dilly dally doily

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Well, not dilly dally in the literal sense, more in the lack of frequency and smoothness sense. Perhaps some fogginess crept in besides general fatigue....

I can't remember when exactly I started tatting it - perhaps 2 months back? Remember Erika's doily I made for my hair bun net? https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2022/06/vanity-takes-fall.html

It didn't work out for the purpose. My hair thinned down (thank you meds); the doily was not only large, but I somehow no longer liked the thread thickness. It felt bulky against my smaller bun. Hence it continues to sit prettily on my dining table.

Yet, I still needed one in red/maroon and chose Daniela Mendola's Tatting sharing MIX -https://web.archive.org/web/20231123065741/https://danielamendola.blogspot.com/2020/06/tatting-sharing-mix-round-9.html 

And you wouldn't believe the amount of trouble it gave me especially in the initial rounds, through no fault of the designer.

Started with Lizbeth size 80, but kept making mistakes. Thread is too tiny to keep un-tatting. 

Switched to Anchor size 40.

I behaved like a novice in Round 1!!! Kept forgetting to work the ring as a SCMR, and kept having to undo the initial stitches. I could've worked it as ring-on-ring, but ....

Then the thread started to break and have now labeled the ball as unsuitable for tatting. It will be interesting to see whether keeping the ball in the freezer will help (I came across this tip somewhere)  

But I was so adamant to see it through that I persevered. 

It spoiled my future colour composition; at one stage I couldn't find the ball I wanted and had to choose another shade; but I'm happy with the way it finally turned out.. 

There were more heartaches along the way which I don't even remember now. Sometimes I could only manage a single ring; some rounds needed close attention to the count; the going was slow and unsteady. Didn't even feel like taking pics after each round, despite the beautiful design.

I took this pic because it needed to be blocked after round 3.

It measures a tad over 7 inches at the ring-to-ring tips.

These are only 6 of the 9 rounds. If only the size 80 had worked out, all 9 rounds could've been accommodated and it would've looked so much better.

All's well that ends well and it is the beauty and utility that will remain in front (and back ;-P) of me. The journey is already a dim memory. 

Many thanks to Daniela for sharing such beautiful patterns!

I am a hair model

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 My friend Jane McLellan has been asking to see a hair bun net modelled every time I tat one. Several other friends joined in this time, so here is a quick pic.

This photo was taken last night at the end of a long day out. Hence the hair and net is a bit messed up, but it was then or who knows when. Hubby obliged 💙. 

The occasion was such that I opted for a sari rather than the churidar set I had shown previously - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2022/05/snatched.html . This is one of my favourite sari and print - a pure handloom chiffon with hand-dyed Jaipuri Lehariya tie-and-dye. I have several in different colours, some in 2 colours. 

Originally, this blue sari was a crepe chiffon. We were told to never send it to the dry cleaners, nor iron it. My laziness ended up with the crepe effect flattening out to a flat chiffon. Still looks good, though - the vibrant blue is unbeatable.

I strung a white satin ribbon through the last round. All I need is an overhand tie and the 2 ends are wound around the base of the bun, one in either direction. There are several ways, but this is how I prefer it, since the tension can be adjusted easily (I keep it slightly on the loose side). 

Like I said in my earlier post, if planned early, beads could've been arranged in some inner rounds so as to be more visible.

And this morning, the ribbon was removed, the hair bun net slightly dampened and blocked, and back on the table as a doily. Cinderella's day out has come to an end, LOL

vanity takes a fall

Pin It now! I am not happy with my work on many counts.

This is the completed Gooseberry Tree pattern from Erika Tashiro's 'Tatting Lace, Marmelo'.

The last time I showed you, 3 rounds had been completed - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2022/05/indulging-my-vanity.html

This is after 6 rounds. The 6th round was a doozy to control! the little rings and chains kept twisting. The black colour didn't help. I had to block it before continuing to the last round.

Adding a 4th colour - brown - was an afterthought otherwise I might've used it for the center round instead of black. I noticed how beautiful the combo of light and dark green in Erika's coloured version looked. The clovers could be distinguished yet the apposite clovers and chains created an elegant dense curvaceous circle, which I sought to replicate with the brown. However, I should've used a much darker shade to blend with the black clovers.

In the final round I substituted thrown rings with regular picots since I intend to use this as a hair bun net. I don't think it has altered the appearance much.

All those tiny rings are not Josephine Rings. They are small rings or dots.

The doily uses simple techniques - rings, chains, thrown rings, and dots. And several rounds can be worked with a ball and shuttle.

Erika works the 4th round in 3 colours. However, I stuck with black and yellow.

In Anchor Pearl Cotton size 8, the diameter is 8 inches, a tad larger than what I need. Hence I will string it through the rings. I wish I'd worked it in size 40 for a more delicate lace.

Lesson learned - never be vain! And try not to indulge too much in anything, LOL.

Friends have asked me to show the net in action. I am a bit tied up at present to undertake posing and modeling, but will try to definitely post all my 4 current nets. 😁

indulging my vanity

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 I've taken a mini break from Endrucks' tatting to work on another hair net bun for myself. This time I've chosen warm colours and Erika Tashiro's Gooseberry tree doily. The pattern is from her book "Tatting Lace, Marmelo".

These are the first 3 rounds, in Anchor Pearl Cotton size 8. I am following Erika's colour placement, however instead of green I chose black to match my dress. 

The diameter so far is 9.5cms. I have already started round 4.

I truly wish my stitches and overall look were as perfect as the designer's. Nevertheless, my enjoyment and the usefulness of this piece far outweigh any small regrets, LOL.

snatched

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This is a project that I've been on for weeks, doing a few elements whenever time permits. It is something I was making for myself - a hair bun net to go with a cool new summer suit.

  

This time I chose Jon Yusoff's beautiful Harmony doily - 

 https://tatsaway.blogspot.com/2020/08/harmony-with-full-chart.html

My colour scheme was already decided blue with white highlights similar to Jon's black. No other thought or planning - a simple relaxing project. Even the white in round 2 was a spur-of-the-moment pick.

On reaching Round 6, Jon's note about beads caught my eye. Well, why not?! Threaded these Japanese silver seed beads and used a diamond formation - 1 bead at the base of the ring and 3 on the ball thread.

If I'd read this sooner I might've been tempted to add beads in some previous round(s) too.

To make up for that, I sewed on a bead string through picots in the center space. Very fiddly work and the circle disappeared when I knotted too tight at the end.

It has 2 mistakes which I didn't fix and I lost the thread chicken race twice! For several rounds I went with ball and shuttle.

Worked in Anchor size 40. It measures about 6.5 inches across which is a bit on the smaller side.

So, about the title - when I left it on the table to dry after blocking, hubby snatched it up to use as a doily. Sigh, I'll just string and use it as a hair bun net when I wear the churidaar suit. At other times, it will be his. Best of both situations.

another doily snood

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Elizabeth  Doily  Round Robin #15

- snood adaptation -

Started in Oct 2019 as a side project to all those designing projects, completed last month. Sue Hanson remembered the site – it has lots of round robin patterns ranging from snowflakes, butterflies, hearts, to doilies. However, this particular Doily #15 is missing. Check out the pages that are still there.

I like how this doily seems to change shape. From largely circular, these 2 green rounds define a clear octagon.

Designers :

Round 1 – Elizabeth Watts (3 central rounds)

Round 2 – Andrea Vanderpool

Round 3 – Bettina Lauth

Round 4 – Kathy Lowe

Round 5 – Emma Thomas-McGinnis

Worked with Anchor size 40.

False ctm was used several times while adding new thread. 

Some rounds were worked with one shuttle and ball. Keeping it simple!

With due apologies, I substituted the last round designed by Ruth Kurz, with my own. 

I was making this specifically for my hair bun/snood and needed a diameter of 7”. The original round 6 was quite broad and would have worked to around 9”.

This simple round holds the clovers in position and a satin ribbon was woven through the outer spaces (no pic). I’ve happily worn it a couple of times. The choice of dark and light colours was deliberate - to highlight the floral imprint when covering my hair. 

Thanks to the round robin team for this beautiful design ; 

to Jenni Clark for sending me the pattern, and 

to Sue Hanson for her incredible resourcefulness. 

coronet doily for snood

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I need snoods or hair bun nets. In different colours and designs to go with my mood ;-P

This time I chose Linda Davies’ Coronet Doily (the larger version) with the beautiful center and a clever end round.

The initial rounds ruffled but I continued tatting, and a quick rolling-pin blocking after 5^th round flattened it out neatly. However, a bit of overlap re-emerged in Round 7.

After Round 9 there is pronounced ruffling (overlap clearly visible in pic), which will get masked when pulled into a snood. Tatted continuously till the end, as instructed in pattern. 

In Anchor size 40 this now measures 6½ inches in diameter.

Round 10 is beautiful with a very interesting construction, but had to be forgone here. Perhaps I can adapt that pattern into a bookmark?

TIP : One can work round 10 but string the tie through round 9. When worn, the final round will create a nice trim or frill around the hair bun.

My first snood (also a Linda Davies pattern) lovingly slogged daily for over a year and half. Finally binned it when many of the outermost chains wore out due to friction with the tie.

I used a satin ribbon in the next (yet to blog) but am not very keen on it.

Hence this time I used my homemade French knitter to weave a loose cord, also in size 40 thread. Let’s see how long this works – it is very soft unlike the previous lock chain tie/cord. 
And for those who had asked how the hair bun holder looks, I've stuffed a bun net with some cotton to give an idea. Cover the hair, make a simple overhand tie, and hide the long tails around the base.

I have another in the pipeline. 

Many thanks to Linda for generously sharing her beautiful patterns for us to enjoy and use. 

Related Posts

https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/search?q=snood 

https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2017/07/forgetfulness.html

teach me to count

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With shuttle in one hand and thread in the other (and toes curled in under me) how can I count on my fingers? Can you? No wonder I made mistakes... I need tutoring!

A while back I stumbled on to Liisa Maarit’s blog - Handmade by Liisa showcasing some beautiful lace along with pictorials and a few patterns.

I really liked her ‘rescued’ circular motif. So how many repeats can you count here? 9, right? Hmmm, that's 1 extra repeat extra! Irrespective, it turned out fine and lay flat.
Just over 5½ cms diameter in pearl cotton size 8 (white, & green  00225).

TIP : One can use Catherine Wheel Join in the 3^rd round for a more perfect circle. 
Here, I went with lock join followed by half stitch for a bit of floral arching.

In order to give it company I hunted through my books for a motif to go along and Lindsay Rogers' Repetition mat (with 9 repeats) in 'Mastering Tatting' appealed.

Worked in size 40 (shade 00368).

And guess what?? Yup, counting error Again. There are supposed to be 2 chains between clovers and I made one! So how many repeats did I need to complete the circle – 30!!!

The mistake led to some design-learning ...

DESIGN TIP :  Do you see how the little rings rise above?

If the rings were linked to each other through tiny picots close to the base (stabilising picots), it would’ve led to squishing and cupping. But since each ring was ‘free’ at the base, the little rings lifted above that constricting space. Textural effect!

I like the texture created. With beads, it could make a beautiful necklace! Looks nice as a collar, too.

Since it was meant to be a short round, I left the thread attached to ball. But shuttle ran out at 25th repeat. There was quite some length left, but not enough for a true ring.

TIP : So I used a slight variation of adding new thread within ring. I started SCMR with new shuttle thread acting as core, and old tail for stitches. The entire ring was done with the old tail. Then the tail ends were hidden in next 2 elements.

I now have to design/adapt rounds inside and out to make a snood. Sigh, and here I was going for something simple....

Many thanks to Liisa Maarit and apologies to Lyndsay Rogers

new and old

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metallic thread, background, snood

As promised yesterday, this is the medallion (not blocked) I started immediately, using Red Rose metallic thread.

The thread is nice to tat with – soft and smooth - but very strong. It is so much easier than using 2 or 3 strands of metallic embroidery thread.
I did consciously loosen my stitch tension. And no extra half stitch at end of rings. 

TIP to close ring: While closing rings, pull evenly till almost the very end, then another tug towards the left (for right-handers) to close that final gap.

TIP to retro-tat: I had to un-tat a ring. It felt safer & easier to undo half stitch at a time (using the blunt head of #10 crochet hook) instead of forcing open the ring. After a few stitches were taken out, it was easy to pull open the ring loop wider and quickly unravel the rest.

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Playing with camera settings for background using same metallic thread medallion. Didn’t know my phone camera had such a wide range – these are only a few I selected to upload. The top right is 'autumn'.

 

 

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And a UFO from mid-2016! I kept finding and losing it in my closet. But this time when I found it, I felt energized to complete it. Perhaps Eliz's perseverance rubbed off on me. Also, I need to replace this 2017 snood because some of the end chains have frayed due to daily friction.

It measures about 5½ cms across (in size 40) while I need at least 7 cms. So off to the drawing board to chalk out some rows. I intend to use a dark shade - brown or black - to keep the spinning wheel in focus. Now to decide how to fill that space - a daunting task.

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