Fine Threads

I'm sure you've been following Fox's adventure with Perfect Quilter thread?  Well, she kindly sent me a sample.  I used it to tat Thistle by Mary Konior.

Don't look at the joins on the chains,

they are awful!

I laughed at myself because this would have been one perfect opportunity to use the blipless join and I didn't think to!  Even after I just made the previous blogpost, silly me.

I found Perfect Quilter to be slightly fuzzy but smooth and easy to work with though I have to admit I'm not enamoured with that particular colour way... I find there's too much contrast between the colours and it's an unusual mix!  But thank you Fox, it was nice to be able to give it a try.

Then Diane's post reminded my of another thread that was generously sent to me by my friend Sandy:  King Tut.  Sandy had chosen something right up my alley, in the blues I like.  King Tut is even finer than Perfect Quilter and is also firmer and less fuzzy.  It's a nice thread to work with.

I thought more about the joins this time and they are smoother.

Then I decided to tat this one more time in Lizbeth 80 to compare sizes and I used the blipless join this time.  The 80 was only just slightly finer than the Perfect Quilter but King Tut is definitely the finest.  Here are all three:

I found this design really difficult to tat as nicely as I would have liked.  I find having to join chains "straight" causes problems and often produce less than satisfactory results.  Chains are meant to curve!

I didn't particularly enjoy making thistle and am pleased to be done with my comparative tatting... but on the same page was also "Star".  It looked so pretty I just had to tat it too!  This time in Altin Basak 50.  A thread I like a lot.

Finally, I'm still not convinced about the blipless join in the previous post.  I have now made a video of Jane's join and will upload that later.  But I don't find the result completely satisfactory with either.  Problem not solved for me.  I'll think about whether I want to leave the video of my join up or not...

Ah, the joys of tatting!

Best wishes,

Frivole

Rose Garden

I have some edgings to sew onto hankies but I wasn't inspired... instead I leafed through my Mary Konior books and decided to tat "Rose Garden".

It's nice.

And done in one pass.

Tatted in Lizbeth Vineyard Harvest, size 20

And just for fun,

I placed many of them together

to see what it would look like.

I think it would be interesting if

the roses were one colour and the

outer flowers in another,

don't you think?

I made a note of your suggestions in the previous post, thank you very much.  I can't guarantee which video I'll make or when, but I'll try my best... except for when it comes to celtic tatting - terrible admission! - I'm not very good at it!  So celtic tatting will definitely have to wait until I get a better hang of it!

Best wishes,

Frivole

Queen of Hearts

There has been some discussion about this design over at In Tatters since the publication of Jan Stawasz's second book because this heart (only ever so slightly modified) appears in it.  I don't want to start a debate here too but it inspired me to tat it.

I had never tatted it, though it is a well known and loved heart.  So I thought it was time I did.  Here is the original, Mary Konior's Queen of Hearts.

And in a pretty pale pink...

you don't often see pink on my blog, do you!

Tatted in DMC Babylo "Light Dusky Pink" (224)
from Mary Konior's "Tatting with Visual Patterns"

I like it.  Another great design by MK.  It's only the same elements repeated 9 times but all the shaping is done by where the elements are joined...  clever.  But it also means you have to pay attention!  Easy to get one of those joining picots wrong.

Best wishes,

Frivole

Stawasz/Konior?

Here is another motif from Jan Stawasz's book.  

I made it with one of Jess's Messy Jess-y's (Tat-ilicious on Etsy),

a bright mix of fresh greens.

Jan likes to use lots of decorative picots.  These are getting lost a bit with this (gently) variegated thread.    But the overall shape is still very appealing.  I found it reminiscent of Mary Konior's masquerade with the same oppositely curving chains on the outside.  Did one inspire the other?  Which one came first?

In fact, it's so similar on the outside round that I used the border of Jan Stawasz's motif to make a border for Masquerade on a small doily I made last year:

Best wishes,

Slow Start...

I've been back a few days but couldn't figure out what to put in my first post!  I've been messing around with a few things but there was nothing particularly special to show you which seemed disappointing after having been away for some weeks.

I did work on necklaces, earrings and a new pattern while I was away but I don't have good pictures ready and the pattern is still being tested as we speak.

So in the end, I am settling with these two small offerings.  The first is my maple leaf which I had not tatted for a long time (and I can't say I did a great job of this one, some of my chains are a bit wonky).  I had some Tat-ilicious thread called Messy Jessy which I really like the look of, pretty for a leaf, isn't it?

Motif 22 of 25-motif challenge

The second item is also tatted in Messy Jessy in purple shades.  I particularly like the more random and gentle colour changes of those threads and hope Jess will come up with some more (hint, hint).

It's called "Josephine Wreath" and is by Mary Konior from her book "A Pattern Book of Tatting".  

Motif 23 of 25-motif challenge

It looks pretty, frilly, frothy

with all those picots and tiny flowers

in the Messy Jessy thread.

Best wishes,

In Search of Perfection, continued...

This continues on from the previous post.  I just finished the second motif, done in traditional tatting and I just wanted to post about it straight away.  The discussion is just getting going in the previous post and it's interesting as always.

So here is the same motif, done the traditional way (always starting with the first half of the double stitch, whichever side you're on and only doing up joins - have I got that right??).

By the way, this is "Mixed Bouquet" from the book "A Pattern Book of Tatting"

by Mary Konior

Traditional tatting, front-side

Traditional tatting, back-side

And finally here are both motifs.

FS\BS on top

Traditional tatting on bottom

Does this little experiment make it conclusive to any of you?

Best wishes,

A Rose by Any Other Name...

As usual, once I open a Mary Konior book, I always see something else that strikes my fancy.  After yesterday's motif, I was attracted to this rose which is very similar to the flower in the Tischband.  The rose is actually part of a collar pattern but after making two as in the collar, I decided to make one as stand alone.

This enabled me to practice my newly learned technique for the split chain (video in the making, still in the editing process) which is great - more on that soon.

Rose adapted from the Rose Collar pattern 

from "Tatting Patterns" by Mary Konior (pp. 52-55)

The thread is Autumn Splash by Yarnplayer

and as I was tatting, I kept thinking it reminded me of something...

I hope Yarnplayer will forgive me but eventually

it came to me....

Fruit Loops!

I've not eaten those since I was a child

and even then, not very often as my mother 

never wanted to buy them!

And the design itself reminds me of the Tudor Rose:

I realise now I need to work on those "blip less joins" for this type of tatting in variegated thread.... or is that to do with front-side/back-side tatting....?

Best wishes,

Lace-Lovin' Handkerchief

Some of you will remember when I posted about Diane's kind gift of one of her beautiful hankies.  The bold colours in this one really appealed to me and made me think of Spain, sunshine and flowers in terracotta pots.  I started working on a border for it towards the end of our holiday and here it is completed.

Handkerchief border tatted in Lizbeth 20 (Country Turquoise Med.)
and Lizbeth 40 for the yellow.

I started with "Marguerite" by Mary Konior but as I was working along, I felt that it didn't look quite right with just the blue... there was something missing.  So I experimented with adding the yellow below the blue which ended up working out well.  So this is an inverted border:  I didn't start with the yellow and then attached the blue on the outside, instead I started with the blue and added the yellow on the inside of the border.  I'm sure you'll agree from the picture below, that the yellow really contributes to making the border "pop", just the blue would have been a little dull in my opinion.

And here is a close-up...

I like the look of the three little yellow rings to turn the corner.

Just the lace before attaching it.

So I hope my friend Diane will be pleased with how I decorated her hanky and I'd like to thank her again for her gift.

Best wishes,

Marigold Edging Handkerchief

I get there in the end...  Do you remember the sneak-peak back in February (that IS a long time ago!)...  Well, it finally got finished tonight.  I got tired of seeing this poor abandoned hanky with only one side left to attach.  To be honest I nearly took it all apart as I had some problems with my crochet edging on this one - the fine edge started to pull apart when I inserted the crochet and nearly came to a complete disaster!  So it's not as good as I would like it to be but here it is anyway.

Couldn't even get a good photo either!

Tried with flash...

and here's the whole thing, it's quite a large hanky!  

Well, larger that my usual ladies' hankies (35cm x 35cm)

I'm happy with the lace itself and the colours are good, was only a bit disappointed in the attachment part.  Where it looks a bit "wobbly" around the flowers is because there is actually a bit of a scallop going on around there.

Anyway, pleased to have one more WIP out of the basket and no longer IP!

Best wishes,