Saturday 12 January 2013

A bit of this, a bit of that...

Been going through some books yesterday and today as I was looking things up to answer questions I'd been asked.  Came upon this motif in Occhi Schiffchenspitze Frivolité by Marianne Langwieser and Tatiana Scharowa (you know, the book with the peacocks).  It reminded me a bit of the posy pattern by Mary Konior.  It was a bit fiddly to tat but I think it turned out pretty.



Tatted in Lizbeth, size 20, Wildflower Garden and Antique Blue Med.

And yesterday I received in the post a booklet of patterns by Rosemarie Peel called "20 Tatted Motifs". I found it on Ebay and bought it just because I had seen someone (sorry, I can't recall who!) writing about making a design where the picots and chains were slipped on a safety pin before joining them with a final ring in the centre.  The technique interested me so I had to see that particular pattern for myself. 

Funnily enough, after I bought the booklet, I found that this same technique appears in the German book though it doesn't seem to be linked to a particular pattern and unfortunately, I can't read the page of explanation about it!

Anyway, here is a pattern called Primrose.  The centre ring ended up being a bit tight for me and may have benefitted from a few extra stitches... on the other hand I quite like the slight overlap of the petals. And I like the technique!  Might come in handy for future pattern designing... you never know.  I'm still trying to think though what's the difference between doing that or just making a centre ring with picots first and then attaching the petals to it afterwards.  I will have to try both versions and see.




 And finally, I decided to join Jane Eborall's TIAS this year, for the first time.  So here is the first instalment... not much to go by yet so really curious to see what the next bit will be.



Best wishes,
Frivole


17 comments:

  1. I especially love that first motif and the thread color you used - very pretty! You must tat fast. It takes me forever and a day to finish just one :)

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  2. I love the Ochi motif colors! Which thread did you use? The variegated went so well with the blue solid.

    Like Cindy, I think you must tat like lightening. You are so productive!

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    1. Sorry, I normally put the thread colours in and I forgot! It's Lizbeth Wildflower Garden with Antique Blue Med. I'll add it now in the caption.

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  3. I really like the first motif, and I have the book, so I guess I'll just have to look it up! I love your choice of colors. It's funny... when it comes to quilting I can come up with wonderful color combinations, but I have a tough time when it comes to combining colors for tatting.

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  4. Those are so beautiful!
    Fox : )

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  5. Beautiful motif so neatly tatted! The Anna Burda magazine had patterns using that technique with the safety pin. In my previous existence as a tatter, in the early 1980s, I used their patterns for flowers. It is quite fiddly, and I think that perhaps the SCMR with rings thrown off can achieve the same effect? Smoother than just joining to picots, even very small picots, I think.

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    1. Hi Jane, yes, but then you would have to go around again to make the chains around the rings and it wouldn't have the same look I think... but I'd have to try it. I think I will make another couple of these using different methods to see the effect.

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  6. Lovely motif and gorgeous flower.
    Margaret

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  7. I love that first motif, the colours are just perfect! What size thread do you use on the whole?

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    1. Mostly size 20. It's my favourite. Unless I'm making handkerchief edgings where I like to use finer threads.

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  8. Hello, Dear! I've come to your blog from the blog of one of my sweet commenters ~ you know how that goes ~ :) ~ Now following you! I am just so fascinated with tatting, and my Grandma tried SO hard to teach me, but I just couldn't get it...I so admire it, though!
    So nice to "meet" you!
    Hugs,
    Anne

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    1. Hello Anne, thank you for your message. Welcome to the blog. It's never too late to learn you know! And once you get the bug...

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  9. I really like the thread you chose for the first motif--and I'm jealous of how your stitches turn out! The Primrose pattern played tricks on my eyes, haha, but it looks really cool =)

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  10. I *love* everything about that first motif: design, colour, and execution.

    And how cool that you joined the TIAS! (I did too, just have not blogged about it yet!)

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