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Sunday, June 18, 2017

2015 Spring Doily - DONE!

The Doily Dilemma

Remember THE doily I started back HERE?  Yes, February 1, 2015.  2015! I started the final round (#11) by May 8 of 2015. I was keeping track of the time it took me to work each round.  Just because I thought it would be interesting.  Approximately 89 hours total.  

Don't EVER do that.  Keep track of the time it takes, I mean. Really, it completely took the joy out of tatting this piece.  I think it jinxed me!  I put this beautiful doily away for 2 years - I'm sure it's because it just made me nervous thinking about how many hours I still had left to finish it.  Daunting. After 10 rounds, I had 62 hours into this doily.  That is a LONG time.  I'm a fairly slow tatter, but sheesh!  Just don't even go there.

I went to get this doily out for our International Tatting Day gathering, and COULDN'T FIND IT. Yikes!  Knowing how many hours went into this bugger made me sick thinking it could have been thrown out by mistake while cleaning out my sewing/tatting/craft cave.  To my relief, I found it, and then made it my goal to finish it while on vacation so that I could enter it into our county fair.  Maybe even the state fair if it turned out to my liking!

Woo Hoo!  I'm getting there! And I have all week to get it done.
So close!
I was so excited!  It was moving along well and I was making great progress, relaxing in the fresh breeze off the lake.  Almost to the end, and . . . what?  Seriously?  You've got to be kidding me.  What the HELL?  How could this happen?  I have an extra ring to attach to.  Somehow, there is one too many rings on the previous round. I'm not sure how this could happen since everything else has seemed to work out exactly right.  


The only way I know how to "fix" this without throwing it out the window, is to just add another ring where it doesn't belong.  I'm so deflated!  I can't even look at it anymore to figure it out.  Now that I know it took me 27 (yes, 27!) hours to do this last round, I can't even THINK of ripping it out to find the goof.  It. Is. DONE.  



And while blocking it, I found many other places I'm not pleased with if I could have entered it into the fair competition, but it's still beautiful.  And I will still put it on a table to use.  I will just have to do something else for a fair entry. For next year maybe!

Major lesson learned.

NEVER keep track of the time spent tatting a piece. NEVER, EVER, EVER.

17 comments:

  1. I totally agree! Knowing that it took me a year to complete my Jan Stawasz Masterpiece doily was too much information. There's no way I want to know the number of hours.

    Your doily is beautiful as it is. Pattern alterations will fade into the background if you let them, leaving you with a fabulous piece of lace that you can enjoy for years!

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    1. Thank you. Yes, I have to just admire it the way it is!

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  2. It's still so pretty !!! Very pleasant colours.
    And the extra ring is barely visible - if you hadn't mentioned it.
    I have Never been tempted to keep track of time, either. Shudder at the mere thought!

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    1. Thanks! I especially loved the colors too - perfect "Spring" colors for this one.

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  3. I completely understand but gosh it's STUNNING, The colors are so pleasing and lovely. I love it!

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    1. Thank you - you are too kind! As always ๐Ÿ˜‰

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  4. This doily is so pretty. I agree, display it proudly! Good for you to finish it. I've thought about keeping track of my time on a few projects but forget when I puck out up.

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    1. It's tempting, but don't keep track, I tell you!

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  5. Pick it up. It looked right when I hit send! Spell check!

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  6. I agree. I'm still working on 2016. Despite the time its lovely.

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    1. It's so tempting to keep track. Never again! Just enjoy the tatting.

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  7. Beautiful! And it took me ages to find the "enhancement!" Congratulations. Now on to a new project. : ))

    p.s. Loves the pics of Ruby's holiday. Grinned throughout the post and for a while after, too. :)

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  8. Really beautiful, congratulations!! Display and enjoy. I like Diana's comment that time taken is 'too much information'. Absolutely. Tatting takes time, we know that, we do it anyway.

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  9. It's truly a lovely doily! I do think it could be fixed. I'm sure someone out there could think of a solution. However, it's stretching my brain right now to figure it out! It really doesn't matter, because it's simply a stunning piece and your colors are beautiful. It's wonderful that it is no longer languishing in your craft cave!

    I certainly will take your advice to never keep track of the time it takes to make something!

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  10. I love your doily but my heart sank when you pointed out THAT PLACE. Sigh. Never fear about me keeping track of time -- I have to do that in too many places at work. It is discouraging. It's enough that I have to count rings and chains and stitches -- love muscle memory!!

    ~Heidi

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Thanks for your thoughts - I read and appreciate every one!