Fretting over Flop

Norma Benporath Lace Mat Tat-Along
Round 3 in progress

Having already griped over the liberal picots in this otherwise graceful design, I turn my attention to the really long chains in round three.

Nineteen tatters are listed on Jon's blog as participating in this tat-along.  Several of those tatters have already completed this project and posted their lovely results.

So why has no one mentioned their experiences tatting the long, floppy chains in round three? Surely I cannot be the only one to approach them with prejudice.

EDIT:  Oops, I stand corrected. Tat-ilicious Jess had a fair amount of success with tatting her chain stitches unflipped, using the second shuttle.  I will give that clever trick a try.

My dislike for long, floppy chains can be traced back to my participation in the 2009 Design_Tat online course. The class discussed my long floppy chains at length (see the picots?). It was a great learning experience.

Determined to overcome floppy chain syndrome, I reworked the assignment.  The "onion dome" shapes were lost in the process of retro-fitting stability into the design.

EDIT: Two bits of wisdom I took away from that particular lesson were "don't retro-fit stability into a design" and "designing takes patience and PERSEVERENCE."  I guess an unexpected thing I took away from that lesson was a (perhaps unhealthy?) dislike for long chains with regularly spaced picots.

Ever since, I have avoided long floppy chains, especially ones with lots of decorative picots.

But I digress!

If no one else was willing to tackle this issue, I was going to give it a try.  Substituting the Double Double Stitch didn't work because the resulting chain was too long. Adjusting the DDS stitch count was a bit problematic because of all those picots, so in the end I decided to just tat it as written and forget about stabilizing those floppy chains.

But I can't stand it. It is driving me crazy!

Those of you who have finished the doily, does your doily stand up to the flop test?

Gentle tatters, I ask for an open discussion of long, floppy chains.  Help me to learn how to use them advantageously and without prejudice.  Whaddya say? Will you weigh in on "flop?"

Lil' Black Border Revisited

Maybe because Jane from South Africa is tatting an edging?  Today I have been thinking about the Lil' Black Border pattern I learned to tat back in the 1980s.  (And a slew of other projects...)

Alas, too many tatting To Dos are already queued to start an edging. Unless, of course, it is Be-stitched's Tatted Holly Edging.

There is also Tatman's Back to School Apple, Gina Brummett's Gingerbread Boy, Yarnplayer's Small Maple Leaf earrings and a paperclip horse designed by Ineke Kuiperij.  (The design comes from her Chess Set booklet.) The paperclip horse was shared with the Palmetto Tatting group by Pam Freck, Katharine Buckner and Riet Surtel-Smeulders.

See what I mean about distractions?  *whine* But I have Norma Benporath's Lace Mat to finish. And at least one more charity project snowflake to complete before November 3^rd...

Hand-dyed threads (HDTs) are whispering too. 

• Karey Solomon's Hobbit (pictured left)
• Lady ShuttleMaker's Witches Brew 
• Yarnplayer's Sugar Maple
• Tatskool's Brackin Crunch 
• Tat-ilicious' (I have forgotten the name.)

It is not "4-Eva," not Fancy Fields, not Blue Tango...

All these HDTs are vying for attention. Oh, good grief!

Maybe I'll tat a football instead:  Tatman's Superbowl Shuttle & Pattern

Scheduling FAIL

Dear Readers,

I messed up a scheduled post last weekend and at least one eagle-eyed tatter (Michelle from Tela Magistrae) saw it go live for about 45 seconds. There may have been others...

When the scheduled post published yesterday, it failed to show up on blog rolls.  I am sorry for this inconvenience and hope you will scroll down a bit and check out the Tatting Tea Tuesday post.

Tatting Tea Tuesday - ♥ from Postie ♥

Ooh, it has been a good week for post.  Look at what my "Twistin' Postman" delivered.  And yes, he did ring twice.

New Tatting Bags and Shuttle Pouches
from Jane Eborall

Squeeeeeeeeeeeeee!  I just love, love, love these new bags! JaneE is so generous.  She even included one of the square tatting bags designed by Anne Bruvold. 

This fabric might not appeal to everyone, but I really fancy it. (bought it ages ago) It has been languishing in my stash closet waiting for the perfect project. Wouldn't you agree that this was it?

Size comparison

My original orange bag is starting to look worn from me taking it (literally) everywhere. The new, round bag is taller for those times when I am teaching and need to use a tatting needle. (Not very often, but it pays to be prepared.)

Not one, but TWO matching shuttle pouches

What a luxury to have matching accessories!  Two shuttles from my collection are included for scale.

The same shuttles at the bottom of the new tatting bag.  Don't they look small?  ツ

Of course, one very eager elf leapt right into the square bag for an impromptu game of hide and seek with his knitted pal, Arthur Dent.  Don't panic, Ciarrán, but he's getting closer...

Not sure if the giggles permeating my kitchen are of the tiny, elfin variety or from The Sprout.  Either way, we're greatly enjoying the parcel from across the pond!  Thank you, Jane!

---

But that's not all.  This box arrived two days later.  Just a little box...

But sometimes the best things come in small packages, as Ciarrán will attest.

Honey Drizzle, Elderberry Jam and a few other Lizbeth^®40 new Fall colors (not all of the them).

These will tide me over until the size 20 threads (and size 3) and new Aerlit^® shuttles arrive.

Hoping you have time to indulge in lace-making endeavors today and can enjoy a cuppa tea too.  See you next Tuesday for more communi-tea!

Two Novels: Ruinous Lace & Night Circus

I have been sitting on the fence about reading this new lacy novel, leaning one way and then the other; not quite ready to jump.  Reviews have been intriguing and so I lean forward, almost deciding to read.  Then I read between the lines of "point of view of the dog" comments and pull back, hesitating.

The Ruins of Lace, by Iris Anthony

I'm a dog lover and a sentimental. There are hints (inklings) in reviews that the dog portrayed in the novel may be mistreated.  If said canine is abused or worse, put to death, for the sake of lace, I will be emotionally wounded. Perhaps even scarred.

And so I checked out this book from the library instead:

The Night Circcus, by Erin Morgenstern

Whooo-boy!  Has it been a fantastic ride so far: imagine tripping down a magical lane with a rare Victorian Circus as the venue and two competing illusionists driving the plot.

**SPOILERS**
Having fallen under its spell, I worry that elements of parental cruelty found in early chapters of this book may ultimately lead me to or over the ruinous edge. The two illusionists are bound in a pact. Will they ultimately outwit and escape their fate? Or be doomed to a duel to the death?

The descriptive passages in this book are, to me, captivating and engrossing. Those who prefer dialog to description may not relish this book as much as I.  That said, it is a superb distraction from The Ruins of Lace, by Iris Anthony.

If you enjoy fantasy novels, I would say read the reviews and consider The Night Circus.

As for The Ruins of Lace, I'm still sitting on the fence. 

Calling all Pattern Sleuths SOLVED

Does anyone know the source for this heart pattern?  It looks so familiar...

Corazón perfumado
By Corazón Frívolo
http://www.flickr.com/photos/corazonfrivolo/5748222036/lightbox/

I have so far eliminated the following antique patterns sources from my search:

Antique Pattern Library:
 1.  Beeton, Isabella. Beeton's Book of Needlework, 1870 (the tatting chapters)
 2.  Beyer's Handwerkboeken Serie H. 40, Frivolité met Afbeeldingen., 1920
 3.  Bucilla Blue Book No. 3, Original Designs in Tatting, Novelty & Filet Crochet, 1916
 4.  Priscilla Tatting Book, 1909
 5.  Dillmont, Therese. de, D.M.C. Tatting, 1920
 6.  Endrucks-Leichtenstern, Eleonore.  Schiffchen-Spitzen, Die, 1920
 7.  Farnes, Emma. [B] Alphabets in Crochet & Tatting,
 8.  Fitch, Mary E. [4] Crocheted Yokes and Tatting, 1915
 9.  Hayden, Hazel. Round Yoke in Tatting, 1916
10. Hees, Marie Antoinette. Old and New Designs in Tatting, Book No. 5, 1916

Note:  Several of these antique pattern books include four-ring elements, but I have so far been unable to connect them to the ring-and-chain work seen in the heart sachet.

SOLVED!
Thank you to everyone who looked and thought and sleuthed along with me. Kathy Niklewicz commented that she could "'almost positively' say that it's Teri Dusenbury's very popular "Regal Heart" pattern from her "Hearts" book." And she was right! It is even pictured on the front cover.

Incidentally Kathy, I also tatted this heart back in the 1990s. I was intimidated by split rings and never attempted any of the other hearts from this book. (That's why it looked so familiar.)

Thank you, thank you for solving the mystery!  I am adding this pattern to my holiday ornament To-Do List, since it looks so sweet adorning a felt heart.  And I will add beads.  (Fox, you saw that coming, yes?)

Tatting Tea Tuesday: Motif 18 - Maple Leaf

A damp, Autumn chill descended upon my corner of Tat Land over the weekend.  After several gorgeous week days with temperatures in the 80s (30 degrees C) I was downright cold.

So I put the kettle on for some Chocolate Chai tea, donned my favorite Pashmina and set about tatting leaf samples for a Tat-Along being hosted at my local yarn shop (LYS) on October 14, 2012.

Motif 18 - Maple Leaf
Tatted by IsDihara 2012

The pattern is the Maple Leaf Motif from the February 1975 Workbasket which has been diagrammed and adapted by Tammy Rodgers to include a stem.

I have tatted it with Lizbeth^® 40 Falling Leaves #100 for the rings and Lizbeth^® 40 Victorian Red #670 for the chains. The stem is pearl tatted.  I quite like the look, but will add an extra core thread next time to give the appearance of a sturdier stem.

If your thoughts have turned to tatting leaves, there are loads of great patterns from which to choose.  Georgia Seitz has a great page pulled together, Notes on Designing Tatted Leaves.

Karey Solomon has a booklet for sale called "Tatting Turns over a New Leaf."

Jane Eborall shares her Beady Leaves on her online pattern pages.

Our dearly departed Tatting Goddess, Gina Brummett, posted this leafy image on her tatting blog on January 10, 2007, with the following words:

"A "delphinium" from Tatting Collage by Lindsay Rogers becomes a Christmas or Evergreen tree with green metallic embroidery floss."

Gina's leaves from October 31, 2010 (maples, oaks, celtic and miscellaneous, small leaves) are truly inspirational.

 

Wishing you all blissful me time to create something beautiful. See you next Tuesday for more communi-tea!