second tries

This is my second attempt & looks nicer than my first one: This is a first attempt & the picot + join was a challenge.At the bottom & the sides, there is a join and a picot. I was baffled by which fiber to use! How to join & how to get the picot to look nice. Eventually, I managed the join, then the picot. Why was that so difficult? IDK. I should have done a better job ending threads and the top 'v' of the heart. Looks sloppy to me. Maybe my next try at this motif will be with a solid color fiber instead of multi color fiber. I'm thinking there must be something to a practice piece & the final motif. The first time I try to figure out the pattern & the second time it seems easier - looks better. Perhaps that is why I am accumulating a stack of 'discards' or learning pieces! (Both motifs are from The Complete Book of Tatting Rebecca Jones using LizBeth, size 20 fiber.) ---------------- Visit The Textile Blog for a nice post on The Art of Tatting