Heart's Desire Diagram, Tidying Up and 25-Motif Challenge

Really, Heart's Desire deserves a blogpost all to itself but I wanted to mention a couple of other things as well.

I have been in touch with Susan Fuller who kindly gave permission for me to post my diagram of her lovely Heart's Desire.  There were so many positive comments about her design but I was personally finding the written directions a bit confusing to follow - nothing wrong with the directions as such but because there are many different counts for the rings and chains, I was easily getting lost and thought I would find it easier to follow a diagram.  So here it is:

Clicking on the picture will take you to the pdf file to download and print.

I thought my blog was getting a bit cluttered - too many things on the right sidebar.  So I decided to add pages instead.  If you look at the top, there are now tabs for you to navigate to other pages where I have moved the Techniques and the Patterns.  It needs a bit more work... now I have the space, I will add thumbnails to all the videos and patterns which I think will be an improvement.

So I removed (or moved) some things but I've added the Random Post Widget at the top which is a nice way to explore the blog and see other posts you may have not seen (even for me!  I forget what I've done and it's nice to revisit past projects as springboards for new ones).

And I've decided, AT LAST, to join in the fun at the 25-motif challenge.  I've looked so many times at that website and enjoyed seeing other people's creations so I thought it was time I participated.  So the two small squares in the previous post will count as motifs 1 & 2 and I will keep counting now.

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

Best wishes,

Little Squares and The Single Shuttle Split Ring (SSSR)

One of my very favourite books is "Tatting" from the DMC Library, edited by Thérèse de Dillmont.  All the samples in the book are so perfectly tatted, I always find them very inspiring.  I was just tidying my books and had a leaf through... and tatted these two little squares.

The one on the left is tatted in size 10 DMC Babylo and the one on the right in Lizbeth 20.

I also uploaded a new video on the single shuttle split ring (Shall I keep making them?  Are there any specific techniques you'd like me to do?)  This also shows finger-tatting so I probably won't be making another video specifically for that I don't think.  I've been trying hard to improve the quality of my videos, so feedback is welcome.  I'm wondering now about eventually re-doing the ones that I made with the red background... what do you think?

If you click on the picture above - clicking once will start the video
and clicking again will take you to Youtube -
where you can view the video in larger format
(and higher resolution if you wish)

Best wishes,

Butterfly Heart Diagram

I liked Irene Woo's heart so much that I decided to make a diagram of it.  I hope that's ok?  And I hope some of you will be pleased to have it.  If you prefer the written directions, they can be found here.

(added 22 January 2012)

I'm sorry I've been contacted by someone who said I might

be infringing rights by posting the diagram so I have removed it.

If anyone knows how I can contact Irene Woo, I'd be grateful for the information.

I have not been able so far to find any contact details for her.

(Second update added 20 September 2017)
Irene Woo has sadly passed away and the family
gave permission for her pattern (which was already available on the web
but without a photo or a diagram)
to be published on Georgia Seitz's website and on mine.
I have changed nothing to the pattern, I have simply
added a photo for reference and a diagram.

Please see this more recent blogpost
which contains a link to the pattern:

http://leblogdefrivole.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/irene-woos-butterfly-heart.html

Best wishes,

Butterfly Heart

Whilst on my cyber travels... I came upon this pretty little heart by Irene Woo.  I feel silly now because I printed it and the pattern had a photo but now I cannot find the link again!  Does anyone know where to find it?  I found a link on Tatting Chic's blog on the wayback machine but it doesn't have a photo.

It was tatted with Yarnplayer's gorgeous Tourmaline thread in size 30.

It reminds me of Lizbeth "Vineyard Harvest" which is one of

my favourite Lizbeth...  I think I may have to re-tat it to compare colours.

A couple of chains are looking a bit "wonky" and I'm not happy with them

so that's a good excuse to make it again, is it not?

A quick tat which would look pretty on a card.

Best wishes,

Heart's Desire

A member of In Tatters made this little heart recently.  And I thought what a nice motif it was.  When I first saw the new "Blue River Glades" by Lizbeth, I knew straight away I needed to have that one.  Just my colours.  So I thought this would be the right thread for my Heart's Desire.

And I do love the colourway, just gorgeous!

The pattern was not the easiest to follow as only the first half was written and then you had to reverse everything to complete the other side - and for some reason, the way it's written was confusing me...  So I think if I were to make it again, I would draw myself a quick diagram.  I did miss one picot in five of the rings (crikey, maybe I should have gone to bed early instead of tatting tonight) but managed to balance it by missing the same ones on the other side, except in one place.  Anyway, I don't think it's too obvious, the overall shape still seems ok to me.  I completed this with a single-shuttle split ring so no ends to sew in on that one.

I particularly like the inside top curves of the heart, I think they're very graceful.

The pattern can be found here on Georgia Seitz's website.

Best wishes,

How to Use a Picot Gauge

Here is another short video - especially for Michelle who said on her blog that she found it hard to get the long picots looking right on her snowflake and wondered if she was doing the gauge thing right.

You can view this video right here but if you wish,

the image is larger if you click on it to view it over at You Tube.

I tried a different setting and lighter background for this video - is it better?  Clearer?  I even have no dark nail varnish on this one! 

Best wishes,

I Was Curious...

First of all Happy New Year  to everyone!

Wishing you a happy, successful and creative 2012.

Yes, I was curious:  I just had to give this mysterious needle tatting a try.  So I received some tatting needles this morning and here is the product of my first try.  Far from perfect of course, I felt all fingers and thumbs to start off but eventually got some sort of rhythm going...  

I shall have to ask advice of needle tatters - like for example, do you really need to tie the thread after every ring and chain?  It seems to me that it doesn't make as neat a transition between elements as the shuttle does, as tying twists the thread a bit before starting on the next ring or chain.  But I'm always prepared to be put right!

I don't think I'm at risk of giving up my shuttles any time soon but I felt I had to try the needle as perhaps it would be the right thing to use in some circumstances- and anyway, I was just curious!  I certainly don't feel I could ever achieve the speed I can with my shuttles as I find there is a lot more movement involved in making the loops for the stitches on the needle as opposed to the smooth "to-ing and fro-ing" of the shuttles.

Best wishes,