Heart No 3

Next up is the one that was to me THE most daunting one in the book, even tho' some of the others are much more complicated.

The reason???? The very mention of the term Split Chain send shivers down my spine. It's not that I can't do them, it's because they are difficult to do well!!

But it looks such an elegant heart that I finally had to bite the bullet and give it a try. Doing the mini heart hadn't helped either this time as it didn't have a hint of a split chain.

My first attempt in a Flora antique rose colour that I don't really like, was in my eyes awful!! That's why I do a practice one!
The split chains are very sloppy...I hadn't made them for a while and I forget how to do them well. I do vaguely remember tatting a pattern with lots of them...probably another Martha pattern!! and thinking to myself that split chains are no bother to me any longer.

mmmmmm!!!

It wasn't until I got to the last split chain that I remembered how I finally did them well. I turn the work around so that I am working from left to right as in normal tatting and this seems to make a huge difference.

But the tatting had other very nasty mistakes in it...one of which looks awful...I joined my split chain to the wrong place and didn't notice until I was well away from it...and a minor mistake of a ring in the outer round with the wrong number of picots.



It doesn't look too bad on the scan and even the colour looks ok!! but I did what I always do when I am not satisfied with my tatting... I tatted it again.

This time in my favorite rich deep pink Flora, always makes me feel happy!!

Even so I still have one extra picot where it wasn't wanted and a section where the stitches are wrong side where they should have been right side....but I think it's pretty good.

My split chains are pretty good this time.....never again will I fear them!!!

I think I just might have said that before!!




MY Thread amounts Flora 20...Sh1 6.50 metres, Sh2 13.75 metres.
The heart measures 10.5cm across.