Faith Crown

    Just a quick update. I got the first round done, but  I am not really happy with it. I know I can do better. I am going to go with it as is at the moment and finish this crown. I will probably do it over later, but for now I am looking for the "glitches". I have found a couple.
    The first was running out of thread on the first round. I hate to tie in tails any more than needed, so I will have to use a larger shuttle next time.
    Second, I can tie in tails a lot better than I did, but I was in a hurry, so it does not look very good to me. No, you probably cannot see it in this photo. I am so ashamed of it I don't want to show it.
    Third, I also got a couple of  "loose" spots, where the chain or ring should be pulled together better.

    This photo is the first and second round. R2 is just the chain from ring-top to ring-top. On to the final round and see what errors await.

A New Strip

    I am now almost over the cold I have had for 3 weeks. This has been miserable. The doctor gave me a course of antibiotic, but had to give me another, stronger one when the first did not work. Feeling better now, but still a little congested.
   I am working on something I have promised myself for 40 years or more. Look at the row of rings in the picture. Recognize it? In the back of the book "Tatting Patterns and Designs" are 3 crowns. I always wanted to do one. I have started it several times and lost interest or got diverted to something else and forgot about it. Now I am going to do it and finish it. This will be Faith, the first one.

    When I started this row, I made a ring, then a chain. I wondered about the next ring. Do a shoelace? Then it hit me. So obvious. These are all thrown (floating) rings. That also means that the chain is continuous, so it will want to curl, distort, pull. I find the easy way to force it straight is just hold the first ring and rub my finger along it, a little at a time, until it is straight. It seems to work pretty well.