sitting in mum's sitting room

Made as a gift, for my mum, I've been helped by "Dalì L'artista" (*).
My mum loves it!

The back's been decorated with soft "fommy", a soft plastic material.

I've talked about the tatted frame here: https://ninettacaruso.blogspot.com/2019/07/the-letter-e-edging.html
and about the doily on the little table here: https://ninettacaruso.blogspot.com/2019/07/the-music-of-tatting.html

The little cushions were in one of my old posts (2017!!!), where I also shared my adaptation of Mrs Odum daisy for one of them: https://ninettacaruso.blogspot.com/2017/12/miniature-sofa.html

The sansevieria has been made by my aunt (the one who received the "tailor's room" I showed recently):

It's very clever of her, she thought to put pepper powder into the pot, to mimic the ground!

Ciao,
Ninetta

(*) "Dalì L'artista" is the lady that decorates the shuttles that are in my photos, she has a profile in Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010034103450

the "letter e" edging

The sitting room is almost finished, it needs only minor things to be added, then I'll show you a full picture.
The edging you see in my hands has been used to frame the scene, it's about one meter, it's finished now and already glued on.

Thread is ecrù, size 60 DMC Cordonnet Special. Pattern is from Priscilla #3, figure 30 at page 9.
Rings are all 5 picots separated by 2ds, while chains are all 3-2-2-2-2-3. Tat the ring joining it to the second last chain, then the chain, lock join to the picot in the ring and reverse work, switching shuttles. Continue with chain-ring-chain, lock join, switch shuttles and repeat.

I find this edging very fun, it is like a sequence of letters "e", one up and one down. It's a nice variation of the simple rings-and-chains edging, with all "e" in the handwriting position.

Did you know that the letter "e" is the most commonly used letter in many languages? In spite of that, I've learnt that a French author in 1969 wrote a book that is a sort of game, the title is "La disparition", and what disappears is the letter e! In the whole book there isn't a word with the letter e! The incredible thing is that the book has been translated in many languages with the same intent, I should find the Italian version, because I'm really curious now!

I tatted a simple line of rings for the little chair with a size 100 cotton thread (Anchor Artiste Mercer Crochet 100), all rings are 3 picots separated by 3ds, leaving a short bare thread space between rings, you can find the pattern in Priscilla #1 and in Priscilla #3, too. There's a lovely description: "This is the simple edging our grandmothers made, and it is very dainty when made with fine thread and used on the edge of footing to trim handkerchiefs..." Well, it's very dainty also around the chair, isn't it?

Ciao,
Ninetta

the music of tatting

Is the shuttle a musical instrument?

Lately, I've bought two spools of silk, that is produced not far from where I live.
I had tatted with silk before, but it was raw silk, that I washed myself, I was not completely satisfied because it was sort of fluffy and picots' effect was that the thread wanted to open like a fan.

Not this one!
It is beautiful, twisted and shining... and I discovered that twisted silk can be magical!

For once I was tatting alone at home, without TV, sons, in complete silence, I heard a sound that resembled a violin! At first I  couldn't understand the source.
It was the music produced by the silk, while I was pulling the tiny thread in and out of the ring!

I made up the pattern for the little doily. It was a sort of "tat it and see" but without Mrs. Jane who's got your back! I had to retro tat a couple of times, I also could reopen two rings, I'm really surprised how easy it was!

It's a very very tiny thread. Measuring it with my own "gauge", I could tat 20 ds to reach one centimetre,  it is a lot thinner than a size 100 cotton, that only need 15 or 16 ds for one centimetre of tatting!

I talked about my personal tatting gauge here: https://ninettacaruso.blogspot.com/2015/03/repetita-iuvant-at-least-to-myself.html

Well, I think that for now on, if someone asks me, I can affirm without any doubt that tatting is like playing music!

That silk is produced by "Tecnoseta srl", in Zagarolo (it is a city near Rome, they have an email: tecnoseta@gmail.com)
It is a twisted silk, technically they call that "twisted 2/3 T6", but don't ask me what does it mean!

Ciao,
Ninetta

miniature sofa

Thread is DMC size 80 ecrù.

Those pillows are my second attempt, the first ones were too big for the sofa and I had to start again, measuring the fabric and browsing the internet in search of any help. I found an inspiring site with many tutorials for little furniture, I'd like you have a look, for example at this: http://1inchminisbykris.blogspot.com/2017/11/1-inch-scale-embroidered-table-topper.html

The first pillow version is on the right in that picture.

The "big" ones would be lovely scissors fobs, they will be given away. I only need a cord for the fob, there is a knotted cord here in fig. 835 of the Encyclopedia of needlework by Th.de Dillmont: http://encyclopediaofneedlework.com/chapter_15.html

The pattern in the left is an adaptation of Mrs Odum daisy. Textual directions are in the same style as they are for the original pattern that I found here: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art61288.asp

With two shuttles begin with a round centre ring.
1. R 1 - (1 -) x 6, 1 close ring, mock picot climb into next round
2. CH 4 + (join to next picot) vsp CH 4. Repeat 7 times. ((((I used lock joins))))
Lock join thread to first picot and make vsp.
3. CH 5 + (join to that vsp on the previous row) and repeat around. 
4. CH 6 + (join to that vsp on the previous row) and repeat around.
5. CH 7 + (join to that vsp on the previous row) and repeat around. ((((I put in the last chain the magic loop thread for hiding the end tail))))

6. *make a vsp. CH 7, position chain on top of motif and join it to the first picot on the round centre ring, going across the picot. ((((I only tat a second half stitch after the join))))
CH 7, position chain on top of motif and bring back to the starting point.
((((I used an ANKARS over join in this point, joining the vsp)))) 
Continue to the same direction.
7. CH 4 - 4 as part of the outer round and lock join to the next picot on the outer round. 
8. Repeat from * around for a total of 8 petals positioned on top the flower motif.
(((( I finished with the method by Frivolè for Hiding Ends in the Last Chain and hid the second tail with the magic loop left in previous round ))))

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

In the next pic, I used HWT (a cotton without a label and a sewing silk thread) to have a size 20 thread for tatting again the pink square by Cathy de Greef ( Tat a Brussels’ monument in pink ). I've tatted five till now. For the first two squares, I started with a ring, then I tried to go down or up with a chain. I was looking for a simple way to teach beginners how to tat it, in fact I hope to involve my friends - the bobbin lacers of our local lace association. In her video, shared in the site, Cathy started with a chain and now I think I've understood the reason. I think that starting with a chain is clever, as you don't have to worry about how to join the last chain in a narrow curve, that's easier for beginners. But I found that starting from the second chain (labelled 3 in red in her picture with the pattern) it is even easier, that is you join in the normal way the second last chain and then you have the last chain where to finish and hide tails... I hope I was clear. Just my two cents among the many possibilities we can choose for tatting that little square.

Ciao,
Ninetta

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