DAL2026 roundup 3

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Blogger is refusing to update our blog feed so I can't say how many in blogland will be able to see this post. But let's focus on the beauty that has been pouring in, requiring a 4th roundup post, soon, after which I will make the patterns public! Relevant links at the end of this post. As usual, the order of presentation follows the chronology of who started the design-along DAL 2026 Challenge first. 

There's a lot happening like when I woke up this morning there were 3 new participants along with a couple of patterns from earlier participants waiting for me!!! Oh, what fun! 

And you might recognise the individual motifs in the lovely mat below? This is Linda Mazerat's Arborea, made by joining 9 of her motifs! She received lots of accolades and requests for the pattern. I have been working on the English presentation and should be able to upload it soon. 

Donna McDade - is back with the rest of her motifs!!! Some of them were sent at 4-30 in the morning - does she ever sleep?

Version 5 - has a 3-D center and a chains-only outer round!

(pattern ready)

Version 6 - has a nice colour-play and another chains-only round!

(pattern received)

Version 7 - Donna felt this was a very simple round with only a split ring braid. But I like the shape that emerged and the potential to add more if picots are added.

(pattern ready)

Version 8 - Now isn't this just too cute with a great shape?

(pattern received)

15. Sue Bradham (His Kid) - added 3 rounds, two of which involve a repetition of the center rosette with a very floral appeal overall! 

(pattern ready)

She has been sharing her progress in her blog - 

https://hiskid66.blogspot.com/2026/08/tatting.html

https://hiskid66.blogspot.com/2026/08/muskaans-daldesign-along.html

https://hiskid66.blogspot.com/2026/08/muskaans-dal-continued.html

16. Jon Yusoff (Tat-a-Renda) - True to her designing prowess, Jon designed a single round covering a large space, seamlessly  moving in and out!

(pattern ready)

Check out her blogpost - https://tatsaway.blogspot.com/2026/09/muskaan-ms-dal-design-along.html

Her first attempt was the one on the left which is also pretty, don't you think? She worked the 2nd version in variegated thread which she felt masked the design. Hence the final model in pink.

17. Sara Dougan - This is Sara's very first attempt at designing! The picot flowers really perk up the scroll.

(pattern ready)

18. Paola Bevilacqua - has given staunch competition to Ninetta's model by designing 8 rounds! She also added a bit of dimensionality with curled rings. 

(pattern ready)

As you can see, most patterns are already completed in PDF form with inked images as well as short notation text. A few have diagrams. The previous two roundup posts are also being updated as and when the pattern is ready. My aim is to release the document by the end of this week, after the 4th roundup.

Hope you are enjoying scrolling through these lovelies!

... to be continued ...

Related Posts
Muskaan's DAL 2026 Challenge - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2026/08/time-to-play-again.html

roundup #1 - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2026/08/dal2026-roundup-1.html

roundup #2 - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2026/08/dal2026-roundup-2.html

Many many thanks to all participants ranging from budding to experienced designers, playing with such enthusiasm and determination! 

DAL2026 roundup 2

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 So let's just continue to enjoy what emerged from Muskaan's DAL 2026 Challenge where you have to design additional round(s) on the given base/foundation motif. Details: https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2026/08/time-to-play-again.html   

Continuing from https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2026/08/dal2026-roundup-1.html 

7. Anita Barry - She has played so many of my games! And this time she has remembered Frau Endrucks through the little blocks in her round.

(pattern ready)

8. Donna McDade - the one who put it into my head about the next DAL and because of whom this 2026 challenge came about! And as always she tatted 8 starter motifs to add rounds to, 4 of which she has already completed with patterns! She says her motifs are not blocked yet.

Version 1 - her upside down clover round.

(pattern ready)

Version 2 - Using up some of her leftover stars from her award-winning quilt.

(pattern ready)

Version 3 - Clever application of colour with frequent use of the shoelace trick! I call it the Mind-Twister motif.

(pattern received)

Version 4 - Snail!!! Who would've thought to use the square motif to create a snail?! And she has something up her sleeve which will be revealed at the very end .... curious.

(pattern ready)

9. Ninetta Caruso - If Donna takes top position in the number of versions she is tatting, Ninetta is at the top for the number of rounds she has added - 9 rounds!!!

(pattern awaited)

10. Linda Mazerat - created 2 rounds for this very elegant motif with 'trees' in the corners. But guess what? She only learned tatting in February this year!!!! And this is her first attempt at designing. Could've fooled me - it is so professional and masterful.

"I had a great time participating in this challenge. That's when we realize that creating a pattern is not that easy." 

She has also started tatting more of this motif for a runner. She uploaded a video on Instagram.

(pattern received)

11. Marie-helene Longau - She readily 'accepted the challenge' and added 3 rounds in this beautiful motif!

(pattern ready in French & English)

12. Silvana Buonvino - has been quite active in our Endrucks group and here she added several rounds to the base motif. The 7 additional colourful rounds create a rangoli or mandala effect.

Silvana let her shuttles do the work and is regretful that she does not remember the counts.

(no pattern) 

13. Muskaan - I've already shared my thoughts here - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2026/08/my-round-3.html and no progress on the pattern presentation. Got busy with all the rest that have arrived ;-P

(pattern in the works)

14. KRine créatif - This is KRine's first attempt at designing, too! I think she did a really nice job and I love how well her colours fit. She even sent in her diagram!

She tried many and finally chose this as her last model for now. She has decided to train on patterns shared by professional designers to understand and learn and return to improve on the above piece when she has gained more experience. We wish her well!

(pattern ready)

There has been some incidental consequences and learning pertaining to this challenge. I have already touched upon some and will share more in the next post. 

... to be continued ...

There are no words that can fully express my gratitude to each of you for participating so enthusiastically and creating more beauty!

flowers and fire

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a tatted piece by Donna McDade (2024) 
Temperature Tat-Along designed by Helga

I first came to know Donna McDade when she participated in the DAL Celtic Snowflake challenge in 2024, designing the 3rd round in Five versions! We've been communicating off and on since then. And last year she participated with 7+1 versions of the 2025 DAL! Her twin passions include quilting and tatting and a lot of her tatted pieces get appliqued to her quilts as you witnessed with motifs from both the design alongs.

Below is her 3D Ruched Flowers quilt top and ... 

"I received the first place award in the national American Heritage fiber contest. There were over 3,000 entries in all the categories. The award was for "3D Ruched Flowers" unquilted top."
She is actually a descendant of George Washington!

Below are some close-up pics of three blocks to show some ruching details ...

Basket 1 - Sunflowers

Basket 3

Basket 4 - Cactus

This was the Daughters of American Revolution (DAR) 2025 event and she also won the state level award for the same quilt top!

💦💦💦

This year again her quilt titled 'Words Catching Fire' placed first at the Daughters of American Revolution (DAR) at the National level! She had sent me the story as a PDF file several months back at a time when she was uncertain if her quilt would be accepted or not! However, time slipped by and I couldn't blog about it and now her article is published in the latest IOLI Bulletin! The symbolism and acute focus on the topic is worth reading about to fully appreciate the thought and work Donna put in. Here is the link to her original PDF - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ABNIRSEKrfwj4lzuy-RgTBKDIZxFXX80/view  

As you can see in the images below, there is ample use of tatting, besides embroidery, applique, quilting, etc. and her choice of colours and shapes provides an additional layer to the entire story of the 250 year celebrations this year.

bird's eye view of the quilt 

embroidered crown of King George III

each piece here, each colour here, has a reason, a purpose.

words scattered around, but not randomly!

tatted words catching fire!

tatted impression of the Stars and Stripes 

This quilted montage is a passionate representation of the role of women in the revolution. I hope you read the detailed story in the link above to understand and appreciate why she won the top award... how could she not! 

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Yet another feather in this unstoppable and ever-young octogenarian is her newsletter! She started the  Queen City Lace Makers (Ohio) Newsletter (a chapter of IOLI) late last year and has sent me 5 out of the 7 published so far! Within the first couple of newsletters one could see how much she learned and improved the presentation, layout, and format! From absolute novice to professional in a matter of 7 newsletters!!! 

Her group works on several different types of crafts and laces such as bobbin lace, crochet, knitting, and tatting, too. There is always lots of practical and inspirational information in the newsletters and often a pattern as well. In the latest issue #7 (June 2026), she included a pic of my Buttercup Trellis bracelet that applies the split/SCMR technique.   

💦💦💦

Congratulations, Donna ... well-deserved!

incredible spirit

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Indomitable, indefatigable, inspiring spirit! This is how I see Donna McDade, my incredible 86 year old friend! You might remember her previous participation in my DAL 2023 where she belted out 5 Celtic snowflakes. This time she broke her own record. Read on to be impressed again .... 

All the DAL 2025 challenge entries can be found here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mQmdXWXQmcbXQ48nRz9FBeTJf_DoJqKz/view

This post is long long long delayed! My main delay was because I wanted to diagram all her versions for clear patterns. Unfortunately only one has been done so far. But the task is still in my to-do list, just pushed further ... And then I couldn't get my head to cooperate and so many other distractions kept creeping in. There is also lots of celebratory news from Donna's creativity, too, which I will share in a 2nd post. 

Donna started by tatting 6 DAL 2025 motifs as seen below ... Note that there are only 6 motifs here while later she added a 7th and a larger 8th, too.

And following is how the outer rounds designed and tatted by her turned the basic motif into such lovely versions!

Version 1 - Curled Ring at Chain

This is very interesting. At first glance it looks like a repeat of the previous round. However, using two shuttles, she makes two rings one of which curls over the previous ring. I think it is a clever application. 

Version 2 - Topped with Trefoils

I was able to complete the diagram for this single-shuttle round that she designed.

Version 3 - Spot Me

I chose this name because I couldn't really spot the 'mistakes' which had Donna cursing the 'Evil Tat Demon'! The pink shade, though, is the red bleeding into the white. 

Version 4 - Flower

The model says it all!

Version 5 - X & O Rings

 

This is what Donna called her 5th version (A and B) with simple split ring round and then weaving another split ring braid through the former. It suddenly gets uplifted from a simple split ring round, doesn't it.

Version 6 - Curls and Folds

Can you identify the variety of rings used in this version? Besides the normal rings in the center, there are curled, split, and folded rings and well as folded chains! Some of the folded rings didn't quite measure up since it was her first attempt at them inspired by my Folded Fun motifs published in the IOLI Bulletin.

Version 7 - Beaded

Quite festive! With plenty of potential for more embellishments.

BONUS! Curled Rings Cross

Donna increased the repeats from 6 to 8 enabling her to design the cross with lots of curled rings. The cross is already sewed on to fabric. 

And all the 7 versions together. These motifs also found their spot on a quilt as seen in the lead pic above! Donna's twin passions - quilting and tatting. Most of her tatted motifs are appliqued to her handmade quilts.

I would like you to return to read my next post and see the creative talents of this incredible lady. Adding it here would not do justice to her work and accomplishments.

💦💦💦

If you wish to try your hand at designing more rounds, jump in any time and contact me with your version.
Pattern: https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2025/02/dal-2025-challenge.html
1st round-up: https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2025/03/colour-me-happy.html
2nd round-up: https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2025/06/design-tatting.html

All participant patterns:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mQmdXWXQmcbXQ48nRz9FBeTJf_DoJqKz/view

Many many thanks for your enthusiastic participation ... hope your indomitable spirit rubs off on me, too!

a collective gift 1

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... 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 ....