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:

I've been sampling again

 I’m still working my way through all the boxes and boxes of stash other people have asked me to help with. Occasionally I find valuable things: those go back to the original owner. Occasionally I find useful things: again, I check with the original owner. Occasionally I find intriguing fiber or materials: those I play with or pass on to be creative springboards.

This is a ball of something fun. It appears to be rayon. Very silky and slippery. I would guess it was originally spun in the 80’s. I decided to try tatting with it. Past experience led me to NOT pick up a shuttle (the knots didn’t stay formed at all) and NOT to pick up a needle (again, just too slippery to deal with), so I tried using the Takashima hook.

The attempt was much more successful. You can see I didn’t block the motif.  I had difficulty getting the rings closed and chains settled into position. The motif came from the Collingbourne book I recently picked up in the Antique Shop. I plan to keep the ball in the box with novelty thread for stitching with. I think it would make a great sky background for a small project. Perhaps some canvas work similar to this project or this bookmark?

I like complicated....I guess.....

 

Last summer at Palmetto’s Tat Days I learned how to create a Tatted Helix cord. It’s great fun. I saw all kinds of possibilities and uses. Yesterday, I filled shuttles with thread and beads to tat the cord for the Wee Project mug rug. I can’t wait to see how this will turn out!

One puzzle I need to solve: Where to place the beginning/end of the cord in the project?

I probably should decide that before tatting….