I have to admit I ended this with about the same level of frustration as when I started it. The I.O.L.I. Bulletin has a column by Bobbie Demmer each issue and this one features a Patriotic Mini Star by Bina Madden. Although my star looks similar to the black and white version in the newsletter, I know it isn't. So I'm happy, more or less, with the way it looks but I know it's done differently. The instructions called for 20 beads but only told me where to load 16 of them. I'm assuming now that the other 4 all go on the center threads and one is used on each corner...or perhaps the shuttle-shuttle thread. I used 2 shuttles because I didn't understand how you could use the ball color, have it go through the center bead as shown in the picture and not cut it. So I used 3 shuttles, one for each color and one for the center threads...same as purl tatting. In fact, that's basically what I did, pearl tatted the entire chain, pulling the beads from the "ball" thread for the corners, which ended up being 3 beads instead of 4. It's clear from the description of how the stitches are supposed to look that I've done it wrong, but I got the same effect and I'll leave it as is if I tat it again because it was really easy - except I'll make sure I have the same number of beads on each corner. Ah well..next day now, maybe I'll comprehend the instructions better next time time around.

I rarely tat anything from the Bulletin. I'm not sure why - just never have.

So...this must be the confession post, eh? I haven't been to yahoo etatters since I heard it was closing. I would have liked to copy some of my very first posts when I was new to tatting but they were already gone so it didn't matter. Anything that is helpful is already pretty much on websites...knowing where to look for them is the tricky part, but probably just as tricky trying to track it down on archived posts as using google, so I don't think it's as much of a loss as most people are feeling. At first, I wondered - it was a shame to see the history of the resurgence of tatting lost.....but so it is.

Got a tatted necklace that didn't go the way you thought it would? Don't throw it away! Submit it to the 5th Annual Ugly Necklace Competition!

Did I happen to mention during the Christmas hoopla that I received the book Tatting Theory & Patterns by Jan Stawasz? You can order it from Handy Hands. I ordered it from the publisher and it was 6 weeks getting here so I think a domestic supplier might already have it in stock. This snowflake is on page 74. The patterns are done in diagram and it is in English. I was surprised that Jan used size 10 thread so much! I would say more than half of his projects are in size 10 thread, but the good thing about that is that you can see how they are constructed clearly. There is a window decoration on page 82 that I really want to tat!

Today in lace guild we did a bobbinlace heart. There were varying degrees of difficulty and I chose the simplest, of course. I actually finished tonight - well..all but ending. I don't know how to end so it will sit there until I can corner Bette or figure it out on my own. I even backtracked and fixed a mistake! I think I might have another one but I'm not sure yet. I learned how to wind bobbins though I still think I'm doing something wrong...they slip all the annoying time! I learned 2 different places to start this one, so that was something else new, but I'm still hazy about beginnings, though I understand what passive and worker pairs are. I learned how to fasten my bobbins down so I could transport the thing home without having a nightmare to untangle. That's what happened the last time. And I think I did learn something from a book about ending when I did those sample bands but I don't think that will work for this. I can't scan or photograph it because I now have the bobbins fastened partly on top on of the motif.

So...after the meeting, we went to Preston's for lunch and I drank a nice cold Bud Light in relief. LOL! Learning new stuff is stressful!