flower party begins

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 I needed a bit of a break from all the compywork, reviewing, etc. - it kind of clogs one's brain. Mind you, I discovered a new technique and the 'inventor' graciously shared a lot. More on that in the future. 

So what better break than picking up ones shuttles and sneaking in a bit of tatting time!

Anetta had shared her Garden Party doily pattern a few months back and it was on my to-tat list. I finally succumbed to the temptation and started out....

Pattern: https://www.jamiolowo.blog/2023/07/frywolitkowy-wzor-garden-party.html

I truly love the soft pastels she uses in her tatting and tried to emulate her. This is a tinted shade from Red Rose size 20. 

The first 2 plus rounds measure 6.5 cms diagonally and 3.5cms along each side of the hexagon.

Isn't this a beautiful shape as is?!

I tweaked the sequence a bit in order to manage colour placement. The thrown rings at the tip are actually normal rings in Round 3 of the original pattern. I climbed out with 2 split rings, moving clockwise in the 2nd round.

I wasn't going to post anything till it was completed. But I just so love this shape and wanted to share my joy!

Anetta has also taken up the task of diagramming patterns from Tina Frauberger's 1919 book,  "Schiffchenspitze". https://www.jamiolowo.blog/2023/10/tina-frauberger-znana-i-nieznana.html. Something more to look forward to. It's always a pleasure to read her posts - there is so much beauty this talented lady creates in different crafts!

antics

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 This is again a motif I tatted back in Feb for the #pickmeEndrucks game before my enforced break. After a fortnight at the compy I had picked up my shuttles to tat this center from Endrucks' doily #42.  

E42. It is tatted in one pass using split chains to climb out. I hate how badly the split chains came out - lack of practice I guess. However I enjoyed my little tatting break - it felt so good to have shuttles in hand again.

Worked in Lizbeth size 20.

E42+E39. And my antics never stop. Just wondering how it would look at the center of a different edging (#39)

E42 + original. But my main foray was into this snowflake made by adapting the 8-repeat center into a 6-repeat snowflake. The outer round is my own pattern. This prototype is both a trial and an experimentation. Each repeat is worked a bit differently till I finally arrived at a decision.

I named it Antiks Snowflake playing with 3 words - antique pattern from Endrucks; inclusion of ANKARS motif; and of course my own antics in designing and processing this. 

The pattern is a bit on the advanced side with split chains to climb out and working the layered ANKARS motif with a thrown ring. However the layering was deliberate - I wanted a combination of old (1920) with new (early 1990s). Although strictly speaking, I did not climb out using Endrucks' shadow chains, LOL.

Even without the outermost round, the center makes a beautiful hexagonal motif that can be tiled. 

I had started this in late Feb itself. But continued towards the finish a few days back. Even sent the pattern to Anita for testing. But with a still foggy head, I made a huge error. Instead of 6 repeats, I wrote 8 (from reference to the original E42). Anyways, more about this at another time, with pics. 

So do you like the design?

more reflections

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Clearly I'm not done with that motif yet! This is the snowflake version from pattern #17 I mentioned here. With this snowflake, we will now have earrings/pendant; 2 square frames/lace (one by Reiko Akamatsu - see below); edging/insertion/etc.; and a hexagonal motif (round 1 of snowflake); all adapted or derived from the same pattern! And yet, it continues to entice me, though I will be holding off for now in order to concentrate on completing the main pattern pdfs for those on my list (there seems to be no end to the admin work on this project) so that we can see the 'completion' of Endrucks 1920 Project in November.

I continue with the name given to the edging by Ninetta - Reflections. Above is both a trial culminating in a prototype for the snowflake adaptation. The 3 arms on the left of the tail ends are the final count. Pattern will be shared for free later.

The snowflake is worked continuously in 2 rounds. Above is the first round and it creates a standalone hexagonal motif! With the right beads, it could be a beautiful pendant.

In Anchor Pearl cotton size 8, each side is 3cms; and across it is 5½ cms.

Techniques used: 2 shuttles, thrown/floating rings, large mock rings, downard/inward facing picots, lock join.

TIP: In order to get the beautifully domed arch as in the topmost arm, it is important to keep the joining picot between chain and end thrown rings longer than usual. This avoids any pull on the chain when the joining picot is small. This same tip works for the earrings, edging, etc.

Unlike the edging, I had deliberately avoided decorative picots in this pattern to gauge the bare look. The picots in the center were there only in case a central ring was needed. So I folded and sewed in the decorative picots in the center. 

Now that's a bit too bare, right?! Looks better with those picots around the central space.

Ninetta suggested onion rings for the large empty space - she drew over the pic I sent - and suggested we could have 2 versions with and without the onion rings.

And here are 2 trials on the same flake. I like the one on the right better. 2 picots create an interesting feature, don't you think? 

So, what do you think of this snowflake without decorative picots? Should there be more picots as in the Reflections edging here. And what do you think of the onion rings?

💚💙💚

Since I did not post her pic earlier when I shared my Superimposed Squares adaptation, here's how Reiko Akamatsu tweaked the straight lace into a square, adding some points to the originally curved portions and downplaying the smaller points (direct link to her pdf - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JANNY3JWRJb-4BgLV5XEB4unDrrFhNQ7/view). The block chains create a denser curvilinear garland within!

And check out our gratitude post for a few more pics (and links) of this incredible artist from Japan.

 

Okay, here is my simple adaptation for comparison. Notice the tweaks she made and the effect has has created?

For all updates and details, scroll through the patterns & arrangements in the Endrucks 1920 Project - 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/17LEVftXweztBIOWh4sL4BB7bX65ssoOsOn4oXIgCepY/view 

spinoff fun

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In Jan this this I tatted 2 more spinoffs from Folded Fun square and star. 2 six-pointed versions. I'll try to add a pattern when I get around to it, but don't hold your breath! Because as I peeked into my diary where the 25 Snowflake projects were documented, I cannot find the new ones, sigh!

This is the snowflake version, not much different from the 5-pointed star. The main difference is additional stitches in the inner rings so that we now have 6 instead of 5.

This is the Stupa version - the folded rings on the outside reminded me of the 3rd century BCE Sanchi Stupa - a world famous UNESCO world heritage site - part of Buddhist holy pilgrimage.

Here they are all together (one of the stars is a prototype), positioned as a cross. I loved tatting the two 6-point versions, even during my slump phase and the colours cheered me up.

Worked in Anchor Pearl Cotton, size 8.

I have a lot of rummaging to do! Be it patterns or actual lace. I barely complete a project than jump on to another and keep forgetting along the way. Which is why I will be uploading pics of several of my designed lace, even if sharing the pattern may come much later.

double trouble motif

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So, here’s what I did with the treble arches (from previous post) to showcase their gracefulness! And despite the title of this post, I found it very relaxing and enjoyable ;-D Perhaps you would like to give it a go as a practice piece?

I started with the same first round rosette as in the snowflake since I wanted to check on something. It can be made smaller, of course, and the next rounds adjusted accordingly.

Treble  Arches  Flower  Motif pattern

muskaan © May 2020

Abbreviations : ctm = continuous thread method ; SCMR = self-closing mock ring ; 

rw = reverse work ; tds = treble tat stitch

NOTATION for Graduated or Variable Treble Tat Stitch (tds)  :

The original tds is made by pulling 2 loops consecutively for 1^st part, and 3 rolls/wraps in 2^nd part. In order to create a relatively smooth gradient, both halves of the tds have been tweaked. A notation that can convey this clearly was needed. I find the following notation (similar to the pds) easiest to indicate the range of variability.

I followed this pictorial and this explanation. Here is Ninetta's summary and links to tds posts.

Following the above logic, a normal tds would be notated as tds(2,3) where 2 loops are pulled and 3 wraps/rolls are made. However, tds is retained in instructions. 

The following tds variations have been used in this pattern :

tds(1,2) = 1 loop pulled, 2 wraps/rolls made.

tds(3,4) = 3 loops pulled, 4 wraps/rolls made.

tds(4,5) = 4 loops pulled, 5 wraps/rolls made.

tds(5,7) = 5 loops pulled, 7 wraps/rolls made.

A single tds is tatted each time, hence, no number is indicated on the left in this pattern.

All rounds are tatted using a single shuttle and ball, without cutting the thread between them (ctm). Shuttles require only short lengths.

Round 1 : Red ball and shuttle, ctm

SCMR: 4 ± 4 ± 8 – 8 – 4 – 4. close. rw

Chain: 1

Repeat this 5 more times, joining to previous ring and last ring to first ring.

I direct-tatted the chain using reverse stitch. See details here.

Round 2 : yellow ball and shuttle, ctm

Note: Each arch starts and ends with 2 double stitches.

Attach thread to 2^nd picot on Round1.

Chain: 2, tds(1,2), tds, tds(3,4), tds(4,5), tds(5,7), tds(4,5), tds(3,4), tds, tds(1,2), 2, lock join. Repeat 5 more times.
One can stop after this round.

Round 3 : mustard yellow ball and shuttle, ctm

Attach thread to free picot on Round1, from the back.

Repeat Round 2 all around.

Possible variations –

• Overlap the arches of 3^rd round with previous round.
• Add more rounds/layers.
• Instead of blocking flat, keep the petals raised in 3D effect – in the right colours one could make a water lily or lotus surrounded by leaves!
• Add beads and findings to convert into earrings or pendant.

Measurements when worked in Anchor size 20 - 

Round 1: <4cms (with picot)

Round 2: >5cms. (3 cms as a hexagon side)

Round 3: 5½ cms (3½ cms as a hexagon side)

So what do you think? Are the instructions and notations clear? If you can suggest an alternate or better notation, please do share. 

happy tatting :-)

edged doily

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I took a digital break for a couple of days and found my inbox swamped with emails. Will get to them tomorrow. Thank you for your concern and wish you good health and lots of creativity.

Clover Wreath Doily

Ever since I was reminded of this, I was keen on designing and finishing off the edging. 

  

This is where I’d left off in 2017. A round of 6 medallions around the central one.

I love this shape and would’ve stopped there if it weren’t for the asymmetry of swirl joins.

Quilters are well aware of the versatility of hexagons - create any outline you want by tessellation!

In Anchor size 40, it measures 17 cms x 15 cms 

While I like the swirl join (there is a mistake in mine), I thought it made the focus shift to the filler rings. Hence added another complete round without the swirl join.

If you see light and darks shades in this round, it is not your eyes playing tricks! I had bought 2 balls of this shade years back and stored the 2nd ball nicely. But when I started working off it, it was darker :-( 

In Anchor size 40 -

4 motifs, straight - 14.5 cms

1 motif - less than 4cms

Edging Trials

Refreshed my memory with the opinions and suggestions here.

Clockwise: The top 2 pics in the collage are from 2017. I’ve come some way in designing confidence since then ;-P

3 ideas tried in the bottom right pic (tatting moves counterclockwise). Happened to show this to Ninetta and she offered valuable suggestions. No, the tuft picot didn’t work (left center pic), but the clover and chain curve change did as seen in 3 more repeats (bottom left pic)!

What I forgot, though, was that the trials were worked in the 7 motif piece which had only 6 motifs in the round. When I tried to duplicate this in the larger piece, I realized my error! There was a motif Between the ones at each corner! Back to the sketch board, but it was very easy this time.

What do you think of this?

I got my wish of all filler motifs having 6 rings wherever they may be.

This is only the first of 3 edgings.... After completing all 3, I will upload the pattern.

All Clover Wreath posts, pics, & notes 

the very first one

playing with the medallions

the poinsettia with pattern

Clover Wreath mats 

impeccable timing

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We all know and admire Judith Connors’ impeccable tatting, but her timing is, too! Remember how her dictionary arrived on International Tatting Day?  

This time her newsletter, ‘Talking Tatting’, arrived on Valentine’s Day! And a complete surprise since I was expecting a digital copy some day, not a physical one.

She has made certain I remember exactly which days her gifts arrived ;-D

What is even more special is that my pattern is part of their 10^th anniversary celebration. It is an honour in every which way, isn’t it?! Can't blame me for wanting to shout from the rooftops.

I enjoyed reading through the entire newsletter. Informative, interesting, inspiring.

I rummaged through my numerous containers/envelopes to locate all the clover wreath lace I had made and used them to cover up the text. A few words/sentences in both images are blanked out.

The printed medallion on the left is tatted by Judith, the mat on the right is an image of the actual ecru mat you see below. She drew a diagram along with the pattern (in her own words). 

Many thanks, Judith.

I had started a border/edging for the mat, but haven’t gotten very far. Only thing I am certain of is that I want the 6 ring florets to be complete around the border. For the rest, I’d like to keep it simple and a bit airy to counter the relatively dense look.

I’m eager to get started on this again and finish it off. I’ve shared the beaded poinsettia pattern, but not the actual medallion. Thought I’d do it along with the completed edging. But if anybody wants the medallion pattern, let me know and I’ll release it. I merely need to rearrange and format the diagrams, etc.

All Clover Wreath posts, pics, & notes 

the very first one

playing with the medallions

the poinsettia with pattern

Clover Wreath mats 

warmafrost

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Snowflake #16 in Land of Laces’ 25 Snowflake Project

Marja tells us that Kuurankukka is an old Finnish word for frost flower and since I perpetually seem to make my snowflakes warm, summery and floral, ‘warmafrost’ seemed like an appropriate portmanteau for this post which has snowflakes in very warm earthy colours indeed - the cool flake is in some subterranean layer ;-D.

Made in one pass using 2 shuttles. There are thrown rings, SCMRs, Josephine rings, starting with chain/starter picot. And I also used direct tatting and directional (fs/bs) tatting.

My starting point for the design process is a motif : the Josephine Ring cluster from this split colour edging. The rest is simply a way to create 6 arms for the snowflake. And in order to make the tip pointier, I used a normal ring instead of the JR.

The little evolutionary tweaks are evident in the image, starting with a smaller arm, to better-sized ones, and then to filling in the blank space within.

BUT, I am not a good student, repeating the same mistake which led to the mutant snowflake! (yes, I remember my promise to post the solution(s)!) There is no way I could tie off after 6 repeats. Tongue-in-cheek, I showed my amusement to Ninetta, and good teacher that she is, she marked out what I needed to do. Very helpful tips, again, but I need to become independent!

I took a lazy way out this time – snipped the outer joined picots (there were 2 joins earlier) to confirm that the flake would lie flat with only 6 arms! Phew! No drastic changes.

I had deliberately left the inner ring free. But finally gave in and joined it at the base. Now, one could tat the ring facing upward (see the single small yellow motif), but I didn’t like the look.

Meanwhile, I tried a few other tweaks in those single motifs, but settled back to my ‘first child’. Does it happen to you? I frequently find myself unable or unwilling to venture too far off the original.

A single upended motif can be worked as a quick earring. I’m not happy with my beads or their placement, and will try to do a better job. The inset pic shows the true colours.

Do you see a larger fabric with the flakes attached to each other? A challenge for another day or year ;-D

This pattern can be worked in multiple ways, using one’s choice of techniques. I followed an ergonomic path where there is least switching of shuttles and of reverse work. So the flake is worked clockwise and all from the front except for the ring inside. I have taken stepwise pictures of how I went about it, and I will share the pattern alongside in my next post.

I am tatting a slight variation ( 12 points ) and want to see how that works out in Lizbeth 20. The ones above are all in Anchor 20 (which is equivalent to Lizbeth 10) and measure 6cms; and 5cms as a motif.

I have other ideas in mind - to increase the arm lengths, or to introduce another motif between the arms. I'd like to play with those ideas as a personal challenge.

Thank you, Marja and  Ninetta!!!  

dancing or flying ?

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free tatting pattern

Peacock is the national bird of India and today we are celebrating the adoption of our Constitution in 1950. Seemed like a good day to share the pattern inspired by peacocks – one of my favourite birds.

Dancing Peacocks

Medallion & Earring patterns pdf

 UPDATE : Dancing Peacock Earrings updated pattern with count 

See blog post here. 

It all started with my desire to make a medallion enclosed with onion rings. If you remember I shared the design process & trials here...

There are reasons for choosing certain techniques and effects, most of which I have already explained in that post. I have detailed my own working in the pdf. 

However, it is left to the tatter’s own preference to work the pattern as s/he sees fit. I have deliberately not tried to work it in one colour, though.

I found it Extremely difficult to take a photograph of the blue/green model alone without having something else beside it. It always turned out hazy. Below is the only pic that survived the dump.

I find that if picots are added to the thrown rings, we can join medallions for a longer lace. Placed side by side, this is how they would look.

The previous post contains some more details and pics of the earring adaptations.

I got back to Inkscape after more than 2 months and it took a few moments to recover my motor memory for icons, etc. But once I got going, it was exhilarating. Which is how the earring schematic came about ;-P

And in the process I figured out another Inkscape hack on how to quickly draw an over-under thread - as a continuous curved line undulating around a previous element. Hope I have time to make a proper post.

Lots of links are included in the pdf. Click on the blue text to go to the source.

There are also suggestions for some variations and adaptations of the pattern.

download pattern here.

Republic Day is also celebrated by flying kites. The late afternoon/evening sky is filled with colourful kites! I don’t know how to string and fly a kite, but I can sure string and let my shuttle fly!!!

hope you dance & fly with this pattern as I have :-)