Motif #20 of the 25 Motif Challenge
After seeing some pretty tatted ladies, my friend Lillian asked me if I could make her one! So we searched the web for a pattern that I could do and I found this one! The pattern is for needle tatting but I still felt that I could do it with the shuttle since I've been learning it. Sure I could have done it by needle but I really wanted to keep learning with the shuttle. I've just learned shuttle joins and split rings so I figured I could try and do it. There is a lady (Jackie aka Beadin' Gram), in a Crazy Quilt Yahoo Group that I am in, who always has a quote at the bottom of her post that says "I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it." by Vincent Van GoghI felt just like that as I was making this lady and learned so much! I had a lot of fun too! There were a few spots I was scared I wouldn't be able to fix like at one spot in the pattern it says to reverse work when it should say Do Not Reverse work (row 3 right after first chain) and I ended up having open up the ring and unpick it...very scary moment! Another spot I had joined to the wrong end and had to cut if off...LOL. Then there was a little confusion over where to join and which direction I should be going. Some hiding ends frustration, oh and I started running out of thread on one shuttle and so I had to SLT (shoe lace trick) to switch the shuttles so I could keep going and I made it to the end with just barely enough thread on both shuttles! On the very last row I missed a join!!! I was too far down the row to unpick to fix it so I just left it as is. Overall it went really well, and those few little tricky spots only taught me how to tat better! I have to say it was a tatting adventure! From the tip of her bonnet to the base of her skirt she is 6 inches. I tatted her in size 10 DMC Cebelia thread.
Thought you might like to see how I blocked the lady, I didn't add any stiffener because Lillian is a Crazy Quilter and she might want to dye it.
I just used a piece of cardboard with a hand towel over it and then shape and pin the wet lady to it to dry.
I just used a piece of cardboard with a hand towel over it and then shape and pin the wet lady to it to dry.
6 comments:
The tatted lady looks great. Sometimes a bunch of one ring flowers, the kind with lots of picots for petals and long thread ends that form stems, are tacked on at the waist so that it looks like the lady is carrying a bouquet.
Sharon,
I wanted to leave the bouquet blank for Lillian to add other elements as a bouquet like Silk Ribbon Embroidery or something similar. So it won't be all tatting but an embellished tatted lady. I can totally see SRE embellishing the skirt and beads on the dress as well.
Melissa
Nice job! You can always shuttle tat in place of needle tatting though you sometimes have to make a minor adjustment in the directions. There are a couple of crinoline ladies on the msn needle tatting site as well as a few in pattern books. Tatting goes so well with crazy quilts.
:-) Gina
Now tat's a grand piece of work. LOVE it. Well done too. What an achievement.
JaneEb
I do not understand tatting, and I do appreciate it at the same time. Your work is lovely!
Melissa - you are outstanding! I'm very proud of you for picking up the shuttle and running with it.
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