Trimming

Here is the doily I've been working on, with a simple trimming added as the final round:

I've been designing in white thread because I can find it at the local craft stores, and the lack of color makes it really easy to see the negative space. However, I'd like to tat this doily again with a touch of color. I'll also use the opportunity to make some very small changes (reducing the number of picots in the last round and adjusting the size of a couple of rings).

For now, I've placed it under a vase of wooden flowers:

The doily isn't very big, measuring about 11 inches across when tatted in Lizbeth size 20 thread.

Also, a reminder that my Etsy shop is having a sale for a couple more days (ending Tuesday, November 28). Everything in the shop is 20% off and the discount is automatically applied.

Holiday Sale

A really quick post today to say that all of the patterns in my Etsy shop are on sale until Tuesday, November 28. Everything is 20% off and the discount is automatically applied (no coupon code needed). If you use the Etsy app, make sure you are running the latest version to see accurate pricing.

Other Etsy shops are having sales this weekend too, so be sure to browse around if you've been eyeing anything for the holidays. I'll be doing almost all of my holiday shopping online so I don't have to deal with the rush in the stores!

Easier than expected

Designing this round wasn't bad at all. Tatting it, on the other hand, took some time:

To help with the design, I rendered a polar grid on Inkscape and printed it out. I used some spare thread to create a small tatted sample, and held the doily up to the grid to make sure that everything fit. I forgot to take photos of that, but here's the doily and polar grid side by side:

I took Sue's advice from the tatting design class, and placed my polar grid into a clear plastic sheet. This ensures that no ink gets on the tatting.

Here you can see the small sample I tatted before coming up with the final stitch counts. On the bottom is the sample, and on the top is the in progress tatting:

I eventually had to cut off the sample so I could complete the round:

The doily will need one more round before it is finished. It will be simple, just a trimming along the outer edge.

Leisurely

Putting together a bunch of patterns is a lot of work, and I wanted to do some tatting that was more leisurely. I'm trying my hand at designing a doily, without any drawings this time. So far so good:

Each round has been pretty simple because I want to save the detail for the last few rounds. I'll be mirroring the center as a series of scallops around the edge, and that will be the most difficult part to design. We'll see how it goes...