Did I mention before that I am innately lazy!?!?!

I am also short on tatting time–meaning that because I work full-time, time available to me to tat is veeeeerrrrry limited.

Combine these two things and you learn that I have developed ways to cope with tatting techniques ‘in my own way’  (as we all have!).

I love to start a tatted piece/block/round/etc. with Continuous Thread Method (CTM) because:

• There are not 2 starting thread ends to have to finish.
• The start is more stable/structurally sound

Thus as I was tatting this morning (just before starting work) I stopped to shoot this picture showing my approach to CTM.

In this case today I was starting fresh with a new thread color–in the process of winding two shuttles CTM.  What I do is wind the first shuttle.  Then I unwind an appropriate amount of thread (for the second shuttle) onto the first shuttle.  But I add an extra twist to it by using 2 pieces of plastic (that I keep in my tatting pouch) on either side of the shuttle.  These pieces of plastic will not allow the thread to slip off the rounded/slanted edges of my shuttle.  Then I cut the thread from the ball and wind this thread end onto my second shuttle.  In the past, when I didn’t use these plastic pieces, as I was winding the thread onto the second shuttle, the thread would slip off the first shuttle and I would end up with tangles of thread which would really frustrate me.

I am sooo excited whenever I see one of my designs tatted by someone else!!!!

This was the case at The Tatting Corner Tatting Workshop in September 2014.

There was a display table of pieces entered into various contests.  Two pieces were tatted from my designs.

The first piece  was a celtic design from my second book, MORE Fun with Split Ring Tatting.

The second piece was my Cornucopia design from a workshop I taught probably 10-15 years ago.  The Cornucopia body was created using interlocking rings and interlocking chains.

The vegetables were designed at my request by Debbie Arnold to teach at the same workshop.

I have been planning and contemplating a large piece of tatting that I termed my ‘art-piece’ for about a year or more now:

• I had it sketched out on graph paper.
• I consulted my art-major daughter about esthetics of my design.
• I tried to find just the right threads—colors and size.  In the process of this, I decided that I just ‘had to have’ Anchor Cordonnet–color light grey, black and then a bright accent color.  The grey colored thread was the ‘weak-link’ in the system.  I could get it in size 10, so I tried it….but decided that Size 10 was just too bulky.  I HAD to have Size 20.  The only place (that I could find) to get all the colors in the size of thread that I wanted was from ENGLAND.   So I paid an enormous sum of money to order it from England.  Thus is sat for a while waiting for me to get the project.

Then about about a month ago, I sat down to actually start the piece, only to realize that I had miscalculated the design layout!  What I wanted to tat would simply NOT work!!!  I had misdrawn it the first time.  ARGGHHH.

The design is based upon a series of designs that I have drawn/designed on paper and several that I have tatted already for my Quilt-Inspired Split Ring Tatting class and book.  It was supposed to have a 3-dimensional appearance even though it is completely flat (2-d).  I have an example of this concept already done.  The design idea works to a certain level….but not all the way I want it to.

There is a whole lotta designs that can be done that I am still discovering.  Many will be featured in one of my Quilt-Inspired Fun with Split Ring Tatting books and classes.

I’ve given up trying to give every blog post a title…so today it just has a date.

This is what I’ve been working on.  The photos show the piece in progress.

The bottom photo shows how I rolled up the completed tatting to more easily work the last section.  I used a safety pin (one of the things I always have in my tatting bag that goes everywhere with me!) to pin between the tatting (never piercing the actual thread work). 

The top photo shows the piece tatted but still sporting ‘ends’ that need to be finished.  You will note that there are two thread ends, not four, for each section/motif to finish.  That is because I always start Continuous Thread Method (CTM)—but not always with both starting shuttles wound continuously with all the thread I need for the whole project.  You see, I am innately lazy & frugal.  I many times choose the color of thread for a project by what is still left on my shuttles from a previous project.  I have little time to actually tat and thus don’t want to waste the time I can be physically tatting (as in creating the lace) by spending it winding shuttles.  So IF I’m lucky I will have two shuttles of matching thread leftover with various amounts of thread on them that I use—but they are NOT continuous.

My Continuous Thread Method Strategy #1

I unwind at least a half-a-yard to one-yard of thread from one shuttle.  I tie this thread end (overhand knot) to a thread end on a totally different shuttle (leftovers from yet another project—preferably in a different color).  Wind the thread end onto the ‘other-thread shuttle’.  You will now have two shuttles wound continuous.

Tat the project until you run out of thread on the ‘temporary shuttle’.  Then do a Thread Replacement Strategy technique to swap out the depleted temporary shuttle with the other thread/shuttle you have ready for the project.  The reason I choose a different color of thread on the second/temporary shuttle is so that you can visually see and thus gauge how much thread you have left to use before you need to do a ‘Thread Replacement Strategy’

This piece is one of many pieces that I have designed for the August 2015 IOLI Convention class that I am teaching titled Quilt-Inspired Fun with Split Ring Tatting.  In that class I will be also be teaching a ‘side-class’ on Thread Replacement Strategies and Strategies for Dealing with Thread Ends (Starting & Ending).  More about all of that in future blog posts!!!!

Here is Number 8 pattern from Anne Orr’s Book #14.

To get the pattern in PDF form:

Click on:  Ann Orr Historical Split Ring Tatting Patterns

Then choose:  The ShuttleSmith Illustrated Historical SRT Patterns

Scroll down until you find the one you are interested in. 

Then click:  Click here to open illustrated PDF Pattern

ENJOY THIS INCREDIBLE PATTERN!!!!

My wonderful husband helped me clean up my website a little bit.

He also enabled ‘COMMENTS’  so that they work!!!!

What I learned:

Comments do not show up on the front page of the website.

To leave a comment you have to click on the title of the blog post.  Then the comments box shows.

My husband suggested that I learn about ‘categories’ on my website.   I’d rather be tatting or creating tatting patterns!!!!

I am sooo excited about the upcoming IOLI Convention in 2015 for several reasons:

1.   It is in my ‘backyard’:   I live in Nebraska and the convention is being hosted by the Doris Southard Lace Guild in Iowa City, Iowa.  The actuall address is Coralville, but Coralville is a suburb of Iowa City

2.  I’m teaching–It gives me the excuse to work up design ideas into a book and class format.  I loove  the design/tatting work!

3.  Theme is “Lace on the Prairie”

The theme of the convention is “Lace on the Prairie”. I, being a Nebraska farmer’s daughter, embody that idea completely. I grew up ‘on the prairie’ and learned tatting from my maternal grandmother. Later I found out that my paternal grandmother AND grandfather also tatted. Tatting was truly a ‘prairie lace’ in that it didn’t require

I can’t figure out why ‘COMMENTS’ are not enabled.

If anyone has an idea, please email me at:   k.bovard@yahoo.com  !!!!

I’m a TATTER, not a Website Developer!!!!

‘Discussion’ is checked under ‘Screen Options’.  That’s as far as I can go in my knowledge.

A week and a half ago, I was at The Tatting Corner Tatting Workshop and snapped a couple of photos while there.   This photo is of the wall of the shop that houses the all the thread choices of one kind of thread–LizBeth by Handy Hands.  I thought I knew that there were ALOT of choices in color and size but when I saw ALL the choices in one spot I was amazed!

LizBeth thread is made in 5 different sizes:  3, 10, 20, 40 & 80

There are 96 solid colors and 83 multi (variegated) color in 4 of the sizes (all but Size 3) for a total of 189 color—-only 90 colors in Size 3

189 x 4 =  756

756 + 90 =  846

Thus there are 846 color/size thread choices in this one thread source!!!! 

Can you imagine keeping that kind of inventory?!?!?

I love going to tatting workshops!   You learn soooooo much.  Actually I haven’t been able to go to many tatting workshops in the last few years because I had kids still at home and needed to be there (mostly to protect the house from teenagers).  So going to The Tatting Corner Tatting Workshop in Indiana was quite a treat.

While there, one of the things that I learned 1. Made my heart skip a beat and then 2. gave me a sick feeling in my stomach for awhile.  What was this, you may ask????  Well,  as I was showing a group of tatters at the workshop my ‘Quilt-Inspired Split Ring Tatting’ designs, somone said “Oh, there is a new book just out on that”.  I learned that the concept for a series of new tatting designs that I have been formulating for over and year and have been physically designing furiously for the last several months had JUST BEEN PUBLISHED!!!  By this I mean that Handy Hands had just published a 16 oage booklet that featured 4-5 different “Quilt” designs in tatting designed by a tatter named Billie Heisler.  This publication was quite the hit at the workshop.  From what I could hear, there were 4 copies to be had, and they were all in hot demand.  I quickly contemplated my designs/books fate…..and decided that no matter what the other book designs looked like, ‘my’ designs were ‘my’ designs and that I had come up with them and had the right to publish them too since I had come up with them totally on my own.  I did get a chance to take a peek at the ‘other’ quilt-tatting book and realized that my approach to combining quilting and tatting was different!  YEAH!!!!  I am soooooo glad about that my work is so different.  I would hate to have people think that I copied/plaguerized  another person’s work.

I have about 4-5 different approaches to tatting designs and techniques of working that are inspired by quilt patterns!!!    In upcoming blog posts, I will attempt to introduce these variations to you.

Right now I am busy creating illustrated patterns for my “Patchwork Series”.  I am also tatting up a few of them, so that they are ready for viewing on the IOLI website in the coming new year.

My timeline for my Quilt-Inspired Tatting Book is because I will be teaching a course/class on it at the 2015 IOLI Convention in Iowa City, Iowa–in August.   So my goal is to have the book(s) ready/published by then.  I have to mentions book(s)–plural, because is looks like I may have enough material to fill 3 books at this time.  I have been having soo much fun studying quilt historical  blocks and then designing them into tatting–split ring tatting to be precise.

I will fill you in more on my Quilt-Inspired Tatting Book as I go along.