polymorphic

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Is it a fan, a cat, a swan, or a peacock?! May be even part of a barge? Or a slice of a potential doily? Actually, each stage has the potential to be used as something whether alone, tiled, or in combo. I am talking about Anita Barry's FanCatstic purse pattern which I wrote about in my last post, along with the PDF link -https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2025/09/its-fancatstic.html 

Here I share pics of my own tatted cat worked in Anchor size 50. This was tatted back in 2018 in order to be sure to diagram it correctly, hence I no longer remember the nuances. Fortunately, a bit of hunting threw up a draft post in blogger with a few notes. So without further ado, let's scroll through the stage-wise pics and enjoy the possibilities and shapes that emerge.

Is it a mini hand fan perhaps for a doll?! Makes for a good jewellery piece, too, with additional bling and findings.
Didn't have right sized beads but thought these would work. Should’ve used larger beads.

This appears like a blossoming flower and also has an arabesque mural effect.

Love this! Already looks like a fan.

Among the notes I mentioned, a couple don't seem to make sense to me now unless I sit and compare the pattern in detail. Best to ignore that rather than create confusion.

And this could be worked in the round for a beautiful doily!

Body completed.

To compensate for the small beads at the beginning,  I included larger pearl beads. I like the combo, better seen in the next image.

The tail is added. 

I would've liked to leave the tail tip unattached so that it curls naturally over the body. Not that it would work for the purse though. 

Though the green beads fade into the background, I like the lace on this black background. Hence boring you with picture-pairs ;-P

Body and tail completed and model turned 90degrees.. The purse part needs to be sewn and lace attached to it, besides the other accessorising. I didn't do it, which is why I say it is still a WIP. Complete pattern PDF link in my previous post.

 

So, doesn't this look like a peacock??? Notice how I drew a pair of pointed chains for the legs. 

And here it looks like a swan serenely gliding over water! This pic is courtesy Sharada, to whom it was gifted.

If we extend the neck/body behind, I can visualise it as Queen Cleopatra's royal barge as she cruises down the Nile! If I wasn't so lazy, I'd have taken a pic from Asterix and Cleopatra (one of The Best of these comics) to accompany this 'barge'.

Many many thanks to Anita for the opportunity to be part of her lovely pattern and journey!

tagme roundup 1

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#tagmeEndrucks - Endrucks Angel and Bell pattern by Margaret Davies

Previously I have presented the roundups in ascending alphabetical order. This time let's reverse the order to give full justice to everybody. These are previous posts on this game we played in November in our Endrucks 1920 Project group -

https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2022/11/tag-along.html
https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2022/11/lets-play-tag.html
https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2022/11/teachable-moments.html
and the pattern - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2022/12/heart-angel-bell-play-tag.html

1. Winnie Ho tatted 4 bells and in her Jingle Bell version she incorporated her love of embroidery in a tatted frame. This bell sold in her craft show to rave review by her buyer.

Notice the tiny tatted bows on the 2 top bells.

2. Vani Kattoju tatted her angel in this cheerful colourway. 

3. Stella Marina tatted her glittery angel in silver metallic.

4. Silvana Buonvino made this two-coloured bell.

5. Sharada Rajan ran out of thread in the purple angel, but persevered and completed it later. She worked a 2nd in Lizbeth size 80

6. Ruth Palsson tatted 2 angels, the 2nd with beads.

7. Roberta Porati worked a two-tone angel

8. Renata Niemczyk (Renulek) couldn't resist the call of the bell and recently shared her bell.

9. Reiko Akamatsu, ever resourceful, tatted several angels, joining them on the go. 

She had to cut off her first attempt at the 3rd angel due to an error, but persevered to create this beautiful coaster/doily. I especially love the central motif with concentric chains!

10. Pina Barone tatted a bell and flipped it over for an angel. The beautiful halo appears to be tatted as well.

to be continued .....

This is the first roundup for this event. Plenty more to be shared!

Many many many thanks for playing along so enthusiastically!

footprints on the sands

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... of time and tatting. Today I complete 10 years of blogging and it is the 800th post. These are mere numbers but mean a lot to me. 800 posts that each contained some tip, idea, experiment, option... At times 10 years seems like a long time; and yet like a short period, not enough to accomplish all my goals. Did I leave any footprints during this journey? Some faint ones perhaps which will soon be washed away. 

Incidentally, my first post on 3rd December 2013 was on tatted edgings! 

And now these pics from Judith Connors kind of summarise and symbolise my online tatting journey. I wouldn't be here, wouldn't have improved and learned so much without the help and guidance of the community; without their willingness to share freely of their expertise, patterns, and resources.

The lace - design shared freely by Robin Perfetti; tatted by me, in Lizbeth size 80 threads gifted by Sharada R; gifted to Judith who mounted it on a plain white handkerchief. This is what she wrote - 

'If you look at the close-up you’ll see that I crocheted around the raw edge first and then slip-stitched/top-sewed your lace to the crochet. I love how it all came together. When Queensland Tatters next have a display of their lace I shall place our combined effort in there too.'

This 'combined effort' is what my online experience has taught me. It may not always be an overt collaboration but the moment we tat somebody's pattern or when we share something that gets picked up another, the community grows, evolves, thrives.

Speaking of which, Judith also sent her beaded version of the Reflections Snowflake - a gift we send to anybody who completes an Endrucks' pattern.  

I had extracted it from the 100 year old Endrucks' pattern #17; it was modified by Ninetta Caruso and Anna Tedesco; tatted by several of our recipients in their own unique versions, including this sublime beaded beauty.

Endrucks 1920 Project, a huge milestone in my tatting journey, is pure collaboration! I will never reach any pinnacle of perfection and am aware of my limitations. Yet it makes me immensely happy to be able to pass on whatever I have learnt or discovered along the way. 

While the tatting community is growing, the blogging community is shrinking. Blog Land is getting a bit lonely with bloggers dropping off in favour of other platforms. Irrespective, I join those who persevere - I find it the best long-term platform and with absolute freedom to present and express in any kind of format. Let's see what the next years will bring ....

💓Cheers! And a huge thanks to the tatting community at large!💓

aug roundup 4

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When I did the 3 roundups for our August #prettymeEndrucks event, we had no idea more hearts would pour in within a few days! It has taken me some time to process them for sharing here, but finally, here they are in alphabetical order.

20. Anna Bonelli tatted Ninetta's coaster version but with 6 repeats instead of 5. We had tried it, but it did not lay flat. She managed this beauty by not joining the arms! 

21. Anna Pagliari has worked this black beauty coaster. 

22. Goh Hui Lian sent in her cute heart

23. Paola Bevilacqua followed her earrings with this gorgeous prretty me collar with cleverly arranged heart motifs and outlined with a 2-toned lock chain. 

24. Reiko Akamatsu converted her heart into a bookmark with a freeform tail. 

25. Sharada Rajan was inspired by Reiko's bookmark and after her earrings and key chain, she worked this bookmark using Margaret's enlarged heart pattern and a split ring tail.

It is so heartening to see inspiration flowing from one to the other, resulting in so many wonderful models! Ninetta and I are energized by this participation.

Many many thanks for playing along and sharing your models!

Related Posts -

game of the month details - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2022/08/pretty-me-heart-fun.html
Roundup 1 (offshoot patterns) - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2022/09/aug-roundup-1.html

Roundup 2 - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2022/09/aug-roundup-2.html

Roundup 3 - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2022/09/aug-roundup-3.html

Arrangements - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2022/09/playful-hearts.html 

aug roundup 3

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 I'm sure you must have enjoyed the hearty spread in my 2 previous posts. This is the final serving for our 'pretty me aug 2022' FB event. While all our participants are on Facebook, some joined us through blogs and Instagram, too. They encompass a diverse set of tools, experience, and skills, besides imagination. 

11. Marina MadJar Tatting - shared her key chain pendant adaptation pattern. 

12. Margaret Davies - Margaret really went to town with her hearts - trials, patterns, and all! I've lost count of the number of trials she posted, including a discarded attempt at a butterfly within the heart.

Besides sharing her enlarged heart and bookmark patterns, she tatted this earring and pendant set, adding a tiny ring at the tip to hold findings. The pendant differs from Lella Loops' pendant in the previous post, in the number of joins between motifs.

13. Meenakshi (muskaan) Jain - While preparing presentations for the original pattern and for the spin-offs, I had plenty of opportunity to tat more hearts, starting with my Indian Flag earring version;

Ninetta's coaster which I am using daily;

Margaret's enlarged heart - in the 2nd one I increased the chain length;

and finally Margaret's bookmark. Would look lovely as a bracelet embellished with beads.

14. Mela Cabo followed my example and worked a pair of mirrored earrings in metallics.  

15. Ninetta Caruso had tatted her coaster in size 80 (4cms) and inserted it in this key chain

16. Paola Bevilacqua had worked her earrings as soon as the notated pattern was shared in the blog in June.

17. Ruth Palsson (stitchingbushwalker) has been tatting for only about a year and kept working on the heart motifs till she was finally satisfied with her joins, her bead/crystal sizes, etc. 

In the trio below, Ruth added a metallic machine embroidery thread to add that bit of sparkle. She will be using the heart(s) for a lucky door prize.

18. Sharada Rajan worked in size 80 for a pair of earrings before the event;

and encapsulated a 3rd heart within the key chain.

19. Stephanie Mc (Tattimic) shared her butterfly pattern.

💕💕💕

And there can be no better words to express our sentiments, than what my partner in this crime, Ninetta Caruso, has to say -

I'm very happy to see all the prettyfied hearts shared for the August #prettymeEndrucks event. Thank you very much, Muskaan and everyone of you! It was amazing how many of you felt involved and actively participated. 😘 This was only our first event -  there's an Italian expression that sounds like: "a good day can be seen from the morning". Hence, this cascade of creativity is exactly what we had hoped for our group!

We are preparing many more events, besides the current #extractmeEndrucks game. It seems this book is like magic, an incredible and endless source of inspiration; when you think you're done, there will always be another rabbit to be pulled out of Endrucks' hat!

Dear tatters, keep creating and happy Endrucks' tatting!

 Till our next roundup for the current game, then!

💖 Many many many thanks for playing! Keep inspiring us 💖 

Round up part 1 (pattern pdfs) - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2022/09/aug-roundup-1.html

Round up part 2 - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2022/09/aug-roundup-2.html