Wednesday 2 September 2020

influential intrusion

It all started when Grace Tan saw the intruding picot and brought out her long-stalled pattern. She thought it could be used in her serpentine pattern and simplify the working instructions. And I was one of the first few she roped in to test tat Endless Hearts Braid with Corner.
Grace adapted her heart patterns into an undulating length of lace - a clever symmetry - and a larger heart for the corners. The frequent directional changes take a bit of getting used to, but soon one can set a rhythm. It still needs some concentration, especially if one resorts to fs/bs tatting as I did, in two colours, trying to keep the blips at the back. I had to draw my own diagram for reference initially.
 
Inward facing  picots - She substituted the Intruding Picot (ip) with Ninetta's Face Inward Picot (FIP), although the ip worked for me (above pics) in the 3rd and 4th corners. FIP was my first time and it was not easy to tease out the leg in perle cotton. I followed instructions for the braid, using FIP in first 2 corners.
Encapsulating Picot Join (EPJ) - I got to try out this new blipless join that can link several elements together at a later time. As the term suggests, it is a picot join that encapsulates or traps another element or picot. More elements can be linked to the same point later as well.
Sometimes I got the EPJ looking almost invisible from the front, at other times a thread bulge was visible. I played with many tweaks, such as up and down loops, etc, but need more study in thicker thread to figure out how best to avoid that thread to make it consistently indistinguishable.
Layered Picot Join - My 'easier' alternate to EPJ -
1. Make a longer picot on the ring such that it can span the chain(s) that it intends to encapsulate.

 
2. Keep this picot at back of work and make a normal picot join through Both picots simultaneously. 
3. This is how it looks from the back. 
Note - these pics were taken when I was working backside. 

 
4. This is how it appears from the front - the join is invisible here.
5. This is how the hook will be inserted through both picots when working frontside.
And a 4th element can be joined to that same picot through the back. I love how clean the chains look - the join is invisible.
Drawback - the rings tend to lie slightly below the chains, but with sufficiently long picot, it can be avoided. Mainly, there is a colour bar at the back (clearly visible in #3).
Turn Chain (tc) - Of course there are several other ways to work this, as outlined in Grace's post. Overall, I limited myself to very few tweaks and substitutions, trying to largely stay true to the pattern. I have used many ways to turn a chain, but stayed with her version of turn chain which was to simply rotate the stitches in such a way as to reposition them, like this Twist Work (TwW).
There are also several applications to this versatile pattern! -
Add a drop crystal and beads for a beautiful V-shaped necklace or collar; or a square collar to sew on!
Without the corners, it is easily a braid, bracelet, bookmark, ring, choker, etc. 

In Anchor Pearl cotton size 8, the braid is 1" broad ; 2 hearts = 1.5" long. The entire frame is 3" on the inner edge and just over 5" at the outer edge.
All in all, a good learning experience with tons of ways to work it.

Romancing With Life - an autobiography by Dev Anand -
This all-hearts pattern seemed a fitting frame for this true karma yogi's life, work, and joie de vivre perspective. Ageless, who died at 88 with his boots on and with more energy and curiosity than his juniors by generations.

Dev Anand needs no introduction to Hindi film buffs and Indians in general (isn't that top left pic just great?! - the 3 great contemporary heroes). But my international friends, can you identify who he is with in the top right pic?! This hardbound book is a feel-good read for the most part, dwelling mostly on his various loves - be it nature, mountains, films/film-making, women, beauty, etc. There are more areas and depth one would have liked to read about, but it is understandable how the entire focus was on romancing.


12 comments:

  1. Ah, I tried your method and didn't like the way the ring lay, but now I see that's because my picot was too small. I did consecutive joining and felt my work lay flatter. Obviously there are different methods to work the braid. I like the pattern, very effective in two colours.

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    1. I actually wonder when or where we will ever use the layered picot join, Jane ;-P But it is always fun to exercise the brain a bit and try out something new/different rather than the usual.

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  2. Once again, you have packed a lot of information into your post, and it will take me a while to fully understand the technique. How do you find the time for such intense study? I truly appreciate the way you share what you have learned!

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    1. Nothing 'new' really - you must have done a join through multiple picots simultaneously, Diane? Here they picots are layered, instead of 'gathered', thus hiding one under the other.
      I still can't compete with the range of stuff you do on a daily basis :-D

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  3. Lovely pattern! Thanks to Grace, I could have fun with it, too. I like your solution, with the long picot. I kept the EPJ but I did a FIP in each chain and did the EPJ connection with the chain's picot on the same side of the ring's picot.

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    1. It is mind-blowing how many different methods one can choose for this pattern, Ninetta! It can be a good pattern for various comparative studies :-)

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  4. Just read through your post. Thanks again for test-tatting it for me! Your tatting is beautiful, and beautifully showcased! And I'm glad you had fun playing with the possibilities, too.
    Love,
    Grace

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    1. I'm so glad you like it, Grace 💗 And I still have a lot of learn and play options left to work on (from your list, etc)- it is quite amazing! Tatting can never become boring 😃

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  5. Lots of good information. Including the book recommendation. Thank you!!

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    1. Thanks, Mel :-)) I doubt you will enjoy the book, though. You have to know who Dev Anand was. However, his lady love (which failed, unfortunately) was a fan of Gregory Peck and it said that Dev Anand tried to model himself after Peck (in the top right pic). There was certainly a lot of similarity for a phase ;-D

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  6. Replies
    1. Hearts are timeless motifs and these are endless. Thanks, Sue :-)))

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