Back To Basics

So let's see, I got the new jingling necklace listed and I made another so I could re list it after it's intended owner picked it up. Then I had one of those, 'what was I going to do now?' moments. Don't get me wrong it's kind of nice to not be so backed up on projects that I can take a break, but it's been so long I actually turned around in circles for a moment. Of course I do still have several projects on deck, it's just that these are either simply personal goals with no real reason like the gloves, or ones with no impending deadline, like creating sample pieces for my aunt's museum display. So I took care of a few odds and ends. I photographed those shisha so I can list them later and then I started on the museum display pieces.

For these I decided to get a wide variety of unmodified medallions and edgings. I busted out a big ball of vintage ecru thread. I have no idea how old it is, but the label reads 700 yds and is priced at a whopping .39 cents so it's old anyway. I am still working with my size 10 since I figured while it's larger than most people would have worked with in the past, it will make for a much easier to see display. I might still get out the small thread for illustrative purposes, but I think I'll do the bulk in 10.

I've only gotten a few done so far using some books from the 40's. I think I'll get out my earlier ones today and get some edgings from there. By the 40's they were getting far more inventive and decorative than they were just a few decades before. The one thing about this project that I don't enjoy is working up the single shuttle patterns and the mignonette stitch. I'm sure it's easier with the shuttle, but with the needle I'm working with an insane amount of loose thread just trailing everywhere and getting tangled. Sure I could use shorter lengths, but then I'm adding thread everywhere and having to hide ends in tiny spaces and well that's even more annoying. I'm actually working on a small doily with the mignonette edging now and I think I might just stop when I run out of thread, all mid project like. Sloppy, sure, but the point has been made and these pieces have no further use after their display life ends so I'm not stressing on it.

I've not pressed any of the pieces yet and it always amazes me that people thought these curled up messes were going to look good eventually. I mean, if you were a beginning tatter and that medallion up there was coming off your needle or shuttle, I image you'd stop and try again thinking that it just couldn't be right. Funny thing is of course after blocking, or in my case, pressing it will look right as rain. No one mentions this in any of those old books, perhaps they all just knew that's how it was going to be. I know I had a little faith in the beginning that the pattern writers knew what they were doing, but I figured I was horribly unskilled. Then an iron later, I was cool.

I think that's all from me today. I really have no idea which direction my tatting will turn for the day so no use predicting now. Oh, one last thing, I figured out how to add my 365 project over on the lower right column as a slide show. It's not amazing or groundbreaking, but I figured it out and now those pictures will scroll through here. I might add a tatting album one here as well if it doesn't slow the blog down to a crawl or anything. Not that I spend all that much time reading the main blog page, so I might never know that anyway... and there's the nonsense starting to pour out, so I'm off.