I have a box containing many skeins of beautiful HDT I have collected over the last few years. Many I have not even tried yet. I decided a little while ago that I should not buy anymore (best not to look at all the beautiful colours if you don't want to be tempted to buy!) and use some of my stash. The thing I found though, is that unless I'm working something small, I don't want to use my HDT in case I run out and then, because they are one offs, I won't be able to complete my project in the chosen thread. So I find, most of the time, I go for Lizbeth of which I can easily purchase more.
I thought Mirabelle would look pretty in one of those HDTs - this one doesn't have a name but is made by Monica Braxton of Nag Studio on Etsy.
It's a rather pretty mix of colours I think.
Working on this caused me to re-think again the problem of thrown rings. In this case, the TR is made after the bigger ring facing the centre is made. TRs tend to suffer from a bit of gap underneath and a tendency of being a little floppy. I find starting the next chain with the second half of a double stitch helps stabilise the TR… yet it's not quite perfect to my taste yet. On the Mirabelle above, I tried different solutions for each of the TRs around the snowflake. It's not really that visible but there are tiny variations on each. It still requires more thinking. I don't know if there is a perfect solution but I'll keep trying!
Best wishes,
Frivole
Such a beautiful snowflake!!! :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful thread, too!
ReplyDeleteI'll second that - they are extremely beautiful colours! It's hard to know how much my perception is being affected by the colours and colour changes right where the TRs attach, but I think I like 4 o'clock and 10 o'clock the best so far. If it were all done in a single colour I think I'd be able to tell better... The whole thing is delightful anyway, but I do so love these tinkerings towards perfection!
ReplyDeleteI just made a Mirabelle again and thought how very wonderful it is as a pattern. I love the gentle variegation in your HDT. I find I don't use mine much just for the same reason!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous snowflake and thread :).
ReplyDeleteGorgeous thread for a gorgeous pattern which I put in my blog recently, really love this pattern and plan to make more.
ReplyDeleteMargaret
Lovely!
ReplyDeleteI do have a question for you. Once upon a time you had a wonderful pictorial (it wasn't on Flickr, I don't think, but something of that nature) about burying ends of a chain. I have scoured the Internet trying to find it again but am at a loss. I took notes from your pictorial and found the results of your method to improve the look of my work SOOOOOO much. But now, after a break from tatting daily, my notes don't make as much sense. I could really use your pictorial if it's out there. Thanks!
Hi Rose-Marie,
DeleteI'd not gone over to Flickr for a while to check what was going on there and it appears they have changed everything over and I cannot find my pictorial anymore!
I had removed the link from the Techniques page because I had a couple of instances of the tatting coming apart after using that method so I was reluctant to suggest it to others, in case they had problems with it and then would blame me! :-))
I'm now enjoying using Magic Loops which I think finish the tatting in a more secure way. I think I'll try to make a video on using them eventually.
As for the pictorial, I'm really sorry but I don't have a saved version of it - it was all on Flickr so I don't know if I'll be able to put it up again.
I'm sorry your hard work was lost! I found your discussion about this from June and apologize for repeating that...I feel a bit sheepish about overlooking what you had already written. You make such lovely videos that I'm sure yours would be a lovely addition to a fairly short supply of Magic Loop demos online.
DeleteIf it helps you feel any better, I never had a problem with stability of the "loopless magic loops" in your pictorial. I used them with snowflake ornaments that don't get much handling. A couple times my thread broke, which was a bummer, but that was directly related to errors I made in following your directions.
I suspect the regular Magic Loops technique would stick in my memory better once I've done it. The way it relates to tatting over the beginning thread seems to click more naturally.
Thanks for all the gorgeous tatting you share!
Thank you very much Rose-Marie. It's nice to have feedback on techniques. Generally I got on very well with the loop-less technique but as I said, just a few times my tatting fell apart and I worried about promoting that technique in case others encountered problems.
DeleteIt's a shame I lost the pictorial all together though I must admit! I hadn't realised they'd changed Flickr and that my photos had all gone!!
No worries about you asking though! I'm only sorry I couldn't help!
Yes, I do like the magic loops now and I will try to make a video in the near future.
This piece is lovely and I love the colors in the thread. I’m not familiar with the HDT acronym. What does it mean?
ReplyDeleteHello, HDT stands for "hand-dyed threads", normally made in small batches from independent textile artists. :-)
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