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!
