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!

December meeting notes

 Seven of us braved the single digit cold temperature and piles of snow to get together for tatting fun! Tatted snowflakes were seen in abundance, but not necessarily white - I guess we Wisconsin folks (and upper Illinois folks) get enough of the white snowflakes outside :) Several of us brought snowflakes or were starting to tat a snowflake pattern, but I think Barbara brought most of them. She added beads to the design of the green snowflakes seen in the top photo, but I don't remember where she said the pattern was found.

The always more than generous Sue Anna brought her hand dyed thread collection, and let everyone choose some as a free gift! Sue Anna and Marilee demonstrated a way to unwind a skein of hand dyed thread. Everyone also got to see and marvel at some of Sue Anna's ever-growing shuttle collection.  Obviously, the Pop-A-Bobbin shuttles are some of her favorites.

Projects that were seen in progress or completed included snowflakes, jewelry, bookmarks, and random tatting (aka making it up as we go along).  A lot of the snowflake designs came from the beautiful pattern books written by Jon Yusoff. Some of the items were from patterns by other designers, too. We happened to be in the right place and time to enjoy the singing of a live choir nearby as we tatted and chatted. I should mention that the school age, youngest tatter in our group is doing very nice work - she's a natural!

Weather permitting, we will be having our next meeting on January 13.

Pop-a-bobbin shuttles

Spinning Wheel pattern designed by Mary Konior

Pattern by Jon Yosoff tatted in thread sizes 10, 20, and 30

Patterns from various sources, tatted by Barbara

November meeting notes

 A total of 10 tatting enthusiasts came to this meeting, with some leaving early and others arriving later. A suggestion of name tags for everyone came up and that's a good idea. I'll try and remember to bring them next meeting.

Not only beautiful tatting was seen, but also some bobbin lace in progress, and broomstick lace as well. The broomstick lace project is a sweater design taught as a Craftsy class by Jennifer Hansen.

Sue Anna and her bobbin lace

There was a discussion of the different styles of Celtic tatting: among these are the actual Celtic knots formed of long tatted chains presented in the book "Celtic Tatting Knots and Patterns" by Rozella F. Linden. Another type of Celtic look is achieved by tatting separate motifs, weaving parts of them through each other, then connecting them in place with another row or round of tatting.

 Always something new to learn, and a lot of fun in this group! Next meeting is scheduled for December 9.

Bobbin lace in progress, with bobbins secured for transport

Celtic tatting in progress

Broomstick lace in progress

The center of the "Arches" doily in variegated purple and green

October meeting notes

10 tatters! This was the largest group since the guild began in February. And, some of the "regulars" couldn't make this meeting, so there could have been even more. 

The question came up of, "Where will we meet when we outgrow the Mayfair Mall food court?" Several suggestions were offered, including the Mayfair Mall community room, the New Berlin Public Library, and other options as well. For now, we'll continue to meet the 2nd Monday of the month at the food court, and see how it goes. It's very convenient to have all the food options nearby!

Lots of tatting was in progress at this meeting! No absolute new beginners this time, although some were still busy practicing the double stitch without a project yet in mind. Some were working on bookmarks, some on doilies, and there was tatted jewelry, too. Visiting with old friends, and making new friends, discussing tatting techniques, admiring work in progress (and undoing a few mistakes, too) all made the time just fly by. Looking forward to next month and hope to get some pictures of "show and tell" finished projects at that time.

Informal guild meetings of people who like tatting lace

Tatting, also known as frivolité, is a knotted form of handmade lace, perfect to embellish projects from cards to quilts. When combined with beads, tatting produces fabulous lace jewelry - from classic to steampunk. 

Meeting Schedule:  Usually the 2^nd Monday of the month

Location:  Mayfair Mall Food Court, 2500 N Mayfair Rd, Milwaukee, WI, U.S.A.

Time: From 3pm to about 7pm, with members arriving whenever they can within that time frame.

The meetings are informal and friendly, and beginners are welcome. It’s an excellent environment in which to acquire new tatting skills, as well as to work on your latest tatting project and share your enthusiasm with friends. Guild leader is Marilee Rockley, the Shuttle Tatting instructor at http://www.craftsy.com/shuttletatting