Tatting and candy

There were just 2 of us today, so we had all the chocolate to ourselves :)

I worked on another "Rotation" pendant, and Ana finished tatting the Christmas Tree 2013 pattern by Ruth Perry. The happy notebook was one of the many gifts that I received from Jennifer Titus at Tatting Days in Indiana. The hand dyed thread skeins are from a new batch called "Candy Mint". 

October meeting notes

There were 7 of us at this get-together. Sue Anna delighted us with stories of her adventures at Tat Days, and brought projects from classes taken there: pearl tatted self-closing mock rings, beaded tatting, Jane Eborall's Pig motif, and more.

Khomi brought a beautiful bookmark with tiny tatted flowers to show that was made by her mother's friend in India, who sells them as a fundraiser for a charity called "Baba Amte's Anandwan and Creative Employment for Housewives and Students".

One of the girls, a beginner who was having some trouble with her needle tatting, asked to try the shuttle. She got the flip in just a few minutes of practice! So, I hope next month she'll have some tatting to show.

There were a lot of tatting pattern books to look through and admire. The photo below shows just a few. I think we were all in agreement, though, that the large, 3-D tatted "mosquito" shown on the cover of "Tatting GR-8 Baubles, Bugs, and Blossoms" by the Shuttle Brothers, was one project definitely not on any of our to-do lists - lol :) We've all been bitten too many times :)

August 11 meeting notes

 Tatting lessons in the double stitch, rings, chains, picots, and joins were eagerly watched and practiced by Heather, the newest tatter in the group at this meeting. She caught on fast - I think she'll have a tatting project to show next time! Her current crafting project is a pair of socks, and the one in progress is shown at left.

We also were honored with a visit from Khomi's mother. She was beautifully dressed in a traditional sari, which we all admired. Khomi tried her hand at tatting flower blossoms in the style of Siepmann's book "Tatting Artistry In Thread". She also brought gifts of Anchor thread for each of us from India,  a real treat because we can't buy Anchor thread here in the U.S.A.

Ana hasn't had much time for tatting lately, but we all "oohed and ahhed" at her beautiful beaded peyote stitch necklace.

Lots of fun talking and tatting!

July 14, 2014

Gifts of handmade project bags from Carol were gratefully received - thanks, Carol!

Some tatting did get done, but the real showstopper was a hardanger centerpiece in progress by Barbara Gordon.  Gorgeous!

Detail of Barbara's hardanger in progress

June 9th, 2014

Great fun by all...

Chilling: Cache of bad Boye shuttles found in Sue Anna's bag

A happy time was in progress, visiting and tatting with friends at the Greater Milwaukee Tatting Guild meeting early Monday evening, when suddenly -- more than the weather outside turned stormy!

The normally gentle and soft-spoken Marilee Rockley revealed an unexpected "dark side" when Sue Anna offered a large stash of the new "bad" Boye tatting shuttles  :)

"What?!?! Those are the worst shuttles ever!" Marilee fumed. "They have rough edges, are put together crooked, and have the stupidest bumps on the tips! If they were melted down and recycled for the plastic, it could help save the planet!"

"I don't have time to sandpaper rough edges off shuttles." she continued. "The old Boyes were once my favorite shuttles." she lamented, "but the current production is so awful it's ridiculous".

The debate went on for several minutes, distracting the other guild members from their double stitch counting, until the "bad Boyes" were removed and replaced by a generous supply of chocolate chip cookies :) All's well! (Story slightly exaggerated just for fun, LOL.)

We really did have a good time together, and looking forward to the next meeting!

Greater Milwaukee Tatting Guild, May 12, 2014

Beads and better quality shuttles in Barbara's stash

Sue Anna placing a jump ring

Daughter and mother tatters

Hanky edging in progress

Celebrating 1 year

 The Greater Milwaukee Tatting Guild has been around for 1 year! To celebrate, there were 2 door prize giveaways. The prize packages included Lizbeth thread, beads, candy, and other goodies, plus a printed copy of the book, Marilee's Beaded Tatting Finery. 

 Tatting being worked on at this meeting included small flower experiments. The photo below shows practice pieces, but one of the guild members has an idea for decorating a tablecloth with similar tatted flowers.

  Sue Anna had just finished tatting these "feather" earrings, from a pattern in Marilee's new book. The thread is Lizbeth, in an unknown color combo.

Candy was in plentiful supply to keep up our energy! The cold winter temperature outside will take care of any extra calories :) 

January meeting highlights

 Since many people showed up with tatting projects in progress, there was a lot of tatting to see at this meeting!

Sue Anna finished a pair of vibrant purple and orange earrings in the "Princess" pattern from the new book, "Marilee's Beaded Tatting Finery". She had some "Boomerang" earrings from that book in progress, too.

Gloria brought her own tatted jewelry design experiments made with a shiny silvery gray thread and beads. Not sure what type of thread it is, but it appears to be either nylon or rayon and looks elegant with the beads.

 The new tatter getting her first lesson at this meeting, was surprised with a gift from the ever-generous Sue Anna. It's the "Learn to Tat" book by Janette Baker complete with video DVD.

 Barbara had a colorful beaded medallion in progress. The safety pins are holding beads temporarily in place, until the next round when they'll be replaced by joins in the tatting.

 Ana finished her "Stained Glass" tatted pendant up to the stage of sewing in the ends. Steaming to block finished tatting was discussed.

 Julia was unwinding a skein of hand dyed thread. A few tangles, but it all sorted out, ready for a colorful new project. A question came up about starting with a chain, then a demo showing the technique of self-closing mock ring and climbing out of a ring with a lock stitch followed.

Jackie finished tatting a lovely beaded pendant. The color was a much richer deep red than the photo can show.
A passerby got so interested in the pretty tatting and fun that was happening, she asked to be added to the email list for meeting reminders. Looking forward to next month!