a cool warm-up

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The weather has taken a turn for the better, at least for now. We had a storm & rain Monday evening. So I got back to working at my desktop a bit. Lots of piled-up emails to answer still …

I was going to delete the previous post which was a mere notification; but how can I do that now ?! Your support, concern & advice through comments & emails has touched me so very much .

But I did get a lot of tatting done during this sojourn. Besides the Wiosna, I worked a bit on the Spinning Wheel snood, completed Ninetta’s bookmark with a bit of floral flourish, caught up with some more picot effects while learning a couple of new ones too. 

But this post is to get back on track :-)

(words in blue are direct active links)

Wiosna 2016

A doily tat-along by Renulek

Rounds 1-8 of tat-along Wiosna 2016 designed by Renulek

ROUND 7 :

I liked the way Renulek used picots on one side of the rings. Reminded me of a kitten’s face ! The floating rings were pretty tiny, though. Worked clockwise, exactly as inked in her sampler image.

It was easy to guess where the next round would join. Hence I climbed out with a split chain & split ring.

Techniques I used : directional tatting (fs/bs), floating rings, SCh & SR to climb out.

Measures < 8½”  in size 40

I actually forgot to take a pic of Round 7 before starting Round 8. So the doily here is un-blocked & only a wedge pic.

ROUND 8 :

I immediately fell in love with this round ! The overlapping rings, a reflection of the central round, with their chains, looked like a lotus in half-bloom ! The stitch count was very easy to memorize.

Tatted all from the front, but going counterclockwise because I used direct tatting (reverse stitch) for all the chains; rings were all normal.

Unfortunately this round has ruffles. We have had different ideas on Craftree about why it is so or how we can rectify it. My own feeling is that the joining picot in round 7 should’ve been a normal picot which would increase the circumference & allow the chains to lie flat, without tweaking the stitchcount. On close inspection, even Renulek’s model seems to have a bit of ruffle. She does seem to suggest in one of the comments that the next round(s) will correct that.

I tried to lay the second ring over the 1^st & 3^rd rings throughout. But I think the opposite might look better. Will try it later & take a pic to compare. 

Midway through the round, I ran out of thread in one bobbin and used Marilee’s Lark’s Head Knot trick as the last stitch of a ring to add new thread. It worked great, especially since single colour is being used !
As seen in pic, the last chain is yet to be tatted. Depending on how the next round is laid/joined, I will either climb out with a split chain, or complete the chain & start round 9 afresh.

Techniques I used : direct tatting, lark’s head knot to add new thread

Measures 9½”  in size 40

Spinning Wheel snood (an adaptation)

Mary Konior

Following Batty Tatter's example, I have doubled the repeats in the original glass mat in order to use it as a snood or hair bun holder. I use simple crocheted ones in black. But how can one hide such a beautiful pattern in black (there’s still some way to go before my hair turns grey ;-P). So I chose the next ‘sober’ colour that would work with any colour dress. There is a very slight difference in shades between this ecru & the Wiosna one, which is a richer cream in reality.

I’m working on this in very very small steps as something to fall back on when no thinking or concentration is required… a snail tatting !

The diameter appears to be about 4” to 4½” in size 40, which should work fine. Let’s see …

happy tatting :-)

Related posts : Wiosna 2016 Rounds 1-3 ; Rnd 4 ; Rnds 5-6

Strawberries & Leaves for bookmark

the Spinning Wheel of Time

Look !

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Look what a lock join unlocked !!! Access to my very first MK pattern. My head was literally spinning with palpable excitement when this popped out of the Tatter Chatter newsletter last week (March)! Thanks to Bev, and her wonderful team at The Tatters’ Guild of Australia (NWS Branch). Their newsletter was the first to officially publish a post of mine - How to Unlock the Lock Join.

And just as I was finalizing this post, Another Huge gift arrived, just in time for ITD. Once again from Australia & probably partially connected to my Joins in Shuttle Tatting series. Judith Connors sent me a copy of her book ”An Illustrated Dictionary of Tatting” *! WooHoo – can you see me doing the happy dance ?!

In Hindu mythology, we consider Time as a wheel (‘samay / kaal ka chakra’) that keeps rolling … The Spinning Wheel glass mat symbolises how tatters across time, space & nations can come together through their continuing love for this beautiful art. We are truly joined, interlaced :-)

So what better way to celebrate International Tatting Day than dedicate it to Mary Konior, the queen of visual tatting.

I also want to dedicate this to the Wonderful online tatting community from where I have learned so much in such a short time & the community continues to inspire me in so many ways every single day, and in particular to Judith, my inspiration & guide.

Spinning Wheel Glass Mat

Mary Konior

The Spinning Wheel glass mat looks great irrespective of which colour(s)/colourway one chooses. But Diane's charcoal mat here threw up such interesting negative space designs tempting me to choose black.

In Anchor Mercer cotton size 40, black, it measures 4” in diameter.

Techniques I used :

2 shuttles CTM fully loaded bobbins .

Directional tatting

Switching Shuttles takes care of the change in chain directions (reverse chains).

It was interesting to note that directional tatting changed en bloc : while going up an arm, the rings were RODS, while returning back, chains were RODS.

If one stops at 6 arms or 7 arms, one gets a nice bowl shape – perfect for little truffles & treats to share on ITD :-)

There was a tip on Craftree to start the mat from an outer ring, so that it becomes easier to join back & tie off in the end. However, for my first mat, I decided to go as per directions.

I intend to tat another, with increased diameter like this, for my snood.  I've been collecting possible patterns but this one is exactly what I wanted !

Happy Tatting and nibbling on chocolates while you distribute tatted goodies :-)

I chose some symbolic tatting for the lead pic, alongside the Spinning Wheel glass mat –

Bonds of Love rakhi bracelet ,

Hold My Hand heart ( for the interlaced rings) ,

Anne Bruvold’s Hearts of Hope , and

Super 17 Butterflies to give away (one has already been given away on Sunday)

* This edition of the book is available at Lacis.com 

Related Posts : ITD 2014 - pattern

ITD 2015 - poem