Tatting tittle tattle

I going to be teaching a small class the basics of Tatting ... (tomorrow, Sat 24 Nov at Morris & Sons in Sydney).

So have just spent a few hours doing some prep ...

spare thread, examples of tatting, examples of different shuttles, and shuttles all set up to begin the learning process.

 Having been really frustrated by the insufficient diagrams in most "How to Tat" manuals, I've put together my own teaching notes with lots of photos of each stage ...

 Rather embarrassing seeing how old and wrinkled my hands are!   

But - those are working hands, they make things!

Things like this - a brooch made from bits of tatting.

I frequently start something in tatting - but get bored with the design or make a mistake or decide that I don't like the way it is turning out ...

Rather than waste all that work I put several of those bits of lace together, sometimes I put a "gem" on top, a brooch back gets stitched behind and ...
I have a pretty brooch  :-)

Hats & Tats

Some photos from the Autumn Hat Exhibition last Sunday at Yuga Cafe - was lots of fun & there were lots and lots of Hats!

And that's the piano I played:  do hope everyone heard all the good notes and that no-one heard the mistakes!

And Now to the Tat tat tatty tat - Tatting

I'm going to be teaching how to tat this week so a good time to get out the threads and dust off those shuttles ...




They say that tatting developed from net-making - fishing nets that is and I guess that does make sense. 






It is an easy form of lace-making that was very popular in the 1930s & 40s ... I really can't understand why it is not more popular now.

I like to make lace edgings ... not sure what I'll put these on though the pink would look nice on a pretty frock for my granddaughter.
In 2008 I tatted about 5m of mauve lace for this 'Munchkin' costume ... can you see it on the Jabot and at the cuff?

My Munchkin was Quite a Dandy

I don't usually use tatting to make motifs and this butterfly was the first time I'd used beads on the thread.  The beads weren't difficult though I had problems with the slippery metallic thread and my picots are quite un-even! 

Tut tut Tat tat








As I'm going to be teaching How to Tat I was looking at the diagrams in all my books - they seem to leave out half the 'moves' - so I looked at some YouTube clips but there the hands move so fast ... I'm not sure I could learn from them. 

So, being an inveterate DIY person I've decided to Do It Myself and make a set of How to Tat notes with LOTS of photos to show every step.  Last night we set the camera on a tri-pod and my hubby darling took oodles of photos ...  now to put them together with some words...

Oh but my poor old hands look so wrinkly and old.  Sigh! I used to be proud of having pretty hands!  Guess they've done a lot of work though.   I'll just have to be proud of having hands that can Do & Make things ... and have the wrinkles and age-spots to prove it!