First, there were beads.
Lots and lots of beads...
Then came the wire, then the metal, then the thread...
Hi!
Welcome to my blog. I've finally decided that yes, I will probably be spending the rest of my days getting scratched by animals at work and crafting all sorts of oddities when I come home every day. It began with simple beading, which turned into beadweaving projects. This was followed by the start of wire wrapping, and later tatting, my latest obsession.
My first memories of tatting stem from my Great Grandma Ruth, who passed away when I was about 5 or so. I don't remember all that much, but I DO remember all the little straw baskets around Nana's house filled with tatting shuttles, pastel threads, and half finished projects. I decided to take up the craft when my husband was off on a business trip for a couple weeks back in late April. Little did I know what I was really getting myself into.
Originally, I was going for pure shuttle tatting. Surely that's what all the REAL tatters do, right? It was a several day ordeal trying to find anywhere that even carried tatting shuttles. Seems to be a fading art lately. I finally gave up and just ordered a couple online, only to discover the very next day that a new craft store near where I work carried those as well as tatting needles. Well... I gave shuttle tatting a good shot. I had no idea thread could get tangled up so bad with just one flip of the wrist. Oi. So I set the shuttle aside and picked up a pack of needles instead. Now this, this I could understand.
I'd advise anyone new to the world of tatting try their hand at needle tatting first. It doesn't seem to create works quite as tight knotted as shuttle, but it really does give you a good understanding of how pieces should lay, how to guide the thread, and what each aspect of the knots mean. I've taught myself through books borrowed from the local library and youtube videos. I HIGHLY recommend the videos by Totusmel to get started.
I've begun to work beading into my projects lately too. Right now I've completed two thicker chokers, three beaded necklaces, and a handful of earrings. Future goals include decorative crosses, giardia earrings, somehow integrating wirework into patterns, and starting my own designs.
Eventually, once I build up some stock, I'd like to start selling some of these things. I have an offer from a local consignment shop to sell some works once I get enough pieces together. This... this would be very neat. I'm not crafting for profit, but to be able to make money doing something that I do to relax? Does it get much better than that?
I'll try to put together a slide show of things I've made so far. I don't post pictures of gift crafts until after the receiver gets them (otherwise it spoils the fun!), so there are a few pieces that will need to wait. Most likely it'll be a mixed bag of whatever crafts I'm working on at the time.
Right now, I just completed a gift choker that I just mailed out and completely forgot to get pictures of. D'oh! Next on the project list is beading and embroidering a bridal veil for a friends upcoming wedding. I'm sure I'll be stabbing my eyes out in a few days, but I have some ideas. I also need to teach myself how to embroider tulle. That'll be a blast, I'm sure... After that, I've requests for a doily, a handful of necklaces, and I really want to find a way to use this giant honking teardrop bead I've had for a few years now.
We're all a little mad here, just some with more thread...
