Lots of tatting going on

2 Marys drove 2 hours to get to this meeting! Ana, Fran, and I were also there.

Mary has done the "Tatter's Across Time" tatting proficiency program, and wow, it shows. She brought some examples of the projects that she tatted from the lessons. 

Lovely vintage tatting was also brought to show, including a baby bonnet (not photographed). I can't remember if these handkerchiefs were vintage or recently edged with tatted lace. (Well, I was excited about seeing so much tatting!)

Ana learned how to tat a split ring at this meeting! She practiced it by tatting a neck cord of split rings for a pendant.

Here are some more projects that people had in progress:

Looking forward to the next meeting on December 12.

Colorful October Fun

A total of 5 tatters got together at this meeting. Sue Anna and I just happened to be wearing earrings tatted from the same pattern! A close up view of her earrings is at left. She made them using the Amoeba Triangle pattern (one of my designs)!

The wooden shuttles were handmade by the Shuttle Brothers.

The 2 newest tatters in our little group, Jill and Mandy, are making amazing progress in practicing double stitches, picots, and joins.

Ana finished her tatting-embellished filigree earrings up to sewing the tails in,

Chocolate pumpkins kept energy levels high. I brought a pair of earrings that I made from an Elizabeth Zipay pattern to offer as a door prize. The winning name drawn from the bag was Sue Anna.

A rare book: A Pattern Book of Tatting written by Mary Konior, was admired by all!  Thanks to Sue Anna for bringing this along so that we could be inspired by the uniquely beautiful designs in it.

September tales

2 new tatters practicing at their first lesson. They both did great!

Ana holding her tatted butterflies.

Ana's tatted butterflies in progress, with her filigree earrings in the background.

After I noticed that Ana and I both had identical scissors, she added a tatted fob to the handle of hers, so now we can tell them apart.

Becky finished a tatted earring. I like her color choices of thread and beads!

I tatted a flower using my new shuttle, which I had purchased from Yorkie Sue at Palmetto Tat Days.

Tatting on a hot August night

 At this meeting we had a tatting beginner, who actually had once learned to tat from her grandmother many years ago, but had forgotten. She made remarks about being "all thumbs", but that is how we all feel when learning a new skill, isn't it? By the end of the meeting she was tatting quite well. She had come with her sister, and I gave them both "homework" of a simple snowflake pattern to practice.

 Ana tatted an embellishment to a butterfly filigree, and plans to finish it as an earring or pendant.

We had a "door prize" of a rare find, an Italian tatting magazine! (This magazine can also be purchased from Handy Hands Tatting.) 

I forgot to do the prize drawing until Khomi had left, but I put her name in the bag along with the other attendees, and Khomi won! So, the magazine will be ready for her at the next meeting, which will be September 12. At that meeting I'll share photos from my trip to Palmetto Tat Days.

A warm get-together in July

Seven of us gathered for tatting and visiting. One was a brand-new beginner, another an "experienced beginner". They received guidance from Sue Anna and me and definitely made progress in their skills!

Khomi finished her first pair of tatted earrings. Ana was also tatting earrings. Barbara tatted another snowflake from one of Jon Yusoff's patterns. 

Barbara also helped me unwind a skein of hand dyed thread. This hand dyed happened to be one of Karey Solomon's threads called "Color Dance" that I had purchased at the Finger Lakes Tatting Conference in April.

I tried to demonstrate "overlapping" or "stacked" rings from what I could remember, but I need to really study these techniques more, though. So many possibilities!

June get-together

Sue Anna and Barbara both tatted snowflakes at the meeting. Barbara has been doing the designs in Jon Yusoff's pattern books. Here's links to Jon's books for sale on the Handy Hands Tatting website:
http://www.hhtatting.com/detail.cfm?ID=3230
http://www.hhtatting.com/detail.cfm?ID=3229
http://www.hhtatting.com/detail.cfm?ID=3231

All Jon Yusoff patterns are beautiful, well explained, and diagrammed.

I had some kits left over from the classes that I taught at the Bead&Button Show, so those at the meeting who wanted one got a free kit! Khomi finished an earring from one of the kits (I forgot to take a picture).

A new person interested in tatting stopped by our table. She didn't have time to stay at this meeting, but plans to come next month - July 11.

A fine day in May

 Tatting in progress on this day included small flowers made of "Josephine Rings" and stems using the technique of encapsulation. Khomi and Ana were both interested in exploring these ideas for creative, random tatting.

I also worked on simple earrings using Lizbeth thread in the color "Seascape". Personally, I think this color combination is really ugly - but it might work for these earrings. That orange shade seems to be trying really hard to be sand or sailboats :)

Pi Day Tatting

Tatting, chatting, and eating! At the Mayfair Mall food court we helped new tatters practice the basics, and admired the show-and-tell work of the experienced tatters.

Tatted necklace, not yet blocked, made by Sue Anna from a new original design by Marilee Rockley. Hand dyed thread and square opal beads.

Snowflakes tatted by Barbara. I don't remember where she said the patterns were from, but they're all lovely.

Not tatting, but beautifully handmade bracelet of beads and wire, original design by Ana.

They found us

Funny how tatting in public seems to attract attention! I hadn't been at the food court long, and Ana and I were just getting out tatting supplies, when I was approached by a mall security guard who asked, "Is this the tatting group?" I have to admit that I had a momentary flashback to my first encounter with "tatting police" ☺at Tollway Tatters in 2014 :)

The friendly security guard was helping 2 people who had asked where the tatting group was! So, they found us :)

I got them started right away with colorful thread, shuttles, a simple demo of how the double stitch works, and they started practicing. Khomi joined us for a while, too, so there were 5 of us tatting at this meeting!

Each of the new tatters did very well in their first attempts. One progressed to the point where she had successfully "flipped" several stitches in her first practice chain. The other got as far as tatting a ring! Both seemed happy that they had found a tatting group, and plan to come again.

Then, Khomi, Ana, and I started studying the flower motifs shown in the book, "Tatting - Artistry in Thread" by Helma Siepmann. We practiced Josephine rings and encapsulation techniques. Perhaps next month we'll have some finished flowers!