Daisy Heart - One Last Time!

As discussed, I added another row of chains around the Daisy Heart as I felt the flowers were quite bold and required a stronger outline, in my opinion.  As Gina said, I would have made the first row of chains without picots but I didn't want to redo the whole thing so I just carried on adding the last row.  I'm happy with that.

On another note, I love getting things in the post - don't you?  So yesterday I had a nice envelope arrive from Canada and it was from Fox.  In it there was a card and also this lovely bookmark:

Thank you Fox!

This bookmark will be going in my holiday book.

This is an interesting pattern which has pretty hearts in it.  Because Fox used two colours in a particular way, you can't see them so well but I think it would look really nice with the colours used differently to highlight the hearts - can you see them?  We had a thread about a similar pattern at In Tatters not too long ago.  Fox often uses beads on joining picots and I particularly like the little silver ones in this.

Best wishes,

Daisy Heart - Take Two

For Suztats and Happy Bluebird, here you go:

And I did it right this second time around

with 8 petals as per the pattern.

Looking at it now, I think it would look nice with another row of rings

around the outside for a stronger outline...

What do you think?

Best wishes,

Daisy Heart

I liked this motif (blue square motif) so much that I decided to get the book which I was luckily able to find second-hand on Amazon.  I have carried on with the blue motif and made many more since the last photo.  But in the small book, there was also this Daisy Heart which appealed to me:

Daisy Heart tatted in Lizbeth 20, "Pink Parade"

I only realised after I had completed the two-daisy center that I had missed a petal on the flowers - there should be 8 petals on each and I only have 7.  But strangely, the whole thing worked out anyway and it still looks like the picture in the book so I'm not sure where I would have squeezed in the other petal!

I think this would also look nice with the flowers in one colour, the leaves and stems in another and the surround in another.  What do you think?

This is the book that the patterns came from.  

It is a reprint of patterns from Workbasket magazine.

Edit added 25.09.11

I have just found out that this lovely heart

was actually designed by Martha Ess

for Workbasket

Best wishes,

Jon's Rose Window

After some longer projects, it's nice to tat something quick for a change!  I had a ball of Lizbeth Wildflower Garden I wanted to try so when Jon kindly offered us her new pattern, Rose Window, I thought I would make it in that new colourway.

Thank you Jon!

I think it's a lovely pattern though I'm not sure I like the variegated thread for it.

It's an unusual mix of colours and I'm undecided about it at the moment.

This will probably go into a coaster to offer as a gift.

Now though, I need to work on those "blipless joins"...

Best wishes,

TADA! Second Jan Stawasz Doily Completed

Here I was flying away on the last few repeats of the last round of this doily when disaster struck!!  I couldn't believe my eyes - OH NO!  Shock, horror:  there was one too many rings on one scallop of the previous row!  I kept looking at it, hoping to find a solution that wouldn't involve me cutting out the mistake on the row below and struggling to join it back in as an invisible way as possible.  But no, there was no avoiding it, I had to cut and re-do.

The re-join is not perfect (up close anyway) so I'll have to ask advice on the best way to join in these circumstances and how to deal with the ends that result.

But anyway, enough talking, out with the mistake and the last few repeats completed:

Jan Stawasz Doily, tatted in Lizbeth, size 20, écru.

Close-up

Doily on darker background (our wood dining table)

I am delighted with this doily and after two Jan Stawasz projects, remain a fan of his designs.  When I started tatting again just a year or two ago, I didn't think I had it in me to tackle larger projects like this but I have really enjoyed making my two doilies... and I don't think this one will be the last either!

Thanks for all of your comments of support whilst the doily was in progress.  

Best wishes,

Marigold Edging Handkerchief

I get there in the end...  Do you remember the sneak-peak back in February (that IS a long time ago!)...  Well, it finally got finished tonight.  I got tired of seeing this poor abandoned hanky with only one side left to attach.  To be honest I nearly took it all apart as I had some problems with my crochet edging on this one - the fine edge started to pull apart when I inserted the crochet and nearly came to a complete disaster!  So it's not as good as I would like it to be but here it is anyway.

Couldn't even get a good photo either!

Tried with flash...

and here's the whole thing, it's quite a large hanky!  

Well, larger that my usual ladies' hankies (35cm x 35cm)

I'm happy with the lace itself and the colours are good, was only a bit disappointed in the attachment part.  Where it looks a bit "wobbly" around the flowers is because there is actually a bit of a scallop going on around there.

Anyway, pleased to have one more WIP out of the basket and no longer IP!

Best wishes,

Motif Squared

Couldn't put that one down...  so I carried on and made three more.

... and I still like it a lot!

I'm going to play with the stitch count a bit as it doesn't lie flat (particularly the centre flower) which I did make smaller on one of the motifs (upper right).  It's not a very quick tat - the tiny rings are a bit time-consuming but I really like the contrast in texture they offer.

I can feel a few more of these coming on...

Best wishes,

Brief Interlude from the Doily

A couple of nights ago, along my web travels, I came upon Tatkrazy's blog.  She had some really interesting posts about tatting in Japan.  She also had a link to her website about American Tatting Shuttles where she writes about shuttles and also has some stories about American Tatters.  And this is where I saw a pattern that had been tatted by her Aunt Stella.

It was love at first sight!  I just loved the look of this motif and how it combined together.  I wrote to Tatkrazy and she was incredibly helpful and very kindly shared the pattern with me (which originally came from a Work Basket magazine).

Impatient as I am, I had to set to straight away and tat one motif.

I love it.

The pattern is called "Snowflake Motif"

but it reminds me more of little leaves combined with flowers.

(Update, just heard back from Heidi and the pattern is from the May 1986 edition of Workbasket)

You'll be seeing more of this in the future.  As soon as I finish the doily,

I will be tatting three more of these to show you the pattern that emerges

and how lovely the bunches of small leaves look.

Thank you so much Heidi!

And now back to the doily.

Best wishes,

Nearly There!

Now completed the 10th round... and started on the 11th and last round.  

But no sneak-peek on that one.  The next picture will be of the completed doily.

This round went much quicker.  But I didn't enjoy those long chains!

They just wouldn't behave themselves.

Best wishes,

9th Round Done!

I'm sorry my tatting is not so varied at the moment...  more of the doily I'm afraid!

Are you bored with it yet? 

This was quite a long round to tat, with 25 separate motifs.

I decided I won't show the whole thing again until I get to the end.

So at least there will be pleasure in the "unveiling" of the finished doily.

I think this 9th round gives it a nice shape and one could decide to stop here,

it's now about the same size as the blue doily.  But I can't wait to get to the

end as I particularly like the shape of the last two rounds.

That's right, just TWO to go!

Yipee!

Best wishes,