Monday 12 October 2015

Colours and Sparkle

I'm really enjoying working on this blanket with all its colours.  After working 30 sunburst squares, I decided I wanted to do a few rounds of granny stripes… but what colours to use?  That was difficult!

First I just picked colours that matched the ones found in the flowers.  There are quite a few (some not even on that photo).


I got started with what I thought would look nice but once I'd done nearly all of it, I decided I didn't like it:  no, that red-pink (pomegranate it's called) was just too strong.


Unravel, unravel….

I crocheted and uncrocheted a few times!  Before finally arriving at this colour combination which I think I'm happy with.  I still used the pomegranate colour which features a lot in the sunburst squares but only one round of it which I find is enough.



So now I'm going all the way around again with more sunburst squares.
This blanket needs to be quite a bit bigger yet.





On the tatting front, I've been tatting my little snowflake and wanting to add silver or gold to it for a bit of sparkle.  I used one strand of Lizbeth 20 and one strand of very fine silver or gold thread (sewing type) - you can see the strands on the top snowflake where I've not trimmed them yet.  It's a little difficult to tat with because both threads are so different and don't have the same stretch but it's worked out not too bad.  Unfortunately, the sparkle of the metallic threads doesn't show on the photo…  I tried scanning and photos and couldn't get it to show either way but it brings me to a question:  do you know of a silver thread that works well for tatting?  Is there such a thing?

Or should I just stiffen them and put glitter in the glue?  Do you stiffen your snowflakes?



Sadly not much progress on a new snowflake for 2015 yet.  I really hope I'll get there in time…  fingers crossed… inspiration will strike!

Best wishes,
Frivole

11 comments:

  1. Awesome blanket!! :)
    Great snowflakes!! :)

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  2. The blanket looks lovely with the second edging, and beautiful array of colours
    The snowflakes look nice, I do stiffen if they need it with PVC glue mixed with water and left to dry. I have thought of using glitter glue, it comes in a vast array of colours and could be brushed on. I was going to try doing it this year for a change.
    Margaret

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  3. The blanket is looking great. Snowflakes too. I'm quite fond of Oren Bayan metallic threads for tatting. They're equal to about a size 40 thread and tat pretty well. The spools are also pretty large too-can't remember how big, something like a couple hundred yards/metres or so.

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    1. Thank you for the suggestion Jeff, I shall investigate Oren Bayan straight away!

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  4. I love the colors in your blanket! I agree that the first combo seems a bit strong, but I like it anyway. The second variation makes the centers pop, a really nice look!

    I've never stiffened my snowflakes, although I probably should. I look forward to your 2015 snowflake inspiration!

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  5. I obtained some metallic polyester-based thread from Edda Guastalla (http://www.guastallascarpe.com/bs/categoria-prodotto/filati/, some information is here: http://www.guastallascarpe.com/bs/filati/). The metallic thread is called Sunlight 30. You can get sliver, gold, copper, bronze and an intriguing multihued thread - maybe it's titanium? Or, I should say, you could. Now there's only silver in the shop.

    So far, I've only tried tatting one ring with it. It closes quite nicely, and it's not stretchy.

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  6. I've never tried tatting with a metallic thread but prefer what you've done to glued glitter. Glued glitter is bound to wear off. I wonder if metallic thread can be "threaded through" the finished snowflake with a sewing needle so that you get permanent sparkle built right in, but without having to deal with whether it tats well together with another thread... I think your snowflake design is lovely - it reminds of a chain of paper dolls joined into a circle. Rather a charming idea for Christmas, don't you think? A "circle of friends".

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    1. Yes, that sounds lovely Megan. I agree with you and I would also prefer to have the thread incorporated right into the tatting rather than adding it on top with pva or such like. I'll keep investigating! In the meantime of course, white is perfectly acceptable for snowflakes, isn't it.

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    2. Not acceptable, no - far preferable! (At least, to my taste.) I'm not really keen on metallic thread in lace and prefer beads to add twinkle if I want that on a Christmas tree where the light can really twinkle through them. Just the same, I really like snowflakes best left plain so that I can appreciate the lace itself. The purity of the colour lets me concentrate on the intricacy and symmetry of the structure. Untold trillions of real snowflakes can't be wrong. :-D

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