Tatting is the Lace of Angels

I mentioned once before that I saw tatting for the very first time when I was three years old. My sister tatted as I sat entranced that she was making the most beautiful stuff I had ever seen with her hands and a funny little "tool" that had thread coming out of it. I thought that, surely, if angels made lace this would be it. Something about the gorgeous, light, airy lace seemed to transcend reality for me at such an impressionable age. It's stunning beauty appeared almost ethereal to me. In my 3 year old mind I figured maybe that's how angels got their wings...they tatted them..."Yes!" I thought, "surely this must be so." Perhaps this explains my unending desire to marry the concept of tatting and angels. It's apparent in this ornament I made years ago which you see above.

I even have enough victorian style angel cards and another doily to make another one so I could have two such ornaments, but somehow, despite my love of both tatting and angels I cannot bring myself to cover another doily. I mean, that was a lot of work at the time I made it. So, there the other one sits all beaded and ready to go and be part of something larger...and yet, it's just right in and of itself.

It's made of size 20 thread and is part of a larger oval doily design that I stopped short and added beads on the last round of my choosing to make an edging for the angel ornament. If you're thinking it looks christmas~sy...you're right, it is...but as far as I'm concerned angels are a good thing to have year round. One cannot have too many angels out and about.

Speaking of being out and about, thank you for stopping by my blog today while you were visiting in the land of zeroes and ones.
Don't forget the poll at the bottom of the page and I really enjoy each and every comment that you leave.

Some roses a nice friend gave to me today...I thought I would share with you.

I wish the internet had scratch n' sniff cuz their fragrance is lovely.

Friendship is the Blossom of One's Heart

Hello everyone out there in tatting blogger-land. I just wanted to say thank you for being so welcoming to a fairly new blogger. I've only been blogging for just over 2 weeks and already I feel like I've made some new friends. So, as a way to say "Thank You" I am posting a pic of one of my favorite tatted heart patterns.

This particular heart pattern is from an old Workbasket (Feb 1985 - a reprint from an older Workbasket). I did it in DMC cotton perle size 12. I did a bunch of these so I could practice doing the Magic-Thread technique to hide the ends. My tatting pal, Doretha Albee, taught me how to do it. I sometimes like to put this heart on the front of a card to give to a friend. So this is my "card" to all of you.
Here are my favorite friendship sayings that go well with this heart/flower pattern.

"Friendship is the blossom of one's heart."

"If friends were flowers, I'd pick you."

"If friends were flowers, then I'd say, 'I really cherish my bouquet'."

"Friends are the flowers in the garden of life."

Thank you all for being so friendly to me. I'm really glad I started blogging about my favorite hobby. As always, your comments are welcome and don't forget to do the poll at the bottom of the page.

TattingChic Around the House, Part III

Hello, Here's a little more tatting around the house. This is a little something just for spring, though. On the photo to your right is a tatted ornament I made many years ago. Below it to the left of the ceramic bunny is a tatted egg I designed. The small wreath ornament has a permanent place on my lamp, but the egg gets to come out every spring. I have a few holiday tatted items that come out once a year to add some of their tatted loveliness. It's so fun to dress them up and make them into an ornament or something.

Here's a closeup of the egg. It's one of my designs. Someday I will diagram my patterns, but for now, a pic is what ya get. If it enlarges, you see my horrid practice I had over 17 years ago of adding a tiny, tiny drop (on a pinpoint, mind you) of superglue to the ends. Oh, it has worked beautifully at keeping the ends from undoing themselves, but the discolored spots are there to stay. All I can say is THANK HEAVENS for Magic Thread. A friend from my lace guild taught me how a few years ago. I will never ruin my tatting with that (the glue) again. The egg was tatted with size 40 ecru thread that I bought in a dusty box from an antique store when I was 19. I was soooo excited about that find. This was back before the internet and where I lived it was impossible to find tatting thread.
Next is a closeup of the tatted ornament I made. It once had dried white german statice flowers and the dried roses were once much pinker. It is over 15 years old now so over time the white flowers have crumbled off and the dried roses have lost their color, but the tatting is just as vibrant and strong as it was when I tatted it. I made 12 of them to sell as Christmas ornaments at a Christmas boutique the year they were made. All of them sold except for three. So, two were given as gifts and I kept this one. I don't give a lot of tatting away nor have I sold before or since.

This one has graduated from Christmas ornament to permanent lamp ornament. I don't care how old and faded the flowers are, the tatting is what I love about it.

Thank you for letting me share some of my tatting around my house with you. This concludes my 3 part series of "TattingChic Around the House". Thanks for reading!

TattingChic Around the House, Part II

Here's another doily laying around the house in it's natural habitat. It spends it's days lazing underneath the weight of a flower arrangement on my dining room table. This one I made myself. Just for the record, I don't think that doilies are bad per se. I've even been known to make them now and then even as a teenager. Okay...but enough about that, cuz I want to show you guys the whole uncovered doily.

Domestic tatted doily (tattica domestica) in it's natural habitat

This one is from the book "The Tatter's Treasure Chest" Ed. by Mary Carolyn Waldrep. It's called Jasmine and it's found on pages 58-59. It's a pretty simple pattern done in size 10 so it worked up really fast.

Jasmine Tattica Domestica

That's all for now. Stay tuned for more on "TattingChic Around The House". Be sure to fill out the poll at the bottom of the page if you haven't already and, as always, I really enjoy all your comments. I have really enjoyed blogging...Thanks to you guys...and you know who you are...you tatters, you...(and non-tatters, too).

TattingChic Around the House, Part I

People have often asked me, "So, since you're really into crochet (yes they call tatting "crochet") you probably have lots of doilies all over your house, don't you?". I often respond with something like, "Doilies? Oh, NO, doilies are for grandma's." Not that there's ANYTHING wrong with being a grandma, mind you. "No, I don't have doilies all over my house, ewww." So, while I thought about what to post today as proof that I am a tatter and in going through my house I realized, "OH MY GOSH, I have doilies all over my house!" Just kidding, folks, I only have two laying out and about so that doesn't constitute ALL OVER the house, but it's enough to make me wonder, "Just how in touch with my "inner grandma" am I getting?" So, for now, let's put that depressing thought aside and get into the good stuff... the TATTING.

For instance, let's look at this beauty above to the left. That is a fabulous find I got at an antique store a few years ago. It was tagged "crochet doily $25.00". Can you believe it? I can't remember which I was more insulted over, the fact that it was labelled "crochet" or the fact that such a painstakingly, time consuming, rare, handmade beauty was being touted for sale so cheaply. I simply had to rescue it. On the other hand I jumped for joy at the rare find and after making the purchase let the shop owner know that not only was this not crochet, but she could have sold it for a lot more. Was that wrong, I ask? Don't answer that...

This is a very victorian pattern found in the book, "Tatting Designs from Victorian Lace Craft" Ed. by Jules & Kaethe Kliot. In the 2nd edition book it can be found on pg 9 entitled "Fig. 26 Centerpiece". (It's also in the first edition.) So let's take a look at it uncovered.

My Little Treasure

That book (1st edition) was the first tatting book I ever bought. I was 15 and I saved all my babysitting money for weeks to purchase it and I had to talk my mother into driving me to the next town ( the only town for miles with a needlework shop) to purchase it. I told myself "Someday, I'm gonna tat that doily." Heh heh heh, and now I don't have to, lucky me. It looks like it was done with size 30 ecru thread and measures 18 inches across from tip to tip. The interesting thing about this doily is that it is a doily that consists solely of rings. There is not a chain on the whole thing. Can you imagine all the work that went into this thing? Wow! It blows my mind. Let's take a closer look, shall we?

closeup of the doily's center

closeup of doily's edge

I often wonder about the person who made it and what she must have been like...and how did such a little treasure end up in an antique store? How could someone possibly let a gem like this slip out of their hands? Some unknowing relative who inherited it, perhaps? Maybe they thought it was just another one of "Aunt Emma's" silly doilies and took it to the antique store just to get rid of it. I'm sure glad they did, because I certainly get a lot of pleasure out of having this treasure in my home to enjoy. It certainly has been fun sharing it with all of you today. Stay tuned...as there is more to come on this multi-part series on "TattingChic around the house".

Thank you for stopping by my little blog today, your comments are always welcome and appreciated. Be sure to fill out the poll at the bottom of the page.

A pattern for this doily can also be found online here (Page 9, fig. 26)