Needle, Shuttle or Both?

So, hello again Lovely Tatters! I really do need to set myself a schedule.  I can't believe how long it has been since my last blog post.  I humbly apologize.  I do have reasons, but they don't involve broken fingers or a lapse in brain function, so I guess I have no excuse.  I am sorry.

Things are swimming along quite nicely.  My big news today is that I have been able to book my flight to Indianapolis (and via there to Anderson, Indiana) for the July 9-11, 2020 Tatting Corner Tat Days. I'll be driving to Winnipeg, MB and flying out of there on July 8 to arrive in plenty of time.  The bonus there is that I get to visit with a very dear friend.  No, she doesn't tat, unfortuntely, and I did try, but she's probably the best knitter I've ever seen, so I will forgive her.  She does love what I do, though, and her son, Devan, is learning to tat.  I'll get tatting in that family any which way I can!

Anyway, I'll be teaching in Indiana again, but I won't bore you yet with what I'm planning to demonstrate.  It's going to be a challenge, I can say that for sure!  I've spent the last couple of months making sure all the techniques I want to use in the project are documented and all the beads the students will need to complete the piece counted out and strung up.  Oh, boy, do I ever enjoy my bead spinner!  If you've never used one, you are missing a good bit of fun!  Sure makes stringing beads, even little wee ones, a walk in the park.

I'd like to talk a little bit about techniques, specifically shuttle vs. needle.  My question is: why is there such a furor about which is better or first or preferred or more convenient or easier or whatever!?  It's all the same knot.  It's actually the same knot you make when you do macramé, but you never hear anyone argue about what's the most convenient way to make a plant hanger!  Why are there so many passionate discussions about what tool is best or easiest or "correct" or whatever?

I have held exquisitely executed needle-tatted articles in my hands.  I've looked at them in amazement and wished my shuttle tatting looked that good.  I've held shuttle tatting in my hands and wondered what they were using for a tool (it really looked awful, I'm sorry to say).  I've been privileged to rub shoulders with very talented people who use each or either tool with skill and talent of which I can only dream.  There are good and bad with both.

What's my point?  It's this: Do what your heart and your hands let you.  If a shuttle hurts your hands, then use a needle.  If a needle proves to be problematic for you (I have arthritis in the saddle joint in my left thumb and I can only work a needle for a little bit at a time), then pick up and try a shuttle.  Are you able to work both without much issue?  Then you are a lucky person, indeed!  With all the available information online now it's really not a problem to get the basic techniques down in the comfort of your own living room or where-ever your tatting supplies are handy.

I look at it like this:  what was first?  The needle or the shuttle?  It's like the old question about what came first, the chicken or the egg?  Who knows?  We have eggs for breakfast and likely will have chicken for supper.  If you're a real rebel, you'll have chicken and waffles for breakfast and an omelette for supper.  No one cares what came first, what's original, what's right or what's wrong.  

Tatting provides nourishment for the heart, the mind, and the soul.  Non-crafters don't understand the rhythm of creation; they see the thread and the tools and are just thinking "tangled knots". The process gives the maker peace and helps us make sense of the world.  We make order from chaos.

Tatters are peacemakers, plain and simple.

Happy tatting, my friends!