tat-ology

Friday, July 5, 2013

Outfoxing Valdani!

I am succeeding with this thread!

I cannot believe it.

- several inches ago! -

Yes, inspired by comments left here by Maureen and Snowy, I have persevered and I am actually enjoying the Valdani - not just enjoying it, but also creating a lovely border. Thank you, Jon, for the PERFECT pattern for this endeavour.

The thread is the perfect colour for the hankie, just as I imagined it would be - twice!

There are some mistakes, like a missed picot joining and uneven picots, but following Snowy’s lead, I have left mistakes intact, concentrating mainly on getting through it.

The results seem to improve the more I tat and I am constantly trying to achieve some consistency in tension.

Seems there is a lot to think about at the same time, rather like learning to tat anew. Good. I am NOT bored!

Giveaway Update

Each of the two winners will also receive

one of these SCMR books by the Gr-8 brothers

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

Mr. G

Several tatters have wondered what is going on with Gian, as he has been absent from tat-ology lately. Well, he has been preoccupied.

You see, he has a brand new blue plastic toy that has little holes in it. You put cat treats inside (I put in his favourite dry food which is limited in his diet and he loves it) and the cat is supposed to figure out how to roll the ball around till the goodies come out.

G figured it out in about 3 minutes - he is sooooo smart! So, he has either been playing with the ball or begging me to give it to him to play with! Happy kitty! : ))

Thanks for asking.

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Ancora Amendment

All the great comments on the last post made me re-think my Valdani misadventure.

I tried posting a-la- Maureen: it did not work. I do not like the way the ring bends at the join by posting the shuttle. Thanks for the tip, Maureen, for it encouraged me to try again. I am bound and determined to get a border tatted in this stuff. Grrrrrr......

I was trying to tat the same border Snowy did a while back, but this thread is not going to let me. Also, it is a comlicated pattern and I am unused to thread this fine, so it was not a clever choice of border for the Valdani, especially for a first return foray back to skinny thread. So I simply switched to a different, simpler pattern. This is Jon’s Row of Crowns pattern, free on her blog.

The pattern in a fine thread really suits the hankie, I think.

Because I have decided to keep the thread, I had to come up with a substitute for the giveaway. Here is what is going to happen:

This is the new thread I got at the Finca store. Though it says it is #20, it seems more like a thin #30 and is great for tatting. The balls are 50 grams, so there is a good amount of thread.

I added another book.

So, 2 books and a ball of thread.

Two winners.

The names from yesterday’s comments are all recorded,

and any from this post will be added to the list.

The draw is on Wednesday July 10th.

Ladytats was the first to offer thread for the Tatting Techniques book.
I am still looking for a magazine/book trade for an Italian/Russian/German
tatting publication, but if that does not work, Ladytats will have the book.
Thanks!

Happy July 4th to all my American friends!

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Valdani Vapours

This is from “Craft of Tatting” by Bessie Attenborough. I have wanted to tat it for a while and might still make it larger. I like it, though I do have trouble attaching the pieces. I can never figure out where to begin the attaching.

I used the Daiso #40, from Wendy. It is lovely to work with.

What is NOT nice to work with is Valdani! When will I ever learn? I must stay away from any thread that is not a 6 ply and mercerized, meaning shiny! I do not like soft or fluffy, dull thread.

So, here I am with the most expensive order - the second Valdani arrived, postage paid and I absolutely cannot use it.

I do enjoy #80 very much in Lizbeth or DMC, but not this. I even could not follow the border pattern - mistake after mistake after another mistake was made and I could not un-tat one ds. Grrrrrrr.......

So - whoever wants it (blog followers only please!) leave a comment and you will be sent the thread, which is a gorgeous antique gold variegate and some books that I no longer need to keep for a variety of reasons that only a therapist could possible understand! : ))

Random Generator Draw - July 10

Now another thing: I bought this book second hand (it’s one of those tatting classics) at quite a good price on ebay, but, never will use it as it is written in a way that does not communicate to my way of understanding; thus it is useless for me.

I would love to trade it for either a Russian, Italian or German publication that lives with someone who would prefer to have this one instead... Any takers? If all else fails, I would trade for thread. ; )