A New Book on Tatting

A New Book on Tatting, a photo by Garyou on Flickr.

Two books on tatting lace have been published last month. And this is the one of them.
FUJISHIGE Sumi's _Kurashi no Naka no Tatting Lace (Tatting Lace in Everyday Life)_.

All the patterns were already published previously but the books are out of print now. So, if you have FUJISHIGE's old books around 1990s, you may not need this one.

There are 9 doilies including small ones in this book as well as edgings, accessories (2 collars and some necklaces), motifs, and collages.

I've made a small doily from this. In the book, this doily is used as a decoration on a small pouch.
All the works are made with Olympus threads but I don't have white one so I used DMC Cordonnet Specail #40 in Blanc.
I usually use bobbin shuttles; I used a clover shuttle this time. My first tatting lace book was written by FUJISHIGE and at that time, only shuttle I could buy was clover's. It's a sense of nostalgia.
And you know, clovers shuttles are very good, too.

Same Motifs Joining Differently

Same Motios Joining Differently, a photo by Garyou on Flickr.

This kind of motif is my favourite and I just wanted to tat something out of it.

First, I made the pale violet doily. It was very hot when I began to tat it, so I just joined motifs with one ring. I think this doily came out well. It looks cool because it has a lot of space. It even feel so light. Lighter than the pale blue one.

Then, I made the pale blue one. It got hotter and I hesitated a bit, but joined two rings each. Since the colour looks cool, it doesn't look so thick.

I'm lack of ability to create something original; now I know a little thing make things different.

Before Blocking

Before Blocking, a photo by Garyou on Flickr.

In fact, I did block this doily once; it didn't come out well.

As blogged before, I used the same pattern as my first tatted doily. I learned how to tat with a shuttle and a ball from this pattern. My first tatting book doesn't give me enough instruction how to tat with a shuttle and a ball. FUJITO Teiko's book tells me that simply and straightforwardly. Without her book, I'd quitted tatting.

Now I'm thinking of my next tatting project.



Via Flickr:
Designed by FUJITO Teiko
Lisbeth #40

Magic Thread

Tatted Doily in Progress, a photo by Garyou on Flickr.

I use magic thread method to hide the ends of the thread. I think this project is good for acquiring the method. The pattern of motifs is easy to tat and you can try the method for each motif.

When I first tatted this pattern, I didn't know anything about magic thread method. I just tied each ends at that time.



Via Flickr:
Designed by FUJITO Teiko
Thread: Lisbeth #40 Spring Garden

Can't Tell the Difference

Tatted Doily in Progress, a photo by Garyou on Flickr.

But it grows little by little everyday.



Via Flickr:
Desgined by FUJITO Teiko
Thread: Lisbeth #40 Spring Garden

Makes me Wonder

Tatted Doily in Progress, a photo by Garyou on Flickr.

Since Sunday, I can't stay away from "Stairway to Heaven." It's just been played in my head. I just can't stop that.
That kind of things happens once in a while, but not this long.

Once I heard this song on the way home from high school. I was in border town then. There was a house looked like terra cotta and the music was coming from there.
In front of me was mountains. Over the mountain was New Mexico. I just stopped walking and listened to the song. It was like a smoke drifting up into the air.
What an experience.

Slowly, but steadily, my doily project is getting larger.



Via Flickr:
Desgined by FUJITO Teiko
Thread: Lisbeth #40 Spring Garden

Little by Little

Tatted Doily in Progress, a photo by Garyou on Flickr.

Again, I added a few motifs.
It was stormy weather today. I left my office much earlier than usual. At that time, both rain and weather were not too bad, but I was right.
When I got home, wind was too hard as if to blow you up in the sky.



Via Flickr:
Designed by FUJITO Teiko
Thread: Lisbeth #40 Spring Garden

Doily in Progress And A New Shuttle

Doily in Progress, a photo by Garyou on Flickr.

I added a motif to my doily in progress with my new POP-A-BOBBIN-TATTING-SHUTTLE.
I suppose not to buy another one since I already have three of them.

Well ,that kind of things sometimes happens, you know.

I've got this ebony one and a cocobolo rosewood shuttle. They are wonderful and I love them so much.



Via Flickr:
Designed by FUJITO Teiko
Thread: Lisbeth #40 Spring Garden

Too Personal

Tatted Doily in Progress, a photo by Garyou on Flickr.

End of January, my father has passed away.
One night he went to sleep and never woke up again.

He had been suffering from lung cancer for more than three years. He was in hospital when he died. He got anticancer therapy there and was about to come home in a couple of days.
He didn't.

Nobody knows why he died and how he died. A nurse found him dead while she made her night round.
When I got to the hospital, he had his mouth wide open as if to snore. He didn't look suffered at all. That was the only relief.
Maybe the last person who talked with him was one of the nurses. Why not me?

As I looked through his belongings, I found the reciept of a hospital canteen. Father went shopping there the last day. There were about twelve items on it. He bought his favourite sweets and some drink.
He kept what he ate in the notebook I gave him to prevent dimentia. He wrote down what he ate for supper the last day.

Surely, he never thought he would be dead that night.

I've been told he didn't have that much time left from his doctor for he was getting weak and couldn't stand anticancer therapy soon.
I didn't believe it.
If he ate more and worked out a bit, he still could get therapy.
So I've been really hard on him. I tried to make him eat more.
As I recall, all I asked him were "did you eat something?" and "did you take your medicine?" after I came home from work.
There should have been more important thing to talk.
I should have been kind to him. Why wasn't I?
Stupid me.

Still, I'm alive and well.

I'm trying to tat a doily now. This is the pattern of the doily I first tatted.

My first tatted doily was so awkward of course, but my mother said, "well done," and let me put that on our dining table. She did crochet very well and always told me how clumsy I was. It was a rare occurence.
It is still on the table.

I wanted to tat it with the same thread, Olympus #40, but I don't have the same colour. So, I just picked up what I have in my stash.

I'm going to add more motifs.


Via Flickr:
Desgined by FUJITO Teiko
Thread: Lisbeth #40 Spring Garden

Tatted Doily

Tatted Doily, a photo by Garyou on Flickr.

I made a doily out of thetatting book published last month.

There are 40 works in the book, motifs, edgings, doilies, and some accessaries. Some works use split rings, some use Cluny tatting technique, and some with beads.

You can see inside of the book if you follow the link above, but the information is not very useful. Because all you can see there is a front of the book and some photos show how to tat. You can only see few works. Why do they do that? Don't the want us to buy their books?
Well, at least they offered some samples. That's much better than the former book I blogged about.



Via Flickr:
Source: タティングレースの素敵なこもの by sumie
No.24 Doily
Thread: Lisbeth #40 Col.635

#1 Dragon Wing Doily

Dragon Wing Doily
Originally uploaded by Garyou.

Ever since I found 25 Motif Challenge, I've wanted to participate. I even wrote it down as my New Year Resolution once.
But I haven't. I've been procrastinating. Just because it would be too much for me to tat 25 motifs in a year.

I've changed my mind.
What I need is a challenge.
I may not tat 25 motifs, but it's ok for me. Challenging means much more to me.
Of course, my aim is to tat all 25 motifs.

And this one has been procrastinated, too.
Ever since I saw a Dragon Wing Doily by Anne Bruvold, I've wanted to make it myself. It looks so close-tatted and that's my favourite.
I downloaded the pattern and found out it requires a shuttle and a ball. It is easier than it looked.
Still, I just put the pattern in a "someday" folder, not a "next" folder in my memory.

Finally, I've made it. I used Lisbeth #40. It took me some time, so rings are in different sizes.
But I did it.
That's important.

I really love this pattern. It's fun to work with, and the result is so nice. This one is about a size of a coaster, so I'll put it under my glass.