The answer - part 2

Sharren Morgan (one of the Palmetto Tatters) mentioned the other day that she'd played with this idea. She sent in one of her pieces this morning for me to see. It's SO neat it makes me hang my head in shame. Anyway, I couldn't work out how she'd done hers so the following is her explanation. Do hope she writes this pattern down and uses it as it would make a really good lesson.

"I started opposite the tail with a small split ring. I did the red side as an SCMR, throwing off rings that I joined together, then did the split part in white and mirrored the throwing off rings and joining them together. I finished with another small split ring, then did the tail. I had one that's been long since given away that I did in a single color. "

The answer

It's a split SCMR? At least I think that's what I'd call it.
I found myself in the situation the other day when I needed a split SCMR!! Now we all go through phases, I'm sure, when we really, really, really need a split SCMR!! I wondered if this was feasible and it certainly is.
This is how it would work. You make the SCMR as you would normally but when you come to close it you pull the loop up as usual BUT leave a gap at the base. You need to be sure to hide the loop back near the base of the left hand side but this is really easy.
Next you work back over the space you've left using a split chain. Is this a new idea or am I re-inventing the wheel once more!!!
Below are two drawings that I've done to show what I'm talking about!!!!
I know this isn't 'rocket science' but I think it may come in useful - one day!!

Another suggestion!!

This is from 'Dani the geek'.

It looks like the eyes on the face and the top bead on the middle motif were done the same way. I'm suggesting that first you made a split ring with a bead on the core thread. then you took your core thread and (taking it off the shuttle, if, indeed, you had a shuttle to begin with) pulled it through the bead again in order to make a second split ring. I tried to make it look like a more complicated technique, but this brute-force ways seems the most fitting. (bigger pictures would help!) Thanks for the brain food, I need all I can get about now!

Tomorrow I will 'tell all'.

Babette's way of working the doodle

The following is how Babette worked the little doodle on the left. It's not the way I did it but it's another way. Thanks for taking up the challenge Babette. Anybody else got any ideas?

Using your colour scheme: Started first green chain using a safetypin to leave vsp made chain of 3ds p 3ds, then turned and made white chain with picots and the centre thrown ring. Joined white chain to starting vsp of green chain. The rest was straightforward chains, split rings and normal rings, making sure the lower two rings were joined to the same picot. Perhaps you could put these notes into a more comprehensible set of instructions.

Once I had enlarged the picture of your doodle enough to see exactly where the picots joined the rest was quite simple, only the actual stitch count eluded me as the picture was not clear enough for an accurate count.

Another message from Babette on the third one (the face). She says -

Bearing in mind it’s 35deg C outside, England v NZ 20/20 is on television and we are almost through the 2^nd bottle of wine (a woman after my own heart!) and supper has not even begun yet.

I roughly made motif in two parts. The first with two colours, the split ring, four small rings and 5 downward picots, the 5^th also the join/finish. Second part with two shuttles wound with pink thread, joined at finish of first part, then chains and joins up to the first two small rings. Then split chain with split ring joining next split ring and split chain before finishing second side to match first, joining beads where shown. Very rough and ready description of method and probably more complicated than your original but it worked. The motif is not worth scanning in primarily because I was not particularly accurate on stitch count, picot size, tension and finishing off the threads.

Some ideas about how I did tat!

This is what Babette Garman sent me.


I'm waiting to hear from her again to find out how she did hers as it looks so very close. It must be remembered that there are always many ways to 'skin a rabbit' and that sometimes the same results can be achieved by other methods.

There have been lots of suggestions about how I did it and the only one to get it right so far has been Sharren Morgan. She's already played with this idea before and I'm hoping she'll send me copies of what she's done.

How did I do tat?

Three examples of something I've been playing with.
Challenge - how did I do tat?!?