Little Tree in the Snow

I don't want to seem irreverent by moving on so quickly from my blogpost about Jan and his wonderful work.  But it occurred to me that the best tribute we can make to the Mary Koniors and the Jan Stawaszs… is to KEEP TATTING!  To carry on sharing our love of this beautiful art.

So that's exactly what I'm going to do.

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Do you remember last month I had seen this pretty Christmas tree on Joschaocchi's blog?  She then kindly helped me to obtain a copy of the pattern by Edith Roesti and even sent me THE TREE so I could study it and figure out how it's made.  It took me a little while to get around to tatting it.  The pattern is all in German and I couldn't figure out from the diagram how it would work and I kept putting it off.  Well, no more.  I decide it was time I tackled it.  I'm still not clear on how the author meant the pattern to work out in a couple of places but I improvised where I couldn't understand and I'm still pleased with how it turned out.

I left a loop on top so it can be hung but as you can see, it can also stand.  I have ordered some little stars to put on top of the next one I will be making.

Pretty clever construction.  I like it!  The "snow" is added afterwards with a round of crochet.  I think I might also try it with a few beads for baubles.

And in size 20, it's just perfect to fit on the end of a pen or pencil.

A Christmas Tree Topper!

Kinda cute, isn't it?

And I'd like to wish

a wonderful Thanksgiving

to my American friends

Best wishes,

Frivole

Jan Stawasz

I have always been a big fan of Jan's designs and feel very sad that we will see no more new creations from him.  When I heard he had passed away, I got one of his books out and tatted the red motif above whilst thinking about him.  I am really grateful for his contributions to the tatting world and will always cherish his two books which are some of my very favourite tatting publications.  I send my best wishes to his mourning family and friends.

Here are a few of Jan's designs I have tatted in the last couple of years.

As always,

Frivole

Star… and a bit more beading

This is a motif I had started working on last year but for some reason had abandoned and never completed to my satisfaction.  I was inspired when I found it again and decided to work on it some more.  It was six-sided originally but I thought it would make a nicer star so I changed it to a five-point motif.  This is not quite the final version but it was the prettiest of my samples so far.

I wanted to have a repeated star effect…

the first one made by the small rings in the centre,

then by the first round with lock chains

and then again with the second round with lock chains.

The other interesting problem this pattern presented me with was that I wanted to make it in one pass (as always!) which required the use of a split ring but as I'm using two colours for this motif, I ended up with a two-colour split ring when I wanted a one-colour ring!  This got the brain cogs whirring… and I came up with a solution:  my split ring is in fact a single-shuttle split ring… made with two shuttles!  So you make the first half of the SSSR holding the two-shuttles together to make the stitches; this enables the colour you are not using to be enclosed with the core thread and hidden but end up at the other side of the ring, ready to use for your next chain.  Perfect.  Then make the second half of the SSSR as normal.

Now I'm not saying I've discovered something new - no doubt someone else has thought of this before me, but I was still chuffed to have found a solution to this problem which may present itself in other designing ideas.

And secondly, here is a beaded necklace I made for a friend (I'm pretty sure she doesn't look at my blog).  She likes apple green so I hope she will be pleased with it.  

Best wishes,

Frivole

Céleste Pattern Ready!

Thank you for all the positive comments in the previous post.  I have made the draw.  There were 40 names entered and here are the three winners as chosen by the random number generator:  nos. 12, 16, and 20.  And these are:  Jane Eborall, MBDuke, and Shay.  Pattern will be on the way to you today.  I have an email for Jane and Shay but I can't find one for MBDuke, please contact me using the "email Frivole" link in side bar.

I made a couple more samples and will be tatting quite a few more as this is the snowflake that will go in this year's Christmas cards to my friends and family.

I hope you enjoy making it too!

This is Lizbeth Victorian Red
with silver seed beads and silver lined 4mm beads

This is Lizbeth Blue Ice
with Rainbow Crystal Montana Blue seed beads
and silver lined 4mm beads

Best wishes,

Frivole

Céleste

I've been out of shuttles for a week or so.  Awaiting delivery, hopefully soon.  But it's been a good thing.  It's given me time to work on a new pattern.  Here is what I have been up to recently.

I liked the look of bare threads and double picots in the Banashek motif I recently tatted.  It makes for a light and airy look which appeals to me.  Inspired, I wanted to make a new motif that had those qualities.  I have called it "Céleste".

This is the motif as it comes off my shuttles,

not pressed or blocked in any way.  If you wanted sharper angles,

you could pin the picots and bare threads but I like the softer look.

The motifs above are made with seed beads (size 11) and larger 4mm beads for the join between petals.  I have tried it with small Swarovskis bicones on that join for extra sparkle and that's great too.

You can play with the long double picots to get the look you want but I like the delicate, more free look of leaving them slightly uneven and floaty.

Céleste can also be tatted without beads if you wish and this is what it looks like without (purple motif below).  In that one, it's the inside thread of the double picot inside the petals which I have pulled longer (the picots are adjustable) for a different look.  See how this gives a cross-over look?  I think that's nice too.

Then I thought I'd try it in Christmas colours below in Lizbeth Jungle Greens with red seed beads and silver lined 4mm beads but no beads on the end of the large rings.

Right.  Now I'm happy with the shape, I better get down to pattern writing!

Nearly forgot to say (well, actually I forgot so the first few readers who commented won't have seen this), I will be having a draw for free patterns as I like to do when I publish a new one.  Three winners will be picked at random from the comments made on this post.

Best wishes,

Frivole

Pretty Pretty

I know I published a blogpost only yesterday but a generous lady gave me an old copy of the Oklahoma Shuttle Bugs Newsletter... in it was this lovely motif by Judi Banashek.  It appealed to me as soon as I laid eyes on it and I started tatting straight away.  As soon as it was completed, I wanted to share it with you as I like it so much!

I just love the way Judi used many different sizes of picots to give this design its unique look.  So pretty!  Now I'm normally one for eye-balling picots but with this design, you absolutely need a picot gauge as 6 different sizes of picots are used.  And particularly with mignonette stitch, it's really essential to get all those bare threads the same length.

I love everything about this:  the interesting contrast between the tiny rings and the larger rings on the outside, the wonderful combination of picots and their joins on the outside rings and the added texture of the bare threads.  Wonderful!

Just for fun I scanned it on pink too.

I believe this pattern is also to be found in Judi Banashek's book "Advanced Tatting Patterns" if anyone has the book and is interested in looking it up.  I, for one, will be on the search for a copy!  If it's still findable....?

Thank you very much to S. for so kindly sending me the newsletter.  This pattern is going on my favourite's list.

Best wishes,

Frivole

Black Ice Queen

I know this is a bit unorthodox... but I fancied tatting Ice Queen in black, to see what it would look like... for a change.  I still find there is more tension than I would like in this pattern and am starting to wonder whether I should update it...  I don't remember having problems when I first tatting it and wrote the pattern and wonder whether it's just that my bugle beads need to be a bit longer (they do vary in size) because the problem is mostly where the three rings join on the last round.  Having a longer bugle beads there would lift the centre ring and make more space for the other two small rings.

And I'm still enjoying a bout of beading and completed another pair of earrings.

In turquoise, one of my favourite colours.

Best wishes,

Frivole

Ice Queen Revisited

Snowflakes are definitely on my mind now!  Nearly mid-November, I can hardly believe it.  I decided to tat Ice Queen again.  I had not made it since completing the work for the pattern last year.  I thought it curled a bit more than I remembered before I pressed it and wondered whether it would benefit from making the centre just a bit larger to give the rest of the design a bit more space to "breathe".

Here is tonight's version:

Also there's not enough contrast between the bugle beads

and the thread, I shall have to re-tat this.

Not satisfactory.

Best wishes,

Frivole

A Bit of This, A Bit of That...

My shuttles are not far away but I'm still enjoying doing a variety of things at the moment.  This afternoon, I saw a video on circular brick stitch bead weaving and fancied having a go.

I liked how this turned out so as I had a party to go to tonight, I then decided that I could make a pair of earrings to go with the dress I was planning to wear.

I still managed to do a bit of tatting too.  A lady contacted me about the dancing butterfly edging I made some time ago... so long ago that I couldn't quite remember how I made it!  So I had to tat a bit of it to refresh my memory.  This is from the German tatting book with the peacock (Occhi Schiffchenspitze Frivolité by Marianne Langwieser and Tatiana Scharowa).  I've still not got the length of the antennae right so I need to play with this a bit more.  I do think it's a delightful pattern.

Dancing Butterflies, Lizbeth 20, "Easter Eggs"

Best wishes,

Frivole

All Quiet on the Tatting Front?

It's true, I must admit, I have not been tatting very much lately!  What an admission.  I have been momentarily distracted by other pursuits.

One of them is these pretty braids.  They are not difficult and there isn't really much skill in making them but it's fun to play with all the colours.

Variety is the spice of life isn't it?  And I always like to try new things.  I know you are the same, "crafty people" rarely do one thing only!

Best wishes,

Frivole