colour me happy

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As we approach Holi, the festival of colours, happiness came my way through friends who participated in my design-along challenge!

On a lark I had converted my motif into a DAL challenge here and am so happy to see the motifs flowing in, along with respective patterns!!! Instead of waiting, let me share the progress so far. Interestingly, 5 of the 7 current participants are my Italian friends. They never fail to impress.

Compiled in this document, Muskaan's 2025 DAL Challenge  - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mQmdXWXQmcbXQ48nRz9FBeTJf_DoJqKz/view  Save this link and read for more details and updates (and larger images).

In the order the first image appeared .... 

Daniela Galli

Paola Bevilacqua

Silvana Buonvino

Michelle Forclaz

Adriana Tomanin

Lella Loops

Muskaan

I've tried to keep this post short and direct since all details are already in this document -https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mQmdXWXQmcbXQ48nRz9FBeTJf_DoJqKz/view

There are no words to profusely thank Daniela, Paola, Silvana, Michelle, Adriana, & Lella!

Most of them had participated in last year's DAL Celtic Snowflake challenge, too! You can join any time you wish and contact/tag me when you do! I'm sure most of these models will inspire you to take up the challenge. It doesn't matter if you tat with a needle or shuttle, if you haven't designed before, ... you can do it!

and more

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 After reading my posts, Elisabeth Dobler took up the challenge and quickly sent me her version of the DAL Celtic Snowflake, designing a third round and also tweaking the first motif to incorporate Celtic knot picots! And she graciously shared the pattern, too, becoming our 21st participant. It took me some time to diagram it, though. But here it is ....

I realise only now while inking and uploading that we forgot to mention the beads in the center. It looks like she used two beads on each picot and made a swirl join at the end. 

There are Maltese rings at the tips and the thinner metallic thread picots fill the ring.

Elisabeth has a way with picots! If you are on Facebook or Instagram, you should look up her work and how she elegantly transforms the models. Her impeccable tatting is so inspiring, too. She frequently sends me pics of her work and I will soon share a few here.

Before I forget, you can find the pattern and all details in this Google Docs -https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pVqM6S5Ng49xk6erSsDyRm3y7SdV2tCIUOCgltze4lM/view

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And I also know of two other tatters who tatted the snowflakes -

Marja chose Lella Loops' version - https://solmujenlumoissa.blogspot.com/2024/11/lumihiutaleita.html

and Padma M chose to tat Mariola Siwek's version which she shared in her FB account - 

UPDATE (Dec2024): The pattern (diagram for Padma's variation is also uploaded in the above document.

 

Many thanks to all for your participation! Being inspired and inspiring others is an unending cycle of creativity! 

Related Posts - 

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

https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2024/11/a-collective-gift-1.html

https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2024/11/a-collective-gift-2.html

a collective gift 2

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Life has taken on this unhealthy habit of getting in my way! It took me way longer to publish this post than was required. I also apologise to all my blogger friends for not commenting, even though most times I read the posts. Without much ado, here's part 2, with patterns. Read part 1 here - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2024/11/a-collective-gift-1.html

12. Mariola Siwek - drew her visualization overnight and her tatted replication did full justice to the diagram! 

However, the stitch count numbers on the image were not sharp, so I had started diagramming it first. I am happy to say that at least this diagrammed pattern is now in the Google Docs. Link at the end.

 

13. Ninetta Caruso - designed Rounds 3 to 5 and tatted two models with options and also prepared a PDF!

This version has treble tatting in Round 3.

Ninetta's pattern PDF - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KYqv7D1d06OhZ3v_lom9nWRJLrKhX7sc/view

14. Paola Bevilacqua - designed Round 3 and converted her model into an ice drop!

Watch her short video showing work in progress -https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iXWwtyBrJp2o5Sb2GUMh8FO5MAKk-QFt/view

15. Silvana Buonvino - designed Round 3 with onion rings!

It has that fractal feel, doesn't it?

16. Stella Marina - designed Round 3 but with the models coming in, she decided to go for a bit more stylish decoration and overlapping chains!

17. Vani Kattoju - designed Round 3 and tatted two models and then went on to design a 4th round in her third model!

Nice dendrites in the fourth round!

18. Wanda Salmans - designed Rounds 3 & 4 and shared her journey, thoughts, and process in her blog post (https://www.wandasknottythoughts.com/2023/06/old-edging-and-a-dal-snowflake/) and also spoke about it in her inaugural YouTube video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsD-3AkFODQ&feature=youtu.be.

The snowflake looks good even after Round 3.

Such a difference in shades!

19. Dan Grady - started tatting his Round 3 design but the work is still not complete; obviously discarded a long time back.

20. Muskaan - designed Round 3 and shared pics and design journey in the following posts -https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2023/05/problem.html 

https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2023/05/solution.html    

https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2023/05/dal-tadaaaa.html 

And as promised, I am sharing the article (I removed the QR codes and added an Author's note) which has the pattern as well. 

Designing with Friends article and pattern PDF - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1peQYjewL79RsmXEpx_-XU1fxlPIYJNvt/view

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AND now for all the patterns you are hopefully waiting for and have kept your shuttles/needles ready-- 

Muskaan's DAL Celtic Snowflake challenge May2023 -https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pVqM6S5Ng49xk6erSsDyRm3y7SdV2tCIUOCgltze4lM/view

Feel free to join in the challenge by designing your own rounds or choose and tat any of the 25 patterns listed in the doc above. Do send me pics and feedback to be shared with the respective designer or to add you to the 20 designing friends!

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

 

Notice that you can interlace the first two motifs as you wish. Some designers chose one, some the other although to keep things simple I had shared only the model on the right in my invitation.

Many many many thanks to each and every participant for your wonderful and inspiring work(s) and for sharing it with the tatting community. It is indeed tremendous fun designing with friends!

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 .... 

January in July

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 Yes, it's July, but the delay in blogging is from my end. It completely slipped my mind to share this lovely January Snowflake creation by Sally Biggers with you here. Never too late ... or should I say a bit early, LOL.

We've had a few tatters who have combined or rearranged parts from two of Endrucks' patterns to create a hybrid design. This model is one such - a combo of E34 and E43. Sally set out with the specific dual aims of  combining two motifs/patterns and creating a six-sided snowflake. 

E34, from which the center is adapted, is actually an 8-repeat pattern. It was reworked and shared by Marina Mad Jar tatting - https://drive.google.com/file/d/11iVy2KdXkEJKW_4Hc_E4G4P29RuD1b9O/view

For the radiating arms, she chose E43 which was reworked and shared by Maria Grazia and Ninetta Caruso - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JRu7OggaSna0eXDRA2P18dRu6uE4-1J7/view

The original patterns are from Eleonore Endrucks' 1920 book, ‘Die Schiffchen-Spitzen’ which has been trsnslated and reworked in the Endrucks 1920 Project.

It was while tatting this E43 (my 3D flower adaptation) for the pattern of the month game, that my memory neurons finally connected and nudged me into blogging.

Sally has clearly succeeded! Her use of different threads, including metallic, gives a beautiful finish. She explains her process in more detail in the pdf and graciously shares her pattern... 

E34+E43 January Snowflake by Sally Biggers - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1f4_Yo56bSduuO14473kMhcQ9wE-gVbEz/view

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While this is definitely on my to-tat list, Ninetta beat me to it! Following is her version which she tatted in April.

A vibrant play with two colours! It would serve well as a coaster, too. Or how about joining/tiling them for a larger piece.

Hope you enjoy this pattern and let us know about it. UPDATE: I just found Sally's blog and you can read about this snowflake here - https://myartbarn.blogspot.com/2024/02/havent-created-post-here-in-quite-while.html

For more such patterns and other details - EP Links - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1w1TZBg-HIzseGEUoJ-rko7tNbtSgZY5A18Oy2Y9Hh0Y/view

A very special thanks to Sally, and to all who made this journey possible

Related Posts -

https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2021/10/when-time-flies.html
https://ninettacaruso.blogspot.com/2021/10/a-personal-touch.html   

https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2024/07/what-heart-wants.html

https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2024/07/so-many.html

game antics

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 The saga continues from my previous post (https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2023/11/flaky-antics.html). 

We chose the Antiks Snowflake pattern for our November 2023 game in our Endrucks FB group - Snowflake Me Endrucks. This name was chosen to indicate that we can try to adapt a pattern into a snowflake. We've derived snowflakes with E17, E3, E37, E31, E12, (see Snowflakes and Stars Directory)  but not as a game. We wanted to open the possibility of repeating the game in future with a different pattern.

Antiks Snowflake pattern (an E42 adaptation and extension by Muskaan) - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U5J5sjuAA7D0qGPOGnK9RJ83MKdNkWSZ/view

We have a wide spectrum of skill levels in our FB group be it tatting or linguistic. Hence visuals become important. This flake has a few tricks. Ninetta offered to take stepwise pics! Hence we prepared an entire Supplement which has the detailed pictorial as well as a lot of other info, options, and links. 

Snowflake Me Supplement - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VFk4ZnBT9ObJxnEKgI6hUkk2wtd_gOD4/view

  

Ninetta's version in Lizbeth 10, colour 686. Hmmm, I wonder how her fingers, used to dainty threads, worked on this large thread, LOL.

Ninetta also uploaded a video demonstrating how to make the Split Chain!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hKfqa3LHnUor9UAen7sdqPgzZe0elU2I/view . 

She had actually done a couple more videos but this was the best. This is the kind of backroom activity we are engaged in to provide a wholesome experience!

Like I said before, we are beginning to use this as a platform for learning and bridging any gaps in tatting knowledge, while making it easy and accessible to all levels of tatters.

The Antiks snowflake uses Split Chains to climb out, and we already have some tatters who learned to make them for this pattern after watching Ninetta's video!

However, in case a tatter does not wish nor have the time, there are a few optional paths one can employ to climb out to the next round.....

 

Three such options are explained in the Supplement and each of these can be worked with a ball and shuttle, just like for split chains : 

How to Avoid Split Chains -

1. Bare thread space with a double lock join - an extension of what Mlle Riego did in her Bunch of Grapes (1850) single shuttle pattern.   (yellow model)

2. Shadow Chains - Frau Endrucks (1920) method   (purple model)

3. A continuous spiral - this one is more visually organic. (green model)

Pattern for this Rose Motif is also included for practice.

The main pattern pdf as well as the Supplement has more tips and links, including to the original ANKARS site (https://ankars-club.ru/). It is worth reading, given the common misconceptions about this technique.

Coincidentally, in November, The Online Tatting Class (TOTC) also did a few classes on ANKARS. You can access their articles and patterns here - https://www.theonlinetattingclass.com/ankars-patterns. Their YouTube site - https://www.youtube.com/c/TheOnlineTattingClass

Many many thanks to Ninetta for all her contributions!