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Friday, June 11, 2010

A Procession of Flautists!

I had always wanted intended to tat a Kokopelli since I first saw it on Jane's pattern pages.
It was on my to 'do list' waiting for it's moment............until I received Nancy Tracy's (of Be-Stitched)
May Newsletter. She had been on a visit to New Mexico and had fallen in love with the Kokopelli, and decided to design one.
You can find the pattern here.

No excuses now......I thought it would be fun to try to tat all three versions of the Kokopelli.
Now I must explain why there are three versions......
After a discussion with Debbie Flork about designing a Kokopelli, Jane suggested that they both try to design one. Jane says that with very little help Debbie came up with a design.

You can read about the Kokopelli here, but here is a brief summary.
Kokopelli is an ancient North American Indian legendary Flute player. He is featured in rock art in deserts and mountains in many sites....many over a thousand years old.
He is shown as a humpbacked flute player.
He is harbinger of Spring, bringing warmth and joy. He was often thought of as a fertility symbol and a trickster, visiting villages, playing his flute carrying his songs on his back, together with seeds and blankets. He would leave the village, leaving behind abundant crops and pregnant females!

The first Kokopelli that I tried was Jane's design.

The rings on his head twisted a lot so I cut and fringed them...looks quite cool!
Next up...here he is In my Coral Reef.....made a mistake with his hair..made the picots in the wrong order...another variation!

Then I wondered what he would look like in metallic thread...the One that I showed you here.
 
He was so lovely that I tried one in my favourite metallic gold, Coats Ophir.


They were soon marching along in a procession.

I think you can tell how much I like this design!
It really showcases Jane's skill and experience. Tatted in two sections..the flute and hands are tatted  last.

Next to try out was Debbie's design.
In Flora 20 and again in the Bronze Altin Basak Nakis Simi.

Here you can see the size comparison.
This Kokopelli is tatted in several sections resulting in lots of ends! If you can face all these ends tho the result is brilliant! He is so jaunty.
The final one to tat was Nancy's one.
In Flora 20 and in the metallic bronze.
A very different equally cute design. The hair was to be pulled straight but of course this was impossible in the metallic. A clever design made in one part...yippee only one lot of ends!

Thread amounts in Flora 20
Jane...body..Sh1...1.3m, Sh2..1.5m
flute....Sh1... 55cm,  Sh2 ...25cm

Debbie...body...Sh1..75cm ,Sh2..2.55.
for all the other little bits 1m is enough!

Nancy .... metallic...Sh1...1.85m, Sh2...1.35.

Here is a size comparison of the three designs in Flora 20.


Which do I like the best, which looks most like a Kokopelli... I can't say...they are soooh very different.

I hope this has been some use and interest to you, blogging takes such a long time that I often wonder if it is worth it.

Last week was my son's birthday ...never know what to get.. so along with his' dosh' I made him a Kokopelli in a coaster....with an explanation set into the back.
When he first saw it he thought that it was an 'amphipod'.....Jane you still haven't designed an amphipod for me!!!

His card was a footballer....in 3D Decoupage.


Oh but...
I had to tat some more Kokopelli just to see what they would look like......in...
my Flame Lantana and Oren Bayen .
Love 'em all....but it is so hard to stop those long picots twisting. It depends on the direction of the twist on the thread.  When it comes off a ball of Flora then I load shuttle 2 first. With HDT it's hard to know...and with Oren Bayen I should have loaded Shuttle 1 first.

That's all for today...see you when I have some free time!












17 comments:

  1. Wow, Tatskool, you have been busy! They all look great, even the ones with the different hair styles LOL! I very much enjoyed your experiences with each of them and their threads. How does Fergal feel about your attention to all these flautists? And with all those flutes - are they playing a piece together or are they each playing their own song? The Kokopelli Band!

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  2. Love it! You have done the little fellow justice, Tatskool! They are all delicious.

    And yes, it is worth it! I LOVE your blog!
    Fox : )

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  3. Your Kokopelli look fantastic! I like the Oren Bayan and Flame Lantana best, but the metallic ones are really smashing too.

    Happy Birthday to your son. Had to look up "dosh" in an urban dictionary -- that is how tragically un-hip I am. LOL!

    (Dosh is a casual word for money, for anyone else who wondered, but didn't want to be regarded as "not in the know." -- I make these mistakes so you don't have to!)

    While they do take a lot of time, blog posts as tantalizing as yours are not to be missed! So I hope you never stop sharing your creations, daily thoughts, trails, tribulations and humor via your blog.

    Tat on! (and blog on!)

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  4. What an amazing project! I really do appreciate all the time you take to share your information. I had Nancy's Kokopelli printed out, but didn't know about the other two. I have printed them out for my notebook of things I would like to try and wrote down your notes to go with it. Please don't stop blogging! I always look forward to your posts. Especially the ones with new threads =)

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  5. All the little Kokopelli guys are great! We've been to see some of the petroglyphs and pictographs in Southern Utah -- and actually saw Kokopelli "in person" so-to-speak. These would look wonderful in my friend's house which is decorated in a Southwestern theme. I'm going to have to get out the southwestern colors and hunt up the pattern! Thanks for posting these.

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  6. love them, love them, what a busy lady you have been. i love them all and now i want to have a go.my dragon fly will never get finished at this rate.

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  7. Wonderful! I love the fringed hair on the 1st fellow. I made a few of these myself. So cute. wish I knew what to do with them!

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  8. Don't stop blogging--it is so much fun seeing what you've come up with next. Being and old stick-in-the-mud, I never thought I'd like anything to do with the leps- but I even find myself going to their website. I especially enjoy the present world tour. Just know the time and effort you put into your online presence is appreciated.

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  9. hello Tattridy....The Kokopelli band makes quite a racket! Feargal has gone AWOL at the moment so we don't know what he thinks!

    Thanks Fox.

    Hi IsDihara, the flame and Orenbayen were a last minute thought as I searched for something derserty. the Coral Reef I thought was like turquoise..often used in American Indian jewellery. Sorry you didnt know what dosh was!

    Thanks Paula, haven't touched a dye brush for at least a month....too busy in the sun! You will be the first to know when I do.


    Thanks Marty, I just found another stray Jane one done in dark red metallic, little blighters are everywhere. We never git into Utah, Nevada and Arizona were the nearest, would love to see them.

    Thanks Geraldine, they are fun to make. I have so many things to blog about, this is just the tip of an emerging iceberg!

    Oh Gina you don't have to do anything with them, just enjoy making them. They do make nice coasters!
    Oh Beelizabeth I am so glad you enjoy the leps, it's amazing how they cheer people up and how perceptive they are!

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  10. This post made me smile! The Kokopelli just makes me want to dance.

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  11. What a lovely parade of Kokopelli you have and all so colourfull. Just love them!!!!!

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  12. It looks like you had alot of fun with these guys, Tatskool. I like the fringed hair on the first guy.

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  13. My mind is totally boggled by this post - and many of of your posts! The multiple tatting in different threads (which you often do!), the clever coaster, the wonderful card. Your talents just go on and on. I certainly appreciate the work that went into all of the above! Your blog is always interesting to read.

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  14. Very beautiful procession! Your flautists are wonderful!

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  15. Carol Laweki said:-
    I so enjoy your blog posts. You have a flare for writing and I love to see all the samples of what you have made with so many different colors and sizes of thread!! Thank You!! Love all your Kokopelli's!!!!

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  16. Thanks Steph, Typs and Bonnie...I too love the fringed hair...methinks I will fringe the ones where the picots twisted.

    Hi Kathy Carla and Carol I am so glad you like to read what I write.

    Thanks for all you comments, you make me realise that it is all worth it...and also that if I tat all these variations and show them to you and you appreciate it, and maybe it helps you, then that was reason enough to tat them. They don't need another use!

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  17. I have always wondered what Kokopelli was. Now I know. I thought the description on the back of the coaster was a wonderful idea.

    All your Kokopellis have a distinct character of their own. The first one is my favourite too.

    I just ordered some of the metallic threads in gold, silver, black and red. Are they easy to use e.g. when closing rings?

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