Poor Beatrice! She's been on hold since November 9, when I ran out of thread! Luckily, Tatskool had some of her luscious Raspberry Sorbet left, so I quickly ordered the last two skeins. For some reason, the mail system took F-O-R-E-V-E-R! ...a whole month to be exact! By the time the thread arrived, Dave had begun decorating for Christmas... he goes way overboard, and I have to put tons of my favorite stuff away. Naturally, I put Beatrice in a very safe place... too safe! When the thread arrived, I couldn't find my precious little doily anywhere! I dutifully wound the thread onto my dragonfly thread winder, knowing that Beatrice would show her pretty little face at some point.
When we were putting the Christmas decorations away, I found my beloved Beatrice! However, I had put the new thread in a very safe place, and couldn't find it anywhere! So, I put Beatrice in a very safe place, knowing that the dragonfly would flit my way sometime in the future.
Saturday, I decided to do a little organizing in my sewing room. Guess what I found... my dragonfly filled with beautiful thread! But where had I put Beatrice? I just couldn't find her. I won't tell you my sewing room is now organized... that would be a complete lie! However, I did find myself drawn back to the cluttered mess several times on Saturday and Sunday. Late Sunday afternoon, I decided to give up on tatting for a little bit and work on my lace scarf (in the works for two years now). When I opened my knitting basket, guess what I saw smiling up at me... Beatrice! Luckily, I had placed the dragonfly next to my chair so that I could work on Beatrice as soon as I found her!
End of the story, right? Wrong! I happily tatted along, and when I thought I was finished, I realized I had one pattern repeat too many! So, I carefully un-tatted my precious HDT to the necessary point and prepared to finish my lovely little doily. Now are we at the end? No! I discovered that I made a mistake at the very beginning of the doily! I joined the second cluster of rings to the wrong picot on the first cluster of rings. I almost cried! But, I didn't... instead I carefully looked at the doily to see what I needed to do. I cut out the first ring, and carefully unpicked the second ring. I finished Beatrice about 9 last night, and now you can see her in all her glory!
Poor girl... she's been through a lot! I hope to carefully wrap her up and send her off to a friend this week. What!? I'm not keeping her for myself? No, she was started with a particular friend in mind, and that friend will receive her... better late that never! Luckily, I have enough Raspberry Sorbet to make a second one for me!
By the way, Beatrice, designed by Iris Niebach, is about 8 1/2" across in size 20 Raspberry Sorbet from Tatskool. Have I ever mentioned how much I love HDT? Oh, and even with retro-tatting, I finished this little beauty in 10 days... woo hoo!
Beautiful !!! I love this patterns :))
ReplyDeleteBeatrice is so pretty. You did a wonderful job. I can sympathize with you. Looking for things around the house seems to be my past time too. I remember I just saw it, but where is it??
ReplyDeleteSo glad you found Beatrice and finsihed her. What a lovely doily!!
ReplyDeleteBeatrice is lovely. Your meticulous work has made Beatrice well worth the waiting.
ReplyDeleteBeatrice is very very pretty! I think all crafty people need to have one container (probably a large one) marked "very safe place" and have it close at hand, lol!
ReplyDeleteYou did an amazing job of retro-tatting -- because I can't see it anywhere! Beatrice and Cornelia are two of my favorite patterns. I don't know whether the patterns shows off the thread or the thread shows off the pattern, but it's a perfect duo!
ReplyDeleteWow- what a tale! I was sweating and smiling all through that adventure! Nice storytelling, Diane!
ReplyDeleteAnd the doily is lovely!
Fox : )
I don't think I could part from such a beautiful piece of tatting! So glad you found it and then finished it!
ReplyDeleteHoley Moley, What a story...with a PERFECT ending, your tatting is wonderful.
ReplyDeleteWow you certainly had a job ahead of you.Trying to find Beatrice and then the thread!!!!!!!!!!! By the way Beatrice is just gorgeous and I love the thread colour!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThat is a lovely doily and your friend is very lucky to receive such a treasure! Looks like it was worth the wait.
ReplyDeleteOh, Diane, what a hoot! I loved your story. You did a wonderful job on Beatrice and I can't tell where you corrected it. You did a good save girl! Hugs, Linda
ReplyDeleteHi Diane! A beautifully tatted Iris Niebach doily, in Tatskool’s lovely HDT. I do admire your perseverance and determination, and patience in CUTTING and retro-tatting! Your 'mistake' sure isn't obvious!
ReplyDeleteThe lost-and-found (and lost-and-found) story is a riot. Funny that you put poor “Beatrice” in your knitting basket! I’m glad I’m not the only one who does these things. I’m now looking for cards I ‘think’ I bought, but since I can’t find them, I’m wondering if I actually did buy them. If I buy new ones I know I’ll find the ‘other ones’ in a ‘safe place’ (unless I didn’t actually buy them …..!
I also looked again at your incredible shuttle collection and displays. Fabulous!
Your sewing room and book collection are also impressive!
Where can I find this pattern? This is beautiful. I might just have to add it to my list of things to tat!!
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