fooled by the tool

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It is always such a thrill to see my pattern crop up and even more so when it comes in such wonderful versions with impeccable tatting. So which tool did these talented artists use to tat?

I have chosen a very small selection of the many that are gladdening my heart and eyes; these are presented here in chronological order. They are all needle-tatted from my patterns that were presented for the shuttle.

needle-tatted by Gloria Nelson, June 2019

Gloria Nelson's modification of the Paisley Snowflake with graduated picots has brought more character to the flake, and the design and variegate fell in sync! But can you tell it is needle-tatted?

New tatters often ask which tool is better or easier - needle or shuttle. Valid question but no easy or straightforward answers. There are tatters who spent their life using one tool and muscular ailment forced them to change to the other because their love for the craft overpowered their discomfort. On the other hand a tatter may stick with the first tool s/he learned on, for their entire life without any curiousity to try another. Then there are those who deliberately learn tatting with the other tool (&/or hand as Eliz Davis did) in order to become more proficient at teaching and diversify their knowledge.

Ninetta Caruso said it best - hand is the tool. 

We could take this quite literally, too! Teri Dusenbury used finger tatting a lot. Hey, where's that tool now? And for the truly determined one hand will get the task done as Marilee Rockeley has demonstrated.

needle-tatted by Amarilys Cwb, Sept 2021 

Amarilys Cwb made some mistakes in this first attempt (not that I had noticed any) and worked it a 2nd time below with minor adjustment to picot size on chains.  

needle-tatted by Amarilys Cwb, Sept 2021

Second attempt of the Silver Linings Snowflake by this tatter from Brazil who can work with both needle and shuttle.

For some reason, probably starting with it being a late entrant, the needle has been looked down on as the stepsister in tatting. To date some purists consider only shuttle as the legitimate tool for tatting. 

Why? Look at the numerous patterns Nicola Gooday Bowersox has shared with us for free. I could never identify from only seeing her model that it was needle tatted! Could you tell? 

needle-tatted by Amarilys Cwb, Oct 2021

What about this gorgeous rendition of the Floating Beads earrings?! I had to ask Amarilys whether it was done with a needle or shuttle! Those cute beads really transform my simple pattern with 'boring' pearl beads, into something fun and enticing.

Elena Kozinenko is proficient with all tools be it shuttle, needle, or a cro-tatting hook. Even a netting needle! And unless she points out, one would never guess whether she used a needle or shuttle. I asked her which tool is her favourite and this is what she says - 

'I have absolutely no choice. It all depends on the idea that needs to be implemented and even on the mood!'

Oh, to have that kind of flexibility! She has such a range of patterns and frequently uploads videos that demonstrate a technique using each of the 3 tools - https://fairylace.kozinenko.com/three-types-of-tatting/

needle-tatted by Lella Loops, Nov 2021

Lella Loops is yet another needle-tatter who has such finesse with her needle! Besides this recent Frost Flower Snowflake, she has tatted a few more of my patterns earlier and wowed me every time!

Returning to Gloria Nelson, she needs no introduction! She frequently shares her expertise with her Facebook group for needle tatters. If we follow and apply her tips, the usual 'visual identifiers' of needle tatting will disappear! 

But here are a few of her must-read articles, shared in her Sparkling Light Creation Studio page - https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1774052256037040&id=724059564369653

• Needle and Shuttle – What’s the Difference?
• Can a needle tatter follow shuttle videos and tutorials
• Patterns - Can a Needle make shuttle patterns

So any tool in the right (or left!) hands, combined with the passion to lace, is ultimately what matters. And the journey's enjoyment for accompaniment...

As an aside .... I have wondered for years how needle tatters feel when shuttle tatters collectors display their collection of shuttles? There is such a Vast range to choose from, with new designs, materials, and decorations coming out frequently. Now a tatting needle can be so boring in that sense, except perhaps for the material used? 

 

At the very least, why can't the needles be colour-coded for size at the eye end? eg these tapestry and chenille needles from Pony - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2018/08/needle-tips.html 

Or can some kind of fortified coloured plastic needles for tatting? 

Can needle-tatters come up with ideas to share with suppliers and manufacturers to make the needles prettier and more of a collectors' item?

I'd like to thank each of the tatters mentioned in this post for all their dedicated and inspiring work. 

I want to stress that they constitute a very thin slice of the talented multitude,

all of who I cannot name or might not even know of. 

All patterns mentioned in the post are free and can be found here - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/p/patterns-designs.html

Shuttlebirds challenge accepted

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Shuttlebirds has started their Wednesdays Weekly Challenge after a hiatus of 4 years. I didn’t have a clue at the time, but when it showed up in my blog roll, I couldn’t stay away. Nicola’s patterns are always a treat – to see, to follow, to tat. And even though I’m no fan of tatting animals (except birds, butterflies, & bunnies) tatting long shapely chains are always a challenge.

Wednesday's Weekly Challenge #45

Cheeky Monkey by Nicola Bowersox

Techniques I used:

2 shuttles, ctm (for 1^st part)

scmr with thrown/floating rings

directional or fs/bs tatting

dimpled chain

lock join

lock join with 2^nd shuttle

switch shuttles

In Anchor size 20, the monkey stands 3" tall x 2.5" wide

As always, the images, notations, and instructions are very clear.

However, for shuttle tatters, one needs to choose which shuttle to work with, when to switch shuttles and with which shuttle to make the lock join.

I sewed in 2 black beads for eyes later, though they can be pre-strung.

My ‘mistakes’ –

For the right armpit, I didn’t make the lock join with other shuttle. The ‘twist’ is glaring!

I was so focused on the stitchcount for the long tail that I forgot to snug the stitches more compactly.

Long chains are not easy to control or hold shape, but I’m fairly happy with how these turned out. It is a very cleverly designed and executed pattern and wish my monkey was more perfect.

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I went through the list of previous challenges and chose the very first one. This butterfly has been flying around pinterest for ages and I first made it in 2013, before I started blogging. Not satisfied, it’s been in one of my to-retat boxes (don’t remember which one – I need to ‘organise’ a massive hunt!).

Wednesday's Weekly Challenge #1

Butterfly by an unknown designer

UPDATE: Pattern is by Anna G.Vecherskaya in Frivolité  1991, p19.

Read about her here - http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art5624.asp

The link on the site doesn’t work, but a quick search through pinterest will throw up the pattern. This is the one I followed (from a Russian book). It is a beautiful butterfly within butterfly design, tatted in one pass!

Techniques I used:

2 shuttles

scmr

directional or fs/bs tatting

lock join

slt  

very small & decorative picots

lock chain

In Anchor & Lizbeth size 40, the butterfly is 2” high with a wing span of 1½”. 

Knotted the 2 threads together and worked a lock chain for first antenna, then worked the 4 inner rings as mock rings separated by an unflipped 2^nd half stitch to secure.

I had earlier started with normal rings but horrors, the thread broke while closing the last ring.

In the 2^nd round SLT is used to keep the chain and rings of same colour.
Ended with the 2^nd antenna, knotting and snipping off ends.

No sewing !!!

I tweaked the stitchcount on the lower wings (outer round) to get this shape.

Trying to play with colour combinations, though I’m not too happy with the pink shade.

This old butterfly from 2013 is worked in South Maid size 10. 

Normal rings instead of mock rings. And it is missing an antenna. Will tackle it when I find it, and update with the dimensions. 

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Catch you later, folks :-D

a hearty spread

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Nicola’s Hearts

3 heart patterns by Nicola Bowersox

A few weeks back, Nicola shared some lovely hearts on Craftree (and her facebook group). I had intended to tat her Kiss Curl heart again. This seemed like the perfect time to accomplish some heartfelt tatting. And try my tatting needles, too :-)

click on blue text for pattern source

Blue Heart

I had recently bought beads and was excited to try some out, despite being larger than what the pattern called for (the purple one below). See the ruffling for yourself, despite adding a stitch on each chain. Abandoned. 
And back to a more sedate colour, in keeping with the name Blue Heart. 

As usual, I measured and made the picots on which to load beads later, rather than dangle beads and paperclips.

Time to try my new tatting needles (my first foray into needle tatting here).....

Kiss Curl Heart

Kiss Curl Heart is the perfect start to needle tatting since it is 95% chains. Started with Lizbeth size 40 and I deliberately tatted tighter to resemble shuttle tatting. I did get nice stitches, but see how it left my needle (pic below) !!! Good thing I have another set of needles (where did I keep them now ?!)

Also, there is a mistake – for some weird reason I got disoriented when it came to making the ring - look closely and you'll see the twist. Luckily my questions were answered in class ("think of it as a SCMR" - thank you ☺) and when I tried again with size 20, it went smoothly. Except this time my stitches were a bit too loose in order to keep needle intact ;-P

So much for my NT foray – I will stick to my shuttles for the present. I do hope to use to the needles for some elements (Celtic, interlocking, ..) and definitely as a beading needle (this is what I used for the Radiant Sun paperclip ;-P )

Oh, and the 3^rd time (pink with gold one above), I did it with my trusted shuttle – I wanted to do justice to her pattern. My notes on the earlier yellow one helped – start with RODS (backside) chain to get the curl on the left. Wanted to take a combo pic of all 4, but seems I’ve already gifted it away.

New Heart

New Heart is another pretty pattern. I used 2 strands of pink embroidery thread, and 1 strand of gold. 

NOTES for shuttle tatting : 2 shuttles, directional or fs/bs tatting :

Rings 1 to 9, tatted clockwise from front with shuttle 1, without RW.

Chains 10 to 14, tatted clockwise from front with shuttle 2, without RW.

Ring 15 is tatted frontside, with shuttle 1. (thus, SS before and after Ring 15).

Chains 16 to 24, tatted clockwise from front with shuttle 2, without RW.

Chains 25 to 26, tatted backside with shuttle 2.

Individual tatting tensions differ. I increased a couple of stitches for these 2 chains to get a nice arch.

All chains are lock joined to previous elements.

This is how the pink really looks, though it was still hard to get the subtle gold sparkle across. 

Nicola’s patterns are not only pretty, but very well presented and clear. Though written for needle tatting, they are easy to shuttle-tat. These little hearts are quick to tat up, whatever the tatting tool ! 
I thoroughly enjoyed myself !

Many many thanks, Nicola, for sharing your warm hearts J

a hearty tatting to you all :-))) 

Heart to heart ....

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Hearts reach out 

across ages and generations , 

across borders and boundaries , 

across arts and crafts, 

across blogs and sites,

from cold snowflakes to warm hearts ....

hearts reach out !

These are some of the most elegant tatted heart patterns I’ve come across. These are hearts I have admired & wanted to tat since first I set eyes on each. And they were just as pleasant to tat as to ogle.

A few common points :

• Click on title of each for link to the pattern source & on name of designer for their blog wherever applicable (all red words are active links). All are free patterns.
• I use fs/bs (RODS) tatting . I’ve listed it in the techniques, but it is optional.
• Since I knew that these patterns worked great in single colour, I decided to continue with my study in colours (very very limited colours to choose from – Madura Coats (Anchor), are you listening?).
• All these hearts are definitely going to be repeated over the years !

In no particular order ….

A Sweet Heart Valentine

Pop Lenuta Maria

Techniques : 2 shuttles, ANKARS (basic) or layered rings, graduated picots, floating ring.

Measurement : 1½” x 1½” in Anchor size 40 Art 4054 (052 pink & 022 maroon)

"Officially” this is my first ANKARS project, even though it is pretty basic. It Finally lay to rest a niggling doubt I had harboured, not having studied the technique properly. Yes, I had tatted it, without knowing that it could well be ANKARS ! ANKARS is an elaborate & dense working of simple layered rings . It is also the technique I used in my Curled Rings earrings. And all it takes a simple picot join !

Georgia Seitz will be walking us through this pattern in the Online Tatting Class on Monday the 15^th … Join in :-)

I added a tiny ring with SH2 after joining back to the first ring. There was a bare, flattish space in my working that I thought needed filling up. The tatting is all done from the frontside, not reverse work, except for this additional ring.

Also 3 graduated picots in the centre of the chain to make the tip a bit more prominent.

I used a picot gauge, as recommended, but found that it causes my picots to twist & become unseemly, and the stitches to become uneven ! It was back to eye-balling … this works better for me. 

It ruffled a bit. Lay flat easily after dunking & rolling. I didn't block each picot. Now, looking at the diagram, I realize that rings 21 & 23 are the same size ! Didn’t appear so in the tatted model … good excuse to tat again :-)

Kiss Curl Heart

Nicola Bowersox

Techniques : 2 shuttles, CTM, dead end/blind start to chain, floating ring, RODS.

Msts : 1½” x <1¼” in Red Heart size 20 (0289 bright/dark yellow)

I fell in love with this heart that moment britinpa shared it on InTatters over a year ago. Simple, elegant outlining, & I love floating curled chains !!!  

I was a bit unsure how much to tension the chains, so left them without snugging closely. But I definitely need to re-tat & experiment a bit more. For one, I need to start the chain in RODS, for it to lie on the left side as in original pattern. Also, Frivole had suggested using a SCMR instead of floating ring, which I want to apply as well. And check out Jane McLellan’s gorgeously colourful hearts she did a while back, inspiring me to use a yellow.

Heart’s Desire

Susan Fuller

Techniques : 2 shuttles, thrown/floating rings, RODS.

Msts. 3”x 2¼” Anchor Size 40 Art 4054 (0131 blue & 0896 copper)

Arguably the most elegant heart pattern I’ve come across & it works with all kinds of threads & colours/colourways ! I have yet to come across a working that did not work :-) It is a Perfect Design !

Great diagram by Frivole – equally elegant with colour coding ! 

Hearts of Hope

Anne Bruvold

Techniques : 2 shuttles, CTM, CWJ, thrown/floating ring, twisted picot, SLT, RODS.

Msts : ¾”x ¾” in Anchor size 20 Art 4054 (020 red) 

Love the simplicity of this pattern. 2 shuttles. To maintain continuity of the chain outline, she uses the CWJ. Very quick to tat up & a great way to empty the shuttles, (and to learn the CWJ if one is dithering).

The twisted picot in the little ring looks frayed & forked - probably the picot should've been just a tad longer keeping thickness of thread in mind. 

Hearty Thanks to all designers for sharing these wonderful heart patterns,

&

to all who have made it possible through diagrams, classes, etc.

Have a hearty tatting weekend !

Motif #21 of III for 25 Motif Challenge