Sampling can teach

 Maybe it’s because I work as a musician. 

As I approach rehearsing a piece after practicing, I try to spend time in practice testing out different interpretations. Switching up the registration often helps me to decide how an organ piece will sound.

I added to my pile of samples for the snood. I finished off the bottom part of a vintage pattern. There are parts of the pattern I like and will use, parts I think need to be changed.

Sampling taught me.

Clean up time

Yesterday was spent organizing. I know it’s an important task. I really do try to stay ahead of the dirt and occasionally actually dust. But getting files into appropriate folders just never seems to get done. I bought a different computer a year ago. I really should have been better at organizing those files. I won’t promise to do better. Because that would take the time I’d rather spend tatting or practicing.

On a different train of thought, I went walking with friends yesterday. Fog was forecast, but the sun was out where we were. The fog decided to stay way offshore. San Francisco has a name for the fog: Karl. I figure if Monterey Bay named the fog, it would be a nod to Adobes and fishing.

Which way do I tat?

This post is all about mignonette patterns. You know, the ones with Bare Thread Spaces between itty bitty rings? Yeah, those. My idea for the snood involves such a pattern with rings of 10 DS. (R:5+5. BTS)

I ran into a problem while watching a mystery in a language I don’t know with subtitles and tatting my trial piece:

I confused where I needed to join.

I found myself reversing my direction of tatting so that I joined in the BTS I just formed rather than the previous row. After making the mistake 3 times and pulling open those rings to correct it, I grumbled, “There has to be a way!”

There is

It doesn’t involve what knitters do: Only stop at the end of a row. A row will take too long in the snood idea.

It doesn’t involve holding the previous rings in a special way. At least not for the first few rows.

It does involve a marker thread passed through the previous row’s BTS. That’s the darker thread in the picture. As I join to the BTS, I unweave the marker thread. Every few rings I pause to install the marker thread in more BTS so that I don’t pull it out completely.

I’m ready to test out this idea watching the rest of the mystery!

Testing out an idea

 Remember this request for a snood? I’ve been testing out various pattern parts. Here’s an idea taken from a vintage pattern for a small bag. I like the idea of using Victorian sets for the petals of each motif. I think it will enhance the piece.

Afterglow missing

That’s because the Fair brought new opportunities. Last weekend I supported a new tatter at a pop-up shop. It was a great experience. Some new tatters are overwhelmed very easily. That’s where they’re at. Often patience and gentle repetition clear the fog and then the shuttle or needle produces quite nice lace. Some new tatters seem to catch the concepts quickly and find the movements awkward. Often just breaking things down for movements and guiding the thought process is enough. Some new tatters seem to get it all so fast. Those are the new tatters I struggle with giving just enough focusing on where they can learn more. I get carried away very quickly.

I’m continuing working on the Orgelkids material. I don’t know if it will help. I know I would use it, but that’s the way I work. The participants never sit at a large organ. I hope my efforts will preserve organs for the future, inspire just one person to take lessons, or sell tickets to a concert. I’m sure there are workshops and classes designed to help people be more effective in these efforts. IF I could find them and squeeze in the time!

Right after I fix the error I made tatting during the movie yesterday evening.

And what will today hold?

 Well, that was an interesting day.

Readers of this blog may not know the extent to which I work to find and mentor new organists. Many years ago I hung up my concert organ shoes. I tried to turn my back on playing the organ. Afterall, I didn’t have a church job, I had no organ in my home, and when I did play, things hurt. Why should I spend time trying to do something that doesn’t bring me (or other people) joy? Gues what? At my core I’m an organist. I couldn’t do it! I found joy in listening to others, explaining the instrument to people who showed (or maybe didn’t show) interest, and doing my best to support those who play the organ.

Thus, my new role as an organist: find a way to help new organists find joy in this instrument.

Yesterday, I had an interesting day.

I’m a member of the San Jose chapter of the American Guild of Organists. The chapter, along with the Palo Alto/Peninsula and the San Francisco chapters, owns a demonstration organ. It is a working instrument built in such a way that it can be stored in 2 Pelican Cases, assembled, played, and repacked for use in a different location.

Yesterday I gave a demonstration and answered questions at the Carmel Bach Festival office. Judging by the grins I witnessed, they had fun! Good questions were asked and now we’ll be working together getting this out into the community.

An interesting day.

But wait! There’s more…..

Just after I settled in to provide information for a proposal, I received another request from a small school in San Jose. They want to schedule a time for 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th graders to work with the Orgelkids instrument.

Today will be busy getting things in line to take advantage of those opportunities. Probably not much tatting will get done. That’s OK. We’re in the midst of a heat wave here. I don’t like to tat when my hands are so sweaty. It’s impossible to clean the thread once I get it dirty with perspiration.

 

Another Fair

 Another Fair is done. Everyone I saw was having a good time. It felt like an old-time Fair this year.

Let me remind you all that Fair judging is always subjective. We have opinions about our entries. Some of us are a bit more competitive than others. What the judge thinks is their opinion. Yes, they are asked to rank entries and to give feedback at times. I would never argue with a judge. It’s their opinion.

This little bootie set won Best of Show for Tatting. Really. Despite it being a prototype and not tatted with the best technique. The judge liked it. Ok. My opinion: there were lots of good tatting entered.

I want to thank all the tatters who entered lace to be judged. Please keep on tatting. Your lace is your lace. The judge has their opinion. The world needs more lace!

Teeny tiny bag

I finished a sample in my quest for a netting pattern. This is from Nina Libin’s BENILE series. The spool of thread is normal size. The smaller spool is from the center of a vintage size 80 ball of thread. 

I was skeptical of how the fabric would drape. With the beads and how the joins are designed, it does quite well. I think it’s a bit heavy to use for the netting idea, but it’s cute and sparkly. Just what a young lace lover might enjoy!

I have my "demo" projects ready

 I have my bag packed for sitting at the table during the Fair. There's a shuttle filled with fun thread for butterflies. There's the revision of the booties. There's the last little bit of the hair bun holder. I'm ready!!

Another puzzle to solve

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.

What do you do in your "time off"

 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!

Tatted flag ready to go

 

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.

How to finish tatting

 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.

Are you a deadline tatter?

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.

Dreaming of beads

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……

Not quite what I need

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!

I’ll be grabbing my scissors and ruler and pencil and needle and THEN sew on the stars. It may turn out to look a bit like this:

Not always the best

I tried out one more earring idea. I decided this isn’t the best idea. I like some facets, but it just isn't jelling for me.

It went into the bag of trial samples. I plan to use them when teaching to stimulate discussion of how to choose thread and beads for your take on a design.

Not at idle

My shuttles are back in motion. Here’s what came off them:

Earrings for Kelly designed by Nina Libin

I tweaked the bead placement just a bit for this pair:

Idling

I feel like my shuttles are idling. I’ve enjoyed all the concerts, talks and masterclasses. I have so many good design ideas. It’s been fun talking to people about my Art of Music piece. But I really haven’t been tatting much. Just projects I can work on without thinking too much.

I did finish a bootie that I would like to enter into the Fair. Just have to get the second one started now. I’m still working on getting a pair of earrings finished. I keep making silly mistakes. Ones that I can’t really correct. Between 5 or 6 earrings I should have a pair I can wear! I have added a couple of squares to my shawl in bamboo.

The Festival ends the day after tomorrow. I should be able to get back into a better schedule next week. Idling will be turned into production.

Inspiration

 How do you seek inspiration? I confess that I seek inspiration in many ways. Sometimes I find new ways to tat by just tatting. Sometimes I discover new designs by tatting published patterns. Sometimes I think up new designs by experiencing nature and music.

Just yesterday I was listening to someone else play an organ piece I’ve played many, many times. There is a pattern in the harmony that occurs over and over again. I thought of how the notes look on the page.  I thought of a way to represent those patterns in beads. And a new pattern took shape in my mind, I sketched out an idea in my sketchbook, now I can’t wait to put into thread.

Right after I finish my Fair entries, complete some earrings, get a pattern written down, and manage those chores!