Pumpkin Time !

Happy Halloween !


Just a quick post - no tatting.

Here’s a cute “Kitty and Pumpkin” photo I took of my neighbor’s dark grey (not black!) cat back in 1989.
He came over to our yard to check out the carved pumpkin! Somehow I managed to capture him sitting still for a few seconds,














And here he is ‘peeking out’ from behind the pumpkin.

(Peek – a – BOO!)

Bulletin! Lost Doily Pattern Found!
In my next post, coming up shortly, I will explain how I finally found the pattern for the apron on my Victorian Doll! It had been bugging me that I couldn’t find it.

Fortunately, I didn’t tear apart my craft room because the pattern actually WAS among my tatting books and magazines after all (!) - but I have to thank Connie (Crafty Rainbow Rose) (www.craftyrainbowrose.blogspot.com) for setting me on the path to finding it because of her post about the crocheted doily that looks like it’s tatted! It’s amazing how one thing leads to another!

Check back soon!

October - Butterflies and Black Cats (Motifs #3, #4 and #5 ) Plus Learning to Tat - Part 1

Motif #3 - Mary McCarthy's Butterflies


I’ve been inspired by all the fantastic tatted jewelry being created, and I decided to make a quick-and-easy necklace, featuring one of Mary McCarthy’s butterflies. I often keep her butterflies in various colors in my ‘tatting stash’, as I will tat them just for the fun of it!

The open-circle pendant on my plain gold necklace is the perfect size for ‘capturing’ Mary’s butterfly. I attached the unstiffened butterfly to the pendant with gold sewing thread.

I glued on an embroidered ‘monarch’ butterfly. and also added orange rhinestones, which really sparkle in the sun.
Then I simply strung pony beads, wood beads and gold ‘spacers’ on the necklace




I think this necklace has a kind of ‘southwestern’ look to it. It’s also a tribute to the beautiful Monarch butterflies who are on their migration journey back home to California or Mexico. On a magical September weekend back in the ‘80s (can’t remember which year), the Monarchs’ migration route (which apparently changes each year) took them through our area in Western Pennsylvania, and it was a spectacular sight! Kind of like being in a Disney movie !

Here is one of my early butterflies (1990) tatted in a ‘rust’ color pearl cotton #8. I glued it on a bookmark made of brown cardstock with green velvet paper on top. The corners were ‘rounded’ with a “corner” punch.

The leaves are motifs cut out of gift ribbon (You never know where you’ll find ideas!)

I’ve made many cardstock / velvet bookmarks as a
background for tatted motifs of all kinds.


bookmark from 1990

These recently tatted ‘mauve’ butterflies are made with DMC pearl cotton, size 12, in two
shades: # 316 and # 778

The photo does not show the true color
of the lighter shade 778, which is a soft dusty pink.








After my first year of tatting (1989-90), I saw Mary’s delightful butterflies in the Workbasket magazine (Aug. 1990 - “Summertime means Butterflies”) and immediately started making them, sometimes altering the pattern slightly (making longer chains or connecting the center rings together). I’ve put the butterflies in small frames, or hung them in the window as sun catchers, not to mention using them on gift cards! They can be quickly attached to garments with a ‘tacky’ glue – but remember to remove before washing the garment!

Before leaving the subject of Mary McCarthy’s butterflies, I’ve been very curious about Mary herself. Her wonderful patterns have been featured in all the major magazines for many years It appears she is associated with the Shuttlebirds in Washington state, but I can’t seem to find any information about her on the Web. I’d like to express my admiration of her and thank her for keeping tatting in the public eye for so many years with her wonderful patterns.

Motif #4 – Gold Butterfly

Continuing on the subject of butterflies, around 1991 I felt confident enough to tat the pretty butterfly on p. 24 of the Dover publication “Christmas Angels and Other Tatting Patterns” by Monica Hahn. I decided to use my favorite DMC gold thread, which comes on a spool and it worked well.

I had this butterfly in a frame for a long time, but I recently decided it should be set ‘free’ so it could ‘get out’ in the world and be seen.

So I put it on a black visor (found in most craft stores). I’ve stitched it on in a few places so it’s secure. I added gold trim to define the edge of the visor.

Visors offer a great pallet for bits and pieces of tatting!

" SOPHISTICATS "

Back in the early ‘90s I often saw cute ‘patchwork’ quilt cats in quilt shops, and thought that tatted lace would look sweet on a ‘sophisticated’ black velvet “Victorian” cat.

I made up my own black velvet cat pattern and added some simple tatted lace with some flowers and a dangly crystal. I put two of the cats in a basket and ‘debuted’ them in October of 1991

They went to happy homes !

Photo from 1991

Motif #5 – Antique Tatting Pattern from 1850
Recently I’ve been playing around with some patterns from the Antique Pattern Library and thought this 1850 lace (all rings) would be perfect on my own velvet cat.

This tatted lace pattern is from :
Riego de la Branchardiere, [Eléanor].
Simple Book of Tatting. c. 1850, page 12.

This is one of the ‘easier’ antique tatting patterns. I am astounded at the complexity of many of the early patterns from the mid-1800s, even when using only rings.

LEARNING TO TAT – PART 1
Here is the first part of my experiences and inspirations leading up to my finally learning how to tat. It seems to be a ‘common’ story among those of us who could not observe anyone tatting. Written instructions, drawings or photos just could not seem to ‘get across’ exactly how to manipulate the shuttle and thread.

1956 – Inspirations in the Needle Arts
As a young girl, I was always interested in ‘arts and crafts’, needlework and sewing machines. Where did my interest in crafts and needlework come from? That’s a good question, especially since my mother did only ‘maintenance’ hand sewing and there was no machine in the house; and my aunts and grandmother who knit or crocheted lived 600 miles away but I never actually saw them knitting or crocheting A friend’s mother sewed on a ‘treadle’ sewing machine, and I remember seeing a sweet neighbor lady crocheting while she sat on her porch. I’m sure I was fascinated watching her hands!

I liked to embroider stamped cross stitch, and I hand-sewed teddy bear clothes, which was considered strange by my friends! Then my wonderful parents bought me a sewing machine when I was 12, which was a really big deal for me (I still have that machine), and I made good use of it for many years, making real clothes! (My mother had no interest in learning to use the machine!)

Around that same time when I was 12, for whatever reason, I clearly recall that I just HAD to buy the Coats and Clark’s famous LEARN HOW BOOK so I could learn how to knit and crochet, and within a short time I did successfully learn the basics of knitting and crocheting. I really didn’t knit anything of significance (until 1964, after I married) but I did a lot of practicing! Probably made a few small crocheted doilies. I remember crocheting with both yarn and thread, although working with hooks smaller than size 7 wasn’t comfortable for me.

However, I was ALWAYS intrigued by the look of the delicate lace in the HOW TO TAT section of that book (you may recall I had seen actual tatted lace on those linen triangles in my mother’s china closet), so I decided I HAD to learn to tat! So out I went to the Five and Ten to buy a Boye metal shuttle – bobbin in middle – flat hook on end. For many years this is the only shuttle I ever saw in the stores.

So in 1956 (at about 12 years old) I loaded up my new Boye shuttle – and …that’s as far as I got!

I could not figure out how to make the knots from the instructions in the Learn How book ! (Does that sound familiar?)

First of all, I found it very awkward to wrap the thread around my left hand and hold the middle finger up. But more importantly, I couldn’t understand how to manipulate the shuttle, no matter how hard I tried!

This was very frustrating for someone who easily learned how to knit and crochet from a book! Even after I became an experienced knitter and crocheter, I would get the tatting shuttle out and try to figure out how to tat – but to no avail!

Any illustrations that I occasionally saw in needlework magazines seemed even more complicated than those in the Learn How Book! The hands seemed to be held in such unnatural positions! Also, the pattern instructions seemed so complicated (this was when they were written in the older style).

So I gave up trying to learn – and time marched on . . . . .

I did a lot of knitting and crocheting for the next 30 years, and occasionally would try to learn to tat, but to no avail.

In my next post I’ll finally explain how I met my two tatting mentors in 1989 and 1990.

I’ll end this post on this note: Even when tatting appeared in magazines, back in the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s, it was often referred to as a ‘dying art’. Little did they know how wrong they were!

Motif #2 - Clovers and Chains

Again I’ve been delayed in posting to my blog because of distractions, mainly the fantastic weather we had here in Pittsburgh during most of September, and our wanting to be outdoors and take some fun trips around the area. We love retirement! However, there was one bizarre weather occurrence that abruptly interrupted our reverie:

On Sunday evening, September 14, around 7 pm, 50-80 mph winds from Hurricane Ike ‘blew in’ to Pittsburgh from Texas and blasted three Western PA counties for several hours that night, causing quite a bit of property damage and power outages which lasted several days for some. Reports from the utility company say it was the worst event for power outages in 35 years! We personally were fortunate in that we lost only a small branch from our cherry tree (but a lot of debris fell from the other trees), and our power was out for only about 10 hours. It was quite an unsettling evening, since the weather forecasters did not prepare Pittsburgh for such an event, and they as well as everyone else were taken completely by surprise (they had predicted only 20 mph winds). After a few days of cooler temperatures, the weather returned to being ‘perfect’ for the rest of the month, and we were off again on new adventures.


I keep promising to write about how I actually learned to tat, and in my next post I WILL do so. However, I wanted to get another motif in to prove that I haven’t ‘disappeared’! I also want to mention here that I’ve very much appreciated the comments I’ve received on my posts! I’m still new to this ‘blogging thing’ and a little gun-shy about writing comments! I hope to overcome that.

MOTIF #2 Basic Three-Leaf Clover-and-Chain Pattern
[ In Antique Pattern Books, the ‘3-leaf clover’ was called a “Trefoil” ]

After learning to do single rings and chains, the ‘next logical step’ in basic tatting is to learn to join several rings, usually in a 3-leaf clover pattern, and then do a chain, and repeat the clover pattern. The ‘trefoil and chain’ is another one of those easy patterns that is quite attractive and is used often in tatting. I’m also fond of this pattern because I’m part Irish!



Here is the basic trefoil pattern on a cute little wood basket, (3” across, 4” high), where I attached a strip of green felt ribbon to better define the tatted lace. In the early 1990s these baskets were easy to find at craft stores and came in many colors. As I usually do with things I find at craft stores, I bought several of them, because oftentimes the stores will stop carrying items, or the manufacturers stop making them. That’s how I end up with a lot of excess ‘stuff’ in my house! My husband says I could start my own craft store !





My first tatting project early in 1990 was a handkerchief edging which I made for Mother’s Day for my mother-in-law (she was 66 then, and is now approaching her 85th birthday! I met her when she was 37 and I was 16 !)


The handkerchief came already embroidered and has the word “Mother” as part of the design.

I believe I used size 30 thread.

(The original of this photo from 1990 isn’t sharply focused.)






















Apparently I ‘fudged’ the corners, as I didn’t know how to design my way around them, but I did manage to get a complete clover and the ‘point’ on each corner!














Here is another example of the standard clover pattern. I made this lace several years ago and set it aside, as I couldn’t decide how to use it. Because of this blog,
I thought I’d look around the house and see if I could find someplace to put it, and I found this beautiful filigree wood frame which I had stashed away!

I think my tatted piece has finally found a home!



The frame measures 12” x 9.5”.
The center opening is 8” x 6”
The tatted piece is 5” x 4.5”.
The background is a piece of green velvet paper (found at scrapbook stores).
The center is a pin !



Here is a 3-leaf-clover pattern I did early in the ‘90s, with more elements added – longer chains and lots of picots, plus inner rings.

It’s far from perfect and now has some discolored areas!

I apparently adapted this piece from a ‘pincushion’ pattern designed by Marion T. Leyds called “Summer”, from DMC’s book “Tatting for Today”,.
I didn’t copy the pattern exactly - it was supposed to alternate single rings between the trefoils. Also I ignored the instructions for 2 shuttles, which is why the inner rings aren’t ‘thrown off’ from the chains but are sort of ‘forced’ to lay flat. The chains at the base of the inner rings form a “V” shape rather than a rounded shape. At the time, I didn’t understand the need for two shuttles. (Mostly I was ‘intimidated’ about using them.)

Imperfect as it is (you might even say sloppy!), I think it provides an interesting pattern and looks kind of ‘antique-y’. The extra picots add to the pizzazz. The cameo provides the Victorian touch! This is mounted on a dark green velvet ‘frame’ (the only way I can explain it) which came with a ribbon attached for hanging. (The frame measures 4” wide and 4.5” high.)

* * * *

The weather is supposed to be cooler and ‘drizzly’ (actually we need the rain) so we might actually get some things done around the house and stop gallivanting!



So long for now!

Motif #1: The Versatile Hens and Chicks - plus Back to the 1950s and Unsolved Mysteries

This is the beginning of my motifs for the Challenge, which will also be a retrospective of my tatting journey. I’ve been distracted a bit from working on my blog due to the happy circumstance of my husband’s recent retirement, which has finally given us the opportunity to take some day trips here and there and to enjoy outdoor activities, and also to catch up on lists of things to do around the house. It’s a little unsettling to realize we’re actually at this stage in life, but we feel lucky to experience a more leisurely pace, with no alarm clocks! I’ve also been reorganizing my tatting books, photos, and display cabinet, not to mention reading my diaries from 20 years ago, which brings back all kinds of memories and emotions.

Before I begin, I wish to thank Tattycat, Wickedtats, Clyde and Jeff for assisting Sharon and giving her a well deserved break from having to constantly monitor the Challenge blogs. I’ve often wondered how Sharon could possibly keep up with all the blogs. We’re all indebted to Sharon for creating her important, popular and educational tatting site. The assistance of the above-mentioned tatters is most appreciated!

MOTIF #1

Hens and Chicks

Wow! This is really getting back to basics!

I must give Hens and Chicks an honored spot in my blog as my 1st Motif. Hens and Chicks is one of the most recognizable and basic ‘one shuttle’ tatting patterns. It also is one of the few ‘antique’ patterns that has a name, although I have no idea who named it or when that name first appeared in print, let alone when the pattern itself first appeared. I’m sure someone out there knows the answer! One of my ‘Unsolved Mysteries’.

In the “Antique Pattern Library” website http://www.antiquepatternlibrary.org/completelist.htm there is an 1861 booklet called Tatting and Edging Insertions, which contains a lovely pattern called Etruscan Border. Could that pattern be the forerunner of today’s Hen’s and Chicks? The booklet is the last one listed under “Riego, de la Branchardiere.” See page 11/16.

I quickly tatted the 1861 Etruscan Border (so quickly I left out one picot on the last large ring and had to 'fudge' to attach the joining ring!) to show you how amazingly it resembles Hens and Chicks!

Childhood Memories – Back to the ‘50s and beyond

Not only was Hens and Chicks the first ‘pattern’ I did on my tree skirt in 1989 (see prior post), but it was the edging on the mysterious ‘triangle’ linens displayed in my mother’s china closet (dating back to 1937) – See photo below. As far back as I can remember, these triangles (originally there were six) were prominently displayed in the china closet and gave me my first ‘awareness’ of tatting. I remember that I enjoyed looking at them and I wondered how they were made.

My 12th birthday party - 1956

and the Mysterious Tatted Triangles

I was in 7th grade when the above picture was taken, and I seem to be enjoying my party! The photo is significant for me because this is how old I was when I began my needlework adventures of knitting and crocheting, and also began learning to sew on a brand new machine purchased for me by my wonderful parents due to my interest in my ‘home ec’ sewing classes at school. It was also at this time that I was frustrated in my efforts to learn to tat! More about that in my future posts!

One of three surviving linen triangles from 1930s or 1940s

I don’t know exactly when or how my mother acquired the linen triangles, but I don’t believe they were made by anyone she knew. I’m sure she would have told me! No one in our family tatted, so I’m guessing she purchased them for herself (or someone purchased them for her as a gift) back in the ‘30s or ‘40s. (I have a photo from the ‘40s showing them in the china closet.)
I assume it was possible to find such items in stores back then.

I somehow always knew that they were tatted - my mother must have told me. Even though my mother did no needlework herself (except maintenance sewing by hand), she was probably familiar with the look of tatting, as it was very popular in the 1920s and 1930s.

In 1962, my parents gave away their dining room furniture when we moved to a new apartment, which had a larger kitchen but no dining room. I myself was starting my ‘career’ as a secretary (age 18) and was concerned with other things, especially dating my boyfriend, Ron (now my husband of almost 45 years!). I paid little attention to anything else, and I gave no thought to the ‘missing’ dining room set and the linen triangles.

My husband and I were married in January of 1964, and our first apartment was only 10 miles from my parents, so we visited often. Very sadly, however, in 1973, shortly after my husband and I achieved our goal of finding the lot on which we would build our house, my mother died after a six-year illness, and the next year, my father also died. They were only in their mid-60’s, and it’s still difficult for me to think about that time.

When I went through their possessions, and acquired my mother’s hope chest, imagine my surprise to find these triangles among her linens! What a flood of memories they evoked!!! They must have had a special significance to her.

However, I was puzzled as to the poor condition of the tatting on the triangles. I can only guess that the other three triangles were even more damaged and she had to discard them. The triangles appear to be in good shape in the 1956 photo, so the damage occurred after that time. (The circle medallions are OK, however.) Could it be that the triangles were washed in the washing machine, and the agitation of the machine damaged them? (Another Unsolved Mystery) The thread size is ‘thicker’ and appears to be #20 or #10.

The three triangles now decorate my own ‘tatting cabinet’ (a small china closet in my craft room), and I’ve thought about trying to ‘fix’ the tatting, but it’s remained just a thought!

Below are different ways I’ve used Hens and Chicks in more recent times:

Pin or Pendant.

- purchased metal backing at craft store

- cut oval from velvet paper and glued in middle of pendant

- added a chain to Hens and Chicks motif to form 'handle'

- glued 'basket' to velvet paper

- glued commerically embroidered flowers above basket

- used jewelers' glue to add pin on back

I found these wood baskets, in different colors, in a craft store. They are only about 2" across and 3" tall. I added Hens and Chicks around the edge, and put flowers or baby's breath in the basket.

What more appropriate place to put Hens and Chicks than on an egg! This egg is actually a white flocked egg (over hollow plastic), so it is fuzzy to the touch. The eggs also came in pastel colors, and I added different motifs to them for my Easter display.

The thread I used here was DMC's metallic gold, which comes on a spool and is usually found in the cross-stitch area of craft shops. It is equivalent to size 30 and is excellent to work with. In this instance, I glued the tatting to the egg. (This pattern is very easy to do, and I shaped it to fit the egg. It's the same pattern I use for my 3-D eggs, to be explained later.)

Here's a Victorian sun catcher or tree ornament made with Hens and Chicks, which can be easily formed into a circle. In the center is a 'heart' acrylic pendant. Initially I used real crystals, but the acrylic ones are lighter in weight and much less expensive! You can put anything you wish in the center, or just leave it open!

This 6" gal graces my Victorian Doll House, which I take to my demos. I knew I was going to put Hens and Chicks on the bottom of her skirt when I purchased her.

One of my first 3-D bells (1992), using size 20 thread

As you can see, Hens and Chicks is indeed an attractive, versatile and 'classic' tatted lace pattern!

1989 - Victorian Fan Tree Skirt - and My First Pieces of Tatting

Working on the tree skirt between Aug. and Dec. 1989

I hesitate to bring up Christmas at this time, but the Victorian Fan tree skirt shown in this post has great significance to my tatting story, as it has my first pieces of tatting on it!

In 1989 Victorian items and Victorian home decorations were making a ‘comeback’ and were featured in magazines everywhere. Victorian tea shops were springing up here and there; and ‘quaint’ Victorian customs and manners were wistfully remembered.

I was especially pleased that lace was once again being admired and appreciated. Doilies and lace-edged handkerchiefs were coming out of hiding! I had done a fair amount of crocheting over the years (although much more knitting) and had made a few doilies; and in 1989 I was making crocheted Christmas ornaments in various shapes (bells, parasols and, of course, snowflakes). Three-dimensional crochet patterns were readily available, and stores were even beginning to sell finished and ‘stiffened’ 3-D crocheted ornaments, in addition to snowflakes. Christmas trees were being decorated in Victorian style with beads, feathers and lace - without the lighted candles, of course!

Quilt classes - In the summer of 1989 I was taking quilting classes at a local quilt shop, where I first saw a model of this lovely ‘Victorian’ tree skirt displayed on a wall. I loved the colors (shades of burgundy and green – sound familiar?). So, even though I was a ‘fledgling quilter’ I signed up for the class. My diary indicates that I started the class on August 27 – that’s 19 years ago, almost to the day. I remember picking out the material and also going to a fabric store to find the wide commercial lace to go around the perimeter.

My husband and I had celebrated our Silver wedding anniversary the previous January (we married in 1964 – I was almost 20 and he was 21), and I hoped to finish the tree skirt in time to commemorate our 25th Christmas. (Can it be possible we’re now about to celebrate our 45th anniversary !!) As an extra touch, I added silver beads to each fan section











Finished tree skirt and label attached on back



July 1989 - A trip to Maryland, and a Big Surprise
Before I started the quilt class, however, in July of ‘89 my husband and I traveled to Maryland to visit a craft fair. I must have seen an ad about it in a magazine. I loved going to these craft fairs. They were becoming more and more numerous ever since the Bicentennial celebration here in the United States (in 1976) which seemed to inspire an appreciation for hand-made quality items such as those made in times gone by. Folks at these fairs were demonstrating their crafts, and they were usually dressed in period costumes. I enjoyed talking with everyone, as I’m interested in crafts of all kinds.

This was a rather rustic setting in the Maryland woods, so I was totally astounded to find a tatting booth there, as I hadn’t expected it; and it was the first time I had seen anyone actually tatting! I talked to one of the gals in the booth (her friend was out having lunch) and I was dazzled by the beautiful things I was seeing, especially a delicate, tatted lace purse, which I believe had beading on it. She tried to show me how she was tatting, with a very fine thread. It looked very complicated to me, but I was mesmerized!!


That trip to Maryland changed my life! All the way home I kept thinking about the beautiful tatted lace I had seen. I decided to pursue tatting again (a goal from back in 1956 when I was 12 – subject of a future post), and I this time I was determined to learn! Little did I know that a year later, I would not only learn to tat but would also be demonstrating tatting to others - and dressing in costume!

The “Tatsy” shuttle. Shortly after returning home from Maryland, I found a tatting shuttle at a craft store called a “Tatsy”. I already had a silver “Boye” shuttle (which I purchased back in the 1950s), but I had never seen such a large (plastic) shuttle! However, I thought it would be easy to handle, and I could put thicker thread on it, so I could see what I was doing. That is, if I could ever figure out how to tat!

There is much more to this story which I will save for another post. I’ll be giving credit to the local tatter I met by chance a few weeks after I purchased the Tatsy shuttle, and who helped unlock the mysteries of tatting for me and who, importantly, led me to another ‘tatting lady’ who had a profound influence on my life.


My husband remembers that all he heard for several weeks was the ‘click, click, clicking’ of me winding and unwinding thread on that shuttle! And he still hears it today, as it’s the shuttle that I use to demonstrate tatting!





According to my 1989 diary, I finally learned to join rings on October 7th. after which I tatted a short length of joined rings (no chains yet). Then, most significantly, I tatted a short length of “hens and chicks” (although I didn’t know its name at the time) – my first attempt at following a pattern. I was so proud of these pieces, and I made sure I added them to my tree skirt as a remembrance of my first successful pieces of tatting!


And finally, here are those first pieces of tatting:





As you can see, I hadn't quite mastered the 'distance thing' in Hens and Chicks!

Moving Ahead to 1996, after Six Years of Tatting and Demonstrating
When I first used the tree skirt at home, I had it lying flat under our tall Christmas tree. It looked nice, but it wasn’t particularly impressive there, and you had to make sure you didn’t walk on it!

After I joined the tatting group (in 1990), I started to display the tree skirt at our tatting demos, usually by just draping it across the table, sometimes with a small tree nearby, decorated with a few tatted ornaments. It got many favorable comments, but still wasn’t quite the effect I wanted.

Then, finally, in 1996, I purchased a small, 4-foot tree, just the right size to take to the festivals. I also purchased one of those three-legged circular tables, over which I draped a burgundy or green circular cloth, and placed the tree skirt on top of that, the way it was meant to be seen. When I added the new tree, filled with samples of my six years of tatting, I finally had the perfect combination of Victorian Christmas tree and Victorian tree skirt!

1996 - Tree and skirt together at last !

Of course, I’m very proud of the fact that I designed many of the ornaments, and in my future posts I’ll be showing them as my Motifs, where I’ll explain how they evolved.
I’ve added a few more items since then, and changed things around a little, but the tree looks basically the same, and it goes with me to all the festivals.

In my next post I’ll take you back to 1955, and my first awareness of tatting, and I’ll also give proper credit to the two women who taught me to tat.

I’ll also be posting the first of my Motifs :-)

Hope you enjoyed the above l-o-n-g story! Signing off for now!!

Victorian Doll - new uses for doilies and bits of tatting

Although I want to keep things in chronological order, starting with 1989, I’m jumping time-wise to about 1995 because I promised to explain the Victorian Doll pictured at the top of my blog.

I bought the doll (without the tatted ‘apron’, of course) in the mid-1990s at a toy store. I particularly liked the colors of her dress – burgundy and green – very Victorian!. I knew I was going to embellish the dress with tatting, and it happened that I had started a doily a few months before I bought her. I was tatting the doily to see if I had the discipline to pay attention to the important joins necessary with each motif. It turned out I didn’t quite have the patience to make the doily any bigger, so I have only 20 motifs in the doily, and I put it aside in my ‘unfinished tatting’ stash.

The doily turned out to be the perfect size for the skirt overlay on the doll’s dress. However, as you can see, the doily does not cover the back of the skirt, so I added another piece of ‘scrap’ tatting on the back, as well as to the top front of the dress. Yet another piece of scrap tatting is used for the headdress, finished off with a wisp of a marabou feather.

She’s just a sort of ‘fantasy’ doll, not from any particular time period, but she nicely complements my Victorian tatting display.

Now for the embarrassing part - I have searched high and low and can’t find the pattern for the doily! Possibly the pattern (I believe it is in a booklet of patterns) is hidden away somewhere in my craft room, and I will come across it one day. However, I generally keep all my tatting books together, so I can’t imagine where it could have gone. If you know where this pattern can be found, please let me know!

The message of this post is: Find uses for old or new doilies! You can frame them, of course, or mount them on throw pillows. Smaller ones (coaster size) can be medallions on towels or pillowcases or can be showcased on top of fancy velvet boxes.

As this is my first post with photos actually in the post itself, I'm going to close here and see how it worked out. I'll be adding another new post soon..

Beginning of My Blog Adventure

Hello fellow tatters! I already know many of you from your wonderful tatting blogs! I am delighted to be joining you in this amazing world of the "web log". I am new to this blogging technology, so this is a new adventure for me!

Those of you who belong to or follow Sharon Briggs' 25-Motif Challenge may recognize my name from Sharon's posting on Feb. 21, 2008, where she so kindly introduced me to you under the heading "The Tatting of Kathy Niklewicz."

I had written a long letter to Sharon about some of my tatting experiences during the past 20 years, including my efforts in trying to get some of my patterns published, especially my 3-dimensional patterns. I also mentioned how I enjoy demonstrating tatting with a group of gals in Western Pennsylvania (near Pittsburgh) known unofficially as the "Beaver County Tatters." Carol Lawecki's mom is in our group, and I know many of you are aware of Carol's beautiful tatting through her wonderful blog. Carol has posted photos of Old Economy, (Ambridge, PA), one of our tatting demo sites.

Needless to say, I was overwhelmed last February when I saw Sharon's post about me, which included the photos I had sent to her! You may recognize the "Lady's Slippers", which I designed back in 1993. That was the year I demonstrated tatting (a solo stint) in Mercer, PA, at their annual Victorian Days. I returned to demo five years later, and was delighted to meet Elizabeth Zipay there, who had a wonderful booth where she was selling her exquisite tatted jewelry! Ten years later, this past May, I surprised Elizabeth at her tatting booth in Chantilly, Virginia! It was so wonderful to see her again, and we couldn't believe 10 years had gone by!

Because of the encouragement of wonderful Sharon Briggs and other tatters - especially Elizabeth Zipay and Carol Lawecki (fellow Pennsylvanians!) - I am now starting this blog, which will retrace my tatting journey, and I hope to include current tatting projects. For various reasons I'm not tatting nearly as much as I used to, although I continue to demonstrate tatting with our group about four times a year.

And I definitely want to join the 25 Motif Challenge to share my favorite motifs from the past, and also new projects!

I'll explain the Victorian Doll in my next post! Stay tuned!!