At the Fair

The deadline for the county fair came all too soon. Luckily, they do not require that entries have been completed in the past year, like the state fair does, so I was able to substitute an old handkerchief for the one still in progress. My other entries over a year old too.

You have seen this one before. It is Iris' Anemone Nemorosa from her book Tatting Fantasia 2. I had high hopes for this, and was not disappointed.

Sometimes, though, it's hard to tell what the judges were thinking. Look at this doll, with the old fashioned edging making a perfect choice for the vintage handkerchief forming the yoke.

And here is the hem, with a hens and chickens border. (How did I manage not to get a picture of the whole doll?) This is a marvelous piece, in my mind well deserving a blue ribbon instead of a red.

What won the blue? My handkerchief instead. In my eyes, its only virtue was being worked in size 80 thread. Perhaps it was an even-ness of stitches or picots sort of issue.

This is my other winner, in the Christmas ornament category. This is one of Terry the Tatter's bell patterns.

My other handkerchief did get completed, in time to go to the State Fair instead, along with a butterfly. Anitra had kindly offered to deliver them there for me. I hear I won blue ribbons, but I did not get to go to the fair. Perhaps someone else went and took pictures? Hint, hint...

NC State Fair

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.

Handkerchief Time

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.

I've Been to the Fair

I didn't make my goal to enter something in the state fair, but I did enter in the county fair for the first time. Every year the internet tatting community encourages everyone to get tatting in the public eye in their area, so I finally did.

In my age division, there is only one actual tatting category "Item decorated with tatting", so I chose also "Bag, needlework", "Needlework, other", and "Christmas tree ornament". I didn't know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised to come away with a handful of blue ribbons.

This was my ornament made from a pattern by Terry McGuffin.

My tatted handkerchief from a vintage pattern made with size 100 cotton.

A mixture of tatting, crochet, and vintage turtle braid from a pattern reprinted in "Old Time Crochet" magazine some years ago.

My own large motif/small doily butterfly combining tatting and hairpin lace.

I was glad to see one other tatting entry, an edged tablecloth by a lady in the senior division.

I felt a little guilty taking all those prizes with next to no competition. On the other hand, my greedy side was counting off all the categories I could enter next time....

While I had some time to waste until I could collect my pieces, I wandered through the rest of the pavilion. The table setting competion included a children's division.

This one, with real Depression glass dishes, was really sweet and dainty.....

but as the mother of all boys, I got more of a kick from this one: