Fiddle Fingers

I give you another Ice Drop photo. It's either that or no blog post at all since my creative time has been taken up with tatting these little things lately.

I'll be back to the weaving soon. Or sewing. Perhaps crochet, knitting, embroidery or spinning? I never really know where the creative muse may be headed next.

Pile of Errors

For those who have been inspired to give tatting a try, and lest you think I've had no trouble learning, I give you this:

It's the pile of scraps and pieces I've been tossing aside when I've made failures I felt I couldn't back out of. Luckily my skills at "retro-tatting", as one Craftree forum member calls it, (that's meticulously picking out mistakes), have grown and that means less and less thread is being sacrificed to the scrap heap. I'm likely making almost as many mistakes, usually the result of a moment's foolish inattention, but now I spend ages picking the errors out rather than tossing the entire piece away in frustration. 

Just thought you should know in case you're giving this a try and judging yourself harshly based on your perception of my progress. Ha!

But for all those errors I do keep persevering. Tatting is challenging, fun, and occasionally there is a worthy end product. 

First of Many Ice Drops

Ice Drops are a fun little thing to tat!

They are formed around a "gem" that you can find in hobby stores or sometimes in the area of the aquariums in a pet store.

Pretty little doodads with little purpose, they are sometimes done as Christmas tree ornaments, package decorations, back pack charms and so forth.

Did I mention that they are fun to tat? For that reason alone you might be seeing many more of these.

Happy International Tatting Day

Yes, International Tatting Day is a real thing, even though the April 1st date of its occurrence might cause some to consider it a joke. I hope it's not implying that tatters are fools, because I've certainly caught the bug.

Who would have thought that such an old form of "fancy work" would be so engrossing?! There is so much to learn that I find it quite a challenge. 

Here's my latest project, off the shuttle. This is my "Blue Blanche" from the "Blanche" pattern by KimandI.

I finally got around to blocking it and taking a few photos today.