incredible spirit

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Indomitable, indefatigable, inspiring spirit! This is how I see Donna McDade, my incredible 86 year old friend! You might remember her previous participation in my DAL 2024 where she belted out 5 Celtic snowflakes. This time she broke her own record. Read on to be impressed again .... 

All the DAL 2025 challenge entries can be found here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mQmdXWXQmcbXQ48nRz9FBeTJf_DoJqKz/view

This post is long long long delayed! My main delay was because I wanted to diagram all her versions for clear patterns. Unfortunately only one has been done so far. But the task is still in my to-do list, just pushed further ... And then I couldn't get my head to cooperate and so many other distractions kept creeping in. There is also lots of celebratory news from Donna's creativity, too, which I will share in a 2nd post. 

Donna started by tatting 6 DAL 2025 motifs as seen below ... Note that there are only 6 motifs here while later she added a 7th and a larger 8th, too.

And following is how the outer rounds designed and tatted by her turned the basic motif into such lovely versions!

Version 1 - Curled Ring at Chain

This is very interesting. At first glance it looks like a repeat of the previous round. However, using two shuttles, she makes two rings one of which curls over the previous ring. I think it is a clever application. 

Version 2 - Topped with Trefoils

I was able to complete the diagram for this single-shuttle round that she designed.

Version 3 - Spot Me

I chose this name because I couldn't really spot the 'mistakes' which had Donna cursing the 'Evil Tat Demon'! The pink shade, though, is the red bleeding into the white. 

Version 4 - Flower

The model says it all!

Version 5 - X & O Rings

 

This is what Donna called her 5th version (A and B) with simple split ring round and then weaving another split ring braid through the former. It suddenly gets uplifted from a simple split ring round, doesn't it.

Version 6 - Curls and Folds

Can you identify the variety of rings used in this version? Besides the normal rings in the center, there are curled, split, and folded rings and well as folded chains! Some of the folded rings didn't quite measure up since it was her first attempt at them inspired by my Folded Fun motifs published in the IOLI Bulletin.

Version 7 - Beaded

Quite festive! With plenty of potential for more embellishments.

BONUS! Curled Rings Cross

Donna increased the repeats from 6 to 8 enabling her to design the cross with lots of curled rings. The cross is already sewed on to fabric. 

And all the 7 versions together. These motifs also found their spot on a quilt as seen in the lead pic above! Donna's twin passions - quilting and tatting. Most of her tatted motifs are appliqued to her handmade quilts.

I would like you to return to read my next post and see the creative talents of this incredible lady. Adding it here would not do justice to her work and accomplishments.

💦💦💦

If you wish to try your hand at designing more rounds, jump in any time and contact me with your version.
Pattern: https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2025/02/dal-2025-challenge.html
1st round-up: https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2025/03/colour-me-happy.html
2nd round-up: https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2025/06/design-tatting.html

All participant patterns:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mQmdXWXQmcbXQ48nRz9FBeTJf_DoJqKz/view

Many many thanks for your enthusiastic participation ... hope your indomitable spirit rubs off on me, too!

happeeeeee birthday

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 28th June is Eleonore Endrucks' birth anniversary and we had shared 6 derivatives of the E monogram for a combined ILD 2026 and birthday celebrations. I got so caught up that I tatted all six ... they are fairly quick tats anyways. 

So, here's wishing our designer of Endrucks 1920 Project a very Happeeeeee Birthday with expectations that she would be looking down on her Endrucksian tribe with pride.

All worked in size 20 threads (though some are closer to Lizbeth size 10) and arranged in ascending order for comparison.

My original idea was to arrange them in an arc as if we were calling out in a rising crescendo but it didn't quite make the mark as seen above.

All six patterns were shared here - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2026/06/double-celebration.html

Sharing my thoughts and details in the same order as above -

Letter E Cursive from E32 by Paola Bevilacqua - I already shared my notes here - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2026/06/multiple-celebrations.html

Measurement: 3cm wide, 4cm high.

Letter E from E1 by Manju Talekar. Notes shared here - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2026/06/multiple-celebrations.html

Measurement: slightly more than 4cm x 4cm.

Letter E from E41 by Julie Villegas. This was an easy and quick tat.

Measurement: 3½ cm wide, 4½ cm high

Letter E from E1 by Vani Kattoju. I have tatted sooo many E1 original/reworked and derivative patterns that my motor memory kicked in and I made a mistake in the vertical chains. Instead of 4ds between picots, I made 3ds as in the original. Discovered this only on the return journey and had to un-tat a few segments before tweaking the count by 1 less stitch each. Thankfully it doe not seem to have made difference.

My slight tweak which isn't too obvious since I did it too late - In the 2nd motif I shortened chains and rings in the arms by 1ds to make the horizontal arm of E shorter than the end ones.

I was forced to play thread chicken for several of the final elements but managed to have just enough tails left to be able to sew them in. Reposition methods help a great deal as did not cutting for 2nd row - simply made a slip stitch.

Measurement: 4cm wide, approx 6cm high.

And when it is rotated we get some interesting possibilities! I see a chandelier, a bowl, but also an elephant, LOL.

Letter E from E41 by Ninetta Caruso. Now I had always intended to tat this with bugle beads, but this time I went for speed. And I was so inspired by Ninetta's version of Julie's E (for ILD) that I copied her colourway ;-D

Measurement: 4cm wide, > 6½ cm high

.... When rotated 

Letter E from E17 by Manju Talekar. I could've done a better job with sharper angles and straighter lines. 

Measurement: 5cm wide, >7cm high.

So that's it for now. 

For plenty more derivative patterns, tutorials, and the original reworked patterns from Endrucks' 1920 book, Die Schiffchen-Spitzen save this EP LINKS url - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1w1TZBg-HIzseGEUoJ-rko7tNbtSgZY5A18Oy2Y9Hh0Y/view

Hopefully my PIC Ninetta and I can return to our FB group activities in full earnest next year.

Many many thanks to all designers and participants!

multiple celebrations

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Yesterday I wrote about two celebrations of which one is actually a week away. Turns out we have a full house today. International Yoga Day, Father's Day, World Music Day, and our very own International Lace Day all came together on this June Solstice! 

These are my tatted motifs for the day - two from our Endrucks Project and the other a better version of my recent unhappy trial.

My name badge from the ILD FB page. 

Letter E from E41 derived by Manju Talekar.

This letter was tatted a few days back when I was doing the presentation for this pattern to ensure that the correct shuttle and instructions were presented.

And if I rotate the E by 90 degrees, we get M!!! A wee bit of tweaking for it to look better is all that's needed.

Letter E cursive from E32 derived by Paola Bevilacqua.

This one I tatted today! However instead of captured picots I used beads. I wanted something festive.

TIP: Although it called for 2 shuttles, I used a shuttle and ball with beads pre-strung on both! Using SCMR (mock rings) and reverse join as well as any relevant reposition method, I managed to avoid the 2nd shuttle!

Earrings with Interlaced Onion Rings designed by Lauretta Tondelli.

This time her onion rings comprised of true rings and not chains as in the unhappy trial post. I like this Much better!!! Of course since the 2nd and 3rd rings were large, I left a core thread loop (2 in case of the 3rd ring) midways so that the ring could be closed in 2 (or 3) phases. Pretty happy with the result, though I do see the need for improvement.

Also, I had to un-tat and re-tat with 2 less double stitch in each segment of the inner chain to get the proportions right.

The two Es together. Both pattern links are in my previous post. I wonder if I can tat all 6 versions during our celebratory week?

All motifs tatted in Anchor or Red Rose size 20.

So, how did you celebrate the day?