Not Again!!!

Last night around 11:45 p.m. or a bit earlier, I heard a boom as I got up to go to the bathroom. "Had to be a tree," I was thinking. It wasn't until I opened the front door to peer outside that I realized how CLOSE it was.

It just uprooted. The whole thing fell over, brushing the SW corner of the house and hitting the garage. It missed my son's plants and my car. We can get in and out of the house and I have power, but no landline. Clearly a phone signal is getting in because I have an internet connection so I don't know what is going on there.

If you've been reading this blog awhile, you know I had a tree hit right after the Christmas holidays in 2008. That one did more damage to the roof and blocked my car since it fell from an entirely different location.

I was pretty shook up last night AFTER I saw where the tree was. No insurance adjuster will be out until Wednesday so the tree will stay until then too. I felt so much confusion with the last tree incident that I'm leaving it entirely up to them this time. Yeah, I could get the tree removed but I also have to pay for it up front and then be reimbursed. No imminent danger so it will stay.

My kitties, who summer in the garage until it gets frosty cold, were fine this morning. I couldn't see well enough even with a flashlight to venture into the narrow opening between branches into the garage last night. I called my son to warn him what he'd see when he got home so when he got here, he was brave enough to venture into the garage and saw the kitties were okay then.

I'm grateful it wasn't as ugly as it could have been. We were very fortunate!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

So, it's much later now, almost 24 hours later since the fall. I'm finishing up a King Size Hershey Almond Bar, the chocolate I so craved last night and didn't have. Had a glass of wine instead to relax enough to sleep. This afternoon,I demonstrated tatting at the Global Fest event with my other lace guild members. I've mentioned this event here in other years. I wasn't much in the mood for socializing so left and went to Walmart to stock up on paper supplies and then ate out and came home. I just sorted through some printouts, looking for a potential pattern look-alike which I didn't find, and suddenly realized I'm TIRED. I also found a skein of Merrilee's Rhubarb Pie in the pages of a book. I have no idea why I would have put it there. It's not even wound on a floss holder yet!

Tomorrow I absolutely must hook up the scanner/printer. My camera is tricky - or needs an owner who really knows how to operate it. For now, I think I'll go watch a bit of tv and wind this rediscovered skein of HDT.

Additional links

Just wanted to point out that I've alphabetized the patterns and added a few direct links. All the links to E-Snips have been changed to direct links in pdf format. I hope they're easier to get now. I've also broken it down into categories - patterns, techniques, French translations, and You Tube videos. I guess I need to move the 4 different cord techniques to techniques instead of patterns.

I wanted to wait until later to post this as I think the scanner will show it better than the camera in this case. I won't have the scanner set up until later in the weekend though.

I wanted to show you the bookmark Miranda tatted for me in appreciation for making that little white bag for her. It's the Chinese Coin Bookmark by Jon. I've been wanting to make it for ages and now I've been gifted with a beautiful one!


The camera didn't show the color well [changed photo!] and it's a beautifully shaded blue in size 40. I don't remember the thread brand and forgot to pick up the card on my way out this morning but I'll insert it here later. [Olympus, possibly color OL-M14]

I tried laying it across my blue eyelet blouse this morning, hoping the blues would stand out even more but they didn't. [changed photo here too!] I HAD to put some color on my blog today! It was feeling so colorless - maybe because I'm tatting so much in white.

I tatted a 4 corner piece from Myra Piper's book last night. Apparently I've tatted it before because I had written in the corrections. LOL! There is a ring missing and a reverse work. Or maybe a rw where there shouldn't have been. They're simply numbered so it wouldn't do any good for me to search the blog...unless...I search for Myra Piper! Here are some bookmarks from different patterns in the book. And here are some bookmarks made from the one I tatted last night. Wow - looks entirely different! And I'm embarrassed to admit I'd forgotten all about tatting these bookmarks! I do remember the bookmarks I get as gifts though.

So anyway, the white version goes into the dye pot too. I ended the edging I posted about the last time. I measured it against the lovely Gina purse that Jane Eborall gave me during a visit to the states last year and it's already too long to embellish it without cutting a few bits off. I'm also dubious about matching the color.

The thread Miranda used in the Chinese Coin Bookmark might be a perfect match though!

Wait! Stop! I already have ....things to do. LOL! You see how these things snowball though, don't you?

160 Titles!

160 Titles of Tatting books in Handy Hands catalog.

I know.

I counted them. That doesn't even include all of the titles that exist.

I ordered a ball of DMC cordonnet in size 20 and they squeezed a catalog in the box. Ironically, they included a free ball of Lizbeth white in size 20. I say ironically because I was specifically looking for DMC cordonnet in size 20 because the Lizbeth was not tatting up the way I wanted for a project. I even explained why I wanted the DMC as opposed to the Lizbeth.

There once was a lady who compared threads at microscopic levels and posted the results on her website. You could see the difference in quality and also in ply and twist. I don't think it even exists anymore. She wasn't a tatter but she worked with thread. The last I knew, she couldn't keep up with the requests to examine new brands of thread.

I've been remiss about Tatting Tea Tuesday so much lately. I've been overwhelmed and underwhelmed, depressed and excited - way too much confusion at times to focus much on tea, though I've consumed gallons of it and tatted at the same time! This edging is one I'm tatting for the dye bath. It's a Van Dyke edging out of Tatting Miscellany by Lindsay Rogers. It's tatted in size 40 DMC cordonnet and I can't believe how wide it is for that size thread. I'm pretty sure it's two inches wide! Very feminine. I don't have a clue what I'll use it for. If I could tat enough before the Big Dye Day, I'd like to put it on pillowslips but it's very doubtfull I can do that.

Well, if you haven't made it to a Tat Day so far this year, Nina Libin is teaching at the Circle City Lacers retreat in November. Here are some details from their flyer:

The Circle City Lacers are holding a retreat at The Inn at Turkey Run State Park this year on November 6, 7 and 8. This year's retreat will be featuring Nina Libin, well-known for her book, Tatted Lace of Beads, the techniques of Beanile Lace. Nina has always been fascinated by beadwork and lace of all kinds and helped revive frivolité, a type of Russian needlework. She teaches tatting and Beanile lace in New York and across the country.

Please sign up early so we can be certain to hold this event. Fees should be paid by September 10.

All righty! The new computer is up and running! I still don't have the scanner/printer set up with it but the camera is so I do have some piccies!

My granddaughter's baptism was this morning. I wasn't going to make anything and then decided to add a little something at the last minute.

Friday night I tatted this "large cross" from Visual Tatting by Mary Konior. It was in size 40 and true to the description, it was only 5 1/2" tall but it seemed 7" tall. I love this design but decided it was too big for an infant. I know she could care less at 3 months but I thought maybe one of her other gifts would be a small bible and it could go in there.

So I decided to try this cross, made by needle tatter Rebecca aka Tatmom. There was also a diagram and a few tips for shuttle tatters. The name of the design is Colossians 2:14 Cross I tatted this one Saturday morning. Better size and the design was okay but I wanted to add some glitz - like ....pink beads.

Don't these look like pink glass beads to you? Sure did to me! So I tatted a whole new cross with beads Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, I took a food break which happened to be lasagna. Apparently my fingers were not as clean as I thought and got a very faint smudge of tomato sauce on the white. I was almost done with it and figured a quick soak in OxyClean would take care of the stain.

Well, it didn't. I tried a few other things and it stayed stained exactly as it was. You can see it. What it did do, though, was turn those pretty pink beads silver! I was flabbergasted. I'm going to have to start testing every bead I use to see if they are dyed. I honestly thought these were pink glass all the way through. So...this one goes in the dye bag. I'll salvage it for something else.

So Miss Ellie got the plain one in her card but it's probably better to put in a book anyway.

I'm still learning how to use Office 7 on this computer. We have it at work - or so I thought, but I miss my Microsoft photo editor. This one is harder to use - until I get the hang of it, I guess.

I've got lots more tatting done for the Dye Day though. I'll show it all before we color it. And once I get the scanner set up, I'll have even more to show you.

Well..Sunday night and I'll bet all those Palmetto's Tatters are POOPED! Those Tat Days are fun but overwhelming and exhausting. Looking forward to hearing everyone's stories!

More Pattern Links

I just added NINE more direct links to patterns and techniques. They are at the bottom of the list. At some point I'll divide them into "patterns" and "techniques" and perhaps alphabetize them. I still have some things to convert to pdf files.

And once I start diagramming efficiently, I'll have to redo them all! They do need some revising but at the moment, I have other priorities. Just a quick note though about the ruffled picot technique. I'm not sure why I said they were also known as the node stitch or set stitch because I'm pretty sure that isn't true. I'll check Connors Illustrated Dictionary of terms to make sure.

Early Exchanges

When I started tatting, I didn't know ANYONE else who tatted. I've since discovered tatters locally who were around then, but I didn't have any reason to cross paths with them. Sound familiar? I've seen it a lot on new blogs or emails from tatters who have just discovered the tatting community online. The internet has been the resource most responsible for making it possible for us to communicate.

So...being self-taught, I craved knowledge. There were very few books, maybe only one or two at the library, and my collection of Workbaskets over the years for other needlecrafts, to provide me with patterns and information. Finding a few websites and TWO online discussion groups was like heaven. Pictures were still scarce even online and they weren't BIG so I still couldn't really see how my tatting compared with others. When the listgroups came up with exchanges, I jumped at the chance. I was so excited to be able to see someone else's tatting and petrified at how my own would appear. For my poor efforts, I received some exquisite tatting and good advice on how to improve my own. I cringe now at the idea of a seasoned tatter getting some of my early stuff, but in later exchanges, if I had a choice, I would often choose a new tatter, simply because I knew how it felt as a beginner.

This was my very first exchange. They were themed and this one was butterflies. You got to choose how many partners and greedy bugger that I was, I went for - ummm...I think we gave two butterflies per partner so it must have been three partners! This is a pattern by Mary McCarthy, I believe, which was published in Workbasket. I knew nothing about adding beads to tatting but the directions told how to add a bead (one big one) and I figured out what to do with smaller beads. By this time, I had accumulated a collection of size 12 perle cottom which has a sheen and is a finer size thread than size 20. I loved making these butterflies - though I haven't a single one for myself!

I remember wondering if I should send the very same thing to everyone or could I send different designs - not that I had any different ones at the time. I opted for making the same design in different colors and with different bead accents. I've been in several butterfly exchanges since then and have a photo album full of them but I couldn't tell you who those early partners were or even which butterflies came from that exchange. Most of the later ones are labeled though. These were actually easy tats.

Then a cross exchange or two were organized. I have photos of 3 or 4 that I sent to different partners but this my personal favorite, another Workbasket pattern. It was harder because there were some unfamiliar terms. I think I discarded one or two tries in a different thread before I managed this one. I can't remember now if I tatted the charm in or if I sewed it in afterwards. I suspect it is sewn in.

Bookmarks were always popular exchanges. I was getting inspired now to try things on my own more. This was an edging that I repeated and joined at the center. I didn't know how to transition at the ends and you can tell my center chains aren't all that consistent. Since I didn't know how to transition the ends, I didn't know what to do about the tassles. For some reason, I thought all bookmarks needed a tassle! I decided to be asymmetrical and make TWO tassles!

This was probably part of my first Secret Santa Exchange. There were other things in the package but I thought I was so clever to figure out how to do this bookmark in Christmas colors and with a jingle bell! It seemed like the perfect bookmark for a holiday cookbook or storybook. I'm not sure the recipient thought so but it was FUN and that was the main thing. I believe this was even size 30 thread. I was graduating from the typical size 20. I never thought of size 12 as fine thread but it certainly is.

I tatted these for my first earring exchange. I remember buying the blue glass beads especially. I probably tried out 3 or 4 patterns before I settled on this. By this time, there were beginning to be more patterns appearing online.

Exchanges were great for helping me see what tatting was supposed to look like and evaluating my own skills. As I started traveling to tatting events and meeting other people, I found we shared the same questions and concerns and learned so much from each other.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, isolated physically from other tatters and wanting to see someone else's tatting up close and personal, feel free to email me and suggest a private exchange. Maybe you want to see how a specific technique looks. It's always nice to be able to handle a piece, turn it over and around in all directions. I'd be happy to share an exchange and offer suggestions if asked for. Overseas is okay too since it will just be a small item that can fit in an envelope.

Blast from the past!

I'm not able to add new tatting right now but it just so happens I'm sorting through some old CDs at work that happen to have some of my OLD tatting on them. I started tatting in 1997, late 1997. I started my blog in 2003. These are photos between 1999 and 2001. Some have made their way here before but some might be new.

My scanning smarts weren't too great back then. I'm not sure when I got my own scanner and stopped using my sister's but depth was an issue in both. If the item wasn't flat on the scanner, it only produced a sharp image where it was.

I'll bet you all thought Konior's Black Magic was only an insertion or edging or used for bookmarks. Me - I thought of a garter.

Here it is finished with black ribbon, elastic and a red ribbon rose. It's one of my favorite creations.

This is my forever UFO. I started this during my first trip to Ireland in 2000. This is one of Jane's earlier patterns as you can see by the copyright date, the year 2000. I don't know what possessed me, but I decided to use not only the two different color threads but to add a sparkly blending filament thread to each color. Instead of winding each shuttle with the regular thread and the filament thread, I used a shuttle for each, so I was juggling shuttles like crazy. The button in the center was elegant and sparkly too. I finally cut it off the shuttles a few years ago, not sure I could find enough of the original thread to finish it. Besides, it's rare that I even wear a bracelet!

Remember that nightgown I mentioned several posts back, that I said was ten years old and I was taking off the tatted edging? Here's the edging in the process of tatting.

This was a gift for someone, I think. Might have been part of an exchange too. That's why I like blogs. This one has become my "memory". I can't even tell you what pattern it is at the moment.

This snowflake became a summer 4th of July celebration brooch. Don't limit yourself by the original use of a pattern. I made one of these for my daughter and one for my daughter-in-law that year. Different, but similar.

Here's another way I used snowflakes. Another brooch with a Christmas theme. This one went to my partner in a tatted Christmas exchange. It's two simple snowflakes stacked on each other with a button in the center and a bit of felt on the back with a jewelry pin finding stitched on. I tended to starch my stuff more back then.



These last two are rosaries I tatted for my godparents that year. The crosses are different and I think from Konior's book but one might be from a different book. My aunt actually has them hanging from a framed religious print in her home.

Hmmm...that was quite a trip, from a saucy garter to rosaries. LOL! But at least I'm satisfying my craving to post!

Tatted Cords

P.S. The links are in the left hand column under "direct links".

I added four more tutes about tatted cords. I taught these at Palmettos several years ago and you can find them in my blog archives but now they are in pdf form and easier to print out and use.

I'm not the only one who does this. Jane Eborall has several patterns that use one of these techniques and I've seen other people have taught it at Palmetto's since in new projects. I got the original technique from a Ring of Tatters pattern book. I think earrings were made from the technique. I didn't put it in any of these directions but I also added beads, leaving a bead on the thread around my hand and closing the ring. That puts it right at the base of the ring.

Three of these techniques result in a cord that looks the same - so you can choose a technique that feels comfortable to you. If you want to practice split rings, make two lengths of split rings and pull one length through the other. The tute shows step by step photos. It's really not all that hard. The one that looks like a chain link is the hardest to explain. I have to really focus myself to get it right.

I'm hearing of several people who have gotten a virus that crashes their computer. I'm not sure why it disables my anti-virus software, but it clearly does. I've got a new one picked out but it still may be awhile before I actually get it and have it set up. In the meantime, I'm tatting and sewing away!

Of course, AFTER I published my post on my feelings about buttons and badges, I see Fox's post showing her clever badge for the thread exchange. Just because I'm not generally fond of them doesn't mean anyone should not make them. They serve a purpose, just not mine. LOL! I'm not in the thread exchange so it wouldn't make any difference to me one way or the other.

Please - have fun with them! I was just explaining why I don't generally post them.

I don't usually add buttons or badges to my blog for two reasons - one, it's already crowded in the sidebars; two, I'm not inclined to advertise for free. If I like something, I mention it in a blog post but if I were to put a badge in the sidebar for everyone who sells, it would be filled up in no time. I especially hate giveaways that require you to put a badge or button on your blog and/or become a follower. I prefer to do my "following" without advertising it everywhere. If I read your blog, you're in my sidebar already. When it's updated, it shows up and I know to visit. But that's just me. I certainly don't expect anyone else to do things the same way.

So...today I DO have a badge, but only because I think you might want to revisit the site over the next few days. It's not about tatting, but that doesn't mean you can't put your own tatting twist on it.

Under the Table & Dreaming is posting 5 new ornament tutes each day for 4 days with a surprise on Sunday. It's been my experience that you can take about any ornament and personalize it even further by adding tatting or whatever your specialty is, to it. And this is a good reminder to start thinking about Christmas gifts, right?


A good objective comparison of needle tatting and shuttle tatting can be found at Dreams of Lace. The study was done some time ago but I think it's still valid. Each method has advantages and disadvantages. I tried some needle tatting before I finally got the hang of the shuttle. In many ways, the needle is easy to work but I prefer the shuttle. I couldn't stand having those long tails of thread laying in my lap. LOL! But it's whatever works for the individual. I'm just enamored with the shuttle and always have been. No one in my family tatted but seeing that shuttle in the how-to Coats & Clark books and in the dime stores when I was a kid always made me long to learn. For some people, it's the end result that drives them. If they can get the same look by going down a different road, they're happy. I wanted to learn the method.

Dreams of Lace was one of the early websites I visited frequently when I learned to tat AND found the internet in 1997. There are still lots of links to patterns there. Check out the Wedding Shawl located on Georgia Seitz's website. In all the times I've been to Georgia's website, I don't remember seeing this shawl but I followed the link from Dreams of Lace and found it. The website is owned by Christiane Eichler so go have a look when you can.

Once again I'm having problems with my home pc. I didn't have any tatting to show today anyway, but ....in case it takes a while to resolve this latest issue, you know why.

Thanks to my son-in-law, I'm virus free and everything is intact! It was a fairly common virus and easily removed but he went further and checked my whole system out.

You might think I tatted up a storm in the blogging vacation but it was all this white stuff. LOL!

I mentioned that my lace friend Sally and I are going to play with dye in September and this is part of my preparation. I had a ball of DMC size 40 that was getting small so I've been tatting it away. There's still a bit more left. There's a yard of the hen & checks edging. I think around 14" of the ring and chain edging. The butterfly is from Adelheid Dangela's book, Tatted Butterflies, but I don't remember the name of this one and I'm not home to check.

The three flower fragments are from Mary Konior's Tatting with Visual Patterns, as is the corner motif which is the piece I test-tatted when I made my daughter-in-law's bridal hanky to see how far from the first row that the second row would be. Maybe I can make it into something special for my granddaughter some day.

I also have some crochet lace pieces I've picked up here and there and I intend to tat more motifs before the BIG DYE DATE.

Tatting Fool was looking for a simple bag to embellish with tatting since she doesn't sew. I offered (and so did others) to make one for her. I looked through several whites in my stash and come up with this one, which I later figured out was fabric from a skirt my mom wore. I think she even made it. I knew I would never wear it so I took it apart for the fabric. Well.....now I'm thinking this fabric will make some wonderful "memorial" gifts for family members. The fabric can be used for drawn work too so I'm just brimming with ideas now! Thanks to TF for prompting me to find it. I'm anxious to see how she decorates the bag too.

At the weekend I got to visit a little with my oldest grandson (the big guy) and my great-grandson (the little guy). I've mentioned him before but most people forget I have a great-grandson. I have this pic on my office door along with the most recent of my new granddaughter and when coworkers ask who he is and I tell them, they are surprised, even though I had a photo of Cameron in a Superman suit on the door for ages when he was a baby. He's four now and so smart. Remembers EVERYTHING!

Update - sorry- I was asked to remove the photos of my granddaughter.

I had to take this photo of my son's cat, Diogi, the one who lays on her back ALL the time. This time she is on the sofa back, obviously deep in sleep. As long as I put the terry cloth towels on the back, they stay on those which I like for fur control. I just pop them in the washer and put a fresh towel on. Not pretty exactly, but it works! I don't know what kept her from sliding right off the back but she stayed in place.

From Acer-Land again

I already had this in drafts so at least you get a bit of humor from me!

Thursday night I had to reinstall my mouse drivers once again. Then Friday morning, weird stuff started happening. I won't know what kind of damage for a bit but I'm pretty sure it is a virus. It somehow locked up my existing virus protection and - well, I just turned it off and will get the news later on the state of affairs. Someone will look at it Sunday but I'm not sure I'll have answers then.

A lace friend and I are going to be doing some dying in September but this time I want to dye lace motifs more than thread. I found a bag of mostly crochet pieces that I bought at a second hand store somewhere so I will dye those but I'm also tatting some edgings to try a few techniques out. So far I've tatted a shuttle's worth of simple rings and chains and about 16 inches of hen & chicks. I might do a little of Mary Konior's curds & whey along with a few other simple edgings - depending on how much time I have. I will probably tat some simple motifs too, flutters and flowers and such.

I don't have my little Acer laptop set up to receive scans or camera images. It's not all that big and those take up a lot of room so once again, I don't have any images, but I'm taking pics with my camera for later. I stitched a bag for someone and enjoyed it so much I'm inspired to make more but first I have to dress my sock monkeys and send them off. I also got some books from the library today and they just fired off my lingering desire to do more surface stitching. And Needlelace.

Why are we limited to 24 hours in a day????? LOL! Or rather - why is our time and energy limited to only a few paltry hours out of those 24?

Back in the Blog Business!

Yahoo! The drivers for my mouse were corrupted. My wonderful son-in-law was able to maneuver around with shortcut keys and reinstall them. I used to have a fancy pointer but it's gone now. I stopped admiring it a long time ago so I'm not even missing it.

Unfortunately, I have nothing else to post about except for the exceptionally STILL HOT temps! It just slipped under 90 degrees and it's creeping up to 10:00 p.m.

I did buy my first pot of mums this evening. No pic yet. It's loaded with buds but only a few are starting to open. I may stop and get another pot tomorrow and plant them both on Friday.

Hopefully there will be some tatting to show soon. I confess...I spent this non-computer time reading. Real books. The Best Kind of Different

One of my grandsons was diagnosed with Asperger's last year so I wanted to read up on it. I had originally gone to the library to look for a book a friend recommended about a man who was not diagnosed until he was 40. It's a pattern of behavior that is often mistaken for lack of discipline, amongst other things. If you have the chance to research Asperger's, it might give you a different perspective of the parents you see in public struggling with an unruly child.

I turned my computer off yesterday morning before I left for work. Everything was working. When I got home last night, it came on all right, except the cursor was missing. Have you ever tried to get anywhere without having something to click on? Oh, yeah, if I finally got something to open, lines would highlight as I moved the arrow keys but that was dicey.

I rebooted.

I rebooted again.

I unplugged everything, went in to fix my dinner, then came back and put it back together and rebooted again. No change. I put in one of the disks to my MS office program which has a "repair" feature - providing it automatically goes to that choice, which it didn't.

My laptop was at work so I couldn't even try to google for a solution. I gave up.

So I googled today at work. At home, I could bring up the control box that say's "restore system" but none of my clicks activated anything. Almost all the instructions I find talk about doing this or doing that - but I CANNOT manipulate at all because the stupid cursor is MISSING! The hot keys only work if you have a cursor to move. But I did get the idea to uninstall and reinstall the program. Of course, if I have to click on something, I'm just SOL.

I was just thinking at the weekend how lucky I was to have had this computer since 2002 and no major problems. I replaced the keyboard. That's it. I backup my photos and other files and delete the photo files once I do since they are big space hogs. There's plenty of room left.

What I'm trying to say is that my posts may be sketchy until I figure this out. I can post from work but without my home computer, I have no way to add pix as the scanner and camera feed into that computer.

And I just KNOW it's a simple fix. If I could figure it out. My current keyboard has some hot keys on the outside edges. Sometimes the cats climb up there and accidently hit a key. That's how I found out about the "mute" key. I'd like to think it's just one of those buttons but I've tried them all and nothing was restored. Except sound. The mute button HAD been hit so maybe they did hit something. I can't always understand what those icons mean. LOL!

And I'm taking my little laptop home tonight so I can read mail but it's not terribly convenient to use so I mostly just read. Oooooh...just had a thought. If I plug my keyboard into that computer and lose the cursor there too, that means it IS in the keyboard.

So maybe you'll see me and maybe you won't!

Knowing when to do a technique

A reader asked me if there was a rule of thumb about when to use the join that avoids a twisted picot. I have to admit that I've always just instinctively known and didn't really think about the technical description. So I looked up what Georgia Seitz had to say in one of the tatting publications I've gotten from her and she said, "joining the last ring to the first ring in an outward facing motif". Hmmm...so what is an outward facing motif? Is that a projection of some kind? A circle motif bridging off of another circle motif? I found another description, also by Georgia, after googling with a few choice search terms. In this one, she mentioned rings facing outward. Ah, that's a bit more explicit.

We often forget that new tatters are often barraged with a plethora of terms and techniques but we get a bit skimpy in explaining when to use them. I probably knew how to tat split chains for well over a year before I began to figure out where I could use them effectively if it wasn't already in the pattern.

So I thought I would illustrate the difference the between inward and outward facing rings and why the folded join is needed to avoid the twisted picot. There are lots of resources online that tell you HOW to make the join but this is how to recognize when you need it.

We'll start off with the inward facing rings. The rings are all pointing towards the center in this simple motif. We're getting ready to make the last join of the last ring to the first one. See where the picots (and the motif for that matter) are in relation to your hands? If you are left-handed, you might want to copy and save the pics to your computer and use your editing program to flip them horizontally.

The motif and first ring are to the left and in line for the join. In this case it's a simple matter of pulling the core thread up through the picot on the first ring and then finish tatting the ring. Nothing moves significantly from that position.

You'll close the ring and reverse work for the last chain and that's it.

But here's one with outward facing rings. The rings are pointing away from the center of the motif. See where your last ring and first ring are now in relation to your hands and in comparison to the inward facing rings? The first ring is on the right side now so you'll have to twist the core thread to the right - which is pretty much an impossible angle for your wrist. OR

You can fold the motif up and bring the picot close to the core thread. (I had to move my ball thread which was in front of the motif in the last pic.)

Now I did have a photo where I had pulled the loop through the picot but in my labeling session, I think I accidently saved this one over it. I would have had to have a third hand to show how it's done and you can find it online if you google "avoiding twisted join in tatting". At this point, you bring your crochet hook up through the picot (toes to nose) and then turn or twist it so that you can pick up the core thread. When you pull the shuttle through the loop of core thread and it goes back to normal, the picot will appear twisted but keep in mind that your piece is twisted too.

So then you continue tatting the ring and close it.

When you flatten the piece back out, the picot also smooths out and you can see here that it looks like a normal join.

So...when do you use a "folded join" to avoid a twisted picot?

When the piece you're working on has rings facing away from the center and the last ring is being joined to the first one.

What if it's not a circle? The reader who asked me the question was working on Konior's Large Cross, page 86 in Visual Tatting. I traced the diagram around from starting ring A to the end, which ended with a ring and chain joining to ring A. The rings are all facing away from the center so that means it needs a folded join.

Is this helpful? Frankly, I never thought about it before but now I know what to look for in details when I write a pattern. If I know something needs a folded join, I can add the additional information and resources. Thanks for asking K!!!

Tatted Hexagon Bag

This is a page in a random notebook where I'd been playing with some tatting to make it look like Irish Crochet several years ago.


I thought the idea came from one of Mary Konior's books but I looked through all four of them and didn't find anything. Unfortunately, there is nothing in my notes either so maybe I was referring to something else or maybe I just came up with it since the three samples show a progression in design. I think I've already figured out how to do the hexagon like the crocheted one, including stitch count. I hope to get to try it out tonight.

Might practice my clunies first........(clearing throat)

Hexagon in Black!

I think this looks much better with this flower color, don't you? (still not blocked) A pastel would go well with ecru or white or a pale green, but this is too bright and intense. I'll finish up the bag and put it on my other lace blog but I intend to continue the tatted version too and will show it here.

I changed the rose slightly, adding a chain stitch between petals and it lays much better. It's also a tidge bigger because it is laying flatter. For the tatted version, the outside will be mostly chains and josephine rings but I may use clunies too. Not sure I want to tackle that but it would be a good refresher and truer in replication.

Yep, one more done! That's me in the middle with my buddies. My personal one will probably have some tatted lace and a shuttle in her hand when I'm done.

I just get tickled when I see Diogi laying like this. She does it all the time. I don't know if it's to keep cool or if she's too fat to lay on her belly much. I don't know how much she weighs but she's hefty to pick up. My male cat that is outside is putting on weight again. The two sets of cats get stressed when in the same room together, even after a year. Mine always go out in the summer anyway so they're all getting some relief. I brought mine in one night thinking they might want to cool off with all this heat but a few hours later, they couldn't wait to go out again.

So, another late night post done. Night all!

Look! I found these adorable printables on a link from How About Orange? They're created and hosted by Wild Olive!

You can even personalize them a bit once printed out. For those who are participating in the tatting thread exchange, what a nice touch! I just used a sheet of card stock. That orange blob was meant to be an earring. Heavy hand. What can I say?

I sent off my application for the final segment of T.A.T. I'm looking forward to wrapping it up.

So here we are - the tatted snowflake center #3 from Lene Bjorn's 24 Snowflakes. None of this has been blocked, btw. The tatted center is slightly smaller than the crocheted one but blocking could easily remedy that. I hope to start crocheting the black tomorrow night - well, after crocheting another center. Both of these centers tend to bowl up in the middle. I may be crocheting and tatting the chains in both a bit too tightly.

I don't want to start yet a third pattern but I liked Umitsuru's comment about Jeanne L's rose center too. There are hexagon shaped tatted doilies out there so the outer part could be patterned after those if you didn't want to try this Irish Crochet effect. I'm excited to see where this will go with both.

No special comments about tea other than I drank plenty of iced tea today as well as fit in this tatting. I keep seeing all kinds of things to post about for TTT, but the day just seems to creep up on me like a sudden rainstorm!

Archived books online & Tat Days

There is an online resource besides the Antique Pattern Library that offers several vintage books about Lacemaking. It's at The Internet Archive and is also where you can find "the Wayback Machine" to find websites and pages that no longer exist. There are other books and videos too,that are about other subjects entirely. I did find a few publications that I'd not seen in the Antique Pattern Library, so far anyway.

This link is all tatting and it uses lots of the decorative braid from the era.

This one is more crochet than tatting but still a nice assembly.

I was browsing the Interweave Magazine site when I found that corrections to Piecework Magazine projects can be found at this link!

There's been lots of talk lately about lace days, such as I.O.L.I. (International Old Lacers, Inc.) who held their annual convention in Portland last week. There are two more specifically tatting-related events coming up too! Both have "Fall Into Tatting" as their theme though I think the Fringe Element Group always uses that logo. The Palmetto Tat Days are being held in Toccoa, GA on August 27-28th this year.

For our tatting friends in the northern part of the hemisphere (a good location for those in the east too) there is a Tat Day in Cambridge, Ontario on September 24-25th hosted by the Fringe Element Tatters! Actually, I think it's really nice of them to space them out like that. Go to both!

hmmmm...did you know that if you hit "enter" when you are in the "title" box that it publishes your post????

And now for the tatting.

What do you mean this isn't tatting?

Oh, oh...this is crocheted? Irish crochet? Well, what do you know? LOL! Well, we've all had our share of explaining which lace is which, but what I'm really trying to do here is inspire you. Can you see this piece tatted? It's one side of a hexagon bag in a Leisure Arts publication. I was a bit bamboozled about which color to use for the outside, considering ecru, white or a solid to match one of the colors in the flower. Why oh why did I not think of black???? I will do the second half with black and then, of course, I will need to crochet yet another one. I suspect I will like the black better. The nice thing is I can simply pull a thread and all the ecru will unravel, ready for use again.

Oh...you want to know what I meant by "inspire you"? Okay, just think of how easy this would be to convert to tatting. The center rosette is already available in many different patterns. I'm thinking of #3 in Lene Bjorn's snowflake book. Now for the outside, it might take a bit of trial and error to get the stitch count right but it's practically all chains and picots. You can change the crocheted clusters to clunies or even rings if you prefer.

This is crocheted in Lizbeth size 20 in jellybean and ecru.