footprints on the sands

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... of time and tatting. Today I complete 10 years of blogging and it is the 800th post. These are mere numbers but mean a lot to me. 800 posts that each contained some tip, idea, experiment, option... At times 10 years seems like a long time; and yet like a short period, not enough to accomplish all my goals. Did I leave any footprints during this journey? Some faint ones perhaps which will soon be washed away. 

Incidentally, my first post on 3rd December 2013 was on tatted edgings! 

And now these pics from Judith Connors kind of summarise and symbolise my online tatting journey. I wouldn't be here, wouldn't have improved and learned so much without the help and guidance of the community; without their willingness to share freely of their expertise, patterns, and resources.

The lace - design shared freely by Robin Perfetti; tatted by me, in Lizbeth size 80 threads gifted by Sharada R; gifted to Judith who mounted it on a plain white handkerchief. This is what she wrote - 

'If you look at the close-up you’ll see that I crocheted around the raw edge first and then slip-stitched/top-sewed your lace to the crochet. I love how it all came together. When Queensland Tatters next have a display of their lace I shall place our combined effort in there too.'

This 'combined effort' is what my online experience has taught me. It may not always be an overt collaboration but the moment we tat somebody's pattern or when we share something that gets picked up another, the community grows, evolves, thrives.

Speaking of which, Judith also sent her beaded version of the Reflections Snowflake - a gift we send to anybody who completes an Endrucks' pattern.  

I had extracted it from the 100 year old Endrucks' pattern #17; it was modified by Ninetta Caruso and Anna Tedesco; tatted by several of our recipients in their own unique versions, including this sublime beaded beauty.

Endrucks 1920 Project, a huge milestone in my tatting journey, is pure collaboration! I will never reach any pinnacle of perfection and am aware of my limitations. Yet it makes me immensely happy to be able to pass on whatever I have learnt or discovered along the way. 

While the tatting community is growing, the blogging community is shrinking. Blog Land is getting a bit lonely with bloggers dropping off in favour of other platforms. Irrespective, I join those who persevere - I find it the best long-term platform and with absolute freedom to present and express in any kind of format. Let's see what the next years will bring ....

💓Cheers! And a huge thanks to the tatting community at large!💓

why tatting is thriving

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...and will continue to do so long into the future. The reason lies in the huge generosity and willingness of tatters to share their knowledge, skills, experiments, tips, and tricks… be it through text, video, live chat, classes, etc. And the icing on the cake is that most of this is for free!

rainbow - May 31, 2020

I share, with utmost gratitude, shining examples of such selflessness and enthusiasm….

Remember the recent QnA segment on how to attach tatted lace to handkerchiefs?

( https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2020/05/lace-to-fabric-qna.html )

tatted edging and corner for handkerchief

Kathleen Minniti sent me her own pdfs to share with my followers! She had “prepared some handouts for a Shuttlebirds Annual Workshop class” back in 2018! ( https://sbspokane.wordpress.com )

Such detailed and clear images and instructions – helpful for all tatters! 

Without much ado, here are the links to the 2 pdfs :

Sewing Lace onto a Plain Hemmed Edge -https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EEN5p5RUt4hghcXgQervMzP8JzhSLJPG/view?usp=sharing 

Tatting Directly onto a Hem-Stitched Base -https://drive.google.com/file/d/1c3DslUUCd_YqgUo1awameQAZIJHJX9Me/view?usp=sharing

preparing to sew cornered edging to picoted edge hanky

And then Ninetta Caruso sent a link to her own post on this subject, which has her drawings as well as further links. And here’s what she said - “If you enlarge the picture at the end, you can see the various stages of the sewing at the border.”

https://ninettacaruso.blogspot.com/2014/10/100-posts-wip-and-attach-tatting-to.html

tatted edging sewn to saree

And a few months back, Anita Barry played a magical card and on my request, Bonnie Swank prepared a wonderful video on how to change direction of curving chains in Needle Tatting !!!

Needle Tatted Changing Chain Curves : Convex and Concave

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ9BRdZ2Zl8

My original pdf was in shuttle tatting obviously - 

https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2019/09/changing-chain-curves.html

Here's part of what she wrote -

“I hope the video is helpful to you, I really enjoyed finding six ways to tat one chain and the reverse/unflipped method was my favorite! I contacted Anita several times and we had fun conversations on the differences between needle and shuttle tatted changing chain curves and thread orientation when reversing!  I actually made the video 5 times! Once I tatted the whole thing and then realized the camera did not turn on, once I taped the entire thing upside down and twice the video cut off on me after 30 minutes! So I have lots of chain segments, I'm thinking of putting them together to make flowers.”

Her Facebook page is Straight-Laced Tatting and she has another needle tatting technique for making floating rings!

I cannot find words to thank all my dear friends in the tatting world who come together share bit by bit so that the beauty of Tatting will thrive for generations and centuries. They are all building on the foundations laid by our previous generations!

With utmost gratitude and thanks …

Patterns/Posts : 

Jane McLellan's Leaf braid edging for hanky and saree ; Blossoms corner for hanky - 

https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2018/09/gifts-with-tatting.html

split colour edging for hanky - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2016/06/under-pinning.html

lace to fabric QnA

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For several years, tatters have been emailing for some help or other on their current tatting project, term, technique, pattern, etc. It is usually an eye-opener for me, when I have to delve deeper into a method, or come up with a solution. Some of these have been posted as tutorials/pictorials already, several are in the works with pics taken, but not yet presented.

I put in a lot of thought, research, and detail into my response, and have decided to share some Q&A for anybody facing a similar situation. In any case, it makes my life easier when I have a simple link to share instead of re-typing. I may edit/paraphrase/add/organise.

Here’s one such, from one of my dear followers, Emily H, who often comments with a unique perspective. I was pleasantly surprised, and grateful, when she gave me her feedback, along with pics of her final project. Read on ....

  

Question : I want to edge a handkerchief for a friend, but I want it to be usable and washable. I know cotton shrinks, so what would be the best prep for that? I had the thought to tat my lace and then wash it so it would shrink and then cut the handkerchief to the size it ends up.  Attaching together after everything is preshrunk. I am thinking like a seamstress though and don't know how these same principles apply to cotton thread. 

Answer :

Sharon Briggs has some sound advice – scroll down to Washing. Personally, I am a bit scared of her boiling water part.  

Suggestions based on my experience - 

1. Thread size and brand. 

Anchor size 20 definitely shrinks. Not sure about Lizbeth 20, though MIL says her Blossoms remained fine.

But size 40 and 80 should not shrink.

This is evident in the stretch of a thread (my observation).

Hence decide according to thread size you are using. 

2. Definitely wash and shrink the cotton fabric. It will also remove sizing, if any.

3. Is it possible to give washing/care instructions to your friend, and will she follow them? If yes, then despite which size you use, ask her to block the lace (simple rolling pin method works fine, without hassle) after wash, while still damp. Or iron on wrong side while still damp.

4. Try to avoid too many decorative picots. Fewer the picots, easier to care and maintain.

5. If there is a corner in tatted lace - In such cases, I sew on each side (to pre-shrunk fabric) as I finish tatting it, so that placement is precise. 

6. In case of a simple braid, I tat a shorter length than that required, and start sewing it to fabric. The short span can then be tatted and sewn to precision without fear of overlap of any extra bit.

Some links on how to attach lace to fabric : Tatters frequently post their tips and favourite methods but I haven’t collated them all. Here are a mere handful -

• Frivole’s crochet method of Attaching Tatting to a Handkerchief.
• Liisa Maarit edges her fabric with twisted buttonhole stitch to which lace is sewn.
• Faggoting. (this BellaOnline link doesn't seem to be working!)
• Some resources are pinned in my Stitches & How-tos board.   

Feedback : Thank you! That was all so helpful. I found in my stash a ball of DMC size 30. This was my first time using anything other than ordinary crochet thread (20?) at first I had several breakages, but they got less and less as I went on. I forgot your 5. tip and tatted the lace in a complete square, then measured it for fabric size. 

I did brave the boiling water trick from the link and pressed with a hot iron after wards and it shrunk in 1/2 inch. I also forgot to look at the video on how to attach lace and managed as best I could. I finished it just in time to mail to my friend before her wedding. 

Isn't it a beautiful piece of tatting and a wonderful gift to a friend?!

So what is Your favourite method? Please do share any tips or links and I will add it to my post or the tatting Resources page. 

UPDATE : Kathleen Minniti and Ninetta Caruso have graciously shared their expertise and tutorials/tips on this topic ! Don't miss their pdfs and post detailed here - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2020/06/why-tatting-is-thriving.html 

rising from the dead

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aka the seven-year itch ?!

Flashback Oct 2012...

For a few years I had been following a cross-stitch designer who shared the most fabulous embroidery patterns on her blog. She decided to stop blogging and shift to facebook and in a moment of temptation, I signed up. Within a couple of weeks, though, I stopped visiting the site and soon forgot my password! Until ….

...Flashforward to the present Jan 2019

…..until I got an email from fb giving me a link where I could update my profile. Curious, I checked it out. Then Ninetta, my friendly fb correspondent, guided me further and now I have reactivated my account, including changing my password ;-P

I need time (and guidance, Nin!) to find my way around. At this point my very simple aim is to connect my blog activity through pics without spending too much time there. 

You can find me here. Or the mobile link here.

 !" caught in the fb web ?! shiver me timbers ;-D

And this is what I’ve been up to when life permits me: sewing blossoms motifs to the saree. Yes, those 40 thieves were unshackled and boxed before being tampered down again. 

This pic was taken about a week back. I now have only 8 more motifs left to sew. But I might need to tat a few more. Shuttles have been lying idle while my hands itch to pick them up. So I might just tat a few bonus motifs just for the fun of it ;-D

Sewing/appliquéing with regular white sewing thread, doubled.

TIP : I dislike flattened picots. Hence the tiny stitch I make is at the base, on one side. It is sufficient to hold the picot in place, yet provide some lift.