Tatting through designer's block

The "harlequin" and "stars" elements were finished weeks ago (or has it been months?) and were placed in a container to await inspiration for finishing. In the meantime, life went on. Then, earlier this week I used the "just do one thing" approach by moving the container to my work table. There!

On another day, I took the motifs and supplies out of the container. Another accomplishment!

Yesterday, I wondered about which thread to use for tatting the various elements together. Nothing suitable! But then, I remembered that I had some of the new Liz Metallic size 40 Icy Blue. So, I put that on a shuttle and tatted a ring, then a chain, counting the stitches to reach the next picot, and then to reach the next motif leaving what seemed to be enough space... and now a start on putting it together has been made. Yay!!!

The rest will come - I hope. ☺

My artwork has been selected

Detail photo of "Exuberance"

 Today I received confirmation that "after an inspiring and highly competitive jury process" my artwork "Exuberance" has been officially selected to be published in the 63rd issue of Artistonish Magazine!

I'm actually surprised and very much thrilled! There will be promotional badges and social media features to come when the October 2025 issue is published. Upon entering, I did make it clear that this is my original design, so it is a unique expression of my distinct ideas and artistic interpretation, making a unique work of art. 

Doily is finished

 

The pattern is my original "Daylily Dance". I added another motif at each end to make the elongated diamond shape. I really love the vibrant colors that I chose but they're difficult to get a good photograph of. I used size 20 Lizbeth cream color 612 and the bright pinkish red and dark green are vintage Flora threads. The shaded colors are my hand dyed "Rhubarb Pie".

I took a picture when the doily was still a round shape next to the original model for the pattern.

I have another picture of the finished piece on a white background that I won't show here yet, the reason being I decided to be very bold and enter it in a juried competition for an artist magazine as fiber art. Well, I don't know how that will go over (smile) but for sure it is my original design. I needed to give the piece to be entered a title, so I called it "Exuberance". 

New hand dyed thread "Asters"

 

During a nature walk recently I saw so many native asters blooming in differing shades of purple and white with their bright golden yellow to rusty red centers. I tried to capture those colors in hand dyed thread. The thread is now listed in my Goimagine shop, "Marilee's Tatting".

Doily in progress

 

In my stash of thread I selected some colors that made me feel happy - sort of a Marshall Fields 1972 happy!☺ The vivid magenta red and dark green are both vintage Flora threads, the shaded pink to green is my own hand dyed, and the cream is Lizbeth color 612. All size 20, although the Flora 20 is very slightly thicker than Lizbeth they are working well together.

The pattern is my own "Daylily Dance". Many thread ends to hide, but playing with the colors is fun so it seems worth the trouble.

Oops! I made a mistake that needed to be cut out in the second triangular motif. So, I  rewound the shuttle with continuous thread from the ball to continue the tatting. While cutting out the mistake I made sure to cut far enough out to leave at least a short core thread tail along with the ball thread tail to hide under some double stitches in the following chain, staggering the abandonment of each tail to give a gradual thickness reduction. I cut the tails off after finishing that motif.

The motifs need to be joined at the correct picots in order for everything to fit. In the pattern there are diagrams and photos to show where to join.

Almost halfway there! By the way, the "Daylily Dance" pattern is available as an instant download on both Goimagine and Etsy.

Tatting in tinyStudio Creative Life Magazine

 

First 2 pages of the 6 page article that appears in issue 28 of Creative Life Magazine

So exciting! My tatting appears in issue 28 of tinyStudio Creative Life Magazine! To order a digital or a printed copy of this colorful, joyful, and creative fiber arts magazine go to https://www.fiberygoodness.com/ 

I was contacted by the editor a few months ago when she saw my tatting on social media and asked if I'd like to write an article sharing my process "in my own voice" about my approach to tatting. I had not seen the tinyStudio Creative Life magazine before (it's published in New Zealand) so I looked at the website and was amazed at what a big, beautiful, and inspiring magazine it is. I felt honored to be asked (and paid) to write an article to appear in it.

Table of contents for issue 28

The cover of issue 28

Tatting on nylon netting

Here are some examples (from a long time ago!) of my own attempts at putting tatting onto nylon netting. I first saw examples of the technique in Priscilla Tatting Book 2.  Here's a link to the overview page from the Antique Pattern Library. 

This pink necklace is my own design, completed many years ago, but as I recall the tatting was made first, then I arranged it with pins onto nylon netting cut roughly to shape but leaving plenty of net outside of the edges of the tatting. After that, sewed the tatting on using "invisible" nylon thread. When all that was done, carefully trimmed off the excess netting around the edges.

This teal green necklace of tatting on netting is also my own design, completed a long time ago.

In the photo above it's easy to see the edges of the netting, showing that it doesn't need to be cut perfectly!

The white collar design was copied from an example shown in the Priscilla Tatting Book 2. 

Each of these examples took a long time to make, and naturally are my special treasures. But, this same technique can be used to make small items that don't take so long and will still impress!

Both shops now

Oops!

I really thought that anyone from anywhere could buy an instant download on Goimagine and checkout as a guest. I was mistaken! Only USA customers can purchase there, even as a guest.

So, my Etsy shop is reactivated with my instant downloadable patterns (the same ones also available on Goimagine).

Now that's sorted, back to tatting.

Slow lace and beading

Slow art piece in progress

A little peak at what I'm working on. The colors in the harlequin shapes as well as the bright yellow beaded crystals were inspired by The Starry Night painting by Vincent van Gogh. I'm at the stage of "Now what!" But, eventually an answer will come, a little at a time.

The large yellow beaded crystal is built around a center called a "cushion" 10mm across, not really round (a square with rounded corners) but it looks round enough with the peyote beading around it and the tatting.

In between working on that art project, I've added some more things to my "Marilee's Tatting" shop. At the top of this blog there's a tab labeled "Online Store", click on that and it takes you there.

Adelia pendant in teal and purple

Hand dyed thread "Pond"

How it is going

 

Hand dyed thread "Summer Trail" size 3

So far I'm really liking my new online shop, Marilee's Tatting on Goimagine. I've had some sales which have helped me gain experience in how the site works.

It has an "analytics" page for the seller to see charts for how many views their shop is getting and which items are getting the most views. So far the size 20 "Summer Trail" thread and the "Celtic Triangle" pattern have been viewed the most.

It seems that I don't receive an email notice if I've had a sale, so I'll remember to check the shop each day. The seller's dashboard does have a notice there.

All credit card payments on Goimagine are accepted. But, it cannot take PayPal. I don't know if it would take the PayPal debit card.

The seller needs to print the shipping labels using another service such as USPS Click-N-Ship. For me that means I need to copy and paste the customer's address onto the label. I don't mind, it's not hard.

So far I have not had a sale of a digital item yet. I did buy a digital pattern from another seller to see how it worked. Since I have an account, I just needed to click on "Your Account" and select "downloads". The pattern was there. But, a buyer does not need to have an account to make a purchase, so then the pattern would be emailed by the seller. Since I haven't had a digital pattern sale yet, I don't have any experience about it yet.

Just thought I'd share how it's going so far! Keep on tatting and crafting!

Open!

 

Still need to add a lot of my original digital patterns, but all of my current hand dyed thread in stock has been added. Just so you know, you don't need to sign up for an account in order to make a purchase there. Let me know about any glitches, please. The link to my new shop: https://goimagine.com/marileestatting/

Setting up in progress on Goimagine

 

I'm working on it! Nothing is ready yet except the main banner, so here's a screenshot. My new shop will be called "Marilee's Tatting". It's taking me some time to get all my products moved over, but hoping to be ready to open for business soon!

Take a look at the Goimagine main page here: https://goimagine.com/ 

I really like their "Handmade for Good" concept. This seems like it will be the right place for me. 

Where to sell?

 I've put my Etsy shop on vacation until I figure out what to do. For those who haven't heard (and I didn't myself until a few minutes ago) Etsy has become a place where uncaring people are making a profit off of suffering by selling "Alligator Alcatraz", fake "ICE Agent" costumes, and other offensive items promoting cruelty. 

These items break Etsy’s Terms of Use, specifically the Hate and Discrimination Policy. Etsy clearly states that immigration status is a protected characteristic, and content that mocks, dehumanizes, or targets people based on that is not allowed.

Apparently Etsy is not doing it's job to enforce that policy...yet. Perhaps it will if enough people complain and protest, or especially if they start losing significant amounts of money.

I don't know how long this will last, but I may start looking for a different selling platform. Very inconvenient, especially since I just finished hand dyeing a new batch of thread ("Summer Trail") and currently nowhere to sell it!

Ginkgo Leaf

 

Last week I made a "short" (brief video in vertical format) of tatting this Ginkgo Leaf pattern and uploaded it to YouTube. It's also on Instagram and a slightly longer version is on TikTok. 

Since it's a short, it's not a complete how-to, but only a quick peek to get people interested. Although... surprisingly it contains a nice demo of the Catherine Wheel Join. 

My original, longer video of a Catherine Wheel Join is still on YouTube, uploaded 14 years ago. Wow, that old one looks so blurry! Amazing how far technology has come in 14 years. :-)

Harlequin in progress

Where did this motif come from? 

Actually, it's a small design element that I had used in my "Nexus of Joy" necklace, which I was very surprised to find that when repeated, it fit together to form a harlequin diamond shape! So what to do with this? Well, I don't know! But, now that I've gotten past the "all those ends to hide" annoyance, I quite like it and will probably add more in different colors to find out what happens.

Yes, I bought a physical copy of the magazine just to admire my work in print! Well, as a friend told me, "We are at the age where the warranty expires!" so I'm just going to keep going while everything still works, and do it with joy!  :-) 

 To learn more: https://www.artistonish.com/may2025?AW=AW127248630

To read the magazine online: https://www.artistonish.com/may2025

My artwork 'Nexus of Joy' is now published at Artistonish

 

To learn more, please go to:

https://www.artistonish.com/may2025?AW=AW127248630

Read the magazine via the below link:

https://www.artistonish.com/may2025

Giving gentle protest vibes in tatted lace letters

 

"Tax the rich" spelled out in colorful lace lettering on a canvas bag.

For the words "tax the" I used Lizbeth size 10 thread and some of my own hand dyed. 

For the word "rich" I combined Liz gold metallic with a size 40 thread in a similar gold color, since the Liz metallic alone is a little thinner than size 10. I don't often use 2 threads as one, but this combo worked up really well. 

The alphabet pattern is "Funny Alphabet" purchased from FairyLaceAndMore on Etsy. 

After all the letters were tatted and arrangement decided, I painted a thick coat of glue on the back of each letter and pressed it firmly into place on the canvas. The glue I used is called "Aleene's Fabric Fusion" and is described as being permanent and washable. 

I've only just finished and haven't had the bag out in windy weather yet, but so far the letters seem to be stuck on quite well. I was thinking of sewing a few stitches for extra security, but hoping that won't be needed.

I tried my hand at needle lace

 

"Crocus" by Marilee Rockley

The best I can say about it is that the design is original, from a drawing I did of a crocus flower blooming in the snow. I experimented with a few needle lace fillings learned from tutorials posted by Maggie Hensel-Brown - but me being a newbie I just threw them in haphazardly, focusing mainly on the colors. I used size 20 Lizbeth threads, with the shaded green being my own hand dyed.

The idea of finishing with a wooden branch was inspired by the work of  Ágnes Herczeg. I found a fallen twig in my backyard, then cleaned and finished it by following tutorials on YouTube.

It was a good learning experience, and kept my mind distracted from worry. It was very time-consuming so I doubt that I'll do any more of this type of lacemaking, but now I have a better appreciation of it! 

I took only a few in-progress photos, but here they are:

Fun at Finger Lakes Tatting Conference

 

That's me doing a book signing and feeling like a celebrity☺. In my hair is a colorful tatted lace flower. Hand dyed thread is nearby and more tables for classes are partially visible in the background. 

Variations of the pattern project for the class that I taught, "Burst of Joy".

Some needle tatters were in my class and their work was very impressive, as shown here. I learned some new techniques, too!

Plenty of yummy food each day! This photo only shows some of the desserts.

Each teacher received a gift of a personalized stick shuttle.

Here's one of the commemorative Finger Lakes Tatting 25th anniversary shuttles available from "Shuttle By Design".

Some of the really amazing tatted lace items on display!

A trip to the Finger Lakes region is not complete without visiting some of the beautiful waterfalls!