Showing posts with label Doily. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Doily. Show all posts

Monday, August 21, 2017

Tatting an Eclipse

Not exactly but both are on my mind today. Early attention would have helped secure some of those special eclipse glasses. It has been so long coming; I guess I tuned out the hype and hysteria. My solution to the lack of protection is to spend the duration outside in my garden and enjoy the changing light without viewing the actual cause. It is a beautiful sunny day here. Eclipses come and go but my garden remains and after this there are a few tasks to accomplish.

Setting down my tea one morning, I managed to tilt the full cup just enough to splash a bit onto a ball of DMC Cebelia, size 30 cotton. It would figure it was a full ball of pure white, rather, formerly pure white, thread. What to do, what to do? Oh agony, I couldn’t see any way to remove the stain without making a tangled mess of it.

The only solution was to use the thread and wash the finished doily. Renulek’s 2017 Spring “Tat-Along” doily had been calling to me. So I began working with the tea-stained thread. The last one of Renulek’s doilies I attempted is not yet finished because I didn’t like the very long chains in the outer rounds. You may remember it; it is red. In any case, I set out not really expecting success. Tatting onion rings is not my favorite, either. The new doily sports several of those. I began without enthusiasm, not expecting much of the project.

If the colors were reversed - a black doily on a white table -
it would almost look like an eclipse 😉
Renulek's Spring 2017 Doily tatted by RepWeaver
The thread needed washing as soon as possible if I hoped to remove the stain. It was a race to finish quickly. Even so it took several months. Then it seemed there would not be enough thread to finish. As you can see, chains are blue in the final round. This was not in the plan but the result makes me happy.

Surprise, surprise! This was an enjoyable tat. When tatting was done I soaked the doily in OxyClean for several hours and “Voila!”, the stain was gone. I am one happy tatter.

Now I feel ready and anxious to revisit the red doily and figure out improvements in order to finish it. Before I do, there are rugs on my loom that need weaving.

But first there is a small eclipse . . .


Warp On/Weave Off,
RepWeaver

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Now for the Victory Lap

Spring Doily tatted by RepWeaver
Spring Doily tatted by RepWeaver
Summertime arrived along with gardening, home improvement and house guests. Hence the long, distracted silence here.

It has been a slow next-to-last row on my "Spring Doily" designed by Renulek. The long chains are a bit vexing. Perhaps I ought to have pull them a tighter? So far, I enjoy the look of this. Now it's on to the final "victory lap" row. Wish me luck but don't hold your breath. This may take a while.

Spring Doily tatted by RepWeaver
Spring Doily tatted by RepWeaver, detail
The detail shot clearly shows the row I decided to flip. It is the one with the small golden rings without picots. I like it this way except it would have been better to have added those picots. I will do it that way if I ever tat this doily again.

My latest Wee Coverlets are finished. Next I need to photograph them. After that you will see them here.

Warp On, Weave Off
RepWeaver

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

2014 Spring Doily

This doily was a tat-along type pattern by Renulek. I like her blog even though it is written in Polish and the translation could use translating. The photos are great though and the way Renulek shows the directions right on top of the photo works in any language. Guess that's how it goes with music and weaving drafts as well.

Since I am way behind the pack on this project, all 14 rows have already been published and many tatters have finished their doilies long since. Here I am just beginning row ten.

Renulek's Spring 2014  Doily tatted by RepWeaver


The thread is DMC Cebelia which used to be my favorite back in the day but not any more. I have been trying to use my stash of this and had been doing hearts for Valentine's Day. Since the shuttle was still full I decided to do a trial of this pattern to see if I would like it. Apparently I did because I just kept going. Now I wonder how much more I can get out of this ball of thread. I may have to work in more of the gold color.

If you know this pattern and perhaps have been working on it yourself you may notice that I flipped row number seven. After a lot of thought I made this decision because I wanted the gold colored rings to appear the way you see here. If I had it to do again, I'd still flip the row but would also add the picots to match the gold rings in the previous row. It's hard to see those details in this photo, guess I ought to take a close-up shot next time.

Also, for row ten I am leaving off the thrown ring which I will add in again in row eleven.

When the doily is finished it should fit nicely on this little round table. It stands between the sofa and my husband's easy chair. Not sure how well it will work because he likes to toss a lot of "stuff" on that table. Time will tell.