Happy birthday, Georgia

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Seeking an elixir for longevity? Look no further. Georgia Seitz is living proof – she is celebrating her 18^th birthday today! Yet she completed 20 years of teaching the Online Tatting Class. Stop doing the math and just be born on the 29^th of February :-D

The motifs chosen tell a story together. In the order they were tatted….

Laura Angel is a cute beginner pattern by Anita Barry, named after her friend. Here is the link to the pattern. Made only with mock rings. I added some decorative picots and tied off with a bow instead of hiding ends.

In Red Rose metallic size 20, it is 3 cms high and >2½ cms wide.

Itsy-Bitsy Angels are a take-off from Laura angel. A row of single-shuttle motifs makes a cute garland or edging. Made continuously by climbing out/in with folded SSSR. Quite a bit fiddly and challenging, with no stabilising picots. Anita has since modified the pattern to be worked with 2 shuttles. Later in the year, she will release the pattern. 

In Anchor Pearl cotton size 8, it is 2½ cms X 2½ cms.

To me, Laura Angel represents the teacher – Georgia, and below are 2 Knotty imps, attending her class. After all, it is where Anita & I first ‘met’ and connected as tatting buddies. 

I pulled out 2 of Georgia’s patterns, long on my to-tat list …

Basic Split Ring Heart pattern link 

As visual symbolism to Georgia’s generosity, I wanted a large heart embracing her students within it. Hence chose the thickest thread I had on hand.

I started with the central clover, adding long joining picots on either side, and decorative picots to the middle ring. Moving counter-clockwise, the rest of the pattern was quickly finished. Tails are not hidden, I might tie a tassel or motif later.

In Bliss cotton size 3(?), it is 9 cms high and 7½ cms wide.

The Sitka Rose is one of Georgia Seitz's iconic patterns and I thoroughly enjoyed tatting it!

Worked with single shuttle and ball, I loaded 20 seed beads. Leave 2 beads on ball thread, loop shuttle thread with 16 beads around hand, and work the central ring. 4 beads on each picot. After closing ring, slide the remaining beads – 2 from ball thread, 2 from shuttle thread, make a mock picot and continue with pattern.

I love how this turned out!

In Anchor Pearl cotton size 8, it measures 4½ cms. Size 16/0 beads are used.

The rose symbolises how her protégés have bloomed over the decades.

I first joined her class in mid 2015 and found such a lively tatting cosmos…. meeting so many talented and chirpy tatters in real time, forged friendships and sisterhoods. Georgia, like others before me, encouraged and groomed our potential, letting us spread our wings far beyond what we thought possible.

She has an uncanny eye for detecting something ‘new’, something interesting, in any image or pattern. It is what I liked best – a new perspective, a different way to see the same old.

Being a linguist (she can speak/understand so many languages!), I explained the meaning of my real name and she immediately wrote - “you were meant to tat” - turned out my name is a confluence of 2 common tatting terms in different languages!

I miss our correspondence, chatting about birds and Nature, her sourced fauna pictures, and her ecards with such cute messages. Her humour laces everything! I wish her the best of health and happiness – blossoming just like her Sitka rose.

Many many many happy returns of the day, Georgia !