Here's the Tea-for-One I JUST won on ebay! I love the unusual shape of this one.

Here are the parts of the elephant blanket as I'm getting reading to join them. The bright blue on the floss card is the color I'm going to use. Black might look better - I just thought of that - but I'm not sure I have any black rayon floss. Guess I need to dig a bit because I think I do somewhere. I plan to use the bluish beads there too, with whichever color thread I use. When I got the silver hearts, I was thinking of putting them on the blanket but there aren't very many and I think they would look better on the headpiece. There isn't much design on the head - just a florette under the eye - unless you count the rings around the eye. I wish it did have one of those ornate headpieces. Gosh, why didn't I think of that earlier? Well, actually, the outline of the head is the same design as the blanket border so that will need to be in color too and apparently it is the headpiece - just not towering above as I was thinking of. And I see there are two florettes - the ear was obscuring most of one and since I'm using a different ear, I think it will show up more. I still want to use the silver hearts around the head though. The blanket pieces are brought together by a border of chains and cloverleafs. That will be a TON of beads! I'm not using beads on the elephant's body however.

Okay, burrowing around in the thread stash, I find 2 skeins of Star rayon floss, 4 yards and 4 strands to each skein. I also find a skein of black metallic floss. Only 1 skein, but I know I can buy more of that while I can't find more of the Star. The Star was a vintage garage sale find. I think I'll ponder on it a bit. Stop by Hobby Lobby tomorrow night and see if they have some black rayon floss. The beads will be easier to manipulate on the rayon as opposed to the metallic.

Decisions, Decisions! I might have to set up a poll on here to get some input. LOL!

I need to block the pink on the blanket. It's been tucked in a baggie for over a year and is all contorted. I smoothed it out some but it needs a major overhaul.



It really helps to scan it and see it in a different format. I'm definitely leaning towards the black. but I think I could use the metallic for the eye, the toenails, and possibly the outer edge of the ear. Whoo-hoo! It's comin' together! I'll get new black rayon floss though, so I'll be sure to have enough. I guess I could start on the head in the meantime.

BTW folks - I'm coming up on my ONE YEAR anniversary for this blog! It's changed a lot since the first entry on February 13, 2003. I've learned so much! A great deal of it came from a fellow blogger whose own blog inspired me to try it. He isn't a tatter, probably has no more than a passing interest in it, but his site was the very first time I read a blog and it fired off an interest in the concept that continues. He likely won't read it here, but I appreciate his role in this and will send him a private thank you.

Those on the mailing list knew this was coming...................



Nell told us about the lace she had just finished tatting and was attaching to her jean jacket! And black! I know myself how hard that is on the eyes to tat dark colors. Even if you lay a white cloth in your lap, it can be hard to see the individual stitches. She also stitched down every picot as well as places in the rings so she won't have to worry about pressing the picots down when it's washed. I think a round of applause is called for!


Remember my curiousity about how the painted doily was done? Well, Linda from Australia explained how to do it and it sounds like you could do this with tatting shuttles too. Anyway, she does with a tatting needle so there's gotta be a way. You use 3 strands of thread. Start out with 3 of color A and work a round or two, then go to 2 strands of color A with 1 strand of color B, then 1 strand of color A and 2 strands of color B, then 3 strands of color B. Repeat the process with the next color, replacing one thread out of the 3 to make the gradual change in color. Cool, huh? Now everyone go try it while I'm working on my elephant!

Why do such neat ideas come up when I'm knee deep in a project that I can't leave? Ever notice that? Nell has me motivated to put something on clothing too. Hope has made some gorgeous clothing embellished with tatting. It never occured to me to take photos when she was showing me everything. I was too busy touching and admiring and being in awe!

I finished one more motif on the elephant blanket. Actually 1 and 1/2. If it weren't for stringing the beads it would probably go a lot faster. Fortunately, I separated almost all of the embroidery floss last year so I don't have to mess with that. It took me forever! Kathy Lowe gave me some good tips about that butterfly wing - or rather the method of tatting in that book and it looks like I'll need to practice that technique a bit to get the effect that I want. I may change my mind.

This is another hectic week. A close friend of my sister passed away this week and I went to the funeral home this evening. The weather hasn't been pleasant either - cold and snowy and windy. I got home tonight and my mailbox had been hit. No mail, so it must've been hit before the mailman came. I wonder if I had any ebay wins in the mail? When I got in the house, there was a message from Airmail Express telling me the driver hit the mailbox as he backed out of the drive. I 'll call them tomorrow to see what they will do for damages. sigh.......................I replace a mailbox on a regular basis here. This will be my 3rd replacement in as many years.

Then I got a call from my ex-sister-in-law to let me know how many will attend my son's graduation celebration on Saturday and we talked for quite awhile. It will be nice to see all of them.

My car lease is up soon and I want to buy the next vehicle - yesterday I received a flyer saying my wanted car make will be featured in a midnight madness sale Friday and Saturday, so that's what I'll be doing Friday night even if it is frigid and packed with snow!

So the elephant is slow-going this week. Might help if I got off the computer though.

Alrighty folks! I'm moving on to the ELEPHANT!

I had one small moment of panic this evening when I couldn't find the threads and what I had already tatted..............followed by another teensy moment when I couldn't find Pam Palmer's book. Rest easy though, all was found and is resting at my tatting nest in the living room. While I'm tatting away on what I've already started, I need some help figuring out what to do with the ear. My daughter likes the African elephants with the flared ear so that square thingie-ma-bob isn't gonna do it! I was kinda thinking about the butterfly wing from Lindsay Rogers book, Tatting Miscellany, but decided it will end up too big in comparison with the thread I am using. I might be able to adapt it but first I wanted to explore other possibilities. After much hurried thumbing through about 4 books that had shapes I recalled vaguely elephant-ear like, I found one in New Dimensions in Tatting by To De Haan-Van Beek. It's the upper wing of butterfly 1 or 2, on page 69. If you turn the book upside down, the upper wing makes a perfect elephant ear! I have no idea, however, what size this will tat out to. I'm using 2 strands of rayon embroidery floss which is probably close to most size 20 thread, if I remember right. Maybe between 20 and 30. I'll have a better idea once I back in the flow of it. But if there are any tatters out there who have done this butterfly, regardless of thread size, please let me know! I've also never tatted a single thing from this book. I keep picking it up and looking through it, admiring the critters and flowers, but I've yet to actually make something so I don't know how easy the directions are to follow. Another thing I would like to do is use gray on the outside and as I move to the inside of the ear, change to pink. The color range in rayon thread is limited and I don't think I can even do dark gray to light gray, but I'll look next time I'm in Hobby Lobby.

Color range reminds me, I noticed a crocheted doily in a recent Annie's Attic catalog. It's titled Painted Doilies and has 5 designs for doilies in size from 11 1/2" to 26" and they are crocheted from sewing thread, evidently Coats Dual Duty Plus since it's featured right below the doilies. It says they are crocheted with 3 threads at a time to achieve the gradual color change. I don't have a clue how they do this, so I'm probably going to have to buy the pattern even if I never use it, just to understand the technique. It's on page 12 if you have the catalog. Isn't it gorgeous?


Oh, I forgot to mention yesterday that I tatted the heart baskets in size 30 thread and they were only about 1" - 1 1/2" wide. I could barely put a hershey kiss in there, in fact, it kept falling out because I put it pointed end in and it was top-heavy that way, but if you used a larger thread, it would probably be big enough. The link I provided automatically opens a blank email to Witt but here's the email in case it didn't work for you: wittsc@virtual1.net

Well, I'm going to try to get back into the elephant swing of tatting now. Wish me luck and do email me if you have any experience tatting the butterfly wing in New Dimensions... Just click on the link over to the right where it says "email tatting goddess".

I guess I should take some time and write about the meeting yesterday at Zig Zag Corner! There ended up being 8 of us present, a nice size group just about right for the room we had. Kaye has a 3D tulip project for us, in two parts, so I definitely have to go next month to know how to put everything together! There are 3 inner petals and 3 outer petals and the stamen that we worked on this time. I got one outer petal done and the stamen. We used some roll tatting in the stamen, which is new for me. I was aware of it, but had never tried it. Next month we will put the petals together and make the leaves. I can't wait! I'll show the petals when I have them all done.

In the meantime, I made these precious heart baskets to include with my thank-you bookmarks. They didn't take long at all and are a quickie for the Sweetheart Day coming up. My sweethearts are my grandkids, but I doubt the boys will be that crazy about it since most of them are below 4th grade. Maybe if I put a teensy frog in there too. LOL! The pattern is by Witt Wittmann, who is including it free with every copy of her book Tat Witt. You can see a copy of the book here and you can contact Witt here, if you're interested in purchasing it - only $10! You'll enjoy the many insights she writes about connecting tatting to daily life. I'm looking forward to meeting Witt in June at the Palmetto Tatters Tatting Day.

Ooopss! My mistake about E-Central The patterns come from 4 places, not just Annie's Attic. They are The Needlecraft Shop, House of White Birches, Annie's Attic, and True Colors. Also, I got to tatting by typing "tatting" in the search box at the top of the page. It wasn't listed in the categories with icons, so whatever your interest, put it in the search engine and you'll know immediately if there is anything there that matches.

This morning I was reading my last entry and checked the Michael's Crafts link further. You can find a store in your area by entering the zip code and then see what classes they are offering. If I had a Valentine, I could learn to make Valentine candy for my sweetie! You can also click on a tab at the top which designates different categories. Then when you get to the category, there are projects listed. For example, I clicked on Needlework and then there were 3 categories of projects. I picked Embroidery and it came up with 37 projects in pdf format. The pdf file included patterns and all the threads and supplies needed as well as directions to make them. I saw a lovely butterly coaster with silk ribbon embroidery. I'm thinking it would look super with tatting around the edge too. The butterfly shown was purchased, I believe, but with the pattern shape, you could easily make your own by cutting out the shape and making a tiny hem around the edges. Or using a buttonhole stitch to finish off the edges............... I see a few other projects that are calling to me too.

Going into this a bit further, it has a print-friendly version you can click on. I love sites like that. Takes all the extraneous stuff out! Also has a skill level and you are invited to review the project. When I clicked on that (rating) it invited me to be the first to submit a review, so I take it that means all prior reviews would show if there were any. And these are FREE!!!! Now I'm checking out beading projects, but I'm going to leave it to you to explore on your own.



Now, let me tell you about another place I visited earlier this week. E-Patterns Central This site has different needlecraft patterns for purchase. I chose the tatting category and found four I wanted. I paid for them online................and found out they had to be downloaded instead of mailed to me. That explains why there wasn't any postage. LOL! My computer at work wouldn't do it, even though I have Adobe Acrobat reader there. No problem - I'd just do it at home. But Acrobat wouldn't do it there either, giving me the same error messages as at work. So then I downloaded the Adobe version they gave me the link to, which is 6.0, a newer version than the one at work or on my computer already. That one worked fine! These patterns are from Annie's Attic. They only show you part of what is in the set. That was fine until I got to the last one and when I saw the photos, I recognized all the patterns as being in The Big Book of Tatting, which I already had. The patterns aren't that expensive, but it was still a waste. I might have picked a different one if I'd known that. In the end, I spent about $10 on 12 patterns. One set was 5 hearts that were very similar so I hesitate to count each of them, but I did. What I'm saying is that I've spent the same amount on books with that number or less of patterns. If you don't have the means to download and print off a pdf file though, there are no other options.

Tomorrow I'm attending the Tatting Guild meeting in Greenfield at Zig-Zag Corner. Kaye Judt will be presenting a lesson using fishing line as the ball thread. Doesn't that sound intriguing?

I've got my son's graduation celebration scheduled so that's one less thing on my mnd.

I love going here to the Japanese Tatting Webring. Not only is the tatting so exsquisite and precise, it is often artfully displayed. Just run your cursor over the characters and when something is highlighted, click. You will have one delightful surprise after the other. Eye candy and inspiration!

My bookmarks are done. The last one is drying from the blocking and I will add a tassle late tonight after I get home. In fact, I'll have it scanned and on here before this is published.




LOL! The skin on my 2nd finger on the left hand keeps peeling. That's where the crochet hook kept hitting while I was crocheting. It's actually a bit of a callous that seems to be coming off in layers. I'm tatting another little goodie to go with the bookmarks. I know, I know..........I've got a bloomin' elephant to be doin'!

Speaking of Japanese tatting and elephants, here you can see Pam Palmer's elephant on the le grenier de Monet site. If you manage to find her gallery, there are loads of pictures showing excellent knitting and crocheting too. This one has multiple talents!

I found some tiny metal charms at Michael's last week in the shape of butterflies/dragonflies/flowers and they say created for you or made with love on the back. I think I'm going to start attaching them to things I make for special people.

Gillian Buchanan has done a fine job with thread comparison at Bellaonline. I copied and pasted the relevant threads for me onto a single document to print out and put in my notebooks for reference. Gillian has a very extensive site covering all phases of tatting, with tips and guidelines for new techniques as well as links to patterns all over the web. She's a wonderful resource for new and seasoned tatters alike.

Filet Crochet Snowman Mat
Pattern from Magic Crochet, October 1991. Thread: Cebeila size 20 Hook: size 12 Finished size: 14" x 16" Started on Dec. 26, 2003 and completed Jan. 17, 2004
The directions called for a size 13 hook which I didn't have on hand and the size 14 was smaller than I wanted to work with. The instructions also said it would be 14" x 18" so I'm not sure if the difference in height is from the hook or from blocking. I didn't really have a means to stretch it out.

The cat? That's Skunk - he then proceeded to jump up and sit on it so the photo session ended at that point.



I also finished the bookmark I started last week. I said the pattern came from Frivolete in a prior entry but that is wrong. It comes from Tatting by DMC. There is a heart motif in the book I want to do too. It is a challenge because it has needle lace wheels added to it after it is tatted. I need to do two more bookmarks this weekend – probably different patterns. I get bored doing the same thing over and over.

While I was looking for a shell border pattern for the crocheted mat, I looked through numerous craft magazines that are stored in the basement. There are at least a couple of hundred down there and every one of them has something in it I want to make or I wouldn’t have kept it. Sigh………

There is an afghan with a happy face snake that I think is perfect for the grandsons! It is something I printed out from the web but the credit goes to Hooked On Crochet Magazine, #62. If I start now, I could have them done by next Christmas but I think I’d rather make Christmas afghans in that case.

For now, I need to focus on the bookmarks and then the elephant.

Yee-haw! I finished the snowman last night. And a bookmark. Unfortunately, the phone system is having problems and I can't connect at home so the pics will have to wait.

I'm ready to start row 85 on the filet crochet snowman. I somehow missed sticking the bag of that and my tatting into my carryall this morning so I have nothing to work on during lunch. I've been working on a new tatted bookmark. It's fun to notice how much better I am able to read patterns these days. I started this pattern a long time ago and had so much trouble with it that I discarded the small bit I did. It's a floral edging/insertion in an older Frivolete which has many versions here and there. I don't know where the original pattern came from but I can see why it's been adapted in different ways. I continue to follow the directions though. I can revise it for the next one if I need to.

I added the search engine to my site the same evening I mentioned it in the last entry. It really saves me some searching! I just enter the keyword of the project, such as "crinoline" and it brings up all my entries related to that. Now all I need to do is fix the photos in older entries that I've accidently replaced with the wrong one.

I'm hoping to finish the snowman up over the weekend and there are 2 more bookmarks I want to make. Then it's on to the elephant!

I bought 3 more porcelein hearts at Walmart last night. It took me awhile to find them. They had moved them from an endcap to a inside aisle location and there were only 6. These had green ribbons instead of red ribbons - but I also saw a little tag by them that said "new item" so I don't think it is seasonal. These were $1.97 each. I don't like the green ribbon so I'll be replacing those for sure.

Unfortunately, I missed the online tatting classes again. I just can't seem to get back in the habit. The tatting guild in Greenfield/Indianapolis meets on January 24 and I intend to go to this one. I'm glad they moved it to a later Saturday in the month. I'd like to join our local embroidery guild but I'm having enough trouble keeping up with the lace group.

Today is a day of meetings. My morning one, a training actually, was 2 hours and 45 minutes. We did have breaks, but it was cold and I was having a lot of trouble staying awake. Ironically, it was about facilitating meetings and how to make them interesting. This afternoon is a safety committee - another 2 hour meeting that I'm not looking forward to sitting through, even though I really like this group and their enthusiasm. Not enough sleep, I guess, so I'm not sure how much crocheting/tatting I will get done this evening. I also came in an hour early this morning to meet someone for a chair fitting. Maybe I'll just have an early night.

I got my I.O.L.I. bulletin and new membership book on Saturday. I didn't see any tatting patterns but there was an article about either reading patterns or creating designs. I haven't taken the time to read it yet. I subbed to Anna magazine for another 6 months. It's one of the few that I still feel is worth the money, packed full of projects each month, even if I don't do all of them.

I'm looking forward to having the snowman done but at the same time, I have at least 2 more that I want to do. I'll have to work on the elephant first and then do mat #2. I have one that says "Cookies for Santa" that I've wanted to make for years. I think there is another with reindeer or deer that I particularly like too. I wish I knew a way to mark what I've made so that when I'm gone, my kids will know which ones I made vs the ones I've picked up elsewhere. Ahhhhh.............this is what I was thinking of at the weekend when my sister and her friend were talking about scrapbooking. I want to scan or photograph each project I've made and kept and document the thread, pattern, date, etc. and then when I kick the bucket they will have it all in one place and won't have to wonder.

I took a late nap Saturday so now I'm wide-awake here on Sunday in the wee hours.

My lace group didn't have anything special planned today so it was show and tell and conversation. There was a new tatter in the group, AnnMarie, and I'm looking forward to seeing her again. I took my crochet and worked on it - only to find my hook was missing when I got there. AnnMarie just happened to be using the same size hook for her joins, so she shared her hook with me. I found my hook when I got home. It had slid out of the work onto the carpeted floor where I sit when crocheting or tatting. I'm ready to start row 75 now out of 102. It's not working out as tall as the gauge indicates but the width is fine. I think the height will work out when it is blocked. I don't know if I have anything big enough to block it on however.

I'm going to get the elephant out and start back on it. Here's where I left off on the blanket.


It's been tossed in a baggie for almost a year so it's a little rumpled. I had a great idea for the ear today. I don't like the square ear in Pam's directions but I wasn't sure what to do. Today, I remembered a butterfly wing pattern that I think will fit in perfectly. My daughter prefers the African elephants with the larger ears so that will be more representative of what she likes too. I hope the size will work out in proportion without too much fiddling.

I tried some needle lace Friday evening. I got some instruction online. This still isn't exactly what I want to do, but it's a start and will give me some practice. Here's how it looks so far. I believe somewhere along the line I would go back over the first 2 arches I made as they are smaller and more unrully than the 2nd two, but I haven't noticed where in the instructions yet. I think this thread might not have a tight enough twist either.



Another thing I did Saturday morning was visit Ginchyworld. I thought I had her listed in my blog links but I hadn't, so she is now. I love her little tea graphics on the side. I especially want one of those duck infusers. She gave me the website of the shop where she got it, which is in Australia....maybe when I visit in a year or so I will get one. I didn't find the duck at the time I looked online. Another thing I like on her site is the search engine. For some reason, I thought a search engine on a site searched the web, not the site. I just realized that would solve a problem here. After almost a year (in March) I wish I had links to projects or photos. That means going back and noting everything which will be very time consuming. A search engine would make it so much easier for readers, and for me. I still have to go back and look through everything because I made a mistake in uploading some photos/scans with the same title name, which erased the old one. So I know there are some photos that do not match the description anymore and I want to correct that. Adding the search engine will take care of the link feature I wanted to add.

If you are looking for an inexpensive but elegant looking Valentine, Walmart has these bone china hearts back in the craft section for $1.99 each. I tatted the heart for it which is the one I mentioned in yesterday's entry, Betsy Evan's heart, that fits perfectly when made in size 12 thread. I also have some made up in size 20 thread that also fit very nicely in the blank space. The smaller heart in the scan is one I tatted from the Japanese book Pretty Tatting Lace Articles published by DMC. Unfortunately, I can't read the characters and understand who the author's name is. The instructions are in Japanese characters but the diagrams are quite good and I've not had a problem following them so far. The starting point is shown as well as the initial direction of any ring that goes in a different path. After I made it, I decided it was too small for the white space and looked a bit forlorn. The other heart is one I had in my boo-boo stash, in size 8 perle cotton. With that size thread, it must be one I tatted very early in my tatting life.

I used a tube of scrapbooking glue to attach the heart. I didn't want anything too permanent, in case I change my mind. I'm going to take it with me to my Lace Guild meeting on Saturday. The bobbin lacers have their own heart patterns that would fit on there. In fact, I saw one on Christmas, made by someone that I'm sure would be perfect. The heart came with the red ribbon but you can easily take it off and put anything else you wish in there, including a tatted cord or tiny split ring edging. You could get even more elaborate and tat a simple ring and chain edging to go around the outside edge. It's 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" at the widest points each way.

Only 2 rows done on the filet snowman today. Maybe tomorrow will be more productive.

I tatted one tiny heart today for a project but it ended up being too small. I had some hearts from Betsy Evan's Rainbow Heart bookmark pattern that were just the right size but the wrong color ( and it was a trio of them, not a single heart to be had!). I can't find my print out of the pattern but I'm printing out a new one and will make the heart in the desired color over the next day or so.

I'm ready to do the filet snowman's eyes! Row 58!

I borrowed some books from the I.O.L. I. library. I got Ben Fikkert's Floriade. I'm not a doily person and this book is almost all doilys but there are a few collars too. I admire Ben's work and wanted to see more. I do really like the centerpiece "Corona".
Then I got Dianna Stevens' Victorian Tatted Christmas. This one is a collection of glass ornament covers lavishly beaded. Unfortunately, with Christmas already over, I'm not in the mood to make anything seasonal. I also got a book for beginning needlelace. I've been wanting to do that for a long time. I'm a little confused about the foundation piece it is telling me to make. I might look at a few other references. I think one of my Anna magazines has a course in needlelace.

Welp - it's late and I need my beauty sleep!

I was buying some big manilla envelopes in Walmart the other night and happened to see these brightly colored CD envelopes! Is that not perfect for a little doily or coaster that you want to mail????

I'm on row 51 of the filet snowman! After about 10 more rows, it will go fast because I'll have the head and broom done and everything after that is only occasional filled meshes, most of them open.

LOL! Just met a new employee and found out I'm the "teapot person". I have part of my tea-for-ones collection on a shelf in my office. Didn't know I had a reputation for them. In other parts of campus I'm known as the "chair lady". It's funny the way others characterize us.

I thought I would tat more on the bookmark but I'm obsessed with making progress on the filet mat.

Damn cold in this part of the world today! It was 2º F this morning with a windchill of -17º. I hear the sun is shining now.

Some of Hope's magazines have inspired me...............I keep thinking of some curtains I saw with tatted motif insertions and just the teensiest bit of cut thread work. As part of my living room renovation, I want new drapes, something simple, and sheers behind them. I want to do the sheers myself - making them with tatted motifs - but what kind of motifs? I have some sheers now with the whisper of pale dragonflys and butterflys that I love, but I didn't buy enough panels when I got them and I can't find any more to add. Should I tat butterflys and dragonflies or maybe I should leave those motifs for another room where I could make them in smaller quantities. For the living room, perhaps round, oval and teardrop shaped motifs would be better. Still dreaming it up....

This is the edging Beauty Spots from Mary Konior's Tatting with Visual Patterns. I plan to make a bookmark with it by reversing the other side and joining at the picots. When you click on the thumbnail and see the larger version, you can see where the thread is drawn up from the base to the joining picot to start the center ring, then you draw it back through the base to do the last side ring and the josephine knot. It kind of bothers me having that "unfinished" look to it. I think the rings could be done differently but then the thread might not be in the right placement for the josephine knots that are done by making the josephine knot after the ring on one side and before the bigger ring on the other side - so you have a thread drawn through a bit there too. It looks all nice and neat in the book photo. Maybe it will all come together when it's complete and blocked.

I'm starting row 41 (out of 102) on the filet snowman. I expect to be half-way done by tomorrow night! I proabably won't have as much time to give to it next week, but still - I think I can have it done within 2 weeks if I keep at it.

I popped into Hobby Lobby earlier this evening. I bought two 100' rolls of Xmas ribbon for 66% off. Then I found 3 crochet booklets that were about 1/3 of the original cost plus one cro-tat with lovely porcelain angel head and arms - and cro-tatted clothing. Each one had a matching ornament topper too. I've had no desire to learn cro-tatting, but I really like these angels so I might give it a whirl. Some sweet Irish Crochet bags too, all around the 6" size.

I sold about 15 of my older crochet booklets on ebay - is this insane or what? At least I bought fewer than I sold - if you don't count what I won on ebay over the last 3 weeks. LOL!

I just visited Tatslife by Dutch tatter Jan Voskes. Keep watching there. He says he will have a new project there on a regular basis. Expect the first one around January 20. A tatting group tattingroundtheworld was mentioned too, which I hadn't heard of before, even though it's been around since 2000. I don't get as involved in the tatting groups anymore but I strongly encourage new and old tatters both to use them. You learn so much and get so much encouragement, whatever your skill. I know it was the tatting groups, e-tatters and tat-chat, that inspired me to stick with tatting and learn so much more than I ever would have on my own. Through those groups, I've made the most wonderful firiends too, so don't be shy!

The Second Annual Palmetto Tat Day is June 4 & 5, 2004. Sounds like a fun deal to me!

Another great place for tatters to gather is the online tatting class on Sunday and Monday nights - take your choice. There is a link on Georgia's site to email about joining the class. No fees, no grades, no deadlines for projects - just fun and learning. I believe the first two classes in January are general - meaning no specific project, just chat time like a question and answer period. This would be a good tiem for newbies to get familiar with the group. I keep forgetting to go myself but I'll make a note for myself.

Another project for the coming year............my niece is pregnant and probably expects something tatted...............but I haven't heard what the baby is yet. She's due in May.