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Thursday, December 29, 2011

Swords Into Plowshares





It's finished! This is what I was designing, a necklace inspired by the Biblical passage "They shall beat their swords into plowshares...." Micah 4:3 and Isaiah 2:4.

Anyway, I tried to capture in tatting the suggestion of a sword handle with the bottom part flattened into a plowshare, or at least a shovel. The center is colorful and floral-like, an attempt to convey growth and peace. The beads at the center add sparkle and also weight to try to keep the necklace centered.


This is probably too epic of a theme for my limited abilities, but the inspiration came to mind, so I had to try!

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Still emerging...another sneak peek

The necklace design is progressing. I have a theme in mind, and am trying to come up with something that expresses that theme. Will do a grand reveal when it is finished...hopefully it will be grand, but if it turns out to be a flop, I'll show that too :)

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

New necklace design emerging

Either an inspiration, or an obsession, I'm not sure which :)
I've got sort of an idea developing on a rather grandiose theme, to be revealed in the future! The photo is just a sneak peak at my best beginning so far. Now, back to the tatting and tweaking!

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Merry Christmas from Milwaukee

Here are some photos that I took at the Milwaukee Domes recently. This is the best I have to show you at the moment. I'm one of those "last minute" people who gets nervous if I'm asked, "Are you ready for Christmas?" Basically, I tend to get thoughtful and am amazed that God didn't just throw out the whole unruly project (the human race, the universe, etc.) and sent His Son our wonderful Savior instead. Awesome!

The pictures show some "Santa" images from around the world. Enjoy!


Father Christmas

Jultomten

That's me with Weihnachtsmann!


Knecht Rubrecht

La Befana

Pere Noel

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Tatting a Ring (video)

Here's a basic tatting video I made, about tatting a ring. It shows the way I tat, which is comfortable for me. I know that my way is not the most classic tatting method, but the video may still be helpful for someone who is learning to tat. There are many tatting videos on YouTube now, so if you're trying to learn to tat and one person's method seems awkward for you, try another video from someone else.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Tatting at Discovery World's Artisan Market, and where to from here

Me at my booth

Part of the rest of the market

View of Lake Michigan from Discovery World
 Whew! What an exciting couple of days! The last art/craft show that I'm doing this year, and it was both exhilarating and tiring.

My tatted jewelry had loads of admirers. Remarks that I heard included, "So intricate" "Beautiful" "You must have good eyesight" "I wouldn't have the patience" "I've never seen anything like this" "What's this called?" "Do you teach?" Where do you get the supplies?" "What's that piece of  equipment called that you're holding?" "Is this crochet?" "Who taught you?" "Are you on Etsy?" "Can you show me?" "I tried once but couldn't do it" "You mean you dyed the thread, too?" "I've heard of Annie's Attic, congratulations!" "You must show your amazing work at the Herb Faire at the Boerner Botanical Gardens in May" "Please write the pattern for that necklace, and teach it in class here!"

"Elf" hand dyed thread
So, okay, I will be teaching more tatting classes at Discovery World, to be scheduled sometime in January or February, most likely on a Saturday. I'll announce the dates when I find out more from the contact person there.

Hot Pink & Lime
Sales were pretty good overall, but I brought most of my thread back home with me. It's now loaded into my Etsy shop. By the way, I don't have any "elves" helping me make hand dyed thread. I do it all myself, and consider it part of my art. My dear departed Mom (may God rest her soul) wanted me to be an artist, and I think I've pretty well achieved that goal, in my own way. But, I digress. Something I found curious at the art show is that people seemed to give the impression that they needed "permission" from someone to try tatting. Okay folks, if you need permission from someone to tat lace, I'm giving you my permission! There are loads of tutorials and videos about tatting online, and about a bezillion free patterns to try, not to mention patterns for sale on Etsy and elsewhere. If you want a good starter book that includes a how-to video try this one, How to Tat by Janette Baker. As I told people at the Artisan Market, learning to tat a double stitch is like learning to ride a bicycle, it seems hard until you "get it", then it just happens and you don't have to think about making it happen any more.

Blackbird
Off-topic, I do occasionally play video games - I've got 3 sons all teenaged to twenty-somethings, so I've had some exposure to video games. Every time you "die" you have to do that whole section of the game all over again...and again... and again........and you have nothing to show for all that effort. At least with tatting you have something to show, even if it is just a string of knots, it is something you can hold in your hand and see. Not knocking video games, just sayin' that doing something creative, like tatting, or drawing, or making music, or making anything, or reading a good story, is an adventure of exploring the many possibilities in the world around us, and of the world within.