Wednesday 6 April 2011

Doily?

Sometimes you start something and you get to a point where you're not sure whether to carry on or not.  This is one of these items...  It is Mary Konior's Flowerpiece doily.  I started it yesterday whilst I was waiting for some thread to arrive for my handkerchief edging.  I always like to have more than one project on the go anyway as I like variety.


But I'm not happy with the way the chains look.  Even on the round where I am, though the chains have the same number of stitches, you can see that they don't all have the same curve because of the shape of the motifs in the centre.  It's very difficult to make these repeated chains look perfect anyway as the slightest change in tension as you snug up your stitches can make a difference to the chain.

Also, though I love the shades of "Juicy Watermelon", in practice I find it distracts too much and prevents the eye from seeing the design and for that reason I think I should have used a different thread for the centre.

So, should I try to finish it anyway?  Or cut my losses?

Best wishes,

8 comments:

  1. To me, it's not about the chains, which I think look absolutely fine.

    It's more about the play between the chains and the variegated centre - too busy - says me! The eye is confused and pulled in all directions.

    I would really like this with the centre solid and the chains following in this thread, as I believe this change would make a HUGE difference. I say cut! Try with a solid centre!

    You asked. : ))
    Fox

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  2. Fox, solid centre and variegated chains? Is that what you mean? I agree with you: centre, too busy!

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  3. Hi,

    The colour makes it too busy, a plain centre and then the veriegated edging might work better, I would finish it as a project and then see how it looks, its a shame to waste it.
    Margaret

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  4. i tried this same pattern some time back and never made it to completion. didn't like the chains then. you are right that the tension of the chains could cause problems, but yours look fine. i think the last 2 rows of variegated chains are clashing with the pink rows.

    i would end the doily here and start a second with different choice of thread colours, a solid-coloured centre.

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  5. Por lo general, yo prefiero tejer colores sólidos blanco o beige, no me atrevo a usar colores matizados. Creo que no luce muy bien en todos los m trabajos. algunos como joyeria si me gustan multicolores.

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  6. I agree with fox, but I also think that it could work if you did use the watermelon color way in teh center, but used one of the darker pinks from it for the chains, not a light color and not a variegated color. I also think if you go with the multi color center, the entire rest of the doily should be only one color... but that is just my opinion. I myself, don't care for the chains, but that is just me, I like things more loopy and more open, I would have altered the pattern to make the chains more open, more of a petal look than a fabric look, but I know that isn't the pattern. again, that is just me. other than that, your work itself is really nice, you do wonderful tatting :)

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  7. Thank you for taking the time to write your comments. I think there is general agreement that this isn't a success! But you learn from your mistakes so I like to show the not-so-good as well as the more successful attempts.

    Bri, I'm undecided about the look of the chains as well. I'm tempted to alter the pattern and do something different where the chains would be. But this may remain an unfinished project....

    Thanks for the input!

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  8. I think it's bright and cheery! :)

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Thank you for taking the time to write a comment, it's always appreciated!