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.