"But, really, why does anyone create? You feel a... a restlessness inside, a need to make something new, something no one has ever seen before. You want to add to the beauty and the richness of the world with a gift, an offering that is uniquely yours. It's an act of selfishness and generosity, all rolled into one."

-- Bruce Coville, The Last Hunt

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Don't Let Fear Rule Your Tatting!

Motif 49 from The Tatted Artistry of Teiko Fujito, done in Lizbeth size 80, colors 632 Medium Purple, 663 Bright Turquoise Dark, and 604 Black. It measures about 4 inches (10 cm) in diameter.

I managed not to destroy it this time around. I did make one tiny little mistake, though. Can you spot it? It's such a little thing that I think I'm OK with it and won't have to re-do that section. I think.

When I first showed the picture of restarting this motif, here, several people commented that it looked intimidating because it required three shuttles. I want to point out that it's really no different from any other tatting, because you only work with two shuttles at a time.


Here you see that the black thread is completely out of the way, and you're just working with the purple and turquoise.


This shows where you are right before you change colors. At this point, I have reversed work to put the black thread in working position. The turquoise thread will be dropped.


Leave a short space of unworked black thread before making the first black stitch. Then continue working with just the black and purple shuttles until it's time to switch back to turquoise.

See, it's not complicated at all. So don't be afraid of things that look out of the ordinary. Analyze the pattern and the picture, and you'll probably find that you can do it quite easily.
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6 comments:

  1. Tat-a-RendaApril 9, 2011 at 10:23 AM

    Lovely. Great colour combination in the threads that you chose.

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  2. zarinaApril 9, 2011 at 10:36 AM

    You are so right. For the past three months of 2011, I have overcome my fears and done some doilies which I would not in the first place.

    Now I just need to try the magic thread method for finishing which YarnPlayer just posted. Its a bit too late since I just finished one earlier this afternoon but I still have two bookmarks I need to make later after I done some hand embroidery.

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  3. FoxApril 9, 2011 at 3:58 PM

    Miranda, it is wonderful! Beautifully tatted.

    Tee-hee! I did spot the boo boo, but only because you asked if we could find it. The extra picots are NOT seen at all. I would NEVER have noticed. Why do we all insist on pointing out our minor flaws? Tatters must stop and desist!
    Fox : )

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  4. God's KidApril 9, 2011 at 5:07 PM

    That looks so great! :)

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  5. MirandaApril 9, 2011 at 5:25 PM

    Fox, you're absolutely right. I am constantly trying to become less of a perfectionist. But the thing is, I like symmetry. I like asymmetry, too, but only if it's intentional. I am trying to convince myself that this is OK, because I know that it really isn't noticeable.

    ReplyDelete
  6. JBApril 9, 2011 at 7:16 PM

    It's lovely. It does look complicated--but worth all the time it too.

    ReplyDelete

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