saTATisfaction

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Another productive day of tatting, foregoing my exercises and the newspapers, shhhh ;-P

The Ashoka Chakra in the center of our flag actually has 24 spokes. Using Anchor Pearl Cotton size 8, I was happy to get 12 in cabochon tatting. After all my tatted flag is an artistic symbolism, though proportions are maintained.

Started the morning by working on the 3rd wave and completed it by afternoon, despite all chores. Since I had the pattern jotted down, it was easy and quick to tat.

All 3 waves together.

In the evening, the waves as well as the leaves were all blocked. 

And this is how they will be arranged, with some overlap. Difficult to capture in a photograph.

And this is how I did worked tatting around the coin. A spilt ring braid.

SR1: 3 - 6 - 3 / 3 - 6 - 3.

All subsequent split rings -

SR2: 3 + 6 - 3 / 3 + 6 - 3. 

The final ring I worked as a regular ring, joining back to the first SR.

Has this been done before? I seem to have lost track of so many things.

UPDATE: I've been told that Edda Guastalla published this SR braid method of encapsulation in a book. She did it on an large gem (like in ice drops). 

And here is how I finished off the coin to get a smooth edge - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2022/08/har-ghar-tiranga.html

I have revealed each step of design and progress over the last several days. Now we'll all have to wait and see how they come together finally!

However, before that, there is a fun game you are all invited to .... I will post about it tomorrow.

***************

Those who subscribe to my blog via email, have you been receiving the email notifications for each post? The last one I received was the July 24th post!

Auld is gold

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Snowflake #15 in Land of Laces’ 25 Snowflake Project

Wreath Snowflake

(& possible ice drop)

This is a prototype using Rhoda Auld’s bobble technique, based on Ninetta Caruso’s pictorial and can be worked in one pass.

The colours, texture, and central hollow create a wreath-like effect that can be inserted over a bauble or a candle. It can be suspended as a tree ornament or add bling for earrings or pendant. We can also continue on the back with a ring/chain round to encase a gem for an ice drop.

Model tatted with Anchor Pearl Cotton size 8 measures a tad over 1¾”. The glass gem has a diameter of just over ¾”

A rings-only pattern using 2 shuttles to stack them facing opposite directions (ring as fish). If it is your first time using Auld’s bobble, I recommend first trying Ninetta’s pictorial and then making one motif (repeat) of this pattern with scrap threads before attempting the actual flake.

Abbreviations and Notes :

Sh = shuttle. R = ring . SS = switch shuttle. JR = Josephine ring (half stitches)

Sh1 – green ; Sh2 – red

I tatted over tails at the start, hiding under respective rings.

Θ -  Rhoda Auld's method to join stacked rings, as shown by Ninetta. It basically captures the other shuttle thread within the open ring, between 2 stitches.

For odd rings (green here), follow Ninetta’s method. Pass Sh2 through ring from behind, and over the shuttle (core) thread.

For even rings (red here), do the opposite : pass Sh1 over Sh2 core from above and down through ring loop.

Always keep previous work to the left.

RW = reverse work. I started off without any reverse work as in the tutorial, but found that the thread emerged on the ‘wrong’ side of ring. For some reason, RW made it easier to manage the bare thread space! Hence, it is better to RW after each ring in this pattern. 

bts – Sh2 (red) bare thread space about 1ds wide on the outer edge of both sides of the odd rings, ie. a total of 2 or 2½ ds wide bts

Do not leave any bts before starting green odd rings.

Pattern : 

Sh1 : R1: 3 Θ 3. rw, SS

Sh2 : R2: bts, 6 Θ 6. rw, SS rotate

Sh1 : R3: 9 Θ 9. rw, SS rotate

Sh2 : R4: bts, 12 Θ 12. rotate

         JR: 10. rw, SS  Capture with overhand tie to center the floating ring.

Sh1 : R5: 9 Θ 9. rw, SS

Sh2 : R6: bts, 6 Θ 6. rw, SS

This completes the first motif. Repeat 5 more times, joining back in a circle.

Do not cut thread. Continue around the inner margin with a lock chain. (I had already cut off threads when the idea occurred, hence you see a green lock chain).

Lock Chain : [5 +(space after R1)]x6.

Cut and tie and hide ends.

OR continue with the lock chain to make a loop for tree ornament.

OR continue at the back with rings and chains to encase a cabochon for ice drop.

I am not happy with my Josephine rings. Pearl cotton is not a good thread for tiny rings or JRs. Perhaps next time I will use beads instead.

My initial idea was to use stacked rings only as a central round, adding more round(s) on the outside. But I like the shape and didn’t feel like disturbing it. The idea for outlining the Inside, came to me suddenly a couple of hours back, and I made the lock chain.

Another idea alongside, was to make David’s Star in the negative space using interwoven lock chains.

What do you think? Your opinion and suggestions are valuable, so please speak freely.

TõTõT

Have I told you yet? Since mid-2017, I haven’t uploaded any pics to my pattern page – it is already so crowded!!! Then I had this idea and started a few months back - listing all my patterns in Google Doc files, category-wise. It is easy to update and see at a glance. The Snowflake patterns are all up to date with a photo and links. Even if a pattern has a pdf file, I request you to go to the respective blog post since that is where I may post more tips, and updates. And comments often offer a lot of ideas J

 ËÌËÌË happy deepavali  ËÌËÌË

a Celtic flip

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Remember how I wondered about a Celtic variation here? This is how I went ahead to complete a Celtic variation of Ninetta’s Curled Ring ice drop.

Notice there are no curled rings here, but the beaded rings are raised. I was hoping for more of a water lily effect.  

The pattern for 2 motifs/medallions remains the same as Ninetta's original (I have inked the count in the pic above for easy reference).

BUT, I flipped the cabochon, switching the motifs in the process : the lower one is now in the front/on top, and vice versa.

I didn’t tat a new one, simply added to what was already tatted. One can call this a prototype variation if you will,  with scope for improvement. 

For outermost green round, after the first lock join to previous round, I continued with the Slope and Roll join. It looked better.

There was a very geometric and open shape after completing the green, hence I added more silver rings in the empty spaces to look more like petals. If properly planned, a full round of 16 silver petals would give it more of a lotus/water lily effect. 

as seen from the back

I still don’t understand why the outline is more square than circular despite all chains being 7-7 ! Anybody?

In Gautam (green size 8) and Red Rose (size 20) metallic threads, the motif/pendant measures 4½ cms across and 5½ cms diagonally. The cab is 2cms.

med to cab

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This has been on my mind for a long time. I’ve shared pics of the Rosette Enchained medallion back in April 2017.

It was designed specifically for the This Way or Tat? (TWoT) series (Set II).

Then while re-tatting some of my snowflakes in Lizbeth 20, I worked this too. (it measures just over 4cms). 

Since then, an ice drop adaptation/version has been on my mind. With numerous distractions along the way, I finally completed it a couple of days back.

Chose this dark purple shade in order to reduce my stash (I bought 3 balls thinking it was a grey). But huge mistake using it during prototype stage. Moreover it masks the slight layering effect. My excuse to tat more ;-P

Worked with one shuttle and ball, ctm.

In Anchor Pearl size 8 (≡20), it measures about 5½ cms with the cab just short of 2cms.

Only chains front and back. Back is worked separately from front, and then linked while working it’s last round. Hence the cabochon can be inserted at the very last stages with just a chain or 2 to go!!!

In above collage, the close-ups are of the back. 

Once I have the ice drop worked in solid but light colours (going to use 2 colours in one of them for a 3D floral effect!), I’ll share the pattern. Hopefully both patterns.

I had experimented with entrapping the cabochon with chains only. There I used inverted tatting technique.    

This time it is simple chains and lock joins with some decorative picots thrown in and a change in chain direction for that inward curve of 'petals'.

 

My Ice Drops (original & adaptations) -

 magnifier & mirror drops

 sea shell with pearl drop

 space ship drop

 pendant drop

drop it around the neck

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In crafting, nothing goes to waste! The ice drop here was a second attempt. The first attempt, too pretty to discard, is now a pendant!

Download Jane McLellan’s Elana ice drop pattern from her blog (listed on right panel).

I had 2 reasons for setting it aside as an ice drop : 

1. the perle cotton is not stiff enough it’s shape with the weight of the glass pebble unless stiffened later.

2. I forgot to link adjacent motifs (which is why you see 2 green beads between the motifs)! Clearly they would’ve started flopping even more as the round was completed.

The threads had not been snipped off for want of a decision at the time. So I finished the left side (as seen in pic) with a chain of 10ds, secured it properly to previous round, then continued with a pearl string.

On the right side, I pulled off a length of thread, inserted it through the base of split ring and repeated as above.

Both pearl strings were tied off with relevant findings and thread ends needled back through the end beads before snipping off closely.

I hand-sewed pearl & green seed beads on the top part of the pendant later. Obviously one can simply string the beads beforehand and tat regularly with beads in place of picots.

This picture shows the overlapping motifs clearly. But with mere 4 repeats, this pendant does not require stiffening.
So that’s the story of the incomplete ice drop! Crafty, eh?! ;-P 

The green glass pebble used here is 2cms in diameter. Anchor Pearl size 8 (≡ Lizbeth 20) white thread.

curled and celtic

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Overcoming the lethargy to work with beads means I take the opportunity to work a few projects in quick succession! This time it is Ninetta’s ice drop with curled rings. Well, it does have another round with treble hearts, which changes the circle to a square. I stopped at 2 rounds since this appealed to me even more.

The variegated didn’t quite turn out as pretty as I'd visualized. And as you can see, using it for the curled rings makes it look too busy. Went with silver (on right) and snipped off the earlier part.

TIP : To get the curled ring to look like a heart, insert the ring (the picot end) from below and fold/curl from above. This difference is clearly visible between the first 2 curls on the left.

As recommended, I chose a 2cms glass pebble. Yet for some reason it looked like 8 repeats would be too tight a fit, so a 9^th was added. No, didn’t need it!

I like the clever way she used 2 motifs to interlace and trap the cabochon within! Faux Celtic along with curled rings and more – nice!! You can see the underbelly in Ninetta’s post – I forgot to take a pic. 

UPDATE (Feb 25) : Please read continuing post with some more pics and a WIP variation. This pattern was taught in Online Tatting Class on Feb 18th.

I have one more ice drop pendant to show you next time ... stay tuned :-))) 

Ice drop Enchained

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A few days back I bought assorted glass pebbles in order to make Jane McLellan’s Elana. Didn’t get to it (yet) but I had an idea when I made my charmed cross pendant. It has a large open space in center – ideal for an ice drop makeover!

Finally got around to experimenting with it this morning.

Ice Drop Enchained 

(a prototype experiment)

My idea was to have long picots all along the chain in front, then link to these picots when tatting the chain at the back. Well, it didn’t quite materialize due to my laziness – didn’t want to leave the warm winter sun to get a picot gauge ;-P

The picots turned out to be too short. 

This is the price I paid for being lazy and not leaving the warm winter sun to get a picot gauge!

But I improvised….by using a lock join with shuttle 2 (also called a ball thread join) leaving enough space to create a mock picot when encasing. Just like we do in Inverted Tatting.

I must say I’m not unhappy with the textured edge this creates.

This is worked in Anchor size 40 and is easily adaptable to any shape and size gem.

But all is not well.

• The stitchcount needs tweaking. I had to substitute the original gem.
• Worked in one pass, but I let the chains make a single point at the tips instead of having an all-round encasement/pocket.
• The picots need to be longer still.
• I ended up keeping the medallion at the back and working the other chain from front. Not that this should be a problem.

The fact remains that it Can be done ! A gem caged between chains within picots ! Even normal picots with regular picot joins. Some dexterity is required to hold the piece when joining, though. I held it sideways, ie., the side faced me, thus making it easy to pull loop through picot and make joins.

I had more ideas for this –

Tat the clovers on both sides – front and back – and join while tatting, inserting a large bead/gem within the space. This would create a nice pendant when chains were inserted at both ends later. For some other day….

Another idea based off Diane’s recent ice drop – tat a twin split ring braid, folding it along the middle to encapsulate the gem. Then add any more rounds as desired.

Also for another day. I do have nice glass pebbles now :-D

happy tatting !!!

Related Posts

my magnifier & mirror drops

my sea shell with pearl drop

my space ship drop

eternal circles and arches

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free tatting patterns

Renata and Justyna take turns coordinating craft series - posting project and tutorial links ranging from tatting, decoupage, sewing, crochet,  etc. They’ve already done many such series, and this time it’s back to “I Love Tatting” by Justyna. Every month there is a new sub-topic – plenty of time to learn new techniques or brush up on old ones. And people join in by posting their project and link during that month. It’s a great way to showcase the immense creativity and skills and be inspired by each other. Check out the details here.

This month (the first in “kocham frywolitkę”) the topic is Circles and Arches. Well, these are universal and ubiquitous ! I chose this simple necklace set with prominent arches and rings....

Noorjahan’s Rubies – a parure

free pattern for 4-piece jewelry set

Georgia is continually throwing challenges my way ;-P And I Love it. Makes me crawl out of my comfort zone. This time it was a necklace for Palmettos goody bag. I wanted a set with earrings, too, and at the last moment a ring was thrown in as a bonus pattern. 

This project took me over a month to present. The tatting is very quick, I assure you. But the designing, diagramming, writing, ooooof (am I That inefficient?) - the countless hours ! So I hope at least a few tatters will be willing to give it a go, if only to cheer me on ;-P

The one great thing that came off it all – a new beading method (Floating Beads).

 

Stephaine Wilson graciously and willingly accepted to test-tat the earring pattern. Her detailed notes, feedback, and input helped tremendously !

I ran out of the large teardrops, and had to snip them off my trial pieces. The earring on the left has longer chain arches. Wanted to show this version as well, though we rejected it (DH had a say in many of the decisions - he was thrilled and quite enamored by the whole tatted jewelry scenario!)

Do you recognize this necklace pattern? Yes, it’s the vintage edging (#7 from Needleart) converted into a necklace. Barely any changes were required!

All the other pieces are based off it to make a set – a parure (a term Georgia introduced me to!).

When it came to naming the piece, Georgia suggested something ethnic. I immediately recalled wanting to design a ruby pendant after reading “The Feast of Roses” by Indu Sundaresan. There is not much literature on this 16^th century empress, but the author has brought her to life. Nothing to it but Noorjahan’s Rubies !

My intention was to use this single large oval bead in the center of the necklace, making the centre large, with more tatted chains around. But it looked too dull there, hence tatsmithed around a ring ! It can also be wrapped around a pin for brooch.

And my first time with wire bending ! The ring was a long wire with a loop at one end. I put the straight end through this loop, and then bent it into a similar loop. The ring can now fit any finger. 

The ring and earrings patterns are shared and explained in this Bellaonline article.

The bracelet was tatted while the Tat Days conference was on, hence not a part of the goody bag. This piece has 2 extra 'flowers' - I didn't realise that the tatting would stretch once it was completed and blocked. In fact it Needs to be stretched before blocking. With the extra repeats, it can be worn as a choker !

I’d like to share the design process (what’ll I do with all the pics I took, all the trials I did?!), but in a future post. There’s always a back story with many by-lanes with learning at each step.

I tried to keep beads at a minimum wanting the circles and arches in tatting to show. But I certainly would like to make this in gold thread – it would be truly Indian then. Everyone has heard of the Taj Mahal with it's elegant domes and arches. But it was Noorjahan who first had a tomb built for her father, which later inspired the Taj.

Symbolism –

Black thread - veil/shadows behind which a woman was expected to remain.
(however,  I wish I could tat it in gold -- it would really bring out the ruby reds. )

Rubies – for the ruby gifted to her by her husband when he named Mehrunissa “Light of the Universe - Noorjahan” !

Teardrops – for the blood and tears, the resistance and intrigue, yet dignity under pressure.

Filigree bead cap – reminds me of the intricately beautiful carvings & inlay work by craftsmen at the time.

Diamond spacers & Gold beads – besides prosperity, these sparkling jewels reveal Noorjahan’s brilliance and strength shining through.

Many many thanks, Georgia and Stephanie ! ((((hugs))))

Download Pattern PDFs here - 

1. Noorjahan's Rubies - EARRINGS – diagrams only pdf,

2. Noorjahan's Rubies - NECKLACE – diagrams only pdf ,

3. Noorjhan's Rubies - RING/Brooch – diagrams only pdf

4. Noorjahan's Rubies - a parure. Complete 4-PIECE PATTERN including BRACELET, written instructions, notations and diagrams pdf.

hope you enjoy tatting a piece of this jewelry …

enchained ruby and beads

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cabochon tatting and another floating beads trial

Here's what I did last night , taking courage in both hands ...

Encapsulating a tiny gem - 1 cm x 1.5 cms. It is a lone ‘rescued’ gem from long back, without any holes to string. I’ve admired the fine jewellery work that Marie & Ninetta do, but couldn’t muster the courage (except here).

When I told Georgia a few weeks back about encapsulating the ‘ruby’, she sent me a few pics for inspiration, one of which was this. I remember Nin saying she worked rings on both sides along the edge and as soon as I got in the mood, I started.

Seeing her entire post now & this one, too, I realize my freestyle pattern is slightly different. 
I think I have a great memory, but memory doesn’t agree with me ;-P Should've taken the time to look for it earlier! Hmmm, but perhaps it would’ve been too wide for this tiny gem.

Using 2 shuttles, wound CTM with 2 strands of unmarked gold thread (is it metallic – at least partly?) I worked 2 rings facing either side, and then a chain along the edge before making next pair.  The flat side has 2 rings less for curvature.

To ensure the gem stays snug and secure, I wove one tail through picots of the underside rings.

I've encapsulated a shell, but it was much larger and worked in size 20. Here, I had to wear the magnifier continuously to avoid shuttle straying through the 2 strands. 

ËÌËÌËÌËÌË

A few hours back, yet another floating beads idea struck ... 

Floating Beads under a chain !

The smaller pearl uses a slightly different first step while larger crystal bead follows the original method.

I like how the chain maintains it’s curvature despite the dangling bead. Of course we can dangle the bead lower by increasing the length of the shank.

Now I really must get back to completing the pictorials …

enchained in tatting is a happy experience :-)