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Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Tatting Tea Tuesday: Feelish Sheepish

There was much gnashing of teeth this past week as I vainly tatted, picked out, re-tatted, picked out again, re-tatted again...(repeat this cycle several more times) the Valiere Square.

What started as a simple tat to celebrate summer has turned into a real groaner for the old grey spaghetti.

Forgive me, for I have been stupid
Maybe my brain went on vacation. (Can the mind play tricks in absentia?)

Why wasn't it working?

Valiere Square, round 2


Is Stupidity Contageous?
Round two of the Valiere Square consists of simple five-picot chains that connect around round one. There was even a handy note about joining two picots together in one join. Easy peasy.

But when I tatted it, the motif cupped around my index finger like a perfect little thimble.

(See my error yet? Oh, what a staggering blend of hubris and idiocy. Not reading the directions carefully leads to this kind of carelessness every time.)

Second try (8 picots = 18 stitches) was much better, but it still curved in on itself a bit.

Third try (10 picots = 22 stitches) lies perfectly flat. Sweet success! Right?

Nope. See anything different about my motif, compared to the pattern image?  Let me show you the two images together:

Valiere Square with inset image


See it now? D'oh!

Can you believe for a WEEK I have been fussing over this pattern, never realizing that I only joined to HALF the connection points? The answer was right there, in the photo, in the stitch counts (i.e. the math), right there all the time.

Boy, do I feel sheepish!

Anyone know of a brain restorative tea that I can drink between now and next Tuesday?

14 comments:

  1. Can't help with the tea but I can send you brain cell # 3 over for a while. Any use to you?

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  2. That ice cream must be cold - I think you suffered a brain freeze! :) You'll be cookin' when you try it again though.

    If you DO hear of a good brain tea, let me know. I'll need some bags to keep with me at all times...

    :) Ann

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  3. I think it's something in the air. I scanned something I found today in the kitchen that I tatted ages ago, so long ago I don't even remember, and I wondered why it was laying THERE. I'll post about it later.

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  4. Sorry, can't think of anything that helps with that except maybe stepping away and doing something else for awhile. I feel for you - I just made the center of motif wrong, started over and did the exact same thing again. I decided I needed to do other things for awhile.

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  5. Oh Gee, I didn't see that either. I guess that's why it won't work!

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  6. We all have days like that, it still looks good though,you can pretend that you created a new Motif.

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  7. ...yanno! If you tatted a ice cream cone that Valiere Square of yours (the goofy one) would make a lovely scoop for that cone!!!!

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  8. You are just being too hard on yourself. Do you really think none of us runs into similar problems??... We do, we absolutely do, but most of us just do not admit in public. Hoera for you! Gedeelde smart is halve smart, which means: sharing problems eases the pain.. Take a deep breath and continue.. you are doing great! Ingrid

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  9. oi, sou do brasil,amei seus trabalhos, gostaria de aprender alguma coisa,tem como me ensinar passo a passo ?so para ter uma ideia de como fazer.voce não usa agulha de croche! o que é aquilo de usa?como chama aquelas coisas que usa para fazer os trabalhos? amei, amei, amei. beijos.

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  10. Repeat after me, "It's not a mistake, it's a design variation." I can see a few of these, tied together at the bottom to make a pansy like 3D flower.

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  11. lol - you sound like me on the tatting endeavors. Don't worry, now that you know - you'll get it next time!


    Try Green Tea! (it's rich in antioxidants, so if nothing else, it's good for the body!)

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  12. I missed this one! I LOVE IT! This is what I do ALL the time - more than you can imagine!

    I can only say that if you only act this one out once in a while, you are truly blessed!
    ♥Fox : ))

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  13. Based on the wiget in your sidebar, I am assuming you are pregnant. My husband used to say I had PMS when I was pregnant. Pregnant Mind Syndrome because I had the hardest time remembering things or focusing!

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