This little motif on Renulek's blog caught my eye a while ago. She has quite a few motifs like that available on her blog (thank you Renulek!) as well as the larger doilies many people have been making lately.
This is the first round:
And the completed motif:
Kind of pretty and frothy isn't it?
Makes me think of candy floss...
And... I FOUND IT!
I was getting quite concerned that this butterfly doily (from the "Tatting from Burda" book) had gone missing for weeks (months even!). I thought I'd looked everywhere for it (but obviously I hadn't) and finally found it this morning.
It is now so big, I have to put it on the floor to photograph it. It currently measures 48cm (19in) across. I'm not too happy with all the long chains that are in this design. They need to be pressed into place or they "frill". So this is not a doily I'm going to enjoy washing too often. I've now put so many hours into it that I feel I ought to finish it... but I'm having a bit of a Fox moment I think (as she was having with her honey napkin)... luckily I've not had to cut any bits off (though there was some untatting going on in the last butterfly row) but I keep debating whether I like it enough! I'm currently on round 14. There is a smaller option that ends on round 16 - so just two more and I'd be done... but there also the GRAND version which ends on round 18 with a final round of butterflies... will I make it?
As you can imagine, with such a large circumference (about 1m60 or 64in!!), it now takes quite a while to tat just one round. And I get so easily distracted by all the other small things I can tat quickly!
Best wishes,
Frivole
Your doily is looking more like a tablecloth, Yes I can image as I knit tablecloths the largest I ever made started with 8 stitches and finished up with 2,000 stitches. I hope you get up the energy to finish the doily.
ReplyDeleteThose little motifs are lovely and very pretty patterns, I would love to have a go at both those, so I must have a look at her blog.
Margaret
I too like to tat large pieces. This is what I do: I keep the piece and thread, scissors and shuttles in a basket/bag near the place where I like to sit and read/watch TV and that's when I work on it. Also during travels (2+ hours). The rest of the time I work on smaller projects. A large project like this would take me about a year. This way it does not become a bore or a chore and I don't need to worry about finishing a long boring round in record time. Hope it helps :) it's looking fabulous!
ReplyDeleteThank you Karen. Yes, I find there's a lot of satisfaction in completing larger pieces. This will definitely be the biggest so far. The book called for size 10 thread and I'm making it in size 20 so it's smaller that the measurements given in the book.
DeleteI just go with the flow - sometimes I'll have mad dashes at it that last for a while, and other times, it gets put away. But I usually get there in the end!
Fabulous piece!
ReplyDeleteSeems as if we share a predicament! I say - go for it!
Love the little Renulek motif. I was sure I had tatted this but cannot find it on tat-ology. It looks so familiar, and I just really like it so much I figure I have already tatted it!
Fox : )
I'm glad you found your butterflies, that's a lot of work to go astray! Would be wonderful to finish it. I love the Renulek motif, and the colours you've chosen to do it in.
ReplyDeleteLovely colours, great tatting!
ReplyDeleteI've lost doilies before too. I decided one must have fallen out of my car because I tore apart my house looking for it. A year later I found it in a bag with material!?! No clue on how it got there.
ReplyDeleteI will not be distracted by this gorgeous motif, I will not be distracted by this gorgeous motif, I will not... What about blue river glades for the outside....oh my! Lovely work again and that doily is stunning!
ReplyDeleteBlue River Glades *sigh*, one of my favouritest colour way - yes, and what will you pair it with? Oh no, you said you will not be distracted!
DeleteBlue river glades and.. .ecru? Nope, I will not be distracted!
DeleteInteresting remarks from Karen. I am wondering how she and you handle all the tatted material as you tat the big patterns.
ReplyDeleteI find that I am flinging the doily all over the place from stitch to stitch because It is too large just to rest over my wrist...
Fox : ?
With this one, I just have the doily resting on my knees as I work around the edge. A lot of the rows on this doily (not the butterflies) face the same way so you don't need to flip back and forth so much. The row I'm doing now for example is all rings and split rings so I don't need to reverse work.
ReplyDeleteI know what you're saying though, it can get a little cumbersome with larger pieces. But then I also get pleasure from seeing and handling all that tatting before me! :-))
Still not trusting the longevity and sturdiness of tatting, I always think I am going to weaken the stitching by moving the threads around so much! : 0
Deletethat is a very pretty small motif, I like the colors you chose.
ReplyDeleteMore power to you and Fox and any one else that tackles the Grand size doilies.
Pretty interesting change, when I came here and my mouse curser became a butterfly
I wondered if anyone would mention it! I've been playing a bit... and I thought this pretty blue butterfly would look good on my blog.
DeleteWill he stay? Will he not? I don't know yet.
that's a cute little motif =) I think the doily's great as is, but then again I don't know how the bigger version looks... hmmm... haha I just noticed that my cursor turns into a butterfly =)
ReplyDeleteYesterday ,wasn't it a butterfly that was the cursor? - and I kept shaking my mouse to see if it fell off! - I love it.
ReplyDeleteI also love your big doily, maybe you could do as Fox has done, now that you've found it, and pack it up for a long rest - WITH it's balls of thread. It would be a shame, I think, not to finish it eventually.
Your butterfly doily is absolutely pretty. It will be certainly an heirloom. I hope you continue to Round 18. I wish I could enlarge your photo to scrutinize the butterfly. Beautiful!!
ReplyDeleteI'll try to add a close-up in my next post (well, actually not the next because I've done that one already and it's too late to take a photo) but the one after!
DeleteBeautiful. Ślicznie dobrane kolory i wzór ciekawy. U Renulka można znaleźć mnóstwo inspiracji.
ReplyDeletePozdrawiam serdecznie :-)
Lovely motif, beautiful colors! I would have a Fox moment with a piece that large also!
ReplyDeleteI love the Rose Bonbon motif - beautiful, especially in the soft colors you've chosen. And the doily! I say finish with the butterflies - you can do it! [she says, knowing she probably can't finish the motif in anything less than a week . . .]
ReplyDeleteOh yeah - and I noticed the butterfly mouse right away. CUTE!
Your motif is totally awesome!!! :) And your doily is so stunning!!! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for all your nice comments! I'll keep going with the doily. Have no idea when I'll get to the end... but then there's no deadline, is there. So I'll pick it up again whenever I'm inspired!
ReplyDelete