Tatting Conventions North and South

You have already heard me talk about my favorite event, the Palmetto Tat Days in South Carolina, Sept 11-12.

There is another event in Ontario that may be more convenient for you folks in the Northeast (you could go to both, you know). Here is part of the information they sent me. You will recognize a lot of good teachers who will be there. More information is here: http://theonlinetattingclass.web.officelive.com/fringe09.aspx
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The Fringe Element Tatters invite you to join our 4th annual Tat Days, September 25 - 26, 2009 in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada.
The fun starts Friday afternoon.

We have a great line-up of 8 instructors with exciting classes to inspire you, including both beginner and advanced classes in needle and shuttle tatting.
Gina Brummett (The Tatting Goddess)
Rita Cochrane (Threads Plus)
Josie Hancock (Exquisite Effects)
Kaye Judt (author of “Oh My Stars!”)
Norm Reid (as seen in Canadian Living)
Karey Soloman (of Tatting Times fame)
and for a break from Tatting
Beading with Brenda Franklin (Brenda Franklin Design)
Also, new this year: Saturday Classes for your tweens and teens.
Tatting with Rita Cochrane
Crochet & Knitting with Wynn Reid
Contact fringetatters@gmail.com for further details and Registration Package.

More Buggy Lanyards

Oh, did I mention it was a bag of assorted buggy buttons?

I haven't been up to more than mindless carry-along projects lately, so this fit the bill. I'm well equipped for Palmetto TatDays now, anyway.

Done it again...

Please bear with me, it's been (another) one of those days. While fixing a big computer problem (no internet connection!), DH accidentally caused a little problem (all HIS email downloading into MY inbox), and while fixing that, accidentally erased all my emails and my address book. And just when I had about gathered all the addresses I had lost when the computer crashed in May. And that included some emails I hadn't even read yet.

To the lady in Harrisburg, (Jim&Deb??), I was still mulling over your invitation. To Jane in NC, I haven't forgotten, but waiting for my schedule to settle down. Anyone else who is overdue for a reply, please email me again, thanks.

Buggy Lanyard

I had these buttons I wanted to do something with, though none of my ideas had been working out. Then TattingChic started her dicussion of the Single Shuttle Split Ring and its use for climbing out. Oooh, just what I needed! and a lanyard was born.

(Now, who knows why I need a lanyard with bugs on it? How many of you are making a buggy lanyard too?)

Now another discussion has started in TattingLand about adding joins to the SSSR. I can't wait to see where that will lead.

I suppose I could call this an "Excercise Your Stash" project, since otherwise those buttons would have languished in the drawer forever.

Motif Five -- Maple Leaves

For another "Exercise Your Stash Challenge", here is a fairly new spool of thread, but still one I had forgotten about. This is YLI Long Staple Cotton. I first became acquainted with this type thread at the local quilt shop, back when variegated threads were hard (for me) to find. This is a fine thread, both in terms of size and quality. I would guesstimate this to be similar to a size 60 thread. If you find YLI thread, look carefully at the label on the bottom, since they make other threads, polyester and rayon, on similar looking spools.



Anyway, I came across this YLI spool in the vendor room at Palmetto in 2008. I thought this was a pretty green/gold/tan colorway. It wasn't until later that it hit me....Ayup, this is camoflage! (Well, next time I need to make a bookmark for a guy, I'm all set.) Since it made me think of leaves when I bought it, I dug out a leaf pattern. This is the Maple Leaf Motif from the Feb 1975 Workbasket as modified by Tammy Rodgers as modified a little more by me. This thread is a joy, just as nice as I remembered. I just need to remember to use it more often.







Here is the same motif worked with vintage Clark's O.N.T. Brilliant, which seems to be pearl cotton. It came from ebay. We used to search out vintage thread to get color variety, before our new Golden Age of Thread with all the new threads at Handy Hands plus all the gorgeous HDT from all our favorite dyers. With vintage threads, check carefully for dirt. Then work a ring or two to make sure it's not too brittle to use. If it passes those tests, then enjoy!

Motif Four--Slippery Heart

Here is another entry for my "Exercise Your Stash Challenge". This is a large ball which looks like it lost its label long ago. Judging by the texture, I suppose it may be rayon. I got it from Sherry, who was about to put it on the free stuff table at Hector one year.

I don't recommend tatting with slippery slithery threads, but you may find yourself tempted (Oooh, shiny! shiny!) She didn't like it enough to keep it, but I liked the pink and purple shades.

When working with slippery thread consider:
1) Choose a small project because you will get sick of it.
2) Choose a motif with few decorative picots, because the tatting will tend to loosen up and absorb the picots. Tatting tightly helps a little. After you are finished, take a hook and pull all the picots back into shape.
3) While working, double check rings before proceeding to the next element. The thread will want to relax and let rings open just a little bit, so give them one more tug before moving on.
4) Avoid Josephine rings. I'm not sure if this goes for all rayon threads, but this one got twisty and cantankerous.
5) Leave extra long tails for sewing in because the thread will likely fray at the ends. I hardly every tie and glue, but I suspect rayon threads might not stay glued.
6) The better the quality the thread, the easier it will be to tat with. (Well obviously...) I seem to remember YLI Pearl Crown Rayon being more user friendly.



For my project, I chose Peaceable Heart from Make Many Merrily by Karey Solomon. This is a very nice pattern worked all in one pass thanks to the use of split rings. Working with the thread was a bit of a pain in the butt for all the reasons above, plus the plies wanted to separate, and then both my magic threads broke and it was hard to cleanly sew in the ends.

But in the end I had a serviceable heart, and I do like the shiny pink and purple. I guess I'll keep that ball.

Almost Time for Palmetto

It is almost time to register for my favorite event of the year--Palmetto TatDays.

There are lots of great classes to choose from. Just look at the list of teachers. I am looking forward to seeing them in person again. Sometimes I wish I wasn't teaching so I could go to everyone else's classes.

I will tell you a little more about my classes so you will know what to expect. Most of my classes are intended to teach the technique and begin a project to finish later.

First is the Bee-dy Amulet Bag. We should have time to do the "bead-intensive" wings and head in class. The body takes a while to make, so you would probably begin that part and finish later. The body is all split rings, so you really have to already know how to do those. Please, please string your beads ahead of time or buy a kit, or you will be behind everyone else. Bring some extra of your beads too, just in case.






Saturday morning starts off with the Split Ring Ladybug. Their description on the class page states it well: "Intended for the student with a rudimentary knowledge of split rings. We will focus on increasing their skills, especially with the second half of the split ring: joining during the second half; throwing off a ring; and beads." I used size 3mm beads with pearl cotton or size 20 thread. If you can't find 3mm beads, size 8 seed beads though slightly bigger could be substituted. If you can't find the right beads, contact me; I have some extra. We should get far enough in class to cover the techniques mentioned. The two wings are worked the same, and then the body is a strip of split rings to fasten them together.

Later that day is the Maltese Ring Butterfly. This is a short class period again, so the intention is to learn the Maltese ring well enough to finish later. You don't need to have mastered the split chain--that's just part of their description for the skill level. Experience with unflipped stitches is a definite plus. You need to be comforable enough with basic tatting methods to be ready to manipulate the thread in new ways. Both versions of the butterfly will be in the handout.




My last class is the Block Tatted Tiny Teapot adapted from a pattern in my Tea is for Tatting book. This one you might finish during class. There are no split rings in the pattern, so all you need is a working knowledge of rings, chains, joins, and lock joins.

Be sure to go to the Palmetto website to look at the other classes. Jane has some fun looking designs, and Nina has some of her breath taking beautiful beaded tatting, to name just two.