very fishy business

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 Oh yes, a special treat for Pisceans and the rest of us as well, here's a fishy fishy pattern to enjoy! 

E43 FISH by MANJU TALEKAR

pattern PDF: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JsRV0DYDD7-coE7QAvZl7LORk1V5Oaiy/view

It started with a game we played in July 2024 - Pattern of the Month where we chose Frau Endrucks' pattern #43 to tat. The pattern had been reworked by Maria Grazia and Ninetta Caruso ( https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JRu7OggaSna0eXDRA2P18dRu6uE4-1J7/view ; https://ninettacaruso.blogspot.com/2021/01/testing-with-grace.html ). Several new derivatives and applications emerged from that game which will be shared eventually. 

Manju first derived this Granny Square from the same pattern and then she saw a fish and went ahead with the adaptation!

Her prototype. She used some clever little tweaks to get the shape and direction she visualised!

And once she tweaked it to perfection, she quickly belted out several more and made this lovely mobile!

All details are in the PDF - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JsRV0DYDD7-coE7QAvZl7LORk1V5Oaiy/view

This is my test tatting and as you can see the fish faces the other way! 

TIP: Happens in frontside/backside tatting depending on how you start the first element. This is a great a simple way to make a mirror-image model as in earrings.

Worked in Anchor size 40 thread. Wish I had a better bead for the eye - they were either too large or too small. I had tremendous fun tatting it, but getting the pattern presentation and diagram easy to follow/read took a toll. Fortunately, Manju had hand-drawn the entire fish and I could trace over it while diagramming.

And this is Ninetta's version. She was so eager to tat it herself and it really helped coz she noticed one mistake in the presentation which was rectified.

Wouldn't this motif make a great gift for fish lovers and fishing hobbyists, too? Tatters often ask for designs for men and here's a nice one! And the mobile arrangement is ideal for infant's crib or kid's room. And this fish would look good in solids as well as variegates!

Check out our Directories for lots of derivative patterns and ideas from Frau Endrucks' 1920 book - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1w1TZBg-HIzseGEUoJ-rko7tNbtSgZY5A18Oy2Y9Hh0Yiew

Manju has been a prolific and talented tatter in the Endrucks 1920 Project and has derived several patterns sharing them graciously. She enthusiastically draws and sends us the count. It is my  fault for not being able to keep up. Which is one of the reasons we decided to take a break from our games in the Endrucks FB group for this year.

Many many thanks to Manju for this lovely pattern and all the energy she brings!

And thanks to Maria and Ninetta for reworking and presenting the main pattern!

wish to be a fish!

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Oh yes, you read it right! I do wish I could be a fish and stay in the water. It has been so horrid – hot and humid – here for the last 3 weeks that all one wants to do is laze in cool water or swim about like a fish. All energy is sapped out. We have been facing temperatures in the 110°F or 44°C range and no respite in sight.

So as I was saying, this adorable little fish tat-along came at the right moment!

I’ve admired this cute Kiss Kiss fish all along. Loaded my shuttles with thread and beads.

UPDATE : click to download Kiss Kiss Fish pattern pdf.

designed by Carollyn Brown

Size 20 Lizbeth – 132 Tropical Punch and 

pearl beads which are slightly larger than the required size 11

Day 1 – the tail fins and ventral part of the body.

Two long tails from each shuttle act as the padding for the body to allow the fish to keep it’s shape. I really like how she used the tails instead of adding thread separately!

Needless to say, the stitches are unflipped here (reverse stitch for encapsulation or padded tatting).

Day 2 – eyes, kissing lips and dorsal half of body.

With beads for eyes and lips in place, the encapsulation continues on. Dorsal and ventral fins are made with decorative picots.

After joining & knotting back to the tail fins, I simply tied a bow with the thread ends instead of hiding ends. Yup, lazy!

I thoroughly enjoy patterns that can be worked all from the front! And a sweet cute little fish is just so much fun! I do wish I could’ve taken pics against better background with seaworld props. But the weather does not permit all the physical activity involved ;-P I'm fried fish here ....

I intend to make this again with thread & bead sizes complementing each other. Perhaps then I will exert myself for a better background.

Carollyn has explained everything beautifully with stepwise pictures. She has given me permission to draw out a diagram for her patter pdf. So stay tuned to her blog !
It may be a small fish, but the designing is very clever - no small fry !

Thanks a heap, Carollyn, for this wonderful tat-along & pattern!

I still wish I could be this fish :-D

ring as a fish

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you don't take the bite ?
Is she daft, you ask ?! A tatted ring is tear drop shaped and everybody knows that !!!

Tatted Ring as a Fish

Ah, but when we tat a ring, what do we call the 2 threads dangling beneath - the ones we dread coz they need to be hidden ?
Tails (thread tails, tail ends) , correct.
And what does the opposite end look like - the one that is broad ? Add an eye Picasso-style, and what have you ?
Head - of a fish :-D
And this broad head determines how the rings are facing in a medallion or in a motif.

Inward and Outward facing rings

download  pdf  here

Being able to identify whether rings are facing inwards or outwards, can be of help in knowing 

• which joins to use (for instance, do we need to know the folded or twisted picot join when we need to join to the right),
• which shuttles to use and how 2 colours will be positioned, 
• how to orient our diagrams, 
• how to read tatting diagrams, etc. 
• It also makes it easier to explain to others – see images below.
• This is applicable to medallions which enclose a space, and also to rows and rounds in larger patterns - how are the rings joined - inwards or outwards. This also determines the overall Direction in which we work that row, round, or medallion - left/right; clockwise/counterclockwise. This in turn can help us decide what to tat backside in case of directional or fs/bs tatting.

The pdf shows how to identify inward and outward facing rings in a medallion or pattern, using fish as an analogy for a tatted ring.

The pdf is largely graphic. While it is important to know and understand tatting terms, the future of tatting is going visual. Be it books in languages we do not understand and rely only on the diagrams they present, or videos, it becomes important to understand, at a glance, what skills and tools we require.

So, head in the right direction -  follow the head of the fish ring !

If the heads are facing outwards in a motif or medallion, it is outward facing medallion -

are the fish trying to get away from each other or from a fisherman's bait ?!

If the heads are facing inwards, it is an inward facing medallion -

the fish are in a huddle, with their heads knocking each other !

With a fish analogy, it becomes Quick and Simple to tell at a glance and in a couple of words!

While I was working on the pdf, unknown to me, Sandra Figg was working on this video to show us the difference (we both saw the need, generated out of the same discussion thread!). 
Like I said - the future of learning to tat lies in graphics :-)  

The pdf has a few basic terms such as motif, trefoil, clover, medallion, scroll, etc. Hopefully beginners will have no problem in understanding them, and others in identifying which is which.

In case help is needed, I will explain them briefly, with comparative images/collages in next post. Your feedback is awaited. Please leave a comment or email.

whether you like to be in a tatters' huddle or running away from life's bait, 
keep tatting happily always :-)

hooked !

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on TIASes, tatting on paperclips, and block heart !

Fish Paperclip

Phyllis Schmidt

Georgia has a great new surprise project every month on the Online Tatting Class. Phyllis’ tatting on a paper clip – a new pattern every month through this year ! The first one for January is this cute fish.

I had thread left over from a recent project – a size 3 or 5. So the fish is a bit large, but my first on a clip and I like it ;-P And it was such a quick tat, too, except that I forgot where to add the bead and ended up having to undo the half-tatted ring. Bead has to be on the shuttle, Not around the hand, silly me ! See, I can even make it stand upright  :-D  

Hmmm, I just noticed. See, instead of printing the pattern, I had quickly sketched the diagram and jotted a few things. Only now, as I compare her tatted model with mine on the large screen, do I notice the difference in tails (compare the caps).

Please note : To be sure, RODS is reverse order of a normal Flipped double stitch, not the unflipped second side of split ring, which is called a Reverse Stitch & it subsumes a reverse order but of unflipped half stitches.

Tat It And See 2017 – Day 10

Jane Eborall

Sniggering BC3 

thinks we're 'over the bend'

Clueless still

my Day 10 I send 

All my guesses

didn't pass the test

Setting it aside 

I'll, errrr, take a rest

I'm still going with a lady in a gown and this is her hair/hat/hood ; the rest of her ensemble shawl or cape will appear next, crossing over the neck with an alligator 'pin' (join) and tying off at that tiny little picot on the right !



Large Block Heart ....

I have so much lined up to share, but don't want to make this too lengthy ... so we'll all just have to wait a while longer ;-P But here's a peek into a single Block Heart - a larger one that can be used as brooch, pendant or lapel pin, or perhaps something else. This was the project with size 3 or 5 thread with which I made the fish above. It's still a work in progress, though, and I used a different join.

Many thanks to Jane and Phyllis for sharing their delightful patterns and I look forward to tatting more of them !

happy tatting, till then