Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Round 3 Complete

Done yesterday during Tatting Tea Tuesday, after switching tea flavors. Hee, hee! Italian Chamomile soothed me through the ring re-opening. After a short blog surfing break (you guys always make me feel better) I switched to Lemon Ginger tea and worked the final stitches and end-hiding bits.

What do you think?



Tweaking...
Taking a cue from weavers, I think I will try pairing this wonderful HDT with black or a coordinating solid to bring out the beautiful colors.

Is it just me, or does the Sweet Heart get lost? Birgit's heart makes such a stable and attractive center. It just won't do to have it get lost in the kafuffle.

The gap between the bumps is not pronounced enough for my tastes either. I will rework the pattern to give it a deeper plunge.

A long, maybe even twisted picot connecting the bottom tip of round two to round three would be good too. Oh, the possibilities!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

A Heartbeat Away...



AUGH! It's frustrating to be so close and yet so far from completing this project. It is the project [original SweetHeart by Birgit Phelps, © 2003] I have been picking up (and putting down) since July.

The thread is Tatskool's lovely Rainbow Bright.

See that top ring there? The partially open one showing signs of an extended wrestling match? I am determined to reopen that ring. I have been working at it for over an hour now.

Not sure if my nerves or the thread will break first!

So it is time to unwind with a relaxing cup of Italian chamomile herbal tea and redirect my energies. Perhaps even write the instructions for round three and draw the diagram for this pattern.

UPDATE: Perseverence pays off! The ring is undone.

The jury is still out on whether this heart will have a pronounced enough gap between the bumps at the top, but I like the length of the point at the bottom. (That negative space around the tip is a bit floppy...some tweaking may be needed there.) And I'm not sure if the variegated thread is overpowering the design. Perhaps pairing it with a color-matched solid. Maybe black to lend a stained glass look?

Can you tell I'm one of those types who can go on indefinitely tweaking? LOL!

Moving on.

Sharon Briggs has said that once you start, you will find inspiration everywhere you look. Look at this surprising source of snowflake inspiration.


Image Source: Wegman's Garlic Naan
Tandoori Flat Bread Wrapper

Graceful little flake, isn't it? Because it is printed in a warm green, it reminds me of henna paste or an ivy plant. The dark green, bell-shaped bits could either be rings or Clunies. The dots could be joins or Josephine rings or nothing at all. The outlined edge could be large clovers or onion rings or dimpled rings or ...

Sharon, (if you are reading) you are a bona fide tatting genius!

Does this image inspire you? If so, please, please share. Would love to see where this leads you.

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