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.