Operation Snowflake: January Snowflake Almost Done

Yay almost finished! The next time you see this snowflake it should be ready to hang on the tree waiting for next year!  It really is a pretty pattern!

Oh one thing I forgot to mention was that this has thrown rings, to me they are so easy that I don't even consider them "intermediate"!  LOL  You simply at the specified place put down shuttle one, and pick up shuttle two, work the ring, and then switch back!  This pattern does this a lot, so it would be a good practice pattern for someone who just learned thrown rings.

I had a huge mess up happen though.  Not sure how it happened, I think the thread just got twisted and I wasn't being extra careful about it, but one of my Josephine knots got all knotted and wouldn't budge and the more I tried to fix it the worse it got and then I ended up having to just cut out everything back to a ring!  OY then I had to tat over 4 tails because there wasn't any other places to put them but the chain so it's a super fat chain in that spot!  The good thing is you can't seem to tell in the photo!  I did tat the chains next to it a bit looser so it wouldn't stand out so bad and I realized that I'm a tight tatter! But tatting loose just doesn't feel as "right"!  LOL Other tatters who tat tightly will know what I mean! ;)  The down side is that it's harder to fix mistakes when it's so tight!  I had to take a day off after all this before I could work on it again once I got it fixed enough to continue.  Today I was more careful and got a lot done without any problems.

I've also been thinking about reading patterns and diagrams as I tat this snowflake.  If you are experienced you can simply go by the diagram alone, but until you get to that level you just need a little extra guidance.  Sometimes I will rewrite patterns just for myself so I can follow it easier once I figure it out.  I think I prefer the modern style that needle tatting patterns usually use, because that's how I first learned to tat, and then switched to the shuttle later.  My brain still likes patterns in that form though, nice and clear, in rows of steps instead of a paragraph broken by commas.  It's like I have to translate for myself!  It's nice when you can read any form of pattern or go just by diagrams though!  I wish I was stronger in that already, but it takes time and experience to get there!  I can read and go by basic diagrams alone but if it has more than basic I get confused still.  I did write up my "ideal" version of her pattern but I don't want to infringe on her copyright by posting it, it's still her pattern just written differently the way my brain likes reading patterns.  LOL  For me a lot of the time the written pattern helps me understand the diagram so as I get going I can just glance at the diagram for reminding of what's next or what the stitch counts are.  Other times the diagram helps me understand the written pattern so I can then understand the diagram!!! HAHAHAHA  Yup that's how this one was for me!  LOL  I guess I'm still on the beginner side of intermediate...unless intermediate is the beginner side of advanced?  LOL  All I know is I'm not experienced enough to never get confused, but know enough to figure things out eventually.

Well here I am rambling again! LOL  But hey what are blogs for?  Hope you enjoyed my rambling! ;D