design tatting

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 Its been a while since I updated the entries that came in for my DAL 2025 challenge. I shared the first 7 versions (with patterns!) here - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2025/03/colour-me-happy.html. Now, the next one to start the challenge was Donna McDade who made 8 versions (3 up from last year's DAL)! I will dedicate an entire post to her next time, since there is a lot of good news to share and celebrate. Meanwhile, these are what my other wonderful participants sent in .....

All versions of Muskaan's DAL 2025 Challenge can be found here -https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mQmdXWXQmcbXQ48nRz9FBeTJf_DoJqKz/view

Anita Barry 

See the dense 3rd round? Those are Louise Uteg's stacked rings from her 1970s original doily!  

I think this 4-round version looks like a nice Christmas wreath.

Padma Mandayam

Round 3 was inspired and adapted from Lella Loops' version, with the addition of a 4th original round.

Written pattern is shared in the google doc.

Janet Crow

A colourful spring version with inclusion of butterflies and more rounds. She graciously presented the pattern in a PDF. https://drive.google.com/file/d/16wfGTDxjNovnfWMYmZfqIgn1tmwDzIgY/view

The motif glued to her hand-sewn bag in which she carries her tatting supplies to meetings, etc.!

Lillyan

Janet's 14 year-old talented granddaughter is trying her hand at many crafts, including tatting! Her version is like clubbing where she adapted and applied Karey Solomon's Cat & Mice pattern. Pattern will be shared if they get due permission.

 Margaret Davies

Despite all the curve balls life throws her way, Margaret has valiantly participated again. She shared her WIP here - https://margaretsdesignercards.blogspot.com/2025/03/happy-international-tatting-day-and.html

Her 5th round ruffled and she decided to cut it off. While this modification lays flat, she might tweak the stitch count at a future date. Hence no pattern shared yet.  

Elisabeth Dobbler   worked the initial 2-round motif but was discouraged with the way her picots came out. Shelved for the present. The WIP pic is in the doc.

Join in whenever you can! This is open-ended. Perhaps I will also climb out of my limbo to add another round or two to my own version.

Words fail to express my gratitude and happiness to all participants! 

Related Posts
https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2025/02/dal-2025-challenge.html  Start the challenge any time you wish, and send me your version!
https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2025/03/colour-me-happy.html  First batch of DAL 2025 versions

https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/search/label/DAL  Previous DAL challenges

reading is cool

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We're facing a heat wave for the last several days with no respite in sight; temperatures soaring to 44-45C. But these great reading materials have a cooling effect when I encounter so much inspiration, beauty, and possibilities! And not least that I had a bit of contribution to make as well.

Chronologically .....

Ninetta had already sent me her very first book in Italian along with exquisite gifts and this time I received her English edition of 'Tatting is a Serious Matter' again with fabulous gifts! The package arrived in mid-December but I only now got around to taking pics. Her book is such a treasure, a pleasure and a great addition to any tatting library. Read about it here - https://ninettacaruso.blogspot.com/2023/11/tatting-is-serious-matter.html

• At the top is a painting on real papyrus! The Syracuse papyrus produced by Flavia Massara from the Galleria Bellomo..
• The exquisite bobbin lace bookmark was specially made by Luigia Tosin. Many thanks, Luigia.
• The butterfly is one of two designed by Ninetta for the Progetto Farfalla MG - a fundraising enterprise for children's care. Anybody can send in a lace butterfly to the overall specifications. I had intended to design one in tatting, too, but sadly didn't get around to it.

Ninetta's tatted pieces always put me to shame. So fine, so dainty, so tiny!

She remembered that I hate to tat bare thread patterns and sent me the classic wheel.

A very special surprise was the ENDRUCKS' banner she tatted for me. We partners in crime both have one now!

Wandering Wheels (2011) by Karey Solomon is a booklet with lots of block tatting/coils, also gifted by Nin. It was such fun reading it and the way Karey has applied the technique to cute patterns. Turns out she had also done what we now call BBT - a block that is tatted in reverse direction, ie, from top row to bottom row. She used it for the tatted spiral/coil (calling it the tatted wheel), working it from the out in.

Can't thank Ninetta enough for her friendship, partnership, mutual respect, and support! Not to mention these delights in the mail. 

'Designing with Friends' is the article I submitted and was published in the IOLI Bulletin Spring 2024 issue. It is about the DAL Celtic Snowflake 'challenge' and includes the complete pattern for my version and pics of all the versions sent in by the lovely participants. I must thank Liz Redford and her team for a beautiful layout and their diligence. 

In fact, an octogenarian had tatted Five versions when the game was first posted a year back, but didn't know where to send it. On reading this article she saw Anita's name and contacted her and now I have all 5 of her models in the collection, along with her patterns.

This is the design-along (DAL) first two motifs and participants had to design the 3rd round.

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

And its first anniversary motivated a new participant to tat an ice drop version.

All participants have graciously shared their respective patterns in their own individualistic style. I had intended to draw diagrams for the ones missing them, but simply cannot find the time (nor the weather!) to do it quickly. Hence I might make the doc public and continue with the diagrams at my own pace.

Brenda Rewhorn, the Chairperson and current editor of the Ring of Tatters newsletter had requested me to write about the Endrucks 1920 Project. She said a shortened version of the one published in IOLI bulletin (Summer 2022) would suffice. However, so much has happened since then.... the Project has evolved and is continuing to grow and diversify. Hence I wrote a brand new article titled 'Endrucks 1920 Project - Evolution and Revolution' and it was published in their Spring 2024 (#88) issue. 

Couple of days back I received a complimentary copy of their newsletter and the content is absolutely great! So many lovely tatting patterns, and other articles, competition, etc., all dedicated solely to tatted lace. Love the newsletter (it's almost a magazine!). I still have quite a few pages to read and am hoping to tat as many of the patterns as possible.

Brenda was in Delhi earlier this year but we couldn't meet up, though we corresponded. She is a wonderfully friendly person and hopefully we will have a second chance to meet up in person.

 

So that's it for this post. Time to curl up with one of these books again and cool off with inspiring beauty and ideas. 

gifts galore 2

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 Besides all the thoughtful and practical gifts Anita Barry sent me, she also sent several excellent books. My tatting book collection just grew a whole lot! I invite you join in my pleasure .... (listed in no particular order)

Taboo Tatting - Anita Barry. 

This little booklet is a perfect example of the creative fun Anita manages to inject into all her projects. It is one A4 size page folded into four 'pages' (printed front and back) and tied with a ribbon. She had shared it with me years back and I had printed it out. But receiving it from her is special. It has tips, tricks, challenges, little projects, ....

Tatting Times - Karey Solomon. 

I'd only heard of Karey Solomon's quarterly subscription-based mini booklets/newsletters and now I hold one in my hands! She had been sending these out for 30 long years till 2022. This post is worth reading - Launching Tatting Times Online

Tea is for Tatting - Martha Ess.

Another treasure! Martha Ess holds a special place in my heart for several reasons, not least for uploading Endrucks' 1920 book, ;-D. Martha's books are eye-openers in themselves, taking a technique or theme and running with it, popularising several techniques/effects through fun patterns. And she has a new book in the offing! 

Tatting - Rhoda Auld.

A must-have in any tatting library! I have already read several pages, but haven't played with shuttle in hand yet.

Tatting Techniques - Elgiva Nicholls.

One of my all-time favourites is Nicholls' 1962 Dover publication Tatting Techniques and History, but this was also highly recommended and desired. I'll be spending many happy hours/days reading and imbibing.

Coffee Classics - compiled by Anita Barry.

Anita had told me that she was compiling her favourite coffee recipes to hand down to her loved ones. She made at least four and these are all hand-written and sprinkled with sketches. I had no idea one of the recipients would be me!

A Collection of Tatted Bracelets - Victoria Clarke.

Blogging and the online world has introduced me to so many wonderful and talented artisans. One such is Vicki who often shares her somewhat quirky but always clever designs. And holds short tat-alongs two or three times a year. This is the time for her next two back-to-back TALs - https://victats.blogspot.com/2023/06/coming-soon-very-canadian-tat-long-2023.html 

The IOLI Bulletin Fall 2022.

It often happens that my complimentary copy of the bulletin (when my article is published) does not reach me. Anita sent me her copy and she had been thrilled to see the back cover.....

...these are a few images from my 2nd of 3 articles on Endrucks and the Project!

The Complete Book of Tatting - Rebecca Jones.

Would you believe Anita sent this separately because she forgot to include it in the earlier shipment. So, her bundle of gifts actually reached me in three shipments! Another treasure in my library!

This is something she had received at one of the Palmetto Tat Days. These were all done by Phyllis Schmidt! I believe she does some sort of giveaway every year. https://phyls-handwork.blogspot.com/ 

I placed this last as the perfect way to say Thank You to Anita for all her gifts  especially the books, and not least for her solid friendship through the years!

I have made it a point to periodically read from all the books and make good use of the knowledge and perspective. Even cleared out an entire shelf from the wall cabinet in my bedroom to display all my tatting books in one place and keep them within quick reach! And each one has a lace (mostly tatted lace) bookmark.

There might not be enough time to try out stuff from the books at present, but the literature is equally interesting. And there is that beckoning light to try out patterns and experiments and ideas as time progresses!!!

a trip to the beach

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Reworked patterns, in modern style, from Frau Eleonore Endrucks-Leichtenstern’s ‘Die Schiffchen-Spitzen’, 1920, for Endrucks 1920 Project.

This pattern #39 fell into my lap and it has such a range of possible effects to play with that one cannot get easily bored. Despite my resolve to not play, temptation triumphed. So come to the beach with me and let's pick up shells, pearls, oysters, and more ..... (not in chronological order)

Download Shells and Pearls pattern #39 here - https://drive.google.com/file/d/179E9JeCMeM7RXFcq-wThF0iPiBLfQZ4_/view

Made of 2 alternating motifs, the tiny ring reminded me of a pearl between shells and called it Shells and Pearls circular edging. I broadened the shells a tad. 

Now this is how the edging should've worked out - a straight line, not a circle! But notice the picots and loose chains? We really don't tat like this in this century. 

The tautness and smaller picots resulted in a circle. There are a few more minor tweaks made, all listed in the pdf.

Notice the cute little bows? If we tat these in one colour and use white for the alternating motif (a narrower shell), we get Bows and Cravats!  

And yet, I could not resist straightening out the edging - after all that's how the Frau envisioned it. Unfortunately tweaks were needed again, at least with my tatting tension. These are also shared in the pdf.

These are all my practice pieces where I was trying out the original pattern and also tweaking to get them to be as symmetrical as possible. And I couldn't resist arranging them like a necklace with teardrop crystals. Imagine this with many more beads placed strategically!

A single shell motif could make cute earrings to pair with a complete parure made from this basic pattern!

Or a simpler necklace version with a large teardrop and those small pearls. 

Using 2 colours for a pattern presentation makes sense because one can tell at a glance which of the 2 shuttles is to be held in the hand. And I get to play with colour combinations, LOL.

And when I brought the trial stretch into a tight circle, look what emerged! A Buttercup! Those shells (or cravats) now take the form of beautiful slightly overlapping petals. An easy idea to execute in colours of your choice for the flower of your choice.

This close-up shows clearly how the shell motif leans to one side. This happens because the chains are all parallel as in block tatting. It is an inherent structural dilemma. 

From an early stage I wanted to see if it could be 'corrected' by changing the direction of the 3rd pair of chains. Also, I wanted to try a standalone 3D shell. So I took the plunge with both....

If you ignore my personal tatting flaws, the shell is now symmetrical! The 3rd pair of chains has inward picots (Block Below Tatting or BBT). They should've been tinier, but oh well. 

This is my first tatting with hand-dyed thread (HDT) - a gift from Denise 3 years back. It seemed the perfect choice with the colours of golden sand, blue waves, purple-tinged clams, green kelp, etc. and I dived in.

Huh, a clean dive would've been good. But that short distance held many other commitments and the tatting was sporadic with several day intervals in between. Not having jotted any notes, I lost my trend of thought and made several mistakes. The 3D effect needs more tweaking so this is a prototype.

That large pearl inside is a real pearl from Hyderabad - the pearl capital of India.

So here ends our trip to the beach for now. Someday I will get back to both 3D models (buttercup and oyster) to create better version. Hope some of the above ideas have caught your attention?

Pattern #39 pdf - https://drive.google.com/file/d/179E9JeCMeM7RXFcq-wThF0iPiBLfQZ4_/view

And don't forget to visit the Endrucks 1920 Project document to see what our wonderfully talented volunteers have contributed - https://docs.google.com/document/d/17LEVftXweztBIOWh4sL4BB7bX65ssoOsOn4oXIgCepY/view