HUBRIS: over bearing pride......

NOOOOO!

The ball thread and the shuttle thread unraveled!

New Black Magic Underway....

~Fox ~
~Aspiring Adept of TATROMANCY (magical meanderings with rings, chains and picots)

More Magical Gifts & Also Black Magic Revisited

Remember the woman who lives in the retirement home with my Auntie? The one who gave me the little scissors with the unusual inscription?

Well, I dined with the old girls last evening, and it happened again! I had just given her a tatted bookmark that I had made for her, as a thank you for the little scissors, when she presented me with this super, little and powerful flashlight for my tatting! How sweet and thoughtful is that?




The gift of a shuttle first, from the lady from the South and then a pair of scissors from another total stranger are what started me on this tatting sojourn in the first place...... and now a little lampto light my way along the meandering path! I am an old romantic, what can I say! I just see such meaning in all of it. And such fun!

With my scissors and my little flashlight, I got busy with the second Black Magic last night and in just a few hours - not even three chapters of the audio book (more on that tomorrow) - look at what I was able to produce. The amazing thing is that I did not have to retro-tat anything! I just calmly tatted the first half of the bookmark, as if there never had been a problem.

You KNOW, how I struggled with this. I KNOW I am not making it up; that I pulled countless hairs out trying to get the rhythm of this one. Somehow, this second time, either muscle memory kicked in or magic was afoot again. I KNOW it was the little flashlight!

Magic

~Fox ~
~Aspiring Adept of TATROMANCY (magical meanderings with rings, chains and picots)

Bulbous No More - Just a Bit Misshapen!

Lookee, Lookee!

How's this for a terrific improvement! I am dancing a happy tally dance! Not perfect, but I am definitely getting the hang of this trick.

By the way, the thread used in this piece is Olympus, #40 - and it is wonderful to work with - so smooth and tightly twisted. Love it.

I am feeling that I can step a way from the cluny leaves for a bit of a break. Next thing is to redo the Black Magic piece, because I parted (with GREAT difficulty, I might add) with my first one today. Mumsey received it as part of her Mother's Day gift.

She was not thrilled. Luckily, I had prepared for this rather cool acceptance by also wrapping other gifts and other assorted goodies ensured to tickle her very particular fancies!

Moving right along.......

Hope you all had a Happy Mother's Day, or failing that, a good, old, regular day!

~Fox ~
~Aspiring Adept of TATROMANCY (magical meanderings with rings, chains and picots)

Opportunity Knocks

Obsessive–compulsive disorder
The sufferer feels compelled to perform voluntarily irrational,
consuming, and distressing physical behaviors.

This statement came from a definition I was reading and it got me to thinking about the past couple of days and what I do with my spare time......

TAT CLUNIES!

I cannot stop trying, trying trying trying. And just look at these pathetic attempts. How does Elisadusud do it? Her work is inspiring and beautiful and so so elusive. Ah, Elusive Elisa.

You might notice that the little beige things look EXACTLY like cluny leaves. At least I thought so, while preparing my breakfast. Do you begin to see what ails me? These little beige things are:

Quaker Oats!

With all this focus on the little tallies, I went to meet my hair stylist's mother, Donna, whom I have never met. This woman has been tatting for decades and had been taught by her mom, in the fifties. Her daughter facilitated this meeting, after talking with me during at the last haircut. I had asked her if she knew what tatting was, and she told me her mom was a tatter. Of course I could not let that opportunity go to waste! She facilitated a meeting for Donna and me.

So, this afternoon, having the latter part of the day free, I set out for her place with my tatting samples, including my cluny miseries.

It was wonderful. My hostess was warm and gracious and showed me her tatting and her mother's work, framed and displayed on the wall. She had a shuttle that her mom had used which was given to her by a very old lady, many years ago. It is probably over 150 years old. I used that old shuttle - a real treat.

She had two large bags filled with small magazines that someone had given her. Workbasket! I had never seen a copy of this publication, so I was fascinated as we poured over some of them.

Then, she asked me to tat for her and she was able to give me some pointers about the basic hand motions that I have been doing from very beginning. What a kick - to have some one-on-one, personal training!

I am going to try to implement that movement with the ds, as I think it will improve my speed and tension. Thanks Donna!

Here's the ironic part. When she looked at my little pieces, brought along to get some input, she was intrigued with the cluny leaves, which she had never seen . She asked me to show her how to do them! Good grief! But I struggled away and she was going to look online for more..... Yes!

Just before our coffee, Donna showed me her workroom, filled to the rafters with things craft related, and a lot of thread! She had boxes of greeting cards, decorated with tiny, colourful flowers. Amazing. She is a talented soul and generous.

Here is one of her tatted pieces that she gave me.
Thanks again, Donna!

I had a great day!

~Fox ~

~Aspiring Adept of TATROMANCY (magical meanderings with rings, chains and picots)