Jane's Bookmark Cross with One Shuttle

     I made 2 of Jane's Bookmark Cross, adapted by Grace O. B. Tan from a bookmark pattern by Jane McLellan. Then I started thinking about it. It uses 2 shuttles, but is all rings. A ring only needs one shuttle, unless you are making a split ring. Then again, there are Single Shuttle Split Rings. There is a method by Matthew Takeda, easily found on Jane Eborall's techniques page. I decided to try to make the cross with one shuttle.

     This picture shows what I was able to do with one shuttle. The sssr is not difficult to do or deal with. The problem comes in with the other rings. You can see that at this point, I have 2 large rings, but only one thread. If I make the next sssr, it will be off center. The following is a possible solution to the problem.

    First, I pull a loop up through the opposite ring, then pass the shuttle through it. I pull it tight enough to pull the ring bases together. 

    This simply transfers the thread to the other ring, though, so it still is not centered.

    Next, I pulled a loop up behind the thread that is between the rings, more easily seen in the previous photo, then pass the shuttle through that loop and tighten. 

    Now I have the thread coming from a point in the middle of the two rings.

    I can go ahead and make my next single shuttle split ring. Don't forget to pass the loop over the ring and shuttle once the ring is closed. If you pull the shuttle thread through without it, the second half of the ring is undone. I know this from experience now.

 

    When I pull it closed, it is pretty well centered. Then next set of rings will connect to the small joining picots and stabilize the split ring.

 

    Is this worth doing? It seems to take a little longer to get the same effect as using two shuttles, but then, I was having a lot of problems with "gapsosis" at the split rings. This does seem to help with that problem. All in all, it is a matter of preference. I wanted to do it as a personal challenge. I am going to finish the cross using sssr's just to see the outcome. I think it will work ok.

A Bit of a Break

 

    I need a bit of a break from the doily. I am on round 13, the last round and I am about 1/3 the way around it. But I need to do something a little different.

    I found this pattern on Craftree. It is a cross by Grace O. B. Tan, based on a bookmark pattern by Jane McLellan.  What drew me to it is there are no chains in the pattern. The chain I made for the "tail and the ring on the end are not actually part of the pattern. I can make this easily in a day. Maybe I can make 2 in a day. I don't get in a hurry. It does use split rings, but that is easy enough. I think the hardest part is starting it. My big hands don't like to hold tiny objects and I keep dropping it until I get the first of the largest rings made.

    I will be giving these (I am making 4, at least) to the people at cardiac rehab. They are good enough to put up with me for my recovery. It's the least I can do to repay them.

    I am 3 months out from surgery and doing pretty well. Better than I was 2 months ago, for sure! The biggest problem is I got my appetite back. And after I lost all that weight...