The First Day of the Rest of My Life?

• March 21, 2018

A  happy post-St. Patrick's 2018 to you all!  This is my first post on my brand new blog.  It looks to be a bit rough at the moment, but please do come back.  This is a learning process for me and I do plan to learn!! 

So, I have been asked what I want this to be.  Good question!  What do I want to be able to do with this corner of the Internet that I have claimed as mine?

Well, to get this started, this is about making lace.  Not for drawing pictures on skin, but the very old art of making lace by tying knots with thread.  I want to list resources in Canada for making lace, links to places for information or supplies that are either Canadian or Canada friendly and/or people who might be able to answer a question or offer help where you might be.

Why do I want to do this?  Well, I started tatting when I was in my late 20's and could not find anyone to teach me, and before the internet was the the resource it is today.  I finally found a book that would give me some basics, but it wasn't enough.  I found a Greek lady that had a book with detailed instructions that she offered to translate.  I was in Heaven!

She forgot one thing:  the flip.  If you are familiar with the process of shuttle tatting, you will know that making a knot on a thread with a tatting shuttle involves something called the "flip" that will allow the knots to slide and rings to close smoothly.  Unfortunately for me, I wasted a great deal of time and thread trying to accomplish what would never happen.  I finally got very frustrated one day and as my former spouse was coming around a corner, I had launched the thread ball, shuttles and a poorly executed ring across the room and barely missed his nose.  He peeked around the corner, his eyes huge with surprise, and asked if I was going to patent my version of "projectile tatting".

A couple of days later I was speaking with the lady that had given me the instructions and lamented my lack of success.  She asked me for the directions, thinking she might have misinterpreted something.  Suddenly her eyes got big and she said "oops!"  In her excitement to help me, she had forgotten to include the section that explained the flip.  She got it taken care of and the rest is history.  One little piece of the puzzle that is the foundation for the whole thing!

I am predominantly a shuttle tatter.  When I was learning, I had never heard that you could tat with a needle.  Having said that, I want it clear from the get-go that tatted lace is tatted lace.  The method used or the tools needed to accomplish the result are whatever is comfortable for the artist.  I really don't know what came first, nor do I care.  I've been privileged to see exquisitely executed pieces created with both tools, so the fact that there are people doing one, the other, or both types just means this lovely art form isn't going to wither away to a dusty memory all that soon.

So, on this blog you will see things that I hope inspire you, information you can access and use, inspiration that will keep you motivated, and support not to give up.  I also hope to demonstrate that although we are spread out (Canada is, let's face it, absolutely huge!), we are proudly Canadian and here to stay!  Of course, tatters from every walks of life are welcomed with open arms, but then again, we all speak the same language when it comes to tatting!

Happy tatting!