Ninth Day of December instead of Morfo #2

With two mangled tattings of the Morfo back in my trashcan, I decided that it's time to tat something else for a change. Was it the thread I chose? Was I too tense and it was transferring to my tatting tension? Who knows! Solution: Tat something else for a while. 

So I've returned to the snowflakes I want to tat this month to keep up with the Craftree Challenge to tat all of the snowflakes in Lene Bjorn's 24 Snowflakes in Tatting by the end of the year. The Ninth Day of December contains lots of block tatting. I tatted the Eighth Day of December using Lene's instructions for block tatting with ball and shuttle. Being determined to give her instructions for block tatting with two shuttles a fair chance, I decided to use two colors for the Ninth. That way I couldn't change techniques mid-flake. Charity921 tatted an impressive Ninth Day of December in navy and white which really inspired me. Having started a collection of my own red and white snowflakes that I call candycane snowflakes, I opted for red and white.

Motif #19 for the 25 Motif Challenge

Manuela #052 (red) size 20 

Cecelia (white) size 20

Finished size: 10.5 cm

I love Lene's instructions for block tatting, but I have a definite preference for her ball and shuttle method. I don't think I'll use the two-shuttle method again unless I need it for color changes as in this one. The two-shuttle method is just so much slower. You never move the ball thread from your left hand in the ball and shuttle method. As you can imagine, that let me move along rather quickly. I will concede that the edges of the two-shuttle method are a little more 'finished' looking, but while this might be a consideration with a large thread, I don't think it would be noticeable in a small thread such as size 80.

Bjorn 8th of December is Finished

This was a fun snowflake to tat. I really like Lene's ball and shuttle method for block tatting. The ball thread never has to change position in your hand. She recommends an unflipped 1st half stitch followed by a normal 2nd half stitch. It was very quick. This method could be used in place of the shoelace trick for changing shuttle position in any pattern.

Motif #15 for 25 Motif Challenge

Eighth of December from 24 Snowflakes in Tatting 

DMC Size 80, Color #67 (Variegated Baby Blue)

Craftree Forum Challenge

I was very conscientious in pulling the first double stitch of the chain up snugly against each clover in this final round. That turned out to be a mistake. It made the clovers want to angle so that the snowflake looked more like a pinwheel than a snowflake. It took some careful blocking of the wet flake to convince those clovers to sit at a more appropriate angle.

I'm definitely behind on the latest Renulek doily, but I hope to do some catching up today. It's been an extremely busy week, so I'm resting today with plans to do very little that isn't related to tatting. It took me a couple of hours this morning just to catch up with the reading of your blogs and the forum, but it has been a wonderfully lazy two hours.

Weekend Tatting Report

Two snowflakes and most of a third are completed for the Craftree Tat-along of 24 Snowflakes in Tatting by Lene Bjorn before the year ends. I invite you to get a copy of the book and join in the fun.

I'm using Lene's snowflakes to practice some techniques I rarely use or haven't mastered yet. My split chains are still failures. I really wish I could find David's email instructions as it worked for me every time way back when. I shall persevere.

The Sixth Day of December

Motif #13 for the 25 Motif Challenge

Tatted in DMC size 80, it is just over 6 cm in diameter.

The Seventh Day of December 

Motif #14 for the 25 Motif Challenge

Also tatted in DMC size 80, it is 7.5 cm in diameter.

I started with a center ring so I could climb out with a split ring of 8/8 to tat the outer round. I practiced onion rings to form those layered circles.

Round 1 with the beginning of Round 2

The Eighth Day of December

Also in DMC size 80.

Lene provides instructions for block tatting with ball and shuttle as well as with two shuttles. Since the Eighth recommends ball and shuttle and the Ninth recommends two shuttles, I thought I'd enjoy trying both methods of block tatting to see if I prefer one method over the other. 

Thanks for dropping by my blog!