A Doodle

I wanted to go beyond the interlocking SCMRs that I learnt from God's Kid.  So here it is. I threw rings off the mock rings and then joined a second round to those thrown off rings. The thread is Coats, size 20. It's just a little doodle that measures 6 cm across.

I'm going away for three weeks. I've put the word verification onto the comments section to try to avoid being swamped by spam comments. I normally delete several a day. Over three weeks they could become overwhelming!

Flamenco Earrings

My husband said that the hyperbolic earrings reminded him of Flamenco dancers. So I did a pair in red and black to try to embody that idea.

More Hyperbolic Tatting

 The purple 'flower' was a bit floppy, so when I did the white one I kept my tension very tight and the picots very small, following Patty's advice.

I'm going to put Patty Dowden's PDF about Hyperbolic Tatting on my Keep-and-Share page and put a link on the sidebar here, so anyone who wants to know more about hyperbolic tatting can access it. It's currently only available on In Tatters, but Patty is happy to share with a wider world!

Sunflowers

 When we travelled east last week, we saw field and fields of sunflowers. Some of them were frazzled by drought, but some of them were beautiful.

Using my own pattern

 The good thing about writing a pattern out properly for others to use is that I can come back to an idea  without having to go through the design process all over again! I've long had the idea of doing a food cover with sunflowers on it. Now I need an anniversary present, the food cover will work well. I confess that not only did I have to look at my own pattern again,(link on the sidebar) I also had to consult Martha Ess's instructions about doing Maltese tatting to refresh my memory. Oh yes, I have it now....

Sea Wave Earrings

These are a hyperbolic chain, with beads added to the final row. The thread is Cebelia 20 that I dyed myself.
How about a Rainbow pair? The thread is Tatilicious Rainbow size 40.

Hyperbolic Tatting

 When I saw hyperbolic tatting on In Tatters, I thought, 'This I must try'. I downloaded Patty Dowden's PDF article about it and read it through. I have to say I'm not a mathematician, so I'm approaching this from a purely aesthetic viewpoint - I don't know exactly how it works, but I think it looks wonderful. Then I added beads:

The beads I used are a little too heavy for the thread, but even so, I love the result. It looks like a carnation. I'm still playing with the technique, but I'm counting it as number 16 of my 25 Motif Challenge.

Aha!

I take my hat off to God's Kid. She has found a way of tatting interlocking rings by using Self Closing Mock Rings (SCMR) instead of regular rings. And kindly made a tutorial  to show how it's done. Very easy, very effective, very clever. And of course, with SCMRs it's easy (even tempting!) to throw rings off the mock ring. Thus:

Thanks very much God's Kid, for sharing the idea and technique.

Finishing

It always takes me longer to finish off a knitting project than I expect. Even when it's a child's vest, knitted in one piece with very little sewing. I still have the front bands to finish, and i-cords to make for button loops. I'm using the circular needle simply because it's the one I used for the bottom rib band.

I won't be blogging again until Monday. Long weekend!

Scrap

 Just as well I am making progress on my knitting, because I'm  not making a lot of progress on mastering interlocking rings. I'm beginning to think that the method of putting the shuttle through the ring before closing it is easier than Kathy's method of closing the ring and then hooking the shuttle thread through.

Not quite

 At a quick glance, it may look as though I've cracked Kathy's method of doing interlocking rings. No. The last ring doesn't actually intersect with the first, in spite of my having unwound and rewound the shuttle and poked the thread where I thought it was supposed to go.  I think I've made progress in learning the process, though I can't say I feel confident yet. I'll keep at it.

For The Boy

 I've started knitting a vest for my grandson. He's sometimes known as The Boy, because he has three older sisters, who are, naturally, The Girls. The colour pattern is my own devising. I'm using a pattern called Seal Island by Amanad Scheuzger that I found on Ravelry for the shape. I really like the original, but it must be knitted in one colour. I have two colours of 'Pure New Wool' that I bought from a discontinued lines bin. According to my calculations, I should have just enough yarn for the vest, with nothing left over.

Rings and Flowers

 I haven't yet managed to grasp Kathy's method for tatting interlocking rings. The problem I'm having is getting the thread in the right place for tatting the third ring. I'll keep at it.

More successful is the jersey for my granddaughter, which I finished sewing together this morning:

Daisy and Butterfly

 This bookmark was designed by Ladytats. Pretty, isn't it? I've used it before for barefoot sandals, but this time I'm putting it to its intended use.

I don't think so

This is Flower Bookmark/Edging from Paradise Treasures. It is certainly flowery, but I don't think it's stable enough for a bookmark. I did it a few years ago, it looks wonderful stuck to a piece of paper, but I've decided against using it for the competition.

A Knitted Flower

 I'm knitting 'Lace Sweater' designed by Zoe Mellor, for my granddaughter. I found the pattern on Ravelry, but had to register with Rowan before I could download it. That was a mission. For one thing, I had to create a complicated password, with capital and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols. Why? I was looking for a free knitting pattern, not opening a bank account. I only persisted because I really, really wanted the pattern! 'Lace Sweater' doesn't really seem an appropriate name to me, though it does have lace at the bottom edges:

The lace will need to be blocked before it shows up well. I'm pleased with how the jersey is turning out, now that I have managed to download the pattern.

Morning Glory

Yesterday Tatknot gave this bookmark pattern in celebration of International Tatting Day. Sweet, isn't it? I love how Tatilicious rainbow thread looks in Victorian sets. Actually, the pattern uses a spiral cord, but I like Victorian sets. Thanks for the pattern Eliz.