Done, Almost

Did you ever enjoy working on a project, but at the same time been so tired of it you couldn't wait to be done?  Here it is, in size 80 thread coming in at 10 1/2 inches, a little wider than my scanner bed.  Judging from my motif last time, I estimate it would be around 14 inches or more in size 40.  

Now, to finish.  I need to clip off the thread ends.  I worked in the ends as I went along, but I left long tails to prevent the chance of pulling out the ends in the stretching/blocking process.  That's not usually a worry, but with these tiny rings, there weren't a lot of stitches to work the ends into.

Oh, and to get this written into modern notation, which was the point to begin with.

Wiosna Round 4 and a Revelation

Here is Round 4 on Renulek's current doily.  I elected to SLT before and after each rosette, so that I could work with one shuttle and a ball.  In size 80, it is now approximately 5 1/2 inches across.

Yes, I know everyone else is already on Round 5.  I'll catch up eventually.  Maybe.  One could stop at this point and have a nice little doily, but I have lots of thread left, so I'm going on.

At one point, I discovered a Dreadful Mistake, where I had left out the single ring between rosettes.  The mistake was 7 rings back when I noticed, and that was too many rings to open and pick out.  I was pondering where to make the cut for the best place for working in 4 loose ends, when I realized that wasn't necessary.  I carefully snipped near the base of the rings, and teased out the core thread of the chains, and I was able to leave the green thread intact and wind it back on the ball.  Just 2 thread ends were much easier to hide without a lump.

Wiosna 2015

I've decided to join Fox, Umi&Tsuru, and who knows how many others in making Renulek's 2015 doily.  Each year(?) she shares a large doily pattern, giving out a round at a time.  I really admire her work and love the way she takes traditional elements and puts them together.  Watch her blog HERE for updates.  I've been checking it compulsively, hoping the instructions for the next round will appear.  The instructions are in the form of a clear picture, with the stitch count numbers added in.  You have to be able to tell when to reverse work or switch shuttles, etc., so maybe not for beginners.  And don't be intimidated by the language. There's a translate key on the upper left that works very well.

Here are the first two rounds, a bit crumpled up from being stuffed in the baggie with the balls of thread.  As always, I start a doily with high hopes and great anticipation.  Unfortunately, my ratio of doilies started and doilies finished is not very good.  The last two times, my thread choice was to blame: balls of thread that look good together, but the colors in the actual tatting not working well at all; and then mixing different manufacturers' threads which turned out to be not quite the same size.  Most often, it's just my rotten attention span though.  I'll work in those ends once I remember where I left my needles.

Don't forget, the deadline for teacher's applications for Palmetto TatDays is fast approaching!

Amanda by Iris, and the End of a Challenge

This is the Amanda doily from Iris Niebach's book Tatted Doilies.  Iris is a designer I truly admire.  She has such distinctive style you can usually know a design is hers just by glancing at it.  Reading over the pattern before beginning was confusing at first, until I realized that the first repeat was worked differently than the rest.  By doing that, she had cleverly arranged the sequence so that it could be worked all in one pass.  The long chains were a bit challenging, but over all it was a delight to make.  It measures about  7 1/2 inches across in size 30 thread.  This is another of the books from Akacia press, which I have recommended before.

I've counted up and decided that this makes the end of my current 25 Motif Challenge.  When Sharon proposed the challenge, the rule was simply to make any 25 motifs within a year, but some of us have given ourselves additional constraints to make it more, um, challenging.  My challenge this time was to count only motifs from the books on my shelf, since some of them go too long without being opened.  I'm sure I took more than a year, but I have reached 25 at last.  When I reach the end of a challenge, the only thing to do is to start another.  Next time I will do vintage patterns from before 1925.

Happy New Year

Anemone Almost Done

A week or two ago I almost finished this doily, "Anemone Nemorosa" by Iris Neibach. It is in her book Tatting Fantasia 2. I was drawn to it because I had not made an oval doily before.

I say almost finished. I have made all the stitches and worked in all the ends, and even performed a bit of surgery to repair a mistake noticed much too late. What I lack is blocking it so it will lay nice and flat so it may be fully appreciated. I've got a styrofoam board and some rust-proof pins. What I lack is the time. I think I will put it away until after the move.

Even with a four day weekend, I did not finish stripping the wall paper in the master bedroom. In my defense, I did not get to start until after lunch every day. We did get quite a lot of other things accomplished, though.