a collective gift 2

Life has taken on this unhealthy habit of getting in my way! It took me way longer to publish this post than was required. I also apologise to all my blogger friends for not commenting, even though most times I read the posts. Without much ado, here's part 2, with patterns. Read part 1 here - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2024/11/a-collective-gift-1.html

12. Mariola Siwek - drew her visualization overnight and her tatted replication did full justice to the diagram! 

However, the stitch count numbers on the image were not sharp, so I had started diagramming it first. I am happy to say that at least this diagrammed pattern is now in the Google Docs. Link at the end.

 

13. Ninetta Caruso - designed Rounds 3 to 5 and tatted two models with options and also prepared a PDF!

This version has treble tatting in Round 3.

Ninetta's pattern PDF - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KYqv7D1d06OhZ3v_lom9nWRJLrKhX7sc/view

14. Paola Bevilacqua - designed Round 3 and converted her model into an ice drop!

Watch her short video showing work in progress -https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iXWwtyBrJp2o5Sb2GUMh8FO5MAKk-QFt/view

15. Silvana Buonvino - designed Round 3 with onion rings!

It has that fractal feel, doesn't it?

16. Stella Marina - designed Round 3 but with the models coming in, she decided to go for a bit more stylish decoration and overlapping chains!

17. Vani Kattoju - designed Round 3 and tatted two models and then went on to design a 4th round in her third model!

Nice dendrites in the fourth round!

18. Wanda Salmans - designed Rounds 3 & 4 and shared her journey, thoughts, and process in her blog post (https://www.wandasknottythoughts.com/2023/06/old-edging-and-a-dal-snowflake/) and also spoke about it in her inaugural YouTube video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsD-3AkFODQ&feature=youtu.be.

The snowflake looks good even after Round 3.

Such a difference in shades!

19. Dan Grady - started tatting his Round 3 design but the work is still not complete; obviously discarded a long time back.

20. Muskaan - designed Round 3 and shared pics and design journey in the following posts -https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2023/05/problem.html 

https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2023/05/solution.html    

https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2023/05/dal-tadaaaa.html 

And as promised, I am sharing the article (I removed the QR codes and added an Author's note) which has the pattern as well. 

Designing with Friends article and pattern PDF - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1peQYjewL79RsmXEpx_-XU1fxlPIYJNvt/view

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

AND now for all the patterns you are hopefully waiting for and have kept your shuttles/needles ready-- 

Muskaan's DAL Celtic Snowflake challenge May2023 -https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pVqM6S5Ng49xk6erSsDyRm3y7SdV2tCIUOCgltze4lM/view

Feel free to join in the challenge by designing your own rounds or choose and tat any of the 25 patterns listed in the doc above. Do send me pics and feedback to be shared with the respective designer or to add you to the 20 designing friends!

Start here - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2023/05/lets-design-round-3.html

 

Notice that you can interlace the first two motifs as you wish. Some designers chose one, some the other although to keep things simple I had shared only the model on the right in my invitation.

Many many many thanks to each and every participant for your wonderful and inspiring work(s) and for sharing it with the tatting community. It is indeed tremendous fun designing with friends!

a collective gift 1

... of so many snowflake variations and patterns in one place, from a talented group of generous designers!  Perhaps you recall my invitation to design the next round(s) for a Celtic interlaced center - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2023/05/lets-design-round-3.html... the DAL Celtic Snowflake 'challenge' as several called it. I loved the response and the models that turned up, some almost overnight! And later, when I requested each participant to share their pattern, they readily complied. I compiled them all in a Google Doc, listing them chronologically as they came in. 

The main reason for this inordinate delay in sharing with you is two-fold: 1) I wanted to synchronise the patterns, adding a diagram to each or filling in any 'gaps', and 2) I wrote an article on this project for the IOLI Bulletin and wanted to wait a decent amount of time. The first objective hasn't been achieved, unfortunately, though I did begin diagramming. For this I sincerely apologise to my designers, but hope to work on it in future.

I have decided to share the document as is since it is the season of tatting up snowflakes! Please note that the patterns are not tested and there is diversity in presentation styles. We hope you enjoy the individual flavour and range of effects, tools, and techniques and also the story behind each! All details are in the doc, the link to which I will share at the end of the visual display of models. Between my article and the Google docs, the entire backstory is laid out . hence I will not repeat it here.

Presenting them alphabetically ---

1. Aleksandra Pawlik - Round 3 designed and tatted within a day!

 

2. Anita Barry - Two different versions, both with Round 3 designed!

 

The difference in backgrounds brings out the mandala effect differently.

Clever use of split rings.

3. Anna Bonelli - Rounds 3 & 4 designed. Makes a nice wheel impression.

4. Antonia Lai - Round 3 designed in single shuttle with bare thread spaces!

5. Barbara Slodka - Round 3 designed with Josephine rings and pleasant pastels

6. Daniela Galli - Round 3 designed and tatted in two shades of metallic threads

7. Donna McDade - designed Round 3 for Five versions! All 5 models have been appliqued on a quilted wall hanging (pic in the doc).

8. Jean Inglis - Round 3 designed. Appears like a flower or wreath.

9. Ladyphoenix tatter - designed Rounds 3 & interlaced Round 4 after discarding two other attempts since it caused cupping.

10. Margaret Davies - designed Rounds 3 & 4 and tatted multiple models till she was satisfied! 

11. Lella Loops - designed Round 3 and also styled a Celtic shuttle to work the interlacing in this round! She is a needle tatter.

continued in next post along with links .... 

never be late

 I barely made it before the end date. 

This month we have a very special game in our Endrucks FB group. We were supposed to convert Endrucks' pattern #30 into a cross and those who didn't want to tat a cross, could do a bookmark, bracelet, etc. I chose to do a cancer awareness ribbon, but with beads. Beads to signify the happiness/bling of being a survivor and also to be able to wear it as a bracelet if so desired. 

It is for a very special and sweet friend who, though being merely a couple of years younger, insists on being a younger sister and calling me 'badi didi' ;-D Well, she certainly has my blessing and good wishes always 💕

And never be late to detect any lump and get it checked.

This is worked in Anchor Pearl Cotton size 8 with randomly loaded 13/0 (red) and 17/0 (clear) seed beads. They add a nice weight to the piece and it feels good to wear it. I didn't inset any findings, though, and for a 7 inches long bracelet make one repeat less. 

One can play with colours, too! Use any Reposition Method to get the desired thread/colour placement. 

This is one of the patterns I had attempted in 2015-16 and couldn't get the chains to lie nicely. While here, too, I could've done better by adding 1 stitch to each segment of the onion ring, this is merely my own tatting tension issue.

While tatting the edge on the other side, I ended up adding 2ds in each chain segment, which I should've done for the first edge as well.

Ninetta Caruso did an excellent job of reworking the pattern and sharing versions, including a corner and a square motif adaptation! Here's the pdf link - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1f7g8gIB7S3-ggRbdneLYmxfxPcDBoq7u/view . She has also uploaded a diagram-only version in here flickr account which I used - https://www.flickr.com/photos/ninettacaruso/50560777536/ . 

Why'd I use two different coloured beads? The clear ones wouldn't have shown up well in the pics and the clear red ones would dominate the ribbon. And loading them randomly on both shuttles was Dr Downplay's flexible path to quick stringing without any calculation of bead position, LOL.

Also, when I started, I had no clear idea where and how I wanted to place the beads. 

 

Shuttle #1 ran out of thread hence had to rewind and re-string beads. Shuttle #2 ran out of beads and had to add more beads. Yet, it was an enjoyable tat and something that went pretty fast considering the number of beads used. Only wish my tatting was better. Well, there's always a next time!

And I am entering this as a second submission this month to splocik's 'Small Decorations' game! I just think it will resonate with many, hence. Thank you, splocik 💖

Many thanks for all the work that went behind reworking this pattern and also creating adaptations, Ninetta!

done

 Done for now, to be clear. And not because I've tired of it. Au contraire, it is just too enticing, distracting, and addictive. I want to simply sit and tat this, and ignore all other tasks, including a couple with deadlines. So, done for now, threads unwound from shuttles and back in their respective boxes. And my apologies to my tatting buddy Anita, for leaving it here. I do hope to pick it up again some time next year.

In Anchor Pearl cotton size 8, it measures about 7cms across.

This was completed several days back. It's taken me this long to take pics and prepare a post.

At this stage I am calling it my Sunflower version. Going forward, it might become a dahlia or chrysanthemum with more colours being added.

I followed Patty's diagram again, alternating the 2nd join between the inner scallops. Later realised that the original doily throughout had a single join between the inner scallops, not alternate. By then I had already completed 2 whole repeats (4 scallops each), hence went ahead as before. Not that it shows either way at least in my version. 

How does it Always happen?! The one slice I chose for the close-up is the one where I missed a join in round 1, LOL. I missed a join in round 2, too, and also a 2ds chain segment. However, it was easy to ignore the first and for the second, I inserted a fine hook through the 'hidden picot' (viz, through the stitch) for a join. Can't even locate where this all happened. Dr Downplay zindabad!

  

I wish there was more of the chrome yellow rather than the yellow ochre in this model, but I was going from a light to dark shade using whatever I had in my stash. And the brown could've been a a couple of shades lighter if only I had enough.

My intention is to use two shades of orange then two shades of red for the remaining four rounds. I could repeat the same yellows, but that would become kind of boring ;-P

What do you think of the colour scheme?

Oh and I had updated my previous post with the completed round 1, but here's the pic again in case you missed it - 

Many thanks to Jon Yusoff for hosting the TAL. Don't know when I'll be back to complete this.

This mini-doily or coaster is my October submission to splocik's Small Decorations game. Only two months left and I still have so many ideas/projects I could submit! It's been a fun game for sure and will definitely look forward to joining again if splocik hosts it in 2025.

Check out the range of creativity and crafts for September here -https://splocik2.blogspot.com/2024/10/male-dekoracje-2024-galeria-wrzesniowa.html

off the deep end

 Well, kind of! I'm certainly mad to have succumbed to temptation when there are already so many huge pies baking in my tiny oven. The heat quotient is out of the world! Yet it has been a decade-old wish to tat the beautiful Mystery Doily. I've actually been compiling resources and versions for a decade whenever I came across something .... And so can you blame me if I joined Jon Yusoff's tat-along on FB intending to tat just 2 or 3 rounds for now.

Pattern Links to the Mystery Doily Project first shared by Georgia Seitz -https://www.theonlinetattingclass.com/doilies-mug-rug-etc

I roped in my tatting buddy, Anita Barry, and she readily agreed. To date, she has Never refused me anything!!! We've been exchanging note, thoughts, angst, and progress these last few days. While I was thinking of size 80, she suggested size 40 since she wanted to use up some of her stash. It was absolutely fine by me, or so I thought!

Yes, angst. My story starts with several discards. Don't remember why I cut off the one in orange. Was it a change of colour decision? I think I decided to use it for the next round and start the first with yellow.

The rings are tiny - only 8 stitches. And while closing that last ring the tread snapped! Better to discard since the thread (Gopal) is not mercerized.

 

Wound new shuttle with Anchor size 40. Now the inner scallop of first repeat looks very different since it is unattached. I got all muddled up thinking I had made a mistake and snipped it off. Turns out it was correct, sigh.

4th start with lighter shade of Anchor yellow. While I was struggling with the chain directions (since I was shuttling between diagram and original doily pic) I thought I'd got it right. Till I uploaded the pic to a larger screen and found an error in one segment. Not a huge mistake, but still the dark brown wasn't helping my limited vision. Even managed to snag the thread at one stage and joined again. 

Overall, though, I wasn't enjoying the tat and decided it was time for course correction and snip off the size 40 altogether. 

Finally settles on Anchor Pearl Cotton size 8 (equivalent to Lizbeth size 20) and this is how far I reached after dinner last night. Tatting went smoothly and quickly, I enjoyed the thread (the shade appears darker here), and I have more of a choice of colours, too. Would've preferred a lighter brown, but turns out I am running out of greens and browns in perle cotton! Looks like some buying in on the cards ;-D

What also helped was that I sketched my own diagram and although I wrote my text version, too, I didn't need to consult it.

My visualization is to change the colour of the rings in each subsequent round, using darker shades or even different colours, to resemble a chrysanthemum or a blossoming flower. Brown remains constant throughout.

Okay, so that's the backstory. If it hadn't been for the FB tat-along and especially with my buddy, I might've discontinued the endeavour for the present. Somehow tatting with others felt like a commitment and something I needed to accomplish for myself, too. 

Now for my notes -

1. Pattern - I referred mainly to Patty Dowden's instructions, starting with an outer ring, and also followed her count.
2. FS/BS tatting here is in 'blocks' like in Mary Konior's Spinning Wheel Glass Mat where a set of motifs/repeats changes en bloc. So the outer scallop has frontside rings while the inner scallop has backside rings.
3. I followed the original doily pic and Patty's Row 2 diagram for the 'S-chain' instead of her diagram for Row 1. Ultimately I drew my own sketch instead of shuttling back and forth.
4. Direct Tatting - In such serpentine patterns (including magic squares), it is very practical to direct tat the chains instead of frequent reverse work. This also keeps the work mostly on the front side. Hence reverse stitch the chains, ensuring that you make adjustments for the sequence of the hitches when tatting backside chains.
5. Joins - For symmetrical/mirror-image chains, including colour and direction, I used a reverse join on the right S chain and a downward picot (picot on core thread) on the left chains.
6. Reposition - And before the picot on core thread (I wanted it to be yellow to mirror a ring picot), I used a TwW (a 2nd half-stitch which it turned to face the other way), reversed work, and then placed the paperclip on core (yellow) thread. 
7. Colour - My first instinct was to follow Jon's variegated and solid combo scheme. However, seeing the tiny rings and my own stash, it just felt that a variegate would make the already dense design too busy. Hence I chose solid colours.
8. Thread - Remember to use mercerized cotton for easy closure of the tiny rings.

As I mentioned above, here are some additional links - 

• moondrops has tatted several versions of this doily, sometimes in tandem! She makes it look so effortless. I think it is a good exercise to check her versions for colour placement, etc.
• Frivole gave it a try - https://leblogdefrivole.blogspot.com/2013/09/mystery-doily-whos-copy-cat-now-and-new.html & https://leblogdefrivole.blogspot.com/2013/09/mystery-doily-round-two.html
• Ninetta completed her doily, sharing her journey, and even derived a square motif (quad 24) from it, and then converted it into a magic square, including an inverted version! 

Can't say how far this doily will go at present reckoning, but I am committed to at least two rounds to get a good feel of this beauty! Jon has created a dedicated private group for this TAL, called Georgia's Mystery Doily Tat-Along. Join us if you can!

 

UPDATE: 

Reposition Methods (either after a lock join, a picot join, or free) to change the thread, shuttle, direction, or colour --- For convex/concave chains - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JxcO-ubKP1KXb_CVAAfOMX6uBPkCy_gO/view 

and more - https://drive.google.com/file/d/17zsM3JaLO7r0ajg8VOnv5IcJ-kLNqEiU/view 

And my completed Round 1 -

It's enticing And it's addictive!!!!!