Gift idea!

Treat your favorite tatter to a workshop!

I offer these two possibilities:

 Adapting Tatting Patterns using Sonata in Sunnyvale, CA at the Lace Museum. I’ll be guiding students through looking at vintage tatting patterns, taking inspiration from music for tatting designs, and step by step guidance through my pattern Sonata. Side trips to area museums and local attractions will be encouraged! I plan to visit San Francisco while I’m there.

Celebrating in the woods close to Spokane, Washington with Shuttlebirds. The theme is Mardi Gras. I’ll be teaching my Joy bookmark pattern, a snazzy way to decorate candle sticks, and guiding students through my motif inspired by a Bach Cantata. I hope to get lots of ideas for ways to use tatting in costumes for Laissez les bon temps!

Both of my classes at these workshops will be taught using needle and shuttle techniques. So, rest assured, the lace maker in your life will be creating wonderful lace! You can find the registration form on the LaceMuseum website to use as a gift registration for the Sonata workshop, or create a coupon to be redeemed for the weekend in the mountains. Registration will open beginning late January on the Shuttlebirds website.

We’ll see you there as we have tatting good fun!

Getting ready for ????

Well, still no sign of the pieces that went missing. I’ve entered them in the Fair confident that I would find them. But, no such luck! Ah well. The exposure at the Fair is limited. I would probably gain more if I had a booth in a Street Fair or participated in an Open Studio Tour. The former is sooo muchhh workkkk and the latter is too personal. I’m not the only one using the studio location, and I use it for organ also. I’d be hard pressed to seem relaxed and congenial. I think that’s very important in the artist community.

I’ve begun pulling together my samples for TAT Days next month. Nothing too crazy, just snippets of the patterns so people can see what I talk about. Pictures will be shared when I return. Now, it’s off to look at all the fantastic cars that are on display this week. I’ll be the one with the tatting shuttles in hand.

progress on Wiosna 2017

I’ve completed a few projects that came to light last week. Nothing very big. Nothing to show here. If you were in Pacific Grove last Sunday, you may have heard me play. Thanks, Laurie, for coming up to talk afterwards. I do plan to pursue the Pedals, Pipes, and Pizza. I’d like to expand the program to include adults, physics students, and other geeky musicians.

So, back to what’s on the shuttles. Another Candle Cuff is just a short chain away from being finished. I’ll use that chain to demonstrate hiding ends and blocking to the Study Group next week. This week we’re taking a break and I’m listening to a lecture about symphonic music given to non-musicians. I try to keep up with YouTube offerings, and have quite a bit of notes for myself. Today should be a great opportunity. More later.

I’ve begun Round 10 of my monster doily designed by Renulek:

I think things will pull together color/thread/bead with the next 2 rounds. This round is not as fiddly as the previous, but with a TOR and 3 BJ per repeat, it’ll take a while to complete all 24 repeats.

A walk by the Bay

Yesterday was another one of those days where I got distracted. A storm rolled in. We had a bit of damage to an area on the roof. I think it was mostly because it hadn’t rained in so long. While driving back from a meeting, I drove through a squall. Of course there was a gorgeous double rainbow! There were lots of people pulling into parking areas to snap pictures. I gave thanks they pulled over and didn’t try to snap it while driving. I’m sure they ended up posted. Along with the story of breaching whales capsizing aboat and damaging another. Life by the Bay…….

I spent most of my work time organizing, filing, filling shuttles, pulling out Advent and Christmas music, and watching the computer get used to another monster update. Thank goodness the harpsichord is close to the computer.  Today I look forward to completing those tasks on the computer. Really, I do. Just hope I can keep the back happy!

I’ve set up Round 10 of Wiosna 2017. And the shuttles are loaded for Candle Cuff #5. And my practice list is chosen. Time to get busy…..after a walk!

More Candle Cuffs finished

I’m beginning to look at my pattern collection with an eye towards developing classes I could teach. I would have never thought I could do that without the experience and encouragement that I’ve had with the OnLineclass. Thank you for that opportunity!

I think this Candle Cuff pattern could work nicely. Like theIce Drop pattern or the Ornament covers, I see many, many variations. Gotta try some out……

Another Candle Cuff finished

It’s very satisfying to finish a project. Especially when it will be enjoyed by Friend or Family. I’m still playing with the concept and coming up with more patterns. So far, nothing has percolated to the “to tat” list. I’ll admit, most of my design time is being taken by seeing what could be created to commemorate the anniversary of the composing of Stille Nacht. Again, nothing that seems promising enough to put into thread.

The Online class series is starting up! I have shuttles ready to enjoy new patterns! Each week, Georgia et al. present patterns that just beg to be tat. It’s so much fun to see what others are creating. Susan and her team will be discussing design concepts with tips and tricks galore. And I get a kick out of cheering on the Beginners that Cyn works with. It will be a challenge to keep shuttles at the ready for those design ideas.

Ornament for the Fair

What do you do with tatted bits that can’t be used? Well, find a use for them!

Sonata for Bach Festival

Remember this? 

While tatting Sonata, I missed a crucial join in the next to last round. The result? Get out the scissors. I discovered this when I was very close to finishing the last round, so what to do with that tatting?

Experiment with covering an ornament ball.

Handy Hands sells these, and I picked up some glass ones during a sale. 

The black looked very nice against the redish metallic looking glass.

I had a shuttle with a bit of green left from the Candle Cuff, so get out some bling thread and put it all together.

The judge liked it too!

Moral: Don’t bin any tatting…….

Candle cuff ready

Here’s what I came up with for the candle cuff pattern. 

I like the colors and shape of the elements. I hope they work for the candelabra.

Frustrated a bit......

The pattern for the candle cuff just isn’t coming together as I had hoped. No worries. 

The entries for the Fair are not all going to be done. No worries. 

What I’ve been spending time on is much more important!

I had the pleasure to help to produce, and enjoy, this:

http://www.saintdunstanschurch.org/event/music-at-st-dunstans-2018-08-05-chase-olson/

Here’s more info:

http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/entertainment/music/young-artist-takes-on-st-dunstan-s-dobson-tracker-organ/article_e9c18582-95ea-11e8-a798-2f23083c37cc.html

The concert was wonderful and well received. If you were one of the few who didn't heard him play, he'll be back. But school comes first for a few months.

And to work out the frustration with the shuttles, I tried out this Benile pattern:

Dragonfly by Nina Libin

Dragonfly by Nina Libin

I love it! The top one is tatted in Crochet cotton size 10 with size 11 beads. The bottom one is tatted in Lizb Metalic Gem Stone. I do like working with this thread. I hope to see more sizes available soon.

It was a bit tricky to get the beads loaded so that they ended up at the proper place in the pattern, but I made notes and now it’s a fun thing to tat. Since all the beads are loaded prior to tatting, it’s a good one to do at the Fair!

Week 2 of the Festival

Most of the concerts are repeats, so I’ve had a bit more space to breathe. While waiting, I watched this little one:

I could see the throat working hard, but alas, the singing wasn’t audible to my ear. Perhaps that what Beethoven felt?

On a tatting note, candle cuff version 3 is looking promising. Hopefully, a picture soon.

Festivals and such

Festivals are addicting.

You have the opportunity to immerse yourself. When I attend an AGO Convention, it’s often 4-5 concerts on a dozen different instruments in 4 days. Bach Festival is 2 or 3 mini, or full, concerts each day for a couple of weeks. And that doesn’t include the free events! I’ve yet to attend the Jazz Festival here. Maybe because my instrument doesn’t often end up outside, I’m not drawn to outdoor music. Music outside is fun, just not what I think of first. And then there’s the daily life that has to be fit between all those concerts.

On a tatting note….. I have two more ideas for candle cuffs. I’m hoping to try one out today…. Between hearing another concert or two.