At least that's the name given to this little motif by my husband - he claims it looks like Chiclets. I don't even remember the last time I saw, much less had Chiclets, so I'll have to take him at his word.
Made with Signature size 40 quilting thread. Pattern from A New Twist on Tatting by Catherine Austin
I picked up this Signature size 40 cotton thread a few months ago at Jo Anne's. I will blame this colorway on the fact that I bought it in the winter. (Not very likely, as I really, really like winter!) It remained sitting in its bag for quite a while, until a few weeks ago, when I came home from work one Friday afternoon. It had been a long, stressful week at work and I did not feel like doing *anything*. Even bobbin lace, which is normally a nice escape seemed too much to handle. After catching up on a bunch of blogs (lace and non-lace), I decided to try making something with the thread. I'm still surprised that I made something so colorful though... I had quite a few thought running through my head as I finished the motif. Warning: rambling ahead!
Variegated threads:
As I had mentioned, I am not a big fan of variegated threads. That's probably good, because it means I haven't been too tempted to jump on the HDT band wagon. Don't get me wrong I loooooove looking at the skeins of colorful HDT that people show. Very pretty! I'm just not a big fan of how it normally works up. The design often gets obscured, etc. I'm sure everyone has heard it all before... It tends to work better when paired with a solid, preferably so the rings are solid and the chains are variegated. That way you can see all the transitions. Another peeve of mine at least with the store bought variegated threads is that the transitions are very sudden. I think I would prefer a more gradual transition between colors (i.e. more than 1 knot when going from green to red...). However, I am not even a big fan of "variations on a theme of ..." as I call it where the thread is only a gradation of one color. I think the main reason I haven't been too crazy about variegated threads is that I tend to make doilies and other large projects. Smaller motifs tend to work better. I've seen some very beautiful pieces on blogs that have tempted me to get some HDTs:) Having said all that, I have made/are making some pieces with variegated threads. I do like working with it - it's fun to see the colors change and it makes a simple round of rings and chains more fun to work.
Quilting/sewing threads:
I've tried several quilting and sewing threads for tatting. This Signature thread is one of the nicer ones to tat with. It could be thinner though:) It does not fuzz too badly and I don't have to worry about it snapping when closing a ring. It even behaved well a few times when I had to retro tat (I didn't open a ring though - I never bother with that as I find it easier to cut out the mistake). But. Like all sewing and quilting threads, the final piece is very floppy. I much prefer a stiffer piece of lace like you get from DMC 80. Why oh why is the smallest 6 cord thread still available only in size 100!?!? I really wish they still made 6 cord threads in finer sizes. At least I think I remember reading that they used to make finer 6 cord thread. I might have made that up though!
Book:
I know a lot of tatters don't like this book, but I do. It was one of the first tatting books I bought and it's one I look through often. It's a bit misleading because the first half of the book shows pictures of lace for which the patterns aren't even provided. The pictures in the first half are beautiful. Granted the Victorian-era inspired decor is not my thing at all, but I still like looking at it! The patterns are so-so. Most, or at least similar patterns, can be found in vintage books. This is actually the first pattern I made from this book. I do like the way some of the patterns are used though. I would never have thought of putting lace around a flower pot, for example. Again, not sure I would actually do that, but it's nice to have some different applications. I know this doesn't sound like a glowing review of the book, but I really like flipping through it.
Wow, that was long!
The motif does look like a bit like Chiclets. I just saw a kid stuffing a whole box in his mouth earlier today!
ReplyDeleteI agree...on everything! You're right about the HDT obscuring the pattern in many cases. I have tons of it, but I'm starting to use it more as an accent to a piece than the main focal point.
After reading on the blogs about quilting/sewing thread, I tried it, don't like it. The colors are pretty, but it's a pain to work with. If it were made to be a bit stiffer, then I might experiment more.
That book is the first book I ever bought, too. I didn't even know how to tat, but I fell in love with the heart pattern. The book just sits on the shelf now taking up space, but I can't bear to part with it. Sentimental reasons, you know.
Interesting post!
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother used to have a bowl on her table that was always full of Chiclets packages!
I remember the colours as being very bright - all primary - like the colours in your motif. Is this why your DH used that name for your work, perhaps?
It is very pretty.
Fox : )
Are you not counting this as a motif in Round 2? (Congrats on finishing the first round!) I think this motif is lovely and the colors are very nicely dispersed. I've always enjoyed looking through Catherine Austin's book, which came out during the resurgence of interest in Victorian things in the 1990s. It's a very unusual and attractive publication.
ReplyDeleteI'm amazed at the thread you used here because just yesterday I was in JoAnn's and noticed the Signature thread for the first time, and I didn't remember seeing that brand before (I don't look at spool thread that often) and didn't recall anyone mentioning it in their blog (although they could have and I just didn't pay attention). Then - here you are mentioning it!
I bought a spool of variegated pastels, size 20. For some reason I like using size 20 these days (especially Lizbeth) because it's easier to 'undo' and I can see the knots without a magnifying glass! I kind of like how 'quickly' my particular Signature thread changes colors.
I think some motifs are very much enhanced by HDTs and really come to life. I agree that often the tatting gets 'lost' in larger pieces unless the coloring works out evenly spaced, which seems to be by 'chance'!
Are you really serious about tatting with threads FINER than size 100? That's way too labor intensive for me!
I'm also impressed with your long list of needlecraft hobbies! My days of having several things going on at once are long gone. I'm not nearly so driven as I once was, when I was knitting, quilting, cross-stitching, tatting, and doing calligraphy, all in one day!
Love Chiclet! And I'm taken even more aback because it looks remarkably similar to the Signature quilting cotton I used ("Brights") in size 20 in which I thought the color changes were too short to do anything with. (See my post for details and a photo: "http://ambitatterous.blogspot.com/2010/03/shamrocks-equinox-and-spring-oh-my.html)
ReplyDeleteNow I must go to JoAnn's and compare threads! Thank you for choosing this bright, primary thread! It makes my heart glad to know that it CAN be used to stunning effect in tatting.
Really love the varigated thread you have used for your motif and agree with you regarding HDT, although saying that I am considering buying some for a project, it will be my first ever HDT!
ReplyDeleteI've never been tempted before.