I got a call from my neighbor yesterday. She’s a good friend of mine whom I taught to tat one or two (or ten?) years ago. She hasn’t really kept up with it, being busy with lots of other things, but a group that meets at the extension office, Hook Yarn & Needle, were doing some needle tatting and she was going to do some, too. It had been so long since my neighbor had done it she couldn’t remember how exactly. So she called for a refresher course.
Okay, I have Needle Tatting, Book No. 2 from Handy Hands somewhere, where did I put it??? Oh, there (why was it in the middle of those Workbaskets?). Okay, now where did I put my needles? In this box? No, there they are, in THIS drawer! Now a ball of thread, open book. Hmm. Yes, that looks familiar. No, no, wrong end… that’s better. That’s right, and pull through there… Yippee! A ring and a chain, and another ring! I DO remember!
Yes, as soon as she called I had to see if I remembered anything about needle tatting. I only have the book and needles because I thought it would be good to know how – I already knew how to shuttle tat when I got them. And I never did much with them after understanding how it worked, very much enjoying shuttle tatting and not wanting to change. Back when I taught my neighbor we started with a shuttle, which she learned, but she pulled her stitches so tight she could hardly pull the rings closed, so we switched her to the needle. Now, years later we were learning again.
So this afternoon I went across the street and we laughed through a few rings trying to make a butterfly. We didn’t get it made because I ran out of time, but we had fun. She now has a better grasp of what she needs to practice. We did talk of some of the Internet sites that have videos of needle tatting, which she is planning to check out.
And of course I’ll practice a bit, too, because it was fun. I don’t think I’ll post a picture of it, at least not what I’ve done so far. If I end up with something presentable I might post that later – maybe.