Saturday 26 September 2015

Renulek's Snow Doily - 1

Pin It now!


Been a long time since I posted. Blogging took a backseat, but not tatting.
I think this little verse says it all ……

TATIFICATION !

With tatting in my hand
Life will never be bland .
With threads well-stored
Who can ever be bored ?!
With patterns galore
I still collect more more more.
With shuttles by my side
Thru’ troubles I will glide .
Tat-chatting & tatters
What else matters ?!
Tutorials at a click
Make my shuttles tick.
With tatting in my hand
How can Life ever be bland ?!
Oooh yeah, my ecosystem has been tatified !
                                 muskaan, Sept 2015

*****************

Astral  Fireworks !!!


Renulek’s Snow Doily is a 9-row/round doily that has snowflake & star medallions/motifs to justify the Snow doily theme ! Part of the reason I chose to make this doily, even though I Really like her Honey Napkin, is because it combines many patterns that I have wanted to make – the side-ring ‘clovers’, the long ‘wheel spokes’, & the snowflake! So instead of tatting them separately, it’s nice to have them all in one project.

It is going to be part of a thank-you gift set along with the Craftree Mystery Doily. This, besides the fact that at the time of starting this doily, I had a limited size 40 colour stash, has determined my choice of colours. But the placement of colours was determined by my conceptualization that led to the term ‘Astral Fireworks’ . Why ? I will explain in the concluding part , when I complete the doily … a little mystery never hurt anyone ;-)

Thread : Anchor Mercer Crochet Cotton size 40.
Cream : 4054-0386
Chrome Yellow : 0302
Brown : 4054-0355

Techniques used in Rounds 1-4 :
FS/BS (RODS) tatting, 2 shuttles, Slope & Roll join, Long Picot, Graduated/decorative picots, Shoe Lace trick (SLT).

Notes / Jottings

v      Round 1-4 can be done with one shuttle & ball. But I used 2 shuttles. Now that I know how to easily & quickly load bobbins (thanks to Frivolé & Kathy), I no longer shy away from it ;-P 
v      Arrangement of colours in Rnds 2 & 3 was inspired by Elfiona’s doily (post #125) . The tiny rings looked like little stars !
v      I used Slope & Roll join for Rnds 2 & 3 to hide the colour blip. In size 40, it works fine !
v      Graduated Picots for the rings in Rnds 2 & 3 are in keeping with the Mystery Doily. (not perfect without use of gauge, but “enjoyment even at the cost of precision” is tatting my excuse,… errrr… motto :-) ).
v      Rnd 4 required a Long picot in 1st of the 4 ring sets; and SLT (shoe lace trick) to switch colours.
v      Except for an initial hiccup when starting Rnd 4 (orientation-wise), it went very smoothly. At end of this round, the doily measures just under 8” (19.5 cms).
TIP : It might be a good idea to start Rnd 4 with an outer ring. This will help when closing out the round in the end.
v      I wanted to make the individual motifs of Rnd 5 first & join as I tatted Rnd 4, thus working two rounds together as I did in the Wiosna here. However, the all-cream snowflake looked out of place. So I have held back till I get a better feel for what colour combination & placement to use for the snowflakes, starlets & clovers that make up Rnd 5. Now that Rnd 4 is complete, I have been trying out a few combos & think I know what I want …

*****************
click on each caption for direct link to pattern
Rounds 1 & 2 
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5 part 1 
                                     
I have rejected this monotone snowflake. Working on something better (finalized last night !)

*****************
In Conversation ...
It is very difficult to photograph this … no background except the binder cover seems to do some justice to the colours (yet leaves out the lovely sheen in the threads). And the next rounds will no longer fit within the blue confines … hmm…

My blog-trotting has taken a backseat as well. What with loads to do on the side, chatting on Craftree, & most importantly a moody server, I can't leave comments on posts as I used to. But I do try to follow along as much as possible. I hope the situation normalizes. Till then, 


happy tatting :-)))

Related Posts :  Spring Doily Part II

27 comments:

  1. It's a lovely doily that I enjoyed tatting too. Love your colour choices!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Jane :-) Your doily is one of the very few that showed up on Google ! So I looked it up in your blog & enjoyed reading your experience .
      My next round will have some advanced techniques to help me hide multiple tail ends

      Delete
  2. Oh, I do love that doily! I sometimes have issues with leaving comments as well. The problems always seem to right themselves, but it is aggravating.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Diane :-)
      The entire day today was spent with an extremely slow or mostly absent server & I did not receive any mail either. Thankfully, the desktop one has come back okay for now, so am blog-hopping, trying to catch up :-)))

      Delete
  3. Wow this is beautiful, I really wish I could tatt and create stunning works of art like this. Thank you for the comment on my Pinterest challenge and you are more than welcome to join in any month you wish.
    Many thanks Suzanne x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are too kind, Suzanne :-) You are amazing at card-making & now have ventured into crochet as well !
      I enjoy the pinterest challenge you gals have set up - we end up pinning but not making & you have tried to overcome that. I was swamped this year & did not want to make commitments that I couldn't keep or that would stress me out, but will definitely join .
      Thanks :-)

      Delete
  4. Gorgeous work- both the poetry and the tatting :) We are certainly never bored!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Fiona :-D
      Creative/busy hands are never bored !

      Delete
  5. My appolgises for not commenting on your blog, I do follow you but time seems to drift away, I love your poem it sums up tatting so well, one could never be bored with the vast array of patterns, gorgeous threads that now are produced.
    Your mat is looking lovely, would you believe this is an unfinished project it sits and looks at me on the coffee table and I am ashamed to say it's been there too long. I will watch to see what you do next and how it is coming along.
    Margaret

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Margaret :-)) Please, no need for apologies :-)
      I hope my next rounds will motivate you to take up your UFO again. Nevertheless, it looks 'complete' even after Round 4, I think.

      Delete
  6. Fantastic doily! Your poem sounds like a song in my ears and your passion for tatting is a joy to see!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Love your words, Lilas - so beautifully put ! Thanks :-D

      Delete
  7. I love the poem too!!! Thanks for sharing it Muskaan!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was just a 4-liner verse, Pigmini. But I couldn't post because of a slow server. And overnight, at around 3 in the morning, all other verses came to me ;-P Who needs sleep, eh ?!
      Thanks :-))

      Delete
  8. I think your blog deserves Liebster Award. I'm honored you Liebster Award winner, and additional information can be found in my blog http://solmujenlumoissa.blogspot.fi/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh Marja, that is so nice of you & I am really touched ! :-)
      I hope you don't mind if I opt out ? Would it be okay if you nominate someone else ?
      I always enjoy your projects and posts :-)
      ((( Hugs )))

      Delete
  9. Your doily is looking fabulous!!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Lovely poem muskaan :). The doily is beautiful :).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Sue & Jenn :-)) So glad you like it ... I'm really enjoying Round 5, despite the fiddliness of the smaller motifs :-)

      Delete
  11. Replies
    1. Vous êtes très gentil , Emilie . Merci beaucoup :-)

      Delete
  12. The doily is coming along very nicely. Actually, you've just reminded me that I attempted this doily when it was first posted to Renulek's blog, but set it aside during that really long round just before the snowflake motifs. I had only just learned to tat, and my tension has changed a lot since then. So I will just have to live vicariously and follow along with your progress :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Robin :-)
      Pity you can't continue with your doily. Often happened to me too -- the first trials of a motif are generally larger, and once the pattern settles in, the tatting becomes tighter. Now I am a bit more careful - consciously trying to keep the tension even .
      Hope my journey will keep you interested , if not inspired ;-P

      Delete
  13. I have totally miss this post and not sure why it is not coming up right on my list. This doily is beautiful and has interesting elements I did one like it called daisy doily it was fun and enjoyed it too.
    I saw the pin of little girl on swing and I like it too. I think it needs to have a bead for the eye area but love the creativeness of it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I knew if I kept this post 'open' long enough, you'd drop by with a lovely comment, Carollyn ;-P So now I can move on with a new post ;-D
      I remember your Daisy doily - the one with black & turquoise, right ? It looked very pretty, even tho' you didn't like the colour combo there. I remembered the match when I was tatting round 5...
      And yes, that tatted girl is very sweet ! There is so much tatted detail in the 'collage' - very inspiring & creative.

      Delete