Tatting On Board

Back a few months ago when I first joined a couple of the crazy quilt Yahoo lists - ChainsOfHearts and CrazyQuiltingFriends some of us on the CQF group planned to meet in Australia over the Easter weekend of this year. A lot of plans were made and two of us from the states were involved in the planning. I would be bringing my tatting shuttles and thread to demonstrate and teach some of the ladies who were interested. As things turned out I am unable to make the trip but there are several others in the group who are also tatters and will be able to teach. So for you sweet gals I'm not going to be able to meet this year I would like to share some of my tatting with you. The top picture shows some of my antique shuttles as well as a couple of those I use most of the time. The top shuttle, an antique one from France, also has some tatting attached to it. The next two shuttles are both hand made with the one on the right an antique shuttle made for a child. The left one was hand made for me from a rare wood. I have about two dozen shuttles that were made for me from rare woods around the world. The tiny shuttle on the left is antique sterling silver, the funny shaped one in the middle is also antique and typical of the shuttle designed by Lady Katharin L. Hoare who was lady-in-waiting to the Queen of Roumania in 1910. The next is a scrimshaw shuttle of ivory and was made in Japan. The two shuttles on the bottom are being used to make some two color basic lace...... this is what I had planned on teachng.


One of the fun items I have tatted for myself is this necklace. For a tatting shuttle I used a large yarn bobbin that knitters use in multi-color pattern knitting and rattail cord. Something you would not ordinarily use for tatting and the necklace took about 20 minutes to make. Who says you "have to go by the book"!

Here is my chatelaine that I copied from a Victorian tatting pattern. The stork scissors are antique and although you cannot see it there is a very special thimble in the tatted thimble holder at the top. There is a small "joining" hook attached to the thimble section. Victorian ladies wore these pinned to the waist of their skirts.

For this doily I used three shades of pink and is framed between two pieces of glass and hangs on a wall in my home.

The pink tatted angel is one of my Christmas tree ornaments and the butterfly is a Victorian pattern. The green linen hankie was found at an antique show and I added the tatting using shaded green #70 tatting thread. This is very fine thread and can be very difficult to work with but was the size thread I learned on.

Here are several more of my ornaments that didn't make it to the tree this year as I had them in a 'different' place. In other words they wern't where they should have been and I found them after Christmas.

When I was teaching tatting at an out of town needlework shop one of my students asked if she could tat a rosary for her grandmother. When I told her it would be possible but not in a beginners class she suggested we have another class to the shop owner who was agreeable. There are the required number of white pearl beads to make it an official rosary. Several in the class, but not all, made them. Some left off the cross attachment as they wanted only the necklace and medallian portion and only the one used the pearl beads.
Although this antimacassar looks white, it is a very pale pink and resides on the back of my pink velvet wing chair. Since it wouldn't show up on the chair my son photographed it on the black backdrop.

This is one of the collars I've made for myself. The collar is of linen with a shadow embroidery design on the front. Naturally being shadow work you cannot see the design, but it is there. I used a #30 DMC thread for the tatted edging.

Most of the time I use my tatting for motifs for my crazy quilting but every once in a while I do other things, usually Christmas tree ornaments as they are a big seller at bazzars. Just wanted to share with my very special friends some of my work. Hope you enjoy this girls!