Coronavirus doily part 5

I thought about this section for a long time.  I wanted to make it easier than it turned out as – actually, it’s not hard, it just takes a long time.  Long enough that I didn’t finish this round because I got diverted to making masks for the two closest hospitals.  Got six done today BUT there is absolutely no elastic to be had in our county.  It’s disappeared from the local Walmart almost as quickly as the paper products, dried beans and American cheese.   Which meant before I could start sewing, I spent nearly two hours crocheting ties for the masks of heavy cotton.

  Everyone is lately fond of pointing out oh, this won’t last forever.  So I keep trying to think this is just a sort of ellipsis in life …  Just looked up the official definition of an ellipsis – it’s a “suspension point” indicating that something is missing, generally indicated by three dots in a row.  At this time when quite a lot is missing, there are going to be 22 dots around, which are done as “wandering wheels.” 

You might want to practice the technique with some spare thread.  What you’ll do is make a ring, then a chain, then leaving a small space (in size 50 thread it was about ¼ inch), tat R: 1-1-1-1-1-1 (tiny ring with 5 picots), close tight.

At this point, you bring the ball thread up tight to the shuttle thread – meaning you’re leaving the exact same space - and CH 2, lock join to the next p five times.  CH 2, and you’re back where those two bare threads extend from the previous element to the tiny R.  Pass the shuttle thread over it, the ball thread underneath it (this is called an alligator join).

and CH 3, lock join to the next p below five times.  There should be a picot-like space over each lock join in the round below.  CH 3, and do that alligator join over and under the two threads. 

Next, CH 4, join to the next p below five times.  CH 4, alligator to the other side.

When you’re practicing, CH 6, join, around.  When you’re tatting these wandering wheels around the doily, CH 6, join to picot below THREE times.  Then using the ball thread, join to the next p above the wheel, made in the previous doily round. CH 6, join to the next  wheel p twice more.  Finally, CH 6, move the crochet hook between the two threads that were bare threads when the wheel started, and lock join here.    Tat a chain and make at least one more wandering wheel to practice.

For the doily, begin the round with a ball wound and left attached to the shuttle.

] R: 10+ (to p of previous round) 10.

CH: 9-9

Tat a wandering wheel as described above, attaching it to the next p of the previous round, as also described above.

CH: 9-9

Repeat from ] around.  Last CH will join to the base of the first R. 

Like getting through this time…  this might take a while.  More soon!