Spring 2024 Renulek Doily part 2

So I'm making progress on this doily!

Again, this is the spring 2024 doily by a tatting designer named Renulek. 

This is rounds 1- 4 done.

I certainly struggled with the flower-like motif on the 4th round. I think I made it harder than it needed to be. 😅 I chose to make the flower motif in two colors and... let's just say I did the best I could. Oh well, I survived it! The joins between the rings aren't clean but that's because I was doing something different.

I am not sure when I will block it so that it stays flat. I should probably do that within the next few rounds. I'm learning that with tatting, it often helps to block your work even though it isn't done yet.

I have so many projects I'm working on right now, but I hope to have updates to share soon.

Bpd

Spring 2024 Renulek doily

This is such a great doily. Renulek makes such great tatting patterns.

Spring 2024 doily, rounds 1 to 3:

I am tatting the spring 2024 Renulek doily. I made another of their doilies a few years ago. It probably took me a year to make in size 20 thread, and it came out over 26" in diameter. (I never measured it!)

I'm expecting this doily to be just as big. That's ok with me. I've gotten comfortable with size 20 thread.

This spring 2024 doily is made with four colors of Lizbeth size 20 thread. I was inspired by all of the doilies I saw on instagram and in tatting groups. I usually don't do much colored tatting or lacemaking.

I finally have enough tatting shuttles that I can have fun with color coding my thread to my shuttles!

Subsequent rounds will be coming soon!

Ffn!

Renulek collar

It took me quite a bit to tat this collar. I actually finished this collar in the late summer of 2023. It took me several more months to actually block the collar. I think I used a size 30 bit of scrap tatting and then used size 20 aunt lydia's crochet cotton for the rest. It's not too visible, lol.

Like always with my collars, I made this one to fit a more modern neck line, just in case I want to sew this on to a piece of clothing. 

Its lovely! The pattern is by Renulek. They have a blogger blog here: Renulek

I had to open up all of the picots during wet blocking. I wasnt happy about that, but it is what it is. I had to open up the picots because I was using a relatively drapey 3 ply cotton, as opposed to a more stiff and sturdy 6 ply crochet thread. Its becoming harder to find strong and sturdy crochet thread for a decent price in  the US, so I'm using what I can get.

I intend to make more of their patterns! I've already done one, a doily in Aunt Lydia's size 20 crochet thread.

They have a lovely "Spring 2024 napkin (doily)" that I want to tat next. Its available in their etsy shop or released on their blog as design notes.

Happy crafting! 

-BP

Mary Stuart Collar, Antique Crochet

This is an antique crochet collar pattern. I think the pattern is from prior to the 1860s. Like many antique patterns, I don't know how well it has been proofread or test crocheted. A lot of these antique patterns havent been.

It's called the Mary Stuart collar.

I'm using DMC cebelia size 30 thread with a 1.1mm hook.

I like working antique thread patterns. The problem is, I dont like ruffles. Ruffled fabric is definitely an 1800s fashion! The collar probably is designed to be starched so that the ruffles and lace stand out. However, I dont have the patience to starch many of my patterns. I just wet block them and that's it.

I'm mostly following the spirit of the pattern. In this picture, I am doing a sc along the neck edge to stabilize it. The pattern asks for one more row of shells after this.

The book as of this date is available on Google Books.

See you later!

-BP

Sweater Blowout and Mending

Hello fiber loving folks!

I hope your holiday season has started off well. I'm here trying to prepare for art shows and sales, while still studying my online courses.

And of course, there is holiday shopping to do for friends, family and myself. I am topping off for myself on supplies I need to keep creating and selling.

In the meantime, its sweater season! I'm frantically knitting a Central Park Hoodie (I will show it later). I love hoodies because they keep my neck and head warm, instead of me having to wear a hat and scarf around. That's two less items for me to remember when I'm going out the door.

Honestly, I should make time to inspect my sweaters each year. Twice a year if I had the time.

This is a top down circular yoke crocheted sweater made from scrap yarn and a recycled thrift store sweater. The body is done in half double crochet (US). The colors are navy for the body, and greens and teals for the yoke, hem and cuffs. I improvised the entire thing from a picture. 

This is my second time having to mend it, but it had served well over these years.

This is the underarm mending:

I have no more of the original sweater obviously, so I had to use a similar yarn for the underarms. Patons Classic wool in teal?

I'm going to use a handspun merino wool blue in a slightly lighter shade to fix the elbow hole. I will reinforce the other arm at the same time. Wish me luck!

-BPD

Car Blanket/Pillow pattern colors

Hello folks.

These past two years, I have been working on de-stashing and using up my yarn and thread. This has involved a lot of knitting, crocheting and tatting of projects. I've even donated some yarn, patterns and supplies to specific charities. I have enough needles to supply a small beginner knitting or crochet class.

I've decided to let someone else take that on, by donating my excess supplies to community centers and programs.

However, sometimes you want to make usable things for yourself with all that yarn. Understandable, right? My stash is from family members, gifts, and from when I went a bit crazy as a new fiber artist buying pretty yarn wherever I saw it, especially on sale.

I think I am mostly over this. I don't know how far I want to go with de-stashing. I still have to spin up a lot of fiber, so I shouldn't have problems finding yarn in the future!

I bought quite a few odds and ends of Lionbrand Wool Ease Thick and Quick over the years. It's fun to experiment with. It technically does knit up quick, as people say.

However, I have to modify how I knit in order to use it.

I am an 'English Flicker' style knitter. I have also been slowly decreasing the needle size I use along with the thickness of yarn I use. With yarn this thick (super bulky), I have to knit continental, which can be uncomfortable and may even begin to make my hands sore. It's not as fun. It's not like I knit continental slowly through.

Anyways, the project is a simple garter stitch car blanket. You know, for emergencies. You fold it in thirds in order to tuck it into a pouch on the blanket itself. 

This post is about looking at needle sizes and color combinations to use up all this yarn I have.

I like this color combo as a color progression.

This second picture is my second choice. I like breaking up colors that are close on the color wheel. 

I suppose we'll see what combo I end up doing.

My problem is, I dont like using US size 13 needles with this yarn. I thought I had US size 15. But I guess not. I have a US size 17. I'll try both the 13 and the 17 and see which fabric I like better.

Until next time, Happy crafting! 

Octagonal scrap tatted doily

I could have sworn that I saw this pattern somewhere but I cant find it. The pattern was a bunch of tatted octagon flowers connected and joined. All of the motifs were from scraps. I will give you the pattern below. 

I can't have been dreaming it!

Oh well. I reproduced the idea from memory. 

These are a bunch of motifs made from scrap size 10 thread from other projects. 

Some are modern threads, like aunt lydia's size 10 for the red and navy. Others... are vintage threads from the 1960s to 1990s (I think.)

Here's a picture of me trying to squeeze the last amount of pink thread onto a cheap generic shuttle.

I did the decoupage myself. I forgot where I got the paper from. But it matches nicely, right? 

Pattern

Each motif is eight sided. Rings only.

Ring 1: 8- 4- 4 -8

Ring 2: 8 + 4 - 4 -8

Final ring (8): 8 + 4 -4 +8. (Join the last picot the first ring with a folded join).

Each ring is then joined at two points to its sibling motif.

There should be a square shaped space between the finished joined motifs.

Make it with me, if you have any scraps. It should be fun! 

-JT