The Smaller Project

In my last post, I mentioned that there was a smaller project I wanted to tat before I start the last round of the doily. Here's the story. Many years ago, a group of local harpists, myself included, decided that all music stands that are practical to take with you from your home to a gig are completely hideous. The plain black Manhasset stands that are standard for orchestras look just fine, but they are too clunky to bring with you easily(orchestras just store them in their performance space), especially when you also have to carry a harp around. There are a variety of portable music stands that work really well, and all of them are ugly, in our collective opinion. A seamstress in the group therefore devised a cloth drape that can be hung over the music stand and make it look nice.

I've had a few of these drapes over the years. I recently realized that the problem I had with all of them was that they were velvet or velveteen, and no matter how I stored them it was impossible to keep the cat hair off of them. Now, I'm sure we can all agree that there can be no finer adornment than His Lordship's beautiful and elegant fur. Nonetheless, one does occasionally wish to decorate with something else. So I asked the above-mentioned seamstress to make me a drape in satin, and she did. It is currently just plain black satin (and much in need of ironing, but that's my own fault), but it will soon be adorned with tatting.

This is the Square Elegance motif by Frivole. She particularly likes square motifs, and I particularly like squares "on point", so I chose this one for the music stand drape. The thread is Lizbeth color 605 Silver (which is really a light gray). The doodad in the center has Swarovski crystals on it. They look turquoise in this photo, but they are really clear; they just refract the light in such a way that they occasionally look this color, and sometimes purple. But mostly they just look colorless and sparkly. The idea is to have something that will look elegant but not over the top, and go with whatever decor happens to be at the gig.

I apologize that this is not a good photo (did I mention the drape needs ironing?), but it gives a rough idea of what it will look like sewn down. I also plan to make an edging along the bottom. I think that the beads in the edging, along with the doodad in the motif, will add a little weight to make the drape hang really nicely.

I only need about two feet of edging, so it shouldn't take too long. Then it will be back to the doily. Oh, and don't forget the TIAS!