Sunday 31 January 2010

24 of 25

Pattern: The Third Day of December from the book 24 Snowflakes in Tatting by Lene Bjørn.
Thread: Lizbeth size 20, col 613 & col 623 & col 680.
Technique: Shuttle tatted.

I started to do this pattern in a single shade and thought the middle looked like a flower so started it again in these colours to see what would happen.

I took the picture before blocking just in case anything drastic happened to it when trying to pin it out.
24 of 25 by michl_007
24 of 25 Originally uploaded by michl_007 on 31st January, 2010

I wanted to tackle this snowflake as soon as I got the book but figured it might be too difficult. I'm not sure exactly why I found it so daunting but I'm glad I got over it and gave it a try.

Friday 29 January 2010

23 of 25

Pattern: Tatted Fall Leaves (pdf) by Heather Johnston.
Thread: Lizbeth size 20, col 100.
Technique: Shuttle tatted.

Mine looks a little different to the pattern but I like it.
23 of 25 by michl_007
23 of 25 Originally uploaded by michl_007 on 29th January, 2010

I've had this pattern saved in my links list for quite some time but every time I tried to follow the pattern it went wrong. Eventually last night I wrote out a rudimentary diagram and filled in the stitch numbers and it worked! I've looked at the pattern again and think that where it calls for a ring it's meant to call for a chain, which is pretty obvious to me now but when you're learning it isn't so. Another thing that's obvious now that I'm more familiar with tatting patterns and their inconsistency is the fact that you are meant to switch shuttles to do the little nodes on the leaf, which the pattern doesn't mention.

I might try the other leaves on the pattern file now that this one has worked.

Monday 25 January 2010

New Stuff

I didn't mean to buy these; it was an accident.
More Lizbeth by michl_007
More Lizbeth Originally uploaded by michl_007 on 25th January, 2010


The Pink Parade (col 145) is a re-order as I found it works quite well either on its own or mixed with other colours. The Purple Splendor (col 129) is a new favourite, such a beautiful blend of shades. Then there's the Tropical Fruit (col 107) which is about as hideous a shade as I've ever seen. Worse even than the gross yellow I got last time.

I tried these new clover shuttles out straight away and I love them. I can't really see any physical difference between them and the normal coloured clovers but they just feel nicer.

Pattern: SweetHeart by Birgit Phelps.
Thread: Lizbeth size 20, col 623.
Technique: Shuttle tatted.

I don't care for this particular pattern but uploading as part of my 25.
22 of 25 by michl_007
22 of 25 Originally uploaded by michl_007 on 25th January, 2010

By George I Think I've Got It

So near and yet.............................................so far.
Dammit & Blast by michl_007
Dammit & Blast Originally uploaded by michl_007 on 25th January, 2010

I tatted the first couple of rings and chains but something went wrong so I started again but didn't take into consideration the fact that I had less thread on my shuttle. I got to the final ring and didn't have enough pink but was struck with the thought that I could make a self closing mock ring! Genius, right? Well it would have been had I not already cut the blue.

I wound on for my second attempt but instead of looking at the amount I'd used the first time, I did it from memory. So I get to the final ring and damn if I didn't run out of pink and do EXACTLY the same thing as before.

Lessons learnt:
1) Don't cut thread till I'm CERTAIN that I've finished.
2) Don't trust my failing memory.

I wasn't as annoyed as I'd expect myself to be because this pattern is a pleasure to make.

Pattern: Heart's Desire by Susan K Fuller.
Thread: Lizbeth size 20, col 142 & col 145.
Technique: Shuttle tatted.

I'm so glad that I finally managed to get this pattern done after so many false starts. I was going to say this is third time lucky but technically it's fourth time lucky as the black/red effort below was also from the same pattern but remained incomplete after I decided I couldn't get the chains to look right.
21 of 25 by michl_007
21 of 25 Originally uploaded by michl_007 on 25th January, 2010


Because I Like It by michl_007
Because I Like It Originally uploaded by michl_007 on 24th November, 2009

Saturday 23 January 2010

Brains!

Pattern: The Brain by Martha Ess.
Thread: Lizbeth size 20, col 145 & col 640 & col 691.
Technique: Shuttle tatted.

This works up very quickly as it's so small (2cm across) and the pattern is written so as to be easily followed.
20 of 25 by michl_007
20 of 25 Originally uploaded by michl_007 on 23rd January, 2010

I like this little pattern, it's very cute. I could have done a neater job getting rid of the ends but never mind.

Tattiquette

While blog browsing I saw a really lovely motif that I wanted to make. I read the comments on the post and it was obvious that others were also looking for the source of the pattern but the person who posted it said that they didn't think it was available online and that it was from a foreign (to me) tatting association. Looking at the image it would be very easy to copy but this somehow seems wrong and I'm wondering what others think about the matter of copying a design when it's not possible to attain it any other way.

Tuesday 19 January 2010

19 of 25

Pattern: Magic Moment Snowflake by Jon Yusoff.
Thread: Lizbeth size 20, col 144.
Technique: Shuttle tatted.

This pattern is an absolute pleasure to follow. It looked more complex than it turned out to be and I found that I was able to complete it without having to refer to the pattern a whole bunch of times.
19 of 25 by michl_007
19 of 25 Originally uploaded by michl_007 on 19th January, 2010

I will certainly be making another of these and advise you all to do the same if you haven't already.

Monday 18 January 2010

Them And Us

Pattern: Faith, from the book Tatting With Visual Patterns by Mary Konior.
Thread: Lizbeth size 20, col 692.
Technique: Shuttle tatted.

Eighteen down, seven more to go. This is very much like the previous pattern I made from the book.
18 of 25 by michl_007
18 of 25 Originally uploaded by michl_007 on 18th January, 2010

Tatting at work today I got quite a few comments. It went something like "What are you making?", "But what is it called?", "Why is it called tatting?", "They should call it something else because it doesn't make it sound delicate and pretty.".

Sunday 17 January 2010

17 of 25

Pattern: Hope, from the book Tatting With Visual Patterns by Mary Konior.
Thread: Lizbeth size 20, col 122.
Technique: Shuttle tatted.

I'm not particularly fond of this thread so used it up on this pattern which I didn't expect to like but I enjoyed making it after all.

I really need to sort out my lighting before taking pictures of my tatting as it's pretty uneven and not well done. Still it's better than using a pinhole camera so I'll shut up.
17 of 25 by michl_007
17 of 25 Originally uploaded by michl_007 on 17th January, 2010

I didn't realise but ❦TattingChic told me that Mary Konior passed away yesterday.

Saturday 16 January 2010

Don't Like The Stawasz, Loving Konior

Pattern: Masquerade, from the book Tatting With Visual Patterns by Mary Konior.
Thread: Lizbeth size 20, col 613.
Technique: Shuttle tatted.

This was a pleasure to make and I like the colour. The background is one of the many squares of felt that I purchased online from Lupin Handmade.
16 of 25 by michl_007
16 of 25 Originally uploaded by michl_007 on 16th January, 2010

I previously tried tatting an item from the book Tatting Theory & Patterns by Jan Stawasz and it left me feeling less than positive. I didn't give up entirely and over the last few days I've been trying to complete a snowflake from the same book but to no avail. I hate this book. It's just bad. The photos of the items are okay but the diagrams are unhelpful and the text is long winded in the introduction with not enough information where you need it (in the pattern).

To make me feel better I've completed Masquerade from the very lovely book Tatting With Visual Patterns by Mary Konior. I enjoyed it so much I've started on another pattern from the same book. Her diagrams are easy to follow and clearly printed with just the right amount of info to get you started. I love this book.

Sunday 10 January 2010

15 of 25

Pattern: Teresa's Shamrock.
Thread: Lizbeth size 20, col 684.
Technique: Shuttle tatted.

I desaturated the background of this shamrock because it was very blue and hard to see what was going on.
15 of 25 by michl_007
15 of 25 Originally uploaded by michl_007 on 10th January, 2010

I haven't tatted any new items over the Xmas/New Year period other than a couple more squares for a tablecloth I'm making. I did this shamrock as part of my motif challenge.