Tatted Beginnings Part Two

As a child I had been interested in learning to Tat from my Maternal Grandmother. Unfortunately, at the time I just did not have the patience to learn. As it turned out I had been the only one in the family that had shown an interest and upon the passing of my Grandmother I was given her tatting things. I thought that they were very special and I put them away for a bit.

When I was in my mid twenties I ended up getting a subscription to Threads Magazine. One of the issues that came to my home had a really nice article in it about a women in North Georgia making bobbin lace on a really large scale. She was commisioned to do three huge lace pieces that would be hung from the ceiling of an office building. The article went on to talk about how she solved the problems of working on such a large scale. I was inspired. I figured that if she was able to do something like that I certainly could teach myself how to tat.

I got out my Grandmothers tatting things, turned off all distractions and then proceeded to work until I finally figured it out. Since I was not a part of a class I did not feel presured to learn more and more techniques right away. I had the priviledge of being able to practice, practice, and practice a simple ring over and over again. I slowly taught myself new techniques and started to create more complex work.

Finally having exaushted all of the information that I had I sought out other people that new something about lace. I eventually discovered that there was a Lace Guild in the area called the Heritage Lace Guild. I joined and in no time felt right at home.

As fate would have it I decided to learn how to do bobbin lace. As all good guilds do, they brought teachers in from other places to help us learn more about our craft. The first such teacher that I signed up to take a lesson from was a woman named Robin S. Lewis. As time went by I discovered that she was the same woman that the orignial article that inspired me to do lace was about. The world is as small or as large as you want it to be. I am happy that in that particular case it was small.

Tatted Beginings Part One

When I was 9, almost 10 years old I went to live at my Mother's Parents house with my Mother and my Sister. I was suddenly in a new suburban environment which was very different than my rural one. I adapted quickly especially since there were next door neighbors exactly the same age as myself, and there was also a small creek on the property with a bridge. The creek had its share of frogs, crayfish, and water skimmers so I had plenty to keep me busy.

I had always, at that point enjoyed doing handwork with my Mother and when I saw my Grandmother doing tatting I was immediately intrigued. My Grandmother agreed to show me how and at the age of 10 or 11 (I am not sure which), I realized that I did not yet have the patience to figure out the knot. It just kept locking up on me and in my frustration I would try to pull and pull, ultimately making the whole thing worse. Needless to say the whole thing ended in frustration.

I soon decided to quit trying but deep down I knew that I would revisit it one day. I knew that I just was not ready. The time would come when I would learn but that is a story for another day....