Tatting – a little progress.

It seems to be a tradition that when you start tatting, you begin by making a butterfly, which you are then supposed to give to someone. I can’t remember where I read it (I’ve looked at a lot of tatting sites and blogs over the last week or so), but I thought I had better follow tradition. So here is my very first butterfly, which I’ve now given to my mum. I have to say I am really pleased with it, and I enjoyed practising my skills. I think I will be making a few more, just to make sure I get the techniques securely under my belt.

This was my next effort – a little tatted doily (it’s only about 3cm across). It took me several attempts to get this one right, but in the end I managed it. I’ve now made a few of these, so I’m beginning to feel a bit more confident.

Next I tried a length of edging, just to see if I could master the technique of joining the rings together.

This edging was more fiddly, because I had to turn the tatting upside down after finishing each ring, working in a zig-zag way. I did manage to do this, but I’m finding this technique a challenge. Yesterday I had a go at a pattern for making some earrings, which looked fairly simple, but I got in a hopeless mess several times, so I’ve decided I need some more practice at this technique on some simpler patterns before attempting the earrings again.

Anyway, because I had worked so hard, I decided to give myself a little treat and I ordered these threads from eBay. They arrived this morning, and I am dying to get going and use them for a project. I’ve seen a few examples of tatting done with variegated threads, and they look very beautiful. And I think the different colours here are wonderful – the biggest problem will be deciding which to choose first!

However, it won’t be tomorrow, because tomorrow is my birthday, and I am going to have a dream day – I am going to spend a day at a falconry centre, flying eagles, hawks and owls. I have always wanted to try this, and I love watching falconry displays, so I can’t wait to have the chance to fly the birds myself. I have got my camera batteries charging, and I’m hoping to take plenty of photos.

Lots of people have left some lovely comments about my efforts with tatting, and I’m very grateful to them all, as they have really encouraged me. I will keep you posted about how it all goes.