Progress on the book: looking at January

 Since I still have 4 patterns to do, it looks like the book, which will be entitled "Marilee's Beaded Tatting Finery" should be finished in January 2014. Sorry to disappoint those who were planning to buy it as a gift for the holidays, but hey, now you know where to spend that cash someone presents you with :)

The blue necklace above will be one of the patterns in the book. I've decided to call that design "Fiesta". It's a little tricky, but people who've seen my other patterns know that I do my best to explain things. The medallion of the necklace is really crowded with beads and doesn't lay perfectly flat, even after blocking, but so many people have asked for the pattern, I've decided that when perfect is impossible, fabulous is acceptable. 

Last week I enjoyed demonstrating tatting at the Milwaukee Domes. That's me with my display in the photo below. I handed out loads of Greater Milwaukee Tatting Guild flyers as well as one-ring tatted butterflies. So, expecting a big turn-out at the next Guild meeting, which will be December 9. Gotta remember to bring name tags!

Marilee with tatted jewelry at the Domes

Greater Milwaukee Tatting Guild keeps growing

6 of the guild members

 It seems that this guild will keep growing, which is a good thing because not everyone can come to every meeting. A different bunch with each gathering, but it seems that everyone enjoys the tatting time together. I know I do!

The photos show just a glimpse of the lovely tatting items brought for show and tell. We had one brand new tatter getting her first lesson, and she caught on very quickly. She said that her experience doing macrame may have helped.

Somebody gave me the "sad puppy eyes" when I showed another new design in progress, because "you still haven't written up your boomerang pattern". Yeah, well...writing is work :) It's more fun to tat - especially with friends!

Gail's tatted notecards

Tatting Lace by T. Fujito

Shuttle from Tat's Heaven and Brooch from Jane Eborall

Sue Anna's snowflakes from Jon Yusoff's book, Tatted Snowflake Collection

Greater MIlwaukee Tatting Guild, fun with friends

Me wearing tatted flower hair clip

 A nice relaxing time was spent at the Mayfair Mall food court, tatting, looking at pattern books, admiring tatted works, visiting with tatting friends, and meeting new friends!

Khomi brought visitors from India. They were very interested in how I add beads to tatting, so I gave some demonstrations. I explained that I learned most of the techniques of adding beads to tatting from the website of Jane Eborall!

My large red tatted flower hair clip and red tatted earrings called for a profile photo of me :)

Tatting by Sue Anna

Sue Anna brought more of her beautiful completed pieces to admire: a Spinning Wheel mat from the pattern by Mary Konior, a Rotation pendant in red, white, and blue, earrings from the Nouveau set pattern, and more. She also had another Spinning Wheel mat in progress, in hand dyed thread from the Sugar Maple batch.
Barbara G. brought more of her beautiful work, that we had seen at the Tollway Tatter's meeting the previous week - but I didn't get photos of it either time, aw, shucks!

Ana worked on a Wondrous Window pendant from my Up and Tat 'Em book.

Sue Anna's work in progress

Chocolate was available in plentiful supply, courtesy of Sue Anna :)

Ana

Barbara

Photos from Greater Milwaukee Tatting Guild

 Always a good time getting together with tatting friends and making new friends!


Our newest arrival showed up saying she'd never tatted, then showed me a chain of correctly made double stitches already done! So, I told her she'd already figured out the hard part by herself - wow! I then demonstrated how to tat rings and join them.

Sue Anna was wearing a pendant made from the "Rotation" pattern and had started another one in blue.

Barbara G. had finished a motif from Jon Yusoff's book, "Elegant Tatting Gems" and was working on another. She said the variegated thread helped with figuring out the patterns better. Later she'll try them in solid colors.

 Khomi arrived with a doily in progress, in a pretty purple and green variegated thread.

We all took a break to watch one of Karen Cabrera's tatting videos, the one on Hyperbolic Tatting. Interesting ideas to try someday!

Ana explained about how 2 pairs of glasses help her with close work. Normally, she only wears reading glasses, but when doing handwork she puts on another pair with a stronger magnification, and where the 2 lenses intersect it's like a super magnifying glass. So, 3 stages of magnification to choose from depending on what the project requires at any particular stage, sort of like triple bifocals but even better.

Greater Milwaukee Tatting Guild, June meeting highlights

 Good times! Sue Anna and Barbara G. were able to join us this time, too. We heard about their experiences at the Lafayette Lacemakers "Lace Day" on Saturday, and got to see some pattern books and other goodies they had bought while there.

We tatted, chatted, and admired new patterns and latest creations.The beginners worked on mastering the "flip" of the double stitch with help and encouragement from the rest of us.

Sue Anna brought tatting in size 3 and size 20. The size of the thread sure makes a difference!

A fun, relaxing time, tatting and visiting with friends, and making new friends!
 
Sure is convenient having the meeting in the Mayfair Mall food court, where there's plenty of food available.

Photos from Greater Milwaukee Tatting Guild meeting

 At our May meeting we had a new tatter join us. Here I am (I'm wearing the "Craftsy" shirt) helping her learn the double stitch.

 The new tatter's very first double stitch! The girl is a natural!

 Here's her first tatted ring! An amazing accomplishment for someone who never tatted before.

 Some of our happy group. Next month there may be more, as a passerby became so interested in what we were doing, she signed up to be notified of our next meeting.

By the way, our group now has a leader's assistant, Ana (in the blue shirt). She'll take my place (helping new tatters and passing out "goodie bags") if I'm not able to make it to a guild meeting.

Beautiful work, not yet blocked, by Heather, a very prolific tatter.

The 3rd meeting of Greater Milwaukee Tatting Guild

Since I was running a little late, I got to the Mayfair Mall food court just a few minutes past the starting of the meeting time-frame, and found several people looking for the Tatting Guild were already there! Several were new beginners, so I immediately passed out "goodie bags" with shuttle and thread and got them started. Fortunately there were experienced tatters there also, who kindly helped the newbies with learning the double stitch.

Gail traveled the farthest, from Madison (about an hour's drive away), and showed off her tatting projects and some of her pattern book collection, seen in the photos below. She has been taking my Craftsy class for awhile, and had many nice things to say about it.

It was great fun learning, sharing, and making new friends. It seems that this guild does fill a need, and I hope it continues to grow. We meet the 2nd Monday of the month, so next meeting will be May 13.

Some of Gail's tatting

A collection of tatting books

Giveaway winner, and photos from Greater Milwaukee Tatting Guild

 The lucky number chosen was 37, so Andy Muckler is the lucky winner of the French tatting book and hand dyed thread! Congratulations, Andy, and thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway at my previous post, I enjoyed reading all the comments ever so much! Tatters are the best! So, don't feel bad if you didn't win this time, there will be more giveaways in the future.

March 11th was the Greater Milwaukee Tatting Guild's 2nd meeting. That's Heather on the left, and me in the tie-dyed shirt.

 Khomi and Ana having fun tatting together. Khomi was working on the "Arches" doily pattern, and Ana on a design with buttons.

 Some of Heather's beautiful work. The tatted "Tardis" of Doctor Who is from a PDF pattern by Anne Bruvald.

 Ana does many types of jewelry making, and she's wearing her latest creation, a "Pogo Stick" necklace of springs and found objects.

I tatted around some filigrees, trying for a Steampunk look, since I'll be a vendor at a local Steampunk/Sci-Fi convention next month. Ana gifted me with a new, different type of wide-eye beading needle that opens all along its center, then snaps closed. I tried it out, and it's really handy!

The Greater Milwaukee Tatting Guild will meet again on April 8th. For more information, send me a message via my Google profile.

First meeting! Greater Milwaukee Tatting Guild

 We had fun! There were 6 of us that got together at the Mayfair Mall food court. That's me in the tie-dyed t-shirt, giving Judy her first tatting lesson. She got on very quickly! I think she's caught the "tatting bug" :-)

 The group around the table laden with tatting goodies included Khomi, Judy, Heather, Ana, and Shirley.

 Gift bags containing a shuttle and ball of thread were presented to each tatter at the meeting.

 Heather has been tatting since last summer, and had a lot of really beautiful work to show.

 Judy and Shirley were new beginners at tatting. They both learned fast, and had rings and chains to show before the evening was done.

 Ana worked on a tatted pendant with buttons, while Shirley practiced her first double stitches.

Khomi used to tat a lot, but hadn't done it for 20 years. At this meeting she tatted the brown butterfly in size 10 thread, I did the multicolored one in size 3.

It seemed that the 2nd Monday of the month works well for this group, so we plan on meeting again on March 11.