Another adventure

This is intriguing. It’s the center and round 2 of thisdoily that I found in Carmel. I used TDS (treble tatting stitch) rather than crochet chain. With the TDS in the outside chains of Round 2, it has a bit of a hexagon shape. Intriguing.

Turning the corner

 For those that have tatted an edging to a handkerchief square, this post will be boring. For those that break out in a cold sweat when turning corners in edgings, this post may be traumatic. For those that have no idea what I’m talking about…..

I’ve been having fun stitching a small project on canvas. It will make a great mug rug or coaster. Normally, the edge is finished with a cord or at the very least decorative stitching. For me, stitching isn’t fun until I add tatting. So, I decided to see if Richard Embrey's Helix tatting would create a nice finish to the edge. After a bit of sampling, I decided on what I wanted to use for thread, how many shuttles to use, and what would work for beads. All is well. Until I reached the corner. Now what?????

This will work I think. I may need to adjust how many beads are loaded on each thread. As I tat around, in order for the beads to appear in a straight line, I need to have 7 DS between placing a bead. Using 8 shuttles, that means that I slide a bead up every 7^th shuttle. 

Keeping track of where to use the bead is easy with the shuttle holder and a hair pin. As long as I don’t knock it off the table!

 

Another option

 I realized as I was tatting the last sample that the doilies with the crochet rows are really quite different. Nothing for it but to tat up a sample of both using Treble Tatting Stitch. So here’s sample number 2.

It matches the doily I bought in a thrift shop in Carmel. I will puzzle out the next row soon. First, I need to prep the studio and cover the organ pipes for work on the roof. I learned a lot the last time when the skylights were replaced. So, theoretically it should take less time, I won’t be repairing rips in the plastic, and the chaos should be contained to just the one room. Theoretically. If this sounds a bit grumpy and stressed, I apologize. I’m glad they were able to start so soon. I hope the solar panels will go on gracefully, there is minimal breakage of the tiles, and no damage that will need to be repaired. I hope. I’ll let you know when they finish in (gulp!) 6 weeks.

COVID is still around, but I did finish with round 2

 The vintage doily I picked up at Palmettos has been fun to deconstruct and test tat. I smell a workshop in the future. It’s been very illuminating to figure out what stitch count works! I had to try 3 times to come up with what works for the latest round. I’m not wild about the rings not joining within the repeats and just flopping around. I will definitely make sure they join to round 3. I just hope I don’t get confused and join the wrong side up with a ring completely twisted!

Oh and for those that have been keeping me in thoughts etc.: I am still testing negative even though my daughter who lives with us has been testing positive for 13 days now. She’s feeling well enough to work from home so she’s not losing any pay, but still…… I intend to stay clear of that virus as much as I can!

COVD is not done with us yet

 I have been caring for my daughter while she isolates with COVID. So far, I have not tested positive and we’re all being extremely careful. I’ve been napping and relaxing rather than testing out my square motif in a round motif. Perhaps next week…….

Does square lace fit in a round hole?

 Since my experiment last week, I’ve been wondering if I could do the reverse: tat a round shape with a square center?

I had great fun with Jane Eborall’s Fandango pattern. The center is a ring with a square added around it. Then, lots of negative space with basically a circular shape as the next round. Janemctats commented on my last post that crochet patterns go round to square all the time. Hhmmmmmmm.......

Would we need a scallop motif to go from square to round? 

Would it be awkward and not lacy enough? Hmmmmmmm…….

I put a round motif inside a square motif

 

With help from New Tatting by Tomoko Morimoto. I’m always intrigued when square rounds follow a circular round. I thought this might work for a shawl. I can’t decide if I like it better than this motif from EnjoyTakashima Tatting by Taeko Takashima.  

I had fun with this

 Remember the doily I found in a resale shop here? I’ve been trying to figure out the pattern. With Ninetta's Treble Tatting Stitch, I had lots of ideas! The TDS could replace the crochet sections. After working my way through a bit of her book Tatting is a Serious Matter, I was ready to try it out. Well, that trial gave me a less than pretty motif. I abandoned it after just 2 repeats of the TDS part. More study ensued with a snowflake tatted in different threads. I think I finally got it!! In the meantime, I found another example at Tat Days with Palmetto Tatting Guild. After a few false starts again, I came up with this for the first round of TDS: