Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Adventures in Tatting

A few months ago I saw a beautiful, delicate bookmark made by tatting and decided that I wanted to make them to give away with my books. Since my debut doesn't release until March 2014, I figured I had plenty of time to learn.

Yeah, right.

Obtaining the supplies was easy. My mother provided them. Of course she knew exactly what she was looking for. I on the other hand stood there, with eyes glazing, trying to figure out what was what.

Shuttles or needles? Size 20 thread or 10? Mom handed me the 10 and a needle, she took the 20, which is not much bigger than one strand of cross-stitch thread. I wanted delicate, right?

After several attempts of trying to show me how to loop the thread around which finger, which is no easy task given my dyslexic tendencies, Mom found a great video on Youtube.



A lightbulb went off in my head, well with a good amount of help from Mom, and I was able to do this:

And that led to this:
*big grins* It may not look like much, but hey, I did it and it was a huge accomplishment as it didn't take too long for me to get this far.

But....

That is as far as I got. Every time I tried to move beyond this cute little floret, I'd have to rip it out and try all over again. I'm hoping by this time next month I'll actually have created something recognizable. So, stay tuned for an update from me on my adventures in tatting. 



Have a wonderful, blessed day!







 

12 comments:

  1. Bravo, Christina! You are doing great, and so much better than I could do. I can't wait to see more adventures in tatting.

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    1. Thank you, Britney. I'm itching to get back to trying.

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  2. Christina, you did wonderful! Keep at it. I know you'll do great! Please share a photo of your bookmark when it's finished.

    A dear lady made me a tatted cross bookmark when I was a girl and I'd love to make one now . I tried tatting several years ago and it is challenging. Please share some of your mom's work too, if she doesn't mind. Tatting is so pretty.

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    1. Cindy, I'll be sure to share, but with your thoughts of it being challenging it could be next year, or next century. ;)

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  3. You can do it. Love you, Mom. Oh and Mom hasn't kept anything she's made which is usually small pieces I use for trim on doll clothes. Mom is not very proficient either.

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    1. Hi, Mom!!! Love you, too!!!!! We need another girls' day and soon. ;)

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  4. This is so cool! I've taught tatting for years (I do shuttle tatting) but I've never found another writer who has this hobby. You're doing a great job and I can hardly wait to see more!

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    1. Edie, I have an old antique shuttle I picked up at an auction many years ago. I've wanted to try tatting ever since. I think I'll stick with the needle for a bit before trying to move on to the shuttle.

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  5. Way to go, Christina! I love handwork but can't seem to do it. My mind and my hands just don't work well together. You are doing such a good job!

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    1. Melanie, I get you. I really do. Since I do most everything backwards it's a real struggle until I find my grove.

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  6. Wow. Cross stitching and embrodery is all I've tried...

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    1. Jennifer, I love to cross-stitch too. I've been wanting to pick it up again. It used to bother my wrist too much, but I'd love to do it again.

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