My tatting obsession continues!

Did you know that April 1st is International Tatting day?  

No April fools joke, it really is.  I don't think Hallmark has a card for it, but according to the internet it really is International Tatting day.  And, we know that everything on the internet is true.

My tatting obsession continues, it started back around Christmas so check out my previous posts.

I still tear out about half of what I tat when I make mistakes in counting double stitches or the number of picots. However, I can now throw that shuttle quite fast on those double stitches with the confidence that the thread is indeed flipping nicely.  Now it's just a matter of getting the end result to look nice!  Below are a couple of my pieces.

I fly a lot for work, and since you can't use electronic devices until 10,000 feet, I tat.  You wouldn't believe all the questions I get from my seat companions and the stewards.

My love for new crafting tools and supplies has driven me to search out and find a few related items.

A gift from my sister-in-law who tells me she shopped in my mom's basement years ago for this lovely vintage sewing box.  I added the vines in vinyl on the top to give it a bit more style. 

I don't think this had ever been used. I needed to replace all the screws because they've rusted and the sides didn't come out as fluid as they should.  I also used a black sharpie to cover some of the nicks in the black pieces.  That tip was given to me by a friend that works in a fine art store who says they repair nicks in frames all the time by covering them with sharpie!  Buyer beware, huh?

I got this lovely handheld sewing basket at a local estate sale and now it holds my threads.

I've also haunted ebay and antique stores looking for pattern books, shuttles, and samples of old tatting.  Yes, I know there's a ton of free and for purchase tatting instructions on the internet, but there's something about an old craft form and actually having the vintage books that people have learned from over the years in your hand.  

It just doesn't feel quite the same to have a print out of the pattern off my laser printer from my computer which is connected out to somewhere you can't see when you're trying to learn an old art.  Oh, I'll use those youtube videos and free patterns, but the hunt to find older items has an allure I can't ignore.

So far, I've found some very sweet tatted pieces in antique stores for a song.  Apparently, you're not going  to get rich tatting.  

I have found fragments of tatting that maybe were all the patience the tatter had patience to do or it is all that is left from a project.  Of course, I have to rescue it.  I will use it to sew up a cool tatting tote.

Well, that's my collection so far, stay tuned this obsession may last a bit longer than usual.