Oops Doily

"Oops" because I really like this one and there's a join into the wrong picot right in the most open, visible part of the doily. This is another see-where-the-shuttle-goes doily made with split rings and chains. It's a pretty good size -- larger than 9 inches -- because it doesn't fit on the scanner. I am about to start a new one to see if I can get the joins right and if I can actually write down the pattern while I'm figuring out what I did. This was my first choice for fair entries -- until I blocked it and discovered the oops. I'll have to report on progress, that might keep me working on it! If it really gets finished I'll photograph it instead of disrespect it enough to just chuck it on the scanner.

Wasted Time

During the time I completely ignored this blog, I was tatting.  I just wasn't accomplishing much.  To start with, here's a blue doily I worked on for quite a while.  It's Lizbeth size 40 thread, and made without cut and tie rounds.  It's all split rings and chains to move from one round to the next.  It's also never been blocked (big surprise, that).  It overlaps itself in several places and I don't think blocking is going to cure it.  After all the time I spent on it, I got it to this point and just cut it off the shuttles and chucked it in the drawer with all the other stuff I don't know what to do with.  I like the center -- most of the stuff I started during the last year has the same center.  All these "oooo better idea" to move on weren't really such better ideas. I think some have potential.  I think is one has potential -- but it might need a few cut and tie places to spread out the work and give the edge room to breathe.  For now, it's going back in the drawer.  ☺  I'm making mice!

State Fair 2013

Covered Lotion Jar

This covered lotion jar is my Creative Arts entry. I got a third place ribbon for it.  Pretty good, since there were lots of things with no ribbons at all. Of course, if one person enters two things in the same category, the judges will only award one ribbon, so that might not mean anything.  I use the jar for a pair of matching shuttles and thread, but entered it as a "trinket jar" home-decor item. They tore a piece on the lid, but when I picked it up after the Fair somebody had glued it down.  Weird. 

Lacy Chevron Afghan

My "Lacy Chevron" afghan got a second place ribbon and a comment on the back that said "nicely done."  This is the second afghan I've entered in the State Fair.  The first one didn't have any constructive comments either, so I decided I didn't need improvement.  :)  


Just so you're not holding your breath, I'm  going to have a brag moment and say everything else I entered got a first place ribbon.  Of course, I have to also say I was the ONLY entrant in the Advanced Department for tatting.  All the other tatting was in either "Amateur," or "Senior Citizens 62 or older."

18-inch crocheted doily

11-inch crocheted doily

This year I mounted all the thread-work I entered. It makes the people at the fair happy because they are easier to display and it makes me happy because they don't get displayed thrown across an afghan or quilt. The pieces are tacked to the boards in two or three spots at the top with invisible thread (so that the judges can lift it up and look at the back if they want to). Both the white crocheted doilies are on pieces of white foam-core board covered with blue cotton fabric. I use stitch-witchery (iron on double stick stuff) to put the fabric on the boards -- much easier than sewing! The nice part is that I can just clip the invisible thread after the fair and store the boards for use next year. Sometimes I don't have a board that looks good with the piece of handwork or I don't have one of the right size for what I want to display, so I have to make new ones.  I have quite a collection of boards now. They are of all different sizes and covered with different fabrics. In the past, I only mounted the smaller pieces, as it was required by the fair so they didn't get lost.

Blue pineapple doily

This is a better picture of the blue tatted "pineapple" doily than the one I got at the County Fair.  This is another of those no-pattern things playing with split chains and rings so I didn't have any threads to hide.  One of these days I should sit down and try to make actual patterns for these.  The problem is figuring out what I did and how many ds I actually used in any element. You'd think I'd be smart enough to write things down as I work, wouldn't you?  Well, hello -- that's 'cause you don't know me very well.  I don't want to waste my time writing down things that might not work -- and I have lots of bits and pieces of things that didn't work!  Still, maybe I'd better stop thinking of it as wasting time and consider it an investment in future patterns, because I like this one!

Sunrise Doily

You recognize this, right?  It's the Sunrise thread and doily center that Jess from Tat-ilicious dyed for me. I entered it in the County Fair in 2012 and intended to enter it in the State Fair that same year. Turned out there wasn't a category for it that year. The only ones they had for edgings were for a pillowcase or a handkerchief. I suppose I could have told them it was a round hanky, but it might have been disqualified.  This year they added some categories (can you believe it!?), so I entered it in the "Miscellaneous Trim Only, on an item not listed above" (the items  listed above were the pillowcase and the handkerchief).
Anyway, the Fair rules allow entry of items completed within the past two years, so -- TA-DA -- I got to enter it this year.  That was cool, because I thought more people needed to see what great things can be done with colored threads! Jess should really get the ribbon for this one, because the judge's comment was, "I like the color choices and the dying of the fabric."

Blue Christmas Ornaments

Blue Christmas ornaments. Yeah, I make a lot of the same ones. The pattern on the right is definitely mine (it's one of the few patterns I've ever written down). The one on the left is one of those I keep making by looking at an old one I have. The problem is, I can't remember where I got that pattern. I don't know if it's one I made up or one I got out of a book, or one I got free off the net. If anyone recognizes it, please let me know!  I suppose I could sit down with all my tatting pattern books and see if I can find it. You can see the problem with that idea, right?  {Open the pattern book ... start looking ...oooooo... that looks interesting ... where're my shuttles? ... thread ... yeah, that color ... what do you mean, "what am I doing?"  I'm going to make something!}

Fantasy Tree

The Fantasy Tree is another piece that had to wait until there was a category for it. There is only one miscellaneous category and in 2012 I used it for the Utahraptor. This year I used it for the Tree.  This is something like a tatting sampler (except there are NO clunies in it -- not one).  I wrapped the shuttles with two colors of Sulky blendables then kept changing the threads here and there, sometimes one thread sometimes both as the shuttles emptied.  I'm really big-headed about this one because on the back of the entry card (judge's comments) it says "Oh MY GOSH. This is an amazing piece" (you can see my head swell, can't you?).  On the front is a notation "sweeps."  It didn't get sweepstakes, but they thought about it. Maybe if I made a tablecloth sized tree...

Snowflakes

Finally, here are the five snowflakes again. I entered them as a set of motifs.  Kind of a sneaky way of getting around choosing which I thought was best.  The card on this one tickled me too -- it says "consider for sweeps". Cool.

So, that's the State Fair for this year for me, at least.  You'll want to see what my niece did though -- really you will! 

And -- one more thing.  It drives me NUTS the way this blogger thing shows me one thing when I enter but when I look on the screen I see something else.  None of the text and pictures are in the right places, so I might just caption all the pictures and the corresponding text.  Yeah, I think I will. --- Aaaaarrrrggghhhh, that's not much better.  You'll just have to figure it out.

Fair Again

Two colors of purple Lizbeth size 20 thread and Marie Smith's method of doing split chains resulted in this doily:
The center is the same as a number of others I have sitting around the house -- I did a lot of testing on this split chain thing!  I'd get something I rather liked then start over and somewhere along the line think, "Oh, wait, I could change this bit -- that would be better for this round."  Yes, but once one round changed, all the others after it had to as well.  I didn't write down a pattern either.  *sigh* 


I had intended to make another round (of however wide I could get it without breaking the thread ) in the light purple.  I lost the ball of thread.  I looked everywhere I could think of -- though I will admit I didn't look in the fridge or the toilet tank.  (Maybe I'll check those tonight.)  Anyway, being frustrated by the thread I stopped and blocked it.  Must be okay, because it got a blue ribbon and a high blue (considered for sweepstakes) ribbon.  That made me laugh, because I don't like this doily nearly as well as some others I've made, but it is the one that blocked the best! 

Speaking of Split Chains

You can't imagine the delight I felt in figuring out this split chain thing.  I could do them, but I didn't like it -- and only knew one way to make it work so sometimes half my chain was front side and the other half was back side (weird looking). 
I sat down with a shuttle and a bit of left-over thread and made this string of stuff all hooked together with split chains.  Then I hunted up a couple of other shuttles with more left-over thread and made this interesting little motif.  I was disgusted to run out of thread and not be able to find the ball of thread to add more (that pink and blue stuff is here somewhere!). 
Next, I wound on two colors of Sulky and started again.  I did more rows than the first one, but it lost it's definition and started to look very cramped.  I ran out of thread then. Very likely a good thing, because I'd tatted myself into a corner, so to speak, and the rounds were not ending in good places to start a new one.
Somewhere around here is another start but with changes which have, so far, left a bit more defined negative space.  I'll post that another time.  Maybe I could actually write down a pattern instead of just going around and around where ever the shuttles feel like going.  Nah, prob'ly not.  Hmmm...but maybe that second incarnation, as a single motif, would be possible.