Vintage Thread Gift

 

My local guild CGNFA has a weekly sit and stitch meeting via zoom.  We get to chat and show off our current projects.  About a month ago one of the members mentioned that she had some tatting thread that she wanted to know if I wanted. I said yes because I love vintage threads.  

It would take a few weeks before we could do a curbside drop off and when she arrived I gifted her some tatted pieces and she also made me a lovely beaded ornament. I didn't put a tree up this year so I have hung her ornament in my window with other suncatchers and I get to admire it every day. 

I tried out the tread she had brought, it was all size 80/70 but the most lovely clean bright colors.  I tested the thread for strength and then tatted up these bookmarks.  The red thread was from my stash.  

The pattern is by Dotori and available in her Etsy shop. The clear shuttle in the top picture is by Yuuko Terachi and the  lower one is by Rita Richmond, Shuttles by Design.

Day 1 TIAS 2021

 Shuttles wound, here is Day One

 So if you have never heard of TIAS it stands for Tat It And See.  It is a tatalong with a twist because we don't know what the product will be at the end.  A tatter called Jane Eborall from the UK gives us the pattern to tat in pieces and we are encouraged to send in our tatting.  There is no cost and guesses are encouraged. 

It is wonderful to see all the threads and shuttles from around the world.  I often see tatters I have met or know only from facebook or instagram.  Sometimes someone guesses but Jane never lets on if they do.

Eventually we will all find out what the mystery TIAS is.

If you can do Split Rings you can do the TIAS and lucky for you she keeps all of the previous years on the TIAS blog so you can go back and play the game again.

So, any guesses?

Ice Queen

If you don't recognize this pattern it is called Ice Queen and is a design from a few years back by Frivole aka  Joëlle Paulson. She has a blog called Le Blog de Frivole and and Etsy page LaCossette where you can purchase Tatting Shuttles, Patterns & Lace. 

At least once a year she comes up with new snowflake patterns.  I had done this pattern years ago before I had a blog to record my tatting. 

This pattern is for intermediate tatters as it contains techniques which require special skills.  I'd like to tell you but if I did I would be giving away too much of her pattern.  

I tatted it a few times using a vintage thread so it may look a bit different because of that. Also the thread, a Coats size 20 has a slight cream color and the knots never seem to be as neat as other threads.

In the second picture I eliminated the small rings off the chains to see how that would look and although I liked how much easier this was to tat, keeping them in produced a nicer design.

I ran into a few problems with the bugle beads.  They have sharp edges and cut my thread on the first few tries.   Marie gave me a great tip to put a seed bead on each end and I found that worked well too.

 Don't forget to wind up your shuttles to be ready for the TIAS Tat It And See which starts tomorrow.  Here is the link. 

 

Something to look forward to

As 2020 closes and we step into a new year, it is a time to pause and and reflect on the past year and plan what new adventures await in 2021.  I often thought that 2020 would be the year I would retire but I was able to do that a few years earlier than planned.  The extra time afforded me the opportunity to attend some tatting conferences in 2019 and meet many tatters.  Then in 2020 I  kept on tatting and blogging and zooming to keep in touch with all my fellow crafters.

I do have something to tell you and it is quite exciting in 2021 and that is Ms. Jane Eborall will be hosting another TIAS.  You can find details about it here.  Of course she does not share much as that is part of the fun.   

I can't wait to see what threads and shuttles will be shared as the TIAS moves forward.  If you are a tatter, please be sure to send in your tatting so we can all be inspired .

I wish you all a prosperous and healthy 2021.  Stay safe, tat and carry on.

First Attempt at Design

These are my first attempts at design, Single Shuttle Earrings. I made these earrings with some left over thread on a shuttle, they are not very big so they could handle a long dagger bead on the bottom or other embellishment. The prototype was made with metallic thread and by ending with a single shuttle split ring (SSSR) you are able to easily hide the ends.

Nothing fancy or new here but I took some time to make a diagram in Inkscape which was really fun and didn't take too long.  

I have also included a photo of one done with metallic thread using different stitch counts and bead placement.

If you are interested I have included the instructions below.

Load beads on shuttle, pull 18 inches or 45 cm off shuttle along with 3 beads.  You will need to anchor this end so you don't lose your beads.  Using the diagram, start at star, end at triangle. Start first ring with 3 beads from shuttle round the hand

R 10 (3b) 10

C 14 lock join to picot between beads in first ring 5

make 4 bead picot with 3b from ball 1 b from shuttle 5 lock join between beads in first ring 14

Tie knot before making SSSR

SSSR hiding ball thread in 1st 4 stitches of ring

Add additional picots or beads as desired. 

I have had this sitting on my desk for some time and needed to get it posted before the end of the year.