I'm excited to show you my progress! I went from awkwardly shuttling my first double stitches to making rings and picots with relative ease. I've now completed the first two classes in my Learn to Tat book.
I am doing my best to stay disciplined and take it step by step. Typically, I get overconfident and jump ahead or move too quickly. Then I ultimately find myself needing to go back and figure out what I missed. I think my tatting will be much better if I take my time and practice.
I just got my tatting needles in the mail today. I went a little tatting crazy on Amazon. I'm going to need a little basket or special place just for my tatting supplies. The presence of the needles is going to make it harder for me to focus on my shuttling. I want to do both, now. I'm such an impatient student!
One more thing, in my online travels, I came across this really nice crochet site called Crochet Memories. They have a wonderful page of Thread Information that includes terminology, thread varieties and even some recommended brands of thread. I just thought I'd share that with you. It seems like a nice reference to keep bookmarked.
My tatting shuttles came in the mail today and we are getting acquainted. Teaching myself to make a tatting double knot on my afghan crochet hook was a breeze compared to this. Wow! Have you seen someone tatting and their fingers are just flying along? Well, that's not me! I feel like someone hit the slow motion button for my hands. If you listen closely, you can hear my inner voice saying, "over, under, release tension, pull".
I've always considered humility to be a good thing and right now I'm getting a healthy dose of it. I feel kindred to everyone on the planet learning to do something for the very first time. I wonder if they feel me too?
I'm using two reference materials. I'm getting started with Learn to Tat by Janette Baker with an interactive dvd. This is a 48 page book set up in the format of classes. The language is easy to follow and the dvd is a great companion. Graduating from class to class is a good motivator. I get to say, "Yay, I finished the first class!"
The second book I have on hand is The Complete Book of Tatting by Rebecca Jones. I was drawn in by the subtitle Everything You Wanted to Know but Couldn't Find Out About Shuttle Lace. There were also a couple reviews citing it as a "must have". I like having a good, complete reference on hand. It's like keeping a dictionary in the house. When you have a question, you can just look up the answer.
So that's what I'm up to today. I also plan to workout. All this sitting around learning how to tat is great exercise for my fingers and brain, but not so good for the rest of me.
I'll also be dyeing this weekend. My last batch of Merino Wool Skin Tone Samplers flew out of the shop, so it's time to make more. On the day I sold my last one, I got an email inquiring about them. I guess it's good to have a product in demand.
Have a great weekend!
This is about as close as I get to putting pictures of myself on my blog. *giggle* For the last couple weeks, I've been playing around making hair jewelry.
I have long hair, but I'm not a pony tail girl. I don't even like hair clips really, but I've always liked hair jewelry. When I was younger, I sometimes took sections of my hair and wrapped them in string or ribbon. Of course that's a good way to end up with tangled, damaged hair.
Then a couple weeks ago, I was at a Native American pow wow and got inspired. Some of the women were selling hair clips with beads dangling from one end. I bought a pair and then later chastised myself for the purchase. I know I'll never wear them no matter how cute they are because I'm just not a hair clip person.
Then I got to thinking. What I really liked about the clips was the beadwork, so why not attach beads to something I will wear. So I bought some medium hair elastics and did some bead stringing of my own. 
Now I realize I just made pony tail holders and they could be used for braids or pony tails, but I like to wear them wrapped around a section of my hair just behind the ear. They get to hang down loose and free just like the rest of my hair. It's a subtle bit of bling or as I like to call it, hair jewelry.
I guess it's sort of a bohemian look, but that's kind of my style. Neither me nor my hair shall be bound by social conventions. Some pretty sparkling beads on the other hand, well... that's okay.
I'm still enjoying my latest discovery. I have cro-tatting on the brain these days. Here I've made a pendant from size 10 cotton. This is a simple cro-tat shape and I found a green aventurine star to sew in the center. I used my KumiLoom to make a matching cord so that I could turn it into a necklace.
After I started exploring cro-tat, I knew I was hooked so I ordered a needle tatting book. I want to learn more stitches and designs. Since I can't stay away from tatting while I wait for my book, I'm sitting around trying to figure out designs of my own. Most of the time, the result of this exploration is me frogging my work. Still, I'm having fun trying.
I finally started dyeing my corn fiber this weekend. When I start off with a brand new fiber, I basically work my way from one end of the rainbow to the other. This is particularly interesting with corn fiber. Not only am I dyeing a new fiber for the first time, but I'm also working with a brand new kind of dye.
To begin with, I have dyed a nice Red, Light Yellow, Dark Orange and also a Light Orange. Next on my list, I'd like to dye a more intense shade of yellow and then I'll be moving on to the greens, blues and so on. I also plan on dyeing black and brown. By the time I'm finished, I hope to offer a complete spectrum of colors.
Bamboo Roving is back in stock at Wind Rose. I don't have any dyed yet, but you can purchase it dye free, in it's lovely, luminous white. I have listings for 1oz, 2oz and 4oz lots.
Merino/Yak/Silk (60/20/20) is also back in stock. This luxury fiber is out-of-this-world soft and flew out of the shop the first time around. If you haven't tried it yet, put it on the list of fibers you must experience. You won't be sorry! It is listed in 1oz and 2oz amounts.
As always, if you need more of a fiber than you see listed in the shop, feel free to contact me. I'm always happy to make a custom listing to suit your needs.
Practice, practice, practice! I've been working on my cro-tat today. I was using the first scrap skein of yarn I came across which has a little mohair quality. Next time I need to work with something that will allow me to see what I'm doing more clearly. My main objective was to get my hands and brain used to the process. I still have some tension issues. I can see that consistent stitching and tension will make all the difference between okay work and pretty cro-tatting.
I made this cuff bracelet because I also wanted to practice attaching my pieces together. You really have to think about where your points of connection will be. It's kind of like piecing a puzzle together. It's fun to make something three dimensional. The painful part was taking this picture. Photography seems to shine a spotlight on every little flaw, but at least it helps me see the things I need to work on.
A quick Wind Rose update before I sign off. Dyeing corn fiber is still on my "to do" list. I was planning to get it done last week and then I got so busy with other orders. Anyway, sorry it's taking me a little longer than I said it would, but the corn fiber is coming.
Back in the shop today are two fine fibers. You can now find Bamboo Top in 1oz, 2oz and 4oz lots. Also returning is Merino/Yak/Silk roving. This fiber is so soft and gorgeous! You can purchase it in 1oz and 2oz lots. If you need more, contact me for a custom listing.
Have a great weekend everybody!
This is one of those times when I suspect that I am the last person to discover something. No doubt people have been combining crochet and tatting for centuries. Although the name, cro-tat, this is new to me.
What's in a name? For me, everything! You see, I have long admired tatting and even thought to myself that I should one day learn. I wasn't in a hurry because tatting seemed like a craft that would require me to learn a whole new skill set and that takes time.
Then today, as I was reading my blogs of choice, my new friend Angie was sharing her latest creation. She crocheted an iPod case and embellished it with cro-tatting. Somehow, the prefix cro-, knocked down whatever barrier stood between me and tatting. I am comfortable with cro-! I have a collection of afghan crochet hooks in every size. "If I can tat with a crochet hook, I'm in!" I thought.
My first move was to Google cro-tat. My search led me to this Prym Newsletter with a set of basic instructions for cro-tatting. It looked like a great tutorial and I've gotten used to translating the European stitch abbreviations into what we use here in the US. Still, I felt like I would need a little more instruction to get me started.
I headed over to YouTube where I found this lovely video for the basic cro-tat stitch. This helped me quite a bit. The way the knots are cast on seems like it would be second nature for anyone who knits, but as a crocheter, I took a hard look. Once I had that part down, I was in great shape. I went back to the Prym tutorial and made this little flower shape.
Now my mind is whirling with excitement. It is so much fun to teach myself something new and I can't wait to do more. Of course now that I have cro-tatted, I can easily envision needle tatting and I can even see the ways in which needle tatting may be easier. There would be no worry of dropping your yarn as you pull the hook through your knots. It would be fun to try to make my own needle tatted lace. I can also see endless possibilities for incorporating cro-tatting into my crochet projects. Like I said, WHIRLING!
Okay, I'm probably getting ahead of myself, but I'm excited. I hope you enjoy exploring these links, but I warn you, the cro-tatting bug may be contagious!
Last week I told you all about my new KumiLoom. I thought I'd come back today and show you my first braids and how I have turned them into cords for pendant necklaces.
The pendant on the bottom represents the Tao of Creativity. It's my favorite piece of jewelry. I realize it's just a simple pendant, but being creative is important to me and so I like to wear this symbol around my neck.
I love the way the pendant looks on the silver and black braided cord. This is my first ever KumiLoom braid. I thought it was going to be too big in diameter, but the weight of it seems fitting for the large pendant.
The smaller pendant with the Celtic star belongs to my son. His favorite color is blue, so he picked light blue and black for his braid. He is currently reading Peter and the Starcatchers, so when he wears his pendant necklace, he imagines himself to be a catcher of stars. 
To finish them and create a closure, I went to my favorite online bead store, Fire Mountain Gems, and ordered end caps for my braids. I ordered several sizes to have on hand, but for these necklaces, caps with a 5mm opening worked out great. I already had the hook closures, so it was just a matter of attaching my hook and loop to the end caps. I did this by inserting a headpin through the end cap, trimming off the extra pin length, and then curving the remaining metal wire around my fasteners with a loop. A wire cutter and a pair of round nose pliers were my only tools.
Before inserting my braids into the end caps, I wrapped them with metal wire to keep them from unraveling. Then I used a dab of E6000 glue to secure the braids to the caps. The result is a nice, finished look for my necklaces.
Now I'm working on my first square braid. I had to braid several rounds before muscle memory took over. The square braid has a few extra moves. I found a YouTube video that goes through the process step by step.
Well that's all my braiding adventures so far. It's nice to be making something that even my sons and my husband like. I've finally discovered something I can make for the guys in my family. Woohoo!
The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef is now on display in Sant Ocean Hall at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. The show runs from October 16, 2010 - April 24, 2011, but I have to confess, there's another reef that I'm more interested in today!
The project I want to share is The Smithsonian Community Reef also on display for the same dates as above, only this one can be found in The National Museum of Natural History.
This summer, my dear friend Hanna (one of my first crochet students), was taking a class on Fibers and Textiles given by the Institute for the Arts. She was given the opportunity to learn about hyperbolic crochet and also to contribute to the Smithsonian exhibit. How many people can say their work is in the Smithsonian? Well Hanna Poeschl can!
Hanna crocheted four pieces for the community reef.
The Smithsonian informs, "...the Crochet Reef project also operates in the tradition of community art practice. Over the past five years the Wertheims and the Institute have worked with communities all over the world to create local crochet reefs in cities as far flung as New York, London, Melbourne, Cape Town and Riga (Latvia). The latest of these “Satellite Reefs” is the Smithsonian Community Reef..."
The display looked so massive to me that I wondered if Hanna was able to locate her hyperbolic crochet forms. She said it took some hunting, but she found all four. She also got to see her name in print as a contributor to the project.
I'm so glad her parents had their camera ready. This is something she'll want to remember and to be able to share with others. I would also like to thank Hanna for allowing me to share her photographs with you. They are spectacular!
It warms my heart that there are still people making lace by hand. It's so beautiful. No machine could ever duplicate the artistry that comes from the imagination and talent of lace maker Angie Winnicka of Agasunset Studio.
I can't remember the exact occasion upon which I discovered Angie's work. I suspect I clicked on a link in twitter one day and found myself in her Etsy shop. I was so impressed, not only by her tatting, but by the originality of her work. I recognized immediately that I was gazing at the art of a true designer.
With each new creation, she seems to explore and expand the world of lace. Her pieces look delicate and sculptural and dare I say provocative. There is something alluring and emotional about her designs. You feel as if she has put her heart and soul into each one. It is incredibly unique to see that reflected so clearly in a person's work.
The picture I have here is of a pendant Angie sent to me. It's nice to be able to see the quality of her work up close, but this is really just a small sample. I would urge you to visit Agasunset Studio for a chance to admire her work more fully. I'm sure you will find yourself as captivated as I.
