Stages of pattern familiarity

 When I’m teaching music, I do talk about stages of learning. I see several distinct stages to learning a piece well:

Mastering the technical demands of the composition.

Understanding how the piece fits into the literature and what the composer intended with the composition.

Polishing the piece for use in the future.

Performing the piece.

----------------------------------------------------------------    

The same consideration can be given to tatting.

To create lace, we must go through a similar process as musicians do with music. We must master a technique the designer, even if that’s ourselves, calls for. We must consider the use of the lace. We tat and finish the pattern to create lace.

Right now, I’ve made quite a few of these Star Snowflakes by Vida Sunderman. I can execute the individual techniques used in the pattern. I have a clear idea of how the finished lace will look and how I will use it. I’ve even tatted a couple of stars that turned out quite nice. I’m now in the phase of polishing the tatting.

This can be a frustrating phase. I make silly mistakes. My concentration lapses. I’ll often take twice as long tatting due to un-tatting every few rings or chains. I know I will get there. I just need to do the thing.

Without more mistakes, please!