Saturday Tatting

Michelle, her daughter, and I met today for some tatting time.  We have such an enjoyable visit that the time flies by as we sit with our coffee/tea and tat.   I was quite confident while working on my pendant that it would be soooooo easy to complete - now that I had the correct size (and shape) bead.  Oh yes, it would be no problem! 

So, I tatted on.  And tatted some more when I got home.  I was going to finish this!  And here's how it ended up:

Ugh.  A re-do for sure.  I think Marilee needs to move to Minneapolis!  What the heck is wrong here?  Is it my tension?  The pattern does state to check tension, but I thought it was pretty good.  I have always crocheted very tightly, so maybe my tatting is following that trend . . . ? 

In any case, I got to practice the V-stitch/Victorian sets/Zig-Zag/Ric-Rac stitch that I practiced and explained back HERE.  And, I worked on the Catherine Wheel Join according to Yarnplayer's great instruction video HERE.  I had never done that join before, so it was good to work on another new technique.

Now that I have worked on the techniques, I need to figure out why this is so wonky.  Is it the tension?  How do you monitor your tension?  Your critique and advice is welcome!  Dang it, I thought I was doing so well.  I will keep trying :) 


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And guess what I'm going to do with these old doorknobs?

Another bright idea on my list of things to do.