Virtual Tatting

Oh, how I wish I could take credit for tatting this darling hippo! Thank goodness, Laura volunteered to be my virtual left hand for Jane's TIAS. Because Laura kept me posted on the progress, I read the patterns faithfully as they appeared. I'm determined to tat this cutie once the cast is off. Doesn't Laura tat beautifully? Thank you my dear friend!

You may wonder why I haven't posted pictures of the progression of this little hippo... I haven't been able to! I'm not sure what the problem is... Blogger, Safari, Mac, operator error. Has anyone else experienced problems? Sometimes I can't post comments to blogs. Technology sure can be frustrating at times!

Queen of Hearts

When I read Snowy's review of Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior, I remembered that I had "Queen of Hearts" from this book on my blocking board. I made it last year, but was so disappointed in my tatting attempt, that I just set it aside. I found it this fall and decided to block it, but the mistakes drove me crazy, so I never bothered to take it off the board!

Yes, the mistakes still bother me, but I've made up my mind that I'm going to use it. I'm just not sure how!

By the way, if you don't have Tatting with Visual Patterns, try and take a peek at someone's copy. I think you'll agree with Snowy (and me) that it's a gem!

Design inspiration

I was looking for books about snowflakes for the kids at school, when I found this Dover publication, A Treasury of Design for Artists and Craftsmen by Gregory Mirow. To create a tatted motif from one of these designs would certainly be challenging, and it would be beautiful beyond belief! I can imagine some of Marilee's or Sherry's gorgeous hand-dyed threads bringing these designs to life. I may have to sketch out some ideas in my spare time!

Think Spring!

It's snowin' and blowin' here in northern Illinois, and I am chilled to the bone! I just can't seem to stay warm since I broke my arm... I'm pretty sure it's all in my mind, so I'm trying to think about spring!

I love this little book by Pat Stevens. In Fantasy Flowers, Pat gives the basics behind her fantasy flowers and then encourages the reader to let loose with creativity! I can imagine beautiful bouquets made from hand-dyed threads spilling out of the little cut glass vases and bowls that I have accumulated through the years. Creating fantasy flowers would be a terrific way of using up precious bits of favorite threads!

True confessions...

Dear Lace-lovin' Librarian blog readers,

I have a confession to make... a secret to reveal... I have a virtual left hand! Sadly, I do not have the strength in my left hand to participate fully in Jane's Tat It And See. In order to keep me in the loop, my dear friend Laura is doing the actual tatting for me. I have been following the directions faithfully, and being forced to READ the directions has really enhanced my understanding of tatting. Yes, Sharon... I am a librarian and should have been reading all along! I guess I'm just an impatient librarian! ; )

I hope no one's mad at me for having a little fun. I promise... I will learn to do the split ring once the cast is off, and I will post real pictures of my progress!

The Shuttle Brothers

One of the advantages of having a broken arm is that I am forced to do more reading than experimental tatting. I'm one of those people who skims the directions, jumps right in, and then becomes frustrated when things don't work right. That's exactly what happened when I first purchased Tatting the GR-8 Self-closing Mock Ring, designed and illustrated by the Shuttle Brothers, published in 1999. I mainly bought the book because I had purchased one of their shuttles... a natural progression in my mind! I admit, my half-baked effort at trying this technique left me so frustrated that I didn't open the book again until this weekend... and I'm glad I did!

There is true tatting genius displayed in this book. My mind is reeling with possibilities! Some of the older patterns that I have might be able to be reworked so that I don't need to cut, tie, and hide ends as often! And, the person to rework those patterns could be me! I know that I will be looking at my older tatting books with renewed interest!

Tat It And See, Day 1

How did she do it? Her left arm is in a cast! Diane's tatting secret will be revealed later!