I began to lurk. I discovered Celtic tatting and adapted the concept to crochet. (Yes, I did go back to sending stuff in to magazines eventually.)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0qRmsVBh4l0yx5D4Fo2a4YHyL5c4rcub_M_G1JBFQvPIazzSVFgA1wNj22PSbhIsgUTsQxwix8vWB6z2QYoEa7pc9QeMpPYAucbOVGOTyfp-ka4XJFG9GbM1aY6zVGYQZ8H1l/s320/img287sm.jpg)
I remember telling myself that was the last crochet I would do for a long time, because I was ready to tat!
I don't know how long I kept on lurking. Then on Oct 28, 2000, I came out and introduced myself on TatChat. (I know this since I found a copy of part of that post whilst cleaning and sorting.) The title of that post was something like "I tatted a cat and a bat", because not only did I introduce myself, I shared patterns for two little doodles. I was designing tatting again.
There were no pictures with those introductory doodles, and the notation was primitive, but one could take that message and maybe tat up something like this:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj87H7JvZssUjb0DcTQ7B1kKS498-cWIZdO23Oitcl55CvS7lrmEs5ckPspj30DfYzo7XKvJ7SEIhSQ6cERBexCgKYgeUQ-eWwziS7myP8AWfZLeMG4EM86JvLpa4Z1X9UhBZN/s320/img288.jpg)
I worked those up today, and about an hour later, I found the original cat in all its lumpy size 10 glory in one of my endless bags-o-stuff. What fun!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwYCBsxnTgX0NCuEEm1WW-VfEVINGne4Il2_b9_pgAQKvylGSOw64yPvzQtGab6-euaI5uS0s6js5ctU0Vv3HJBBO-mw8-jk6KrLURJ88fjFTfBt3l4kOn6e81XSELO6utCVIg/s320/img289.jpg)
That December I made up my Hairpin Lace Angel, and a few months later the Itty-Bitty Bumble Bee which became the original block critter. I was off and running.
I hope my trips down memory lane don't seem too egocentric. Tell me to stop. Who knew sorting and packing could be fun. I have this nagging suspicion the rest of the apartment won't be so interesting.