Progress

I need to remind myself regularly of my goals and my progress in reaching those goals. It keeps me motivated, focused, and friends and family appreciate being around me more. Lest you think I’m some overachiever, sometimes my goal is simply to make it through the day without _______ing. Sometimes my goal is to not work on ________ today. Musicians and artists seem to have terrible work/life balance. It took me a lifetime, but I think I’ve finally learned how to set goals and track my progress. 

This week, I’ve worked on my goal to attend Bach Festival events, clean house, work in the yard, and decide what I’ll enter in the Fair for judging and display. As part of that, I finished round 4 of the wonderful doily Renulek designed for this year’s Spring doily:

Wiosna 2017 by Renulek

I know what I want to do in the next round. So, that is entered in the task list for the next few days. It’ll take me awhile to have something to show, and I may just enter it in the Fair, so it probably won’t appear here until September. If you’re local, you’ll be able to see it at the Fair!

I learned so much!!!!

Not all of it Weaving with Neutrals; much of it about how to communicate. Yes, there were the awkward conversations that go along with such lessons. So, when I didn’t have my foot in my mouth, I tried to explore. Asilomar is wonderful! Our room was windows on 3 sides with a fireplace on the remaining wall. We needed a good fire as the wind off the bay was chilly! Despite all the glass, I really didn’t feel like I was in a fishbowl. I guess because those most frequently passing by were the deer.

I took a break yesterday and did some pleasure reading: Aunt Dimity: Detective by Nancy Atherton. Good short read. Quote of the day: “I returned home with so many knots in my stomach that I felt as if I’d gulped a mugful of macramé.” My stomach is fine, thank you. I’ll be catching up tatting the rest of the week, so my knots won’t be so filling. I doubt I will have extra knots.

Enough silliness!

As soon as I get my samples photographed, I’ll share here. Oh, and this sold

variation on Ice Drop by Diane Cademartori

in the auction. It didn’t raise as much money as I was hoping, but the comments by established, successful professional fiber artists were very appreciative and encouraging. I’m glad I put in all the effort. I have several ideas in the sketch book now! Thank you all!!!

I’m ready!

The workshop starts tomorrow and I’m ready. I’ve dressed the loom. It took 2 tries at beaming, which is NOT recommended, but with this warp was necessary. The biggest mistake: I read 16 as 10. That threw off my math which threw everything off. Corrected now. And ready to go!

Remember this?

Ice Drop by Diane Cadamartori

In case you’ve been AWOL: http://www.georgiaseitz.com/2017/patterns/dianedpurplefudgeicedrop.pdf

Ice Drop in Spring Flower Lizbeth

I’ve been tatting up some Ice Drops in spring colors as a thank you. I’m pleased with how it looks. 

For those AWOL, I’ll be joining you for the next few days, except I put in my paperwork. I’ve got leave to learn and soak up as much as I can at Asilomar enjoying CNCH. See you when I return!

WIP done!

I’ve managed to finish a couple of larger projects! Very satisfying feeling. The only project I can really share with a picture is this:

Awareness Star of Hope by Kathy J. Hodge

For the pattern, visit the Class site: http://www.georgiaseitz.com/2015/kathyhawarenessstarofhope.pdf 

Several months ago at a Carmel Crafts Guild meeting, a fellow fiber enthusiast shared a bit of ribbon with me. Seems it's nylon or something synthetic. It had good tensile strength, wouldn’t tangle as I worked with it, so I asked for enough to work with for a tatting “something.” I can’t wait to see what she thinks of the finished piece. I haven't found much available from my favorite yarn sources. I hope to pick up more.

I’m continuing to play with the thread and beads that arrived last week. 

And I’ve finished the second round of Renulek’s Winosa 2017. I hope I can finish this by Fair 2018.

LeClerc loom sample

Nilus LeClerc F series

One of the benefits, among many, of connecting with the Carmel Craft Guild is access to resources. There is so much information and knowledge shared. Members encourage each other, hold each other accountable, and generally network for Fiber. 

Recently, I agreed to store a floor loom for the Guild. It was built by the Canadian company LeClerc Looms around the same time as the house we live in. It seemed to settle in and say, “I’m home!” 

I decided to refurbish the parts enough to use the loom for the Beginning Weaving class. Success! 

sampler from Chandler book

It’s just about impossible to get a good picture of the sample I wove, but here’s a detail of the twill sample. 

The idea was to weave plain weave with balanced, weft, and warp faced sections; then weave 2/2 twill with balanced, weft, and warp faced sections. I learned a lot, I still need to get a few more parts replaced, and I need to improve my techniques gobs.

The musicians among you probably already have seen where the 2/2 twill sections will lead. Can I weave 4/4 and then add some tatting to represent the melodies/harmonies and other details?

From Concept to Art

Has it really been 2 weeks since the last post? Mmmm Guess I didn’t realize how little I’ve been keeping up with. Or, I have been juggling too much on the calendar. 

I cut out a good bit of tatting on 1 project, haven’t figured out yet how to finish a second, rearranged the creative “stuff” in the house, and been supporting creative folks in the community. I promise to write posts on those activities soon.

Today, I’ll be reporting on yesterday.

Who: Tatting Tuesday Study Group

What: Tatting display with examples of tatting from all over the world.

Where: Lacis in Berkeley, CA

When: Only a few short hours looking at the tatting after many long hours in the car driving there and back.

How: Thank you Joan and Zanie for helping pull off this adventure!

The display was wonderful. I’ve seen photos of many of the pieces on my computer screen. I recognized almost all of the names. So, seeing the tatting in person was just plain awesome. Plus, there were quite a few impressive vintage pieces. Not much information for the curious on who tatted with what thread from what pattern. But, the museum does their best to curate what they have; and their focus is lace which includes tatting and all things lace. If you can find a way to Adeline St., please do. They are only open from Noon to 5 PM which makes avoiding traffic a bit tough, but the journey was worth it. 

Back on the loom

I’m back at the loom. Partly because of a project one of the Tatting Tuesday Study Group participants is working on. She used her loom to weave up a hanky. Very nice work! Now she’s tatting an edging to go with it. Perhaps she’ll let me snap a picture someday.

I love Doubleweave and have been intrigued with the process of using a chart, like cross stitch or needlepoint use, to weave up a design. I have a chart for a small cross stitch of an organ with BACH on it. I’ve always wanted to weave up a sample.

You remember the flag I’m working on? Well, I’ll be finishing it to look like a flag from the era our house was built. Another story. Anyway. I got the idea to use a ring & chain pattern similar to the flag to represent the pipes. Then I thought, if I weave the chart Doubleweave, it’ll be like a black and white photo. Then I could add the tatting on top to give it some texture. Like the edging to the hanky.

So, I’m back to the loom……

Butterfly! Butterfly!

Celtic Knot Butterfly by Rozella F Linden

Well, I proved I could. I can needle tat passibly. This is the Celtic Knot Butterfly pattern from Rozella F. Linden’s book Celtic Tatting Knots & Patterns published in 2004 by Handy Hands.

We discovered in the Tatting Study Group that there were some errors corrected in my copy. I guess I have a later printing than the other ladies. So, much of time last Tuesday was spent proofing for pattern errors. I must say, that has to be the part of designing I absolutely detest! My eyes start to cross very quickly!

Anyway, I’m not entirely happy with my work on this butterfly. It has nothing to do with the pattern, nor using needle rather than shuttle. I chose the wrong size thread for the outer round of black. It just doesn’t work for the pattern. I may try again; after I work up a square motif that was shared with me at the last Carmel Craft Guild meeting. Thank you Nancy!

Celtic Knot Picot

Here’s my sample of Celtic picots.

This continues the trend of combining projects/classes:

OnLine class on 3-14-2016

Tatting Tuesday study group with Carmel Crafts Guild members

Using up the left overs on shuttles.

Well, the last isn’t an official project, but it does keep things a bit more tidy!

Repurposing? no, just Combining!

I was able to complete a sample of an edging for this scarf: 

edging on silk scarf

This combined a few projects/classes into 1 item:

Indigo dye program with Carmel Craft Guild

Nellie Hall Youngburg project with OnLine Tatting class

Demonstrating fiber arts to students at CSU Monterey Bay

I love it when a plan comes together!

And the next challenge is.......

Being able to meet with local tatters is a newer experience for me. I had the pleasure of getting to know a few tatters at the Lace Museumin Sunnyvale, but the meeting time was awkward for me and their main challenge project was frustrating for me. Don’t get me wrong, they are lovely ladies and very dedicated. I just wasn’t getting the whole ornament ball cover thing at that time.

Susan's first celtic tatting

The Tatting Tuesday group here in Monterey is a different story. About the same numbers of tatters come to the get-togethers. There is a wide range of experience and skill level and interest. The current challenge is “celtic” tatting. That’s the term applied to patterns that come out looking like a celtic knot. Typically, elements are interwoven; usually chains. Here’s a sample submitted by a newbie tatter:

And yes, that's a Tinker Toy that she repurposed as a shuttle.Smart lady!

I plan to start my sample today; after I get back from demonstrating weaving at CSU Monterey Bay. More on that later too.  

Tatting Tuesday with tea in Monterey

It has been my pleasure to start a Tatting Tuesday group. When the Study Group was proposed, I agreed to host and mentor and teach as needed. Tuesday was chosen as a good day. Interest was expressed by a half dozen people. We were off and tatting.

I realized after meeting for the month of February that Tatting Tuesday groups is somewhat of a tradition. It seems that there are several such groups across the world. What I didn’t know is that one must have tea available for the enjoyment of the lace makers. Now I do. So, each Tuesday afternoon, a few tatters gather in my studio, pull out their lace, listen and discuss what they have discovered, and generally enjoy the journey.

Some of the ladies have been tatting for quite a long time. Some are just discovering the world of lace. Each week, someone has brought something to show-and-tell or share. Last week, we browsed a collection of Dover reprint books, Russian and Japanese volumes, and of course chocolate!

One of these weeks, we’ll have a shuttle envy hour. Perhaps another we’ll have a romp through a new technique or two. At the very least, it will be a pleasurable afternoon of Tatting Tuesday with tea! 

How many people can you teach tatting to at once?

I managed 10…..sort of.

Last week ended with a delightful day. I spent Friday afternoon presenting a hands-on program about tatting to a local Craft Guild. Now, they are called Carmel Craft Guild, but they aren’t like the “crafters” I’d gotten to know working with the Girl Scout troop. Most of the members are spinners or weavers. Most knit and/or crochet or even tat. Quite a few quilt, embroider, needlepoint or sew. What they create with fiber of all kinds is incredible. They are a Guild in the sense that they meet once a month or so. There are study groups that meet weekly or more informally. They sponsor and organize workshops and demonstrations. They are a fun group!

So, how do you teach a group lesson?

Well, start with an open invitation. Talk about tatting. Hand out some simple supplies of thread and a chopstick to teach the knot. The group will thin out a bit, but those left usually get excited and take off with a loaned tatting needle or tatting shuttle. I like to celebrate when someone gets the flip with a noisemaker. The noise usually scares off 1 or 2, and attracts 1 or 2 more.

I’ll be starting a tatting study group soon. It’s going to be a blast! Some knotty fun!!

In the meantime, I’ll be working on Jane’s TIAS. What will it be???????

A successful workshop

I’m back from the Doubleweave workshop. I gained so much knowledge, a bit of skill, a huge amount of understanding, and a few friends. I have so many ideas running around in my head, there won’t be time in my life to try them all. Today, I’m going to sit down with my calendar and sift through the “to-tat” pile and “to-play” pile and “to-design” pile and “to weave” pile and come up with a reasonable plan.

Now before you fall off your chair laughing, I ask you to remember that I’m no longer cooking, cleaning, and chauffeuring for kids. That’s worth about 25 hours a week. Time enough for me to make a dent and accomplish something.

I truly enjoy workshops. When organists gather, we always give each other great support. Tatters always encourage each other as techniques are explored. Weavers are right there with the support of each other. For the Doubleweave workshop, the group of weavers included 2 tatters, several spinners, and a few quilters. It was great fun just to bounce ideas off each other. Getting encouragement from friends and family is important. Nothing can replace that. Getting encouragement from people who love what you love and maybe don’t know you well enough yet is a real shot in the arm for getting ideas into thread.

One weaver brought a few pieces she had done designing a cloth to represent music. I’m not saying that well. Her pieces were quite beautiful. Rather like abstract art in one sense, but very recognizable in another. She began with analyzing the music; similar to my idea with the Saint-Saens. Then she set up the thread on the loom to weave a representation of the melody and harmony. Wonderful work!

Another weaver took breaks by picking up her shuttle and working on a house warming gift: a very nice doily. The 3^rd round is motifs that are small doilies themselves. Her picots were so even and lovely. I plan to ask her to mentor/coach me on my tatting. She retires soon and will be traveling and creating up a storm.

My sampler is still on the loom. I just ran out of gas working on the last few sections. The lace section is a bit fiddly, so that will take a bit longer. Then the pick up section. I want to try some Christmas designs just to see what they look like. Maybe for next year. I realized that I’ve never woven a Log Cabin type design. And Overshot is simple in Doubleweave. More to play with!

I’d better get crackin’ on the plan. Otherwise, I’ll be spinning my wheels and nothing important will get done.

Focused Dreams

Time off-line has allowed me to dream more. I’ve been able to slow my energy down enough to focus. When I create, I tend to lose track of time. Needless to say, when my energy was focused on raising small children, I didn’t create much. I did try to keep my fingers in it a bit. Efforts along those lines usually got tossed in a box unless they were given as gifts. I spent a couple of happy hours looking through one of those boxes. Of course I have many more ideas now. Once I start putting those ideas into thread, I’ll feel like I’m not dreaming so much. That will be a good feeling!

Today I get the pleasure of helping the Carmel Craft Guild set up their display for the Fair. I’ve yet to really grasp what this Fair will be like. I can’t wait to discover it all!