photo-finish

This month I've been really distracted by edgings, but I love tatting them so it was an easy distraction. My personal challenge to tat a bookmark per month, this time must be achieved with a ready-to-go pattern, nothing original. A new brand pattern requires at least 2 weeks for me, 1 (or 2) fully dedicated to find the inspiration and to test tatting, one week to tat the final "thing".

Also, if thread is Lizbeth size 80, I would need an extra dose of patience!

I finished it, just in time with the end of this month!! Now it should be ironed and captured!

Ciao,
Ninetta

3rd row for Priscilla

That is the "detailed" instruction for the third round of the Priscilla's hanky:
"Like 2d row, except that the insertion is put outside the row of wheels."

That 3rd row is tatted outside the row of wheels, while the 2nd was entirely inside. The instructions for the 2nd row were a sort of joke, so I puzzled over it a little before finding a solution for the 3rd.
We tatters of the third millennium, we have the power of technology, phones with camera and great apps! I folded what I'd already done in half, then took a shot:

Then, here I am, at this point:

That is at page 12 of Priscilla Tatting Book #1 (1909), picture 30.

Ciao,
Ninetta

I do.

Pattern is from a booklet "Selezione Tricot - Il Chiacchierino", but a very similar one it is at page 8 of Priscilla Tatting Book #1, fig.24 "trimming".

Ciao,
Ninetta

aunt's recipe

Have you ever asked her a recipe? Aunt's cookies are delicious, pasta has that special taste, but when you ask the recipe you're like starting a no-sense chat. "Take a glass of milk" - which size, how much milk? - "Handful of flour" - obviously you must know what her hand looks like - "a spoon of sugar for each glass of milk"... I lost years to catch recipes from my Italian aunts, it seems they have got food scales only as decorative objects.

Priscilla, class 1909, I think she was a sweet aunt, in fact her directions for tatting are as clear as the aunt's way to pass recipes on!

It says fasten a 2nd row (that is the inner insertion of rings) of rings 4-2-2-2-2-2-2-5 ??? Unbalanced? What? OK, you know it needed some test tatting. Then you should tat 4 little detached flowers with 4 petals of 6-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-6, to be placed at corners. "Make a row of insertion all the way around and put flowers in corners". OK aunt, I'll do it.

I tried two versions, then I think that rings should be 4-2-2-2-2-2-4:

Thread is dmc size 100, pattern is from Priscilla Tatting Book #1, page 12, picture 30.

It wasn't difficult tatting the flower in the corner without cutting the thread, just leaving the sufficient bare thread.
Technology helped to find a good placement:

Ciao,
Ninetta

quad_24 rescued

Thread is dmc size 70, pattern is a variation of quad_24, stitches' count is here: http://ninettacaruso.blogspot.it/2015/08/lazy-patterns-saga-quad24.html

I used the square flawed (can you spot it?), partially amended by Doctor Downplay, and took your advice to leave arms of the square not connected. It measures about 20 x 20 cm. It could be used as a rings' pillow but with something added in the center, I think, like some embroidery.

I copied from Priscilla's frame the solution used there, to connect all squares and half-squares together, with a final round of rings and chains.

We go often to the sanctuary of Saint Gabriel, near the Gran Sasso mountain. There is always a lot of people there, at any time of the year, but mostly busy during august, when a lot come from outside Italy, too, visiting relatives.

On the 2nd of march 2014 it was inaugurated a new big bronze door (by Paolo Annibali sculptor). It is 4 x 5 meters and they say that its weight is 6000 kilograms! There is a website for the sanctuary, but it's in italian: http://www.sangabriele.org/

"Porta degli emigrati" - door of emigrants

Ciao,
Ninetta

incomplete

I'm going to tat 4 little motifs for corners, as it is now it looks quite unfinished, isn't it?

Ciao,
Ninetta

priscilla's frame

Thread is dmc size 80, pattern is from Priscilla Tatting Book #2. It measures about 18x18 cm, a good size for a wedding rings' pillow. I didn't change the number of ds for the half-square, only added a chain of 6-3-3-3-3 to climb to the second round.

I love this frame, I like very much the pattern construction, that is making squares and half-squares separately, then link everything with a fast round of chains. Very clever and so simple.

delicious blackberries

Those delicious blackberries were in the "Parco del Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga": http://www.gransassolagapark.it/Eindex.php

Gran Sasso - the sleeping giant

Ciao,

Ninetta

upside down

That's a pattern I like tatting, it's funny that I tat it "upside down"!

I start with the scmr, then rotate and tat the ring/head with the same shuttle of the feet (that I called sh2). At this point, both shuttles are on the same side of previous arm/chain, so I turn the work from left to right and reverse all to prepare the position for tatting next chain.

But I need to rearrange threads, so: I pass under the head (its head! Not mine!) the shuttle coming from the core of the scmr, and I pass over its head the shuttle coming from the ring, that rotates.

Shuttles need to be switched to have the chains (arms) the same colour of the body.

Ciao,
Ninetta

solution

Mr. M was going to trash it, luckily Doc D is still here on holiday...

Ciao,
Ninetta

vintage thread

One of my aunts - you know I've got some... - gave me a dmc ball size 100, I've nice memories of her using that size for crochetting a collar, many years ago, I think about 40. Everything could be magic with that size of thread!

At page 12 of Priscilla Tatting Book #1 (1909), there is a beautiful edging, picture 30, I felt the urge to try it out with the tiny size 100 thread. I feel myself very vintage now!!

Ciao
Ninetta

spot the difference

Ciao,
Ninetta

lazy patterns' saga - quad_24

It's continuing the saga of my lazy way to share patterns!

Here it is the stitches' count for the square that's named "quad_24". Still in reserch of something to be used for a wedding rings' pillow, I've tatted again that square. I had forgot how it's easy to make mistakes with everything connected to the "mystery doily"! The first square I've tatted is a mess, no pictures, actually it wasn't tatting but a waltzer: two steps forward, one step back, retrotatting. I've not finished one after two hours!

A better photo than this one, it is in the set " granny squares" in flickr.

All short chains between rings are 3 ds. All little rings are 3-3-3-3, big rings are 9-5-9.
All long "S" chains are:
- coming from internal cluster of ring: 6ds, join to previous "S" chain, 6ds, normal picot, 6ds, lock join to last picot of previous ring, , reverse work, 3ds, normal picot, 7ds.
- coming from outside to internal cluster of rings: 7ds, join to previous "S" chain,3 ds, leave space for a picot, first half of ds, 1ds, reverse work, adjust last ds and do 5ds more, join to last picot of previous ring, 6ds, normal picot, 6ds.

Ciao,
Ninetta

Another false start?

I've had for a long time this booklet, there're lovely vintage patterns there, a lot of them I haven't tried yet.

 

That one has been started with a dmc size 70 thread, it's called "blossoms" and it would be perfect for an hanky... When - or if - I finish it. It's a time consuming pattern, even if it doesn't look so. It is a good project to be carried in the handbag for a holiday. Provided that hands could be washed often, with that white thread!

Similar design but with a slightly different stitches' count, it is at page 8 of Priscilla Tatting Book #1, fig.24 "trimming".

Ciao,
Ninetta

Saying sorry

I thought I needed your forgiveness from the last post, so please accept this one, that's is more like a serious way to offer a pattern!

Ciao,
Ninetta

Pattern for Priscilla's square

Ergh, actually it's only a photo with numbers on... I'm particularly lazy these days!

They wrote that it's two rounds but it could be done without cutting, just climbing up with two split rings.
Start from what I've highlighted with yellow, then climb where the light-blue is and continue all around.

I think this would be perfect for a wedding rings pillow, as I love the frame that's in the cover page of Priscilla Tatting Book #2.

Ciao,
Ninetta

Browsing Pinterest, I've just found this, it is the pattern for the frame, but the link for the origin of the picture it's not safe, be careful to not click on it.

http://pinterest.com/pin/315040936411843584/?utm_source=android_share

double frivolousness

That post is for you, Frivole!
In 2012 Yumatatter shared in a group her way to make a double tatting shuttle at home, I loved that idea so much that I tried to make one on my own, with what I had at home. So that's what I came to:

It was a fun, and it works too!!

Both photos were taken in 2012.

Ciao,
Ninetta