The fun continues

I’m digging out music I haven’t had the courage to play in ages! The challenge is to practice so that I don’t end up on the injured list…..again. So far, I’ve found the recipe. I suppose I should set some goals so that I feel like I’m not just amusing myself, annoying the cats, and will have nothing to play when the inevitable request comes in. You know the one: “Oh, you play? Play me something I like.” I always feel like grabbing a set of tiny cymbals and banging them with a goofy grin on my face. That goes over better if I can say where and when I’m performing next and invite them to come listen.

Yesterday I received a wonderful gift of some silk sewing thread. It looks like I’ll be able to tat with it. I will need to use my magnifier since my eyes are still adjusting to the new lenses. I can’t wait to try out a favorite pattern. What would you choose to tat?

More silk thoughts

The samples of silk that were gifted me have opened up some fun creativity. The tatted sample has been fun to show around. I know I’m not the first to tat with silk. Just consider some of the wonderful tatting coming from Japan. A good friend has offered to pass on some silk thread she received to tat with. Working with silk just doesn’t ignite her creativity. A bit like me working with wool. I can’t wait for the thread to arrive and see what I can create with it!

I’ve worked my way through 2 squares of the biscornu. Seeing how the beads and thread work together in the design has been fun. I’ve done the math and will not have enough thread to stitch all 15 sides. No worries though as I have a bag of badly stored (tangled and such) silk floss I can sort through to see what suits the design. Or I can just combine the silk with cotton. So many options.

First though, I will be getting back to the bench. Cataract surgery has restored my ability to read music. It’s not perfect. I still hit wrong notes. But, sight-reading is now a possibility again. It’s more fun to sit on the bench and play the organ again. I promise I won’t spend all my time at the console. I will get back to my shuttle. And maybe even my loom as I can see well enough to dress it more accurately.

Such fun I will have!!

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?