finally!!!!

Well, in the process of finding my pattern sketches, I remembered that I still needed to finish tacking the Blue Saint-Saens piece to the black fabric so I can get the thing framed. Now this is usually when I struggle to finish a project; when the thing is almost completed. My perfectionism usually rears its ugly self and causes me to wish I hadn't made THAT mistake THERE and how should I FIX it. I’ve committed to framing it for my studio wall, which means there’s no deadline, which means I procrastinate since I feel a lower sense of obligation to myself than to other paying customers. BUT….

Yesterday I pushed through all that and finished the tacking down. Wahooooo!!!!!!!

Now, to get to my favorite frame shop and get a frame picked out so that I can measure the foam core that I’ll lace the black fabric onto. Then it’ll be time to get out the tweezers and magnifying glass and bright light to extract all the cat fur that has worked its way into the project. I’ll try hard to get a photo of it, but can’t make promises. The camera was packed away when we staged the house. Getting to it, getting things set up, and then tucked away again may just not be in the schedule.

Tonight I’m taking time to sing in an Evensong service. The ancient sung prayers have a way of creeping into my soul and calming my mind and centering my energy. Something a house hunter needs!

Starting the process for mounting

Here’s a look at the process of tacking the Saint Saens doily onto fabric in preparation for framing:

 

starting to mount

I found out the hard way, I need lots of accurate guidelines to make it look nice. It can take several hours to sew in those lines, but well worth the trouble.

Then, I start sewing down the tatting. Yes, each and every picot gets a tack down. I try to make sure gravity will not pull the tatting out of shape over time. So, that means a tack at the top of each element, either side of beads, and wherever it makes sense. Probably the trickiest part is making sure I don’t pull too tight and make the tatting buckle or the fabric pull out of shape. Oh, and the wood circular frame is not true. It’s just a smidge out of round. So, I’m constantly measuring from a rather arbitrary point that I call center.

More later.

Progress on Round 3 SS Blue version

Still not blocked as I would like. Still not mounted as I would like.

 

Round 3 finished but not blocked

 I seem to have stalled again. I think my stall is partly due to the other tatting projects I’m mulling over.

 

 I’m still working on a motif to be glued to the ornament ball. I’m finding it hard to tat knowing that it will be soaked in glue and stuck on something. I’ve never liked starch. So, using glue on thread is difficult for me to do. But! I will succeed in finishing at least a few ornaments for the museum to sell.

I’m also mulling over getting started on an earring pattern. That will involve dragging out the supplies, spreading them over the family table, deciding what to use and then finally tatting. Oh, and putting everything back. I’m tentatively planning on tackling that tomorrow. I promise to share both the ornament pics and the earring pics. Since I figure both projects will be 3D, that will mean getting the camera to work as I would like it to.

First, off to block.