Not part of the plan

There I was, trying out another idea of where I wanted to go with this doily when I noticed something didn’t look quite right.  It wasn’t laying flat like it should have. What was going on?

Something's wrong with What's next doily on wandasknottythoughts
Something’s wrong

Then I saw it! I’d skipped a chain and joined in the wrong spot!

Mistake found! on What's next doily on wandasknottythoughts
Mistake found!

Ahhhh! Look how far I had gone before I noticed!

Bummer!

Now the question “what comes next?” is “to cut it off” or “un-tat it”? Either way, it put a damper on my enthusiasm.

After debating about it for a while (several days, in fact) I decided to undo it to keep from having more ends to hide. Great idea, but I have broken the thread several times now, so I’ll still have ends to hide.  Bummer!

Other than this, I haven’t done much tatting lately; instead, I’ve been potting flowers. I’ve done more this year that I ever have, but I have more spaces to put them since we’ve done work on the house.  I got a bit adventurous about it, too.

Tower of Flowers on wandasknottythoughts
Tower of Flowers

I have had this rod for almost 10 years and never tried to use it. The rod is formed with legs at the bottom to fit inside the large pot at the bottom, then goes straight up to hold the other pots. I put a couple of bricks and a large rock in the big pot to weigh it down. I couldn’t find quite the right size pots for the rest, but this time I wasn’t going to let that keep me from using it!  Some of the pots are a little light on flowers, but that is easily remedied. I even painted the pots!

Nice thought, huh? It lasted about a week.

Tower of Flowers fell down on wandasknottythoughts
Tower of Flowers fell down

Then a cold front came through with a bit of wind. The tower was suddenly much shorter, looking more like a sad motel that has seen better days rather than a lofty, new tower. The top four pots broke. 🙁   I was able to rescue the flowers and re-pot them. They are currently perking up in their new home, a single story group home instead of high-rise apartments.

As the temperatures outside soar, I will probably be doing more tatting and less working with flowers outside. I can enjoy the view of flowers while I enjoy relaxing and tatting, maybe inside in the airconditioning, maybe outside if there is shade and a breeze.

“You have to take risks. We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen. ” Paulo Coelho
https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/unexpected

4 thoughts on “Not part of the plan”

  1. Ah, the dreaded mistake found too late… if I had enough thread, I’d have snipped it. I’m beginning to get quite good at hiding ends! 😉

    My daughter Andrea put together a planter like that a few years ago. I noticed hers was still together when I was up visiting in April. I think hers was only three pots high, though. You never know unless you try!

  2. Love’s labour’s lost – on both counts, sadly.
    Excellent read, though – love your similes and metaphors.

    Is it possible to tie the tip of the rod to a hook in the wall or ceiling to keep it from keeling over? The arrangement looks too good to not try again.

    I love the center of your doily!!!

  3. Oh no, I thought your tower was so splendid! Kept reading and down it came. That’s a shame. Well, at least you discovered the tatting mistake while it was still possible to undo. When working Renulek’s Spring doily 2018, I only discovered a mistake after many rounds, definitely not feasible to undo and a wasted effort to snip off. Pretty colour and the pattern looks interesting, so keep at it!

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