Is Tatting Making a Comeback?

Do you believe everything you read in print?

Maybe or maybe not, but the printed word does seem to be more credible or valid at first glance. And the media (and occasional newsletter or blog) seems to be putting a comeback spin on their typical tatting coverage.

Just today I saw a nice photo from an Australian newspaper about a para cyclist gentleman tatter.  (Thank you, Cas in Australia, for sharing the story on the Here_Be_Tatters Yahoo Group list!)

Well, when it comes to tatting, WE are the experts. I am here to say that I BELIEVE. 

Georgia Seitz wrote in one of her 2011 BellaOnline Newsletter articles:

"I think this is a marvelous time to be a tatter. We have online so many vintage tatting publications to download for free that they alone should keep us tatting for decades.  And since the 1980's we have had a plethora of modern tatting designers publishing contemporary patterns."

This newspaper article from the Gadsden Times, January, 1981, discusses the resurgence of tatting:  Tatting Makes Comeback as Favorite Needle Art


This blog post from thread manufacturer DMC tackled the topic two days ago (Monday, August 20, 2012):

The DMC-Threads Blog:  Tatting is Making a Comeback!
[http://dmc-threads.com/learn-tat/]


Off the Grid News:  Tatting: An Old World Art
[http://www.offthegridnews.com/2012/08/10/tatting-an-old-world-art/]


The August 6, 2012 issue of MACLEAN’S (Canada’s National Magazine) has a good article on Tatting in their Fashion section (page 83).

Tatting tales: not just for grannies any more
[http://www2.macleans.ca/2012/07/26/tatting-tales-not-just-for-grannies-any-more/]


In January 2012, Downtown Life Magazine (Merced, CA) gave tatting a nice nod:

Craft in Cloth
[http://dmc-threads.com/learn-tat/]

Tatting Tea Tuesday - Crafty Tatting

This tutorial has me dreaming of watermark lace edgings on comfy cotton tees.

Watermark Tee Tutorial by Sweet Verbena

We're in back-to-school mode here at Silly Hat Central, buying school uniforms, a backpack, lunch gear etc.

Not a lot of tatting has been done, but I have demonstrated tatting at the county fair. Several block tatted animals, as well as my TIAS rooster (Norman), were given away to interested fair passersby.

That means more cute critters, earrings, small hearts, airplanes and the like must be made to replace the items I normally keep for displays. Fun tatting ahead!

Crochet and Tatting (Kukka) - around $40

Foreign Book Going Out of Print
A 2012 Japanese tatting book has recently gone out of print that may be of interest: Crochet and Tatting (Kukka) - cost is around $40.  SKU #T373

If you are a tatting book collector, you may wish to get one of these before they are gone!

Japanese text. Over 50 small tatted motifs and 50 small crochet motifs. Patterns include earrings, necklaces, rings, flowers and a small tatted butterfly. Patterns are diagrammed. 8 1/4" x 10 1/8". Paperback. 81 pages.

Barb Foster at Handy Hands.com says she has 10 copies on her shelf and when they are gone, they're gone. Newsletter subscribers can get free shipping on orders of $35 or more using their promotional code.

DS9Designs website also lists this item. Debbie Arnold says she has 2 copies on the shelf. From now through August 31st, shipping is FREE to USA customers for sales of $50 or more at DS9Designs.

Tatting Corner (Zig-Zag Corner - Tatting) also has copies of this book in stock.  As soon as I can confirm how many I will amend this section to reflect the latest numbers.

UPDATE:  Jennifer from Zig-Zag Corner, Home of the Tatting Corner, only has 1 copy left. Customers can get free shipping on orders of $100 (after coupons and promotional codes) or more. They offer a flat rate of $6.25 on all orders.

And also check your local sources.

Tatting Tea Tuesday
Today's tea is some delicious sun tea. Today I have enjoyed it both iced and warmed, with a splash of tart cherry juice for extra zing. It is pretty tasty.

This week I completed round one of the Frauberger motif in size 40 and started another in  size 20.  Instructions for a second round are included in the Frauberger PDF and I haven't yet decided which (or maybe one of each?) I will do.

Snowflake Sneak Peek
A snowflake design inspired by Snowflake Creator for iPhone/iPad is coming along well. Rounds one and two are complete and I am contemplating a round three.

I can't show you the whole thing because I promised the Piedmont Lace Guild of Virginia an original design to include in their upcoming fundraiser pattern booklet. Plus, savvy tatters counting stitches have on occasion been known to recreate items from my photos.

But I can show you the Snowflake Creator image that inspired the design:

Wishing you all blissful me time to create something beautiful. See you next Tuesday for more communi-tea!

Frauberger First Steps

Thank you so much for your kind, supportive and thoughtful comments to my last blog post. I appreciate them so much!

In the interest of "keeping calm, and tatting on," here is my beginning of a Tina Frauberger pattern from II. Band des Handbuchen der Schiffchenspitze, 1921, page 47, figure 45.

Patti Duff graciously posted two vintage books by Tina Frauberger to the public domain earlier this summer for the Online Tatting Class. Thank you Patti!  You can find the two books here:

July 18, 2012 Special Event for the Online Tatting Class

Lizbeth^®40 #157 Raspberry Frappe is the thread I am using for this first round. The outer round will be tatted with Lizbeth^®40 #644 Boysenberry Dark. 

County Fair -- And the Ribbons Go To...

If you've read any of my previous year's entries regarding the county fair, you may recall that the submission quality is high, but the quantity is low.  Usually only three entries per year.

Today I went to my county fair to view the tatting category and see which pieces won top honors.  What a treat to find six (6) tatted entries!

It gives me great pleasure to tell you that a tatted reticule bag won Best of Show in the Needle Arts category this year.  (Squeee!)

2012 Blue Ribbon and 

Best in Show, Needle Arts

Congratulations to (name not published) for tatting this treasure in mignonette stitch and roses.

The second place entry was equally eye-popping.  A charming, white christening gown made in the longer length of bygone days.

2012 Red Ribbon winner
From the tatted cap sleeves through the front lace panel to the hem finished with a trio of pink rosettes, this entry is a dress surely to be handed down for generations.

Congratulations to Sw4nkyL4c3r for creating this darling, tatted christening gown.

The third place entry was a set of dainty earrings tatted in white with clear beads.

2012 White Ribbon winner

Fine and exquisitely accented for just a hint of sparkle. Elegant earrings anyone would cherish.

Congratulations to (name not published) for tatting such pretty lace jewelry.

What about my entries? I submitted two pieces you have seen on this blog before.

Regal Snowflake, design by La Cossette Tatted by IsDihara

Old Fashioned Heart, design by Etha Schuette Tatted by IsDihara  
"They didn't think much of them in Old Paris"
Jack Dawson's comment to Rose DeWitt Bukater in the 1997 film Titanic seems fitting here.
No ribbons were awarded for either of these beauties.  Not even an honorable mention or participatory nod.

It would be a lie to say I am not disappointed.  I am.  But we can't all be winners. It is a triumph to see the category grow.  Tatting was chosen over all other Needle Art entries for Best of Show! Submission quality remains high and I am still peacock-proud of my pieces.
[*grumbles* Even if the judges didn't favor them.]

Perhaps it was karmic backlash for breaking the rules. Participants may only enter one item per category and I entered two. (To get around the rule, I used my niece's name and my neighbor's address.) Neither piece was disqualified, so maybe karma evened the score.

Or maybe my entries lacked the air of something saved from the past. Who knows?

What?  That's only five, you say?
But of course!  I almost forgot the sixth tatted entry!  *drumroll*

Decorated Egg with tatting!  Awarded a second place ribbon. Isn't it pretty? Congratulations to Sw4nkyL4c3r for garnering a second red ribbon for her beautiful work.

Huge, heartfelt congratulations again to all the winners. Now I will go eat chocolate and play World of Warcraft  (a computer game) to forget judges who don't know what tatting IS, only what it WAS.

Crafty Tatting - Pop Top Can

Looking for a new way to surprise a friend with a blinged shuttle? Or a giveaway prize? Try sending it in a decorated pop-top can.

I saw this tutorial on a few blog sites and wanted to share. Any pop-top can will work, big or small. Plus, the cans can be embellished with tatting!

Christmas Goodie Pop Top Cans

Video: How to Turn Your Pop Top Can Into A Favor Box

Tatting Tea Tuesday Collages

Recently I have noticed a variety of photo collages popping up on Facebook. I wanted to create one for Tatters, but found it difficult to craft six (6) scenarios along the lines of the ones included above. So I went the Tea Lovers route.

If you have trouble seeing the photos, here are some descriptions.

Pirate:  A white-gloved tea lover is spiking the cuppa with Barbados Rum
Celebrity:  Tea Leoni
Gamers: Scrabble tiles floating in a tea cup
Dogs: Tea cup is shaped like a toilet (need I say more?)
Sports:  Tea pot resembles a golf ball with lid covered in golf tees
Browncoats:  Pint glasses with Firefly-class spaceship Serenity and "Serenity Sake"
Tatters: Lovely cuppa with a teapot cookie on the side
Coffee: Fish tank full of filthy, algae-filled water

Here is a similar collage for quilters bouncing around Facebook and Pinterest:

:

So I put it out for you, dear readers.  Do non-tatters see us pretty much the same way as quilters?  Please share your thoughts in the comments section.

Vacation Tatting & Motif 16

Last week me and mine traveled to the great state of Maine for a summer holiday with Big Daddy's family. We left precisely as the heat wave hit and so missed the 7 to 10 days of over-100-degree F (37C) heat and power outages.

Thank goodness the hounds were boarded.  They "enjoyed"  (because they hate boarding) cool, generator-powered AC and light during the worst of the power outages.

It was cool up north, but there was precious little to do for a biting fly and mosquito magnet (such as I am) while "da boyz" bonded with family. So, I tatted.

The long drive was perfect for making "strings of rings" that Georgia Seitz needs for her Palmetto Tat Days scholarship quilt project.  Here is my first string in progress.  The photo was taken in the Danbury, CT, hotel where we stopped overnight after the first day's travel.

Travel day 2 saw the completion of the first string of Josephine rings and the start of a second. For those who like to know, these rings are tatted in Lizbeth^® 40 #167 Jungle Greens.

Two UFOs were completed in Maine:  Maus' Old Fashioned Heart © 2000 Etha Schuette (January, 2000) and Regal Snowflake © 2011 La Cossette.

Round 1 of Old Fashioned Heart was done before the trip. Undecided as to what color beads to use for (what I will call) the pin-stripe joins, I went on a bead-buying spree. After several trials and much tribulation, I used size 11 light green seed beads.

Just had to share this point of progress. It reminds me of a ballerina's tutu.

Et voilà -- all finished (unblocked).  My mother-in-law asked if she could keep this, she liked it so much. She agreed to let me enter it in the county fair and mail her the heart after judging.

Thank you again, Maus, for sharing this pattern.  No matter how many times or ways I tat this heart, it steals my heart with it's old-fashioned charm and perfect shape.  It's a keeper!

I also tatted a few Washington, DC Cherry Blossoms © 2012 Anita Barry. My mother-in-law asked if she could keep these too.  Tatting was the only home art she never taught herself from a book.  Recently she learned that her mother tatted and shared this photo with me.

It is her mother, Jenny (Hall) Young, who died at the age of 39 from spinal meningitis. This photo was taken around 1911 or so when she was in her 20s.  Her collar edging is tatted.  I love the fabric-covered buttons and other hand-made details in her dress!


But I digress.

A second, elegant (as yet unblocked) Regal Snowflake © 2011 La Cossette was completed as I lounged in an overstuffed chair (my MIL referred to it as the "fat boy" chair) watching a charm of hummingbirds zip and flit around two hummingbird feeders.

Tatting while hummingbird watching is as enjoyable as taking tea while tatting. You can bet your sweet bippy I will be hanging a hummingbird feeder outside my window for future Tatting Tea Tuesdays!