My artwork is in Artistonish magazine!

 

I'm so excited to share! My artwork 'Leaves of Lace Garland' is now published at Artistonish - January 2025 magazine via @Biafarin portal. To learn more, please go to: https://www.artistonish.com/january2025?AW=AW127356608 Read the magazine via the below link: https://www.artistonish.com/january2025

Reviewing the book Frivolité by Sparrow Kelley

 

The full title is "Frivolité the complete beginner's guide to shuttle tatted lace" by Sparrow Kelley. The book is available from https://www.learnshuttletatting.com/ in both eBook and printed books. 

Here's some of my reactions to this new book:

The step by step teaching method is brilliant! How to shuttle tat the double stitch for beginners is presented in separate lessons: 

    First, the beginner is shown how to make the first half and second half of the double stitch of tatting without flipping. 

    After that is practiced, then flipping the double stitch is taught in the next lesson. 

It's really so much easier to learn one skill at a time instead of several complex skills (the knot and the flip) all at once. (I wish it had occurred to me to teach that way years ago!)

Sparrow expertly demonstrates the classic "slip and slide" method of tatting.

Troubleshooting the flip along with showing common errors is covered. All the basic techniques used in tatting patterns are shown: chains, picots, joins, lock joins, hiding ends, and blocking.

How to read patterns, both written and visual is explained clearly. Sparrow, like most modern designers, has a unique style of drawing diagrams. Those little extras, such as marking the joins and using different colors for shuttle 1 and ball thread/shuttle 2 are helpful references for understanding the pattern.

Here's my tatted piece that I made from following "Advanced Pattern #1: Interesting Edging" on page 33 in the book.

Another thing I like about the printed book is the spiral binding allows it to lay flat to any page, making it easy to keep the page open to the pattern while tatting.

Overall, I'm giving this book an A+ rating as a how-to guide for beginners. 

This is really not a book of patterns that would interest experienced tatters, unless they are looking for ideas on how to teach beginners.

Oddities of the Cocoon pattern

 

The "Cocoon" pattern is found in the book "Marilee's Beaded Tatting Finery". 

Some odd techniques used in it:

It begins with a chain on a paper clip. 

Most of the chains are in "node stitch", as 2 first halves, 2 second halves (of a double stitch). This forms a little ruffle, which allows for the seed beads to face down, below the chain.

It has a large bead held temporarily in place with a paper clip. Normal chains (not node stitch) are used to curve around the bead, and the rings thrown off the chains (also known as "floating rings") need larger picots to fit around the curve. A picot gauge is helpful here (size is given in the pattern).

There is one split ring before the top ring. 

After the split ring, the top ring can be worked as a single shuttle split ring, although the pattern doesn't say this. Also, something else I did this time (not mentioned in the pattern) is to tie a square knot before the top ring, to secure the threads better.

My opinion on finishing: 

This earring benefits from painting some fabric stiffener on the back side (which is actually the side facing you when tatting this pattern). I like the side better that has the smooth lines showing along the seed beads in the middle.

A tatted earring with fabric stiffener being applied to the back side with a brush. Sometimes I just dab the stiffener on using a pin. Although the stiffener dries clear, it does dull the sheen of the thread, so that's why I prefer to put it on the back side only.