More tatting please!

 I had the pleasure of introducing 10 people to tatting last week. Thanks go to the Carmel Harrison Library staff for opening their meeting room and helping with set up and sign up. I had great fun. Several people succeeded in creating double stitches. Everyone left with a shuttle or needle and a ball of thread. I hope to make contact with them again. I look forward to more tatting time at the library. I have so much to share!

Joining up

I completed the second square using the bamboo yarn in the tweaked stitch count. It’s much closer to what I like. Progress will be slow. I have several large projects on the list now:

A snood for a horseback rider

The donation for Art of Music fundraiser for Carmel Bach Festival

Wiosna 2025

A bun holder in bright colors for me

Another pair of baby booties

Oh, and several new tatting teaching opportunities.

I’ll continue to play the organ in the limited schedule my body can handle. I’ll continue to teach music. I’ll continue to use the Orgelkids kit to demonstrate how organs work. I’ll continue to care for our historic home. I’ll be busy.

What do you tat when you're busy?

 I’ve been busy lately. Tatting for sure. Nothing finished yet. Playing organ also. I can’t say I have mastered a piece well enough to share with anyone…. other than my long-suffering family (practice is seldom pleasant to listen to). Cleaning up and putting away and filing away. There have been a few slots of time when I pick up my tatting.

That got me to thinking. (I know….I know…dangerous to my “free time.”) What do other tatters keep available for those “busy” days. We’ve talked about what we tat while traveling or waiting or chatting in social circles. Those projects usually are what I grab when I have an hour or so to just relax. But…..

How ‘bout you?

Another try at the bamboo yarn

I decided to try again to accomplish this idea for a scarf/shawl. The pattern worked up OK in cotton thread using a shuttle. When I adapted it for this yarn using a needle, it didn’t lay flat as well as I liked. Especially when I joined two squares together. A bit of a tweak and it’s looking better. At least after 1 round. We’ll see what it looks like after 2 squares joined together.

Lace that didn't need translating

I was gifted this book. I do not speak Russian, nor have I learned the alphabet this language uses. I have learned to recognize how tatting patterns are notated…a bit. The book has both diagrams and written directions. I tried to puzzle out a couple of motifs in the first part. One was successful, the other not. I learned that I tat differently.

The motif that didn’t work up well is notated as though you tat the chains without flipping the stitches, what some have called “direct tatting” as is explained here by Ninetta Caruso “I'm tatting the chains in "direct method tatting", that is tatting reverse stitches, not flipped, like in the second side of a split ring.” There was nothing in the text to indicate such a method. I gave up. I set the book aside.

Then, a tatting friend made a wonderful scene including some tatted fish that won ribbons at the Fair. The piece makes you smile!! I remembered there are other pieces described in books. Notably, a wonderful cherry tree with blossoms in a meadow. I was privileged to see this piece  at Lacis in Berkeley many years ago. * It’s gorgeous.

I happened upon the Russian book last week and saw the scene included in the back of the text. There are sheep and horses and cows and a shepherd and sheep! The pattern for the sheep looked a little less cryptic, so I had a go. The red thread was on a shuttle that needed emptying. I think I’ll tat another one in a more appropriate color. I used chains with flipped stitches, small joining picots (except for the ears) and a SCMR with a TOR for the legs. I like it!!

* Anyone remember the artist who tatted the cherry tree picture? I have a photograph, but a quick search online didn’t reveal the image. I do not want to post without being able to credit the artist. Please help out??

Tatting on costumes

 I always have a look out for tatting. I happen to enjoy period dramas, so I do occasionally see tatting as a part of costumes on TV. Sometimes the family will allow me to grab the remote and stop the video if I can. Sometimes they will do that for me…. especially when I’m tatting as we watch.

We were watching a newer series on PBS last night. Bookish is set in post-war London. The final scene of the 4^th episode grabbed my attention. The main character was wearing a striking white suit with black embellishments. The collar looked particularly nice. It is lace. Perhaps tatted?

My first reaction was surprise, then I had the thought that I wouldn’t want to tat the pattern in black thread. It looked intricate and made with thin thread.

Alas and anon, I took the time this morning to get back to that part of the episode using the trusty remote. As near as I can tell, the lace is just machine-made bits cut and sewn to make the collar. Sigh! Worth a second look. And I still like the costume!

Milestone met

This is another milestone post. I’ve been putting my thoughts down for over a decade. Some of my posts have been edited and changed and even removed. I’ve learned a lot and am not above correcting mistakes. If I have posted something you think is wrong or misinformed, please let me know. My brothers would tease me that English is my second language, I communicate in music much better.

I hope to continue to put my thoughts out there. When I can, I’ll include a photo of what I’ve been up to. I won’t promise it will all be tatting. The Keys side of the schedule is always full of interesting and fun things to do. I can promise I’ll not post recordings of my playing. I’m kinda past that. If other people post a recording I think is interesting, I may post a link.

Which brings up my final thought today: if you notice any links that are not working properly, please let me know. There are also several photos that need to be refreshed. Some I can figure out how to repost. Others are gone. Sometimes when flipping through a photo album, you come across a page with a blank spot. Those missed photos can represent very interesting stories. Could they be replaced?