- JULY 30, 2017
- ROW 5: (green rings attaching to white chains)
I wanted to share what’s going on with my mystery doily. My rings were coming in too tight and not reaching to the next join from the previous ring withoug pulling it over. So I had to cut them off and change my rings to 7-7-7-7, After much thinking about why this is happening, I believe that the large chain that goes around the ring in row 5 should have been pulled tighter. If it were tighter, than it would have been closer to the ring, but by being out more, it has caused a larger diameter around - causing my rings not to fit. This is my first time to do this type of row and so didn’t know anything was amiss. I would like to make another, and this time keep the encircling chain just above the ring’s picot.
Here is how it is looking after I cut off my 7-5-5-7 rings, and used the 7-7-7-7 rings instead. There seems to be a much larger difference in the variegated green and the lime green, but in person, it is less obvious. I did look at mint green when I started this row, but, it was too blue, oddly. 
7/31/2017
7/25/2017
Analalea Tat-a-Long July 2017
I am working on the pattern Test Tat-A-Long from here (link below). The steps are done with pictures, and when opened, some words. Note if you are to cut thread after each rnd or leave it, very important.:
https://www.facebook.com/AlenaleaTatting/
My first start wasn't completely right, I could only get in 4 rings, while everyone else got in 6 for the middle. I thought about squeezing the rings to elongate them, but resisted, and so only 4 fit. I tried again and this time left a small 1/8" bare thread space after each ring, and it made the center larger, and all 6 petals fit. Had a bad storm and did the row 1, the 6 petal one my LED lantern light.
The one that worked for me happened to be in vintage #70 thread, Star 103 Med. Pink, and for rnds 2 & 3, I used Star #155 Tinted White, Pinks & Greens. Don't cut off the thread on the 2nd rnd, you just keep going around for the 3rd.
I finally finished rnd 4, which thoroughly kicked my butt. It’s full of all kinds of defects, but I was determined to finish and perhaps learn something that would increase my skill. I’m not sure I learned anything, except that need a lot more skill(!), but I DID finish! I made it even harder than it already was, by deciding to make the chain that joins to rnd 4 the same color as the ring. Usually, you change thread source between ring and chain. If you keep the same, you have to use the shoelace trick to get the ring chain back on top, after reversing for the chain. That left a little extra blurp in the thread, which was messy to me. Fortunately, rnd 5 is an easy one, I will be happy to relax and do it! Here is my complete first 4 rounds/rows.
https://www.facebook.com/AlenaleaTatting/
My first start wasn't completely right, I could only get in 4 rings, while everyone else got in 6 for the middle. I thought about squeezing the rings to elongate them, but resisted, and so only 4 fit. I tried again and this time left a small 1/8" bare thread space after each ring, and it made the center larger, and all 6 petals fit. Had a bad storm and did the row 1, the 6 petal one my LED lantern light.
The one that worked for me happened to be in vintage #70 thread, Star 103 Med. Pink, and for rnds 2 & 3, I used Star #155 Tinted White, Pinks & Greens. Don't cut off the thread on the 2nd rnd, you just keep going around for the 3rd.
I finally finished rnd 4, which thoroughly kicked my butt. It’s full of all kinds of defects, but I was determined to finish and perhaps learn something that would increase my skill. I’m not sure I learned anything, except that need a lot more skill(!), but I DID finish! I made it even harder than it already was, by deciding to make the chain that joins to rnd 4 the same color as the ring. Usually, you change thread source between ring and chain. If you keep the same, you have to use the shoelace trick to get the ring chain back on top, after reversing for the chain. That left a little extra blurp in the thread, which was messy to me. Fortunately, rnd 5 is an easy one, I will be happy to relax and do it! Here is my complete first 4 rounds/rows.
7/23/2017
RETURN TO TATTING
POSTED July 23, 2017. Been a very long time since I tried to use this blog. One thing that bothered me before was the smallness of the pics, but it appears that is better now. Lots of projects have been completed in the meantime, and I'll have to just muddle my way thru them here.
My intro into the tatting world: Many years ago… early 70s, I went to a tatting class of about 2 classes. It was funny because I was looking for the room with the tatting class and saw a class with all women in it and thought it had to be it. I went in and asked if it was the tatting class and they all laughed and looked at me like I was an idiot and said it was the accounting class. Well, anyway, took that class and made a cross bookmark that I gave away to hubby’s grandmother. I used #10 thread, with my metal bobbin shuttle. So years later I find the shuttle and decide to use sewing thread to try to make another one, because I thought that would be more like tatting thread, which one couldn't find anywhere, and no internet then. The thread would get little kinks in it, and if I popped the thread, they would pop out. But there was this one fatal kink that looked like the others, but when I popped it, the thread snapped! We had only learned the very basics – rings, chains, picots. We hadn’t learned how to add thread, or fix mistakes! I went screaming into the night, not to return to tatting for 40 some odd years.
Dec 2015, I was poking around in my hoarded up craft room and found the practice piece from that old tatting class and my shuttle:
As I picked up the shuttle, I was horrified to realize my mind was a complete blank, absolutely nothing was coming back to me! I realized I was pretty much starting from scratch and it was not at all like riding a bike (it doesn’t necessarily come back when you try it again, like bike riding does). So, I needed to just practice my stitches, and wanted to actually make something while doing it. My shuttle had tiny red thread on it (how'd that get on there?), and I knew I needed something larger, since I was back to beginner status. I thought and thought, about what I could put some #10 thread on so I wouldn't have to unwind all that tiny shuttle thread, and came up with wooden ice cream spoons, sewing bobbin, or pinch type clothespins, and made the simple butterfly from: http://www.tattedtreasures.com/2011/09/reading-patterns-and-making-projects-part-1/
I took my time practicing the stitches and making them well, before I tried to make the cross again. Other's were making a snowflake from: http://teridusenburystattletales.blogspot.com/2014/09/tatting-snowflake-pattern-wheel-of-fortune.html?m=1 - but I didn't want to do a real project yet, where I might get stuck. I wanted to keep practicing the little I knew till I was comfortable, and not sweating over simple stitches .
As I looked at the pattern, I began to see an 'angel' in the edge of it, and decided that's what I'd do:
Learning to tat again from https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1F0C9E52018DDB0B and trying little motifs/flowers here and there, I was finally ready to attempt my cross again. I was able to find a cross that was so similar to the one I made in another workbasket mag, which I could no longer find, but the only difference was, this one had picots (silent t, sounds like pee ko).
It was in WORKBASKET V19, N.4 - JAN 1954, PGs 26 & 27. I like picots, so went with it, and finally made my cross, this time in size #70 vintage thread, found loads of that on ebay.
My intro into the tatting world: Many years ago… early 70s, I went to a tatting class of about 2 classes. It was funny because I was looking for the room with the tatting class and saw a class with all women in it and thought it had to be it. I went in and asked if it was the tatting class and they all laughed and looked at me like I was an idiot and said it was the accounting class. Well, anyway, took that class and made a cross bookmark that I gave away to hubby’s grandmother. I used #10 thread, with my metal bobbin shuttle. So years later I find the shuttle and decide to use sewing thread to try to make another one, because I thought that would be more like tatting thread, which one couldn't find anywhere, and no internet then. The thread would get little kinks in it, and if I popped the thread, they would pop out. But there was this one fatal kink that looked like the others, but when I popped it, the thread snapped! We had only learned the very basics – rings, chains, picots. We hadn’t learned how to add thread, or fix mistakes! I went screaming into the night, not to return to tatting for 40 some odd years.
Dec 2015, I was poking around in my hoarded up craft room and found the practice piece from that old tatting class and my shuttle:
As I picked up the shuttle, I was horrified to realize my mind was a complete blank, absolutely nothing was coming back to me! I realized I was pretty much starting from scratch and it was not at all like riding a bike (it doesn’t necessarily come back when you try it again, like bike riding does). So, I needed to just practice my stitches, and wanted to actually make something while doing it. My shuttle had tiny red thread on it (how'd that get on there?), and I knew I needed something larger, since I was back to beginner status. I thought and thought, about what I could put some #10 thread on so I wouldn't have to unwind all that tiny shuttle thread, and came up with wooden ice cream spoons, sewing bobbin, or pinch type clothespins, and made the simple butterfly from: http://www.tattedtreasures.com/2011/09/reading-patterns-and-making-projects-part-1/
I took my time practicing the stitches and making them well, before I tried to make the cross again. Other's were making a snowflake from: http://teridusenburystattletales.blogspot.com/2014/09/tatting-snowflake-pattern-wheel-of-fortune.html?m=1 - but I didn't want to do a real project yet, where I might get stuck. I wanted to keep practicing the little I knew till I was comfortable, and not sweating over simple stitches .
As I looked at the pattern, I began to see an 'angel' in the edge of it, and decided that's what I'd do:
Learning to tat again from https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1F0C9E52018DDB0B and trying little motifs/flowers here and there, I was finally ready to attempt my cross again. I was able to find a cross that was so similar to the one I made in another workbasket mag, which I could no longer find, but the only difference was, this one had picots (silent t, sounds like pee ko).
It was in WORKBASKET V19, N.4 - JAN 1954, PGs 26 & 27. I like picots, so went with it, and finally made my cross, this time in size #70 vintage thread, found loads of that on ebay.
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