Tatting Together Square Motifs edited by Iris Niebach

Tatting Together Square Motifs is the result of a tatting course taught by Iris in Denmark. The challenge was create "a square motif in only one round or more rounds without interruption"... a very difficult challenge, in my humble opinion! Twelve very talented tatters contributed to this book.

I hope my little reviews inspire you to try at least one of Iris's patterns. Iris, thank you for publishing your lovely books and for providing me with hours of pure pleasure!

Tatting Fantasia 2 by Iris Niebach

Oh my goodness! Talk about inspiration! Tatting Fantasia 2 is totally about variations on a theme... ovals! I love ovals! They fit in places where circles, squares, hexagons, and octagons are just too big! Of course, for extra inspiration, Iris includes motifs at the back of the book that just call out to be part of something spectacular... think striped blocks, triangles, squares, hexagons. This looks like the most challenging of Iris's books to me, but how boring would life be without challenges? I think you will not be disappointed with this book!

Tatting Fantasia by Iris Niebach

Did I say Tatted Doilies is my favorite Iris Niebach book? I may have lied! Tatting Fantasia is a fabulous book! Again, everything is clearly explained and diagrammed. This book includes three doilies, three hexagons, three squares, and three edgings. What more could a tatter ask for?

If the tatting pattern police do knock at my door, I may have to find a good hiding place for my Iris Niebach pattern books... maybe in my sewing room!

Tatted Doilies by Iris Niebach

If the tatting pattern police ever stopped by my house and told me I could only keep one Iris Niebach book, this would be the one... thank goodness there are no tatting pattern police!

Tatted Doilies by Iris Niebach has 12 beautiful doilies, plus photos of two variations of one of the doilies. There are examples of every doily shape I can think of: round, oval, square, hexagon, octagon. I know, I didn't mention rectangle, but I think even I could figure out how to put two squares together to make a rectangle! As always, Iris includes detailed explanations of techniques and beautifully diagrammed patterns.

Of course, I love doilies! If I had never learned to tat, I would spend all of my time crocheting doilies. I love giving gifts of lace, and to me, a doily is a usable work of art. If you don't like doilies decorating your furniture, you can always frame them and hang them on the wall, which is what Mom chose to do with the Iris doily I made for her.

Iris by Iris Niebach

Zarina has asked me to review Iris Niebach's books, and I am happy to share my opinion of each with you. Actually, I'm flattered that I've been asked! I'll post each review separately so that my blog entries aren't terrifically long. The librarian in me says, "Review them in alphabetical order by title." So, that's how I'll do this. Unfortunately, my copy of Iris's newest book hasn't arrived yet (maybe today), so alphabetical order will be a little off!

First, let me tell you that I am terribly biased when it comes to Iris's designs. I mean no offense to any other designers... Iris is my favorite! I look at her books over and over again. For me, Iris's designs are like my favorite novels... I never grow tired of reading her patterns. I am fascinated by the "character" of each design. I understand more each time I go through one of her patterns. There are details that leave me awe-struck! Some day I hope that I will have a complete collection of all of Iris's patterns tatted by me (a little redundant, but I'm sure you'll forgive me). The designs are not hard to follow, but they do take concentration... at least for me! I am currently working on my third doily by Iris. I found that I forgot an important join (I've done that with every piece I've ever tatted... you'd think I'd learn from my mistakes!), so I've been retro-tatting for about a week (I am very slow and careful). Is it worth it? Yes! As I carefully pick out each of my mistakes, I learn more about designing, and I'm learning to be patient! Thank you, Iris, for sharing your genius with all of us!

Iris is a beautiful little book with wonderful explanations and illustrations. The first pattern is a detailed illustration of the design element that makes up the Iris doily motif, which is a square. Iris then takes you through the steps to create a triangle, using the motif design. Following the idea of variations on a theme, Iris next presents the edging, which can border the doily or can be used as an edging on its own. A beautiful butterfly design is next, then an explanation of striped block tatting.

I highly recommend all of Iris's books!