More Tatting for Klara

You may recall that in addition to the "Star Attraction" doily, I also decided to tat a cross for my great-aunt Klara. Here it is.

This is Mary Konior's "Large Cross" from Tatting with Visual Patterns. I really like this design. When you tat it in two colors, the chains emphasize the simple cross shape-- especially if you use a solid for the ball thread-- and the rings add decorative interest, while the lack of decorative picots keeps it from being too frilly.

I used Lizbeth colors 672 Burgundy and 168 Latte Foam. I especially like the very subtle color variations on the latter thread. I used size 20 because that was the size in which I had these two colors on hand, and it does make for a nice large, visible cross; it's 5 1/4 inches (13.5 cm) tall. I would have preferred size 40 if I had had it in the right colors, though. After working with so much size 80 on the doily, I really found the 20 difficult to work with; it hurt my fingers, and it was harder to keep my stitches even.

I've decided to mount and frame the two pieces using colors that will allow Klara to choose which one stays inside the room and which will be on the door. They definitely need something on the door to help John remember the right room. Their sofa is mostly cream-colored, with a pink and blue design as in the doily colors. There's not really much other blue in the room, but there are a lot of burgundy accents. Outside the door is a small corner shelf, where Klara has put an artificial flower arrangement in pink and burgundy. So I'm thinking I will mount the doily on a cream fabric with a burgundy mat (or possibly vice-versa). I'm undecided as to what color to mount the cross on. I really like the way it looks on this blue background, but pink would go better with the overall color scheme. Anyway, it will be a few days till I can get to Jo-Ann's to pick out fabrics; I'll just have to see what they have when I get there.