I am a musician (organ) and a tatter (shuttle mostly) living in California. I have dreamed of combining both of these passions.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
I’ve finished Round 6 of Wiosna 2025 by Renulek. I’m a bit embarrassed at how long I’ve been tatting this piece. But now, I’d like to begin adding beads. I’ll be getting out my colored pencils, printing another copy of the picture of the complete doily. And dreaming……
I started sewing stars on my flag yesterday. I’ve never been able to just “eyeball” things. I have to measure and calculate everything. So, I grabbed my ruler and did the math. Stitched some stars on and discovered I miscalculated. Sigh!
