IdEnTiTy CrIsIs
Identity crisis – that’s what this snowflake has ! It wants
to be a sun – a “sunflake”. We’ll let you decide – is it a snowflake or a
sunflake :-)
Right off, I don’t like to tat patterns that have too much bare thread. I admire their dainty laciness; I admire the person who tats them up & shares their beauty; but I am not one who chooses to do it. So this particular snowflake was an under-protest, under-groaning & mumbling undertaking :-D
The First Day of
December Snowflake
Lene Bjorn
I was looking for a “painted tatting” effect, hence the choice of transitional shades. I’d started off with a copper metallic thread center, but the threads in that trial were all slightly different in size & after a few rings, had to abandon it.
I opted for size 20 thread this time, thinking it might make
a good coaster.
Abbreviations used in text below :
ds –
double stitch
BTS –
bare thread space
fs/bs
tatting – frontside/backside or directional tatting
RODS –
reverse order ds used in fs/bs tatting
fhs – 1st
half stitch
shs – 2nd
half stitch
hs – half
stitch
JR –
Josephine Ring
Round
1 : Red Heart 00328
Started with 1ds & finished with 2ds. This helps in
keeping the picot well inside & safe, especially in rings that need to be cut
& tied.
Round 2 : Anchor Mercer 0307 & 0289
Techniques
used : 2 shuttles
, with twisted thread between rings instead of bare thread, picot joins (both
up & down), fs/bs tatting.
Remember my post on “new effects” earlier this year, & “wrapped rings or rings enrapt” in
particular ? I used the same concept with bare threads, wrapping/twisting them,
thus overcoming the use of 2 colours on a rings-only-with-BTS problem.
Advantages
:
- I could use 2 colours. One can, in fact, alternate the colours as one pleases! ( Ninetta has used 2 colours in a very beautiful way here & here )
- It had the added advantage of acting as a built-in picot gauge if one counted the number of twists (I used 5 twists) !!!
- It also brings in some stability which is an asset for a coaster.
TIP : I inserted the 2nd colour shuttle
into the first & the last half stitches of each ring.
Close ring before
adjusting length of BTS of 2nd colour.
Problems
: It is not easy to keep the length, twist, & curves intact
since the 2nd colour is not really anchored. May be with practice
& patience…or a little knot of some kind.
This picture, taken in the sun on my raw silk sari, is simply to show that the threads have a lovely sheen, which gets lost in all the photos I take inside.Round 3 : Anchor Mercer 0300
Techniques
used : Down Join,
Josephine Ring, graduated picots, fs/bs tatting
I was so tired by this time, I gave up the idea of adding 2
shades here. Also, a little airiness was necessary.
All I did was add a Josephine Ring of 10 fhs. Always felt
that space was too flat between the high peaks. I think the JRs work pretty
well, right ?!
TIP : Now here’s a Great tip I recently learned
from Georgia Seitz here, about using
the down join as 1st half stitch ! So far, I was using it to keep
colour blips on the back side of work. But this worked perfectly when the same
colour elements were to be joined ! Conversely, when applying RODS (for fs/bs
tatting), make an up join followed by 1st HS.
When there are 2 colours, as in inner rings of previous
round, I used the down join functionally to hide blips as before.
Technically I have completed 2 snowflakes for this month,
except that these were supposed to be for January … still behind by 2 ;-P
I’m
including this in the 25 Motif Challenge because of the little experimentation
& my first real (but failed) attempt to make wheels with BTS .
My next post will be a free pattern for a
snowflake/medallion (& the next for a butterfly). It was all done, but then I decided to make a few
additions … my work is never done ;-P
I have decided to standardize all links in my posts. They will be in bold font & blue colour throughout.
Happy tatting
:-)
Motif #22 of III for 25 Motif Challenge
Related Posts : Lene's Day 2 Snowflake
Beautiful, I like the colors you chose
ReplyDeleteThanks Ninetta .... I sometimes get the colours right :-D
DeleteBeautiful and I love the way you changed the snowflake into a sun flake, totally gorgeous
ReplyDeleteMargaret
Thanks Margaret :-) Small pieces are perfect for little experiments
DeleteIt's beautiful, whatever identity it chooses!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jane ... made me smile :-D
DeleteThis is a beautiful piece. : )
ReplyDeleteIt definitely looks like a sun flake to me! I do like the color combo.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Fox & Diane :-)
ReplyDeleteHugs
It's wonderful!! :)
ReplyDelete