Making progress

I think I have the stitch count correct on the sole of the baby bootie pattern. I like the way it looks in the variegated. I may need a bit more thread. I’ve used this colorway for quite a few projects.

I wonder if I can.....

So many of my tatting adventures start out that way. I get an idea for using thread to embellish something and then pick up the shuttles. I often don’t have a clear picture of what I need to tat. Most of the time I’m using a variation of a pattern I used for a previous project. Most of the time….

This is a limpet that I’ve had for awhile. I thought I would tat around in the Ice Drop style. This shell is just so sweet. I will need to tweak the pattern for the oval shape. Hmmm………

After a couple of false starts, I came up with this backing.

Not perfect, but I think it will do for this gift.

Now to complete the top portion.

A favorite

This is becoming my favorite pattern for cross bookmarks. It is Pernille from Tatted Bookmarks by Lene Bjorn. I’ve tatted this several times in several different threads. I even tried to use my 2-bobbin shuttle to make all the rings one color and the chains another color. That didn’t work out. I do enjoy how the colors pool when I use a variegated. This will be gifted to a special friend. 

Today is the day!

 Today is the day I lead another Orgelkids session. I don’t have enough time to let the group build, play, and un-build the organ. I will do my best to engage them.

I have been asked to bring the Orgelkids Do-organ to Fresno, CA and present it to the Music Teachers in 50 minutes. A challenge! Just 50 minutes. I’m sure there will be pianists there. I think I’ll even have a couple of organists. That makes things easier as I can move more quickly through the concepts. The vocabulary won’t be so foreign. Questions should be more specific and easier to answer. I'm sure they will want to play a bit, so the time will move very fast!

I’m really looking forward to it!

Building Blocks

 While tatting a portion of the booties pattern, I got to thinking about blocks. The wood blocks I played with as a child, the Lego blocks we still have from my childhood, and all the variations I saw in the lab at the Architecture school. Creating lace with a shuttle is a lot like creating objects with blocks.

Each ring and chain I tat can be part of a larger item. As I was tatting a ring, I forgot to put in a picot to use while joining the next ring to my new ring. Ooops. That picot serves much the same purpose as those thin Lego 4X1 blocks. Each block can be a part of a larger item.

I’d like to say that I realized my mistake BEFORE the ring was closed. I didn’t. I ended up picking up the scissors, letting out a big sigh, and snipping away. Time to pick up the blocks and remake that item!

I'm Grateful.....

 For where I live.

This is the view from the top of a hill near me. You can see the bell tower of Carmel Mission Basilica with the Pacific Ocean in the background. We started our 4+ mile hike at the beach. A short walk along the water with a short walk up the hill and voila.

I got back to the shuttles after a quick lunch. Still working on finishing those gifts. I blew one pattern completely and needed to start over.

GIft giving season

 For me, Christmas time is not just a time to give gifts, but a time to share lots and lots of music. So, in October and November I usually practice a lot. So, I have no pictures to share of tatting. All the tatting time is taken with finishing up gifts. Kinda hard to photograph practice time. If you’re local, keep an eye out in the paper and your email for all the fun starting in a week or so.

It's time again

 It’s time again

It’s that time of year again. We’re planting new plants to take advantage of the rain that will fall. The days are getting shorter so we’re turning on the window lights. Christmas music is almost nailed down. Easter and Holy Week are next. Oh, and Christmas gifts are just about finished.
It’s also time for our semi-annual peep hole rainbow. Our front door faces (nominally) East, so as the sun rises, we enjoy a colorful circle moving around each day. Today, it fell off the post and hit the wall. I found it at the bottom of the framed print.

Where will it be tomorrow?

Adding beads

 I like tatting because you can put your own spin on the lace. A designer (perhaps you!) creates a pattern. Thread is dyed (in so many colors!), spun and plied. You can add bling or beads or jewelry findings. So many options!!

I love adding beads to my tatting. Sometimes I’ll add just a few. Sometimes a handful get scattered through the pattern. Sometimes I add hundreds to jazz it up. For my designs based on music, beads can help draw attention to instrumentation, melodic themes, dynamics, or rhythm. Beads can help add complexity while providing continuity.

Adding beads is a necessary skill for the tatter. Come join me on this adventure!!

Using eggs

 I’ve been trying, without much success, to keep organized in 2025. I have just a few more weeks to go. It’s not looking good for accomplishing my goal. No, I haven’t been trying to accomplish those tasks by using eggs. Although a good breakfast generally helps.

I have been working on how to store my tatting samples. That makes it easier to show people what tatting can be. One of the hardest types of samples to keep at hand is my tatting around eggs and ornament balls. They deserve to be seen. I have some windows that I can use. So far, so good. There’s the mantle in my creating room. The shelving has been taken over with books and supplies that don’t fit in the cupboards. I do enjoy this side of creating lace (displaying) and I really must do better (where is that display hook).

The other day I found myself looking at eggs with embroidery on them. This post started it all. They’re pretty. I see lots of potential. And also, I like the way lace can accent shape as it creates more shapes to see. I’ve several sketches to work on now! Perhaps by the time spring rolls around I will have some concrete ideas to work up.

Another one

 

I’ve started another snowflake in yarn. This one is Dec. 21 in the Lene Bjorn book. The Josephine Knots were a puzzle at first, but I did manage them. Now on to the outer round.

Finished with stitching

 

I finished the stitching on the Hardanger project. It’s not a great example. I know I didn’t follow directions well enough. I learned a lot. The use of negative space in the overall design still fascinates me. I see lots of potential in combining tatting and Hardanger.

Negative space explored

 I love working with the negative space in lace. It’s fun to design with that element so prominent. I like paying attention to the silence in music also. A well-placed rest can bring a melody to life.

When we pulled up stakes and moved a decade ago, I found a wonderful group of fiber crafters and artists in my new town. Several meet once a month to explore all things Embroidery as part of a chapter in the Embroiderer’s Guild of America. I’ve learned a huge amount about thread and design and finishing and creativity from this group. Our October meeting explored a simple Hardanger project. Here’s what I have so far:

Mistake fixed

 Remember this funexperiment? Well, upon further examination, it’s a fail. Snowflakes in nature have 6 points. This one ended up with 7. Now, there is a reasonable explanation.

I needed to add yarn to both “shuttles” to have enough to finish out the snowflake. I cut extra long lengths just so I wouldn’t be distracted by fiddling with short ends. Then, I got so caught up in the adding that I lost my place in the pattern. I added alright…..7 extra rings.

I set it aside. For a week….or more……

Then I decided I really would like to gift the snowflake. Out came the mistake, out came the pattern, out came the scissors. But I was having difficulty figuring out which rings to keep and which to cut. So, out came the stitch markers to identify which rings started the repeat, which rings were extra, and which rings I needed to join.

After sleeping overnight on that, I took a breath and cut out rings. Now to figure out exactly what I needed to tat where. Since I picked out enough of the remaining rings to have a good long length of yarn, I was confident that I could tat the final ring while hiding ends. I just needed to figure out where to hide ends, if it was possible to join or if I was just going to tie knots. Oh, and one small detail:

I realized I didn’t have a good enough grasp of the hook tatting technique. I needed to use shuttle or needle. With yarn, needle it was.

After another sleep, I felt I was ready to set up the needle, grab a flosser to help hide 1 end, and sacrifice to the knotting gods (i.e. brew the appropriate cup of tea) to get this show on the road.

Here’s what I ended up with. Now to grab a tapestry needle to hide the other 2 ends.

Tada…..

All fixed.

Ready to gift.

How where’s that glass of wine????

Another Assisi project

 

Here’s my third little sample. I hope it will work for the fundraiser.

Seems I took a short Holiday

I realized last weekend that I neglected to post Thursday. Oops. I got caught up in working on other things and just didn’t pay attention to this detail. My bad. So what distracted me?

House stuff: The bricks in our fireplace need to be reset so that the back doesn’t fall into the firebox.

A fellow organist is traveling out of the country for an unplanned trip to family. I can’t cover all of her upcoming services, but I did pick up one.

My tatting time has been mostly figuring out how to adjust the bootie pattern for a bigger foot. I see the need for using smaller size thread so that little toes and fingers don’t get caught up in the lace. My resident engineer designer has been helping with where to add stitches. This is what I have so far.

Thoughts of Negative

No, I’m not angry at the World. I try to be positive overall. I have been stitching up small Assisi motifs for a fund raiser. The focal point of the design is where the background cloth shows through your stitches. In this case, cross stitch. I’ve enjoyed stitching them before. I have benefitted in my tatting designing from learning about this style of surface embroidery. Negative space is more important. I have one more motif to stitch up. Here’s the second one I’ve done:

Sifting through ideas

I’ve been spending quite a bit of time brainstorming ideas. Several will make good workshops. Several are just not good. Or at least not good enough to spend more time on them. I’ll be spending the next few days sorting through everything to decide what to work on over the next few months. After all, Christmas is coming!

The good kind of Fireworks

 Living in California, we have “fire season” (which is just about year-round now) when you cannot have fires on your property or shoot off fireworks. It’s against the law. Really, we mean it. The goal is not to have fires that burn homes….or people.

Summer Fireworks
designer: Anne-Marie Anderson-Mayes

A couple of years ago I completed a canvas with some interesting stitches. The designer, Anne-Marie Anderson-Mayes, named it Autumn Fireworks. It was fun to stitch! Last weekend, I completed my version of Summer Fireworks. I really like the center block. I’d like to use that stitch combined with some tatting. More to imagine……..

More interesting experiments

Baby booties by Crowther

This is my interpretation of the vintage pattern found in Beginning Tatting by Gloria Crowther. I suspect an editor (who didn’t know how to tat) changed some things in the text. The other patterns are much clearer. It doesn’t help that the photo of the finished bootie on the back cover isn’t clear.

I’ll be writing up my notes and what I think works better. Then, I’ll be incorporating the basic structure of the lace in the vintage pattern I have for an American Flag. The Workbasket article was pretty well laid out. I didn’t have much of an issue understanding what I was meant to tat. We’ll see if my idea to use the structure for a set of booties yields an acceptable pair of footwear.  

And for those that caught my error in the Dec 18 snowflake, You’re correct! All will be discussed next Tuesday. Or at least what I’ll admit to!!

Interesting experiment

 I finished the snowflakein the 10-2 yarn. I included a small Clover shuttle in the picture so you can see the size. We didn’t have a nice-looking banana. It’s been an interesting journey tatting this up.

I used the smallest hook in my Takashimabari set. The twist in the thread worked quite nicely with the hook.

The pattern is from 24 Snowflakes by Lene Bjorn. I enjoy tatting her patterns. I’ve even added a bit of bling.

I need to find a way to set the dye. I discovered while blocking the tatting that the dye bleeds. A task for another day.

I’m conquering second bootie syndrome!

I’ve tatted the sole, finished one round of the side, and the medallion that goes over the toe area. Now to attach the medallion and finish the sides.

Fair is closed

 

Another exhibit is finished. Lots of creativity displayed! The picture above is of a case with embroidery items (I only did the one in the top right.) I picked up my entries and ribbons. I entered 4 items. I won 3 First Place and 1 Second Place ribbons. These will go in my treasures box.

 

Now on to the next show.

The Fair is open

I was persuaded to enter tatted items in the Monterey County Fair this year. I can’t wait to see what else was entered. I’m not particularly competitive. If I won a ribbon, that’s great. If there were quite a few entries of tatting, that’s even better! Stop by to see in the building across from the Wool Show. It’s close to the beer garden, so you can linger there for a relaxing visit.

Second bootie rework

I decided to climb out from the center to row 1 in my second bootie. 

I doubt I’ll climb out from row 1 to row 2. The chains join between those rows. That is an awkward transition of split chains. 

I’m opting for easier construction and more consistent rings and chains.

Second bootie started

 

I sat myself down right away to start the second bootie. I’ll be using the same thread and the same stitch count. Sort of. I started this second bootie at the end so that I could climb out with a couple of split rings. We’ll see if that works or not. I think it will.

Come join us!

From this

 To this

Saturday, August 23, 2025

10:00 AM – 2:30 PM

First Presbyterian Church

on El Dorado in Monterey

Seeing the progress with in-progress

I take quite a few photos of what I’m working on. Some of them never even make it to the folder on the phone. If I leave photo taking to when I have something significant to preserve, I forget. So, I snap a lot of in progress photos that never get used. Until I forget. I intended to share some photos of a vintage pattern I’m reworking. This is the only one that made it into the folder.

More later.

What do you do with waste?

Some refer to these bits as thrums. Now there are lots of uses for the lengths of yarn left on the loom after cutting off your woven project. These were long enough I thought I would tat with them. I think it is 10/2 cotton. I’m using the smaller Takashimabari hook. The pattern is December 18 from Lene Bjorn’s snowflake book. I like working my way through all the split rings. It’s fun to create with waste.

One last entry item to make

 

I have one last piece to tat for this year’s Fair. I decided to tat an Ice Drop. I love making them. You think I would have plenty already tatted up, but I can always have more on hand. I think this one will be in blue thread with beads and curled rings.

Snowflake just about finished

 

The votes are in. Most of the opinions were for smaller picots on the inner ring. Only one person liked the larger picots. Several suggested no picots at all. I went with smaller picots.

My next question:

How did I manage that????

I was practicing the fine art of untatting on the final repeat of the snowflake. I will be using this snowflake as a sample in situations where the skill will be judged repeatedly. So, it has to be correct. I’ve been using picot gauges and paying attention to front side/back side with using RODS. But, in taking out one mistake, I twisted up this chain so badly that I needed to take stitches out to the join for this double picot. For context, I’m using shuttles to tat this. So, how did I manage to get both threads going through the picot?

It's impossible. I just don’t see how I could have done this. I’ll be unwinding the little bit of thread left on the shuttles, untying the thread from the shuttles and pulling the ends through the picot. Then I’ll be winding the shuttles and going back to correcting the mistakes.

All the while I’ll be trying to figure out how this happened, so I won’t end up in this impossible position again. I hope…….

I took a day off

I know! Don’t faint!! I actually took the day off yesterday!

So, I don’t have anything much to share. No pictures of tatting. No links to music. Nothing much.

Well, there’s this question:

Should I use a smaller picot in the lower ring? I’ve adapted a design in 24 Snowflakes by Lene Bjorn. After I finished this repeat yesterday, I didn’t like how things looked too spindly. I’m thinking a smaller picot under the chains would help.

Anyone want to vote?

Time to load the shuttles

 After enjoying Carmel Bach Festival for the last 3 weeks, it’s time to shift gears:

Monterey County Fair.

I’ll be entering a few pieces. Not as much tatting. The only Division for tatting is labeled shuttle tatting. I’ve been doing more tatting with needles and hooks. So, I’ll tat up a couple of things to enter. Time to load the shuttles!

In the meantime, you can still go by Seaside City Hall and enjoy the display at the Avery Gallery. And if you can’t make it past there, here’s a photo of Piece d’Orgue in a variegated thread:

Only 2 more days

 Tickets for the Art of Music Raffle will be on sale until Closing Night. That is in 2 more days. Saturday July 26, 2025 will see the final Best of the Fest concert. The lovely volunteers will be happy to help in the Evans Gallery.

A quick reminder

For those local to Monterey Bay, please stop by the Avery Gallery in Seaside or the Evans Gallery at Sunset Center to see my tatting. While you’re in Carmel, consider catching a concert or other Carmel Bach Festival event. There is some wonderful music being offered the last few days before Closing Night.

More for the future

Inside these crates are the pipes that will complete the Dobson organ at St. Dunstan’s EpiscopalChurch in Carmel Valley, CA. It’s been a 10-year journey to finish the stops. Follow this link for a video of the installation process. I can’t wait to hear how it sounds!

Lots of Future Activity

 I’ve been busy. Quite busy! With tatting shows, organ demonstrations, and playing for services. If you here a laugh, that’s me responding to someone asking if I’m slowing down in retirement. I’m having too much fun!!

With all this future building activity, I don’t have much to share for tatting. In the odd moments I’m working on the multicolor version of Piece d’Orgue, a pair of baby booties, Wiosna2025 and a bun holder in bright colored thread. All worthy projects.

I doubt I’ll be focusing soon though……. So, I leave you with a picture of the gallery.

Another place to see tatting in public

The area I live in has quite a bit of culture to offer for the population. Perhaps because tourism and hospitality are major industries here. Perhaps because in the past, artists escaping earthquake damage came to create in cabins by the sea. Perhaps because we who live here respond to the call to fill our world with beauty.

When the City Hall was built in Seaside, CA one passage is dedicated to displaying art. Not just room on a wall to hang paintings, but several floor to ceiling cases to show baskets and small sculptures and weaving and……

TATTING!

I gathered up a few pieces I use in workshops and when I talk about tatting to kids and adults. I really didn’t expect all of the lace to be “hung” as this display is to represent the Guild I belong to: Carmel Crafts Guild. We welcome those who craft, those who focus on fine art, and those who wish to learn to create in new ways.

Longtime readers of this blog will recognize several pieces. Thank you, Stephanie, for loaning me your jewelry display stands. I am quite “chuffed” (as my British friend says) that my Saint-Saens doily is hung next to Ann Pettit’s brilliant piece based on the Bach Chorale. I hope those local to Monterey Bay will make the time to drop by and take a look.

The Avery gallery is open 8-5 just like the Evans gallery (10-4) both waiting to help you explore local artists!

I'm excited!

 

Tonight starts another year of excitement with Art! There will be a wonderful selection of paintings, photographs, and other art. So……..  

Piece d'Orgue

Please come to the Artist Reception and Opening!

Show and Raffle

Margorie Evans Gallery, Sunset Center, Carmel, CA

Tuesday, July 8, 2025 from 5 – 7 PM

Benefiting the Carmel Bach Festival

My tatting will be in one of the cases. The short explanation is displayed in the binder of Artists’ Statements. For a more thorough version, comment here or send me an email. 

Enjoy!!

To observe is to create

 The other day a student had a revelation: listening to the music you play is part of the learning process. Now, before you scoff and say or think the obvious, please note that being aware of what you create is not automatic for everyone. The devil is in the details. We can miss the finer points as we produce our art. The parts of the process that are difficult for us sometimes are not important and other times are crucial to the success of creating. And yes, practicing those difficult skills can make the experience more successful for all of us.

So, what can we do to support each other? Ask for feedback, critique, and help.

I try to post photos of lace that I enjoy making. I try to post descriptions that help others make better lace. I try to encourage the exploration of new techniques. I hope that lends support to those who create.

What I have to offer today is an exercise I frequently do: work a pattern in different size, color, or fiber content thread. Here’s the simple round motif in Knit-Cro-Sheen, size 30 and size 80:

I hope you create something today!

All done and dusted

Well, on my part that is. The shows are still in the preparation stage. I’ve turned in my lace. After a few days of rest, I picked up my shuttles to tat up a couple of samples. These are in Knit-Cro-Sheen which is a 3-ply similar to size 10.

The round one is a pattern a student is trying out. She sees this as an earring. At first glance, I saw little to stumble upon. Then I realized this is one of those patterns that is worked in one pass starting with the outside and working in. So, a TOR on the second side of a SR.

The square is a shrunken version of a motif from a book of tatting patterns. They are put together by Japanese Vogue in a lovely book with plenty of photos and step-by-step instructions. I’ll be trying it out in the bamboo yarn next. I think it just might work well for my vest idea.

Still preparing

 I’ll be turning my attention to the piece I’ll donate to the Carmel Bach Festival next. The wonderful volunteers will be gathering the art at the end of this week. For me, that means labeling (somehow) my piece of lace and writing (another) Artist Statement. This is always a humbling experience for me. The binder where these papers will be gathered is always available. Sometimes I see people looking through it. So, I try to write something that introduces the piece and explains my design and a bit of the process. Yes, I will be asking my favorite proofreader to look it over before I hit print!

Some of you have shown interest in the grid templates I use. My favorite 3-D print shop has more options available now. Check it out!

Preparation is the key

 Tatters now this to be a truth. If you don’t prepare your shuttles well, you end up with kinks and twists and ugly DS. If you don’t prepare where to hide ends, you end up with bulges and extra thread and maybe even glue blobs. If you don’t prepare the beads on the thread around your hand, you end up without beads on the picots of your ring. Preparation is important.

I spend some time last week preparing to loan items for a show in a local municipal gallery. It’s tedious labeling your lace. It takes time to fill out forms and assign value and give credit where credit is due. Oh, and the Artist Statement. Yeah. It all takes thought and time. Don’t get me wrong. It’s worth it. 100%. I hope we tempt other people to investigate tatting with our local group. Or at least watch a video or two.

This week I’m preparing my donation for the Art of Music. Just a few more elements, hide ends, block, photograph, label and document, and then take that deep breath and hand it over to the wonderful volunteers. (I found out last month that my blog is read by some of them. Gulp! Thank you!!) I hope it helps to raise lots of money!

How to join .......

 

Even though I spent some time figuring out hiding ends in TDS, I’m still not sure how this is going to turn out. Time to take a deep breath, pick up the shuttles and figure it out.

Ever have one of those days?

 The kind that whooshes by in a flurry of not-important activity? Yeah….the last few days were like that for me.

I played the third Sunday in a row. My hands and wrists are telling me. So, I haven’t been tatting a lot. Rest has helped. I loaded the beads for my final round of BWV 572. Now to pick up the shuttles and put the ideas into lace. I have until the end of next week. Best get cracking!

I think this will work

 Have I used that as a title for a post? I probably have.

This is one of my distraction designs that waylaid me earlier. I want to use it as an outer round for BWV 572. This section of the piece is sparkly. Most of the beads are loaded before tatting, so it should work up quickly.

I think it will work.

 

I’m in that exhilarating and sometimes frustrating stage of designing. I can’t keep my mind on tatting the pattern (read: I make a few mistakes) because my mind is making up new patterns. If you’re picturing shuttles laying around with a few rings and chains attached, but nothing that looks like a project, you’re not far off. I would call myself distracted.

I promise to finish the Art of Music submission. I promise to keep working on the shawl. I promise to keep working on Wiosna 2025. But, if I find I have a bit of time, I’ll be dragging out my templates to help me get the designs to lay flat more quickly.

Finding inspiration

 If you have read up on my tatting, you know I look to music compositions for inspiration when creating my pieces of lace. With Spring bursting into our lives, I also enjoy looking at nature for design inspiration. While working in the yard, I marvel at how a rose bud opens up to reveal a treat for bees.

While walking in the woods, I see wonderful snowflake designs in fern fronds.

A bouquet of Sweat peas fills the room with scent and fills the eyes with overlapping curves.

I’ll need a fair amount of discipline soon. I’m almost done with BWV 572. I have a list of design possibilities. Sticking to the grand plan and not getting distracted will be important!