Saturday, January 08, 2011

Multimedia today

I've been playing in a lot of other areas this week besides tatting so I didn't post about them. Mostly bobbinlace. A friend and I are meeting to work on our skills which I think I might have mentioned. Anyway, sometimes I'm like a dog with a bone when I'm trying to learn something. I had one teensy issue with this lace that I think I finally figured out today. You can see what I've been working on there on my other lace blog.

I've tatted a little more on this. I'm going to use it on a rock and I'm getting to the place where I may need to shape it. I started another square at lace guild today but didn't have the rock with me to ponder with. (PONDER, not pound with!) Maybe later this evening.

I got my Eborall Family shuttle! This is the holly wood one. It's not just the decal on it, it's real holly wood. (Not Hollywood though they're stars in my book) It reminds me of ivory. I love it!

The ends are nice and tight so don't be fooled by my fat fingers covering that one edge. The post is high so it will hold a ton of thread! Many thanks to the clever and creative bunch across the pond who are making these lovely shuttles! I think I read from Sally or Jane that a few more will be listed soon.

Today my lace guild had Spinning on the agenda and I've wanted to learn for ages and ages. I was so tired I could barely pull myself out of bed this morning but I could hear that spindle calling my name. Kelli, Knitter Bunny, and Dagmar, our German member, gave us lots of good information and showed us how its done. Lots of good experience between the two. I was starting to get the hang of it but noticed my shoulder was starting to hurt (from too much bobbinlacing originally) so once I felt somewhat comfortable and thought I'd probably not forget at least that much of what I'd done, I put it away. I can see where it could be addictive.

I also remembered that I had not shown my finished cowl here.

It went to my granddaughter so don't have it any more but I do intend to make something similar for myself. Eventually.

And now for a friendly rant:

I was checking out bobbin lace on Etsy, just to see what was there and really was looking more for bobbins than anything. Misidentification of lace is just as rampant on Etsy as it is on Ebay. (yeah...I can hear the groans) I contacted several to tell them their "bobbinlace" was actually needlelace, filet crochet, or something else.

I didn't bother to contact this seller. It's listed as bobbinlace but it's actually machine made embroidery to look like tatting. And it's not even identified as tatting! LOL! You might not be able to tell it on this photo but at the store, you can clearly see the threads from machine embroidery.

Now a friend of mine recently showed me some machine embroidered "tatting" that she had done and it was exquisite. Yeah, I know it was machine embroidery but the thread spacing was perfect, no overlapping or loose threads and it was made into an ornament. Extremely well finished. This lace is not even that.

I also saw some well-made bobbinlace bookmarks being sold for $5.00. Last night I made a "bookmark" sample and it took me 4 hours. How can anyone sell something even better for so little? I don't get it. Why would you put hours into making something and basically sell it at garage sale prices? If you're doing that, STOP IT!

Happy Weekend Everyone!

9 comments:

  1. Is that the square from the Easy Tatting book??? I keep looking at that pattern and thinking of how frustrating it might be with the needle... (I'm still trying with the shuttle, even bought "Learn to Tat" with the DVD so I could try and try again.) Your WIP is looking mighty beautiful!!! I can't want to see it on the rock! (By the way, I think the rock idea is ingenious and so perdy!!!)

    The shuttle... well, I think I'm more determined than ever to learn to shuttle tat just so I can own such beauties!!

    The cowl, I love... it looks so cozy!!!

    For the rest... well, I can't say all too much other than agreeing with you. I wonder, though, if you've ever checked out zibbet.com A friend who used to sell on Etsy finds it much better from both buying and selling aspects. When I searched for bobbin lace, I found one piece and some bobbins ...may be worth a look, but I know nothing about bobbin lace other than ooohhhhing and ahhhinng over it. *blushes* I hope that that website will alleviate at least a bit of that I-want-to-pound-with-not-ponder-with-this-rock feeling that was detected in your rant. ;-)

    -Stephanie Grace

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  2. I love that holly shuttle! Lucky you - enjoy it!

    I suppose all the boredom was worth it???
    Fox : )

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  3. I recently was contacted by someone who does some kind of machine embroidery that looks just like tatting. She wanted to use my patterns - and I politely declined. This was her website...
    http://www.murphysdesigns.com/

    I don't sell my work because I couldn't sell it for the time I've put into it. I'd rather give it to someone who will appreciate the gift. I'm with you!

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  4. Oh, Murphy's designs. I've tactfully pointed out to that lady that she's misrepresenting tatting by calling it just 'tatting'. I suggested she re-named it 'machine made faux tatting'. She didn't like that one bit!!!! I'm sure it must be against the law to say that it's tatting. Anyway, good for you Crazy Mom for declining her request. With ebay I often contact the sellers over their items which aren't tatting and they're always very sweet and grateful to know that what they've got is not tatting. Hmmmm, maybe I should do the same with Etsy? Maybe we all should?
    I'm looking forward to having a holly shuttle myself too!! That branch came from our late dad's garden.

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  5. couldn't agree more on the pricing issue. It's a constant battle getting a fair price for handmade items.

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  6. well, I don't know what happened, you may two comments..better then none...hope your having a happy day where you are. I do love the potholders, I have only made 5 so far, and intend to make more. The cowl is so pretty and the color is perfect for you, what a treasure for your grandaughter. Are you going to make the same color for you?

    Bounty & Blessings for you this day...

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  7. what i think it is about selling cheap, is that maybe she just has tons of bobbin lace and just wants to sell it. i don't agree with selling so cheap, but i understand it.

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  8. "Speaking" as an actual bobbin lace maker, I couldn't agree more with the last paragraph! (or the one before, I wasn't referring to the happy weekend one).

    I know how much time and effort goes into it, so there is no way I'd be selling any of mine for so low a price (I don't sell my lace anyway), but I know how much bobbin lace costs in Slovenia - unfortunately, the prices are very affordable here as well, but that's because you have to keep up with the competition and you have no choice but to set prices low, otherwise there's no business...

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  9. watch out! Spinning is very addictive, just like tatting and bobbin lace. I like to spin and the time just flies away while you make lovely thread/yarn. I like to spin lace weight yard and spindles are good for that weight. I do mostly on my wheel.
    You showcased a lot of goodies in this post! :)

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