Mel Mel

Mel Mel - A New Pattern

I happily present my new pattern ~

The inspiration came from a favorite shirt of mine - a white on white layered fabric with a trim that is sewn in a somewhat continuous fashion.  This is what the fabric looks like ~

I sketched page after page of ideas with the goal of creating a tangle that featured these flower-like loops on a continuous line.

With real flower petals in mind, I tried odd numbers of loops - 5, 7...neither seemed to flow as I drew one after another.  When I decided to limber up and just let the pattern flow, I naturally drew 6 loops. It was a curious thing.  I didn't set out to include 6, but 6 kept coming forward.

6's were popping up everywhere.  It just so happened that my lovely soon-to-be daughter-in-law Melissa celebrated her birthday on 6/16 - in the same week I developed the pattern.
She will marry my dear son John on the 6th of November.  The tangle was meant for her.  John affectionately calls her Mel Mel, and with his blessing, it is so named!

My first run of the tangle was with my group of close CZT friends.  They loved it (phew!).  They suggested that Mel Mel sounded softer, more lyrical than a shortened 'Mel'.  They offered suggestions on the step out and Tracey Lyon quickly came up with some lovely variations and this masterpiece ~

She happened to have a piece of her hand painted watercolor paper handy.  With a white gel pen, she scrolled Mel Mel across the color spectrum and embellished it effortlessly.  (Note my credit to her on the step out above)  Isn't her work spectacular?!

Since I favor using a continuous line whenever possible, I first designed the pattern to be drawn that way.  Tracey, Joan, Dorian, Carolyn, and Sindy, found the tangle more comfortable to draw by clustering single Mel Mels.  You may find that also.  Either way - or both at one time - I am confident you will enjoy the experience of creating with this new tangle.


ENJOY! - and Happy Birthday, dear Melissa!