Just look at these glorious butterflies tatted in size 40 Lizbeth Berry Burst. Such pretty little flutters!
The original edging pattern comes from Iris Niebach's book, Fantasia 3. It is aptly named Gloria.
(This motif is amended from Iris' original pattern.)
It measures 5.1 cm (2 inches) in diameter and is motif #13 in my 25 motif challenge.
See where I ran out of thread on the second butterfly's wing? I was using a thread sample and thought I had enough to finish. It was so close!
Five yards were loaded on one shuttle and about 3 on the other. Eleven centimters (4.3 inches) were left on one shuttle and 72.4 cm (28.5 inches) on the other.
This motif is destined to become a bookmark. Won't these two little flutters look precious flitting atop some late summer reading?
What's in a Name
I don't know if Iris Niebach names her patterns after loved ones, students, memorable local personalities or tatters who have gone before. But if I were Gloria, I would be delighted beyond words to be the namesake for this remarkable design.
To Cluny or Not to Cluny?
Apologies go to Ms. Niebach for changing the pattern. As written, it calls for Cluny leaves and a connecting chain above the Cluny leaves to be worked in between the butterflies. You can see the original pattern on The Tattingplayer.
I tried to tat Clunies. I did.
My first attempt did not turn out well.
For starters, I wove the shuttle over and under six threads. That resulted in an even weave that didn't resemble a tallie at all. When it came time to close, I had no loom threads to pull through and got very confused. What else could I do but unweave the offending tallie all the way back to an empty loom.
Another thing I don't understand is the second, unflipped half-stitch at the start of the weaving. Is this a regular second half of a double stitch, unflipped? Or an unflipped second stitch made during the second half of split-ring tatting (which actually is the unflipped, first half stitch of regular tatting). I bet I am really over-thinking it, aren't I?
Anyway, after a much-needed visit to the online tatting class archives I have discovered my error in weaving around all six loom threads. Thank you to Georgia Seitz, Mimi Dillman, Tammy Rodgers and Wally Sosa for your excellent tutorials!
I have dipped my toe in the Cluny leaf pool and now must conquer this new technique or die trying.
Rest assured, once I get a good grasp of Clunies I will be making more of this butterfly edging pattern, exactly as Ms. Niebach intended. It's a keeper!
10 comments:
Oh, joy! Misery adores a companion! Into the Valley of ...rode the six-hundred and they were all tatting clunies...
Just kidding..! I am so glad you have decided to tackle this and wrestle it to the ground till it cries for mercy! Obviously this is a very bellicose topic pour moi!
I have been at it for months and see a bit of improvement but it is sooooo slooooow. I keep trying the same patterns over and over to see how far I have come and the steps are teeny-tiny - however, the progress is there!
I love weaving the tallies - and rarely do a stitch before and after unless the pattern is specific. (Japanese ones are)
Good luck on the K2-Cluny Climb!
Your tatting is so lovely and precise, I am sure, if you have the will, you will be very successful with Cluny tatting.
Fox - still struggling on the slopes : )
You've done a beautiful job, they are lovely! You're way ahead of me - I haven't tried Clunies yet. I see such beautiful things made with Clunies yet a shy away from it. I'll watch your progress and maybe get up the courage to try it myself.
Yours is very pretty too. Love the colour of this new Lizbeth.
Good luck with your Clunies and I just love your Butterfly's they will look great in a book flitting across the top. Also did you get my email about meeting up next month?
Oh, thank you so much for this georgeous work. You can finish it with the thread left: use the shorter piece as core thread and tat without shuttle, with your hand, so you can finish the last piece of chain, 11 cm are sufficient.
I called this piece after my youngest daughter Gloria. You are right, some are named after friends and loved relatives.
I forgot, you can substitute the clunies with split rings!
Fox, you crack me up! I have been watching your Cluny Climb with great interest this summer. It is easy to forget that you have only been tatting for a short time, so swift has been your meteoric rise. Your progress is remarkable. Gotatsic even!
Tattrldy, I have been shying away from Clunies too -- but my desire to tat this butterfly edging overcame. We should try the pattern with split rings as Iris Niebach suggests.
Umintsuru, thanks so much!
Typstatting, yes, I did get your note and I can't wait to meet up with you! An email reply is coming.
Iris, thank you for your kind compliments! You deserve all the praise for designing this splendid edging!
I will try it with split rings, while I work on learning Cluny leaves. Why didn't I think of that? LOL!
Oh, you two are going to get me to trying clunies ~ after procrastination since 2007. I better 'get on it' because time is 'a wasting'. Ok, before the end of the year, I will give it a go.
I have a lovely little ivory (old) shuttle that seems to have been made for this task…narrow made, no hook and very slip slidy. Seems perfect.
And, I have it in my brain, and I have a good tutorial with pictures ~ so really NO EXCUSE; except intimidation.
xxxx BJ
Looks pretty cool - so you ran out of thread... at least you got as far as you did with what you had!
I admit, I hate tying on new threads...
I also admit that I love making cluny leaves - but find it much easier with the needle... I still have a ways to go til they get to looking really good, but it's still so much fun to practice them - I find it difficult to attach them in motifs.
Hello, my name is Lily, and I am a procrastinator on block tatting... *embarrassed grin*... I'm afraid to dip my toes in... yet *ashamed head hanging*
Just don't ever admit defeat - which I don't think you will ;-)
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