Tatting as 2017 comes to an end, Part 2

Diane couldn't possibly anticipate the abounding fascination we tatters would have to the reveal of her Ice Drop pattern and tutorial. There is even a Facebook group especially devoted to the craze and it is appropriately named Ice Drop Addicts. 

I've been affected by it, too. Denise Wessman sent me a beautiful one that she had tatted along with a little kit for creating my own.  When I decided I needed one more Christmas ornament to gift this year I was determined it would be a star, and it occurred to me that an Ice Drop star would catch the light beautifully. I looked up to gaze off into the distance thinking about what I might want to do and where I might purchase some of those glass drops when I suddenly noticed that I'm using clear and blue ones to support the artificial flowers in my dining room centerpiece. Now how wonderful is that! Of course I immediately robbed a few from the vase and got to work.

Motif #13 for the 2017 25 Motif Challenge

Stars in Stars Ice Drop 

based upon the original Ice Drop by Diane Cademartori

Size 20 thread

I've provided the link above for Diane's original tatted Ice Drop, but I must also credit the work of Carolyn Craig who describes her idea for the small star joining the rings of the gem setting in her Blue Glass Stars pattern. She shares this pattern in the files of the Ice Drop Addicts Facebook group.

Thank you Diane, Carolyn, and Denise for your inspiration.

While I didn't complete the 25 Motif Challenge this year, I value the encouragement it provided to keep sharing my work. I look forward to starting another challenge for 2018.

Happy New Year!

Tatting as 2017 comes to an end, part 1

I apologize for the delay in updating you on my tatting. Since several of them were Christmas presents, I was busy scrambling to complete them before the big day.

Motifs 12 & 13 of 2017 25 Motif Challenge

2 pillow cases edgings

Variation of Tatted Heart Edging 

Published in Victorian Hearts & Flowers Magazine, 1995

Size 20 Lizbeth thread, Color #147 Red Burst

I bought this issue of the magazine for the heart patterns and this edging. I can't remember exactly which issue it was that year and I kept the patterns and discarded the magazine. I used the hearts patterns numerous times, but this is the first time I worked the edging. It was a happy accident that I omitted the arching chain that should have replaced every other heart in the edging. I was several repeats into the pattern before I realized what I'd done, but I actually liked this so I kept on going. 

I attached the edging as you see in the above picture and I stitched along the edging of the pillowcases as well as over and through the hearts to keep them firmly in place. It was important that they be able to withstand a washer and dryer as I wanted my mother to actually use them rather than keep them boxed up somewhere. I used invisible nylon sewing thread to attach the edging. That stuff is my new best friend. My hand sewing is not as lovely and invisible as it once was and this thread hides itself very nicely.

One more thing I did was to overlap the edges of the lace rather than create a completed circle. Mom had commented on the current inconsistency in the sizes of pillow cases and I wanted to make sure that this lace, which will long outlast these pillow cases, could be removed and applied to another set.

Happy tatting everyone. Watch for Part 2 tomorrow.

Doll Sock/Shoe

I found a copy of the better picture I took of Butterbean's doll in her socks.  Here it is.

Motif #6 in 25 Motif Challenge of 2017

(2nd sock of the pair)

This was too much work to count the pair as one motif in the Challenge. :D

Trimming Socks

#4 in 25 Motif Challenge of 2017

sock trim

Pink and White - 2 strands of DMC embroidery floss

Turquoise - 2 strands of vintage J&P Coats

I've been working sporadically on several different projects. This one is a special request for my granddaughter's 2nd birthday. She will wear them with this dress. Sock one is finished. Now to get busy on its partner. 

Another UFO Completed

Variation on Jane Eborall's Large Seahorse

 #3 in 25 Motif Challenge of 2017

This lovely seahorse is testimony that you can make lots of mistakes in a pattern and still have a nice outcome. Do follow the link to view Jane's wonderful pattern as it should have been tatted. Rings and beads are missing from mine, but I really enjoyed completing it. 

Finishing Unfinished Objects

Victorian Heart
(Designer: Kim Goetz, Victorian Hearts and Flowers magazine by Better Homes and Gardens - 1995)

#2 in 25 Motif Challenge of 2017

size 16 Finca perle cotton

Let me start by apologizing that these haven't been blocked or pressed yet. I've put this post off all week, planning to get that done first. I finally decided it was better to let you see them as they are than to have you wondering what happened to me again.

I'm still struggling to focus on anything for very long, so I've been sorting my UFOs and working on those that didn't need much to finish them up. Many of those in this picture just needed the ends hidden. I used to have a tendency to postpone that for as long as possible. Now I tend to have fewer to deal with and I make myself handle them as I go so there aren't a large number to deal with at the end.

You'll recognize the cross and the snowflake as items I've blogged about in the past few months. I've no idea where the red object came from. Was it the beginning of something larger? No clue. I had no notes with it. The teal and pink one is a design I played with that begins with the Valeire square (see my pattern page). Only the heart required any tatting. It was a little more than half finished. It's a lovely pattern I've used often. My own notes are a hand drawn diagram I made from the original text pattern. I'm sorry I can't give you the source. I was much less concerned with that kind of thing back then--many, many years ago, when I understood nothing about copyrights and the courtesy of acknowledging sources and designers. I do love the pattern and I've used it often. In sewing machine thread, it makes the daintiest earrings.

Now I'm going to go enjoy a lovely Sunday afternoon nap. Happy tatting, everyone!

Laurel Leaf and Mirror Image

Spoiler alert: If you are working on muskaan's This Way or Tat series, and wish to complete the challenge of creating a mirror image of the Laurel Leaf on your own, read no farther!

Laurel Leaf by muskaan

Motifs #2 & #3 in 3rd 25 Motif Challenge of 2016

size 20 Cecelia, sage green

The tatting is still damp from spritzing and finger pressing, but I'm so excited I just had to post this right away. 

Have you ever persisted in doing something just to see if it could be done? Some of you might have figured this out right away, but it would have spoiled my fun had I asked you how to do it. (Hence the spoiler alert above.) 

The background: You see, it's obvious to me that there are a lot of tatters who prefer to use traditional double stitches. That's fine. It's my own preference most of the time, and there is no right or wrong method.  I knew that I could use RODs to create a mirror image. (Muskaan shares more about this method in her blog.) My challenge to myself was to do it with traditional double stitches only. 

I won't tell you some of the many things I tried before it suddenly occurred to me to tat it from the bottom up! I began with a true ring just as I did with the first one, but I was actually starting the tatting from the back. The tatting of the double stitches in the rings must be in reverse order, but that is really easy to see in the diagram--instead of that bottom ring being tatted 3+6-9, it had to be tatted 9-6-3 with the last picot being very small for joining the bare thread as I worked my way up. That same rule holds for all of the rings. I left the shuttle thread attached to the top ring of the mirror image so you can see where I ended. The final thing I needed to do was to bring up the starting tail and join it to the bare thread between the two base rings.

Notes: 

1) By starting both leaves with true rings and reversing work as instructed in the pattern, when the leaves are posed as above, the outer rings of each leaf are 'face down' and the inner rings are 'face up,' making the top ring of each leaf face up. 

2) TWoT direction in this project is very straightforward. Movement is down in the original leaf and up in the mirror image above.

Happy tatting, everyone.

Candle from Mohler Square & TWoT Observations

Candle adaptation using Rachael Mohler's Hen n Chicks Square

Motif #1 in 3rd 25 Motif Challenge of 2016

Threads: Green size 20 Cebelia, Red size 20 Manuela, 

Variegated Gold/White size 20 Manuela 

with strand of Gold Kreinik Blending Filament

This was my first attempt at Rachael's square which uses her alternative method for a single shuttle split ring. You might remember that I've been struggling to relearn the split chain, but the knots just clicked for me in Rachael's square. Maybe I've ended my split chain problems. I certainly hope so.

I experimented by starting these squares at different places. Both of the efforts to the left in the image above began with the large ring in the corner. As expected after my previous ring only experiments as part of muskaan's This Way or That Set 1, the work after this ring progressed clockwise. 

In the red square that I've attached to the green one, I decided to start with an inner ring. As you can see from my arrow in the above picture, the work progressed counterclockwise as in my previous experiments with beginning with inner rings. By choosing to begin at a ring that is a SSSR in Rachel's original design, I was also able to test how the split rings look compared to a true ring in the same location. See if you can find the ring in the candle picture above. I'm very pleased with the result. 

I considered tatting additional squares to make a bookmark or a square mat. I even considered laying the squares on their sides and adding little bows to the top of each so that they looked like gifts. I finally settled on the candle ornament above, adding some blending filament to the variegated gold and white thread to create a flame on the top.

Conny Pheiffer's Angel

Test Tat of Cornelia Pheiffer's Angel

Motif #2 of 3rd 25 Motif Challenge

White size 30 Cebelia

I got one other item tatted this week. Cornelia Pheiffer gave me an opportunity to test tat this pattern for her. It is a well-done design, and she offers the pattern for your free use. Thank you, Conny!

Wiggly Flowers, Butterfly Liberated, and Wiosna 2016 update

Wiggly Flowers by muskaan

Motifs #22, #23, and #24 in 2nd 25 Motif Challenge of 2016

Pink variegated (size 10 Manuela), Other variegated (size 20 Lizbeth)

After my last few posts, you were probably wondering if I was ever going to finish tatting something. :) Well, I did! And they were all quick, easy, and fun.

I'm always looking for great patterns for emptying my shuttles after a project is finished, and I tend to prefer ring only ones. Wiggly Flowers and Butterfly Liberated are both great for this and muskaan has shared them first as part of This Way or Tat? Set 1 - Rings Only, but she will be adding the patterns individually to her pattern page.

Wiggly Flowers is a great variation of the daisy diagram on page 9 of the pdf (1.A.iii.) as it uses half-closed rings. I love using beads in the opening of half-closed rings, so, after tatting a bead-less one to get the size, I searched through my bead stash for something the right size and a suitable color for a flower center.

Butterfly Liberated by muskaan

Motif #25 of 2nd 25 Motif Challenge of 2016

Same size 20 Lizbeth variegated thread as Wiggly Flowers

This little flutterer is also a variation of diagram I.A.iii on page 9, but with "a twist" as muskaan puts it. I tatted this with all traditional double stitches, including the little half-closed ring that is tucked in between the outward facing rings. While I've made loads of those 4-ring butterflies where the ends become the antennae, I find myself thinking every time that the butterfly needs a body! That little 4-ring design is just 2 wings (4 wing segments) and antennae. I like to think the knot I tie is the head. :) Now my ring-only butterflies can have a body. Thank you, muskaan.  (Tat it for yourself and notice the flow of the work. Did you find it to match that diagram, too?)

Progress update: Serwetka Wiosna 2016 by Renata Renulek Niemczyk

http://renulek.blogspot.com/2016/04/frywolitkowa-serwetka-on-line.html

size 80 (DMC & Lizbeth)

I'm finally back at work on this project and enjoying it. I'm working round 10 with yellow on shuttle 1 to form the inner-joining rings and white on shuttle 2 for the chains and thrown rings. All of my tatting on this doily has been traditional double stitches, but I do have a definite front side in mind. I've deliberately tatted each round so that the yellow rings and multiple picot rings that I view as flowers (like those in that first purple and white round) are all facing the same side up. This is how you are seeing it in the image above and how I plan to display it. Since this round has more of my little yellow flowers, I wanted those yellow rings to be face up compared to all of the other yellow rings in the doily so far. When I reversed work after that first yellow ring, I found myself moving around the doily in a counter-clockwise direction as you can see. I've found some similarities to the ring-only diagrams that we covered in the online class last night, but I know muskaan is going to cover ring and chain combinations as well, so I'm going to save my thoughts until then. :)

Happy tatting, everyone!

Emptying Shuttles and TWorT Observations

Butterfly Twins

see link in My Patterns

Motif #21 in 2nd 25 Motif Challenge of 2016

It all started with the simple desire to empty some shuttles. I chose to work with some of my own patterns. I enjoy tatting them, and it has been a long time since I've worked with some of them. I thought it would be a good way to check to see if any of them need updating, too.

With tatting direction much on my mind lately (see muskaan's This Way or Tat), I couldn't help noticing that the tatting progresses in a clockwise direction with the 3 inner rings and then changes to counterclockwise to complete the outside round. As you can see from the colors in the small split ring on the right of the left butterfly, the second shuttle that formed the unflipped stitches of that split ring, became my 'ball' thread as I reversed work to begin the outer round. This is very clear in the diagram (image) pattern, too. It was a great beginning to my afternoon of tatting because it really helped me get oriented in regards to actual tatting and a diagram.

Variation of Small Cross Bookmark

see link in My Patterns for original

Motif #22 in 2nd 25 Motif Challenge

I then moved on to a variation of my Small Cross Bookmark. In this variation that allows me to come out of the top rather than the bottom, I start with the arm on the right, work an SCMR with a thrown ring for the bottom, followed by the left arm, and then a split ring to climb out into the chain round. Everything is worked continuously without any reverse works, so the design (original as well as this variation) produces an automatic front side and back side. The tatting moves continually in a clockwise direction.

So, now I felt ready for a challenge, and with a pattern that I didn't design.

Tatted Cupcake 2 by Nancy Tracy

shared at http://be-stitched.com

Motif #23 and #24 in 2nd 25 Motif Challenge

If you remember, I mentioned orientation earlier in this post. I tend to try to follow patterns in a clockwise direction regardless of whether or not I'm actually tatting in that direction (largely because I really haven't paid any attention to the direction in which I was tatting). I now realize that this is why I sometimes struggle with a diagram or find myself referring to the written instructions as I work through the diagram. It became really obvious to me as I worked these cupcakes. Once I started following the diagram in the direction in which I was actually tatting, following the diagram became so much simpler!

So, first some basics about the differences in the two cupcakes: The one on the left is worked with double stitches and reverse order double stitches to produce an obvious front and back side. (I'll have to remember share my little mental trick that makes this as easy for me to do as traditional tatting, even though I rarely do it.) The one on the right is tatted with traditional double stitches only. I reversed work and used the shoelace trick where indicated in both cupcake bases. Since I already had two shuttles loaded with matching thread, I didn't bother with the shoelace trick in the top on the left since I could easily change the working shuttle.

I decided to consider the first ring tatted to be the front of the pattern--probably the most common assumption. I've displayed them both for you with that ring facing you in the image. The basic shape of a ring surrounded by a chain is the start of both the base and the top. Since I used a solid color for both bases it is hard to see the order of progression. The wonderful thing about the variegated threads is that they make the direction very obvious. Take a look at the center rings in the tops of each. Remember those center rings are facing you just as they would if you were tatting them but they are upside down. Notice the way the thread color progresses out of those rings to move to your left? When I reversed work, I actually started moving around the diagram to the left. This was unaffected by whether I was tatting with DS and RODS or with DS alone. You can see the thread color progressing out of the top of the rings and into the chains on the left in both cupcake tops.

By habit, I kept referring to the right side of Nancy's diagram as if I were moving clockwise, which kept sending me back to her written directions to clarify what I was doing next. When I realized the discrepancy between my tatting direction and direction in which I was following the diagram, I started following the diagram in a counterclockwise direction. Wow! The tatting went much faster and smoother after that with no more need to refer to the written instructions.

I realize that I didn't get oriented properly to muskaan's diagram when I posted about my observations with her first exercise and I'll be posting a revision of that along with an explanation of what I think threw me off. I hope I didn't cause any confusion for any of you who are following this or experimenting on your own. Even though I've seem some of what muskaan will be sharing with us in the weeks ahead, and even worked with many of the diagrams, I really feel it's only now sinking in as I apply the awareness to actual pieces I'm tatting and their diagrams. 

Happy tatting!

This Way or Tat Exercise 1

Exercise 1 in muskaan's This Way or Tat series

Motif #19 in 2nd 25 Motif Challenge of 2016

Dotted Snowflake by muskaan

6.5 cm in diameter using size 30 DMC Cebelia

The link directly under the picture will take you to the post in which muskaan provides the introduction to this series of exercises to help us understand the whys and whens of why our tatting sometimes progresses in a different direction to that of our diagrams. Muskaan provides the diagram for this snowflake.

In exercise 1, muskaan encourages us to tat as we would normally, but to observe closely the direction in which our work progresses. The goal was to establish a baseline for future comparision. All of the true rings in this design are without picots and the chains, their picots, and thrown rings are, in my opinion, the primary focus of the design, so I tatted with traditional double stitches for both chains and rings using reverse works between the elements with the following exceptions.

I actually chose to use the 2nd shuttle for the split ring that allowed me to climb into the final round because I considered using RODS (reverse order double stitches) for the attaching rings of this round. The attaching ring immediately to right of my start was made with RODS and then I formed the next one with the usual double stitches. It was very difficult to tell the difference since there were no ornamental picots. In fact, if I had any preference at all, it was for the appearance of the rings made with normal double stitches. That means that in this snowflake you are looking at the back side of the rings that form the center of round 1 and those that attached to that round in round 2 except for that split ring and the ring immediately to its right.

It will be interesting to see if anyone else used different stitch combinations and came up with any differences in direction.

'Geocities' Doily Complete

When you don't know what else to call a design that is not your own, you make something up. In this case, I found it on geocities.com back in March 2008, so I've been calling it the Geocities Doily. It was the wave of the outer round of motifs that drew me to the pattern.

Motif #18 of 2nd 25 Motif Challenge of 2016

Designer unknown

Retrieved from http://www.geocities.com/orange_on_black/MFF.html on 3/30/2008

I apologize that it has been so long since I've posted. I've even gotten terribly behind with blog reading and participation in the Craftree forum, but the demands of work and family lately had to override those of my hobby. (I do think I might have heard my shuttles calling out to me from my bag on a number of occasions, because, of course, they went with me everywhere just in case.)

The timing of this post fits perfectly though with a project that muskaan has been working on. Let me explain what happened with this doily.

First, I remind you that I don't usually care about front sides and back sides to my tatting. I even like the flexibility of being able to display things either side up. However, the option does sometimes come in very handy. Notice the round with the green thread? I wanted to use two colors so that the lighter color would be repeated in the clovers between the purple motifs. This round joins to the previous round with a large ring and has both inward and outward facing chains. Some shuttle switching was necessary to keep all of the chains green. With traditional tatting, those chains were going to be flipping back and forth in direction and that really didn't appeal to me. I wanted them to flow and, to me, that meant they needed to face the same direction. 

Since I like to hide threads in areas of the same color whenever possible, I chose to start with one of those outward facing clovers. When I got ready to join to the doily, I realized I was going to be moving counterclockwise. It took me a bit to figure out where to make that first join and to get myself oriented properly to follow the diagram. 

Several times in the last year or so, I've noticed that my tatting direction fails to match the tatting direction indicated in a designer's diagram. When the pattern is a simple one, I make the adjustment without much bother. With a more complicated pattern, though, more thought is required to figure out where I am and where I need to go. I rarely tat with a proper front and back side, so it didn't seem likely that this was the problem every time.

Muskaan has spent a great deal of time searching for the keys to this by asking the questions of "Why?" and "When?" You don't have to have a passion for searching out the details to benefit from her research because she has come up with some fun little tatting patterns for us to use as we learn from her discoveries. I'm very excited about participating. Check out the comments she has shared in this post just to get us thinking and watch for more in the series of "This Way or Tat." (I think I'm beginning to sound like a commercial, but I did tell you I'm excited about this. I do hope some of you will pull out your shuttles and tatting needles to play. After all, the more the merrier!)

Happy tatting!

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!

Fancy Cross by Roger aka Freedman

This is another piece I've tatted this week while keeping the grandchildren. It's an easy pattern to follow which Roger shared on the old msn needletatting website years ago. I altered the bottom as I was running out of thread and I thought this might work better for attaching a ribbon at the base.

Motif #16 for 2nd 25 Motif Challenge of 2016

size 20 Manuela thread

Some Easy Tatting & Catherine Wheel Join Spider

My grandson requested I make him a tatted spider, so I combined the project
with my need to work on my Catherine Wheel Join before getting back to work on filet tatting. I figured out what I was doing wrong last weekend which is good. There is no pattern for the spider. I just made it up as I went along with a little help. Nik chose the colors and decided on leg placement.

Motif #13 for 2nd 25 Motif Challenge of 2016

Size 20, black Flora and yellow/while/gold variegated Manuela

Body is about 1.5 inches long

Motifs #14 and #15 for 2nd 25 Motif Challenge of 2016

size 20 hand-dyed thread by Heather Johnston

I've had this thread for years. It's probably a size 5. I noticed though that it isn't colorfast. Any tips for making it so?

Camilla Cross by Lene Bjorn & Filet Tatting Update

This is the last of the tatting projects I completed while my computer was down last week. I continued my fascination with Lene Bjorn's patterns.

Camilla Cross

from Lene Bjorn's Tatted Bookmarks

Manuela size 20, color #041

Finished diameter approximately 12 cm or 4.75 inches tall

Motif #12 for 2nd 25 Motif Challenge of 2016

I ran into a problem with my filet tatting project. My picots from that first row are too big and, for some bizarre reason, I'm struggling with the 'pop' of the Catherine Wheel join. I'm going to start over as I can't bear the thought of continuing with these loops instead of lines in my filled squares. I'm also pulling out the bigger thread to practice that 'pop.' I may need to put on some magnifying lenses, too, as part of the problem may be that I can't see the details in that size 12 perle cotton as well, or perhaps I should use a larger thread size. I had a good start, but I'm glad to be working out the picot size problem now. I just need some uninterrupted time to concentrate on the work.

17th Day of December Snowflake

The Seventeenth Day of December 

from Lene Bjorn's 24 Snowflakes in Tatting

DMC Cecelia size 30

Finished diameter 9 cm or 3.6 inches

Motif #11 for 2nd 25 Motif Challenge of 2016

By starting with a clover from the outside round and making the 2nd ring of the clover a self-closing mock ring, I was able to tat this in one round. I left a mock picot between the inside rings and the mock rings to give the illusion of a separate round as in the original. 

This, too, is one of the items I tatted while my computer was down last week. 

16th Day of December Snowflake

The Sixteenth Day of December 

from Lene Bjorn's 24 Snowflakes in Tatting

Lizbeth size 20

Finished diameter 9.5 cm or 3.75 inches

Motif #10 for 2nd 25 Motif Challenge of 2016

If you look closely, you can see I still struggled a bit with the tension of those long chains, but I'm content with it for now. 

This is another of the items I finished while my computer was down last week. Unfortunately, the wifi issue has returned. I'm online now with a cable stretching from the router and across 2 rooms, but that has to be taken down when the little ones are here. 

Happy tatting!

Snowflakes completed for June and July (Motifs 4, 5, & 6 for 25 Motif Challenge)

My plan was two a month and I got behind by two in June. Now I'm caught up through July. (Join us in the Craftree tatting forum as we tat Lene Bjorn's 24 Snowflakes in Tatting before the year ends.) You'll notice that I skipped a flake this time. I will come back to it later when I have time to practice that frustrating split chain some more. :)

Motif #4 for 25 Motif Challenge

Twelfth Day of December 

White, Size 30 DMC, approx. 10cm in diameter

It isn't missing a chain. I didn't notice that one of the chains had folded over behind the ring when I took the photograph. I really like this one.

Motif #5 for 25 Motif Challenge

Fourteenth Day of December

White, Size 30 DMC, approx. 10cm in diameter

I like the way this one looks, but it isn't without mistakes. The small chains in that outer round that are side by side are not identical, at least they aren't supposed to be. I made a mistake with the very first pair and didn't notice until a couple of repeats later. I didn't cut it out, but, determined not to have any more of those mistakes in the piece, I found myself untatting several times. 

Motif #6 for 25 Motif Challenge

Fifteenth Day of December

White, Size 30 DMC, approx. 10cm in diameter

This one is a mess. It looked like a bowl as I finished the tatting.  My rings should have had larger picots. I struggled to keep those chains looking smooth, but I also was running short of thread on my shuttles as I neared the end. I was tatting with the bobbins and changing shuttles to avoid having to add in new thread so close to the end. Can you see where I did the shoelace trick in that top left chain? Note the breaks in the curve. The ends of this one had to be knotted and cut as one of them was less than an inch long. That was close! I hope my own failure with this one won't keep others from trying it. I think the design is a lovely one. Just remember to use the picture as a guide to picot size. Most of them must be fairly long.

The children and grandchildren were all out of town yesterday so I found some time to work on learning something new. I'll be sharing more about my explorations later. 

Happy tatting!

Eleventh Day of December

I'm just now catching up on my goal for the Craftree Challenge of tatting all 24 snowflakes from Lene Bjorn's 24 Snowflakes in Tatting this year. My personal goal has been two snowflakes a month, and I didn't tat any of them in June. I've been needing simple projects for my tatting time lately, and the Eleventh and Twelfth of December qualify.

Motif #3 for 2nd 25 Motif Challenge of 2016

DMC Cebelia size 30 in white

just over 8 cm in diameter

I decreased the size of the picots.