Back to the Challenge

You may recall that my current personal 25 Motif Challenge is to complete motifs from vintage patterns from prior to 1925, so here are some more.  When I made that quilt block for Georgia, I had some pieces left over. The top 3 are all from Priscilla Tatting Book No. 2.  (You can get a free download from Georgia, or the Antique Pattern Library.) 

The top one is from another of the elaborate collars in that book.  The next two are from a handbag.  The bottom one is a part of an edging in Buttericks Tatting and Netting (1896).  It was to have gotten a bit of a stem to make a nice flower.  It looks rather too unfinished in its current state though.  Maybe I shouldn't count it as one of my motifs yet.  (Free downloads of that book also available from Georgia and the Antique Pattern Library on the same pages linked above.)

All the thread ends are left loose, since I had planned to pull them to the back of the quilt block.  That's one of the nice things about tatting for applique projects.

Here is my current vintage WIP.  Can you recognize it yet?  I hope I have the fortitude to finish.  Working with size 100 thread periodically is good for the soul, if not the eyesight.

Meanwhile, registration for the Palmetto TatDays will open sometime soon.  They've been adding more pictures and more information every few days, so keep checking back.

2 More from Priscilla 2

Here are two more antique motifs from a different collar in Priscilla No. 2. (See previous post for links to download the book.)  Again these are chain-only designs with lots of picots. These use lots of Victorian sets, also called rickrack tatting, made by making several of the first half stitches followed by several second half stitches.  It makes a nice texture.  I had to pull my rickrack chains very tight to make them fit the space to match the illustration.  Perhaps this was because I used the same weight thread for both the shuttle and ball threads, though the original pattern called for size 40 core thread and size 60 ball thread.

PS.  The Palmetto TatDays call for teachers and logo designs is now out.  Don't worry, there's lots of time before the deadlines.  Click Here for details.

Three from Priscilla No. 2 -- A New Challenge

I'm starting my new Challenge with 3 motifs from the Priscilla Tatting Book, No. 2 of 1915.  These pieces are actually part of a very ornate collar, but I am using just parts of it to make flowers.

These are all chain-only designs, which meant I could use one shuttle and the ball thread and not have to reload, even with all those picots.

The pattern said to join the chains only on the side that would curve inward, but that led to an unruly mess with this purple motif.

With the dark pink motif, I joined the chains on both sides and was still able to block it to curve gently.







I'll show you what I'm doing with these later.










You can easily get your own copy of this vintage book.  It is available as a reprint from Dover Books as this book:

Even better, you can download it for free from the Antique Pattern Library. Click HERE for a list of their recent additions to their collection, including this one.  You can also get it from Georgia's Archive of Tatting Books in the Public Domain, but note that she has a later edition that has fewer pages (and horrors, cost 10 cents more).


Thanks for the advice on the free patterns last time.  I'll quit worrying about standardizing the notation and put the abbreviations back in.  Whenever I find time to work on it again....

Amanda by Iris, and the End of a Challenge

This is the Amanda doily from Iris Niebach's book Tatted Doilies.  Iris is a designer I truly admire.  She has such distinctive style you can usually know a design is hers just by glancing at it.  Reading over the pattern before beginning was confusing at first, until I realized that the first repeat was worked differently than the rest.  By doing that, she had cleverly arranged the sequence so that it could be worked all in one pass.  The long chains were a bit challenging, but over all it was a delight to make.  It measures about  7 1/2 inches across in size 30 thread.  This is another of the books from Akacia press, which I have recommended before.

I've counted up and decided that this makes the end of my current 25 Motif Challenge.  When Sharon proposed the challenge, the rule was simply to make any 25 motifs within a year, but some of us have given ourselves additional constraints to make it more, um, challenging.  My challenge this time was to count only motifs from the books on my shelf, since some of them go too long without being opened.  I'm sure I took more than a year, but I have reached 25 at last.  When I reach the end of a challenge, the only thing to do is to start another.  Next time I will do vintage patterns from before 1925.

Happy New Year

Bjorn Snowflake

Here is another one for the challenge.  This is "5th Day of December" by Lene Bjorn from 24 Snowflakes in Tatting.  It worked up quickly and easily, using just one shuttle.  Sorry the beads aren't showing up well in the picture.

This book is one of the series of tatting books from Akacia.  I recommend them highly for anyone who likes diagrammed tatting patterns.

Angel with Star

Here's another one for the Challenge.  This is "Angel with Star" from A Host of Angels by Christel Weidmann.  Each pattern is written in shorthand notation and has a diagram.  Also, there are comments tell what to do for both shuttle and needle tatting.  There is a large Madonna angel that I would like to work someday.

Butterflies -- Motifs 11 - 13

Do you ever have a little tatting voice inside your head? Do you ever have a slump where you don't feel like tatting, or maybe you feel like it, but can't pick anything to make? A while back I was in a slump, and as I would sort through my balls of thread hoping for inspiration for the next project, the little voice would say, "I don't want these, I want to tat with some different colors." Which was odd, because, believe me, I have lots of colors. Eventually, I figured it out, I needed HDT. Or in this case, hand-painted thread as Karey calls hers. I pulled out a skein of her "County Fair" thread and a much admired book from the shelf and was back in business.

All of these butterflies are from Tatted Butterflies by Adelheid Dangela. There are quite a lot of good designs in this book. The patterns are all in diagram form, so maybe too hard for a new beginner, but highly recommended for anyone with a little experience, enough to look at the picture and know when to reverse work or switch shuttles.

Catching up on Tat-Alongs (Challenge Motif 7)

A few weeks ago, Umi&Tsuru issued a challenge to tat a design from Ruth Scharf's book, Occhi. Since this is one of those books I have been meaning to take off the shelf and use for a long time, this seemed just the thing for my current motif challenge. I decided to go for a very traditional approach and chose this ecru thread. I regretted that at times, when I saw the wide variety of colors shown by other bloggers accepting the challenge. I also decided to make all the lock joins down into the base of the rings as in the original pattern. I think it's a very interesting effect, though it was a bit tricky getting the tension just right.

If you don't have the book, you can still join in, because she had permission to post the flower and leaf patterns.



Also, we recently had Jane's Tat It and See surprise pattern, which turned out to be a goat!

My Neglected Challenge

I started this blog to participate in the 25 Motif Challenge, but I've really been neglecting my current challenge. Life has been a bit crazy this year.

My personal requirement this time around was to count only patterns from books, since I have so many books on the shelf I seldom use. I think I've made a few things and not blogged about them, so I'll have to stir through my stuff and see what I have. I know I've mailed some away without taking pictures :(

To get back on track, here is my new favorite bookmark, actually a piece of Edging No. 21 from Die Schiffchen-Spitzen by Eleonore Endrucks-Leichtenstern. Don't you love the block tatting? All the tricks I came up with for shaping block tatting for my critter patterns were just re-discoveries of techniques she used decades ago, and I have only just discovered her.

I have rewritten this pattern in the modern style to be shared soon in the Online Tatting Class.

So, since I can claim an edging posted last July as also part of the challenge, this brings me to number 5 of my challenge.

Mary Konior's Rockingham Cross

Sometime late last year I made this series of crosses. The pattern is "Rockingham" in Mary Konior's Tatting in Lace. First I made the solid version above. The pattern is written in 2 parts, but I figured out how to make it all in one pass, using a split chain and a split ring to move into the last section on the bottom. So far, so good.

Next I worked it in this variegated thread I got from the Thread Exchange. This is a size 10 rayon thread. I ran out of thread on both shuttles too soon, so I ended up making it in 2 parts anyway. Even though rayon thread is usually slippery, it was oddly hard to close rings completely. The ring where I worked in the ends stretched out of shape. I've got a little of that thread left. I keep meaning to rework that bottom part, but you know how that goes. After doing a solid and a variegate version, my next project was to make the pattern with both types of thread. Still stinging from running out of thread the previous time, I wound plenty onto both shuttles. About halfway through, it occurred to me that I couldn't work it in one pass anyway, because the split chain would show the wrong color. Or could I? I remembered Jane had shown a new technique for a Single Shuttle Split Chain. It was something I had looked at and decided I would probably never use since I was satisfied with my split chain ability with the traditional method. However, it was just what I needed to preserve the color scheme here. Did it work? Yes. Was is more time consuming than just working the cut & tie & hiding ends? Well, maybe. Still, it's one more technique in my "tatting toolbox." (Note I also used the color-hiding single shuttle split ring trick that Tatting Chic and I worked out.)

I've been neglecting my 25 Motif Challenge. My goal this time was to count only motifs from books. I think this is only motif #3. I really am behind....

A Gift and a New Challenge

My friend Ridgewoman recently surprised me with a gift of this book, Spitzen Ideen by Susanne Schwenke. Since many of the patterns have block tatting, she said it made her think of me. It is is a delightful little book and I am very grateful to have it.

It is a German book, but it is very easy to understand. There are clear diagrams for each pattern, and there is a German/English glossary of tatting terms used in the patterns, which are written short hand style. It has edgings and insertions, snowflakes, and Easter eggs.

This is my favorite pattern, which came out around 5 inches diameter in size 30 thread.

I made this snowflake next, chosen for the pretty block tatting in the design. I an sure I will be making more designs from this book in the future.

On another note, most of you are probably aware of the 25 Motif Challenge. Sharon began this a few years ago as a way to encourage tatters to see if they could finish 25 pieces in a year. She and her team post pictures of everyone's progress. Viewing that blog is always interesting, and has led me to meeting new people and learning of patterns, threads, and books that I "must" have. The basic guidelines are here. She lets each person define what a motif may be, which has ranged from a single earring to a large doily. Some participants choose to further refine their own challenge, for example, to make 25 animals or snowflakes. I am ready to begin again, and for this time around I will count only motifs made from books. I have some new books and some old ones that have been neglected too long. Don't worry, I'll still be making fun stuff from online patterns, and designing some of my own, but only patterns from books will count toward my challenge, to make it more, er, challenging. So these will be the first two for the new challenge.