bye bye winter

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It’s done; before Holi which signifies the end of winter in the lunar Hindu calendar. Took a bit longer because there were days my mind was cliffhanging ;-P 

On reaching the arms, I realised there was sufficient yarn left to continue in yellow. But to keep the chest warmer, I picked a denser pattern (#44 in The New Knitting Stitch Library by Leslie Stanfield). I was going for flames, but made an error and the pattern turned into diamonds. Still it looked good.

It is also a 16 row pattern that needs with multiples of 6 (+1) stitches. 8 rows have been offset from the original, to change into discreet diamonds.

Finally running out of yarn for the arms & neck strips, I picked up the white and added a trim in yellow. Barely 10 gms yellow left now, phew.

I’m going to embroider a small sprig in white, but have burned the fingers on my right hand. Embroidery (and tatting) will have to wait till the blisters subside.

While the photos may not show it, the blouse/top does look very pretty and hubby approved ;-D

This is fresh off the needles, with no ironing/blocking. Will only be worn next season. I didn't shape the body coz I like breathing space ;-P 

Reposting this collage card I made in 2015 for Holi …

Happy Holi, everybody !!! Colour the town with tatted threads J

cliffhanger

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Cliffhanger - as in a dramatic (hopefully) end to a series... Yes, you'd be right in thinking this, if only to an extent. There are numerous, I mean Numerous ta-daa moments I have left unshared, but there's more.

Look closely and you will see the cliff is made of an ever-increasing heap of pending posts, unfinished projects, wishful projects, WIP presentations, and on and on.... getting higher and steeper by the day.

And you see that tiny dangler? Why that's me hanging for dear sanity, for organisation, for speed (yeah, not That kind!), focus and diligence. The winds of lethargy and piling stress are buffeting this 'cliffhanger'.

Can she hang on - for how long? Can she persevere to overcome and survive the years of buildup?! Can she land on her feet running? Or will the cliff pile-on finally tilt over and crush her under the debris?!

To know the answers, wait for the next episode 😈😈😈😈

So are you a fellow cliffhanger or are you sitting pretty 😄🌹🌹🌹

a Celtic flip

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Remember how I wondered about a Celtic variation here? This is how I went ahead to complete a Celtic variation of Ninetta’s Curled Ring ice drop.

Notice there are no curled rings here, but the beaded rings are raised. I was hoping for more of a water lily effect.  

The pattern for 2 motifs/medallions remains the same as Ninetta's original (I have inked the count in the pic above for easy reference).

BUT, I flipped the cabochon, switching the motifs in the process : the lower one is now in the front/on top, and vice versa.

I didn’t tat a new one, simply added to what was already tatted. One can call this a prototype variation if you will,  with scope for improvement. 

For outermost green round, after the first lock join to previous round, I continued with the Slope and Roll join. It looked better.

There was a very geometric and open shape after completing the green, hence I added more silver rings in the empty spaces to look more like petals. If properly planned, a full round of 16 silver petals would give it more of a lotus/water lily effect. 

as seen from the back

I still don’t understand why the outline is more square than circular despite all chains being 7-7 ! Anybody?

In Gautam (green size 8) and Red Rose (size 20) metallic threads, the motif/pendant measures 4½ cms across and 5½ cms diagonally. The cab is 2cms.