what social distancing?

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The road to friend’s house is never long – Danish proverb

And our digital age has proved this despite social distancing norms and lock downs in countries. A friend can reach out any time and connect 1000s of kms away – a mere hop, skip, and virtual jump :-)

Ninetta Caruso’s Girotondo - Ring of Rosies edging will be taught in the Online Tatting Class on Monday (April 6^th) and she sent me an advance copy for feedback, etc. In order to confirm an idea, I tatted it as well. So here are my notes, at her request. It is a simplified option, eliminating a few steps.

NOTES on my working of the Girotondo Edging :
1.  Work moves from left to right tatting first the body then the head. However, overall, the edging progresses from right to left as seen in the flow of colours - green to orange. For fs/bs tatters, only the head ring is worked backside. This piece starts with the green motif.

2. Since I intended to use this as jewellery, I started, CTM (green), with a ring using Sh2. Switch Shuttle.

3. Work the chain (arm), SCMR (body) with floating rings (feet). RW and tat head. RW and continue with 2^nd arm. One motif in green complete.

Notice no Turn Work or Under-Over/Alligator join is required. And the shuttles/threads are in the right position to start next element.

TIP: Initially it is easier to follow the path on the single upturned diagram (page 2 of pdf) rather than the main diagram with 3 kids because the single motif shows how the lace looks in our hand while it is being made. We are basically tatting the kids upside down!

4. The left and right arm of each motif has a different core thread colour. The new colour is added before tatting the head ring.

5. Here’s how I worked in the new thread colour differently. I took pics only when reaching the white head, but the green and white tails ends were done similarly.

(fig-1) Snip green tail. Add orange thread. I crossed the tails as usual. This crossover creates a barrier to any accidental pulling out of tails and one can give a good tug to hide any colour blip.

(fig-2) Green tail gets hidden in the white head ring, and

(fig-3) the orange tail in the white arm chain.

Securing tails in different elements means barely any bulk.

(fig-4) As seen from the front.

(fig-5) 3 motifs completed – as seen from back, and 
{The multiple orange tails is coz I ran out of thread and added new}.
I always snip off the final bit of tails at the very end.

(fig-6) from the front.
NO COLOUR BLIPS, back or front, even without the alligator join.

6. I did a long picot join in the orange foot for symmetry and equidistance. This was an after-thought. The difference is visible when compared with the other white leg and I prefer the symmetry. 

7. I made only 3 motifs, ending with a SSSR to hide the final tail, as suggested in the pdf. Jump rings linked to a chain were inserted through these end rings for a pendant necklace. In finer thread, these could be earrings!

8. Worked in Anchor Pearl cotton size 8, 3 repeats measure 5½ cms without end rings and 6½ cms including end rings. Each motif is 2½ cms tall.

9. Saffron, white and green are the colours of the Indian flag. Timely symbolism …

Tonight at 9 pm, for 9 minutes, we will be switching off all lights and lighting diyas or candles in solidarity with Nature & Mother Earth against our global enemy. Will you join us?

I enjoyed test tatting this fun edging, long on my to-tat list. Glad for this opportunity! I always learn something new from Ninetta’s patterns – she is such an ingenious and innovative designer. She made a new version in rainbow colours – gorgeous and lively!!!

The original pattern (8 years old!) can be found here and here. I will update with the new pdf link later, in which she has stepwise pictures and other details, including written instructions.
UPDATE : Ninetta has written a detailed post about her working, along with the pdf link. Check it out and start tatting :-) 

Don't forget to attend class. I can no longer attend, sadly.

Thank you for a Wonder-full pattern, Ninetta !

monkey business

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Snowflake #23 in Land of Laces’ 25 Snowflake Project

Why did I title this post ‘monkey business’? I’ll tell you in a bit. Let me start from the beginning.

It was an amazing start in a sense. After a few beaded trials that needed more figuring out, I finally decided what I would do. But no lessons learnt, sigh. It ended up as a square. I think it looks superb as an ornament – pendant, earring, brooch?

While it holds well, if one wants to wear it, I think some stiffening will be needed otherwise the swinging beads will fold down with gravity. 

I wish I could capture the beautiful sheen & shine.

For the snowflake project though, I started a new one without beads. Folded rings are not often seen in snowflake patterns and I repeated the top ring inside the negative space as well. Lots of folded rings (need to practice, so don’t look too closely) and I like the overall design! 

Anita Barry spoiled it for me!!! I was pretty happy with my latest star but she saw a monkey face in it! She’s such a Goose. Now all I can see is a Monkey, too, or perhaps even a Lion or Tiger face. She even suggested a name like Monkey Mania and is determined to call her's 'monkey face'! Grrrr, I’m too Chicken to use it because then all everybody will see is that darned monkey!

I still know which name will stick, though ;-P
And do you see a Butterfly? I saw it while tatting and is worth pursuing.

While I have finalised the count, this star model can be considered a prototype since there is a bit of tweaking going on. So if you have suggestions, please do share. I might incorporate them.

It is too cold for me to work at my desktop for long, hence pattern will have to wait. I also want to make this a 6-armed snowflake. Then all 3 patterns can be uploaded in one go.

Meanwhile I have worked the first trial of #24. Should be able to work and share in a couple of days. 

UPDATE: 2 more variations in 6 points - Folded Fun Snowflake and Stupa, shared here.

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.

Spring is in my heart

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a tatted heart and a romantic classic for Valentine's Day

Spring is in my Heart !

Block Heart Brooch / pendant pattern notated on pic. It measured : 1.25" × 1.75"

  

I visualized the bright 3-petalled mustard flowers - a harbinger of spring in North India. The fields are literally yellow as one drives across the region !!!

Pattern for freeform Floral sprig 

SH1 - yellow ; SH2 - green , in size 40 thread.

Flowers : R1 : 2-8-2 ; R2 : 2+8-2 ; R3 : 2+8+2. All small picots.

Leaves : R : 1 (-1)×10 with large picots.

Stem between elements : short Josephine Chain of 4-6 hs.

Sandalwood beads sewed in center while sewing on the sprig.

A teardrop gem sewn in later.

A size 20 heart beside the larger one.

The Thornbirds

Colleen McCullough

This family saga book was a thank-you gift from a friend & colleague three decades back. Loved it then, loved it again !
The main protagonists, Megan & Father Ralph, are effortlessly brought to life, with memorable interactions.

Drogheda, itself is a looming, vast, vibrant protagonist almost! Her descriptions of the sheep station & the Outback bring it all to life - very vivid, very potent. A superb glimpse into farm life & breeding, the hard life, the struggles & loneliness, etc. And when the first droplets of rain fall, I could rejoice as if I were right there.

When I Googled to see if it was made into a movie, my jaw literally dropped !!!! Richard Chamberlain as the priest - Wow! 

I could Totally visualize Rachel Ward & Richard together. 

And how ironical - the man was unavailable to women both in the story and in real life! Now isn't that a pity ;-P

There was a personal surprise, though. High praise & gratitude for the valour of Indian soldiers! But the war narrative was the only part of the otherwise perfect story that seemed a bit of a  drag.

I'm sure feminists pan the story, and some of it may be "politically incorrect" in today's world. Whatever. A story well told, that touches the heartstrings is a winner! A personal quest for perfection, for the ideal - that's how I see it. 

💖💞💗 Enjoy :-) 💗💞💖

Ice drops into the sea .....

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... gets entrapped in an an oyster to turn into a pearl !!!!
Ice Drop made with shell and curled rings

This time I delved right into the depths of the TATemptation sea ;-P

As commented in my previous workings, I had intended to use curled rings for my next Ice Drop, and during a sunny spell I managed to find my collection of shells and other blings. In another lifetime I used them in flower arrangements and for land/sea-scaping in a tray. All my shells are handpicked from various beaches we’ve been to.

I hope Diane won’t mind my naming this composition a Sea Pearl. Why ? Coz there’s a pearl in the oyster !

Sea Pearl Pendant

From Diane’s Ice Drops

Diane’s stepwise pattern , and how to tie the bow

I like this shell – it reminds me of a world map. (see in collaged pic below) 

Blue represents the water (Anchor 00131, size 20) . 

Variegated colourway represents various seaweeds which have ‘embedded’ the oyster. (Lizbeth Vineyard Harvest size 20).

I had sketched the shell outline on paper, but was not comfortable with it. Instead, I kept placing the tatting over the shell to confirm that the contours were fine.

Pearl is on a large picot on first ring.
            Rings range from 18DS to 9DS, with 3 or 2 picots.
            Chains are mostly 4-2--2-4.

Worked this round in counterclockwise direction. Rings frontside, reverse work (RW), chains frontside, RW.

As I tatted the curled rings, the 'seaweeds' looked more like a lotus. My initial plan kept getting modified and in the end I chose this simple, narrow edge in order to showcase the shell markings.

This round is tried all from the front in clockwise direction. I found this easier.

Rings tatted backside (reverse order DS) and chains frontside, with No RW.

After chain, simply start ring at same point. (I used backside tatting for ring); attach to previous ring; complete and close. 

Then pull a loop of ball thread through round 1 as well as through the center picot of ring. Pass shuttle through this loop ans snug. This ensures curling of ring as well as attaching to round 1 in one movement.

            All curled rings : 6-4--4-6.

            Chains : 8 or 9 as required.

Both back and front were tatted with single shuttle attached to ball thread. 

After completion, the short blue chains didn't give a good outline to the pendant. hence, using short lengths of thread, I added another layer of chains - kind of like waves? 3 such chains were sufficient to give a better outline, as well as add some more layer, as seen in the pic below

The pendant is totally reversible, and can be worn to match the dress ! 

That's all from me for now. It was a nice break from blogging only about snowflakes :-)

I had tremendous fun again, though round 1 took longer with the continuous adjustments. Thank you so much, Diane, for such a superb enticement :-))))

happy tatting always J

Related Posts :

Magnified & Mirrored Ice Drops

Curled Rings Tutorials

drop by drop

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tatted ornament/jewelry/cabochon using large glass beads, mirrors, etc.

edited Dec 21, 2016

I caved. What do you expect, when Diane keeps dropping off these gorgeous little beauties daily on her blog?! Instead of working on my planned projects, the mood got to me. I gathered all the materials, strung the beads, wound the shuttle, refreshed Diane’s excellent stepwise pictorial, and went to play, basking in the warm winter sun.

 Ice Drops

Diane (lace-lovin’ librarian) Cademartori

free stepwise pattern 

 Magnified !

 

A while back, some 3D movie promo scheme had sent in a pair of glasses with magnifying lens. Don’t know why I kept it, except that the lenses looked very cute. Tore off the paper specs & got to work with the lens.

The lens is a bit flat for this ornament, but had to make do for now.

It is a bit over 1”, hence strung beads for 8 repeats; 7 repeats sufficed.

Unfortunately the transparent beads don’t show up clearly in the pic, but the ice drop looks Fantastic – DH was impressed and considered it a pendant. He guessed right for a change, coz I wanted to keep my options open & didn’t tie any ribbon, string or tatted braid.

TIP : I used a Fujito Join slope and roll join for the second round. The Lock Join didn’t seem to come out right for me. So instead, I pulled out a loop with the ball thread & passed the shuttle through. That’s all.

There are a few mistakes in round 2, which I noticed later – a bit of twist in a ring & a chain.

Here's how it looks from the 'back' ...

Mirrored ! 

My second Ice drop is made with 2 mirrors glued back to back. This idea had been on my mind ever since the pattern was shared. I checked the edges & they were smooth. A tad less than 1” across.

Everything went very smoothly. A vintage size 20 thread, which is slightly thinner than the newer one I used above.

TIP : For directional tatting (frontside/backside) :

Round 1 (the back of the bead) – tat rings frontside, RW, and chains frontside as well.

Round 2 (front of bead) – tat rings frontside, RW, chains backside.

Finished off with a beaded loop. Absolutely reversible.

I can vouch for their "addictiveness" ! Wanted to keep making them – they are so quick to tat up and look oh so pretty in real, even though I didn’t have the specific materials. The only downside (always) was stringing beads. Should stick to larger pearls ;-)

many thanks to Diane & Edda Guastalla

for such a delightful addiction !

happy tatting always :-)

My Sea Pearl version 

more options & a curly pattern

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O, the layers hidden in a curl !!!
Who would've thought that a simple experiment to showcase the various styles/effects/options of Ninetta's Curled Rings, here would lead to a pattern as well as a serious learning of some basic bead-adding methods ?!
As you scroll down, you will see for yourself how the pattern emerged from randomness.
But first, to continue with a few more effects (that have been used in the pendant) 

(click on picture for larger images & slide show)

OPTION  4

Curl Features : Onion Ring, Up , Out ,  Lock Join 

Onion Ring

Curl Up (ring tip lies over ring base)

Curl Out (the cup-shape is outward facing)

Lock Join

TIP : I find that a Lock Join works better at times, as when curled in Option 4, 

& especially since an onion ring is 'heavier'/bulkier & here it is 'free-standing'.

Ninetta has made exquisite use of this option in her edging with curled rings here. In fact, the onion rings in her clover fold upon themselves, with no chain or ring in between.
I used a triple Onion ring to act as a hook for my pendant here

OPTION  5

Curl Features : Onion Ring, Up , Around , In , Picot Join 

Onion Ring

Curl Up (tip of ring will lie upon the base),
Curl Around (ring being curled around a chain)

Regular Picot Join,
Curl In (the cup-shape faces inwards)

Bird's-eye view of 5 styles/effects of Curled Rings

Ninetta has used this along the entire outer edge in her bookmark pattern here.  

Also used in my pendant in round 2 - the 2nd ring, in the middle of 2 large rings.

OPTION  6

Curl Features : Multiple Rings around single element
Up , Around , In , Picot Join  

2 Curled Rings around a single larger ring.

I curled 3 single rings around a single larger ring in the Curly Cross Pendants

6 Options depicted so far.

And does it not look like a cross ?! 
No option but to create a pattern ;-P So here it is ....

Curly Cross Pendant

© muskaan  May 2015

I will share the written pattern in pdf soon. Till then, here's the notation in the pic below.
I will upload pictures of how I added the beads at base of curled rings (shown by red asterisk) in a later post. More for my own records coz all of you are already adept at adding beads :-)
However, the tutorials I used were these : 
Karen Cabrera’s Lesson 100 (how to add bead in center of rings)
Jane Eborall’s Placement of Beads in Work 

Pattern notations for Curly Cross Pendant

I hope you like the cross pendant. This one, worked in AMC size 40, measures 2½” x 1” . 2 beads are loaded in Shuttle 1, 1 bead in Shuttle 2, & 6 loose beads.
The gold one above, worked in size 20, measures 3” x 1½”. But there are a few errors in it ....

UPDATE : Curly Cross pattern, with beautiful stepwise pics published in De Frivolité(k)ring 2017 #2 (34)
  

happy tatting :-)

Motif # 19/II for 25 Motif Challenge

Related Posts : Concept of Curled Rings

3 Styles of Curled Rings

Pendant
Final curled ring styles