Time to get down to designing

 It’s April. That means Carmel Bach Festival preparation is well under way. The Season Passes are just about sold out. The applications for Art of Music items have been sent out. Some artists have already returned their form. (I’m one!) I’ve brochures for my students to look through. Most of them prefer to look at the onlineversion. I’m still a paper kinda girl.

With all that, it’s time for me to finalize a design to tat up. I’m still leaning to BWV 572.

Happy International Tatting Day!

 I will be celebrating with local tatting friends this year. Several are new to tatting and I’m trying to adhere to the KISS principle. I will mention how many people tat around the world; perhaps the tablet will be showing websites and blogs of tatted lace from overseas. I always leave a few books out for them to browse for their next challenge; those books will be published outside of English-speaking territory. My focus will be on what they are creating. Each tatter has adopted a slightly different method of producing DS. All the lace is lovely. We will be celebrating!

Happy International Tatting Day!!!

I got there eventually......

 I didn’t get to correcting the last post until today. I apologize. I know such stunts do not build trust and such. I won’t explain. Just forgive my not delivering. Tuesday ended with me a bit overwhelmed.

But, now it’s corrected…..enough.   

The error is in Round 4. I missed a chain in the mocha thread and a ring in the Cairo thread. I discovered it after I had tatted 3 more sets of mocha rings. I’m running low on the quilting thread in Cairo, so I decided to add another repeat with the two elements left out again. That makes 13 instead of 12 repeats in Round 5. I can live with that. I think. It is ruffling a bit yet when that happened in the swirl of Ornamentation, it blocked out nicely. So, error adapted into the pattern.

I’ve also corrected an error in my version of this year’s Wiosna by Renulek. I missed a ring and chain in the pattern. I had to pause when I got to this point tatting Round 5 and snip threads in Round 4 then add the ring and chain. Now I can resume Round 5.

Errors come in 3’s right? So I’m looking carefully at what else I did before yesterday just to be sure!

Practical Lace

 Can you make lace that is practical?    

Yes, if it’s tatted!

Can you make fabric with lots of holes?

Yes, if it’s lace!

Can you use lace every day?

Yes, if it’s designed well!

I have tatted quite a few items I use just about every day. Edgings for linens. Earrings. Hair buncovers. Doilies to protect furniture. The patterns are usually simple and tend to be classic. Just a ring with a chain repeated over as many times as I need. For pieces I make into covers for hair buns, I like using ring only “Mignonette” style patterns. The fabric is flexible yet chorales the ends of my hair well. I’ve been working on one using Quilting Thread.

I’ve ended up with ruffles.

I’ve ended up with too many rows before the focal rows.

I’ve started over too often.

I’m very close this time. Even if I made a glaring error. Can you see it?

There are two places where I omitted a chain in mocha and and ring in the variegated. Top center of the picture and bottom center of the picture. Now you know, you won't be able to un-see it! I sure can't!!!

What should I do next?

I finished a round of my hair bun holder. It's a bit different from my previous ones:

Before I add the rings to finish out the 4-ring set to each repeat, I need to decide what the next round will look like and what beads I would like to use. That way I can prepare picots for bead joins and how I’ll transition from this lacier section to a fabric that can hold in the ends of hair. That creates a neater finish to the hairstyle which is my goal. Especially when I’m trying to look nice performing or presenting.

Time to pull out the sketch paper and brainstorm away!

One step forward, two steps back

 That’s what has been happening with my shuttles lately. I look at the pattern, tat the element, realize I’ve made a mistake and spend time correcting it. So, there are no pictures to share. I have decided what to do for the Fantasia piece. One more decision and then I’ll start to tat in earnest.

This is more like what I envisioned

 

Here are all three samples. The top left is the half stitch count, the bottom left is the original Lene Bjorn pattern. The yarn on the right is KC Botanical Bamboo/cotton blend. There’s a LOT of ply in this with a gentle twist and a lovely sheen. I like the color name: Feather Grey. It works up nicely using a needle. With the added picots filling the negative space created by the chains, I think it will make a nice cloth.