Continuing with silk exploration

Ever tat something you just can’t resist touching? Every time you see it, you just want to pick it up? That’s me and the motif in silk. The thread just feels wonderful. I can’t wait to tat an edging for a dress or shirt. I’ll tat it first and then attach it, because even though it’s silk and it will not last forever, I’m sure it will outlast the clothing. I’ve been mulling ideas around. Just as soon as I decide what I want to tat, I’ll be ordering thethread.

For now, I’m stitching a 15-sided biscornu. Yes, 15 sides. The other one I completed has just 2 pieces. This pattern has 15 pieces joined together in an intricate way. It took me several days of digging through my stash to decide what to use for the pattern and beads. The thread was the main point. More silk from Z-twist Dye Works. I enjoy stitching with silk. Yes, I’m a bit nuts that way!

I conquered the second bootie syndrome!

 

Finally finished the second bootie. I would like to revisit the transition between the toe medallion and the side. It looks OK. It will handle a ribbon to keep the bootie on the baby’s foot. It just doesn’t seem intuitive in the tatting sequence to me.

So, I will set these aside after creating the pattern file and see what a break will tell me.

Trial of a silk thread

 I received two skeins of hand dyed silk thread by Z-twist Dye Works recently. They were just sample lengths. I spent quite a bit of time feeling the thread, thinking of ways to use it, and then sifting through those ideas. There were so many to choose from!

I finally settled on using the 18/3 pale sage thread testing out a motif from a book a student passed on to me. This is a motif for pearl earrings in Beaded Tatting LaceAccessories. It’s essentially mignonette style pattern of all rings with 3 different sizes of beads. My test showed me that I can use the bead spacer in the shape of a flower for the center, the low-quality pearl beads I chose needed to have the hole drilled larger, and the poor-quality peach beads lost their coloring with the thread abrading. Sigh!

I still like the motif. I like the thread. Ztwist has so much to choose from. And she does custom dyeing. I think this would work for a pendant. It’s too large for me for earrings. But, I do like how the sheen of the thread complements the beads.

A busy day equals little tatting

 Even though I spent the morning in doctor's offices, I don't have much to show for tatting. I found a mistake and spent the time explaining tatting and trying to open a ring in size 80. 

Even though I spent a portion of the afternoon listening to an excellent Conference in a Zoom room, I didn't get much tatting done. Just lots of thinking about how to do things better. 

I'm encouraged because several people actually used their phones to look at my website while we were talking at the doctor's office. The material shared by a presenter include a "hub" for managing what you do at the keyboard. I see great potential for managing my tatting/music interface.

More after teaching, a walk, and more conference presentations.

How do you learn best?

I am primarily a visual learner. The fastest way for me to learn my spelling list and vocabulary is to write the words.  If I don’t see a nametag, the introduction doesn’t stay in my short-term memory. If I don’t write out the theme for my improvisation, I stray too far in my tonal meanderings. If I don’t have a diagram of a pattern, little mistakes tend to creep in as I tat.

Yes, saying words and names out loud helps a bit, but not much. Closing my eyes and visualizing what I would write helps. A photograph of the finished lace can decipher where to join.

I learn best using visual cues.

Next week I have my second cataract surgery scheduled. I’ll be able to see better. So, I should be able to learn better, right?

In the meantime, I’ve received excellent care at a local medical center for Mammography and Ultrasounds. I used beads from my stash and thread to blend in with their décor. I’ll be working on creating a diagram for the pattern so that I can get the first few joins correct next time.

Ahem!

Visual cues really make a difference for me.

So, my question for those who learn best aurally: how can we help you tat better?

Another reset

It seems after I feel like I make progress and learn something, I find I need to reset. Cause and effect? Natural progression of creative inertia? Can you tell I never passed Sociology?

My schedule has been adjusted yet again by medical appointments. Nothing new. It will happen again. I will continue to create.

So, what’s on the shuttles? An Awareness Ribbon for the staff at the Breast Care Center (They looked like they needed a reminder of their purpose for coming to work.), the second bootie, the latest hair bunholder, Renulek’s Wiosna 2025, and a few other ideas.

What am I motivated to do? Practice music to use with the Orgelkids instrument, finish attaching the applique for the Elephant, walk along the Bay.

All for a reset.

Sampling can teach

 Maybe it’s because I work as a musician. 

As I approach rehearsing a piece after practicing, I try to spend time in practice testing out different interpretations. Switching up the registration often helps me to decide how an organ piece will sound.

I added to my pile of samples for the snood. I finished off the bottom part of a vintage pattern. There are parts of the pattern I like and will use, parts I think need to be changed.

Sampling taught me.

Clean up time

Yesterday was spent organizing. I know it’s an important task. I really do try to stay ahead of the dirt and occasionally actually dust. But getting files into appropriate folders just never seems to get done. I bought a different computer a year ago. I really should have been better at organizing those files. I won’t promise to do better. Because that would take the time I’d rather spend tatting or practicing.

On a different train of thought, I went walking with friends yesterday. Fog was forecast, but the sun was out where we were. The fog decided to stay way offshore. San Francisco has a name for the fog: Karl. I figure if Monterey Bay named the fog, it would be a nod to Adobes and fishing.

Which way do I tat?

This post is all about mignonette patterns. You know, the ones with Bare Thread Spaces between itty bitty rings? Yeah, those. My idea for the snood involves such a pattern with rings of 10 DS. (R:5+5. BTS)

I ran into a problem while watching a mystery in a language I don’t know with subtitles and tatting my trial piece:

I confused where I needed to join.

I found myself reversing my direction of tatting so that I joined in the BTS I just formed rather than the previous row. After making the mistake 3 times and pulling open those rings to correct it, I grumbled, “There has to be a way!”

There is

It doesn’t involve what knitters do: Only stop at the end of a row. A row will take too long in the snood idea.

It doesn’t involve holding the previous rings in a special way. At least not for the first few rows.

It does involve a marker thread passed through the previous row’s BTS. That’s the darker thread in the picture. As I join to the BTS, I unweave the marker thread. Every few rings I pause to install the marker thread in more BTS so that I don’t pull it out completely.

I’m ready to test out this idea watching the rest of the mystery!

Testing out an idea

 Remember this request for a snood? I’ve been testing out various pattern parts. Here’s an idea taken from a vintage pattern for a small bag. I like the idea of using Victorian sets for the petals of each motif. I think it will enhance the piece.

Afterglow missing

That’s because the Fair brought new opportunities. Last weekend I supported a new tatter at a pop-up shop. It was a great experience. Some new tatters are overwhelmed very easily. That’s where they’re at. Often patience and gentle repetition clear the fog and then the shuttle or needle produces quite nice lace. Some new tatters seem to catch the concepts quickly and find the movements awkward. Often just breaking things down for movements and guiding the thought process is enough. Some new tatters seem to get it all so fast. Those are the new tatters I struggle with giving just enough focusing on where they can learn more. I get carried away very quickly.

I’m continuing working on the Orgelkids material. I don’t know if it will help. I know I would use it, but that’s the way I work. The participants never sit at a large organ. I hope my efforts will preserve organs for the future, inspire just one person to take lessons, or sell tickets to a concert. I’m sure there are workshops and classes designed to help people be more effective in these efforts. IF I could find them and squeeze in the time!

Right after I fix the error I made tatting during the movie yesterday evening.

And what will today hold?

 Well, that was an interesting day.

Readers of this blog may not know the extent to which I work to find and mentor new organists. Many years ago I hung up my concert organ shoes. I tried to turn my back on playing the organ. Afterall, I didn’t have a church job, I had no organ in my home, and when I did play, things hurt. Why should I spend time trying to do something that doesn’t bring me (or other people) joy? Gues what? At my core I’m an organist. I couldn’t do it! I found joy in listening to others, explaining the instrument to people who showed (or maybe didn’t show) interest, and doing my best to support those who play the organ.

Thus, my new role as an organist: find a way to help new organists find joy in this instrument.

Yesterday, I had an interesting day.

I’m a member of the San Jose chapter of the American Guild of Organists. The chapter, along with the Palo Alto/Peninsula and the San Francisco chapters, owns a demonstration organ. It is a working instrument built in such a way that it can be stored in 2 Pelican Cases, assembled, played, and repacked for use in a different location.

Yesterday I gave a demonstration and answered questions at the Carmel Bach Festival office. Judging by the grins I witnessed, they had fun! Good questions were asked and now we’ll be working together getting this out into the community.

An interesting day.

But wait! There’s more…..

Just after I settled in to provide information for a proposal, I received another request from a small school in San Jose. They want to schedule a time for 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th graders to work with the Orgelkids instrument.

Today will be busy getting things in line to take advantage of those opportunities. Probably not much tatting will get done. That’s OK. We’re in the midst of a heat wave here. I don’t like to tat when my hands are so sweaty. It’s impossible to clean the thread once I get it dirty with perspiration.

 

Another Fair

 Another Fair is done. Everyone I saw was having a good time. It felt like an old-time Fair this year.

Let me remind you all that Fair judging is always subjective. We have opinions about our entries. Some of us are a bit more competitive than others. What the judge thinks is their opinion. Yes, they are asked to rank entries and to give feedback at times. I would never argue with a judge. It’s their opinion.

This little bootie set won Best of Show for Tatting. Really. Despite it being a prototype and not tatted with the best technique. The judge liked it. Ok. My opinion: there were lots of good tatting entered.

I want to thank all the tatters who entered lace to be judged. Please keep on tatting. Your lace is your lace. The judge has their opinion. The world needs more lace!

Teeny tiny bag

I finished a sample in my quest for a netting pattern. This is from Nina Libin’s BENILE series. The spool of thread is normal size. The smaller spool is from the center of a vintage size 80 ball of thread. 

I was skeptical of how the fabric would drape. With the beads and how the joins are designed, it does quite well. I think it’s a bit heavy to use for the netting idea, but it’s cute and sparkly. Just what a young lace lover might enjoy!

I have my "demo" projects ready

 I have my bag packed for sitting at the table during the Fair. There's a shuttle filled with fun thread for butterflies. There's the revision of the booties. There's the last little bit of the hair bun holder. I'm ready!!

Another puzzle to solve

A friend asked for a tatted hair holder for her dressage helmet. Logical as I wear my hair bun holders a lot and she liked how they looked. So, I’ve been researching, trying out ideas, and generally being creative.

Here are two ideas for netting. The top one doesn’t look like a good possibility. The bottom one could work. I’ll need to work in beads. And it needs to be able to attach to the helmet in some way. I’ll be testing out another idea today.

What do you do in your "time off"

 Well, it seems I can’t sit still. I’ve turned in my items to be judged in the Monterey County Fair, traveled to San Francisco to have time with the Ruffatti organ at New St. Mary’s, and sifted through some of the design notes I made during Carmel Bach Festival.

I hope you “rest” better than I do!

Tatted flag ready to go

 

I completed the mounting and lacing of the flag. I’m OK with how it came out. I would find a different way to do some of the project, but it will do for the Fair. I will likely frame this to hang in the entry of my house.

On another note….. I’ve begun the journey to better vision with the first of two cataract surgeries. Ove the next few months, I’ll be living with transition vision. It will take awhile for everything to recover and adjust in my eyes, so I’m not sure how productive I will be. I plan on just taking one day at a time and work to full recovery.

How to finish tatting

 As the Fair gets closer, it’s time to finish entries. Logically, I know the item will be judged on technique of stitching, tatting, or similar technique. But how you finish it makes a difference. By finish I mean mount on fabric, starch, frame, or otherwise prepare for display.

So, tatted lace. How to “finish” a tatted item?????

First off: blocking. Here's a video that I mostly follow.

Let me say most of the time all I do is block with plain water. No pins, no ironing, no starching. I've found these grids from Stephanie Cervi Designs handy. If the lace has a lot of beads, I may block it twice. If picots are a part of the design I may spend time adjusting picots with a pin while damp. If I do starch my lace, I wash the starch out before storing. But for the most part, I don’t “finish” my tatting.

And most of what I’ve learned about finishing has been at the EGA chapter meetings. I’ve learned to mount my lace on fabric, lace that fabric over a piece of foam core, and attach a cord to the edge to complete a project. I don’t trust myself to frame anything. I’ve never been able to cut a straight line. I ask for help with that! I value a good “finisher” for my big projects. It does make a difference.

Are you a deadline tatter?

I am.

I can’t seem to get projects done unless there’s a deadline. Usually, those deadlines need to be made by someone other than me. Current Deadline: County Fair entries. Due in 10 days.

Most of the tatting is done. Just need to finish the lace and get 4 projects ready for judging.