April 20, 2018
I will start right off in true Canadian tradition: With an apology. I've been absent, but I have been busy for sure. I had minor surgery on the 16th, my dog AND my cat have dental issues that need attending, and my daughter is having issues that have me concerned (she will be fine, but I'm the mom, so I worry. It's written somewhere in the "handbook" that it comes with the territory). Family first, as they say, but it took me away from my promise to find resources for Canadian Tatters.
So, my fine-feathered friends, I have another one for you! I introduce to you: Dressew Supply, located on the mainland of British Columbia in Vancouver. Now, I'm informed they don't do mail order OR online sales, but I'm also told they are absolutely stocked to the rafters with notions and many things a tatter would love. Apparently, their prices are extremely reasonable and their staff is very knowledgeable in a great many crafts so that if one isn't able to help, someone else on staff likely will. They are located at 337 W. Hastings St, Vancouver, BC in the heart of Gastown. While they don't do mail order or online sales, they do come highly recommended by several people. If you were to call them at 604-682-6196 and asked if they have something, I'm pretty sure they could tell you and you could plan your trip. Their website is www.yelp.com/biz/dressew-supply-vancouver and if you wander over there, I'm sure you'll see lots of wonderful reviews, just like I did. According to David (who was my very kind contact at the store) all their Facebook and Twitter posts originate at their Instagram account, which is @dressew. You have several ways to contact these folks other than just on the phone.
Just those buttons are tempting!! Can you imagine all the wonderful tatted musings you could come up with with just those buttons? I sure can! (I have a thing for pretty buttons) Give them a look!!
On a different note, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce some of the newer tatters that might be wandering in here to a technique I once considered a "waste of time". I must be getting mellow in my old age because I now swear by it, and that is "posting" your shuttle.
First, it's a technique where you put your shuttle through the ring before you close it. Just take the shuttle from the top of the work to the backside of the work by dropping it through the ring you're working on and THEN closing the ring. It is that simple, but has an amazing effect on your end product.
I know, "what the heck does THAT do?" Well, for one thing, it moves the stitches into better alignment with each other so the ring closes better. An added plus is that the ring is easier to open in the event you make a boo-boo that needs repairing. Look here what it does for a ring. One is not posted, one is posted. Can you tell the difference?
Non Posted Posted
The next thing I noted in this "what the heck does THAT do?" answer was that subsequent elements were easier to butt up against the previous (you know, removing that awful gap some of us seem to always have between a ring and a chain coming away from it?). Again, look here; one is off a ring that was posted, another isn't. I like the look of the one off the ring with posted shuttle better, don't you?
Not Posted Posted
I don't know why I hadn't noticed any of this before, and I can't explain it. I just know that one day I was tatting recently and put my shuttle through the ring for some reason before I closed it, and the ring closed smoothly and COMPLETELY! I really didn't think anything of it. The chain that came off it butted up really close to the ring, too. The next ring I did the same way I always had, without posting the shuttle, and it didn't look as good. "Hmm...what did I do different on that last ring?" Why had I not seen that difference before?
Here's the other bonus: The rings truly ARE easier to open. There's no twisted bit at the base of the ring to struggle around. I've opened rings I noticed an error on 2 or 3 back and they opened like a dream.
I now make a very definite effort to remember to post the shuttle and I curse myself when I have to open a ring to do that, cuz it's not as easy to do if you haven't posted the shuttle beforehand. It really does make a difference! I will try to show something with trefoils for my next post because the effects of this are far-reaching. Until next time, my friends!
So, my fine-feathered friends, I have another one for you! I introduce to you: Dressew Supply, located on the mainland of British Columbia in Vancouver. Now, I'm informed they don't do mail order OR online sales, but I'm also told they are absolutely stocked to the rafters with notions and many things a tatter would love. Apparently, their prices are extremely reasonable and their staff is very knowledgeable in a great many crafts so that if one isn't able to help, someone else on staff likely will. They are located at 337 W. Hastings St, Vancouver, BC in the heart of Gastown. While they don't do mail order or online sales, they do come highly recommended by several people. If you were to call them at 604-682-6196 and asked if they have something, I'm pretty sure they could tell you and you could plan your trip. Their website is www.yelp.com/biz/dressew-supply-vancouver and if you wander over there, I'm sure you'll see lots of wonderful reviews, just like I did. According to David (who was my very kind contact at the store) all their Facebook and Twitter posts originate at their Instagram account, which is @dressew. You have several ways to contact these folks other than just on the phone.
Look at this!! It is an entire wall of BUTTONS!! I see Ice-Drop coming out of my ears!!
On a different note, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce some of the newer tatters that might be wandering in here to a technique I once considered a "waste of time". I must be getting mellow in my old age because I now swear by it, and that is "posting" your shuttle.
First, it's a technique where you put your shuttle through the ring before you close it. Just take the shuttle from the top of the work to the backside of the work by dropping it through the ring you're working on and THEN closing the ring. It is that simple, but has an amazing effect on your end product.
I know, "what the heck does THAT do?" Well, for one thing, it moves the stitches into better alignment with each other so the ring closes better. An added plus is that the ring is easier to open in the event you make a boo-boo that needs repairing. Look here what it does for a ring. One is not posted, one is posted. Can you tell the difference?
The next thing I noted in this "what the heck does THAT do?" answer was that subsequent elements were easier to butt up against the previous (you know, removing that awful gap some of us seem to always have between a ring and a chain coming away from it?). Again, look here; one is off a ring that was posted, another isn't. I like the look of the one off the ring with posted shuttle better, don't you?
I don't know why I hadn't noticed any of this before, and I can't explain it. I just know that one day I was tatting recently and put my shuttle through the ring for some reason before I closed it, and the ring closed smoothly and COMPLETELY! I really didn't think anything of it. The chain that came off it butted up really close to the ring, too. The next ring I did the same way I always had, without posting the shuttle, and it didn't look as good. "Hmm...what did I do different on that last ring?" Why had I not seen that difference before?
Here's the other bonus: The rings truly ARE easier to open. There's no twisted bit at the base of the ring to struggle around. I've opened rings I noticed an error on 2 or 3 back and they opened like a dream.
I now make a very definite effort to remember to post the shuttle and I curse myself when I have to open a ring to do that, cuz it's not as easy to do if you haven't posted the shuttle beforehand. It really does make a difference! I will try to show something with trefoils for my next post because the effects of this are far-reaching. Until next time, my friends!
Happy Tatting!
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