You may remember that several months ago, I took up the challenge to learn how to tat with a shuttle. This after needle tatting for the last year or so. Let me tell you right now, shuttle tatting is a completely different animal. So forget you know anything about tatting at all and it will go better for you. Yeah.
We're going to skip the frustration, temper tantrums, and tears of despondency (yes, all over string) and move right to when the rays of sunshine pierce the clouds and the angels sing at the moment of triumph. Ta-da!
And because enough is never enough, I had to go and join the 25 Motif Challenge. Basically, you challenge yourself to tat 25 motifs within a year. While I am still unclear as to the precise definition of "motif", I'm pretty sure that bookmarks and doilies will count. So far, I have 5. I guess to be official, I should declare that my start date was August 5th.
This first bookmark was part of a "Challenge Yourself" exchange done through the In Tatters community. The idea was to stretch your ability in tatting. My goal was simply to master shuttle tatting enough so that I didn't feel like throwing the project across the room five minutes after picking it up. After three false starts, I managed to complete Kersti's Floral Bookmark again, using a much smaller thread (breaking it twice and forgetting everything I had figured out the last time notwithstanding). I used Yarnplayer's "Sugar Maple" HDT (hand dyed thread) in a size 30.
The other four bookmarks above are:
- Kersti's Floral (again), done with a crochet thread from Michael's
- "Jane in South Africa" bookmark, done with DMC perle cotton #4065, variations "Morning Meadows". My repeats are slightly different than the pattern because I was tatting in the car without the instructions. This was also before I learned how to hide my ends. To cover that up, I made a tassel for each end of the bookmark. This weekend, I talked with several girls who insist that their bookmarks be long enough to hang out both ends of the book, which makes this piece perfect.
- I have no idea what to call this one. It's just the result of messing with my own ideas and trying to use up the thread on a couple of shuttles.
- "Jane in South Africa again, but this time done with Yarnplayer's "Sugar Maple" HDT.
