My efforts to lose weight for my son's wedding is keeping me at the gym most evenings and that really cuts into my tatting time but I still managed to get a little done this week - just nothing I can show yet! Even so, I have some delicious eye candy for you.


I may have mentioned that I'm teaching some coworkers to tat during lunch hour Tuesdays and Thursdays. We really don't have very long and it's slow going but 4 of them have managed rings and chains so far and it's starting to come together for them. One of them brought in some tatting that had been done by her husband's grandmother which included this baby bonnet that she kindly loaned to me for a scan. There were also some hen and chick edgings and insertions such as the one in this bonnet but on a larger scale in a bigger thread.


This is a close up of both the motifs and the insertion for the ribbon to run through. I put the quarter in the scan so you can get an idea of the size of the medallions. They are so tiny. The quarter almost looks the same size but it's actually noticeably larger. The thread is very fine, like sewing thread. This piece is fragile and has several broken spots. What a beautiful piece of lace though!



Phyllis also brought this box of thread that was part of the grandmother's belongings. She couldn't find a shuttle but thread was wound around a piece of cardboard and she wondered if she used that as a shuttle? This thread is very fine too but I didn't know if it was mending thread or tatting thread? It's by Gaitermann and the "a" has the two dots over it. 100/3 which I take to mean size 100 in 3 cord. 50 m would be how much is on the spool. There is a BIG number on there too and it's different on each one so I think that is the color number. The other words differ from spool to spool but I also see a tiny drawing of a spool of thread (as we think of it) centered under what looks like a wire square frame which leads me to think it has to do with sewing rather than tatting. The package of needles inside are sharps and #48 is on the label too. Someone else in the group mentioned having this same hairpin box from a grandmother.

My daughter-in-law to be will be here shortly and I'm going to have her pick out an edging for her wedding hanky. I've got all of my Mary Konior books out for her to choose from. Each book has several edgings with the corners and I'm sure she can find one she likes from those.

I'm going on a cruise with my daughter and son-in-law at the end of October. I'm wondering what kind of tatting projects would be good to take with me. I've never been on a cruise before so I don't really know what kind of time I will have available, what kind of lighting there is, how much room in the cabin, etc. If you've taken a cruise and brought your tatting with you, please tell me what to expect!