ITD Redux & Mixed Media bookmark

International Tatting Day Do-Over
Two weeks ago I made several attempts to tat for myself on Tatting Tea Tuesday but ended up spending most of my day wrestling with my aging desktop computer. Of course I managed to eat chocolate.

Today is the day I have chosen to have an ITD do-over. Serendipity struck when Paris Breakfasts shared loads of lovely red store fronts, shop windows, cafes...even chocolate fish!

Photo reprinted with permission
©2010 Paris Breakfasts

See? I don't make this stuff up. In France they celebrate April 1st with chocolate fish.

For my do-over, I loaded a fish-shaped shuttle with size 10 hand-dyed bamboo thread from Heather, The Tarnished Tatter. Having never tatted with bamboo, it was tantalizing to think of the lace possibilities this new fiber might bring.

Fish-shaped shuttle with size 10 bamboo HDT.

Heather's Etsy shop describes this thread as VERY soft and perhaps not suitable for tatting, but very nice for crochet and other uses.

It is very soft, but in that dreamy bamboo way. This would be incredible for knitted, crocheted, embroidered or woven baby projects. It works for tatting, but is not as crisp as some other threads. 

For the record I am a size 10 hater. So I was reluctant to try this. But as soon as I saw that it was a bamboo thread my inner fiber fanatic took over. I love knitting with bamboo blends because of the softness and renew-ability of bamboo.

Wouldn't it be grand to try a 6-cord cotton/bamboo blend? What are the chances that thread manufacturers would give it a test run? (That dreamy softness must be having an effect on me.)

Heather sent me more scrumptious HDTs in size 50 (my fave-o-rite thread size!) as a thank you for test tatting swans for her latest book. (A really good book, by the way. Full of fun "doodles" like a whale, swans, even a baby dragon hatching from an egg!) So I have more to try and more to show.

But this post is getting rather long, so I will save it for another day.

Mixed Media Bookmark
Time to pull out a cherished mixed media bookmark that I have carried with me since my adolescent days. (Back when rocks were soft and dirt was new. LOL!)

Felt Mitten Bookmark, circa 1975

My twin sister and I made dozens of these to sell for a Horsethief Days festival sidewalk sale when we were 12 or 13 years old. What is significant (besides being cute) is that the bookmark looks as fresh and new today as it did the day it was made.

My grandmother tatted all the lace – yards and yards of lace edging for us to decorate these felt mittens. She tatted in front of the television, her hands flying back and forth amazingly fast. I can still hear the click-click-clicking of her shuttle.

It only took her a few weeks to tat all the lace we needed. For me to tat the same amount today would take a month or more. I still recount stitches more than once before closing a ring or finishing a chain. I still slow down to make sure each stitch is uniform and there are no gaps. In short, I obsess.

Because I have collected vintage threads by the hat box full, I can tell you what thread she used – Star tatting cotton in shade #176. (a lovely variegated combo of white, yellow and lavender).

 Well, I have run out of time and must take The Sprout to his swimming lesson! See you all later tonight!

A Reason for Lace?

Posing Daylillies' question for open discussion:

Is it possible for tatting to have more relevance for today’s lifestyle?

I, for one, have been asked to defend tatting many times. Daylily makes some good points and raises a good question at the end of her blog post - A Reason for Lace?

Jennifer, who authors the blog My Tatting, posts a lovely photo of the Ring of Tatters demo table from the Harrogate Lace Fair 2010. Some of the creative items on display may surprise and inspire you.

Aside from jewelry, what sort of tatted item is more relevant to today's lifestyle?

Check out this breathtaking tatted wedding snood.

There is no denying the artistry in Tattyhead's Bridal Headband.

Tatting  makes the mag circuit thanks to Elizabeth Zipay, who authors Elizabeth's Lace: Tatted Tales: Unique Lace Jewelry

A needlework sampler is considered to be "old fashioned," but this tatted alphabet sampler, made my mimizuku, is exquisite and would make a timeless piece of framed art.

As often as I have defended tatting, not a single person has walked away convinced. Usually the looks on faces seem to say, "just as I thought, old fashioned."  That makes me sad.

Unpick, Retro Tat or Tonk?

Beverly Elrod, BellaOnline's Tatting Editor, has proposed adding a new word to the tatting lexicon.

It wasn't so long ago that I picked up the term "retro tat" from other clever bloggers.

Retro tat refers to picking out stitches (or knots). Beverly's proposed new word – tonking – refers to the same thing.

(Click on the link for her full explanation.)

Do we need a new word? Maybe so or maybe not.

My humble opinion is that there is room for a new word in the tatting lexicon. Word diversity gives language rich dimension.

And it is always nice to know what a person means, isn't it?

So I am spreading the word about Beverly's new word.

Take the poll at the top of the blog and vote for your favorite!

Busy, Balmy and Beautiful

It is a balmy and bustling day on the tiny tract of terra firma that Ambitatterous annexes in Tat Land.

For springtime, it is a veritable heat wave. Mid 80's! But the breeze is just right to take tatting outdoors while The Sprout plays in the car.

This week for Tatting Tea Tuesday, I must catch up on a few weeks worth of test tatting that I have had up my sleeve. And break out the iced tea pitcher!

Not long ago (when the days were gray, drizzly and we all were searching for signs of Spring) our beloved Tatskool was locked away in her dying shed, feverishly perfecting a combination of yellows, oranges and greens to infuse our dreary doldrums with a burst of fresh, daffodilly color. You've seen her post about it in Transitions No. 2 OYG!

Well, I begged for a sample and tatted up this OYG Trial 1 heart sample to add to the Flame Lantana heart I tatted at the end of February. It is my hope that a few more Transitions trials will result in a Transitions Heart Bookmark. (Rainbow Heart Bookmark designed by Betsy Evans.)

Stage 2 of Transitions Heart Bookmark
I couldn't stop there, so another Iris Niebach Heart motif was born. While unblocked, it has six sides and dimpled rings to really show off those gorgeous heart shapes.

Iris Niebach heart motif made using OYG Trial 1
Special thanks to Dale Marie for getting me hooked on this motif. You can visit her blog, Shuttle and Thread, to see the gorgeous doily she made for her mom. I am hoping she receives her International Tatting Day giveaway prize in the mail today!

Eventually I will add a seven-motif doily or perhaps a dresser scarf to my 25 Motif Challenge. Right now I'm having a ball using Iris' heart motif to practice loosening my notoriously tight (death grip) tension.

But if you read through Tatskool's post you will know that the OYG trials resulted in TWO gorgeous new colorways — Daffodil Dell and Just Daffodils.

Here is a sample of Julie Patterson's Spring Bookmark using Just Daffodils for the blossoms and a dark, moss green solid for the stems. Both in size 20.

Tatskool's link (see Transitions No. 2 OYG above) includes a sample made using a lighter green Flora thread.

Her Flora green perfectly compliments Just Daffodils. But I still like the contrast of the darker shade.

My goal is to tat a full seven-to-eight inches, then join a matching length to make a double-width bookmark. My complicated brain demands it. With a tassel tail. *sigh*

This week I did start tatting the first of several entwined hearts for a wedding project on which I have volunteered to assist. But I can't show you. The reveal of these lovely hearts is best left to the primary tatter. I am just a volunteer helper who doesn't wish to steal her thunder.

All this and another Easter has come and gone without me breaking out the Vanilla Sky I have been hoarding all year. *heavy sigh* I do hope Dale Marie enjoys hers!

Thanks for joining me this week for Tatting Tea Tuesday. Wishing you all blissful me time to create something beautiful.

See you next Tuesday for more communi-tea!

Happy International Tatting Day!

Wishing you all a fun-filled International Tatting Day!

This wonderful animation was created by Tatman, aka Mark Myers! He has granted me permission to post it on the blog today. Thank you, Mark!

Please forgive me for dragging out the suspense, I know you all are checking in to find out who is the lucky giveaway winner!

For the past 24 hours my desktop computer has been stubbornly refusing to cooperate with my requests to open the Excel spreadsheet of giveaway entrants.

The upside for you is a few of you got your entries in under the wire just before I chose the winner!

After plying it with soothing promises of hard drive clean-up and de-fragmentation, the computer yielded.

All entrants were assigned a different number and those who were eligible for multiple entries were assigned two (and in a few cases three) numbers.

So without further adieu, after running the random number generator to pick the winning number...

The winner is Dale Marie

A big lacey congratulations to you!

If you want to read Tatskool's opinion of this gift pack, go to International Tatting Day 2010!

Tatskool received a gift set several weeks ago as a thank you for sending me a skein of Vanilla Sky HDT to add to the giveaway package! She has graciously been waiting to blog about it until I announced the winner.

And don't forget about TattingChic's 2nd blogoversary giveaway! You have until Sunday evening to get in on this goodie!

Tatting Tea Tuesday March 30, 2010 Recap

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NEXT — GIVEAWAY WINNER ANNOUNCED!

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Yesterday Sw4nkyL4c3r dropped by for Tatting Tea Tuesday (I love it when she does this!) and we nattered on from 9:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. It was an early start, so we (The Sprout, Sw4nkyL4c3r and I) settled in with cinnamon rolls and tea for breakfast.

As always, there was so much to show and so much to share, that in two shakes of a puppy-dog's tail it was lunch time. We lunched, I put The Sprout down for a nap and we got down to the serious business of tatting. She wanted to teach me needle tatting and here is what I have to show for my afternoon lesson.

My First Attempt at Needle Tatting
I showed off my County Fair project (so far) and we pored over tatting books and discussed the differences between needle and shuttle tatting, threads, the up-coming season of tatting classes and events at the Historic Ben Lomond House and loads of other topics.

I even let her get a word in edgewise! LOL!

Next time we meet I will teach her to use a shuttle. And she will show me more of the rose-themed tatting she is doing for the Ben Lomond House's May Rose Garden event. Yipee!

It is so invigorating to commiserate with another tatter. Haven't we all felt isolated at one time or another?

I encourage you to gather with another tatter any time you can -- whether it is during a car cruise, at a tea shop, in your local library, on the front (side or back) porch, at midnight, mid-day or any time.

Come join me for Tatting Tea Tuesday if ever you find yourself in the metropolitan DC area. I'll ply you with tea and treats.(But be prepared for me to ask to take your photo for the blog.)

Are You Ready for International Tatting Day?

It is almost here! International Tatting Day falls on Thursday, April 1, 2010.

If this is your first time celebrating ITD, here are a few suggestions to get you started, courtesy of Marty McCarthy:

International Tatting Day
1. Eat all the chocolate you desire.
2. Wear a little tatting and tell everyone you meet about tatting
3. Tat only for yourself, only what YOU want to tat
4. Remember (or Honor) the tatters who have gone before you and contributed so much to our art.

And by all means, you can send cards.

In Honor of Myrtle Hamilton

In 2003, I received this exquisite tatted heart in a tatting exchange. Myrtle Hamilton had designed the heart. Terry McGuffin tatted and sent the heart to me, complete with a hand-drawn diagram and written instructions.

Terry's heart is an updated version of Myrtle Hamilton's heart from 1976. Myrtle's original heart was tatted using many cuts and ties. Terry's updated heart is done in one pass using lots of split rings and one small split chain (three stitches).

Terry describes the thread she used as a size 40 6-ply cotton with a nice, hard twist, made by a Japanese company and sold (in 2003) by Dr. Maggie. The thread came in a 10 gram ball.


It just so happens that I recently purchased a 10-gram ball of Japanese Olympus size 40. It certainly meets all of Terry's criteria, but I am only guessing that Olympus was the brand.

In honor of Myrtle Hamilton, who died in 2003 at the age of 107 (based on a conversation yesterday on the Here_be_Tatters forum.) I will tat her heart and remember her fondly.

If you would like to know more about the wonderful woman who contributed so much to our beloved art form, please read the Georgia Seitz tribute page celebrating the tatting and life of Myrtle Hamilton.

Then gather up your gear and chocolate and prepare to share your tatting with the unsuspecting public. Hee, hee! Maybe I'll see you!