Edging complete

 Blocking complete and ready to sew onto the stitching:

Now I just gotta figure out how........

How to turn a corner

 Everyone who has done edgings to trim a hankie or shirt or whatever knows the corner is tricky. If you fall into the bad habit of adlibbing your pattern, you can find yourself in a pickle. I’m ready to turn the corner:

And this is my solution:

Incidentally, there’s a bit of a picot problem. Given the thread size, I think my solution will be to join to the ring with the thread going around the entire stitch. It’ll show, but that end will be in the book and I’ll just have to make the top fancy enough to distract. Ideas anyone?

A doily finds a home

 

After a good blocking, the doily found its way to a small table in our living room. I’ll be taking it to show a group on Thursday, but then returning it to the table.

Wiosna 2017 finished

 

Well, the tatting at any rate….

Remember this project? Thank you again, Renulek, for sharing this design!!! I thoroughly enjoyed tatting it with all these beads. I used up quite a bit of vintage thread too! My first idea was to make a flower color scheme. Then I thought about adding the illusion of dew with beads. The judge at the Fair really liked it! There are some misses in the overall design scheme, but I think it works.

I’ll be finishing it with a good block and then my favorite photographer will work magic with her camera. I like the way she captured the Hidden Rose biscornu.

Now that this doily is done, (WHEW!!!) I plan to use my time each day devoted to working with size 80 thread (those minutes with strong sunlight early in the day before my eyes get tired) to finish the prototype of a design I’ve been kicking around the tatting box.

Interesting Conversations

 As a tatter who wears samples of my work (earrings, edging, bun holder), I can find myself shuttle deep in interesting conversations. Last week was no exception.

Very, very rarely are these conversations of a negative nature. Usually, I explain my lace and how I make it. I listen as the person(s) respond and ask questions. I really don’t mind talking to people about tatting.

What I really get excited about is talking about pipe organs and the music you can play on them. Last week I didn’t get much tatting done. I was stitching a lot on the Ukrainian pattern and meeting with musicians to plot how we could encourage more people to learn about and to play the organ. Progress is slow. In all accounts. But, there is progress.

I’ll have pictures to share soon.

Progress on a bookmark edging

 I’m still working on the bookmark edging. I’ve learned a lot:

Sewing thread demands a slightly different technique to tat successfully.

I need to leave a mock picot at the base of rings for joining with round 2.

Color can change what we focus on in a pattern/design.

Ok, this last point I didn’t just learn. I’ve known that and I continue to learn how color works each time I load a shuttle with a different color thread and combine it with options in each pattern.

SAL for Ukraine

 When I see “SAL” my mind translates that to Sing along. (Although why we use AL for along I’ve yet to figure out!) I have been thinking of music that I identify as Ukrainian. We did sing a bit last weekend as a prayer for the Russian people (Putin excluded) and Ukrainian people. But today, I’ll be posting about a Stitch along for Ukraine.

This website was passed on to me by a good stitching friend. She has encouraged me to gain new skill, knowledge, and just to try out everything. She has a treasure trove of odds and ends that has saved me bucks. She even learned to needle tat to join in my quest to combine tatting with…..everything!

Here’s my version of the center:

The cross shape (a symbol for protection from evil) was a good place to start.

May all know Peace