The Tattered Maiden

As promised I am going to explain double stitches today. But I'm also going to admit something... I still mess up. That's right, as long as I have been a crafter I've had to learn perfection is not probable. In the beginning if I made an error, I thought the project was ruined and cut it off and tossed it away. But its part of the process of learning. I've learned patience and toleranceby learning tatting. It truly is an art form that heals.  But first, my most recent bothced project.  I attempted a pattern I saw on YouTube once a while back. I think the lady's name is Gina Butler. I'm positive it's Gina...not so sure if Butler is correct. As you can see it is not perfect. And I'm okay with that. When I first started out though, this piece would have ended up in the garbage. That's where tolerance kicks in. The ability to accept the perfection of imperfection. This is a good example to show that I still have room to grow. As Axl Rose once...

This is not the post I intended to write. But I feel it is the post I need to write. No matter what, GIVE CREDIT TO THE ORIGINAL DESIGNER! Yes, I yelled. This is a huge problem amongst crafters of all kinds. We share our designs and creations so freely on the internet, and ask only that you credit us when you use our patterns and to not sell our patterns as your own.  The reason I am writing this post is due to an incident over the weekend. I purchased an inexpensive pattern ebook from Amazon, because I'm always looking for new ideas. In the book on the last photo I saw a very familiar photo and pattern. I have admired a certain tatter for years because of her jewelry designs and this was her pattern and photo, but she was given zero credit. I looked in the acknowledgement section, the index and everywhere I could think of. But the wonderfully talented designer was given no credit. I immediately reached out to her via Twitter and returned the ebook to Amazon. In the reason return s...

Today I want to share a finished project. I just finished this item 5 minutes before writing this post.  It's lain on top of a penny to show scale.  I have made my smallest tatting project ever! It's a tiny beaded flower I intend to turn into a pair of earrings.  Tatting is very fascinating and I hope through this blog to teach you to enjoy the beauty and history behind this great art form. 

I am fully intending to post every Monday and Wednesday. However, last week there was just one post because my birthday was Wednesday. (Also, because I forgot to schedule a post.) So happy belated birthday to me.  I wonder have I sparked an interest for tatting in anyone yet? If so I plan to share my favorite website for tatting supplies today. Hhtatting.com aka Hand Hands. I have found the perfect one stop shop for all my tatting needs. They have threads, shuttles, needles, pattern books, carrying cases, pre-drilled handkerchiefs and doilies, plus a lot more. I first found Handy Hands through a purchase at Hobby Lobby (currently the only store near me that has in store purchasable tatting supplies.) I bought an aerlit shuttle there and on the back of the package was a link to the Handy Hands site. Unless I have immediate tatting needs I usually order from Handy Hands now.  In fact, returning to my birthday last week, a friend gifted me a hhtatting.com egift card. Yes I asked ...

Okay, I think after our first two impersonal posts it's time for me to get personal. Tatting is a huge part of the reason I am still alive. Before I was twenty-five I didn't do a lot of hand made crafts. But around the beginningof my 25th year on God's earth, my life went off the rails.  I had been in a long term relationship with the man I thought was my soul mate. We seemed to be perfectly in sync, at least that's how I felt. My ex, however, felt he was more in sync with someone else. So, after he kicked me out and moved her in, I found myself in my parents house and in a dark place.  I began to hear voices, see things and have mood swings that would cause mother nature to say, "Hold up, I didn't order a hurricane in the desert." It turns out I had undiagnosed bipolar disorder with psychosis. But, getting in church and crafts pulled me out of my darkness. God healed me and I haven't been back to that place in 10 years! God showed me that my craft was...

I remember the exact words my mother said to me when I told her I wanted to learn how to tat. Like most people she assumed I meant "tattoos", but the kind of tatting I meant was something a little more personal. Tatting, while being a great creative outlet, has never been a very profitable hobby for me. I've sold exactly 3 tatted projects in the nearly 10 years I've been making tatted lace. (And I'm convinced one purchase was a "mercy" sale. They felt bad for me and bought it to "support" me more than truly loving the item.) I have gifted tatted items with much more success than any attempt at selling.  But it doesn't stop me from having a deep passion for tiny, lacy, handmade items. And while there are several tatters with more talent than I, I am the one penning this blog and so it is my tale you will hear. Until the day I saw Knit Picks do a video series on tatting I had never heard of tatting before. But watching Kelley talk about tatti...

      The short answer to today's question is hand made lace. But for myself and many other passionate tatters it is so much more! In her book, “Tatting Collage", Lindsay Rogers gives us a look into the history behind this art form. Her chapter "A Brief History of Tatting," tells her personal history with lace making as well as delving into the history behind this fascinating technique. Lindsay tells us " The origins of tatting are none too clear." but it seems to have "evolved from knotting, an ancient means of making decorations for clothes…The word ‘tatting’, however, did not appear in print until the mid-nineteenth century.” While Lindsay’s explanation is not one hundred percent able to clarify what tatting is, it gives us a glance into the age of this art form. She also mentions that “knotting dates back to medieval times”. There are portraits of royalty and women at court holding what looks like tatted material and either a shuttle or other tool ...