Colorful Weekend

Look how lucky I am! My sister had her dyes out this weekend and did three balls of thread for me. These first two are 20 gram weight DMC size 80 that used to be white. Now they are shades of pink, purple, red and blue in one ball and a whole bunch of different greens in the other ball. I told her she had to name them. Uh-huh. Her names were redishpurplelbluepink and Irish Spring (because it looked like the bath soap of the same name). Those just aren't romantic enough, so the first is Sunset (yes, we have those with pink and purple and flaming red). The second is Desert Green, because it's not a bright spring green -- there's even something that looks a bit like fresh sagebrush to me. According to my sister, the green has kilt, new-emerald, bright green, Kelly green, and better-blue-green (thank you Dharma Trading for the dye names). They are all on the blue end of green, not the yellow, so I like them very much.
This second ball of thread is a DMC size 20 that used to be cream colored. It's now "Day and Night Rainbow". Okay, that will work. There are dark and light colors in it: from the dark end are lemon yellow, tangerine, fire red, imperial purple, Caribbean blue, and Kelly green, on the lighter end are paler versions of the orange and green, hot pink, wisteria and robin egg. It's very cheerful.

She dyes the thread just like she dyes everything else, so it goes from a cold rinse in the sink into a wash bag and into the washer for both a cold rinse and a hot dye-setting wash in Synthropol. After the wash it goes into the dryer. This is how it come out. Scary, huh? But it winds up really well for all the curls and squiggles. Isn't she clever and aren't I lucky?

Tat-it-and-See and Choose-your-own-pattern by Danni. There were three versions, but I did only two of them. This first one is version A. Completed, it turns out to be "A" for "Aigg" -- well, okay, egg. Too bad the "Desert Bloom" isn't very good Easter Egg color.

I was working on version A and C at the same time. I thought the pink and purple might be a better choice, but when I got version C done I just sat and looked at it in bewildered confusion. "What is this?." I asked my sister, holding it up. "I can't figure out what this little point is. I thought it might be two eggs, a big one and a little one, but not with that bump." She gave me the most disgusted look, reached out, and rotated it 90 degrees. "It's a chick, Marty...duh." Oh, yes, so it is. Darn -- I should have used the yellow!

Motif Diagram

There's no written pattern, but for anyone that can work from a diagram -- here ya go. Join to the next motif at the picots on the 8ds, p 4ds chains, at the small joining picots on the 2ds, p, 2ds, p, 4ds rings, and at the center picot (which is a larger picot than the other small joining picots) of the 4ds, p, 4ds, p 4ds, p, 4ds rings at the corners. I hope that is more clear than mud. Oh -- if you click on the image it should get you a larger size image. If it's not large enough to see, will someone flag me, please?

Better Thread

There. Yes, it does look better in a solid color. It might be okay in a multi-colored thread, but the thread would have to be very carefully selected. This is back to the rest of my DMC Cébélia size 30 stash for a nice plain purple. I like the spot where the motif's join, even though it is very dense (sometimes I am too, so that's okay). Next step is writing out the pattern for this one. I didn't do that. I like working off a made piece -- must be something I got from my Gramma. She crocheted beautiful things, but couldn't read a pattern. She just used made pieces and duplicated them. Still, if I'm going to share, I'll have to write it down. I just don't have time to make everyone a pattern piece to work from (as if "everyone" wants to make the same thing!). I thought about making this bigger, so I've left the joining picots on all the edges, and this is just lightly pressed, not really blocked or starched.
At any rate -- this was really a good lesson in being careful of the colors I pick!
I've been asked to share the pattern. I'm happy to do that, as soon as I get some time to actually make a pattern. Right now it's just the original motif that I keep following.

Thread Selection

This is my second homework motif worked into a little mat. It is 4 inches (about 10 cm) square. The thread is size 20 Lizbeth "Desert Bloom". I think the motif turned out really well and makes a very nice decorative mat. However...

The thread was a severe mistake -- especially for this piece. The colors are wrong and change in odd places worked in this pattern. Purple, orange, and gray-white might make something really pretty, but I can't think what. I do believe this thread was a mistake, for me, and I won't be buying any more of it. Of course, if I had picked a different pattern to make with it, I might be feeling better about the thread.

I need to try this motif in a nice solid color and see how the mat looks.

Francesca, Finally

"Francesca" from Tatted Doilies by Iris Niebach has been a real challenge for me. I've been trying to work this pattern for very nearly five years. Ummmm...not constantly, mind. Every time I've started it I've gotten hopelessly lost somewhere before completing the second repeat. I've unpicked and re-tatted and decided that was wrong, too. I've unpicked and broken the threads. Finally, I've cut the bit off and chucked it out in disgust at my absolute inability to follow instructions. This time, I decided to outsmart myself. I scanned the pattern diagram then, using my PaintShop program layered the bit of the diagram over and over until I had a larger diagram showing the progression through three repeats. That seemed to work (not that this doily didn't undergo an ample share of retro-tatting) I managed to get clear around and actually finish! I used some of my new Lizbeth size 20 to work this pattern. The color is "Caribbean" and is actually much more defined purple, navy, and turquoise than I can get my scanner (or my limited ability with color brightening) to show. I probably should have dampened this one and stretched it out on the starch board before showing it -- but I just trundled it off to the ironing board for a quick press. It can go on the starch board later.

International Tatting Day

Here I am, sneaking in to say "HI!" for International Tatting Day.
Am I tatting? No. (I'm working -- yes, really, I am!)

However, I do have a picture of my original homework motif with some little computer assisted SCMR modifications suggested by Sharon Briggs. This would allow the motif to be connected to others of its kind to make a rather interesting looking mat.

Okay, I didn't tat today (YET!) but I have thought about it!

P.S. I DID tat at my niece's indoor soccer game. I made little blue butterflies and gave them away. There -- tatting in public, and giving it away -- that works for celebrating! :)

Varied Homework

I played with my homework motif based on some group suggestions. It turned out that I liked my original motif best, but created a whole new one that I like as well. If I add just a few joining picots, it will make a pretty mat. I tested it out using a computer rendition, but I might actually tat this one.

PS...I've started. I'm using a size 20 Lizbeth thread called Desert Bloom -- I'm not certain I care for the purple and orange together, but we'll see...

Back to School

I'm involved in Sharon Brigg's Design-Tat course, and am thoroughly enjoying it. We have homework! First time in my life I ever really, really liked homework. The first two lessons were back to rings and chains -- building blocks. How to get different configurations of rings and chains by changing the stitch count or where and how connecting picots are used. It's not something I consciously think about when working someone else's pattern -- but how essential to making one's own!
The third lesson was to take a round 8 ring and 8 chain center and build a second round with some interesting negative space connected to only 4 chains. All of this cream-colored Opera size 10 thread was just crouched under my bed waiting to grab an unwary ankle. I wrestled some into submission and wound it onto a couple of shuttles (that size 10 stuff is big and tough!) and came up with this:
Hey, I like it (but you should have seen what I threw out!). Today I had to go get the oil changed in my car so I took a bit of thread and a couple of shuttles (well, of course!). These bits of orange and blue ombre size 80 went meekly into my bag and onto the shuttles. It looks different in two colors, doesn't it?

Interesting scale as well. These pieces were scanned side-by-side. Maybe I should have posted them the same way -- or how about this:

Iris TIAS Doily

I finally finished the whole doily. It's an amazingly gorgeous design. We're so lucky to have Iris share it with us! I have to make another one of these (one? maybe two or three or more; it's addictive).
I didn't complete it in the original pink and maroon that I started with. The center picots weren't joined and I didn't want to do some kind of retro-stitching at the end. That piece will be a decoration instead. Ha. The whole truth is that I got all this new Lizbeth thread and had to try it out. It's so much smoother and more crisp to work with than the Cebelia. Really. Now I have lots of size 20 thread! These two are Leaf Green (the variegate) and Christmas Green.
It seemed appropriate to post this bit 'o green for St. Patrick's Day.