What Are You Looking At?

I don't tat much in public. It's not because it's not a portable craft, it is. It 's because I am usually out with the whole family and two small children require that I have two free hands. Yesterday however, I was out all alone to a dentist appointment, toothache. As much as I had no real desire to go the dentist and find out that I needed a filling or root canal or something else unpleasant sounding, at least I could take some tatting. I grabbed a small ball of thread and a needle and pulled them out just as soon as I sat down in the waiting room.

I got to work on one of my Viva La Reine necklaces since it's a small piece whose pattern is absolutely committed to memory. A few rings in I looked up to see if I was being stared at, which is the norm for me, purple and blue hair remember. I am used to these looks and they are generally the same, but this time I caught a slightly different look. This time I was getting a look of confusion. It took me a moment to gather the reason and then I realized what they must be seeing. Here I am sitting with a large needle that looks a little like it belongs on the dentists tray, wrapping knots of thread around it at warp speed. I forget that for all the people that have learned what needle tatting is, there are thousands of others that have no clue what that is.

No one said a word until the hygienist sat me in the chair and asked what I was doing. I dutifully answered that I was tatting and I make lace jewelry. Her response indicated that my answer has simply begged more questions which she probably didn't have the time or inclination to ask. I claim all the time that tatting is not a lost or dying art since I am surrounded online with so many others who tat or at least appreciate the art form, but when I am expose it in real life there is a decidedly different reaction that makes me want to work harder to revive it.

Oh, if you were curious how the appointment went, it turns out I am clenching my jaw. This has resulted in pain where I have two large fillings sensitive to the pressure I am subconsciously putting on them. Of course I had no idea that I was doing this and now I need to discover when I do it and try to stop, lest I kill off the tooth and cause a host of other problems. I think I would have preferred the root canal.