Poppy Spray

I've wanted to try this Pattern via Muskaan found here  and here for a few years. It takes Mónica Manceñido's Peace and Tolerance Tiny Heart  and modifies it into a flower.

I thought, it's a nice small thing I should be able to put together pretty fast. However, I tried to do it the first time soon after coming out of surgery for my hip. My brain was not yet my own so I couldn’t see the point or keep straight how to do the “R A : 4 - 2½* - 2½ - 4 . RW ” in Muskaan’s notation. So I just did R:4-2-2-4 and it all worked fine so I continued with that, then I joined wrong in the bottom half of the split ring, twice, undid it and thought I got it straightened out only to find I couldn't tighten the ring (because I'd done it wrong again) and snapped my thread. No biggie, as Muskaan says you can do it in three separate motifs so that's kinda what ended up happening on the first flower base. The second one was a few days later off of pain meds and not quite as exhausted. 

I'd never done roll tatting so that was something new to learn. The flower part would be easier with vsp where the roll tatting joins happen instead of picking through tight caps. (Because my caps are very tight.)

So here is my slight variation. 

Petal 1 –

R A : 4 - 2- 2 - 4 . RW 

Ch : 3 RW

R B : 4 + (to A) 5 vsp 7 . DNRW  SS

Ch :  2 fhs-shs 2 DNRW  SS

R C : 7 vsp 5– 4 . RW

Ch : 3 RW

R D : 4 + (to C) 2 - 2- 4 . DNRW

SR E : 4 + (to D) 2/ join to base of Ring A with Sh2 (to form clover), 4 + (to A) 2 – 3 – 3 . DNRW

1st petal (tiny heart) made.

Petal 2 –

SR F : 2 – 4 / 3 – 3 – 2 – 4 . DNRW

R G : 4 + (to F) 2+ (to D) 2 - 4 . RW

Ch : 3 RW

R H : 4 + (to G) 5 vsp 7 . DNRW  SS

Ch :  2 fhs-shs 2 DNRW  SS

R I : 7 vsp 5 – 4 . RW

Ch : 3 RW

SR J : 4 + (to I) 2/ join to base of Ring F, 4 + (to F) 2 . DNRW

2nd petal (tiny heart) made.

Petal 3 –

SR K : 2- 4 / 2- 4 . RW

Ch : 3 RW

R L : 4 + (to K) 5 vsp 7. DNRW  SS

Ch :  2 fhs-shs 2 DNRW  SS

R M : 7 vsp 5 – 4 . RW

Ch : 3 RW

R N : 4 + (to M) 2+ (to A of 1st petal) 2- 4 . DNRW

SR O : 4 + (to N) 2 + (to E of 1st petal) 3 – 3 + (to F of 2nd petal) / join to base of Ring K, 4 + (to K) 2 .

3rd petal complete.

One poppy flower with 3 petals made. But do not cut thread yet. 

But I did because I got excited... it all worked out, I sewed in my ends and just did a lock join to start the roll tatted edge. See Muskann's instructions for that. 

I followed her instructions for the yellow and black parts too. I lock joined the yellow threads to the base of the red flower in the picots used to join to the black to keep the yellow pistil in place. 

I suggest you make all greenery before combining. I had to stop and cut thread from ball and make more, encapsulate, decide I needed more etc. Encapsulating takes a long enough time as it is. But I also added twisted picots to the encapsulating stem. 

I had done two long bud stems but decided instead to do one long one and other sprays with buds in them. 

I ended up making 

1 bud on long Josephine chain

4 buds with twisted picots on Josephine chains of varying length. 

On my next one I plan to do less greenery but we'll see how it looks before I start combining it. Laying it out before hand I think will be advantageous. 

Then I combine them all through tight encapsulation as I went down in a Josephine chain as Muskaan suggested. I started trimming tails towards the end so it tapered slowly. I ended with a ring with some encapsulated thread and then sewed in the ends. 

I am overly delighted with the look of the large twisted picots. This was a new thing for me. It’s always fun to learn something new to add to one’s arsenal, especially when the learning of it goes easy.They look like Christmas tree pine needles or juniper bushes.

Muskaan's instructions are awesome as usual and super helpful, after getting my brain back I laughed at how confused I was. But the exercise made me make two flowers which will result in two sprays instead of just one. And two is better than one. 

I am just so pleased with how pretty this is. I'm excited to finish the second one. 

And it's the perfect size.