That's the End of T'at!

The good side to internet outages is that I'm catching up on old projects. This tatted doily had migrated to the bottom of a tin with the outer row of rosettes only just begun, neglected for the better part of a year. With a week of no computer followed by two days of dead internet, I was able to finish it up on Valentine's Day. Other than a pair of socks which I'm having trouble sticking with because the yarn is such poor quality, I believe this polishes off all my old projects. Time to start some new ones! I get bored easily, so I like to have a variety of things to work on, tatting here, embroidering there, weaving, etc., hands never idle unless they're occupied with cuddling Merry. It's amazing how much you can get done when you don't have distractions like internet (and it should be noted, I haven't had television for forty years).

Tatting In Easter Colours

Day 149: Now while I don't let him completely dictate the pattern of my life, my Boy is getting old and deserves a few accommodations. Finding projects to work while your lap is occupied by fourteen pounds of fur-covered lard immediately excludes weaving on any of my small looms, rules out knitting a sweater or crocheting an afghan, or anything else where I would need to be sitting in a prescribed position or shifting a large piece of work. Admittedly, he's found a way to insinuate himself under my sit-on embroidery frame, but there's always the risk of poking one or the other of us with the needle. Consequently, I've made a lot of socks this winter, and I've done a fair bit of tatting. This is my most recent project, an oval doily. I started it less than a week ago and am done with half the last row of medallions. The center is worked in the same purple-and-green variegated thread as the outer row, and is followed by three rows of plain lavender. I think that lone crocus may have influenced my Easter-y colour choice.

Rings And Chains

Day 175: Needle-tatting is also occasionally referred to as "speed tatting," and indeed, it progresses substantially faster than tatting done with a shuttle. As I've mentioned before, the drawback is that the picots (tiny single-thread loops) are less stable due to the fact that the double-stitches holding them in place are by default loose enough that the tatting needle can be drawn through them. That said, the trade-off isn't as bad as it sounds when the needleworker can complete a project quickly. The 11" x 7" doily on the right, made with #20 cotton, took a mere three days, partly because of the large number of chains which give it an open, airy feel. My original tablecloth pattern (left, four joined motifs) is more dense and therefore more labour-intensive. When joining motifs in tatting, care must be taken to keep all right sides up. The piece of blue yarn is temporary, and tells me at a glance which face of the work is the back. I am hoping to have the tablecloth completed in time to submit to the Washington State Fair in 2020.

Exhibit A

Day 167: By the time I'd made a dozen of the rosette motifs which form the wide border of this 9" doily, I had memorized the pattern and was having trouble motivating myself to complete one each day. Made with size 40 cotton, this needle-tatted lace will be one of my submissions to the Washington State Fair this year. Last year, I entered two weavings and a handkerchief edged with bobbin lace, and took one first prize and two second prizes. I'll be changing up the types of needlework this time around, at the very least subbing in tatting and hardanger, although I may also include one woven piece as my "signature" item. Last year was the first time I'd entered the Fair, and hindsight being so much sharper than foresight, I now regret not listening to my husband as he encouraged me to submit something, anything to demonstrate my skills. I'd walked through the exhibits, mentally comparing my work to those of the long-time competitors and figured that nothing I'd made would make it out of the starting gate. When I saw the award ribbons next to those first submissions, my first thought was of Bruce. I wish he could have shared in my delight. And just as a personal footnote here, it was Bruce's grandma who helped me perfect my tatting technique. I was thinking of her while I was making this doily, remembering how she used to put a mark on her finger with indelible ink as a guide for the length of her picots. I didn't go quite that far, although I used a gauge for the chains in this piece.

More Than One Way To Skein A Tat

Day 117: A little over two weeks ago, I showed you how to transfer the knot in shuttle tatting. Since most people think of tatting as being made with a shuttle and the transfer is where the most common error occurs, I thought it was a valuable lesson. Today I'd like to demonstrate an alternate method for producing those rings and chains. In other words, there's more than one way to skein a tat! I'm referring to needle-tatting

Faster, more consistent, almost foolproof, needle-tatting differs from shuttle tatting primarily in the fact that double-stitches and picots, whether in rings or chains, are almost always made with the ball thread. The thread which runs from the needle only provides the core for the knots. In the photo, you'll see a standard shuttle with a ring just made. Just to the left of the ring, you can see a chain in progress on a tatting needle. Some of the picots have been left open so that you can see how a length of thread is left unknotted in order to leave a small loop (the picot). When a sufficient number of stitches has been made, the needle is drawn through and the work is snugged up. An overhand knot is placed at the end of the chain to hold it in place, and then the work is continued, making the next stitches as the pattern requires.

Yes, you, in the back of the room, you have a question? "Why, if needle-tatting is faster, idiot-proof and more uniform, isn't it the preferred way to tat?" I'm glad you asked.

Because needle-tatting stitches are formed over a needle of a given diameter, the knots do not snug down as tightly against the core thread as they do in shuttle-tatting. This makes the work somewhat less stable, particularly when picots are being formed. The knots on either side of the single-strand picot tend to seek a balance, gradually working loose and causing the picot to disappear after several washings. To prevent this, when I close a ring or draw up a chain, I tug each picot a little tighter with a needle or my fingers to help stabilize it. It's rather a pain in the neck, but as a trade-off for being able to complete a doily in just a few days, I actually prefer to tat with a needle.