Did you hear that sigh?

 We’ve been experiencing supply chain issues lately. And there seems to be another round of COVID cases happening in my neck of the woods. So, I’m not surprised I cannot find a source for more of the bead caps. Really. Just disappointed.

I’ll be reaching out to my bartering friends. But, I don’t have much hope.

I’m disappointed because a friend has been helping me with stitching projects. I can trust her to give me straight, useful feedback. She is experienced enough to know what’s hard, what’s easy, and how to correct the mistakes she sees. And honest enough to give me accurate feedback. I wanted to tat a pair of earrings for her. I don’t have any bead caps without tatting on them. Well, this pair:

But, I’m not sure if they’re her style. I’ll offer them along with some others I tatted up.

If any of you know where I might pick up some bead caps for 4 mm beads, let me know.

Class pictures

In case you haven’t noticed, I love it when tatters learn new tricks! Here are pictures of the pattern we looked at last weekend:

Inset tatted by Natalie Rogers

Inset tatted by Joyce Martin

 Just 3 more days left in the auction. I do hope people are bidding. I’m sure some of the artists are confident their pieces will sell for a tidy sum. Me, I just hope someone enjoys my piece for many, many years to come.

Of vintage and new

Remember this intriguing mat from the Lace Museum collection?

Mat with tatting from the
Lace Museum in Sunnyvale

 My interest was pricked not just by the use of lace with a cloth mat, but by the question of, “could this be tatted by a machine?” Since Santa Clara County has ordered all museums closed, I was not able to examine it in person. The photographs shared were very well done and gave me quite a bit to go on. After hours of searching online, thank you Google Scholar, I concluded that there were patents applied and granted for tatting machines. There is excellent research work out there. More should be done.

I kept going back to the mat. From the photograph, it looked like it was tatted with only chains, no rings. How would I choose to tat it? I sent emails, studied the photo, made notes, picked up my shuttles and created a sample. The staff at the Lace Museum in Sunnyvale is interested in offering a class to recreate this piece. So, I’ve been creating the written pattern with diagrams, tatting samples, and pulling together a kit list for them. Target date is in July. Anyone interested in joining the fun?

Turn in time

It’s time to turn it in: my donation piece to raise money for Carmel Bach Festival. As always, no pictures of the piece you can bid on, but here’s a small portion: 

Pictures of the full piece will be taken by a professional and posted when the show opens. I’ll be sharing links soon.

What fun!

This is part of the design idea I’ve had for a while. Not sure how I’ll use it, but it was just so much fun to create! I’m considering tatting a pair of earrings using this idea. But, what colors?

Another group of tatters loose on the world!

I had fun! And all tatters accomplished something. The most experienced student completed a study in thread size. The tatter who has been tatting just 6 months completed almost the entire pattern. She added beads in the center parts. Her choice of colors worked nicely too. The other 3 students came away with successful rings and chains. I can’t wait to see what else they create.

Celebrating those successes has made it easier to ignore the ugly in the world. Illness has not touched anyone I know personally, but the violence has touched where a friend works. He was “blindsided” as he and his family were unplugging to enjoy some R & R. I pray that his rest isn’t “left undone” for long. We will need all good leaders in the next few days.

I’ve also been immersing myself in a new design. I’ve almost completed a test tat. No pictures until the auction starts. That should be in July. More info, like how to buy tickets, as the time approaches.

A design idea during Shelter in Place

The last few years, June has always been an exciting month. It’s been my custom to create a piece to donate to Art of Music to raise money for the Carmel Bach Festival. Like all public events in 2020, things will be different this year. Even my design process has changed. I typically pick a composition that the Festival features and base my design on that musical work. Without the buzz of music being prepared, I was coming up with a blank. It was suggested that I try to evoke the unique events of 2020. I wasn’t coming up with a way to tat a COVID-19 virus. I wasn’t drawn to the colors that are typically used in graphics of said bug. I even contemplated asking the musicians for suggestions.

So far, this is all I have: a central ring with 19 points for joining rings of 20 stitches.

If it will be foolish to stand shoulder to shoulder to enjoy the Festival, we must find other ways to tell the world music matters. These rings that tightly encircle a central ring will have to do. Please find a way to say music matters in our world turned upside down by this virus.

I can finally share it!

This is my newest example of Sonata BWV 1034:

I wanted to give those who signed up and attended the Lace Museum class the first viewing. It’s so hard for me to keep a photo secret! 

We met for the first of 3 sessions yesterday. It’s always fun to see the grin people get when they have success creating lace. Each class always teaches me something. The learning curve has been a bit steep since it’s an online only class, but I think we had success overall. Of the 5 students, 4 are working with a needle versus a shuttle. I can’t wait to meet up again tomorrow and Friday!

Pivoting with picots

Talk to just about any designer in the tatting world and picots will come up. Yes, color and negative space are discussed too, but picots seem to always be in our minds. Picots connect rings and chains. Picots fill negative space. Picots can add shape and decorate any element. In doilies, picot size can make or break whether the piece lays flat, cups, or is symmetrical. Adding beads can be accomplished with picots. One picot can provide so much practical and decorative possibilities.

Perhaps that is one reason tatters can roll with the punches so easily. To be sure, we have honed our ability to stubbornly work towards goals. Anyone who has completed a doily with more than 3 rows (bigger than the average snowflake) and strung more than 15 beads (thinking of a Nina Libinpattern) uses that streak of stubbornness. But, particularly when we’re designing, we may start out using a picot to decorate or join elements and realize that it needs to serve another purpose.

So, to all those weary of pivoting and rolling with the punches as Spring 2020 turns to summer, consider a shuttle or needle and a ball of color. Release your inner creative mind and nurture your soul with thread. Joinus tatting!

The countdown starts!

We are just a few days away from a new adventure! The Lace Museum in Sunnyvale, CA is hosting online workshops during this Shelter in Place time. My tatting workshop will begin in 5 days!

I will follow my usual lesson plan of starting at the beginning and moving as quickly as I should to unlock the secrets of a tatting design. This class of three 90 minute sessions will discuss tatting by focusing on Sonata.

The session to be held in the museum to delve more deeply into the collection will be scheduled at a later date. (I can't wait to share pieces like this one featured in the May 18 Facebook post 

part of their collection 

This class is for beginner to advanced tatters. I will have plenty of resources for you, so bring your questions and what you are curious about! If you haven't reserved your place in the class, please send an email to the staff and join us. There will be a very short orientation meeting this Friday 5-22 to welcome and greet each other.

Email the museum today lacemuseum@gmail.com to sign up!

Progress on Big, big projects

Sonata detail

House: the weeds are not taking over this Spring. The number of boxes waiting to be unpacked is diminishing. I’m encouraged by this progress!

Lace: The class I’m offering through the Lace Museum is scheduled and sign-ups are coming in. The large doilies are all progressing well. I’ve even managed a new version of Sonata with my original color/bead concept.

Music: The Gwyneth Walker piece is finally coming into my fingers and brain. I doubt I’ll ever reach the tempo goal published. I do like the happy way it trips along!

I’ve been staying put in the house. I haven’t driven the car in weeks! I’m doing my part to ensure more people survive.

Mark your Calendars

Announcing a virtual workshop:  May 25-29, 2020 Tatting with Melanie.

Register through the Lace Museum in Sunnyvale, CA For a copy of the flyer click: Here

This will not replace the in person workshop that was to be held in April. I will offer an in-depth look at Sonata (BWV 1034) along with tips and tricks. If you are a beginner, do not fear! There will be plenty of time to help you learn to tat.

Announcing a virtual Art Auction starting July 18, 2020 and extending through August.

This Art of Music Raffle online will replace the show in the Marjorie Evans Gallery. I will miss the Festival concerts this year. I know the staff continues to work to bring music through the other programs the Festival sponsors and staffs. I hope my small piece of tatting will help to raise funds during this difficult time. More information as the time approaches.

My final event is one you, and only you, can decide what it will be. I encourage each of us to continue to create each day. Sit down with your instrument and play music. Sit down with your pencil or computer and compose. Sit down with your thread, needle, or shuttle and create lace. Share what you create. We can make this crazy world a better place!

Challenge in vintage thread

Jon Yusoff Thread that Bind challenge doily

My Threads that Bind doily is continuing to grow. Here’s what it looks like after finishing Day 5 round. I have a feeling the white will not stay white as it comes off the ball. That’s the challenge of working with vintage tools and vintage thread. You never really can predict what it’ll look like.

Hope your days are getting more predictable with opportunities to create and enjoy beauty.

Tatting by Zoom

That sounds like credits at the end of a vintage tv show. The Tatting Study Group met this week using Zoom. It’s a very popular app right now. It was fun to see everyone.

On a sadder note, the workshop in Sunnyvale is postponed. We’re talking about an online component that will be a much different format. More as that progresses.

I decided to start the Challenge doily over. I made several mistakes in the first few rounds. I’m liking the way it looks now. Picture as I finish the next round.

Shuttlebirds cancelled Lace Museum still on tentatively

We spent yesterday discovering what the flooring was like under the carpet in a bedroom. All things considered, it is in pretty good shape.

That took my mind off the fact that Shuttlebirds will be postponing their Tat Days until April 2021. I will plan to teach and enjoy getting to know them in a year.

The Lace Museum in Sunnyvale is still operating, so I hope that we can still hold that workshop. We’ll see what the government decides.

In the meantime, I’m making progress on the Elephant canvas. I think by this time we were to be stitching the final section. I’m just finishing lesson 1. Hope to share a picture soon!

Challenge with vintage

While most of the world is in Shelter in Place mode, I can’t just sit and not create something. I’m like the kid that can’t sit still; I can’t not create. So, when I saw a post about Tat-a-Renda’s Challenge design, I decided to join in. But, what thread to use?

Her design is starting out like a vintage doily. So, when I spied this bit of vintage thread, I thought perfect!

This is what it looks like so far:

Remember the vintage shuttles I picked up on this trip? Well, this one is labelled Justrite. I do like working with it. I normally don’t like the feel of a metal shuttle. I prefer wood. But, this one is balanced better and almost feels like my ivory shuttle. Since it twists apart to fill, I wondered if it is the inspiration for the Moonlit shuttle. Incidentally, today is the last day to pre-order from Handy Hands. I ordered my bag in blue!

Strange times

I am a tatter and a musician because I am. What little I’ve accomplished in the Arts is not solely on talent. Believe me! There’s a lot of sweat equality in every single piece I play, every single pattern I tat. I believe the world needs beauty. During these strange times navigating a response to COVID-19, I cannot keep from creating.

I draw for inspiration the many, many artists and musicians who have gone before me. People who continued to create when there was no need, people who continued to teach when there was no opportunity.

That has resulted in me tatting with a shoelace in a grocery store, talking about Galileo and his career choice of mathematics rather than organist as his father wished, playing the Prelude when the guy at the sound board was playing his favorite Christian Music hit, and generally seeing art and hearing music everywhere.

So, I encourage all of us to continue to create. Answer uncertainty with Bach and Rings/Chains. Give us all a reason to hope and look to tomorrow.

I will be practicing and tatting as I remember a photo of Isaac Stern playing in 1991 on stage, alone, while the audience members sat listening wearing gas masks. (You’ll need to scroll halfway down this page.)

Stay safe and be healthy everyone.

The tough get tatting

The cancellation of the Noon concert took the wind out of my sails yesterday afternoon. I had to sit myself down and remind myself that the Lace Museum workshop is a month away. A lot can happen in 5 weeks. While the news from Sunnyvale and Santa Clara County is grim, so far, I have hope that all will be well in 5 weeks. I also have hope that all will go as planned 2 weeks later at the Shuttlebirds Tat Days. I have not finalized my travel plans, but need to soon.

As I was contemplating the next few days, watching a squirrel under the oak trees, my biggest fan commented, “Well, when the going gets tough, the tough get tatting.”

I’ll be tatting today!

Thank you

I enjoy saying thank you. 

Especially when I can do so with a small tatted gift. I am grateful for these generous fiber friends: 

Cleda, Mary, and Dawn. 

The gamps you loaned me for the Blackwork program were studied and provided much inspiration. I hope you enjoy a small token of my thanks.

Spring Tat-along

Announcing a new tat-along for 2020!

Renulek has started releasing her Spring doily! I like how the pattern looks this year. I’m still working on the 2017 “napkin” (gotta love Google translate!) so I won’t be starting this one. I see a patriotic color scheme though.

Join in! The doilies work up quite nicely.

Oh, and classes are beginning to fill up for Shuttlebirds2020. More excitement!