tray cover wannabe

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Firstly before I forget, I have edited a few images showing the patterns from Vrinda’s squares. The notation was opposite to the working order. I’m aghast at my clumsiness; I guess the viral effect had not worn off :-( So please check out the revised directions when you plan on making them.

As I indicated in the previous post, I’ve started making these 3x3cms squares from the patterns sent in to Tat a Brussels’ Monument in Pink. It is my way of trying out all the lovely patterns and create a few more that I have sketched.

Worked in size 40, cream. So far, they are not all the same size and I may have to add an outer chain round to a few. I’ve made a couple more, but no pics yet.

I need to start joining the new squares to these as I go. But that will not give me enough leeway to play with arrangement. So perhaps I will hold off and make a thin insertion. Sound good?

Besides Vrinda’s squares (some are repeated), I now have Frivolé’s Reverse Quatrain ...

I started with an outer ring, throwing off the central ring with a mock picot between, and then continuing around. If we start the outer ring as a SCMR, then we can work the whole medallion with a ball and shuttle.

Frivolé also experimented without the central ring.

... and Henna J Hwang’s Fortuna Square (scroll through the album for this well-laid out pattern)

I tried one of the large rings as a mock ring but I liked the shape of the true ring better. Of course, the mock ring or chain option again allows us to work off a ball with single shuttle.

Margaret is sharing the latest facebook updates of the event here.

I enjoy working little patterns – quickly worked and can be used in numerous ways!

Since these pics were taken, I've worked a couple more from other patterns, but now I will share only when I have made substantial headway. I am using this project as a final hour for that end-of-a-busy day.

Tomorrow I have something exciting to show you .... so don't go far ;-P 

Wishing you happy hours of tatting always 
and 
many thanks to the designers for sharing their beautiful patterns :-)

65 + 126 + 24 and one

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Sent and received !

Rather sent and received and sent and received and sent and received and sent and received...

When the hubster realised I was going to send 55 squares, he panicked and insisted I courier them. Cho chweet. 

In the end, though, I sent in 65 squares : 55 from Cathy’s original pattern and the rest from 3 of my patterns (Classic Square ; Heart Square ; & Quatrefoil Square in size 40). I tied them in batches of 5.

Since the rates were same for the first 500 gms, I asked Usha whether she would like me to include her group's work as well. She couriered me the package, & I received it along with a surprise  ....

A beautiful letter and her exquisite lanyards and oh so lovely beads !!! 

Yay. It came in handy almost immediately when my new glasses became a bit loose & I feared dropping them! Very light & beautifully worked - the sparkle of the crystals is not captured here. 

So the 1^st sent was by Usha & her group; received by me.

The Happy Tatters group had collectively sent in 126 squares, some from own original designs. 

9 tatters with 126 squares and wishes (scroll down for screenshot).

Even with our collective tatting and stuff, the padded envelop barely weighed 200gms!

Thus 2^nd sent was by me (through my BIL); received by Cathy a couple of days later.

Meanwhile I received another envelope from Vrinda, delayed by a day, with 24 more squares - 

4 each from 6 original patterns! Wow!

We decided to send this by ordinary mail, keeping our fingers crossed.

The 3^rd sent was by Vrinda; received by me.

4th sent was by me in a new envelope; received by Cathy about 12-13 days later.

I am so very fortunate to have seen firsthand all the lovely tatting from the Happy Tatters group !!! You can see a lot of their work on Usha’s blog. Above is a screenshot from Cathy’s facebook listing

And Usha’s gift to me is priceless!

I can take credit for motivating Vrinda to share her square patterns ;-P She has used different techniques to create her squares, and given them adorable names, too. Cathy put each pattern up on facebook.

I also have Vrinda’s gracious permission to share them on my blog. So don’t go away – my next post will have her square patterns (in my notation). And also a listing of the various 3x3 cms squares that creative participants have shared (it’s good to have the links all in one place, right?).

The deadline for receiving squares has been extended to the end of this month 

and the tatted fabric will be displayed at Les Halles Saint Gery.

Many many thanks to Cathy for her graciousness and help throughout,

including sharing her personal address for the courier.

Oh, but before I leave there was another lovely sent & received a few weeks back (this has been a hugely delayed blog post due to health reasons). 

This is the latest and sadly last issue of Frivolté(k)ring. This time they included my Block Heart bracelet pattern. If you remember, last year I had the privilege of sharing my Curly Cross pendant pattern with them. Since it is their last, I asked for a physical copy instead of pdf. They graciously obliged.

A very special thanks to Mari-jan !

Between all this sending and receiving, I have made new friends and forged old ones !

That’s what this global initiative represents – a unity of purpose and meeting of minds.

Oops I forgot to thank the men in my family - hubby & his younger brother for their role in the Tat a Monument in Pink ;-P

55 in 5 and 1 in 15

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No, no, please don't leave... This is not an equation !

Just my frivolous statistics.

If you enjoy puzzles, go ahead & decipher before reading further J

my newest buy - Lindsay Rogers' 'Mastering Tatting' !

When I made my 1st one way back, I wasn’t sure about mailing it. It had worked out larger than the required dimensions (see pic below) and I was too caught up in loads of other projects, among other reasons.

loosely tatted original square with reduced stitch square
which now measures 3cms in Anchor size 20

Both factors (& the other reasons) remained the same but I don't know what exactly changed my mind. An email from Usha probably. DH knew all of my reasons, yet I couldn't explain what really happened now.

Don’t regret it one bit! I went on a tatting binge for 5 whole days, loving every moment of it, down to sewing in ends. Yeah, I guess Anita got it right - I’m “an overzealous overachiever” ;-P But the 'competition' is with myself.

So here’s the 'solution' to the title –

55 Brussels squares tatted in 5 days.

And at least 

1 of them was tatted in 15 minutes!

Pattern : Tat a Brussels Monument in pink by Cathy de Greef (Canarithy)

I don’t time myself ever. There are too many interruptions and distractions while life goes on when tatting. However I was averaging about 25-30 minutes per square. Then on Day 4 I happened to start a square just as the news went on on fm radio & I finished the square as the news reader signed off – 15 minutes flat!

Huh, didn’t know I could tat fast. 

Errr, I did have fewer stitches to work – in order to get the right size in Anchor 20, 4 stitch repeats are used instead of the 5 in original pattern.

Day 3 - end of morning session in the warm winter sun !

Day 3 - end of evening session in artificial lights

Efficiency & rhythm could be part of the reason, besides the sheer joy of working the pattern – it had enough variety to sustain my interest.

• All the materials needed were placed in this chocolate box (see pics above).
• I tatted 2 sessions per day and sewed in the ends at night (day 3 pics above).
• I stuck to the same pattern, getting into a good rhythm.
• Used 3 different pinks to create some variety.
  
• Used a ball and shuttle. My Pony bobbin held enough thread for 4 squares.
• Path used :
  

I started at the same point where Cathy did but with the ring instead of chain. Worked 2 chains around, then reverse tatted (unflipped/wrapped stitches) the inner chain. This eliminated frequent RW or switch shuttle.
NOTE (update) : To join subsequent chains to this central picot, use the 2nd side of Split Ring join.

Continued to end – lock joining the last inner chain to ring picot and completing the last outer chain.

Ending at the starting point meant it was easier to hide ends later.
And fs/bs tatting, hence started the ring in RODS (reverse order of half stitches), which meant all chains were tatted from the front.

When starting I had no idea how many I wanted to make. Then based on each day’s output I decided to give myself 5 days to complete 50 squares. On the last day I contemplated the title of my blog post & decided to increase the count by 5 - how corny is that ?!;-P  

[starting on Jan 31st - 9, 10, 13, 12, 11 squares]

On day 6, with all squares roll-blocked, dried and photographed, I set about tatting a couple of new patterns that I had sketched earlier. I will show them in the next post. They won't be in pink, though - I'm mighty tired of that colour !

I hope to finalize the patterns today and may include it in the envelope to mail to Cathy.

I did find a few of my old squares fit the 3x3cms requirement, but they are in size 40 (quatrefoil squares) and the brown one (undulating) needed a bit of work. So I was very happy working Cathy's pattern. 

Thank you, Cathy, for a lovely pattern

and for the initiative to put tatted lace on the world map !