Cluny conquered

Success with the cluny medallion! Wheeeeeeee

Now it’s on to a big doily based on a pineapple pattern. This will take a while to work. But, only 4 more to go in the binder! Whew!

Since I’ll be working on that for quite a bit of time, I’ll have to come up with other things to post about. I’ve begun a series of designs on the Bach 2 and 3 part inventions/sinfonias. Perhaps I’ll start posting about them.

In the meantime, Spring is here. In our house that not only means more time outside, but Easter. Whatever you find to nourish your soul, please nourish it. That is my Easter prayer. Passover is so powerful, Nowruz is fun, Spring Festival is delicious, etc. My humanity needs to be reminded frequently that I am who I am. All the precious gifts, all the ugly warts, all of me. So, find time to celebrate and feed your soul.

setback and a buzzing

I had a setback on my cluny pattern. I was concentrating so hard on getting the cluny shapes consistent and keeping the color blips to a minimum that I neglected to keep the right side the right side and let the RODS creep in on the right side.

If that doesn’t make sense, it didn’t to me either for a bit. I picked up my sample after a good night’s sleep and saw something wasn’t quite right, but didn’t have a lot of time right then to really study it. After I completed the appointment, I studied it again and saw that I had executed a ring with an extra picot and not enough double stitches. So, I set it aside while I exercised, then picked it up again to decide what to do. That’s when I noticed that I had tatted 4 rings as though I had the wrong side facing up. AND I also noticed that I had badly twisted a picot in a chain. Sigh!!!

I decided to not just clip out the mistakes, but to begin again……Finnegan…….Michael…..grumble, grumble!

Maybe that’s what the hummingbird was trying to tell me that buzzed me on my walk. Ever had that happen? They are loud, fast, and very bold. It’s enough to make one duck, startle, and walk quickly on. Tee hee.

Who knows what will happen today with shuttle or on a walk. If something amusing happens I’ll try to share it.

Triangle corner conquered

I have finally worked through the triangle corner correctly…..I think. This represents the fourth try at tatting the corner separately and starting with new thread.

part of Frauberger triangle pattern

I like how it’s working up in this thread. Now, if I can just keep my concentration up so that I don’t make more mistakes! For those of you joining lately, here’s the pattern. Thank youJennifer Williams and Jane Eborall for the pattern rewrite. Thank you GeorgiaSeitz for giving us the opportunity to share with each other!

of music Sacred and celebrations

Well, where has the week gone?????

I’ve been indulging in my fascination with sacred music. With the mass Tuesday and the Enthronement today, “the best” of Christian tradition has been on display to the world. I eagerly listened to the entire mass Tuesday; At least all of the music that PBS included in their unedited video.

Now, before some of you get all huffy and start spewing negatives, let me say that I will not tolerate slamming of music used in worship. Several years ago, I had an epiphany of sorts. I witnessed a group from the other side of the world sharing a song. Even though I had dutifully studied “Church music” for many years, I didn’t “get it” until that moment. I now honor how people sing in worship with a humble heart knowing my voice isn’t the final say.

So, back to Tuesday. I’ve had the pleasure of standing in St. Peter Basilica. It’s huge! It’s Renaissance! It’s a tall order for any vocal group. I enjoyed the chant and motets the groups performed. They fit. They were meet and right.

And now for Thursday. I would like to visit Canterbury now. I can see it’s huge! I can see it’s English! I can imagine how it must sound. I enjoyed hearing the snippets that BBC Radio broadcast. I look forward to listening to the whole service at some point. If I can find it on line.

I have been tatting. I tried to get the triangle corrected. And failed. I started the cluny medallion/motif in the color thread. I think it looks quite well in pink and blue. Rather like a nursery decoration. I also worked on the designs in progress. All that tatting and nothing to show for pictures or scans. Sorry. I promise to regain my focus….soon. Right after I listen to a Utube of a favorite organ piece I stumbled upon.

a dead end and a beginning

Spring is here. It’s a good thing. My forays into the Saint Saens design past where I stopped Thursday turned out to be duds. Yes, duds plural. The math just wouldn’t work. I’m not deterred as I learned last month that when the math isn’t working, it’s usually because I was taking my values from the wrong facet of the music. In other words, I was looking in the wrong place for my visual cues. A little like reaching for the swell when I should be reaching for the choir. So, a big fat void where there should be lace. It’ll likely take me several days to get back to the design.

Anyway, as I started to say, spring is here. We went plant shopping Sunday afternoon and found some candidates for the front yard. I hope they work. We’ll know in a few years. Yawn!!! We also found a surprise: a Chicago Peace rose. Now, I know for you rose aficionados, you should buy bare root in the fall from a rose grower. I bought a potted version from a mass market nursery. I don’t know if it will survive and do well, but I couldn’t resist. You see, my mom had a Chicago Peace in her front yard. The bush was HUGE and produced rather large blooms 10-11 months a year. It hardly had any problems like disease and pests, just enjoyed growing. I hope my little plant does half as well. We’ll know in a few years. Yawn!!

I’m off now to reproduce things that were lost that I only discovered were missing 15 minutes before I needed them. I muddled through, but I need to replace them.  

Saint Saens progress

Saint Saens C melody scan

Here’s a scan of my idea for a motif depicting a melody in the Saint Saens I’m working on. I think I’ll be adding beads to the chains. I’m sure the rings will be attached to something, but haven’t worked out what’s around them yet.

Here’s a shot of what the diagram will look like. Incidently, I normally scan with felt as a background. However, I got lazy and just used an old paper bag I had sitting at the computer.

Saint Saens C melody idea

 

the second corner

Today is a bit of Where’s Waldo……

I am working my way through this antique pattern. Thank you Jennifer Williams for getting it into more modern notation and Jane Eborall and Jennifer Williams for the diagram. I have been working on this as time allows, so progress has been slow. What attracted me to the pattern is the outside to the inside working order. First, you tat these triangles for the corners, then a couple of small trefoils, then the ending that joins the corners together, then the bit that fills in the center.

So, what ya need to find? My mistake in the second triangle. Of course I know it’s the second corner I made, the first one I looked at the pattern constantly. I tend to trust my memory too much on the second go at a pattern. Sigh.

And yes, I didn’t discover it until after I’d joined 3 of the 4 joins in the pattern. Sigh.

corner of Frauberger triangle pattern

I’m really liking this thread color combination. I normally do not wear fall colors, but the earth tones in this thread I like. It’s Herbal Garden (Lizbeth) from Handy Hands.

Maisie Dobbs and a housekeeper who tats

I’ve just finished a rereading of Elegy for Eddie byJacqueline Winspear. This is the latest Maisie Dobbs novel she has written. I enjoy the period mysteries. This particular one is going to be a favorite of mine. That’s because the housekeeper, Mrs. Bromleigh, explains that she keeps busy caring for the house and tatting. I grinned and giggled when I read that. And some think tatting is a lost art! Harrumph!!

organ concert after Evensong

I had the great pleasure yesterday of experiencing great music. Evensong is a wonderful contemplative service; Just the ticket for mid-Lent. The space at St. Andrew's Saratoga is a singing space. It's easy to pray in song there.

The concert performer and Evensong accompanist was James Welch http://www.welchorganist.com/index.html . I know I risk being labeled as a “groupie” by some of my musician friends that read here, but if you do get the chance to hear Jim, please do. He’s a wonderful organist and plays both new and standard repertoire equally well. The new music last night was a piece by local organist/composer Lothar Bandermann. http://www.lotharbandermann.com/index.php I’d love to hear it again. Any takers?

On the tatting side of life, I continue to make progress on several PHD items. I also found some size 15 beads in primary colors. I have all kinds of earring ideas for them. We’ll see what make it onto this blog.

Please find time to get out and enjoy spring. It has sprung in full force here. The blossoms on the fruit trees are lovely and fragrant, the buds on the mulberry trees are getting bigger, the ground looks wonderful and ready for planting!

Cluny doily started....needs.....practice

So, here’s the cluny pattern section I’ve been working on.

practice cluny sample

I still think I need more practice at cluny leaves. These were described by the designer as needing to be shuttle shaped. I’m thinkin’ they’re a bit more like celtic shuttles than the one I’m trying to work with! I just may repeat a bookmark pattern I enjoyed last year.

Cluny bookmark by Georgia Seitz

(thank you Georgia!)http://www.georgiaseitz.com/2010/clybkmk2.jpg 

 

Maybe that will help cement the technique and the current doily pattern will work out better? Hope, hope, hope

Chocolate bunny earrings

Ruth bunny earrings

Well, here they are:

Ready to wear.

I know they will bring lots of smiles. Thank you Ruth for sharing your pattern with all of us!

flower petals ready to be assembled

Well, I think I have a good set of clunys to assemble into my poinsettia. I won’t show you the ones that were “binned”. (I think the Brits have a good expression there!) At any rate, I will be setting these aside for a day…..or so…..before assembling. And, of course, no photo of the complete flower here. At least not until I hear back from the folks that run the TATprograms.

cluny petals for a poinsettia

Now, on to the doily with cluny parts. No wires needed for those.

Of Spring and bunnies

My thoughts are on spring today. Last night a storm blew in and gave us some rain. We needed it! Unfortunately, the timing may not be great for the fruit trees. I hope the bees had a chance and the fruit has set. We’ll see in a few months.

Ruth's Tatted Easter Bunny

Currently, the non-fruiting plum outside my window is in bloom. The blossoms look so bright! And the pink matches the thread I used to try out Ruth’s Tatted Easter Bunny.

I had great fun and plan to do a chocolate version with the Fudge thread from Handy Hands. Now to get out to the garden to weed now that the soil is moistened up!

close, so close

I asked what you thought of the different cluny technique. So far, no one has weighed in. Well, I think I could use both techniques; just need to play a bit more to see what I like about each one.

In the meantime, I’ve been working on the knitting board. I’m so close! When I get this close to the end of a project, I have to be quite firm with myself. I tend to rush and make all sorts of sloppy errors. So, I will be careful in the last few rows.

weekend accomplishments

What a weekend. It actually was a 3 day weekend; we included Friday in our errands/yard work time. To recap:

Sold a car

Pruned the roses and honeysuckle
Spiffed up the trumpet vine and a boogie
Tried to figure out if the lantana and cherry tree will survive.

Our treat: a fresh orange picked and eaten while still warm from the sun. mmmmmmmmmm

Still to happen:

Revive the lawn

Replace the shrubs that hide our “reused” bricks (necessary for curb appeal)
Weed the bed of oxalis

Now, if the oxalis that grew in our yard looked as lovely as this , I wouldn’t be so keen on eradicating it. But, alas, ours is the yellow version that doesn’t smell nice, grows from miniscule corms that break off from the stems, and spreads faster than dandelions! Hopefully, the predicted rain will make weeding next weekend more productive. Well, one can hope, right?

I’m off to finish the poinsettia. I rather like how the leaves are shaping up. Unfortunately, I can already tell my photography skill, or lack thereof, will not be up to sharing a picture of the finished bloom. Sorry.

a cluny technique to explore

I recently came across an intriguing idea: use wire to shape the outer parts of a cluny. Here’s what I came up with:

cluny leaf



cluny with floral wire

 

 

 

 

The one in gold without any white showing is completed with just thread using a loom, no wire or stabilizer help. The one in gold with white showing is completed using a loom and covered floral wire (in white).

Now, I’m not a crafter (just ask the Girl Scout troop I worked with); I don’t do flowers (silk or live); and this is size 10 thread (a bit larger than I like to use). Personally, I like the way the one with wire holds the shape, I just have to learn to deal with the wire. What do you think?