Craftree Forum Tree > Tat-Alongs > Second Advanced Mystery Tat-a-Long (another Norma Benporath from Trove)
This is totally off topic,.. well, almost totally. I've been getting adjusted to the new version of Trove (7), brought in in Feb. Still has some kinks in it. In my list of "nearly" normal Norma Benporath patterns I found her recommending something absolutely astonishing. She advocated taking sharp scissors to any stray picots that you don't need or want. I want to go back and confirm it was what I recall... maybe I was hallucinating!
@amysperch I've added my center for the doily using 8p in the longer outer chains. Here are yours with 4p, mine with 8p, and the Trove picture side by side:
My chains seem to go farther out than the original, and your piece looks a bit more hexagonal. I'm thinking 6p is probably the happy medium.
@becky400, you are the second one to mention hexagonal. It only looks that way in the picture because I wasn't particularly careful of tension and didn't block it either because it was only a test tat. It really is round. The varigated thread tricks the eye, also. Yours is much prettier and neater than mine, and the disc I'm using for the finished doily will lend itself to more even roundness, so it will most likely be made with the 6 or 8 stitch count. I'm still trudging along through row 1. Ugh! Bare thread!
Very interesting comparisons. My fabric center is way too small to put this motif in it, so its really interesting to see what a big difference a longer chain makes to the overall appearance. Amysperch, I agree on the Bare thread row. Doing it with needles means adding thread lots of times, and more and more ends to hide. I usually set magic threads, but I couldn't get them to work for me this time, so I was doing everything else but. Also, my thread was twisting abominably. Several treatments of Thread Heaven, and it was still a problem as soon as I tried a longer thread in the needle.
All done! http://www.craftree.com/projects/2613
I did the long chains in the center with 8p, to give it a full frilly look.
I'm starting over. I'm going to try again with a different thread. While I love the feel of the Finca perle cotton, it is turning out to be too fragile for this project and all of my untatting.
@tatknot Too bad about the untatting. I was frustrated with my thread, too... it was VERY twisty. Not sure what I did wrong. Lots of Thread Heaven silicone is on my thread. I've finished the second round with a modification. I added one extra picot to the long chains.. went from 4 picots to 5, since I wasn't crazy about the ring in round three that was joined to two picots. Well, that added enough length to the chain that I've had to modify Round 3. My ring between the scallops is now.. Chain 5 ; Ring 3-3+3-3; Chain 5. Hope it doesn't present problems with lying flat. My next worry is that I'll run out of thread..
I'm making progress on the doily. I chose to work round 2 with ball and shuttle and then folded the unattached rings outward to join to the next round.
The previous mystery project we did of Norma's also included instructions to join to 2 picots consecutively, so I'm assuming it is not a mistake in the pattern. I've started the final round joining into 2 picots of the previous round without any double stitches between the joins. I uploaded a picture to my project page.
Please forgive my ignorance and/or naivete, I've been following this thread and now simply have to ask - How is a "cake doily" used? There are some comments that have hinted at a real edible cake being, shall we say, in close proximity 
. Am I missing a teasing play on words? Does "cake doily" simply refer to a style or configuration of doiley or is the intention for a cake to actually be placed on top of all that careful hard work???
@jmtat, my Grandma and her sister come to mind. They were in the hub of the social circle in their small mountain town, where entertainment and card parties were expected to be provided and attended every week. Lavish tables were set. No piece of linen could be plain. Each item was embellished with lace, embroidery or both, even the napkins. I can envision the cake stand as a dramatic centerpiece. A crystal base would be topped with the doily, lace hanging gracefully from the sides. This would be covered with a cake liner of thin cardboard or layers of carefully trimmed baking parchment, finally, The Cake, the more elaborately decorated the better.
It was expected one would use their very best, and beautiful things were never held back, except from children, who were only to be seen, never entertained.
Thanks, Amy, and jmjtat, I had that question too. I would guess that homemakers would keep an eye out for anything suitable that would "do" for the cardboard or parchment, perhaps even a glass plate of the proper size. I recall thin cardboard boxes held men's shirts, and other gifts. I also think they might have used "waxed paper" circles, or "kraft paper", the brown paper made by the Kraft process -- its now the wavy paper used as the middle layer in cardboard, also the unbleached type of paper used in the USA to bag hamburgers and other fast food. Certainly the tatting would get accidental splotches of frosting, whipped cream, etc., so the washability was important. My mom would use a plate inverted on the waxed paper, mark the circle, and I got to cut it out.
Thanks, @jmjtat, @amysperch and @Judy for illuminating this bit of lace lore for me!
I wonder if the terminology is a bit different in the UK. I once asked my 80-year-old tatting teacher about the difference between a doily and a lace mat. She said that you placed a cake on a doily. And, I suppose, it wasn't so for a lace mat.
My roots are too lower/middle class to have been educated on the terms used in upper class settings. One of the terms I learned as a middle aged adult was "charger"-- basically, a plate to put under your plate. I think there were other items used to protect the fine wood finishes that would be abused by hot plates, or serving dishes. My mother had a special pad to protect the table when hot and wet items were going on the table, with the tablecloth over that. I think of the doily as purely decorative, and the mat as more of a protective item, but that doesn't come from any training or special knowledge.
I agree with Judy, because in the US, the word "mat" has a utilitarian meaning more often than decorative, and usually implies protection or covering. The differences in the same language as regional changes occur is a fascination to me. I had never heard of a lace mat or a glass mat until I joined Craftree. You can learn much more than a craft here.
I've finished the tatting. I followed the instructions for the medallion as printed and it came out well. My dilemma now is whether to add the medallion and do the cutout, or leave it as it is with just the edging. My fabric circle is rather small.
in reply to amysperch's post:
In our home we had rugs on the floor, and mats outside the front door, and alongside the bathtub -- often a coarse material designed to soak up water or stomp on.
in reply to tatknot's post:
proportionally I think it looks fine. The edge looks wonderful. I know I would be nervous about cutting it out, regardless of size! I think my doily will be too small to consider an inset.
@tatknot, Why not just stitch it in place, like an appliqué? It seems it would be entirely up to your own vision of what constitutes the finished piece.
Thanks @amysperch 
. Your description is wonderful! I can now envision a "properly set table" featuring a scrumptiously and lovingly baked and decorated cake surrounded by elegant accents. I love that the residents of your Grandmother's small mountain town used and enjoyed their beautiful things! I'm always sad when pretty things are saved for "special occassions" that never seem to arrive. I'm glad a cake was not just "plopped" on a tatted doily. The doily had some carefully thought out protection. But, at the same time, I'd rather there be an "accidental splotch" with a wonderful story behind it that could be shared down the generations than a pristinely untouched treasure that had never seen the light of day!
@tatknot I think you have a difficult decision! I can see the finished piece in my minds eye all three ways - border only, with cut-out inset, and with applique. Each seems to produce a slightly different effect, but all seem to have merit and produce a beautiful finished piece, too.
Instead of just 'mat' some people refer to those on a dinner table as 'placemats', too.
