Stuck!

Hi all!  Not doing too well on the tatting front at the moment...  I've tried a few different things but nothing's working out too well.  I decided to make a blogpost anyway, in spite of not having much to show you, since it's been so long already since I last blogged.

I thought I'd tackle something new today but I quickly got stuck!  A bit unusual for me but this pattern from Blomqvist and Persson has very few indications on how to work the design and I've looked and looked and am not sure at all where to go from here...

Anybody else has made this pattern by any chance?  I was hoping the whole thing was worked in one pass but now I don't think it's possible and I can't even figure out how to complete this first repeat!

Oh dear!

I will leave it for tonight and look at it afresh in the morning.  I hope I can figure it out because I rather like the look of this design.

How is everyone doing?  Last day of school for our youngest today so summer holidays really start now.  I hope the sun is shining where you are!

Best wishes,

Frivole

Rosette Coaster

Another lovely design from Robin Perfetti's new pattern pack.  This is her Rosette Coaster and it is tatted in one pass (using one split ring) or in two if you prefer to avoid split rings.

My scanner's gone a bit funny and that's why

the image is a bit paler at the bottom.

Best wishes,
Frivole

Kaleidoscope Coaster

Here it is, completed.  This is Robin Perfetti's Kaleidoscope Coaster.  It's very pretty isn't it?  Robin has now added a lot more information to her patterns and this one is very well explained and diagrammed.  It is part of a pattern pack which I'm guessing will be available soon in her Etsy shop.

I didn't block this before scanning it so my chains are not perfectly placed but I think it has a lovely shape.  It is tatted in two passes... but if you were slightly adventurous, you could go from the first to the second by using a split chain followed by a split ring and make the whole thing in one pass.

A very nice design.

Best wishes,

Frivole

Pretty Start...

Hi everyone.  I've been away for a couple of weeks.  Just got back and straight away started on this lovely design which was at the top of my list.  I was hoping to find time to tat while I was away but in the end, it was busy busy all the time so I didn't.

This is just the centre.  Will post again very soon with the rest of it.

It does cup a little but it will be fine once the design is completed.  I just thought it looked rather pretty curled up... flower-like...

Best wishes,
Frivole

Little Tatted Box

At last, I have finally completed the little box I started telling you about a few posts ago!  Here it is:

A few weeks back, I attended a Tatting Day and a lady I met recently was doing a workshop on this little box.  The original pattern and idea is by Judith Connors who gave permission for Linda to teach the class but this particular design was modified by Linda.  What was clever is that Linda had moulds fabricated to shape the boxes.  I think they are made of some kind of vinyl? 

So you make the lid and press it onto the mould before coating the tatting with fabric stiffener.  You then remove and leave to dry and repeat the process for the base, using the narrower part of the mould.  Great, isn't it?

Linda (and Judith) like to decorate their boxes with a flower on top.  So I put one on top of mine, for the photo.

Of course, you could use something else to mould your box, like a jam jar but it's particularly nice to have the right matching size for the lid.  It's a really neat idea and it would be nice to have those moulds in different sizes.

Thanks Linda!

Best wishes,

Frivole

Crochet in the Sunshine and a Tip

As you may know I have several projects on the go, three of them being crochet blankets!  I don't know what it is about crochet blankets but I do enjoy making them.  There's the colourful ripple one for my son, there's "Frida's Flowers" I have been showing you in the previous post and there's also another beautiful design by Jane Crowfoot:  Persian Tiles.  I like variety so it's nice to always have more than one project on the go (though of course, I usually have too many!!  Because I'm only talking about crochet here, there's also the tatting, the micro macramé, the knitting...)

Anyway, Jane Crowfoot had a tip about making a blanket with repeated elements.  She said rather than doing one whole element at a time (which is what I tend to do), it's better to do the first round of all the elements, then the next round on all of them, and so on.  She says that way, if your tension changes, your motifs are more likely to end up the same size.

I took her up on her advice and started working the remaining motifs of the Persian Tile blanket that way.  I have five of the large octagons made so I'm now working on the remaining eleven.

It was such a beautiful sunny day today, we ate in the garden and then I sat and crocheted a bit in the evening sunshine.  Lovely.

Best wishes,
Frivole

Where Has May Gone??

Time just seems to be zoooooooming by at the moment!  Long time since I posted and no tatting to show you.  Time available was dedicated to exploring micro-macramé a bit more...

And trying to keep up with the crochet along blanket - Frida's Flowers:

I'm now on the 5th element of the blanket:

there are 4 of these called "Heart Rose"

I just completed the first one tonight.

I also managed to finish my blue Ada lace top

and am enjoying wearing it.

So there you go, with all else that's going on, I'm afraid I didn't manage any more tatting for this post.  I still have the project from the previous post to complete, but at the moment, my crochet hook is still shouting louder than my shuttles!

What are you guys up to?  What are your current projects?

Best wishes,

Frivole