Martha's Tatting Blog

Motif 6 - Butterfly & Coincidence

2012-01-16T17:52:00.004-05:00

In the spirit of my current 25 Motif Challenge, I told myself to pull one of those books off the shelf I had always been meaning to use someday, and just pick something to make. By sheer coincidence, I picked up Tatted Butterflies by Adelheid Dangela, and was astounded to find this butterfly, "Elise," with a block tatted wedge that reminds me a great deal of the edging in the previous post. (It's a simple geometric shape, which she could have easily come up with, without ever seeing the edging, I am sure.) I think it's a great pattern; I got to do both block tatting, and practice one of my weak points--tension in long chains. The colorful one is Lizbeth Autumn Spice plus a Manuela orange. The pale green is Opera, can't remember where I got it.

I had forgotten how many great patterns were in this little book, as well as variety of techniques. There are block tatting, onion rings, cluny, josephine rings, twisted picots, as well as simple ring and chain patterns.

This is one in a series of books from Akacia Press in Denmark, available in English translations. The patterns in these books have a brief description and a hand drawn diagram. Since you must deduce from the diagram when to reverse work, switch shuttles, etc, these may be difficult for new beginners, but not so for the more experienced tatter.

Another of these is one of my favorite books, Tatted Animals, by Inga Madsen. That one I have both the English translation, and the original signed by the author! And another is Tatted Easter Eggs by Kirsten Wind Hansen. I don't have that one yet, but I know it is full of great designs because Tatskool worked all the patterns as one of her personal challenges.

By the way... Where is Mary's Travelling Book? I have lost track, since I apparently didn't save the lase email I got.

My Neglected Challenge

2012-01-08T23:15:00.003-05:00

I started this blog to participate in the 25 Motif Challenge, but I've really been neglecting my current challenge. Life has been a bit crazy this year.

My personal requirement this time around was to count only patterns from books, since I have so many books on the shelf I seldom use. I think I've made a few things and not blogged about them, so I'll have to stir through my stuff and see what I have. I know I've mailed some away without taking pictures :(

To get back on track, here is my new favorite bookmark, actually a piece of Edging No. 21 from Die Schiffchen-Spitzen by Eleonore Endrucks-Leichtenstern. Don't you love the block tatting? All the tricks I came up with for shaping block tatting for my critter patterns were just re-discoveries of techniques she used decades ago, and I have only just discovered her.

I have rewritten this pattern in the modern style to be shared soon in the Online Tatting Class.

So, since I can claim an edging posted last July as also part of the challenge, this brings me to number 5 of my challenge.

New Year, New Blog

2012-01-04T01:58:00.005-05:00

Dear Friends, I've always been interested in tatting history and really old patterns, so I've decided to make a separate blog devoted to those topics. I'll still be using this blog for other tatting and everything else.

Join me there at Tatting Origins.

Another Handkerchief Sighting

2011-12-27T11:57:00.005-05:00

Remember this handkerchief?

Here is it is again in a Japanese collection:

http://www.tattinglace.com/antique/collection8.html

They think theirs was made in France in the late 1800's. What fun! And what a popular pattern, apparently. This could become a new hobby for me -- handkerchief spotting :)

Thank you to Ann W. who pointed out the site to the Here Be Tatters group.

First Christmas in our New House

2011-12-24T02:34:00.003-05:00

No tree for us this year, but I am fortunate to have a hearth for Christmas decorations. Decorating was both sweet and sad as I remembered loved ones who have gone on before.

The Christmas Village houses had come from John's mother.

And these are angels which I had crocheted for my own mother...

...and her tatted Nativity set.

Best wishes to you all, whichever holiday you celebrate. May your new year bring joy.

This Year's Christmas Ornament

2011-12-21T02:22:00.004-05:00

I traditionally give my coworkers a Christmas ornament. I was looking for something a bit quicker than usual, and decided my Big Sister Angel from Playing with Picots would just about fit the bangles if worked in size 30. I added a few beads and some picots to use for attaching. I felt just a little guilty that I did not make one of Jane's beautiful bead intensive ornaments like usual, but they seemed grateful anyway.

Strangely enough, I'm the only one who has remembered to bring in Christmas CDs, so they have to listen to what I like :)
I recommend Connie Dover's The Holly and the Ivy (Lovely folk singer/music historian, one of my favorite musicians) and
Mary Chapin Carpenter's Come Darkness, Come Light and
Cherish the Ladies' On Christmas Night --Christmas carols interspersed with Irish jigs and reels.

Polar Bear Revisited

2011-12-10T20:10:00.001-05:00

Some folks have reported having trouble understanding the directions for my crocheted polar bear from 2008. I've gone back to the original post and added some text and pictures for working the legs. Hope this helps!

Mystery Solved--Magic Lost?

2011-12-05T23:37:00.001-05:00

Remember how excited I was to discover that I owned a tatted handkerchief that was identical to one in Mary Konior's collection? I made some fanciful assumptions in my belief that this tatting method predated published patterns.

Well, duh, the pattern was sitting on my bookshelf all along. Here it is on page 51 of "Tatting and Netting" by Butterick 1896, New York.

Was Mary Konior wrong in dating her piece as early 19th century? Maybe not. This book contains patterns that look like they were copied from previous works, and patterns that seem based on counting the stitches in old (to them) pieces of lace. So I still can't be sure when the design first came about, but I have to admit to the possibility that my handkerchief from Ohio could have been worked from the Butterick book. Sigh. It's still very precious to me.

By the way, this book, "Tatting and Netting" has some fascinating designs in it.

You can download it for free from Georgia here (scroll down about halfway)

or from the Antique Pattern Library here (toward the bottom of the page)

or you can purchase a soft cover bound book from most tatting dealers under the title "Old Fashioned Tatting Patterns Book 1"

Sharing

2011-12-05T00:31:00.000-05:00

I want to share with you my secret... my secret for finding books. How often have you looked in vain for an old book; how often have you bought one only to find it cheaper at another dealer? Yeah, me too. That's why I am grateful for Bookfinder.com. It searches all the book dealers and gives you the location with price and postage for all the copies it finds. I've used it for both new and used books. I've gotten Beeton's Book of Needlework for a dollar plus postage, and a Jasper Fforde novel available in the UK but not the US. If you keep your eyes open, you might be the first to see and grab a bargain like a Mary Konior for 10 pounds.

A few disclaimers: Bookfinder does not always calculate postage accurately (depends on how the seller's site is set up), so be careful at checkout. Copies in other countries may be listed, but there is no guarantee that they will ship to your country. Bookfinder searches book dealers, but not other shops, so you may find books (especially recently out of print or privately published) in tatting supply sites that Bookfinder doesn't see.

My most recent acquisition was this little gem from Germany:

Published in 1920, it is public domain, so I arranged through Georgia to share it through the "Archive of Tatting Books in Public Domain"

Here it is in two parts:

http://www.georgiaseitz.com/public/eleonoreendrucks-leichtensternschiffchenspitzenbook1920.pdf

http://www.georgiaseitz.com/public/endrucksinsertsdiagrams.pdf

Still Catching Up

2011-11-28T23:59:00.000-05:00

Well, here I am, weeks later, and still not getting caught up. Sigh.

Since last time I found Sandra's Heart' Afire Cross that I made. I badly misjudged one of my mock picots, so the awkward looking bit is my fault, not the pattern.

I made another one of Sherron's Snow Angel. I really love this pattern with its unusual shape. I think my beads are a bit too big this time, so there's a good excuse to make it again.

These patterns and more are available for sale on the Palmetto Pattern CD. Click here for details.

I had hardly gotten back from Palmetto when we took another trip. This is the view from our room in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. We stayed at a lodge a few miles out of town on top of a mountain. It was great up there, once we made it up the narrow, windy, steep road up there.

Passing through Knoxville, we stopped for lunch with Erin. Yay, but too short, since we both had to get somewhere that afternoon.

We ate at the King Tut restaurant, where the owner, Mo, treated us like Egyptian royalty.

Then on to Chattanooga. We loved the Riverwalk.

And we took another train ride, an autumn leaf excursion leaving from nearby Etowah.

Lots of beautiful scenery.

A conductor who looked like he had just stepped out of a story book.

And of course, we did the usual tourist-ey things like Ruby Falls.

And Rock City. I remember the "See Rock City" barns from my childhood, so how could I not go?

And wait, there's more. On the way back, we stopped at Fort Loudon, a really well done re-creation of a French-Indian War era fort.

So, I'm only about a month behind now.

An Amazing Discovery

2011-11-11T02:47:00.000-05:00

Lots of amazing things always happen at Palmetto Tat Days, but here is something special to me. Late one night, I wandered to the back of the gathering room where various items were on display, including Pam F's notebook about Mary Konior. It included photographs of Mary's work and her collection of antique tatting -- the pieces that Sue Hanson showed one year before returning them to the family. Here is a photograph of one of the photographs:

It stopped me cold, because here is a photograph of the handkerchief I bought on ebay a few months ago, which had come from an estate sale in Ohio.

Here they are together.

Here is Mary's own note describing the handkerchief as early 19th century.

It was late, and there were very few people left in the room, but I made each and every one of them come look. The pattern of the handkerchiefs is exactly the same, down to the way the fabric is slightly curved at the corners, though I know of no published patterns this old. A few people whispered, could it be the same one? But no, the photograph shows a rip in the lace where mine is whole. I have read that there was cottage industry in England and Ireland making tatting in the 1800's. I believe the two pieces were made by the same hand, or by the hands of two women in the same village way back then, and one of the pieces found its way to America. Amazing.

Getting Back to Tatting

2011-11-07T22:28:00.000-05:00

Well, folks, it's time to get this blog back to regular tatting. I came back from Palmetto all fired up to get some tatting done from the conference CD. So I made a pair of Nina's Winter Solstice earrings. If you're intimidated by her wonderful jewelry sets, try making just the earrings; they're easier than you might think. I put the first earring somewhere for safe keeping until I could get the second one done. I'm sure it's very safe there, where ever it is...

I also made Sharren's wonderful Snow Angel and I just love that pattern. Unfortunately I didn't take a picture before I gave it away. And I made Sandra's Heart's Afire Cross, which is a really clever pattern since it actually has 2 ways of putting a dimpled heart ring above another. I'm sure it's around here somewhere. Honestly, I think I really do need a keeper sometimes.

So here are some photos to look at instead.

Silly hats at the Palmetto banquet!

Georgia at the auction!

Class time!

And on the way to Palmetto we took a few days for a vacation along the way. In Asheville, we saw Biltmore House. Also in Asheville, I went to the Southern Highland Craft Guild Folk Art Center. No tatting, but lots of other stunning crafts. And a yarn shop, Friends and Fiberworks that had heart-stopping-ly beautiful yarn. (Do you know how loooong you were in that shop? said DH.) And lots of little antique stores. I love Asheville.
So after that, over to Bryson City for the Great Smokey Mountain Railway. It was a fun ride with great scenery. Most of the trip was along the river, and we crossed over Fontana Lake too.

On the trip back, the conductor said the open air car was almost empty so we moved out there since our car was getting stuffy. The benches weren't as comfy as our regular seats, but the view was great.

Son Stephen likes trains.

Improved Errata Sheet link

2011-11-02T11:32:00.000-04:00

Good news!

Gina told me how to keep it simple. The new and improved link to the errata sheet is here. Click just once for a printable pdf version of the correction sheet.

Thanks, Gina!

Errata Sheet Available....maybe?

2011-11-01T20:22:00.000-04:00

Dear Friends,

**NEWS FLASH** Ignore this post and look for the improved link posted the next day.

As several of you have suggested, I am trying to make a copy of the Playing with Picots Errata sheet available online so that you may print a copy if you like.

On Keep-and-Share, the link apparantly does not go straight to the document, but seems to take you to a page where you can click to download. Or is it taking just me there, since it's my file? Click here to try. Other times I have seen people use Keep-and-Share, the link went right to their file. Is this because I have a lowly free account, or because I don't know what I'm doing? (Or both...)

I tried Google Documents too. That one take you to a page where you can see my file, but you still need to click on Download to print. (You could right-click and print from the page, but that shrinks the print size too small to read easily.) For that version, click here.

Please let me know how these options work for you, and advice is most welcome.

I've been wanting to find a site for free or cheap hosting to use as printer friendly versions of the free patterns on my site. Perhaps this experiment can lead to that as well.

Oh No!

2011-10-28T11:32:00.000-04:00

I have made a terrible mistake.

As pictured in the book

While preparing for "Playing with Picots" I scanned the wrong model, so the illustration doesn't match the pattern text and diagram. This picture also appears at the end of the Palmetto class handout. This was from an earlier version of the pattern. The difference is whether to join into, or skip over, the "valley" where the long picots are joined together in Round 2. It works either way, but I thought the later version looked more interesting.

Should look like

I haven't found my correct model yet. I've either misplaced it or given it away. I do have the purple model used for Palmetto.

Judging from the pictures in people's blogs, more have been following the photo than the pattern. We tatters are a visually oriented lot, aren't we?

Starting yesterday, an errata sheet is slipped into the book.

Thank you to StitchingSharon for pointing this out.

See the difference?

Update: Carolyn says: Martha, for those of us who have already bought the book, could you make the errata sheet available online so we can download and print it out for our copies? Thanks!!

I plan to email the errata sheet to everyone I can. I still have email address for everyone who used Paypal. Please contact me if you would like me to send you one. I'll be away from the computer over the weekend, but I'll get these out as soon as I can.

Playing with Picots -- Ready at Last!

2011-10-01T04:40:00.000-04:00

Guess what? I'm Back!

Back home from Palmetto, and back on-line. My computer seems to be recovering well, following an organ transplant of a spare video card donated by one of the kids. Woo hoo!

I have got sooo much catching up to do now. Since people have been asking about the new book, I first updated my website, so I can start taking orders, so here it is.

And now I am so tired. More stuff soon, I promise.

Experiencing/Overcoming Technical Difficulties

2011-09-18T00:43:00.000-04:00

Well, if I didn't have a crisis or three to deal with trying to produce a book, I wouldn't know how to behave.

As soon as I said my computer was up and running, the darn thing died again. Luckily, I was able to finish editing with John's computer. Always back up your work, always! So glad I did.

Then found out the cover stock I was going to use was not only no longer carried in the local store, but had been discontinued altogether, so we had to find something else and wait for delivery.

The good news is we have been able to assemble enough books to bring to Toccoa for the Palmetto TatDays. When I get back, I will work on setting up a new page on my website to handle Paypal orders from the general public. Sorry, life has been to hectic to get that done already.

I owe apologies to many. There were several emails downloaded to my computer that were already overdue for replies, which I can't get to at all right now. If the problem turns out to be merely a bad video card, I will be up and running soon. If not.....

Now, I've clicked on "Publish Post" about half a dozen times and nothing is happening. Gaaaah.

8 hours later. Hmmm. Had to switch to the new Blogger interface in order to post. New and shiny, but I can't find my way around.

Life is Good

2011-09-04T00:14:00.001-04:00

Sorry I've been quiet lately. I'm still here, chugging along. My computer didn't die, but it was in a coma for a while. My hubby fixed it and bought me a thumb drive so I can backup my work without burning so many CDs. Isn't he the best?

A couple of weeks ago I got to see a performance of Prairie Home Companion at our new outdoor amphitheater. That was great. It was not a broadcasted performance, so the show lasted almost 3 hours, much longer than the ones on the radio.

I have both halves of the living/dining room painted now. What a relief. It's so relaxing to sit there now.

Tomatoes are growing in my patio gardern. I had enough to make my mother's tomato pie recipe last weekend. The rose bushes had looked sickly, but they're better now.

Palmetto is just a few weeks away now.

The book is making good progress, if slightly behind schedule. I still expect to bring copies to Palmetto, but I don't know when I can start taking orders. Playing with Picots will be 44 pages long, 19 patterns, lots and lots of diagrams.

Life is good.

PS. Forgot to say I've gotten permission to post the Mrs. Mee book online. I may need to wait post-Palmetto to make the scans though.

Palmetto Registration Now Open

2011-08-08T23:03:00.000-04:00

Palmetto time is just around the corner. This is a wonderful event: classes and activities, a vending room with tons of thread and books, and best of all, just socializing with all your tatting friends. I really recommend it.

Click here for more information:
http://www.palmettotatters.org/events/TatDays2011/TatDays2011.shtml

Update: Please forgive me for failing to give proper credit. The design above is by Pam Freck, and will be on your Palmetto T-shirt, so that's another reason to come.

Mrs Mee Speaks (Caution long OCD post)

2011-08-02T01:06:00.000-04:00

My present to myself, alluded to in a previous post, was a photocopy of a complete version of Tatting, or Frivolite by Mrs Mee and Miss Austin. Mrs Mee was quite well known in her day, and had published many books of knitting and crochet beginning in the 1840's. She has been overlooked by tatting historians, but I consider her a true pioneer.

From Tatting, or Frivolite, pp iii-iv:
" Having been long solicited to bring out a work on Tatting (or Frivolite, as it has been called of late years in Paris), my only hesitation in doing so has been, I thought it difficult to write so that all might understand me. I never remember learning the work, or when I did not know how to do it. I believe it was taught me by my grandmother, who, if she had been living, would have been in her hundredth year. I mention this, as I have heard that a claim has been made by some one lately, to have invented the work, which certainly has been known as Knotting or Tatting, for more than a century. My plan of forming the work from the reel or skein, and only making the foundation from the shuttle, is original, as are all my patterns; and I offer it with confidence, believing that many who have never before attempted it, will be induced to learn. In most of the patterns, the old plan of drawing up the loop from the work formed round the fingers, is altogether done away with; and this has been the great difficulty with many. The patterns are entirely different to anything before published, and I trust will meet with general approval; they are applicable for varieties of purposes, and the great durability of the work will be a recommendation to many. The cottons as directed must be obtained; those of Messrs. Walter Evans & Co. being the best produced.

Cornelia Mee
71, Brook Street, Grosvenor Square,
London, December 10, 1862"

From page vii:
"...In my new method of Tatting which I have endeavored to show in the Illustration the work is formed from the reel, while the foundation is only used from the shuttle, which is the thread that passes through the work. Take both threads between the thumb and fore finger, letting the one from the reel or skein be uppermost; let this thread pass over and between the fingers of the left hand as shown in illustration..."

Therefore I submit that the true tatted chain dates to 1862 with Mrs Mee, not 1864 by Mlle Riego as previously believed by most tatting historians. And doesn't that sound silly and trivial, now that I've said it. Well, I thought it was significant.

PS. I do no mean to belittle Mlle Riego, and still consider her the Mother of Modern Tatting for her revolutionary change in the style of tatting designs. She may not have invented all of the technical advances, but put them to good use, as Elgiva Nicholls says. Elgiva had wondered why Riego had quietly started using chains in 1864 without drawing attention to what she considered the discovery of the century. I think this is why; the ladies of that time would have already seen Mrs Mee's little book, which was lost to us for a time.

Yes, I Did...

2011-07-29T03:13:00.000-04:00

Yes, I did. I bought the antique hanky we've been talking about on Here-Be-Tatters. I just couldn't help myself. I don't know how often this sort of thing comes available, so I didn't want to pass up a chance to own a piece of pre-1850 style tatting. You'll be hearing more about my obsession with antique tatting.

The mailbox also held the current issue of Tatting Times, and it's a really great one. I think I want to make everything in this issue. It starts with a butterfly that really caught my eye, and then there's a really fascinating Lotus Pod pattern. And then a thistle with woven picots on the inside of a Maltese Ring. Looks like I'm not the only one playing with picots.

And to round out an excellent day, I had thought the new book needed one more pattern, and I think the design phase is done. I'll be sure once I've sewn in the ends and blocked it, but I think this will do.

Edging No. 3

2011-07-15T03:09:00.000-04:00

"EDGING, No. 3.

This is a strong and useful trimming, and is also extremely pretty, in coloured purse silk, or black as an edging, or to lay on the material intended to be trimmed as a gimp.

In cotton for a coarse and strong trimming, use Messrs. Walter Evans & Co.’s 000 Boar’s Head Cotton. For fine edgings, use 8, 10, or 16. Work from the reel, and fill the shuttle with the same cotton.

Work a straight length the quality you require in double loop, and cut off the threads.

2nd row.—Pass the cotton on the shuttle through the 1st loop * work 1 single, 5 pearl, work 9 double loop, 1 double, insert the crochet needle between the foundation thread, and 1st of double loop, draw the cotton on the shuttle through, drawing the 9 double loops, and 1 double firmly into an oval, pass the shuttle through, work 1 single, 5 pearl, pass the thread on the shuttle through the 6th loop, from 1st, and the shuttle firmly through it. Repeat. Now work on the other side of 1st row, unite the threads at the 1st loop, work 4 double, 1 loop, 4 double, draw the cotton on the shuttle through the foundation thread of the 6th double loop in 1st row, repeat from the beginning. Next row, draw the thread on shuttle through the loop in centre of 4 double on each side in row before, work 5 double loop, repeat. "

From Tatting or Frivolite; 1862, by Mrs. Mee and Miss Austin, page 18.

In the Mail

2011-07-14T02:54:00.000-04:00

I've had such lovely things arrive in the mail lately.

First was a little package from Fox from her thread give-away. Not only was there the promised thread, but also a tatted motif and a little bag of findings. The motif is so bright and cheerful. The photo doesn't do justice to the beads.

Next was a package from Marie. The card alone is a nice present, with lots of little tatted bits in lots of different thread. I can tell this took some time.

But even better was the real gift, a Mary Konior doily. How wonderful!

Finally, in a really large envelope, came a gift I gave myself. More on that later.

Thank You

2011-07-11T01:43:00.000-04:00

Thank you to all the folks who volunteered for test tatting. I had way more people offer than I needed and choosing just a few was really difficult, especially since so many were good friends. I like to have a mix of my tried-and-true test tatters from previous books plus some new faces who might bring fresh points of view.

Wanted

2011-07-04T00:39:00.000-04:00

**I have lots of volunteers now, thank you all.**

Wanted: just a few tatters to test tat for my upcoming book, Playing with Picots. Projects are bookmarks and motifs (snowflakes, hearts, etc). Nothing too big, so hopefully each person can do 2 - 4 patterns. Or as many as you like :)

I am trying a few new things this time. Patterns will list the recommended size picot gauge for those that like to use them. (For really long picots, I could not get along without them myself.) The patterns will also give the estimated amount of thread. Therefore, I would like the testers to work the patterns in size 20 thread with the picot gauge suggested, to make sure I got those things right, as well as the usual finding mistakes in pattern or diagram.

If interested, please leave a comment or email me.

Thanks!

Snowflake to Cross

2011-06-29T02:39:00.000-04:00

The snowflake I showed you recently has easily morphed into a cross. I may need to elongate the lower part just a bit, but I'm pretty happy with it as a first try. I've adjusted the stitch count to open out the square sections with the picots pointing in. I'll decide later which way I like best.

Meanwhile, the chickens have been banished from the kitchen and replaced with a low key floral. Putting up the new wallpaper was a learning experience. I learned I really, really don't like hanging wallpaper.

Now in progress is removing this wallpaper from the living room. While it's not as obnoxious as the bears and the chickens,it is dark and busy and doesn't get along with the furniture.

Surprises

2011-06-28T02:24:00.000-04:00

I was lucky to win a give-away from Tatting it Up. The shuttle looks like woodgrain, but it's actually made from vinyl.

She also included some thread that she dyed herself. Isn't it pretty? She had instuctions for dying thread on her blog a day or too ago. Thank you so much.

My new house's previous owner was quite a gardener, and I am enjoying the plants very much. I don't know much about them, so I don't know what I've got until it blooms. I was happy to find out a couple of bushes were hydrangeas. Some tall skinny plants turned out to be lilies. (The rather hardy fern at the base of a leggy rose bush turned out to be plastic -- can't win them all.) This weekend, this stunning thing appeared. It's huge, at least 6 inches across. Hibiscus, maybe?

?New? Snowflake

2011-06-13T22:09:00.000-04:00

There are so many snowflake patterns available now, I cannot keep track. This was very easy to design, but is it too similar to anything already published? If this looks too familiar to anyone please let me know. On the points, I have Mrs Mee pearl rings, but if someone else has already published something the same shape with regular rings, I wouldn't think that would make it enough different for me to proceed.

A few people had questions about the "pearl" technique last time. With this technique, rings or chains are made entirely of half stitches instead of the usual double stitch. Sort of like Josephine rings with picots, but the picots come between every two half stitches. Picots with just a single half stitch in between would not be stable enough and could easily get pulled out of shape in my experience.

The Amazing Mrs Mee

2011-06-12T00:55:00.000-04:00

Off and on I have been studying a really old pattern book, Tatting or Frivolite, by Mrs Mee and Miss Austin. It is not dated, but was published before (or during) 1862. A partial copy is available through the
Antique Pattern Library or through
Georgia’s site.

Deciphering really old tatting patterns is a challenge, complicated here by the fact that part of the introduction is missing. Even worse, Mrs Mee used terms which later came to have different meanings.

Her “pearl tatting” was entirely different from the pearl tatting technique we know today, as introduced by Mlle Riego a few years later in 1867.

Here is an excerpt from Mrs Mee’s book:
“PEARL TATTING. This is formed of 2 stitches, 1 single and the next take the upper thread and pass it over the pin towards you, passing the shuttle through between the 2nd and 3rd fingers as in single Tatting; the two stitches are required to make 1 pearl, counted as one, as in double stitch.
A pin and ring is often used, but the chain is in the way, and I much prefer a common pin of a good size as shown in the engraving.”

Today, we would say, 2 second part half stitches with a picot in between. We are used to half stitches giving a twist to the work, as in Victorian sets or spiral chains, but with this technique, the half stitches lie flat, and the twist transferred to the picots, giving a bit of a swirling effect. Subtle, but lovely, yes?

Oddly enough, I get the best results making the picots (pearls) freehand. When I try to make them over a pin as shown in Mrs Mee’s engraving, they just don’t work. I think passing the thread around the pin pulls the next half stitch forward enough that the picot does not take on the full amount of twist. I will have to study further to decide if the problem is my technique, thread size, or whatever.

However, if you use this stitch with a wider picot gauge, something AMAZING happens, just look:

I am using this stitch in some pattern I am writing now. The only question is deciding what to call it. If I say pearl, that might be too easily confused with pearl tatting. I could call them “Mrs Mee picots” though that’s a little cumbersome. Hmmm.

This is a snowflake adapted from a Mrs Mee pattern that I will be teaching at the Palmetto TatDays this fall:

By the way, thank you to everyone who responded to my last post about tatting notation. It was reassuring that so many of you agreed with the version I was thinking of using. On the other hand, I realized too late that though this solves the quandary of how to write the lines with special picot, that might force me to rewrite the rest of the pattern in the same style. I’m still thinking about that problem. I seem to get further and further behind on this project.

Oh, and don’t worry, that book (if I ever finish it) will have lots and lots of diagrams.

In Which I Contemplate Tatting Heresy

2011-06-05T01:00:00.000-04:00

In general, people seem to think that the old fashioned written out pattern style is a bad thing, and the newer short hand patterns are a good thing. Usually I agree, but there are times, though, when the old style is much easier to write, and perhaps easier to read as well. My book in progress is about picot techniques, and I am really tempted to backslide a bit in notation style.

Given these three choices:
3 VLP [2 VLP] 4 times, 3 or
3 {5 VLP sep by 2 ds} 3 or
3 ds {5 VLP sep by 2 ds} 3 ds,
I am tempted by the latter versions.

For a set of graduated picots:
3 - 2 -- 2 --- 2 -- 2 - 2
wouldn't be too bad for a set of 5 picots, but a set of 7 or more would be unreadable. Instead, what about:
3 {5 graduated p sep by 2 ds} 3.

I am a little hesitant to move away from the trend to standardize pattern notation, but I would like to make this set of patterns as easy to follow as possible. What do you think?

I'm Back

2011-06-03T00:37:00.000-04:00

A week ago today, I did something I had not done for a long, long time. I wound some shuttles and tatted! Can you imagine? It had been such a long time, after having been too busy, too tired, too disorganized. Since then, I've managed to do a little every day, as you can see above. The second one is still in bad need of blocking. I haven't managed to scan the rest.

This was the master bedroom in the "before" stage.

Take a closer look at that wallpaper border. Seriously??!! I wouldn't have been able to sleep with all that going on.

This is "after", well, almost. I replaced that green carpet after taking the picture. Simple is good.

Anemone Almost Done

2011-04-12T22:31:00.000-04:00

A week or two ago I almost finished this doily, "Anemone Nemorosa" by Iris Neibach. It is in her book Tatting Fantasia 2. I was drawn to it because I had not made an oval doily before.

I say almost finished. I have made all the stitches and worked in all the ends, and even performed a bit of surgery to repair a mistake noticed much too late. What I lack is blocking it so it will lay nice and flat so it may be fully appreciated. I've got a styrofoam board and some rust-proof pins. What I lack is the time. I think I will put it away until after the move.

Even with a four day weekend, I did not finish stripping the wall paper in the master bedroom. In my defense, I did not get to start until after lunch every day. We did get quite a lot of other things accomplished, though.

Home Sweet Home

2011-04-04T23:49:00.000-04:00

Well, it's official. Today we signed the papers to buy this townhouse.

Goodbye, rent payments; hello mortgage.

Goodbye, apartment plain white walls; hello ??!!??!!

Decorating seems to have been the hobby (or obsession) of the former owners.

This bathroom is nice.

This one.....isn't. It has a fishing reel shaped toilet paper dispenser, too.

This is the INSIDE of my closet.

This, unfortunately, is the wall of my eat-in kitchen.

On the first of an infinite number of trips to Home Depot, I got a wallpaper steamer ;)

Give-away Winner!

2011-04-04T00:21:00.000-04:00

The winner of the magazines is sherrya! Please contact me to claim your prize.

Mary Konior's Rockingham Cross

2011-04-02T23:09:00.000-04:00

Sometime late last year I made this series of crosses. The pattern is "Rockingham" in Mary Konior's Tatting in Lace. First I made the solid version above. The pattern is written in 2 parts, but I figured out how to make it all in one pass, using a split chain and a split ring to move into the last section on the bottom. So far, so good.

Next I worked it in this variegated thread I got from the Thread Exchange. This is a size 10 rayon thread. I ran out of thread on both shuttles too soon, so I ended up making it in 2 parts anyway. Even though rayon thread is usually slippery, it was oddly hard to close rings completely. The ring where I worked in the ends stretched out of shape. I've got a little of that thread left. I keep meaning to rework that bottom part, but you know how that goes. After doing a solid and a variegate version, my next project was to make the pattern with both types of thread. Still stinging from running out of thread the previous time, I wound plenty onto both shuttles. About halfway through, it occurred to me that I couldn't work it in one pass anyway, because the split chain would show the wrong color. Or could I? I remembered Jane had shown a new technique for a Single Shuttle Split Chain. It was something I had looked at and decided I would probably never use since I was satisfied with my split chain ability with the traditional method. However, it was just what I needed to preserve the color scheme here. Did it work? Yes. Was is more time consuming than just working the cut & tie & hiding ends? Well, maybe. Still, it's one more technique in my "tatting toolbox." (Note I also used the color-hiding single shuttle split ring trick that Tatting Chic and I worked out.)

I've been neglecting my 25 Motif Challenge. My goal this time was to count only motifs from books. I think this is only motif #3. I really am behind....

Mary's Book Update

2011-04-01T02:38:00.000-04:00

I've been getting a lot of questions about the travelling book. Yes, it is now in route. I looked at my list of people, and came up with a geographical scheme. The book will take the longest trip first, and then a series of short hops across North America. (Late-comers will be tacked on at the end.)

Here is the list:

Jon

Marie

**Diane**

Deborah

Karrieann

Sandra

Mary

Katie

Sarah

Carol

Kelly

Jeanne

Robert

Sherry

Brigitte

Ann

Bree

Karen

Connie

Shannon

Michelle

Julie

Laura

Ronda

Linda

Deb

Roberta

Nancy

Leah

Meriem

Martha

Coretta

Another Giveaway

2011-03-28T00:35:00.001-04:00

I've got too much stuff, and I'm trying to thin it out before I move. So, here for one lucky winner is a set of magazines with at least one tatting pattern each. I have 2 Popular Needlework (Sep 68, Apr 69), 2 Old Time Crochet (Spring 95, Spring 99), and 3 Needlecraft (Sep 22, Feb 23, and Aug 24). Two of the Needlecrafts are missing their covers and the other is a little beat up, but still so much fun to look at.

To enter the give-away, simply leave a comment on this post, just once please. The deadline to enter is midnight, Sunday April 3. I can cover domestic postage, but I would ask anyone outside the US to cover part of the mailing expense. (The package will weigh almost 2 pounds.)

Good luck to everyone.

Shameless personal plug: I have a lot of non-tatting craft books & magazines on ebay, see them here.

Meditative Tatting

2011-03-27T02:11:00.001-04:00

When you feel all tensed up, with too much to do, or too much on your mind, sometimes the best thing to do is let it all go, and pick up a piece of simple tatting. Working easy repetitions lets you empty your mind and find a quiet place to get away from it all for a little while. Just when I needed something like this, I was lucky to have such a pattern appear in my inbox, courtesy of Nancy Tracy's Bestitched newsletter. You can see her pattern here, and while you are there, you can look around her site for many more nice patterns, or shop for supplies.

She saw this medallion as a spring flower, but since it had six petals, I worked it in white to use for the new Palmetto fundraiser. Yes, there is to be another group project quilt. This time, instead of quilt blocks, they are asking for white snowflakes in all sizes. See Georgia's site here for all the details.

Not too Late to Sign up for Mary's Travelling Book

2011-03-27T02:10:00.001-04:00

I've had a goodly number of people sign up for Mary's Travelling Book. Oddly enough, some of those totally innocent emails turned up in my spam filter. If you have tried to contact me about the book, and have not received an email in return, please try again.

Introducing Mary's Traveling Book

2011-03-21T21:37:00.000-04:00

Mary Konior was one of the greatest tatting designers of all time. Her book Tatting with Visual Patterns is available from several online tatting shops. (If you don’t own a copy, you should get one.) Her earlier books are out of print and becoming increasingly rare and expensive.

Since these books may be beyond the reach of many tatters, and inspired by Fox’s generosity in offering Angeline’s Traveling Book, I propose to launch Mary’s Traveling Book, using her Tatting in Lace. I will send this out on loan, for each person to use for up to a month and then mail to the next person. Before mailing, I ask that you contact the next person in line to confirm their mailing address. Since I am moving soon myself, I am somewhat preoccupied with the notion of changing addresses :)

If you would like to be included, please email me with your mailing address. If the link won't work, just send to essm at bellsouth dot net

By the way, I think I have remembered the origin of the little heart motif from the last post. (I have a mind like a steel seive.) Back around 2001, I participated in a tatted heart round robin, one of many organized by Maus. For each member, I designed a heart motif and a pair of coordinating earrings. These patterns eventually made their way into my book, Tat's Amoré, except for one set. The month I had surgery, I did not design a heart from scratch, but rather made one adapted from Mary Konior's Maid of Honour edging. I think this little heart was a draft for the accompanying earrings. So, mystery solved, and everyone who was reminded of Mary Konior was correct.

Home Buying & Decorating

2011-03-14T13:24:00.000-04:00

The blog has been quiet lately. We are all wrapped up in the adventure of being first-time home buyers. We have found a roomy townhouse in a nice area and are very excited. On our first visit, we noted it was in near move-in condition and lovingly decorated. On our most recent visit, we realized some of those styles are just "not us." We cannot live with green and red chickens on the dining room walls. The master bedroom has different wall papers above and below the chair rail, with borders on both. It looks like a picture from "Good Housekeeping", but for us, it is too busy, too dark, and the colors don't go with our stuff. First we heard the way to deal with bad wallpaper is to cover it over with new wallpaper. Then we heard that doesn't work with the modern latex papers and must be stripped. What to do? What to do? I think I will paint the master bedroom and put one border along the top, but not sure whether to use different colors above and below the chair rail. I want wallpaper downstairs in the higher traffic areas, but no luck yet choosing anything we both like. The store had hundreds of sample books, and we just got fatigued looking at them. The dining room wallpaper must be replaced, and the living room might be. So here I am gripped with indecision. Plus, I have all this sorting a packing to do....

So meanwhile, only a small amount of top secret tatting has been going on. But here's a question: whose heart is this?

I found it in a bag of UFOs and rough draft tatting scraps. It bears a resemblence to Mary Konior edgings and Riet's angels. I honestly don't know if this is someone's pattern or one of my own doodles. Does anyone recognize it?

And the Winner Is...

2011-02-06T02:47:00.000-05:00

This was fun! I had lots of nice comments all week. I used an online random number generator and was full of suspense as I counted down the list to see who it would be. The winner is.....Rainbow Rose Connie! Please let me know your mailing address. Congratulations!

Tatting Give-Away Time

2011-01-29T15:54:00.000-05:00

OK, folks, I promised you a give-away this month, so I'd better get going. No special occasion to celebrate, just my feeling that I've won enough times that it is my turn to pass it forward.

Here we have: "The Craft of Tatting" by Bessie Attenborough, a nice little book with lots of traditional pattens. (The book itself is in good condition, but has only part of the dust jacket remaining.)

"A Book of Edging" from Coats & Clark, a leaflet from 1982, also a bit worn.

A half-ring braid bracelet kit that somehow showed up extra after I taught that class at Palmetto last year. The kit includes a Sew-Mate shuttle.

A floral design wooden shuttle by Georgia.

Byzantine chain maille earrings by Jeff, known as Redeye on Etsy.

A tatted teapot with buttons by me.

A ball of vintage Star tatting thread.

A pill keeper good for storing beads, (or pills, I don't care:)

Maybe some more stuff I find later until the box is full.

To enter, simply leave a comment to this post. I will select the winner by some random method a week from today, on February 5th. So did I meet my deadline by posting in January, or miss it by drawing in February?

Pretty Shuttles

2011-01-23T23:42:00.001-05:00

A little while back, I treated myself to some beautiful shuttles from La Cossette's Etsy shop. Quite a few tatters had been showing off theirs, and I decided to get some for myself. I liked these floral designs from previous sales better than the ones currently in the shop, but she was happy to take a special order and had them ready very soon. I miss the posts on the back a little, but these shuttles are a pleasure to tat with. The surface has just a little texture which is good for a firm grip, and I feel a bit elegant when my tools are nice.

Here are a few more pictures of the apple wood Pop-a-Bobbin shuttle I received from Sally. I already thought this shuttle was lovely, and then later I was really touched to find out that the wood was special, having come from a tree that belonged to her father.

At last, pretty shuttles for bobbin shuttle tatters!

Thank You, Tatting Fairy Godmother!

2011-01-17T23:13:00.000-05:00

I have a mysterious anonymous benefactor (benefactress?) Not too long ago, I began to get intriguing messages through a third party asking about my likes and preferences. Next, this secret person sent gifts, commissions from Jane and Sally and a gift certificate from Marilee. I certainly feel blown away and very honored. Since this began too late for Santa Claus, I have dubbed this mysterious wonderful person my Tatting Fairy Godmother.

Look what I received:
An apple wood Pop-a-Bobbin shuttle. Isn't it pretty? It feels so nice in my hand. Presently it's dedicated to the TIAS project.

My choice of some Yarnplayer threads. I got an assortment of sizes and colors. One of these I think is the same thread as a much admired snowflake Miranda gave me.

One of Jane's new magnetic bookmarks. The butterfly on top is so colorful. I love it. These magnets really are strong for their size. I had the hardest time making this scan because the bookmark kept following the scanner bar, dragging everything else along behind it.

Thank you so much, Tatting Fairy Godmother, whoever you are.

A Trip to Washington

2011-01-11T00:17:00.000-05:00

As always, time races on faster than I can blog about it. Right now, I'm engaged in some top secret tatting, so I will go back and fill in with some older events.

Last fall, we visited my sister in Maryland. That's just an easy Metro ride from Washington, DC. I was surprised to hear that DH had never toured the monuments, so we spent a long day's walk doing that. We got to a few that I had never been to either. I'm sure you all know what the Washington and Lincoln monuments look like already, so here are a couple others.

This is the World War II Memorial (well about half of it).

This is the Korean War Memorial. The statues are a bit eerie.

Surprise tatting content! After the monuments, we had time for a quick run through just a few parts of the Smithsonian American History Museum. In the "Miniature World of Faith Bradford" exhibit (a huge dollhouse of miniatures), I spotted this tiny tatted doily.

Belated Thank You to Diane

2010-12-30T09:41:00.000-05:00

Jane's post today reminds me that I have been really remiss in failing to show the give-away I won from Diane, the Lace Loving Librarian. It arrived just as I was leaving town, and I meant to post once I got back, but got distracted by the real world.

Above is the best part, a really pretty shuttle she decorated herself. Isn't it nice? I really like pink, so this is just perfect.

Everything was inside this nice little satin-y pouch. Poor lighting conditions don't do the color justice.

Inside was the shuttle, some vintage size 80 thread, a sample of Sulky thread, an EZ-Bob for winding thread, and a charm clip. Such nice goodies!

I've been really lucky with the give-aways lately. Watch this space for a give-away of my own, probably in January.

Thanks again to Diane!

Merry Christmas to All!

2010-12-25T00:13:00.000-05:00

In case you were wondering, yes, I did fall off the face of the earth. Or maybe it just feels that way.

Despite all the real world fiascos I won't bore you with, I did get in a little Christmas tatting. For the girls at work, I made Jane's Flurry Snowflake set in bangle bracelets. I forgot to take pictures of them, oops. I admired the pattern from the start, but did not realize how really clever the constuction was until I made some of them.

For some other friends, I made the teapot above. It didn't start out as a Christmas pattern, but the Christmas colors adapted rather well, I think. There were several versions, but I forgot to take pictures of them too, except this one. Organization has not been my strong point lately, and I was in a big hurry to get them in the mail. Some should reach their destinations by Christmas, and others will arrive late, I am sure. The pattern is destined for an upcoming issue of Tatting Times.

I wish everyone peace of mind, hope for the future, comfort of friends and family.

NC State Fair

2010-11-21T00:13:00.001-05:00

Life hurries on faster than I can blog about it. Anyway, last month, I was able to visit the North Carolina State Fair. First priority was to have a visit with my friend Anitra, who has had a tatting display there for many years, and was named Female Craftsman of the Year in 2007.

Her booth was in a building called Village of Yesteryear, which was full of different crafts, with many ongoing demos. There was another lace maker there. As I walked by, I heard someone ask her how long it took her to learn to make lace. Her reply was that she was still learning. What a nice thought. I know I am still learning.

On to Exhibits... I thought there was supposed to be some tatting in the Arts & Crafts Building, but I never found it. So on to the 4-H Exhibition building. (In NC, tatting is considered a Home Furnishing.) This tatted mat won both the lace blue ribbon and a special judge's award, so good for her!

Here is a framed motif by Arlene.

I think I've seen this piece on someone's blog, but unfortunately, can't remember where.

I also saw this collection of heart motifs. Also there was a clothing(?) item with tatted trim, not pictured, camera battery dying.

I wonder if there was more tatting there that I may have missed. I had made a quick circuit around the room and then got all wrapped up in the quilt display, where a lady was telling about each quilt. Next thing I knew, my cell phone was ringing. DH was bored and ready to go home. Sigh... Oh well, I had a good time while it lasted.

How Does Your (Grandmother's) Garden Grow?

2010-11-08T23:40:00.000-05:00

In last summer’s issue of Tatting Times, there was a pattern called “Grandmother’s Garden” made up of tiny motifs you could make by emptying shuttles. I looked at it and thought, “nah, not something I would make…” A few weeks later at the Palmetto conference, I saw Karey working on this piece, which had grown larger since the picture in the newsletter. It did look more interesting “in person” than on the printed page. Then I saw several other people there working on theirs as well. Soon after I got home, someone else emailed me a picture of hers in progress. I can only take so much watching other people having fun; so I had to join in with the thread left over from these motifs. This pattern is addictive. I went from emptying shuttles to carrying some extra wound bobbins with me as a great on-the-go project when I have just a little extra time. My piece is pretty random. Look here for Pam’s beautiful orderly interpretation. When I decide on the final size and shape, I will probably add a solid border all around.

Working in different colors can lead to a color “blip” at the site of the joins. To minimize this, pull the thread loop up toward the front side of the work, so the blip will be on the back side.

Front side

Back Side

For me, the magic thread is the only way to go with this many thread ends. If I had to sew in all these ends, well that wouldn’t happen in my lifetime. (The granny afghan on my sofa still has shaggy threads on the backside a year later.) You can use Google to find links for several tutorials and videos. A version I saw once had you just pull in the thread ends when finished with the tatting. For goodness sake, tie a knot, then hide the ends.

Karey has graciously shared the pattern here, (Scroll down to Oct 26) It’s really easy. She would like to hear how many motifs, with ends worked in, that everyone has completed by Jan 1, so if you join in, let her know.

I Won!

2010-11-07T21:25:00.000-05:00

I was so lucky to win a giveaway from Miranda at the Tatting Fool blog. This package arrived very quickly, and my first thought was why was, it so big and heavy? It turned out there was an extra surprise inside--a package of Biscochitos, the official cookie of New Mexico, flavored with cinnamon and anise. I do love cinnamon. I had enough will power to wait until I charged the camera battery and took the picture. But since then, I've been eating quite a lot of them. Will power only goes so far, you know ;)

There were three thread samples, and not just any thread, but HDT by Lady Shuttlemaker and Yarnplayer. Plus, a snowflake made with each thread so I can see how they work up. The snowflakes are all Miranda's designs, and I especially like the one in the middle. My picture is pretty poor, but I can tell you these are very nicely done.

There are Delica beads and Gingher scissors with a leather point protector in a little tin. Three crochet hooks, two of them the tiny sizes great for pulling beads onto picots, and one with a comfort handle. And everything in a pretty re-usable fabric bag.

Thank you Miranda, for being so generous!

A Gift and a New Challenge

2010-11-01T02:51:00.001-04:00

My friend Ridgewoman recently surprised me with a gift of this book, Spitzen Ideen by Susanne Schwenke. Since many of the patterns have block tatting, she said it made her think of me. It is is a delightful little book and I am very grateful to have it.

It is a German book, but it is very easy to understand. There are clear diagrams for each pattern, and there is a German/English glossary of tatting terms used in the patterns, which are written short hand style. It has edgings and insertions, snowflakes, and Easter eggs.

This is my favorite pattern, which came out around 5 inches diameter in size 30 thread.

I made this snowflake next, chosen for the pretty block tatting in the design. I an sure I will be making more designs from this book in the future.

On another note, most of you are probably aware of the 25 Motif Challenge. Sharon began this a few years ago as a way to encourage tatters to see if they could finish 25 pieces in a year. She and her team post pictures of everyone's progress. Viewing that blog is always interesting, and has led me to meeting new people and learning of patterns, threads, and books that I "must" have. The basic guidelines are here. She lets each person define what a motif may be, which has ranged from a single earring to a large doily. Some participants choose to further refine their own challenge, for example, to make 25 animals or snowflakes. I am ready to begin again, and for this time around I will count only motifs made from books. I have some new books and some old ones that have been neglected too long. Don't worry, I'll still be making fun stuff from online patterns, and designing some of my own, but only patterns from books will count toward my challenge, to make it more, er, challenging. So these will be the first two for the new challenge.

Eeek! Spider!

2010-10-26T02:03:00.000-04:00

Jane recently posted instructions for a new method for tatting a floating chain, with this spider pattern to try it out. Floating chains are really fiddly for me, (think split chain with one end that won't stay put) so I thought this was worth a try.

Well, the tatting part goes pretty easy, but when I pull the thread end back through the stitches, I have a terrible time with the thread twisting and tangling. Those of you who don't tat as tightly as I do (ie, almost everyone) may not have so much of a problem. Anyway, it was a fun exercise, and a potentially useful new technique.

Peacock Blue

2010-10-25T02:01:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I buy thread colors because I have a project in mind. Sometimes I buy a random ball of thread because the color calls out to me. This thread was all but jumping up and shouting at me. This is Lizbeth 657. The label calls it Ocean Turquoise Dark, but I call it peacock blue. I love this thread. In real life, it's brighter and just a tiny bit greener than it shows on the screen.

First, I made the Luna moth pattern shared by Pamela (Totus Mel) here. Then I teamed it up with some bright yellow and worked Sharren Morgan's Flag Tail Dragonfly from this year's Palmetto Pattern CD. I had enough thread left on the shuttles to make a little parasol by Karey from an issue of Tatting Times.

I'll be looking for more things to make with this thread.

This makes more than enough motifs to wrap up this round of my 25 Motif Challenge. The theme this time had been any motif that I did not design myself. I'll just start over again soon.

More Challenge Motifs

2010-10-13T01:56:00.000-04:00

I've been tatting up a storm lately. Here are a handful of projects in no particular order. (That's because I can't remember the sequence I made them...)

This bookmark is Pamela Kite's "Christina Edging" from Georgia's Tatting Online book. The threads are Lizbeth variegated #130 and Raspberry Pink #623. I got samples of these through the Thread Exchange Blog. I know people love or hate Lizbeth thread. Well, I love this variegate, and it's on my list to buy. Instead of trying to use an entire exchange sample for a project, I just wound a shuttleful of both, so I have some left over for something else.

This is Anne B's Seahorse Dragon, adapted from a pattern by Deb Arnold. This is a wonderful pattern (and so is the original seahorse). Anne has great designs and we both love dragons. The threads are a handpainted thread by Karey Solomon and a silver/grey Lizbeth. I love Karey's threads because of the way the colors flow at random. Click here for Jane's recent interview with Karey about her threads.

This one is theBlooming Trellis Bookmark by Eliz (Tatknot). This is worked in assorted vintage size 70/80. Most Celtic type designs are worked in three parts, but her takes just two.

This last one is Lauren Snyder's "Pearl Tatted Bookmark", also from the Tatting Online book edited by Georgia. I always thought this one looked intimidating, but I finally gave it a try. (Sorry the picture isn't great. I've lost my pale blue paper that I liked to use as a background for white.)

I think this makes Motifs 21-24 for my 25 Motif Challenge.

Home from the Fair

2010-10-03T20:00:00.000-04:00

After where I left off last time, later I returned to the local fair to see how I did. (Actually that was two weeks ago, but my blog is getting further and further behind real life.) The first thing I saw was this tatting edged table cloth and napkins (Not mine!) which I was happy to see won a blue ribbon and a judge's award. I'm glad she got this recognition, and luckily for me, this was entered in a luncheon set category where I wasn't competing.

Here's a closer look:

I chose the category "item decorated with tatting" for my handkerchief, and was delighted to win the blue ribbon.

I saw only one other entry in this category, a pillowcase, I think. Please forgive the over-cropped picture. (I wonder if the crafter meant it to be displayed in that ziplock bag? I've learned it's wise to give instructions about removing protective covering for a competition.)

Since that's the only tatting-dedicated category in the "Adult" age group, I have to be creative in using other categories. Here you see my Elgiva Nicholl's heart entered under "Needlework, any other", and the Workbasket Crinoline Lady as "Needlework, picture".

The third place ribbon for "Needlework, any other" also went to tatting. I think this is Ruth Perry's Celtic Cross. I think this tatter is new to the fair, so I'm really happy to see that.

I entered one of my button necklace sets under "Jewelry, miscellaneous".

My angel from Ineke Kuperij's Nativity book won for "Decorations, Christmas tree".

I also entered "Crochet, any other" ...

... and "Basketry, basket or tray". (I made that basket quite a while ago, but there's no time limit for this fair.)

The final score came to five blue and two red ribbons, a very good result. Please keep in mind that my local fair does not have that many entries, so I'm not facing a whole lot of competition. Sometimes I feel a little guilty, greedily snapping up easy prizes, but I'm trying to promote crafting locally. I really would be happy to face more competition, so I'm hoping to see more tatting next year. I'm already planning what to make, and crossing my fingers that the pick-up day won't fall while I'm out of town for Palmetto 2011.

Handkerchief Time

2010-09-27T00:04:00.000-04:00

My first goal after the Palmetto weekend was to edge a handkerchief to enter in the local fair. I had a vintage hanky I must have picked up at a yard sale sometime. I used some size 40 Lizbeth thread that I got while I was there. Size 80 would have been more appropriate for the fabric, but I knew I would never get that size completed in time.

I searched for an edging pattern that would use just a little pink, and found the perfect one in the book "A Tatter's Workbook". Since it's mostly chains, I only had to refill my bobbin once, as an added bonus. Slope and roll joins instead of lock joins worked well to minimize pink spots where I didn't want them.

This was a big project for me, 54 inches of lace, 7/8 inch wide. Look how much thread it took, compared to an unused ball:

I was really happy with the tatting, though perhaps my decision to sew it on with blue thread wasn't the best since I had trouble keeping the stitches even. I finished it in the wee hours one night and dropped it off at the fair the next morning.

More Thread Exchange Projects

2010-09-21T01:45:00.000-04:00

As I've said before, the Thread Exchange Blog is a fun way to trade samples of thread. Typically, the samples are 12 yards (11 meters).

Then comes the question of choosing a project you can complete with the sample. Motifs and bookmarks work great. Here are two of mine.

This one is a bookmark of Mary Konior's Duet pattern, made with size 20 Lizbeth #125 Seascape. I looove this color on the ball, but in this particular bookmark, not so much. Perhaps the back and forth rings were not a good choice for this thread. It looks better on Isdihara's blog.

I also used an exchange thread to perfect my koala bear pattern. I think this is Lizbeth 691 Mocha Brown Medium. It's a nice shade, a bit warmer than the similar Cebelia I had been using.

I've wound my shuttles with more exchange threads, so watch this space....

Later...by the way, I can claim this as Motif 20 in my current 25 Motif Challenge.

Post Palmetto

2010-09-20T00:46:00.000-04:00

Well, here it is, three weeks after Palmetto, and I am finally getting to my blog. (Insert usual excuses here.)

As always, I had a marvelous time, getting together with old friends and making new ones. I learned a few new things too. I always come away with some new technique or trick.

I was a little surprised how few pictures I took. I guess I was too caught up in the excitement to get the camera out much. Anyway, here are a few:

Here Erin and Georgia are displaying the smaller quilt for auction. (The group project yielded 1 large, 1 small, and 3 wall hanging sized quilts.)

Sue H in her purple finery at the banquet. That's a lovely tatted shawl.

Riet and Katherine

Karey and Schari

Hope presides over fun and games session

Mary Konior Lace

Close-up of a flower in Shawna's arrangement that won the People's Choice award.

Next year's conference has just been announced: Sept 23-23, 2011 in Toccoa again.

More Critters -- Now on Sale!

2010-08-15T14:34:00.000-04:00

I am pleased to announce that More Critters on the Block is now on sale.

I will, of course, be bringing plenty of copies with me to the Palmetto TatDays conference.

The book is digest size, 8 ½ x 5 ½ inches, and has 32 pages plus cover. There are 23 patterns in all: hummingbird, dolphin, koala, skunk, butterfly, ferret, dachshund, elephant, raccoon, turtle, sheep, lamb, rhinoceros, hornet, owl, giraffe, gecko, whale, bluebird, grasshopper, fox, alligator, and pig.

Here are a handful of the designs.

Despite the recession, we decided to keep the price at $10.00 plus shipping, like my other block tatting books. You can go to my site here for links to buy a single copy through PayPal. If you would like more than one book, email me and I can send you an invoice for reduced combined shipping. There is an address there too, for snail mail check or money order payment.

I would like to thank my test tatters, Jane, Heather, Pamela, Stephanie, and Sherry for all their help.

Leprechaun Visit

2010-08-12T03:09:00.000-04:00

Danny was surprised by a visit from Feargal and Miss Scarlett. They had timed their visit so they could travel with Danny to Palmetto TatDays. "You are going to have so much fun!" he said. Since they were tired from the journey, at first they just sat and talked. Danny enjoyed hearing all about their Grand Tour and getting news of his cousins. (Miss Scarlett noticed how he especially perked up when they were talking of Maebh, but she didn't say anything.)

Then Feargal was ready to unpack and show off his skateboard. Danny tried hard not to look envious. Then he showed them around the apartment, and suddenly Feargal stopped and said, "What is That?"

"That's the book stapler," said Danny. "You have to jump on it real hard to staple a book. I can do it, but it may be too difficult for you." (Leprechauns are naturally competitive, if you hadn't noticed.)

But Feargal's eyes took on a strange gleam. "That's not a stapler, that's a skateboard ramp! I can skate down that, turn a flip in the air, and land."

"Oh wow! I've got to see that," said Danny, now obviously awed by his elder cousin.

"You musn't," said Miss Scarlett. "It's too dangerous!"

"It will be great!" said Danny.

"I can't look," said Miss Scarlett.

"Here goes!" said Feargal.

Feargal skated down the ramp at great speed, but what came next wasn't exactly a flip in the air. In fact, it was nothing like a flip. Suffice it to say, it's a good thing he is a magical being, so he was not injured in the fall.

Danny said, "That was awesome! Can you teach me how?"

Boys will be boys....

Is your leprechaun coming to Palmetto TatDays? Let me know, so I can add them to the list of "Who's Coming".

Updates & Events

2010-08-03T00:01:00.000-04:00

CORRECTION: I previously said Palmetto registration was open through Aug 15, but the correct date is Aug 11.

Time is getting close for the Palmetto TatDays, August 27-28 in Toccoa, GA. Registration is open through August 11th, so there's still time to sign up. I've got so much to do to get ready!

Meanwhile, our northern cousins, the Fringe Element Tatters are having their fifth annual tatting convention September 24-25 in Cambridge, Ontario. This even sounds like a winner too! Click here for information.

Since I last mentioned it, the Palmetto Quilt drawing has posted pictures here of LOTS of tatting embellished quilt squares. A donation to the Palmetto scholarship fund will enter you into the drawing.

I hope to see lots of you soon in Toccoa!

Whooo Can't Count?

2010-07-24T03:44:00.000-04:00

Erm, that would be me.

Keep in mind that a digest size booklet is made of letter size paper folded in half so each sheet of paper makes 4 pages. So a booklet needs a multiple-of-four pages. A while back, I thought I had a book's worth of patterns, but when I pasted them together, I counted 29 pages. Rather than cut out one page, I thought I had plenty of time to make up three more patterns for a 32 page book. I went merrily on my way until last weekend when I did the book layout again, and came up with.....31 pages! One short! What went wrong?

I bet some of you see where this is going. In a booklet, that first sheet of paper with the title page also has the final page on it as well. On my first layout, "Page 29" was supposed to be the other half of the first sheet, but I forgot to move it there. I really should know better.

I had to turn out one more pattern. The process went something like this:

While I feel a bit silly that I couldn't count my pages right, those last four patterns were the fox, koala, weiner dog, and owl, so I'm glad it worked out that way.

By the way, that thread is Lizbeth Mocha Brown Dark. A lovely, warm brown perfect for bears, puppies, etc. I got a sample through the Thread Exchange Blog. I'm definitely going to get myself my own ball of this thread.

Win a Quilt!

2010-07-22T02:20:00.000-04:00

Lots of tatters from around the globe contributed tatting embellished quilt squares to make this stunning quilt. And it can by YOURS! In exchange for a $5 donation to the Palmetto TatDays Scholarship fund, your name will be entered into a drawing for this quilt or a similar wall hanging. No limit to the number of times you may enter, and do not have to be present to win :)

For more details go to the Quilt Info Page.

For some sample quilt squares, go here and here and here and here and here and here and here.

Good luck to you all!

Just 36 more days until TatDays in beautiful Toccoa.

Palmetto Registration Is Open

2010-07-17T02:35:00.000-04:00

Registration is now open for the Palmetto TatDays convention. Click HERE for more information. This event is always the high point of my year. These wonderful people always put together a splendid meeting with lots of activities. It is a great time to get together in person with plenty of your internet friends.

One thing I admire about their group is that they are always trying new things to make it a better experience. In the early years at the little college, I was just so happy to be there that I did not mind the dorm rooms. But then they moved to the White Oak convention center, and that was sooo much better. So now, I am looking forward to seeing what they have in store for us at the new location, in Toccoa, GA this year. Another new thing they are trying this year is to have three class periods on both Friday and Saturday. Before, when there were four classes on Saturday, that was a great day, but we were so exhausted by the end.

Here are a few pictures from last year.

Just imaging being in a room with this many people tatting.

While there are many classes and organized events, just hanging out in the commons area is one of my favorite parts.

You can shop to your heart's content.

You never can tell when a leprechaun might show up.

Another 12 Yards from the Thread Exchange

2010-07-10T16:20:00.000-04:00

I got this green thread from Fox and it is the actual sample from the header picture of the Thread Exchange blog. I'm not sure what it is, but it feels like a size 10.

I made two of my new hummingbirds from the upcoming book. I was trying out a different way to work the pattern, but decided it looked better the first way.

There was more that 12 yards on the floss winder, and I actually made a third hummingbird, but it seems to have flown away....

The Thread Exchange (Motif 19)

2010-07-06T00:26:00.000-04:00

The Thread Exchange-Or-What Can You Do With 12 Yards?

Lately I've been sharing the fun on The Thread Exchange Blog. Fox from Tat-ology set this up as a place to swap samples of thread. Each person posts a list or picture of what they have to trade, and then others offer to make a deal. This is a no-frills exchange, just thread samples that fit in an average envelope. It's a good way to try out a type of thread to see if it is something you would like to buy.

The suggested amount to trade is 12 yards (11 meters). That gives rise to the question, how much can you do with that much thread? Quite a lot, actually.

One of the samples I have received so far is some size 50 Pear Glace' HDT made by Lady Shuttle Maker. I can tell you this is very nice thread and I recommend it. The picture doesn't do it justice. This is very pale, delicate shades of green and yellow. I wanted to make the most of this thread without wasting any, so I hunted around till I found this two shuttle insertion pattern in the book Tatting by Cathy Bryant. You switch shuttles regularly, so an equal amount of thread is used from each one, which meant there was no guesswork how much to allow for each one. I finished this bookmark with only a few inches of thread to spare. Not counting the tail, it's 4 inches by 1.5 inches. I like my bookmarks on the small side, so I'm very happy with this.

I've been neglecting my 25 Motif Challenge lately. This time around, I'm only counting patterns by other people, so I can claim this as Motif #19.

Lovely Shuttle

2010-06-22T01:05:00.001-04:00

I love my Aeros, really I do. I hardly every use any other kind of shuttle, except now and then I need something that can hold more thread. Then I pull out my Tatsy, or one of my Russian beading shuttles, but I miss the built in hook so very much. Sally's husband came to my rescue and custom designed an oversized shuttle with a built in hook. (Yes, that's " 'im in the garage" who makes those popular Pop-a-Bobbin shuttles as well.) This shuttle is just wonderful. It's a beauty to look at (rosewood, one of my favorites!) and feels good in my hand.

Here you can compare the size with some other shuttles.

I put it to the test with hemp beading cord and size 5 thread (from Karey) and it performed beautifully.

Coming Soon--More Critters on the Block

2010-06-18T03:17:00.001-04:00

victats@gmail.com said...
All of your test tatters have been tormenting us with pictures of your new patterns...when is the new book comming out?

The answer is August. Definitely in time for the Palmetto conference. My team of test tatters is turning out critters at an amazing pace, though I am getting bogged down with perfecting the last few patterns. It always works OK out in the end, though.

Thank you to everyone who answered my earlier blog post with suggestions of critters to make. Before I knew it, I went from too few ideas to too many. There could be another critter book way down the road with the leftover ideas.

On a different note: when (if?) I get a little more caught up, I'll tell you about the new love of my life. Here's a pic:

With a Little Help From My Needle Tatting Friends

2010-06-07T01:03:00.000-04:00

I'm a shuttle tatter because that's how I learned, and that's how I write my patterns. In the past I have been helpless at helping my needle tatting friends adapt the shuttle tatting style patterns for my Palmetto classes. I vowed to do better this time after they had some trouble dealing with one of last year's class projects. So I wouldn't be so unprepared, I asked some friends for som help. Wally answered some questions and gave advice. Heather tested the patterns "needle-style" and gave lots of advice too. I am really grateful to both of them.

For any needle tatters out there who may be coming to Palmetto this year, (especially you Southern Belles), here is Heather's assesment of my class projects.

The bookmark above will translate very easily to needle, though you may prefer a vertically held picot gauge to the horizontal picot gauge recommended for shuttles.

I had figured out a way to make this beaded bracelet with the needle, but Heather suggested an easier way. Some of the beads will be strung onto the ball thread and others added as you go. You will need a crochet hook or needle threader that can transfer beads onto the thread, but the tatting needle does not pass through the beads.

For the Celtic button project, you can make one square and use it as a pendant (see previous blog post), or make two squares and turn them into an amulet bag. The squares themselves will be easy enough to do, but needle tatters will most likely prefer to substitute something else for the long lock stitch chain shown here. Some suggestions will be provided in the handout.

Remember the lanyard I wore last year?
Here is that pattern reworked for this year's theme. I cannot whole heartedly recommend this class for needle tatting, though no one is unwelcome. To make it in two colors would require two long lengths of thread with the danger of tangling. The lock stitch chain, while possible to do, would be tedious. Neither of my friends thought of a way to make a single color split ring while working with two colors of thread. If you wanted to make this with needle tatting, the easiest way would be to make it all one color with needle and ball thread. You could substitute a regular chain for the lock stitch chain and a regular split ring for the color-hiding single shuttle split ring the shuttlers will be making. BUT, making it all one color wouldn't look nearly as interesting as the shuttle version. Proceed at your own risk.

Thank you again to Wally and Heather.

Palmetto Sneak Peeks

2010-06-04T01:38:00.000-04:00

The sneak peeks of the Palmetto class projects are now posted here. You must click and view now, really you must.

Check out Erin's sparkly pink poodle. And Anitra's lifelike bear. And Riet's complicated butterfly. And Nina's jewelry, gorgeous as always. And Sharren's dragonflies. And Karey's breathtaking tree. Wally has some adventures in rolled tatting, and it looks like Georgia will show us how to decorate things with our tatting. And did I mention a really sparkly, really pink poodle? I always look forward to Palmetto as the high point of my year, but now I am practically hyperventilating with desire for the pattern CD. Since I teach, I have just one free period to take a class. I wonder which one it will be.

Below is an alternate version of one of my class projects.

Quilt Block for Georgia

2010-05-29T21:49:00.001-04:00

I finally finished my quilt block for Georgia. As you've probably heard, she is organizing a tatting themed quilt to be used as a fund raiser for the Palmetto Tat Days Scholarship program. By some coincidence, my quilt block seems to have teapots on it.

A few more South Carolina pictures.

More Charleston

2010-05-24T21:33:00.000-04:00

The next day on vacation was an official "guy" day. DH gets dragged so many places I want to go, it's good that he gets a day sometime. We went to Patriot's Point in Mt. Pleasant, SC, home of the USS Yorktown, a WWII aircraft carrier.

On board were planes....

...lots and lots of planes.

We were also able to go on board the USS Clamagore, a Cold War era submarine.

Then a nice ferry ride over to see the ruins of Fort Sumter.

I actually got some tatting done on vacation. I'll show that later.

More About Charleston

2010-05-23T00:08:00.000-04:00

I really enjoyed my day in downtown Charleston, though there is much more to do there than is possible in a single day. A good place to start is the tip of the peninsula, know as the Battery.

The White Point Gardens there is a beautiful park....

...with great view of the harbor.

There happened to be men in period dress firing a cannon that day, too.

At the Exchange and Provost Dungeon, there happened to be a little lace upstairs...

...and we had a very entertaining and educational guide for the dungeon downstairs.

Danny got to pick one place to go, and his choice was Tommy Condon's Irish Pub. No surprise there, I guess. We sat on the patio and enjoyed watching the horse-drawn carriages go by.

The Market was fun, too. I tried to watch the ladies weaving baskets, but they would stop if they noticed I was looking.

I Came, I Saw, I Ate

2010-05-17T11:28:00.000-04:00

On my recent trip to South Carolina, I have had benne wafers and boiled peanuts; she-crab soup and shrimp & grits; seafood on Shem's Creek. Truly, I have done Charleston. Oh, and we walked around and looked at stuff ;)

The view from my table for Mother's Day dinner.

Danny came along, too.

More later...

I'm not ignoring you...

2010-05-09T00:28:00.000-04:00

I'll be away from the computer for a week or so. Vacation time, oh boy!

More Block Critters

2010-05-06T03:32:00.000-04:00

Several of you have guessed that I am working on a new Block Critter book. I don't have a book full yet. What critters would you like to see?

Heather's Tatted Ladies

2010-05-03T01:54:00.000-04:00

I recently received my copy of Heather's book that I mentioned recently. There are patterns for 12 ladies, and they are all quite different and very pretty. Each pattern is given in both written and diagram form, and the print is nice and big. In fact, it comes to 74 pages. Instead of a more traditional binding, it comes in a report folder, so you can leave it together as a book, or take out the pages you are working on. It is also available as a PDF download. You can go to her blog or Etsy shop for more information.

Zoo

2010-04-25T01:38:00.000-04:00

I went to the Zoo last week. Can you tell?

Motif Eighteen--Lady Shauna by Heather

2010-04-20T00:18:00.001-04:00

In case you haven't heard, Heather's Tatted Ladies book is now available. See her blog or etsy shop for details.

I got to test tat one of the twelve patterns while the book was in progress. I found Heather's instructions easy to follow.

This design is Lady Shauna. The one above was worked with size 20 Manuela dark green and Valdani size 12 variegated. She is about 5 1/2 tall.

This version was worked with Oren Bayan size 70 brown and a vintage Coats yellow variegated. This one is about 3 1/2 inches tall.

I've Got A Swelled Head...And I Can't Read

2010-04-06T00:35:00.000-04:00

I had an email recently from House of White Birches asking for my current address so they could send back some crochet models. I had practically forgotten that I had sold them two crochet patterns, back in 2008 (I think). That was nice to hear. In my experience selling patterns to various places, some times you get your models back and sometimes you don't. Sometimes it takes a long time.

Anyway, a few days later, I had a box at the post office, and it felt too heavy
for just some thread crochet. I was happy to find inside a copy of "Christmas in Crochet". It is so gratifying to see yourself in print. I guess I'm feeling pretty full of myself right now.

Maybe a little less full of myself when I noticed one of the models had lots of little tags attached, saying, extra stitch here, missing stitch here, etc. It looks like they proofed it against the written pattern real well.

One more thing... I guess I need to confess before I get caught out on this. I can't read. You may remember I was so mad at myself for missing the deadline for Piecework's crochet challenge. I sent them my picture anyway with a note saying that I was sorry to miss the deadline but wanted to let them know I really enjoyed figuring out the challenge pattern. After a bit, I got a quizzical email back, saying to the effect that, "but, dear, you didn't miss the deadline." So either I couldn't read the magazine or I couldn't read my calendar right. So I might get a mention in print there too, which would leave me feeling both happy and a bit foolish.

Another Meaningful Day

2010-04-02T02:43:00.000-04:00

Sorry this is too small to read. Here is a link to a larger pdf version:
World Autism Awareness Day

Happy Tatting Day!

2010-04-01T02:38:00.000-04:00

Happy Tatting Day to all. I think Georgia suggested that we tat fish today, but I guess mine is a mammal, not a fish :) Where did I put my chocolate?

Also, I updated my blog with help from Cute & Cool Backgrounds. I'm still getting used to it, but I think I like it.

Rough Drafts

2010-03-30T02:15:00.000-04:00

Well, I've been trying to blog at least once a week, and here it is Tuesday morning already (on the East coast anyway). So... here are some of my recent efforts....

Shhhh! It's a Secret

2010-03-23T01:21:00.001-04:00

I've been a little quiet lately.

It's not that I haven't been tatting...

But rather that I am engaged in Top Secret Tatting.

Consider yourself teased.... ;)

Thread and Card from Katherinne

2010-03-14T01:59:00.001-05:00

I was lucky to be a recipient in Katherinne's thread give-away. The scanner doesn't do the thread justice. These are perfect faded denim tones with a bit of plum. I'm sure this will make something very nice.

She also made this origami card. Doesn't the kimono girl look beautiful and care free?

Thank you, Katherinne, I will treasure these.

Nazli Gelin Garden thread -- with buttons

2010-03-08T00:41:00.001-05:00

I found some Nazli Gelin Garden thread at one of the LYS. Once I got home, I couldn't remember why I chose this neutral shade instead of one of the brighter ones, but I was able to pair it with some vintage black and brown buttons to good effect. It's manufactured in Turkey with Egyptian cotton and tats OK. The label calls it Size 1 Superfine, which may be some sort of yarn sizing. It looks similar to, or just a little larger than our size 10 cotton threads. I need to make some size samples, but I haven't done that yet.

Zig-zag chains make for an interesting effect.

I'll have to go back for some of the other colors.

Yippee -- I Won!

2010-03-01T00:05:00.000-05:00

First, I could hardly believe the news that I had won in Yarnplayer's giveaway. Then, when the package arrived, I could hardly believe how beautiful the thread was. The little picture on the giveaway blog post doesn't do it justice. My own picture isn't quite bright and warm enough either.

Marilee was so generous to offer a giveaway, and then was doubly generous to include extra thread. The thread is all her Tiger Eye colorway, which is a really pretty blend of yellow and brown shades. I have been drawn to warmer colors lately, so this is just perfect. Here's what I got: not one, but two skeins of size 100. That's plenty for a big project. Dare I think doily? or maybe a wide handkerchief edge. And then a skein of size 3 perle cotton. I have been dabbling with big threads lately, and this is really thick. This will be an adventure to play with! And then, most unexpected, a skein of wool/silk lace weight yarn. It's so soft, I keep taking it out of the package to touch it. I wonder what I can make with this little skein, a lace collar perhaps?

If you aren't familiar with Marilee, the Yarnplayer, you need to visit her blog. She makes beautiful tatted jewelry and hand dyed thread, and has some great patterns, too.

Thank you so much, Marilee!

Big shuttles

2010-02-20T17:31:00.000-05:00

I emptied a shuttle the other day. Needless to say, it was a very big shuttle, compared to my Aeros, anyway. In fact, it was a shuttle I had gotten from Nina Libin, designed for tatting with beads. It works great on those big projects and is more comfortable for me than the Tatsy style.

I so miss having a hook, though. Does anyone make an oversized shuttle with a hook? (It's got to be a hook, not a point!)

One of these days, I'll show you the original project that led to this "leftover". Am I being a terrible tease, or did I forget where I put it for safe keeping? I'm not telling....

Valentine Exchange from Marty

2010-02-14T13:51:00.001-05:00

I recently participated in the Valentine's Day Exchange hosted by Karey Solomon through the Threads of a Tatting Goddess Yahoo group. I received my really nice package from Marty (Marlene Lewis) a few days ago. She sent a large heart that she designed herself and attached to a pretty card. Inside was an ornament, bookmark, and thread sample, as well as a copy of the pattern.

The ornament uses a section of Iris Niebach's Beatrice doily, and the bookmark is a pattern by Diana Stevens from her Animal Bookmark book. The thread sample is hand dyed thread done by Marty's sister, Bonnie, and is the same used to tat her heart.

Many thanks to Marty for the beautiful gifts.

I'm Still At It

2010-02-08T23:59:00.000-05:00

Still playing with buttons and things. Some results are better than others.

This last one is my favorite so far.

Is There Any Hope?

2010-02-01T02:57:00.001-05:00

Lately, I've been obsessed with buttons.

And at the same time, stone chips and nuggets are preying on my mind.

The problem is, everything I buy makes me want to buy something else. Some of the buttons are calling for beads to go with them. All these things need thicker thread, which I have precious little of in my stash.

Is there any hope for this sort of thing on Etsy? I see some people sell quite a lot of items, and some...don't. It would be nice if this new hobby could pay for itself. On the other hand, if prospects are poor, the time spent taking nice photos and writing the listings could be better used on something else.

Motif Seventeen--Norman

2010-01-28T10:56:00.000-05:00

This is obviously Norman, the rooster from Jane's TIAS. Watching the mystery motif slowly emerge in Jane's game was a lot of fun, as always.

Early Tatting

2010-01-27T02:50:00.000-05:00

This is a piece of my early tatting from the summer when I first learned. So if any beginners out there are having a hard time, believe me, it WILL get better.

One important lesson here: good threads do matter. This mess might have looked better if I had not been working with some sort of cheap bedspread cotton. Even today, I have difficulty making neat, even stitches if I work with poor quality thread. Good thread will both look so much better and be easier to work with too.

WIP - TatBit's Amazing Patterns

2010-01-17T01:58:00.000-05:00

Since the time of this post, TatBit has removed her public patterns.

I encourage everyone to visit TatBit's blog. Teri is generously sharing lots of patterns and adding to them daily. Above is the beginning of her New Wave Doily and I plan to make some more of her designs after this one.

The pattern notation may be different than you are used to, but read the instructions and abbreviation list carefully and all should be clear.

Thank you for sharing, Teri !

Motifs 15 & 16 -- Large and Small

2009-12-31T02:46:00.001-05:00

I needed something big and green, and Nancy Tracy's Christmas Tree in size 10 thread fit the bill. It's a little lopsided since I didn't block it yet. Nancy generously shares a free pattern every month. You can go to her site and sign up for the newletter, which will bring you patterns, recipes, and the current specials at her online tatting store.

I'm usually not a fan of big thread, but I use it when the situation demands. After the size 10 tree, I went to the other extreme and rewound the shuttle with size 80 and made Mark Myer's Cat. So understated and elegant! This is almost 6 inches tall in size 30. In larger thread it could get huge!

Holiday Tatting--Motifs 13 & 14--Revised

2009-12-22T02:09:00.000-05:00

After finishing all those white snowflakes, I've been enjoying some holiday tatting in green and red. Here is Mark Myer's wonderful Holly & Berries design featuring the half ring braid technique. I love this technique; I love this pattern.

This design is called "Christmas Berry Wreath", by LaRae Mikulecky. Thank you to everyone who helped track it down. The pattern is from an old Geocities site that isn't there anymore, but you can find a copy
here. According to my printout, I downloaded this from the web on 11/25/99 and only now, more than ten years later got around to making it. This is made in one pass with one green and one red shuttle, and features lots of Josephine knots.

Snowflake Bangles--Motif 12

2009-12-12T22:59:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post to show I'm still here.

I've been working on snowflake bangles for small Christmas gifts. Most of these are Mike's excellent "Playing in the Snow-flake". I love the swirls and the fact it is quick and easy. Check out his blog for plenty of tatting-on-glass-balls eye candy.

In the center is the Layered Tatted Snowflake from Nancy at Be-Stitched. On her website you can find her online store for tatting supplies and a generous array of free tatting patterns.

I will claim Nancy's snowflake as motif twelve. I used Mike's snowflake in a previous challenge, so it doesn't count this time.

When I went to make the scan, I found my missing bookmark in the scanner. Now, if only I could find my missing free time as well....

Quilt Pattern Solved

2009-11-22T02:18:00.000-05:00

This is Ann's solution to the quilt pattern. Note that another "B" section goes across the top of the "A" section, and those four parts make up the repeating pattern. Now I understand. Thanks Ann!

Inherited UFOs--Part 1

2009-11-17T01:35:00.000-05:00

I have inherited UFOs. I think I will take this one on someday. What you see above are three sections of different sizes laid out in position. Then there are hundreds of little squares and triangles in ziplock bags.

Does anyone recognize the pattern? I think I could study the way the seams are pressed to decide the sequence for piecing, but if I could locate instructions, that would be simpler. I wonder if the hand drawn diagram means that it's an original, though.