WIP - Jan Stawasz

I just found this at the bottom of a bag!  I'd forgotten it to be honest, and never finished it.  I love this small doily by Jan Stawasz from his book:  Tatted Treasures.  I made it once in dark green several years ago (click here if you'd like to see the green version).

It's a bit of shame that Jan Stawasz didn't name most of his projects.  This one is just called "Doily XIV".  It makes it more difficult to refer to his designs; it would be more memorable to say it's his "Daisy Doily" or something similar.

Anyway, I'm well on the way to finishing it now.  I hope I don't run out of thread on my shuttles... because I can't remember which thread I used!  It's definitely not my usual Lizbeth 20 as it is finer... but which one is it?

Best wishes,

Frivole

Hen & Chicks Corner

From the previous post, there was the most votes for the fuller version number 3 with the extra ring in the centre so that's the one I'll share with you in this post.

Just for clarity, let me state that this pattern is not my invention:  it is a well-known and traditional edging which appears in lots of vintage and out of copyright publications.  I only designed the corner for it.

Hen & Chicks Edging:
R4-4 rw

leave 4mm bare thread (and between each subsequent element)

R3-3-3-3 rw

*R3+2-2-2-2-2-2-3 rw

R3+3-3-3 rw

R4+4 rw

R3+3-3-3 rw

R4-4 rw

R3+3-3-3 rw

Repeat from *

To Turn the Corner:

After a large ring,

R3+3-3-3 rw

R4+2-2, rw 

(there are no bare threads after this ring and between the following 5 elements)

R2-2-2-2-2 rw

R3+2-2-2-3 dnrw

R3+2-2-2-2-2-2-3 dnrw

R3+2-2-2-3 dnrw

R2+2-4 rw

start leaving a 4mm bare thread again from here

R3+3+3-3

and continue from * above

I hope some of you will enjoy making this lovely vintage edging and corner.  Oh, nearly forgot, I made a video that shows how to make the corner too if you're interested.  You can view it here.

Best wishes,

Frivole

Designing a Corner for Hen & Chicks

I recently shared a video on how to make the traditional edging often called "Hen & Chicks".  This made me think that it would be nice to have a corner for this edging.

The simplest way would be just to remove one lower ring on the corner and that will make it "bend" around the corner.  But I don't like the "empty" corner that this creates.  I prefer to have more on the corner rather than less.

So I made a little corner doodle to test the idea...

Yes, that might work.

Let's tat it and see.

I quite like the size of it but not sure about the empty space in the middle...

What if I remove the tiny rings...

would that be better?

Hmmm, the corner gets more rounded.

Maybe I want to keep the bigger corner

but fill the space?

Then it looks like this:

Here the three corners together:

I unintentionally made one too many picots in the centre ring...

but now I wonder, should I remove it or keep it?

This is often how I design.  As you can see, I don't have a perfect foolproof method!  I'll do some sketches of ideas, then make several testing samples, sometimes cut the samples and re-arrange them until I'm happy with the design.

In this case I think I prefer the last option, the bolder corner with the empty space filled in with the extra ring in the centre.

Thoughts?

I'll now tat a longer length of Hen & Chicks with the corner to get a better idea of the overall look.

I'm sure other people have come up with their own version of a corner for this vintage edging and it would be nice to see other solutions as I'm sure there are many!

I'll write up this version of Hen & Chicks in the next blogpost if anyone is interested.  I made the rings smaller than the version I had in one of my vintage books as I thought it would look better for a handkerchief edging.

Best wishes,

Frivole

Two More!

I wasn't done.  Two more pairs of earrings made their way off my beading needle...

Another pair of Lisette in olive green colours:

And a pair of SuperDuo Stars

Hmmmm, those might look nice in blue-icy colours

with silver seed beads...

Maybe I need to make yet another pair?

Best wishes,

Frivole

Another Pair

I was tempted by another beaded earring pattern.  This one is called Lisette (a click on the word will take you to the pattern if you're interested).

The mini tassels were a little fiddly to make... perhaps I need a better technique for them but I do like the design by Nela Kábelová.

And I decided to draw a new number for my snowflake giveaway as one was not claimed and it's number 16 that came up this time and that comment belongs to Stephanie.  I have your contact details Stephanie so I'll send the pattern along!

Best wishes,
Frivole

Beaded Earrings

I do like a bit of beading every once in a while and I often see things on my "cyber travels" which inspire me.  This time it was a pair of "Piazza" earrings by Deb Roberti which I saw on Linda's Crafty Inspirations.  They didn't look overly complicated and I thought it wouldn't take too long to whip up a pair.

The only thing when you start beading is that there are soooooo many types and colours of beads!  It's difficult to restrain yourself.  I have a small selection of beads and when I see a pattern I like, it's a matter of searching through my box to see if I have all or any of the beads required.  This time I struck lucky and was able to make the earrings with what I had in my box.

I only had a couple of colours of superduo beads (or 4mm beads for that matter) but I'm still happy with the way they turned out.  I'm now thinking I'll make another pair for a friend as a gift.

They measure 3.5cm across.

And I've not heard back yet from one of the winners of the Aeris pattern (from the last post), I'll give them until Sunday and if not, then I'll draw another name.

Best wishes,

Frivole

And the Winners Are...

 

Number 3 is Marilyn, Number 12 is God's Kid, and number 22 is Pop Lenuta Maria.  Marilyn and Pop Lenuta Maria, can you please contact me with your details so I can send you the pattern!  God's Kid, I have yours already so I'll send the pattern along.

Thank you so much everyone for all your lovely comments and I hope the winners enjoy tatting the pattern.  It's a bit of a challenge with the many techniques used in this design but I hope you'll be happy with the snowflake.

If anyone else would like to make Aeris, I will shortly be listing it in my Etsy shop.  I thank you all for your support, interest in my designs and kind contribution on my blog. I really appreciate it!

Best wishes,

Frivole