Friday, August 26, 2016

The Eighteenth Day of December

Motif #17 of 2nd 25 Motif Challenge of 2016
The Eighteenth Day of December 
from 24 Snowflakes in Tatting by Lene Bjorn
Manuela size 10
Measure 13.5 cm (5.25 inches) in diameter 

I tatted this with a front and a back (directional tatting) which means some rings had to be tatted with reverse order double stitches. Then I took a picture of the back side instead of the front. Will you believe me if I tell you that I did that purposely to show you that it looks good from that side, too? (Made you smile!) Of course I didn't, but I learned something from my mistake. 

Directional tatting is a very useful tool, but I rarely bother with front side/back side, because in most of the things I tat, I like that there is no front or back. This time, I felt that, since the pattern is composed entirely of rings, a mix of front and back side rings might be more obvious and less pleasing to my eye. I'm glad I bothered because no matter which side lands up, the look throughout the piece is consistent. It was worth the effort.

Lene provides little arrows in each ring of the diagram to indicate whether a ring is split or traditional. The direction of the arrows in rings 1 and 2, both traditional rings, seemed to me to be reversed. Muskaan mentioned in past post of hers that she sometimes finds that she tats in a different direction than the pattern, and that may be the case here. As I studied the pattern, I also realized that there could be an alternative start to the pattern. I opted to tat ring 2 followed by ring 1, and then proceeded as Lene designed it. 

I really enjoyed this pattern and will definitely use it again. I'm going to use this one as a coaster and it needs some companions. 

Happy tatting!

8 comments:

God's Kid said...

It's gorgeous!!!! :)

Anonymous said...

This is one of the snowflakes from this book that I love. I too tatted front-side/back-side and I also tatted ring 2 before ring one.
Mama Martin

muskaan said...

So pretty !!! The tinted thread works beautifully !
I agree, Lene's snowflakes are mostly large enough to be used as coasters .
I may have finally whittled down the reason why some rounds go clockwise & others counterclockwise .... will share soon (need to draw a few diagrams, and need a clearer head).

Margarets designer cards said...

Lovely snowflake, I must get back to tatting them, I am now very behind, I love your colour thread and will make a lovely coaster.

Lace-lovin' Librarian ~ Diane said...

Beautiful! I'm not sure I'd have the patience to use front side/back side tatting. I get confused so easily! I do love it in the purple, and I thing it will make a fabulous set of coasters!

Jane McLellan said...

It's a splendid snowflake. I don't do fs/bs tatting, but was interested to read your thoughts. Never say never, as you say there may be occasions when it is warranted.

Eliz Davis aka Tatknot said...

Thanks for the compliments, everyone.

Mama Martin, it is nice to know someone else saw that possibility, too.

Muskaan, I really look forward to hearing your thoughts on the clockwise/counterclockwise issue.

Margaret, you've got several months still to catch up on the challenge. I'm ahead by count, but I skipped one that was giving me issues. Who knows how long I'll procrastinate before I finally go back to get that one. ;)

This pattern would be a good one to try directional tatting, Diane. There are very few rings to tat in reverse order double stitches.

Very true, Jane. I don't do it routinely, nor do I have any plans to at the moment, but sometimes it makes sense to me as the better option.

Madtatter80 said...

You get five stars for color choice, and I love this pattern it is like making a puzzle and got to have all mental parts awake :) great Job!