There have been sad news for tatters several times this year already.
First, Rebecca Jones, the author of The Complete Book of Tatting, has died. This book was one of my first tatting books. It has so many wonderful ideas for tatting though it doesn’t really have a lot of patterns in it. I referred to it frequently for many years and still do on occasion. I recommend it to new tatters. Rebecca had wonderful insights into tatting and shared them in an engaging way. It was very disheartening to hear of her passing.
Then I learned that @torontofox passed away in February. I followed Fox on her tatting blog for a long time. When she tried Zentangle, I followed that, too. More recently she was sharing her cross-stitching on Instagram. I don’t do cross-stitch, but I followed her on that, as well. Over the years, she would leave me wonderful comments here on my blog, full of encouragement and humor. She will be greatly missed.
Recently, I have been looking around for ideas of where to use tatting. A lot of people don’t use or like doilies, they read on electronic devices so don’t use bookmarks, and some don’t have much use for snowflakes or other such things, so not ideal people to gift tatting to. I’ve found there are a lot of videos on Youtube for junk journals, showing ways that use small laces and papers to decorate journals. I have always loved paper things as they use for these journals, and think this would be a fun way to use up some of my bits and pieces, ones that are finished and those that might have a mistake or two.
While watching one the other day, the video creator was showing items that she found that are inexpensive that can be used in these journals. I was a bit dismayed by her flea market find of a small tatted doily. It saddened me to think she would cut it up to use in a journal. She did say that she probably wouldn’t cut this one up but possibly use it whole on the outside of a journal, which cheered me up a little. I have a lot of things I’ve tatted laying around or hidden in drawers, some finished, some not. I tat because I love to tat, not because I necessarily have a plan for each piece. It is a depressing thought that one day some of them could be in a flea market somewhere, waiting to be picked up for a few cents. Which is probably better than being thrown away… Or maybe a small piece picked up by someone who has never seen it before and will be inspired to try it, a happier thought. But I will continue tatting, finding joy in the making. Tatting is my happy place.
My something green from the previous post has grown. It is still not a bookmark but a small doily.
I do not like the button in the middle for a doily, so I have started it again without one. That does change the look, but I am tickled by the look of it. I’m liking where it is going.
Now, I’m going back to my happy place. Where’s yours?
happy place
idiom