot frillier than Frivole's for she used a thicker thread; I quite like hers. However, I am getting through the Lizbeth stash at a fair clip and this should use a lot of my green. Funnily enough, this lovely hankie came to me from Frivole!

The other edging, Mary Konior's Hoop-la, tatted with Lea's wonderful and amazing #50, is coming along nicely, and I should have enough thread...fingers crossed. You see how much less spindly this looks? I am beginning to enjoy a thicker thread. My skinny thread preference may just be coming to an end, as I use up my #80.