o happy day

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What better than International Tatting Day, to remind us of the collaboration for Endrucks 1920 Project where tatters from around the globe have volunteered to modernise the 100 year old patterns from her German book ‘Die Schiffchen-Spitzen’.

article by Carin Jansen in Kantbrief March 2021

One such contributor we’d like to thank today is Carin Jansen who you will recognise immediately as the designer of the beautiful Angel Doily TAL. It was only because of this Endrucks project that I became aware of her blog and work and found the doily pattern that led to another small group tat-along I've been posting about!
She not only contributed, but also got us published in Kantbrief, a Dutch lace magazine (pic above).

Carin volunteered for first one, then a second pattern (happily, we’ve had many such volunteers!) and did an amazing job of putting them together with clear diagrams and a bilingual presentation – both in Dutch and English.

She first chose pattern #32 since there was no block tatting. It is worked continuously from one end to the other and then returns back to complete the symmetry. I love the mock 2-coloured onion ring effect between motifs - and here it looks like a bead connecting the rectangles!

Diligence is never far from a tatter. Two pattern #19 models worked in different sized threads but by switching the colours, a completely different effect emerges! As with most of Endrucks’ patterns, this can easily be worked in one pass by crossing over to the other side on the return.

Here she has designed a new end and this adaptation would work great as a bracelet or necklace with the addition of beads and clasp! The large rings can encase a button or cabochon!

Both patterns have thrown rings, which tatters can do with a 2nd shuttle or needle, without breaking the curve of the chain below.

Even though the direct pdf links to both patterns are listed in the Project doc, I urge you to visit Carin’s blog. She is a talented 60 year young designer, author, blogger, and multi-crafter from Netherland. Get to know her better here! Her blog has some wonderful articles including Designing Takes Time and What is Tatting? as well as a couple more free tatting patterns. I've only been able to read her tatting posts so far, but there's a lot more.

And to repeat myself, we're published! Carin contributed her article on the Endrucks 1920 Project to a Dutch lace magazine ‘Kantbrief’ March 2021 and graciously sent me a physical copy! Wow, right?! You can read her article in her blog where there is an English translation alongside.

This is the only article on tatting, all others being devoted to other lace forms such as torchon, needle lace, etc. along with several schemata and patroons (patterns) which are inspiring to transform into tatted lace! 3 cheers for diagrams and images! But there is one article with an intriguing title – ‘Lacemaker and young gamblers’! Wish I could read Dutch.

And below is the sweet handwritten letter she sent .... the pleasure is mutual, Carin!

Her lovely letter that accompanied the magazine!

It has been a pleasure and honour collaborating with her and exchanging notes. She has been a real sport, enthusiastic and supportive. We sure hope she blogs more often and we wish her luck and success in publishing several more books and articles. And hope the future holds more creative contact between us 🌷🌷🌷

To paraphrase Ninetta Caruso, this is a community project and we invite everyone to join in. Please let us know where we can find your renditions and derivative tatting and use the hashtag #Endrucks1920Project on facebook.

You are welcome to join in any time, with shuttle or needle, as a test tatter or creative tweaker/adaptor. Contact either Ninetta or me - we'd love to include your work. All information, with links and updates, is compiled in the Endrucks 1920 Project doc here – https://docs.google.com/document/d/17LEVftXweztBIOWh4sL4BB7bX65ssoOsOn4oXIgCepY/view
A new heading – With Gratitude – is now in the Project doc. It lists our gratitude to each contributor with links to respective blogpost.

🌸🍫💕 Wishing everybody a very special and creative ITD 

– enjoy tatting, chatting, and chocolate! 💕🍫🌸  

🌺🌻🌼🌻🌺 A very special thanks to all project contributors 🌺🌻🌼🌻🌺

muskaan & Ninetta

floating in air !

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Here's a peek into what I've been up to; why the Quatrefoil series is on hold... 

Floating Beads 

UPDATE : This pattern is now in pdf format, Click to download

I'm working on a necklace set with a smattering of beads and crystals in tatting.

It started out as trying to hang a large crystal bead inside a ring - a thrown/floating ring. Couldn't find any tutorials to create that effect.  

Tempted to ask my beading friends, but forced myself into figuring out a solution. Many attempts later, here's a pic of a couple of the 'uncut' or unraveled trials - the ones on the left show how the chain distorts. Then success (the 3rd from right) !!! 

This has been tested by Georgia, Eliz, Usha, Stephanie. Their valuable feedback will be included in the pictorial.

Gradually the floating beads method evolved. It works not only in thrown rings, but regular rings, (I snipped off the pink thread by mistake, hence couldn't complete the outer ring properly.)

and even a string of beads inside the ring !

And another idea struck - how about using the string as as a central picot ? 

I’m not sure whether this has/has not been done. Also one doesn’t need the exact floating bead method – it can be made with a simple long loop. But I’m merely showing how my brain worked at finding new applications/effects.

Then I wondered about using it on normal chains. Here I loaded the crystal teardrop on a picot, attached right back before proceeding. The inset shows it attached using the floating beads method. While the former is kind of flush against the chain, the latter is held at a slight distance as if on a shank. Instead of single crystal, a string of beads can be used.

While I haven't tried it on a mock ring or an SCMR, I don't see why it shouldn't work.

And whether you want to or not, I will bore you further with pictorials on how to do it ;-D Fair warning ? Patterns will follow much later, though.

I’m just so excited that I could figure out some beading for myself – getting the hang of it ;-P

UPDATE : All Floating Beads effects and pictorials are listed here.

Second reason for floating in air was the exciting attachment I got in my inbox. One of my patterns has been published in a Dutch magazine De Frivolité(k)ring alongside very talented and experienced tatters and designers. The booklet, published twice a year, is distributed among the Dutch tatting circle - Frivolité(k)ring Nederland. It’s in Dutch. I had asked for the pdf version, not the physical booklet.

Mari-jan had contacted me many months back but I had no idea which pattern they had chosen. Turns out it is the Curly Cross Pendant – the one I never got around to writing/diagramming a proper pattern for. And they’ve actually posted beautiful step-wise pics (without beads) with written pattern.

many many thanks to all I've named here. 

You make tatting so much more pleasurbale

twice the pleasure, double the twirls ….

happy happy dance !!!