Day 2

Day two of Jane Eborall's tat it and see. I tend to think of split rings as having the same number of stitches on each side. Jane reminds me periodically that that aint necessarily so! Split rings can be tatted asymmetrically to change the direction of the tatting in marvellous ways.

Bouquet

I've made more fabric flowers, learning as I go. For one thing, small  pieces of fabric curl much more readily than larger pieces. I'm relieved about that, really - it implies that the blouses I made with those fabrics won't instantly disintegrate when I approach a fire!

The Right Amount of Frazzle

I've been racking my brains to think of a gift I could make for a young friend. She does beadwork herself, so I don't want to give her earrings or a bracelet. Light bulb moment - how about a flower like the one I made myself in November? First I checked that silk does shrivel in a candle flame. It does, so I could use the scraps of turquoise silk I have in my stash. I cut graduated circles from silk and organza, singed the edges of each piece in a candle flame and then put them together.

It didn't look right at all. I had another look at my red flower and realised that these pieces were too flat. Back to the candle flame. The trick is to get each piece to shrink and curl without destroying it entirely! Takes some practice. Finally I was happy enough with the curl to add beads to the centre to hold all the layers together and give a focal point. I think I may need to make a few more flowers to really get the hang of it.

The Fun Has Begun

 This is day 1 of Jane Eborall's tat it and see. Such fun to look at the TIAS blog to see all the versions that come in. There's a link to the blog on the left of this page - Tatting Patterns with the added fun factor.

 I'm still working on the drawn thread parts of my Schwalm embroidery. You can see that the circle in the middle is incomplete. The 'leaves' on the sides are worked in two different stitches. I don't know what they're called. I'm glad the teacher wrote the instructions down, because I don't know what to look for on the internet.

Easier

 I'm giving satin stitch a rest for a bit while I work on the drawn thread areas of my Schwalm embroidery. This reinforcing stitch boggles the mind a little as it is worked diagonally, but it's easier to sew than satin stitch. In the middle of the night I thought, 'What am I doing, putting pictures of such amateurish attempts on the internet for all to see?' The answer is that this is a record of what I'm doing, not a prescription for anyone else!

Practise, Practise

 Practice makes perfect, they say. I'm not really aiming for perfection, I just want to  improve my satin stitch. Going to need some more work before I can say it's acceptable.

The Story Continues

 When I posted a picture of my 11 crosses on In Tatters, Judy said she wished she could ask me to do the 15 that her sister-in-law wants. Batty Tatter suggested Judy 'put the word out' and see if 15 people would tat one and post it to her. Good idea. Here's my contribution, ready to be sent off today. It will be interesting to see the final gathering. This is Jane's Bookmark Cross by Grace Tan, there's a link on the right hand sidebar.