Since it’s been snowing off and on for the past few days (total 6” – plus record low temps), I’m inspired to post some snowflakes from the past! (Also, please know that I seem to have little control over the spacing in my posts. I've 'edited' it as best I can. Possibly someone can give me some tips!)
I’m trying to put a ‘happy spin’ on my winter doldrums, (which always set in before winter starts!) and thought I’d see what some tatted snowflakes ( Motifs 9 and 10 below) would look like on a cute sweater I wear in the winter to cheer me up. (Actually they look good. Maybe I’ll tat new ones up!)
Motif #9 - Snowflake (with variation) from DMC Festive Tatting
(designed by Marion T. Leyds - No. 15 in book)
This is the first snowflake pattern I ever attempted back in 1991, and it’s still one of my favorites.
My ‘variation’ is that I did not include the thrown- off rings in the center and just put picots (thereby avoiding the use of the ‘feared’ second shuttle in my early learning stage)
Same snowflake with mirrored gem
in the center (front and back)
Adding the gem always adds some ‘sparkle’
Same snowflake, with silk ribbon poinsettia embellishment.
I like to use silk flowers in my tatting, even on snowflakes!
This snowflake is a reminder of our winter wedding (45 years ago on Jan 4!!) , where my maid of honor and bridesmaid wore red gowns and carried white fur muffs, with a red carnation spray. I had wanted poinsettias but the florist said they would wilt! The carnations looked lovely, though. Our wedding in 1964 was snow-free (just some snow leftover from a New Year’s Eve snowfall), but we got 10” on our return to work on the 13th!! ! Anniversaries have ranged in temps all the way from 60 degrees to minus 2! And on our 30th anniversary (1994) we spent the morning shoveling 10” of snow from our driveway so my husband could get to work! Annoyed as I was at having to shovel so much snow, I was very grateful that it didn’t snow like that on my wedding day!
Motif #10 - Snowflake (with variation) from DMC Festive Tatting
(designed by Marion T. Leyds – No. 5 in book)
Marion Leyds created a very similar snowflake to the one above, eliminating the long chains under the 5 top rings.
You can see how she came up with this variation, and indeed it has a different ‘look’ to it.
Again I didn’t include the thrown-off rings in the center, allowing me to hang a snowflake ‘crystal’ pendant.
When hung in a window, the crystal reflects sunlight through a prism and throws rainbow “lights” around a room. A true “sun catcher” !
Motif #11 - My Own Design (1995?) – No Picots!
The inspiration for this snowflake was a Lenox porcelain snowflake that I saw in a catalog.
I wondered if I could ‘copy’ it in tatting and sat down and sketched it out, then surprised myself by actually tatting it!
I can’t find the sketch or the pattern, which is probably tucked into the catalog, which may or may not still be in the house! It needs to be perfected a bit, as the rings kind of ‘lop over’ each other. On the other hand, it adds to the ‘antique-y’ look.
I have just realized that the above three snowflakes plus the eight-sided one I posted on December 18 (the Christmas card) are the only snowflake patterns I’ve ever tatted! I was concentrating more on my 3-D ornaments during my ‘tatting frenzy’ years (1990-94). I have been bedazzled by all the snowflake patterns tatted by everyone, including the gorgeous HDT’s!
Hope those of you in the cold climates are staying warm! (Hey, Tattingchic - and those in sunny climes – just a little envy! OK – maybe a lot of envy!!!!) I’m trying to appreciate the beauty of the snow (it IS beautiful on a sunny, blue-sky day) and, thankfully, I really don’t have to go out in it (except for shoveling and food shopping), but I miss the joy of walking around the neighborhood and sitting in my backyard among the birds and flowers! At least the stores are starting to put out gardening items – that helps cheer me up!
