Canon

 Canon - Noun derived from a Greek word meaning "rule" Definition at this link

Talk to a musician about hearing a canon and you get one definition of the word. #7 of the definition entry in the link above.

Talk to a philologist about seeing a canon and you get a different definition. #2 definition

Talk to a historian about what a canon is and you get yet a different definition. #4 difinition

I’ve been thinking a lot about the word lately. Lately, when I show up to work, the building is empty, really empty. The old joke is if you shot a cannonball through the pews, it wouldn’t hit anything. I choose music to play with care. Not always from the Canon of organ literature I was exposed to and learned in college. Sometimes I play canons…or fugues. Sometimes I play new works that haven’t yet been accepted into the Canon.

So, what about my tatting work?

What is the Canon of tatting? What pattern must everyone, who wants to say they can tat, must learn to tat? As a teacher of tatting skill, I try to choose patterns with care. You what is the hardest part? Patterns that look interesting are almost always too difficult for the student. So, I start with simple rings only patterns (JoAnn Stearns Dove, Butterflies are Free, Hen and Chicks) and progress to simple chain and rings (like the body part of the fox bookmark, any number of earring patterns) so that students can not only learn to tat, but learn to pick out patterns to work on next and to create lace they like. Will my suggestions come from the Canon of tatting? Probably. Will other teachers use the same patterns? Maybe. Bottom line: Enjoy making lace!