Endless Hearts finger rings

 These are included in the pattern for the Endless Hearts Braid with Corner. I just didn't want them to slip by unnoticed. 😉

The red & yellow ring is made with Lizbeth Size 20 (Christmas Red, Honey Drizzle), and the black & "stained glass" ring is made with Lizbeth Size 40 (Black, Ocean Sunset), with my Tiny Trefoil Heart pattern (see under "My Patterns").

Endless Hearts Braid with Corner

 

This is a pattern I was working on quite intensely, in early 2013. In response to a request, I even created an SCMR corner for it. 

But then I stalled, because it was so onerous to tat! I needed two paper clips as strivers for every repeat of the pattern – they went on, then off, then on, then off, over and over again. 

When it came to describing how to tat it – well, that was even more hideous! I took pictures for a tutorial, then realised that I still needed to write long and convoluted sentences about joining to the undersides of chains…

So, I just gave up – though I did go on to write up and publish other patterns using the little hearts (see under "My patterns").

But, in July, Muskaan shared about the Intruding Picot. I saw at once that maybe this picot could replace those pesky paper clips. So I dusted off my Endless Hearts samples and scribbles and started experimenting with it again. I eventually stumbled on a join that was new to me – I call it the Encapsulating Picot Join. That solved most of my problems, and I was able to tat the Endless Hearts without strivers or tears, and then to write it up and draw diagrams for it.

And now, after extensive test-tatting and rewrites, here it is at last!

My test tatters made many suggestions, reflecting a great array of tatting styles! I wasn't able to use them all, but I have compiled them in the next blog post, so that you can try them out, if you wish.

3D Christmas Tree Earrings - updated barely in time for St. Patrick's Day! ;-)

Yes, I finally had time to tweak my pattern — you can download it here. Many thanks to Muskaan for test-tatting my pattern, and for her very helpful and detailed comments on it. If you check out her test-tatting blogpost, you'll see her 3D tatted tree trunk for these earrings. I intend to try that out for my next pair!

Here are a couple more pictures of the earrings. The one in off-white is actually a prototype, and the one with the square beads at the base I tatted for myself — managed to finish them just in time for a party on Christmas Day!

3D Christmas Tree Earrings: Prototype with blue base bead

3D Christmas Tree Earrings for myself

Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone who celebrates it! If you feel like tatting today, you can check out my Trefoil Hearts Shamrock in the Patterns section.

Better late than never — the pattern for the Dagmar Cross

In April 2013, the Danish Tatting Association sent out a call for tatting designs. They were celebrating their 20th anniversary, and they wanted to put out a commemorative issue with new designs. I heard about this through Craftree/InTatters (here's the discussion thread). I decided to try doing something for them.

I cogitated for a while. I felt I ought to design something Danish. The first thing that occurred to me was a Viking longship. But I felt it ought to be 3-D, and I didn't feel up to tatting that. Then I thought about Hans Christian Anderson's fairy tales. Swan? No, that had been done. Mermaid? That had been done, too. Tin soldier? Yeah, he was steadfast, but he didn't seem compelling. Then I thought that, just as there was a Celtic cross, there might well be a Danish cross. I Googled "Danish cross", and found the Dagmar Cross (have a look at it here — scroll down to see a picture of the original two-sided Dagmar Cross and read its story).

So I designed a tatted version of the side with the five medallions. And here is how my design looks:


I submitted this pattern to the Danish Tatting Association in July 2013, in good time for them to include it in the December 2013 20th anniversary edition of their magazine, Orkis Bladet.

After that, with their permission, I started getting the pattern ready for publication on this website. I did the instructions and the diagrams and got them test-tatted. And then... well, I didn't like the tatted models I had. One (the green and pink) was in Milford Mercer thread, which is rather sticky. When I retatted it in better Lizbeth thread (Herbal Garden and Autumn Spice) the ring sizes came out a bit different. But then, I didn't use flat colours for the Lizbeth model, so the construction of the cross wasn't so clear. I thought I ought to tat another model. But — I will confess to you — this pattern was no fun to tat! And none of the flat colours I had seemed right, anyway. So I kept putting this task off, since there were lots of other things that were more fun to do.

But, tonight, I finally looked at my pattern again. It's really all right! The instructions are test-tatted; they are clear enough, and mistakes have been fixed. My two models do show quite well how the cross should look. So why am I making such a fuss? It's not perfect, but it will do.  So, all I did tonight was to add the watermarks to the pictures and diagrams, and at long last, HERE IT IS. :-)

Japanese twisted clover doily by Sumi Fujishige

Here I am, after a break of almost a year. I will try to fill out all the things I promised to show you - or at least some of them!

So, item 1 - Japanese doily. This is Doily 11 in Tatting Lace by Sumi Fujishige. She has at least one other book with the same title, but this is the one with the biggish doily on the cover. Here's a listing for it.

Doily 11, Tatting Lace by Sumi Fujishige

This doily is very pretty, and it grows quite fast. That's why I decided to tat it as a gift for my friend's mother. However, it proved tougher to do than I expected.

First problem — it really ruffles a lot!

Rounds 1 & 2

Actually, I had problems in Round 1. The clovers were quite squashed together. Never mind, I said, it will flatten out in Round 2. Well, it didn't …

Round 3 in progress

 Round 3 didn't fix it  either; it seemed even worse …

Rounds 1, 2 & 3 done

Yes, I am really impressed at the ruffling…

So, for the first time, I blocked a doily while it was still in progress.

Being blocked after Round 3

Did that fix it? Not really; the succeeding rounds were still ruffling…

Ruffling after Round 5

Ruffling after completing the doily

 So of course I blocked it after I finished the six rounds of the doily. Then it finally lay flat!

The finished doily after blocking

So then I rolled it into a tube with wrapping paper, and it went into my suitcase, and it travelled all the way from Singapore to Ecuador, then right across South America, and finally, in Buenos Aires, I presented it to my friend's mother, as a thank-you for hosting us. To my relief, it was still flat! She put it into her drawer of treasures, with her pieces of beautiful linen. And I fervently hope it's not ruffling up as it lies there quietly…

If I were to do this doily again, I wonder how I would reduce the ruffling. Was the ruffling so bad because there were too many clovers for the diameter of each round? Should I make the chains in the clover rounds a bit longer, then? I'd be interested in your ideas.

Second problem — the twist in the clovers 

The instructions show how the twist in the necks of the clovers is done — first you tat the chain after the clover, then you pass the shuttle through the window made by the previous chain and, voila, there's the twist. Ms. Fujishige used Size 10 thread and a Clover shuttle. I had some Size 10 thread, but it felt coarse and I hated tatting with it, so I switched to Lizbeth Size 20. But then the shuttle was too fat to pass through the window!

So I said, ok, I will twist the clover inside and through that window, tat the chain, then untwist the clover. But that didn't work very well. I ended up putting too many twists on the neck, and they didn't sit very well, and I couldn't seem to make them look consistent. I realised that I needed Celtic shuttles. I had a regular Celtic shuttle (shaped like a post shuttle, but longer and narrower), but that wasn't narrow enough. Then I tried the super-narrow Celtic shuttles made by Tony and Patty Dowden (e.g., here). These were certainly narrow enough — but I found them a bit annoying to use. Either I had to do a half-hitch of the thread on one tip and then it didn't unwind nicely, or I didn't do the half-hitch and then it would unwind every time I dropped the shuttle. I had never noticed before how often I drop the shuttle!

But, I finally solved the problem by making my own shuttles out of a laundry detergent jug. That will be the subject of my next post…

My completed Renulek Spring 2014 Napkin; how I chose my colours

On 7 September, I was able to borrow my brother-in-law's camera and take a good picture of my completed, blocked Renulek Spring 2014 Napkin in natural daylight, and do some justice to the colours of the threads. Here it is at last! :-)

Renulek Spring 2014 Napkin, finished and blocked

It's 17 inches (or 43 cm) across after blocking. I feel really proud of it, of course, and I'm just sorry that there isn't any state fair in Singapore where I can enter it and have it displayed. Anyway, I have submitted it in an online competition. :-)

Several people have said that they really like the colours I used. I have listed them in my previous posts; here I will just tell how I came to have this colour scheme. There was a tat-along for this doily on InTatters earlier this year. I was watching as the other members tatted each round of this doily in various lovely colour combinations. I was at that time working on the Victorian Trellis Doily (in cream only), but finally I caved in and decided to join, and went to look at my thread stash and choose colours. So, I didn't buy any new thread — all the colours I used, I already had.

I should mention that, shortly before this, the Tatting Designers Online Class had discussed basic colour theory. Our instructor, Susan K. Fuller, showed us colour wheels at various websites, and we looked at complementary (i.e., contrasting) and analogic (i.e., similar) colour schemes. We talked about warm and cool colours, intense and dull colours. In particular, I remember learning that yellow was a very powerful colour.

I also already knew that it's quite easy to overwhelm the design of a doily by using variegated colours that are too strong — as exemplified in this post by Jon Yusoff. I thought, I'm not very brave, I'll probably go with analogic colour combinations.

So, with all this in my mind, I put my balls of Lizbeth 40 side by side and looked at them. I had a vague idea that I wanted to create an impression of flowers on a background of leaves. Somehow I decided on Butterfly Breeze and Pineapple Parfait for Round 1. I think I picked Pineapple Parfait because I thought of Round 1 as a flower, and a flower ought to have a yellow centre. I had a few other colours shortlisted, but nothing firmly decided for the rest of the doily.

So, after tatting Round 1, I wanted some blue flowers for Round 2. Enter Arctic Waters. Blue flowers with yellow centres — Pineapple Parfait again.

In Round 3, I meant to start introducing Leafy Green. But, as I wrote in this blog post, I changed my mind. I realised that I had to use Pineapple Parfait yet again to make the flowers in Round 3 pop forward.

At that point, I realised that Pineapple Parfait was the powerful yellow foundation for the colour scheme of my doily. I decided to use it only for the rounds that seemed like flowers. At that time, that was only Round 8 — Renulek had not yet come out with the final rounds. But when I saw her Rounds 12 and 13, I knew that they needed to be partially or completely yellow, too. For the rounds that seemed more like leaves and vines, I planned to use green threads, but combine them with variegated threads to suggest little blossoms among the vines.

Round 4 needed to be a more receding colour combination than Round 3. Which green? I decided on Spring Green. It's weak compared to yellow, but it's a little stronger, more forthcoming and more spring-y than Leafy Greens. I had found out in Round 3 that Butterfly Breeze was not as strong as Fruit Fizz — so I now used it in Round 4.  I finally introduced Leafy Greens in Round 5, which I wanted to be still more receding than Round 4.

At about Round 5, I decided that six colourways was enough! I would not introduce more. So, Pineapple Parfait to accentuate flower centres or other important parts of the design. Three colourways for flower petals — Butterfly Breeze, Arctic Waters and Fruit Fizz. Two greens to give some variety to the cooler parts of the pattern — Spring Green and Leafy Greens. Also, I would try not to use the same colours for petals and leaves in successive rounds, but alternate between them.

That was my overall plan, but I didn't decide for sure on the colours for each round until I had finished the previous round and could look at the whole doily as it grew. For the final round, I was very tempted to introduce a seventh colourway — something with yellow and pink/red, for the edges of the big yellow flower petals of Rounds 12 and 13. I had a ball of Tropical Fruit Punch, and I matched it with my Pineapple Parfait. But then I realised that Butterfly Breeze also had yellow and pink. It was also particularly nice to finish Round 13 with the same colours that I had started with in Round 1.

I knew I was breaking the rules for colours in doilies — I had way too many! I would swamp the design! I kept wondering whether my experiment would work out. Would the design of the doily be clear? Or would it be a garish mess?

Now that it's done, I think I can declare the experiment a success! :-D I can see a few reasons for that:

1. Three of my variegates are analogic colour combinations. That is, Pineapple Parfait is a combination of yellows, Arctic Waters a combination of blues, and Leafy Greens a combination of greens.
2. Except for Pineapple Parfait, each colourway marched in only one round, then was switched out. This kept the multicolour variegated colourways (Butterfly Breeze and Fruit Fizz) from swamping the design.
3. Both my multicolour variegates have yellow or orange as one of their colours. This gave them some harmony with Pineapple Parfait when I combined them.
4. I had an overall intention — Spring Flowers — for the scheme of colours and the impression I was going for.

Lessons for future doilies? I think the main one is, use the stronger, 'popping forward' colours for the parts of a doily that you want to emphasise, and the duller, more receding colours for the parts of the doily that are more like background. I'm using this principle in the much more muted colour scheme I'm using for Jan Stawasz's Moje Robótki 8/2007 Big Doily. Also, look at the design of a doily and have an idea why you want to use a colour in this or that place. Also, yellow rules!

And finally… with perseverance, and good company on the journey — Yes, I CAN finish a big doily! :-D

Renulek Spring 2014 Napkin - it's finished!

I finished tatting the Renulek Spring 2014 Napkin tonight! :-D

Renulek Spring 2014 Napkin — 13 rounds complete!

I'm going to block it, then find someone to take a really good picture of it in natural daylight. But I just had to show it to you all!

The pattern can be found here:  http://renulek.blogspot.sg/search/label/serwetka%20WIOSNA2014
Keep scrolling down to get all the posts with the instructions.

Colours for Renulek Spring 2014 Napkin (thread is Lizbeth Size 40):

Round 1: Pineapple Parfait and Butterfly Breeze

Round 2: Pineapple Parfait and Arctic Waters

Round 3: Pineapple Parfait and Fruit Fizz
Round 4: Spring Green and Butterfly Breeze
Round 5: Leafy Greens and Arctic Waters
Round 6: Leafy Greens and Butterfly Breeze
Round 7: Spring Green and Fruit Fizz
Round 8: Pineapple Parfait and Arctic Waters
Round 9: Leafy Greens and Butterfly Breeze
Round 10: Spring Green and Fruit Fizz
Round 11: Spring Green and Arctic Waters
Round 12: Pineapple Parfait
Round 13: Pineapple Parfait and Butterfly Breeze

Renulek Spring 2014 Napkin - on the final round now!

I finished Round 12 of Renulek's Spring 2014 Napkin (see her posts for all the rounds here) on 29 July or so. I've been busy, so I've been slow to put it on my blog. But here it is:

Renulek Spring 2014 Napkin, Round 12 complete

Renulek Spring 2014 Napkin, Round 12 section

In fact, I'm already almost halfway through Round 13. The final round! :-) I'm using Pineapple Parfait and Butterfly Breeze — the same as for Round 1. My idea is that there are really big yellow flowers round the edge of the doily, with a bit of pastel frill to soften them. This is just a quick picture; the doily is pretty rumpled:

Renulek Spring 2014 Napkin, Round 13 in progress

Being keen to finish this doily, I've slowed down on Jan Stawasz's big Moje Robótki doily. I'm still only on the fourth rosette of Round V - not much new to show. 

Also, I've started a third doily all in white Lizbeth Size 20, for a friend's mother. Since it will be a surprise, I don't want to show it here either. All in good time… :-) 

Colours for Renulek Spring 2014 Napkin (thread is Lizbeth Size 40):

Round 1: Pineapple Parfait and Butterfly Breeze

Round 2: Pineapple Parfait and Arctic Waters

Round 3: Pineapple Parfait and Fruit Fizz
Round 4: Spring Green and Butterfly Breeze
Round 5: Leafy Greens and Arctic Waters
Round 6: Leafy Greens and Butterfly Breeze
Round 7: Spring Green and Fruit Fizz
Round 8: Pineapple Parfait and Arctic Waters
Round 9: Leafy Greens and Butterfly Breeze
Round 10: Spring Green and Fruit Fizz
Round 11: Spring Green and Arctic Waters
Round 12: Pineapple Parfait
Round 13: Pineapple Parfait and Butterfly Breeze

Progress on Renulek Spring 2014 Napkin — Round 12 now!

I've finished Round 11 of the Renulek 2014 Spring Napkin (instructions can be found here — keep scrolling downwards until you get the instruction pictures for all the rounds).

Renulek Spring 2014 Napkin, Round 11 complete

Renulek Spring 2014 Napkin, Round 11 section

I've now begun on Round 12. It's the first round where both the ring and chain threads are the same colour — Lizbeth Pineapple Parfait. So, I'm on the second last lap now … :-)

Renulek Spring 2014 Napkin, Round 12 in progress

Threads: all Lizbeth Size 40.

Round 1: Pineapple Parfait and Butterfly Breeze

Round 2: Pineapple Parfait and Arctic Waters

Round 3: Pineapple Parfait and Fruit Fizz
Round 4: Spring Green and Butterfly Breeze
Round 5: Leafy Greens and Arctic Waters
Round 6: Leafy Greens and Butterfly Breeze
Round 7: Spring Green and Fruit Fizz
Round 8: Pineapple Parfait and Arctic Waters
Round 9: Leafy Greens and Butterfly Breeze
Round 10: Spring Green and Fruit Fizz
Round 11: Spring Green and Arctic Waters
Round 12: Pineapple Parfait

Round 10 of the Renulek Spring Doily is done…

A few days ago, I finished Round 10 of Renulek's Spring 2014 Napkin (see here for all of Renulek's posts with the instructions). Here it is:

Renulek's Spring 2014 Napkin, Round 10 complete

Section view of Renulek's Spring 2014 Napkin to Round 10

I'm already about a third of the way through Round 11. This is a fast round. Then, Rounds 12 and 13 will take longer.

For Round 10, I used Spring Green and Fruit Fizz (but swopping the colours compared to how I used them in Round 7). For Round 11, I'm using Spring Green again, but with Arctic Waters. And then, for Round 12, I will for the first time be using the same colourway for both ring and chain. And, I'm still cogitating on Round 13…

Meanwhile, I've started on a new project. More on that in my next post.

Threads: all Lizbeth Size 40.

Round 1: Pineapple Parfait and Butterfly Breeze

Round 2: Pineapple Parfait and Arctic Waters

Round 3: Pineapple Parfait and Fruit Fizz
Round 4: Spring Green and Butterfly Breeze
Round 5: Leafy Greens and Arctic Waters
Round 6: Leafy Greens and Butterfly Breeze
Round 7: Spring Green and Fruit Fizz
Round 8: Pineapple Parfait and Arctic Waters
Round 9: Leafy Greens and Butterfly Breeze
Round 10: Spring Green and Fruit Fizz

Round 9 of Renulek's Spring 2014 Napkin is done

Yes, I've just finished Round 9 of Renulek's Spring 2014 Napkin (see here for all of Renulek's posts with the instructions). So, here it is:

Renulek's Spring 2014 Napkin, Round 9 complete

Renulek's Spring 2014 Napkin, detail with Round 9

As you can see, I decided to try photographing it against a dark velvety purple instead of the usual black background. Not too bad; should I use this from now onwards?

In the earlier rounds, I was wondering how many different Lizbeth colourways I could get away with in one doily. Eventually, I decided to cap it at six: Pineapple Parfait, Butterfly Breeze, Fruit Fizz, Spring Green, Arctic Waters, and Leafy Greens.

So, for the last few rounds, I've been using different combinations of these six colours. For Round 9, I used Leafy Greens and Butterfly Breeze (the same as Round 6, but I swopped the colours I used for rings and chains). For Round 10, I'll return to Spring Green and Fruit Fizz (but swopping the colours). And similarly for Round 11. However, when I finally get to Round 13, I'm very tempted to introduce a seventh colourway, which has just arrived in the post… :-)

Threads: all Lizbeth Size 40.

Round 1: Pineapple Parfait and Butterfly Breeze

Round 2: Pineapple Parfait and Arctic Waters

Round 3: Pineapple Parfait and Fruit Fizz
Round 4: Spring Green and Butterfly Breeze
Round 5: Leafy Greens and Arctic Waters
Round 6: Leafy Greens and Butterfly Breeze
Round 7: Spring Green and Fruit Fizz
Round 8: Pineapple Parfait and Arctic Waters
Round 9: Leafy Greens and Butterfly Breeze

Round 8 of Renulek's Spring 2014 Napkin is finally done...

Yes, Round 8 of Renulek's Spring 2014 Napkin is finally done, and here it is:

Round 8 of Renulek's Spring 2014 Napkin

This took a long while, not only because it's a deep round, but because my mother, Dr. Dixie Tan, became ill with pneumonia, then passed away, and then we had a huge wake and funeral. Many people came and shared how my mother (and also my father) had touched their lives. So, my cousin created a memorial blog to capture some of these stories, here. I am proud of my mother. She faced much adversity, and always she made lemonade with the lemons she was handed, and it became a means by which she could bless others. She's gone now, and we miss her. But her legacy lives on…

Anyway, so, Round 8 is done. I was very tempted to stop here, but I think I'll carry on. What colours for Round 9? :-)

Threads: all Lizbeth Size 40.

Round 1: Pineapple Parfait and Butterfly Breeze

Round 2: Pineapple Parfait and Arctic Waters

Round 3: Pineapple Parfait and Fruit Fizz
Round 4: Spring Green and Butterfly Breeze
Round 5: Leafy Greens and Arctic Waters
Round 6: Leafy Greens and Butterfly Breeze
Round 7: Spring Green and Fruit Fizz
Round 8: Pineapple Parfait and Arctic Waters

Round 7 of Renulek's Spring 2014 Napkin done, on to Round 8…

I'm now done with Round 7 on the Renulek Spring 2014 Napkin (you can see Renulek's post for the completed doily here).

Renulek Spring 2014 Napkin, Round 7

 So now I'm doing Round 8. I'm using Pineapple Parfait and Arctic Waters – the same colours that I used for Round 2. It's interesting to see how that yellow brightens up the blue. I expect this round will take me a good while…

Renulek Spring 2014 Napkin, Round 8 in progress

Threads: all Lizbeth Size 40.

Round 1: Pineapple Parfait and Butterfly Breeze

Round 2: Pineapple Parfait and Arctic Waters

Round 3: Pineapple Parfait and Fruit Fizz
Round 4: Spring Green and Butterfly Breeze
Round 5: Leafy Greens and Arctic Waters
Round 6: Leafy Greens and Butterfly Breeze
Round 7: Spring Green and Fruit Fizz
Round 8: Pineapple Parfait and Arctic Waters

Round 6 of Renulek's Spring 2014 Napkin done; on to Round 7…

I've been puttering along on Renulek's Spring 2014 Napkin. I've finished Round 6 now.

Renulek's Spring 2014 Napkin, Round 6 complete

So now I'm on Round 7. I decided to use slightly brighter colours: Spring Green and Fruit Fizz. I'm reserving the powerful yellow Pineapple Parfait for Round 8…

Renulek's Spring 2014 Napkin, Round 7 in progress

Threads: all Lizbeth Size 40.

Round 1: Pineapple Parfait and Butterfly Breeze

Round 2: Pineapple Parfait and Arctic Waters

Round 3: Pineapple Parfait and Fruit Fizz
Round 4: Spring Green and Butterfly Breeze
Round 5: Leafy Greens and Arctic Waters
Round 6: Leafy Greens and Butterfly Breeze
Round 7: Spring Green and Fruit Fizz

Rounds 4 and 5 of Renulek's Spring 2014 Napkin done…

Here are a few pictures of Rounds 4 and 5 for Renulek's Spring 2014 Napkin (the post giving the pattern for the first round is here, and you just look in the posts after it for the succeeding rounds).

After the bright colours of Round 3, I pulled back and used cooler colours for Round 4, and cooler yet for Round 5. Here is Round 4 complete:

Renulek's Spring 2014 Napkin, Round 4 complete

In Round 5, it easy to make a mistake and omit a ring or chain. See where I tatted three blue rings (the group at left) when I should have tatted four (like the group at right)?

Renulek's Spring 2014 Napkin - mistake in Round 5

Thanks to this blog post by Fox, I knew that this would lead to disaster in Round 8. So I untatted back to those rings and redid them, and went very carefully for the rest of the round.

Renulek's Spring 2014 Napkin - Round 5

Threads: all Lizbeth Size 40.

Round 1: Pineapple Parfait and Butterfly Breeze

Round 2: Pineapple Parfait and Arctic Waters

Round 3: Pineapple Parfait and Fruit Fizz
Round 4: Spring Green and Butterfly Breeze
Round 5: Leafy Greens and Arctic Waters

Round 3 of Renulek's Spring 2014 Napkin done; on to Round 4…

Round 3 took me some time, but here it is at last.

Renulek's Spring 2014 Napkin, Round 3 complete

 So, now for Round 4. Time for a round that doesn't pop out at you so much. I decided to reintroduce Butterfly Breeze, but with Spring Green. I think it does recede somewhat compared to Round 3:

Renulek's Spring 2014 Napkin, Round 4 begun

Threads: all Lizbeth Size 40.

Round 1: Pineapple Parfait and Butterfly Breeze

Round 2: Pineapple Parfait and Arctic Waters

Round 3: Pineapple Parfait and Fruit Fizz
Round 4: Spring Green and Butterfly Breeze

What colours for Round 3 of Renulek's Spring 2014 Napkin?

First, here's my Round 2 completed:

Renulek's Spring 2014 Napkin, Round 2

My mum said, "That would make a really pretty coaster!" I might tat just Rounds 1 and 2 again and make a set of coasters…

But, on to Round 3. What colours to use? I thought I would go back to Butterfly Breeze and introduce Leafy Greens. But, when I tatted one or two motifs, I didn't like it (see the top right corner in the picture below). It looked cool next to the yellow and blue of Round 2, like it was receding. But I figure, the flower round should pop forward! So I started again with Pineapple Parfait (my foundation colour, I realise), and added Fruit Fizz. Ah, much brighter and stronger (see at top left)! So I cut off my first attempt and went with Fruit Fizz. But, now I wonder if I've added too many colours. I hope the yellow will tie things together. And I'm still thinking of going back to Leafy Greens/Butterfly Breeze for the next round, or the next one…

Rpund 3 - which colours to choose?

I've chosen Pineapple Parfait and Fruit Fizz

Threads - Lizbeth Size 40.

Round 1: Pineapple Parfait and Butterfly Breeze

Round 2: Pineapple Parfait and Arctic Waters

Round 3: Pineapple Parfait and Fruit Fizz

Cross of Sevens by Robin Perfetti

I recently tatted this charming little cross bookmark by Robin Perfetti. She's been designing pretty motifs ever since she discovered an iPad app called Kaleidoscope Drawing Pad (see this discussion thread in InTatters). She now has a blog, so you can download her patterns for yourself.
(Thread: Lizbeth Pastel Petals, Size 40)

Cross of Sevens, design by Robin Perfetti

Renulek's Spring 2014 Napkin in spring colours

Here is the doily I am giving the most energy to right now. It's the Spring 2014 Napkin, by Renulek from Poland. She is sharing the pattern round by round on her blog, and several of us on InTatters are following along. We've been having fun looking at all the colours that everyone is using. Finally, I couldn't resist, and I jumped in, too. I am breaking the rules – using three variegated threads to date, and planning to add one or two more, oh my! :-D As you can see, I have spring flowers in mind, and I reckon that the foundation colour is yellow. So far, anyway. :-)

Thread: Lizbeth Size 40
Round 1 colours: Pineapple Parfait & Butterfly Breeze
Round 2 colours: Pineapple Parfait & Arctic Waters

Renulek's Spring 2014 Napkin, Round 1 in progress

Renulek's Spring 2014 Napkin, Round 1 finished

Renulek's Spring 2014 Napkin, Round 2 in progress

My very first doily - tatting finished, but not quite done...

I really should have shown you this doily first. It's the first doily I started, back in March or April 2012. At that time, I didn't want to make anything bigger than a bookmark, but my tatting teacher enticed me by saying that it's so interesting to climb from round to round in a doily.

And indeed it has been interesting! Plotting the route to climb, learning the techniques (split ring and split chain). Also, learning to persevere – through thread additions and major untatting, and some periods of boredom! :-) So, the doily was only finished a few weeks ago. So then I blocked it, and now I am sewing it down onto a black cushion cover - another learning process for me. Here's a picture of the blocked doily lying on the cushion cover. Right now, the sewing is in progress, and it has a lot of tape on it, so I won't show you that!

Round Mat in Tatting, finished tatting in February 2014

Pattern: Round mat in tatting

Source: Needlewoman and Needlecraft No. 74, p. 11, April 1958

Thread: Lizbeth Spring Garden, Size 40

Size of Doily: 30 cm / 12 inches