Snowflake Multiples

I thought it would be interesting to see how the snowflake from the previous post would look like repeated. It might make a nice larger piece if I could then come up with an outline design.

A nice little shuttle shape appears between the motifs...

And if you squint, you can see a new,

negative space snowflake. 

Can you see it?

Best wishes,
Frivole

New Snowflake for 2019

As I said in a previous post, I was rather sad that I didn't manage to create a new snowflake design for 2018.  So I thought I'd work on one now, in the summer, while I'm on break from university as I know I'll get busy again in September and might not find time then.

I love looking for inspiration in real snowflakes and trying to recreate their shapes with my shuttles.  One of the favourite books I own is a book of real snowflake photos by Wilson Bentley (thank you to my friend H. for so kindly sending it to me).

This is the one that caught my eye this time as I was leafing through its pages....

And this is the resulting tatted snowflake:

Real snowflakes are angular, with some curves, yes,  but also with straight lines and sharp points... whereas tatting is mostly round and curvy.  It's therefore not always obvious how to recreate the shape of a real snowflake with rings and chains.  In this case, I made use of lock chains which are straight and also produce a nice sharp angle where they meet under the two small rings.

I'm showing them again smaller so it's easier to see the overall shape.  There are still some changes I'd like to make... but if I don't get any closer, I'll still be happy with this version.

This wasn't my first iteration...  there were many!  Another that I liked and which came before the one above is the one below.  It's nowhere as near to the real snowflake but I was happy with this design too.  It still needs a bit of work but I will probably write a pattern for that one as well.  I particularly like the shape of the points.

In fact I made many different snowflakes that I like or from which I liked various elements.  Here's a bad (low light) photo of them on my table last night.  They're all slightly different... and I still have more ideas I want to try!  So maybe I'll make up for last year by having two this year.

As you can see, my testing has enabled me to make many versions and samples - there are even more than the ones shown on the photo - so that I'll have most of my snowflakes ready to send to friends and family in their Christmas cards when the time comes (I can't believe I dared to say the "C" word in July!!).

Best wishes
Frivole

And the Winners Are...

There were 23 entries (the comments heading showed 25 but one was a reply to a comment and another was from Michelle who stated she didn't want to be entered in the draw, so that made 23).

The random number generator said:

When I counted to 13 and 15, I skipped Michelle's comment and that gave Stephanie's comment and Margaret's.  You are the winners!  I will be sending you the pattern and a kit bag to make the Star Bag.  Congratulations!  Please send me a private message with your postal address and I will be shipping you the kit this week.  I hope you'll enjoy making the bag.

On another note, I'm excited to say that I have been working on a new snowflake design for 2019... and yes!  I have one!  I looked through my real snowflake book again for inspiration and I have been tatting some samples.  I now need to write the pattern up... and hope you'll find it appealing!

Best wishes,

Frivole

Snow Flurry in July

I had an order for some snowflakes.  It took me a while to make them all but it was a good exercise as it enabled me to revisit several patterns I'd not made for a while and update some of them.

I don't know why but the photo below of them all messy together appealed to me.

Regal

Working on Regal caused me to think how useful it is to use both ways of making chains on the same piece - flipped as normal, and reverse order unflipped.  That way you can do all the work looking at the front of your design, and the chains can curve either way depending on the method you choose.  In Regal for example, the chain curves one way before the JK and then the other way after it.

Snowdrop

Snowdrop remains one of my favourite of the snowflakes I've designed.  I really like its shape and how it was designed from a real snowflake image and I also really like the fact that it's all tatted in one round.

Étoile du Nord

Bentley

Ice Queen

Regal

Criss-Cross
(This one really needs a better name!)

Crystal Star

Qanik

Céleste

Snowdrop

Tatting snowflakes has also made me think that maybe I should try to find time to design a new one for 2019... during the summer... as I'll get busy with studies again in September.  I still feel sad that I didn't design one for 2018.  I can't have two years in a row without a new snowflake design??!

And lastly, don't forget to check the previous post if you're interested in making my new crochet bag as I have a giveaway for which there are still only a few entries!

Best wishes,

Frivole