I finished the tatted ring I made for my friend's birthday. It is the first fully completed project I have done. I have made quite a number of motifs and various things to practice with, but I learned how to sew in the ends on this piece. I am pretty pleased with how it turned out. And my friend LOVED it. She understood the work it took and she felt special that it was my first real creation.
This pattern is free from yarnplayer, here: http://yarnplayertats.blogspot.com/2009/11/remembrance-tatted-ring.html. It is quite easy, perfect for a beginner. (And I love this thread!!)
Challenges for me...
I have a 3-year old and I get distracted easily so I lose my place. I also tend to forget to read ahead and make sure that I know what I am doing, which is a bad idea in tatting. I made the first row and made a big mistake in one of the rings so I started over. I could have cut it out or tried to loosen the ring but that frustrates me too much sometimes. Doing it over sometimes makes it turn out better.
This was my first project where I finished by hiding the ends. I tried the method where you jab the needle through the knots along the working thread, and I don't know if my hands just aren't strong enough, but I couldn't get the needle through no matter what I did. All I succeeded in doing was bending a needle (!) and making a couple of the chains look terrible. (Why didn't I try this on something else first?!) I reverted to the sewn in method and I was much more pleased with the results. I really couldn't see the threads although I'm sure experienced tatters could. Video instructions for both methods can be found at Tatted Treasures here: http://www.tattedtreasures.com/tutorials/ She is an amazing teacher!
On my next project, (snowflake below), I tried the magic thread trick (also at the above link), but something I had done in my final knot prevented both the threads from traveling through. It worked like a charm on one of the threads so I will keep trying that method.
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Although this turned out rather pretty, I am a bit frustrated with not getting things even. I was more focused on getting the right number of stitches and reversing work when I was supposed to. I'm guessing it will come with practice, but I am impatient!
http://sharonstattedlace.blogspot.com/2006/10/snowflake-2.html
This pattern comes from Sharon and you can find the pattern on her blog (link above). How in the world do people figure out how and when to reverse work and why do patterns neglect to share this information? It is my greatest struggle right now.
Next I'm going to make a few of the remembrance rings in several colors and do another easy snowflake for practice.
