Sunday, January 22, 2017

Samantha Melnychuk's Kaleidoscope Snowflake

From A Veritable Tatted Blizzard by Samantha Melnychuk, the inward facing chains of this snowflake make an unusual straight-sided hexagon. I love the shape and the unusual structure, but with my tension (or possibly my blocking - her chains curve more) the double rings and the straight sides are a little crowded - I could modify it by increasing the number of stitches so the rings sit higher, or I could reduce to a single ring... 
Samantha Melnychuk_Kaleidoscope Snowflake

But a third option is to change the tip entirely to get it up out of the way.  I tried to mimic the style and reflect the shapes already in the snowflake; I am pleased with how it came out.
Samantha Melnychuk_Kaleidoscope Snowflake_variation by Sarah Nielson

While Samantha is no longer tatting and her books are out of print, I learned that she found a box with a few unsold copies of her books, which are available on a first-come, first-served basis.  If you are interested, please contact her directly at smelnychuk at gmail dot com.  Her three books are:
  • A Veritable Tatted Blizzard
  • The Psychedelic Shuttle
  • Teeny Tatted Snowflakes
(If you contact her and learn any of these books are sold out, please comment below so I can update the post!)

10 comments:

  1. Oh I love what you've done with that! Beautiful job and gorgeous Josephine's knots!!

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    1. Thank you!

      It's fortunate that the occasional Josephine that would...not...close is hidden by pulling the first stitch of the next chain tight. ;)

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  2. I've often wondered about her as she came to Shuttlebirds only once, a very long time ago. Thanks for the info about her books.

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  3. I like both versions. Neither of them is run-of-the-mill.

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  4. The original is a very unique motif, but I love how your points make it look more like a snowflake!! :) Awesome job!!! :)

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  5. Your adaptation is absolutely stunning !
    The hexagon is pretty, too - would work well as the center of a doily.

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  6. I love your dramatic innovation! Your work is beautiful. You are pushing me toward my bucket list goal to teach myself to tat...

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  7. I haven't heard anything of her in years..she was known as "Teentatter"...she started college and that was the last I saw her online?

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  8. I would love to get a copy of her snowflakes, but haven't a clue how to contact her to ask. :(

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    1. Brandon, the email address is in my post but written out to avoid spam robots: smelnychuk at gmail dot com.

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