Pattern Proofreaders

Thank you to those who have volunteered to proofread or test tat my latest snowflake patterns. My list is all full so I cannot take any new volunteers, but I can offer to put people on a waiting list for future projects if you are interested.

Carollyn, Margaret, Diane, Grace, Patty, and Neska: I've sent patterns to your emails so if you don't see anything in your inbox or spam/junk folder let me know.

Update:

Marie, Jenn, Elizabeth, Mary Beth, and Barbara your files have been sent as well.


Here is a scan of the patterns involved in this bundle:

All patterns have been accounted for, but I am still able to accept 2  more volunteers if anyone else is interested. My list is now full, thanks everyone! Volunteers are asked to either proofread or test tat a single pattern, and as compensation will receive the entire bundle of patterns (pictured above) for free. After that, the pattern bundle will be listed in my Etsy shop.

If you don't get in this time, don't worry. I hope to offer future proofreading opportunities, as long as there is continued interest. Volunteers can claim free patterns from my shop (or future credit), which will vary based on the project going on at the time. I don't have many patterns in there at the moment but hopefully this will become more relevant over time!

Not everyone has email addresses associated with their Blogger accounts, so the easiest way to make sure I have your contact info is to send me a message through the Contact Form on the sidebar of my blog.

Happy Tatting!

Nearly finished

I'm getting close to finishing up this small bundle of snowflakes. There were lots of ideas and variations, but in the end I chose to move forward with this group:

The two in the middle (darker blue and green) are the same pattern but with a different center, so they have been diagrammed separately. They are tatted in color so they can be scanned on a white background, though I do prefer tatting snowflakes in white so they can stand out on a Christmas tree.

It looks like I got a little carried away in my snowflake adventure. I didn't realize how many versions I had tatted until I took them all out of my binder and tried to place them on the folding chair:

As you can see I'm not very "efficient" when it comes to designing. I get distracted by far too many possibilities, and cannot stop myself from trying them all out. In a way, I have to force myself to finalize the patterns so that I can move on to other things!

The bundle of 4 patterns + 1 variation will be listed in my Etsy shop in a few weeks. I would like to extend the opportunity to acquire this bundle for free, for those who don't mind doing some light proofreading. I will post more details about that in a few days, so come back to my blog around Wednesday if you are interested. All proofreading positions are now taken, thanks everyone!

Summer begins the season of festivals, which I like to go to as long as the weather isn't too hot (it can reach over 100 degrees Fahrenheit some days). I usually don't take photos, but there was a really neat looking Volkswagen Beetle on display at the Herndon Festival, made of wrought iron:

One more...

My little collection needed another snowflake that could be tatted in one round. This one came together surprisingly quickly. It took a little over an hour to get the final stitch count, and three more hours to tat the snowflake. If only they all worked like that!

Holding the tatting up to the iPad helps a lot in determining if the pattern will work.

The closer I can get to the original drawing, the better my chances will be.

More of the same

Not much new to post these past few weeks. I've just been working on diagramming a few snowflake patterns and tatting final versions of them in white. (The big one is Lizbeth silver size 40, the white version of this still needs to be tatted).

The teal colored one in the background is in progress, to be used as a pattern photo for a very minor design alteration. I've realized that there is some benefit to tatting the snowflakes in color: one can save on ink when printing out the pattern. (White snowflakes need to be scanned on a colored background).

Here's my pile of diagrams and my tatting binder, which houses all of the designs after I finish them.

I add a sample of tatting to each binder insert, which is great for knowing what the pattern will look like when tatted...not so great for the thickness of the pages. This one will only fit 5 to 10 more pages, so I'll have to start a new binder soon.

Adaptations

Attempts at creating a new cross design have resulted in quite a few pieces for the scrap pile:

They won't go there yet, however. Not until I can come up with a finished version of the pattern that I like. I think I have enough of an idea to create a square, but the cross still eludes me. I'm trying to come up with a way to connect the bottom portion to the top while maintaining the flow of the pattern. For now, the scraps have been set aside, in a bag that recently held chocolate coins.

After getting caught in a loop of designing and redesigning, I decided to take a break from the cross to clear my mind. I meant to do more carefree tatting with a snowflake pattern I had drafted a few weeks ago.

As usual, I found my mind wandering, thinking of all the alterations I could make to the snowflake. This caused me to incorrectly join a ring, and as I tried to open the ring with a pair of tweezers, the thread broke! Apparently tweezers are a hazard to thread!

Of course I could not alter just one snowflake. The lavender snowflake was also adjusted, from two rounds to one. (On the left side are the originals, and on the right side are the alterations).

My mind is still spinning with ideas of other options and designs.

On another note, I spotted a butterfly drinking nectar while hiking around Prince William Forest Park. The photo came out surprisingly well for being taken with my phone: