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Friday, July 6, 2012

Tatting Tea Tuesday - Contemplating Hot Wire

In 2011 Kreinik began marketing a new thread called Hot-Wire. The pitch was that it would make quilters and stitchers sit up and take notice. I wondered, can you tat with it?

The Kreinik Thread blog describes Hot-Wire as a wired metallic braid. Robin at Needlepoint Study Hall shows it alongside embroidery floss in this photo.

A second blog post shows how well it adds dimensional embellishments to needlepoint art.  Details

It is probably too big for shuttle tatting. Can needle tatters work with it?

But as a trimming like ric-rac or coronation cord or braids were used in the early part of the 20th century? Hmmm.....


Pat Winter of Pat Winter Gatherings blog shares her dimensional dragon fly with sheer wings -- which is adorable -- but check out the tatted edging in her blog background.  I ask you, hand or machine-made?  (Got distracted there for a moment....)

On this blog, the Faux-Stumpwork dragonfly appears directly above Jane Eborall's tatted dragonfly! (See, I knew this Hot Wire thing would cycle back to tatting...)

The Kreinik web site says All of the Hot-Wire colors have a matching Kreinik metallic thread color. So if Hot-Wire works as an embellishment in tatting the filament can be added to the lace.

Hot-Wire looks to be similar to DMC Memory Thread, which is sold on 3-meter "shuttles" instead of spools. DMC Memory Thread only comes in 3-yard bits. The Kreinik is available in 3-meter spools.

Both are thick threads. But imagine the possibilities.

I have watched my thread shops for a year, hoping to try some. Haven't seen it yet in my corner of Tat Land. Please share your thoughts if you have already tried this for tatting!  

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Boldly Going: Star Trek Tatting

The following excerpt from a 1958 White House document titled, "Introduction to Outer Space" sums it up:
“…the compelling urge...to explore and to discover, the thrust of curiosity that leads men to try to go where no one has gone before.”


If you are a Star Trek fan, the last line may sound familiar. It was the source for what could arguably be the most famous opening television monologue ever:

“Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Her five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.”

Okay, enough geekery. (Well, almost.)

Did you know that Battatter has patterned a Tatted Enterprise from the TV show Star Trek?

Ha, ha!  My hubby will love it when I tat him one of these!






Feeling in the mood for something a bit avant-garde? A tad tribble-like? How about this?

The Erotic Object: Surrealist Sculpture from the Collection: the fur-lined tea cup, 1936

Let's have a cup of virtual tea together and share what brings us joy. See you next Tuesday for more communi-tea!