"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

Thursday, January 12, 2012

A Galaxy!

Well, I guess five stars don't really make a galaxy, do they? Close enough.


Sorry about the grotty background color; it was the best I could find to show all of the threads equally well. The two on top are size 50, in "Pear Glace" by LadyShuttleMaker and "Sue's Blues" by Yarnplayer. The three on the bottom are size 40, in Yarnplayer's "Elf", Krystledawne's "Fairy Faint", and "Wine Berry", also by Krystle.

The pattern is Julie Patterson's Christmas Snowflake Star. It is a really fun pattern to make, challenging enough to make it interesting, but small enough to tat in an evening.

On the three tatted in "Sue's Blues", "Elf", and "Wine Berry", I shamelessly stole Fox's idea of using JK's instead of regular rings off the SCMR's. For the other two I stuck with regular rings. To be honest, it probably doesn't make that much difference to the untrained eye.

My regular readers will know that with larger pieces, I prefer to block properly using pins and water. With small pieces like this, I don't find blocking necessary; instead, I do like Fox does and just press them under a weight until they lie flat. Specifically, the weight I use is Squijum. For some reason, he likes to sit on the scanner lid; so after scanning the tatted items, I just leave them on the scanner with the lid closed (I do take out the colored background paper, just in case the color rubs off) and wait for the 11.7 pound tiger to do his job. After a couple of days of this, the tatting is perfectly flat.

4 comments:

  1. Those are all so wonderful!!! I love all the beautiful colors too! :)

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  2. Squijuum,
    I know you are doing your best, buddy, but sitting on the scanner is not really helping her - not much motivation in that, my friend! My guess is that she really actually believes you don't know what you are doing!

    Get your paw under the scanner lid, hook the thing she put there, carry it to your bed and after a good chew lie on it. She will be much more motivated.
    Gian

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  3. I like that pattern a lot and you have made me want to tat it again! Your variations are lovely, and you are right - no one but a tatter would see the difference between rings or JK's.

    Love all the pretty threads...
    Fox : )

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  4. Gian,

    Your idea is quite sound, but unfortunately unfeasible. She's got the scanner sitting on a stand that is too small for me to get on without being on top of the scanner itself; thus it is impossible for me to open the lid (although I will have you know that I am quite adept at opening cabinets and drawers). Don't worry, though, I get my revenge when she decides to photograph the tatting instead of scanning it.

    Squijum

    ReplyDelete