Tatting Resources, etc

 If you came across my blog because you're looking up tatting, here's some online resources

Craft bibliography website (check to see if that author/book is real - AI fakes are a real problem)

Antique Pattern Library - free, old patterns. Can be hard to decipher.

Online Tatting Class Founded by Georgia Seitz, the videos were live streamed

Noo Bear's tatting tutorials (videos)

Jane Eborall's technique tutorial (drawings)

Jane Eborall's patterns (free patterns)

Sparrow Spite's videos 

A Twisted Picot has some videos and they carry supplies

This one starts from loading the shuttle (videos) 

A selection of other sources to get supplies (A Twisted Picot link above) (no particular order)

Herschner's has perle cotton (and floss, but mostly embroidery, knitting, and other fiber arts, etc; incl. kits)

 Lacis is a lace and textile museum, that also sells supplies and patterns

 Tatting Corner has tatting supplies as well as other crafts

 Handy Hands is another good shop

 You can also check Etsy for hand dyed thread and painted or crafted shuttles. 

Don't forget to check your local fiber shops and resale shops.

Trying to get back on schedule

 Went to see my parents last weekend. And since I took the train, I got some tatting done. Learning entwined rings, and trying in size 3 since size 40 about broke my brain.

 I tried it with some linen thread I had, but running out of thread and reloading messed me up.

 I made an earring from Marilee Rockley's book Tatting with Beaded Jewelry, but size 10 is a bit large/long for earrings for me. This will probably be a bag charm or a pendant.

 I've done it again in black size 20 thread. With smaller beads, too, of course. 

It snowed this week. We got about 3 inches of it. Then some melted and froze again. Then melted and froze again. 

Not far from my house, the day after it snowed

very wintry look

I got some shuttles from the craft resale shop. One is a Tatsy, with the instruction packet. There was a Boye shuttle in the same package, with some thread still on it. I tatted one of the patterns from the sheet.

I ran out of thread

 There was also an Aerlit,, with thread and a few rings tatted. I had to retro-tat a ring that had gotten twisted up, then continued the edging until I ran out of thread. I tat much tighter than that original tatter.

 As a bit of a giggle, I made a hat for a coworker's cold cat.

 

And I made progress on my scrap bag (from Karey Solomon's Bring on the Buttons) during Richard Embry's Tat & Chat yesterday.

And I spent some time practicing Marilee Rockley's technique for Victorian set split chain. I haven't mastered it, but I do have a better idea. Bad picture, but it was the only one I could get at the time.

 

Catching up I guess

Been busy, so here's a summary of my activities since the fair, in reverse order. There have been some other mending jobs, and some other tatting. Some trips via train to see family.

 

beaded lanyard (Kelly Slack wristband pattern)

original button basket design

beaded wristband (pattern by Kelly Slack from A Twisted Picot)

My pocket scarf in progress (pattern by Loomahat)

A green and yellow basket (playing with Victorian Sets)

Finally finished this bracelet

Finally put the jump ring on this pendant

darned a sock, and it's wearable

Some visible darning

a heart pattern (from a Palmetto Tat Guild hybrid meeting, Jan 2025)

Loom knit scarf slide, on fabric strip as demonstration

Martha Ess's Dorset button star/flake

Martha Ess's Dorset button teapot

A year in thread pt1

A year in thread (orts) pt2

Mended a glove

Darning to keep the hole from developing

Scarf slide, loom knit ribbon yarn

Look what I found at the craft resale shop!

Tri-Tatters got recognized for our demonstrations at Mordecai, etc

Dorset button (linen thread)

Look Ma! A blue ribbon!

Another blue ribbon!

The missing card was later found

 

My timing is now off

 I went to the fair yesterday. I saw my ribbons in person.

And I saw what beat my entries. Funny thing, I know both the people who made the entries who beat my framed tatting entry and at least I lost to worthy competition (not like the baby booties I entered a few years ago). 

I also found the hankie I meant to finish and enter this year. Guess I can now finish it and enter it next year. 

Spent some time talking to folks in the Village of Yesteryear, as usual. I don't get out to talk much while I'm working.

 

Judging is tomorrow (today)

I am composing this on Monday, but not publishing until Tuesday, after the judging. I doubt any of my readers (all 3 of you) are State Fair judges, but just in case. 

First, here's my Heritage Craft entry. It's a tatted reticule (style of purse) that's basically a bag with a drawstring. It's adapted from a vintage doily pattern. I used size 10 Lizbeth no. 182-spice cake.

I lucet braided the drawstring in dark brown crochet cotton and used the same thread for the single chain crochet to make the drawstring loops for the lining. The lining is satin (from a pillow case that died), and then, because I didn't feel like doing a French seam, I lined the lining with a sturdy poly-suede. I sewed the crochet chain between the layers of lining in loops. The drawstring is what's holding the outer tatting and the lining together.

Here's the only tatting category entry; Nonthreaded Needlework, Framed. It's Debbie Arnold's spiral heart pattern in Lizbeth white and metallic gold. I got the frame at a thrift shop.

For the first time, I entered the Art Trading Card category. Luckily, my partner had the sheet. Otherwise, I'd have had to buy a pack of 30 or a 100 sheets. I used a mixture of collage and tatting.

I used the same spiral heart for the Ornament category. I add the beads (both the white and the faceted) to the pattern and bent the hanger hook from an i-pin, after threading more beads on it.

In Mixed Media Jewelry, I entered this brooch. It's a 1941 pattern, Carnation Boutonniere in New Things Happen to Tatting, Book 159 (The Spool Cotton Company, 1941) found on Internet Archive. Inspired by Carolyn (one of our Tri-Tatters), I also used beads and added a button to the center.

I took my car to be inspected early Saturday, but alas, it would not pass without some work being done. And the part needed was not on site so they had to order it. They estimated it would take about 2 hours for it arrive. It took just over an hour, but then they had to squeeze my job in between other jobs and all told, I was there about 3 hours. So I decided to get lunch and run an errand. 

I went home to attach the tags to all my entries and didn't leave until about 3 pm. I didn't check the NC State Football schedule. I arrived just before tip off. AKA lots of traffic and detours. I also got to sit through a light cycle as I watched 24 police cars, with lights and sirens, 1 roadside assistance vehicle, and a motorcycle cop go through the intersection. 

Still got done dropping off my entries (all 5!) and home in good time. 

Had gaming on Sunday, that's why I didn't just wait until Sunday to deliver my entries. Our GM is no longer living in this area so we rely on technology. Which was not cooperating. But we still got through the expected encounter, plus. We nerfed the 1st encounter thanks to identifying what we were fighting and having an effective counter to their strongest (and most time consuming to counter) attack. Then someone had the right spell to counter their strongest defense and that's all she wrote.

So we had another encounter, although we had to handwave the last foe due to timing. It just the one and we were in good enough shape to take it out, with a minimum of consumables used and without any of use being too seriously hurt (player with the healer is really good).

I have also started a pattern that I am going to submit to teach at the next Tat Days. I thought it might be too similar to one of Karey Solomon's but I checked with her and she said it isn't.

Shhh, it's a secret

 Okay, not really a secret. But I try not to post my finished State Fair entries until after the judging, so you won't see them until next week. 

However, I do have 3/5 done. I would like a display card for 2 of them, but other than that the ornament and the mixed media jewelry pieces are done. The heritage craft one is done and it turned out to be multicraft (tatting, sewing, lucet braiding, and I even crocheted a chain). 

My frame piece is mostly done. I've finished the tatting, but I still need to frame it. I cleaned the glass yesterday. I also need to get back fabric and cut it to size.

My last entry is about half done (2 of the 4 art trading cards). But it also needs a sleeve, and I plan to get that on Saturday (the same day I turn them in). 

Saturday, we had our local tatters meeting. 5 of us in all made it, including one person who is learning. One of our members (who sadly hasn't been able to attend meetings recently), had gotten someone's destash of craft supplies. There was 1 good-sized box of needlepoint kits (including a couple purses), plus 6 boxes (think boot boxes) of other supplies, including one that had 3 c. 1967 student knitting manuals. I think the original owner taught knitting. They were also very organized as all the boxes were labeled. 

Turns out that one of the balls of size 10 was the perfect color to make the drawstring for my reticule. I could have used the ecru I had on hand, but this was perfect. Nothing to buy, I just used what I had already plus that one ball of gifted thread.

Carolyn brought 2 new books she bought. The bookmark book by Robin Perfetti is gorgeous. I'm going to have to get it at some point. Gretchen showed off this pretty wreath ornament she made. She said it's a free pattern online, and I'm going to have to find it.

Oh, and here's my year in thread ornament. I have some threads to add to it but this is mostly it.

Oh and on the way home from the meeting, I saw 2 deer grazing on the size of the ~8 lane highway. Luckily, they decided to stay on the shoulder.

Has it really been 2 weeks?

 Events:

I volunteered at a charity golf tournament. And I saw a heron.

 

Hurricane Helene hit North Carolina.

I finished tatting the carnation.

Another of my aunts died (this morning). 

I tatted an ornament for competition. 

Went to Greensboro to celebrate my Dad's birthday (belatedly). 

I volunteered to be a pirate on Talk Like a Pirate Day at the Emergency Preparedness Event (to attract attention and hand out cards with a link on emergency planning website). That's professional make up by the way, marred by wearing glasses as I ate lunch.

Progress and Plans

 Tri-Tatters met today. Only 4 of us made it, but we had some visitors stop by. I made progress on the carnation boutonniere.

 

carnation boutonniere in progress

I got my Covid and flu vaccines on Wednesday. 12 hours later my body reacted, "We've been invaded!" I went to bed with a fever. By the time I woke up, the fever was broken, but I was exhausted. I took off from work (yay, sick days) and slept for 6-7 hours (with a break in the middle to think about lunch). I skipped gaming because I was still not up to par. 

Tatting Progress and Other Matters

 I finally finished my lattice edging (except for clean up). And as I held it up, preparing to pin it to my bag before sewing it down, I learned I had made a moebius edging. I had somehow twisted it while joining the end to beginning. I had top open 2 rings, retrotat one completely, retrotat a chain (but only a few ds long), and partially retrotat the next to last ring. But I redid the join I messed up and now it's on to clean up and sewing. 

Lattice edging, needing clean up

I started the carnation brooch, but I can't remember if I meant to put beads on the rings or not. I estimate I have more the 300 beads, but that's for 3 rounds of chains. I loaded the beads last year, I think but didn't get started tatting until, well, this weekend.

Carnation boutonniere started

I made a couple more art trading cards. I used collage and mixed media (aka tatting) and used some cardstock as a base. 

art trading card

 I started drinking diet drinks when Coke had a vanilla Coca-cola. However, while I loved the flavor, it was too sweet, while the diet version dialed down the sweetness to my preference. When they stopped making diet Vanilla Coke, I turned to other diet drinks because my tastebuds had shifted and most sodas were too sweet. Mostly I drink Cheerwine Zero when I can get it. When I run out of my stash (I have to bootleg from a couple counties over because our local bottler doesn't carry the 16 or 20 oz bottles), I usually turn to diet Dr. Pepper. Except, I have observed that the diet Dr. Pepper really sparks my appetite. I feel like I'm starving. And it's just that one. Diet Pepsi, Diet Coke, Diet Mountain Dew, etc do not do this to me. 

F, one of my friends from high school is back in the area visiting family. We try to meet up at least once and we had lunch together on Saturday. Due to some very odd traffic, I was half an hour late, but we sat and talked for 3 hours. 

I was supposed to go see my parents, but there was a festival taking over the downtown area, including the train station parking lot. My dad decided he didn't want to fight with that traffic, so we postponed. I wrote Mom a letter instead.

I need to think about what I'm entering at the fair this year. I often use my Palmetto Tat Day projects, but I'm not sure about doing that this year.