Thursday 31 July 2014

Tatting Away II

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TATBiT’s
Tatted Dandelion Chain Link Bookmark



The buzz, the refrain in the tatting community at present seems to be “Teri is back, Teri is back…” ! And she’s back with her bountiful goodies of free patterns, video tutorials, tatting tales galore !

I choose this beautiful Dandelion Chain Link Bookmark as my first Teri Dusenbury project. It is a free download in pdf format (click on link; this particular pattern is mid-way down the page, done in beautiful pink), with detailed instructions, explanations, diagrams, & written pattern.


Thread used : Anchor Mercer Crochet Cotton, size 20.
Black
Yellow : 0289
Green : 0229
Measurements : 9 inches long ; 2.2 inches wide.

A scanned image of  TATBiT's Dandelion bookmark

My Jottings  

Some terms & their equivalents :

Directional Ring (DR) ~ front side/back side tatting (FS/BS)
Double Knot (DK) ~ double stitch (ds)
Larks Head Knot (LHK) ~ reverse stitch (rs) or 2nd half of Split Ring method.
Split Quadruple Directional Ring (SQDR) ~ Floating / thrown rings or rings on ring. But here, one works with a Split Ring (therefore reverse stitches) from which 5 directional rings are thrown off.
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Black color used for chain links. For the filler chain segments, I ended the last ring as an SSSR (single shuttle split ring) in order to hide the ends.
I added a small SSSR of 10ds at the very end to again hide tails And also to insert & tie a tassel later (I love tassels).

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Since dandelion flowers are yellow, the ‘petals’ or florets were done in yellow, & stem & leaves in green. Now here was the dilemma ! I had wanted green for the ‘calyx’ as well, but my skill levels were found wanting, even though I tried a few techniques.
Finally, I settled for an all-yellow petal & base.
However, while starting the yellow SQDR, the green thread was encapsulated & hidden within the yellow, so that later, there would be continuity of pattern, when the flower part got over. Thus, 
Shuttle 1 & 2 : yellow CTM. For SQDR center & DR petals.
Shuttle 3 : green. Encapsulated till required later for stem & leaves.
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This was the first time that I have actually done FS/BS tatting where it Really mattered ! And I kept forgetting to start the directional ring correctly, leading to unknotting the 1st couple of stitches almost every time ;-(
Another realization : It becomes essential to post shuttle in DR or FS/BS rings ! The 2nd ring in dandelion A has curled slightly since shuttle was not posted to front of work before continuing.
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When joining the DR petals, join to chain link from Back of work, since one is already working on the BS in a DR.
And the join is a downward or Down join, in order to avoid color blips.
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Once the SQDR was closed, I cut off one of the yellow threads, (hiding the tail inside the next few stitches), & continued with only one yellow thread as core & green as the working thread.

SLTs (shoe lace trick) were required when tackling the leaves from the stem because the core thread was yellow.
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The dandelions are tatted in an counter-clockwise direction ! So it needs a bit of getting used to.
I do wonder whether it can be done in a clockwise fashion, using SCMR (Self Closing Mock Ring) for center, with thrown rings for petals. I hope to try this out sometime, although it did not work out with 2 colors.
From my own failed attempts, I realized what an intelligent & clever pattern this was and why the need for an anti-clockwise and directional tatting ! It has increased my learning manifold, opening up the tatting field for me. I challenged myself to do the dandelions in 2 colors & am pretty happy with the result so far. Thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience from start to finish ! And there are so many many more patterns, that one doesn't know which to choose next ...
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Before signing off, here's an amazing  Time Lapse Dandelion flower to seed head film by Neil Bromhall that I'm sure you will enjoy :-) It is a very short 1.41 min film only.

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Motif # 10 for 25 Motif Challenge

35 comments:

  1. Very crisp and clean, nicely tatted! I have yet to try any of Teri's patterns...too many other projects to work on

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    Replies
    1. Robin, you already have the Jan Stawasz mega doily to keep you challenged & busy :-)) Enjoy !

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  2. Well done, and I love how colorful your duplication is. Thank you for tatting my pattern and blogging about your quest. I am a very happy designer!

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    1. I'm so so so glad you liked it, Teri. If designer is happy, then that is the best & ultimate compliment ! As I tatted, I got to appreciate the thought & effort that would've gone into creating this pattern. Thank you for sharing :-D

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  3. That's lovely! Could make a good bracelet too perhaps. I used to read Teri's blog a few years ago, then she 'closed' it. I'm glad to see her back!

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    1. Jane, that is a lovely idea ! Yes, it would definitely make a nice bracelet.
      Hmm, and with thicker thread (for greater stiffness), or sewn on to proper fabric, a lovely belt too ?!
      I'm glad Teri's back, too. I didn't get a chance to read her earlier tatting blog(s), so this is a wonderful opportunity; & with so many free patterns ....wow !

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  4. Replies
    1. Thanks, Sue :-)
      I always enjoy having you stop by :-)

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  5. That is great! Thank you for the information can't wait to check it out!

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  6. Great bookmark and how brave of you to tat one of Teri's designs. You should be very proud of your accomplishment and to have Teri comment too. I hope to be as well of a tatter as you some day and I too am learning by retro tatting.
    Best,
    Bernice

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for your kind words :-)
      Bernice, you are too modest! I've seen your perfect Spring Napkin & now you are tackling the Stawasz Mega doily !

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  7. Beau~~tiful !!
    Excellent color choice.

    And thank you for gooooood video.

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    1. Lee, I've been browsing through the dragonfly collection on your blog. You truly put in a lot of effort in researching & compiling, besides actual tatting :-)
      Glad you liked the video, too.

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  8. This is amazing Muskaan! I think I will be doing this bookmark. I love your colours too. The previous post with the six shuttle project is mind blowing. Pinning it to my board for future reference. Thanks for sharing the how to!

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    1. Thanks, Aysh :-)
      I will be looking forward to seeing your versions of bookmark & mac-tatted braid :-)

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  9. Great design, Muskaan!

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    1. Merci, Lilas :-) C'est le pattern de Teri Dusenbury. Un beaute, non?!

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  10. Love your bookmark. I've downloaded the pattern to try it out. Thanks for the inspiration.

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    1. I will be looking forward to seeing your version, mb :-)
      Glad this helped. Email me if you ever need any assistance ...

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  11. This is lovely. Thank you for your explanations!

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    1. You are most welcome :-))
      So glad you appreciate it. My learning took a new perspective, with this project.

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  12. Amazing design, you did a lovely tatting. Thank you for sharing.

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  13. You have aroused my curiosity about Split Quadruple Directional Ring. I try to find it on Teri's blog. Can you help me?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Lilas :-)
      The instructions for SQDR are in the pattern pdf itself. Here is the link to above pattern : http://teridusenburystattletales.blogspot.in/2014/09/tatting-bookmark-tatbits-dandelion.html
      When you download this, you will notice that the pages are is a kind of mixed order. I arranged each page in Word, according to the page number given below each page, before I could start.
      If you need any help, please feel free to ask here or send me an email through my profile page. Happy tatting :-)

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  14. The link for the download is not working. Just thought I'd let you know. Love this bookmark, very original.

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    1. Thank you so very much, Beth :-))) There has been a whole lot of churning at the tatbit site and my search came up empty as well (including her Sept 2014 posts). But Teri has been reposting many of her old patterns. Keep an eye out.
      Meanwhile I have changed the .in to .com to avoid the error notification.

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    2. Updated with working link - https://teridusenburystattletales.blogspot.com/p/tatting-bookmarks.html

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  15. Loved the bookmark Muskaan
    I've made it. How do I post it on fb? And how do I show it to you?

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Madhur 💗 I don't understand your question since you have already posted your lovely version there?
      Now you ladies are tempting me to make this again 😃

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