Tag: display

Tatting Tea Tuesday

This morning while checking my Facebook I found this page that had some lovely teapots!  How appropriate for Tatting Tea Tuesday, don’t you think?  
Teapot found on Facebook
I’ve had a very busy two weeks for various reasons, and my sister even more so.  She has been planning and crafting for a craft show that was Saturday, June 8.  Other things happened that put a crimp in her time for getting things ready, but with all the money and time she’d already invested she couldn’t not go.  She said she would take some of my things if I wanted, even though I couldn’t go.  It was an outside show held in Hutchinson, KS.   They were only allowing one hour (!) of setup time before the show so we had to make the setup easy.  My husband and I had lent her our pop-up and wind screen, which was definitely needed.  I didn’t want her to have to work very hard on my stuff and I was having trouble coming up with a display that was easy for her to put out.  I finally came up with this. 

This is an upside-down cardboard box with the flaps taped open to make it taller.  I stitched two lines of thread on each of two sides from which I hung my items.  Then I carefully folded up the material and put it inside the box.  It didn’t take much time to set it out!
Unfortunately the show did not go well.  It was poorly planned and the location was awful.  It was not in a place that encouraged or had much traffic that would be interested in crafty items.  Then there was the weather – it was sunny and windy.  I think the gusts were getting to about 45 mph.  My sister said she and the other crafters spent most of their time trying to keep their items from blowing away or chasing those that did.  Between the wind and lack of people all of the crafters packed up and left about noon instead of staying to 4:00 PM as planned.  She was very disappointed. She is now trying to find a show that isn’t too far away and inside.  
Alfred A. Montapert Quote

A little ingenuity

The craft show was last Saturday.  We didn’t do too bad, though not as good as we’d hoped.  but all in all it was a fun day.
I did run into a few issues.  I’ve done craft shows before but I wasn’t selling jewelry or anything attached to a card like I was this year.  There it was, Friday night, we’ve set up the tables and other displays in the show hall but not our sale items – we planned to put those out Saturday morning – when I realized I hadn’t planned on how to display the earrings and wine glass charms.  I had spent time attaching them to cards but hadn’t given a thought to what I was going to do with them after they were attached!
I start wandering around the house trying to think of what I had to hang them on, my mind a blank.  It was getting late and I was tired and getting a little frustrated.  I thought of putting several strands of wire in a picture frame but I would still have to prop or hold up the frame and that was the problem.  I figured I could lay out a few on the tables here and there but that wouldn’t do for all of them.  
Then I had an idea.  Do you see it?  Can you guess what it is? (I know, the picture is pretty blurry)
Does this help you see my wire cooling rack?  And an ankle weight.
I found a wire display stand, like you would use to display a book or plate on a table top, but putting anything on it tall enough to display the earrings made it topple over.  So an ankle weight around the legs and covered with a piece of cloth, then the rack wired to the front legs of the stand.  A little garland around the top, and I had an earring display stand. 
Then I had another idea. 
There on the left back – it’s a spool tree, to hold spools of thread.  I only used two sides but it did lift a few earrings up so they could be seen. 
My sister and I are talking about trying another show, maybe in the spring.  If/when we do, I’ll have taken the time to come up with a little better display idea.  But they worked for this time.
“Imagination is more important than knowledge.” Albert Einstein

Actual tatting was done!

Looky, looky, there be tatting!  For the first time in almost two weeks, I was able to sit down Sunday and tat.  I didn’t get as far as I would have liked, but that I got anything done is amazing! 
The edging is made with size 20 Lizbeth #115 “Springtime”.  I just started tatting with an idea of what I wanted and I think it is coming along nicely. Hopefully it won’t take me two weeks to finish it : -)
Some of the reason I haven’t had time to tat is family visiting, which is a good reason not to have gotten anything done.  Having two 3-year-olds and a 10 month old around for several days makes it interesting to get anything done except enjoying and playing with them.  And who would want to do anything else?  Certainly not Grandma (me)!
I did get tatting out to the public a week ago.  The senior center that my mother volunteers at, and is a member of, had a show-and-tell day to share their hobbies with the community.  Mom wanted to share a table with my sister and I – my sister embroiders and my mother collects (and wears) hats.  The local paper even did an article on my mom when they were doing a write-up about the day.  She brought 37 hats in and it was decided to give her, and my sister and I, the quilting/sewing room to accommodate them. 
My mom and a few of her tats.
This is a picture of my mother (on the left) and her two sisters in their hats at the show-and-tell.  Mom was very excited to share all of her hats. 
I had been planning on this day for about a month and even had some ideas to make a few cute and quick things for it.  Unfortunately I had been working some very long days and weeks so had to settle for things I already had on hand.  I was supposed to be there at least by nine on Saturday,  bringing both my tatting and my sister’s things as she had to work.  My daughter from Nebraska decided to come down that weekend as well, which is great. Then Friday night she went out for the evening with her cousins and I was home with both of her children and my other daughter’s little boy, alone, as my husband had to work (I had taken a day of vacation). The kids were all great, but they were kids and I didn’t get much sleep. When I finally did I overslept. I didn’t get up to the senior center until almost 9:30 a.m. and the doors were to open at 10:00 a.m.  It was a case of lay out the table cloth and start putting out our things as fast as possible.  
My sister has been giving classes on scrap-booking at the senior center so had some pages and books for that as well as her embroidery.  Good thing they gave Mom the whole room, the table was crowded with just my sister and my hobbies, and the hats take up a lot of room. 
I found I had more tatted items at home than I thought I did.
I had quite a few opportunities to share my love of tatting with others.  This woman’s mother had tatted but she had never done it herself. She had a lot of questions about it so I demonstrated how to do a chain with two colors.  Throughout the day there were a lot of the usual comments about tatting being a ‘lost’ art, so this was a great chance to let them see it’s not lost completely and has been ‘found’ by quite a few people.  Several people expressed interest in taking classes if they were offered, so I might have the chance to share it with more.  This would be as a volunteer to mostly older people (so speaks a grandmother!) but I think it would be a lot of fun. 
I’m back on ‘regular’ nine hour days at work again, so I’m looking forward to having more time to tat again. Which is good because I just got Sherry’s new book in the mail yesterday *happy dance*. This book looks great and I’m really looking forward to making the items in this book and learning this technique.  
“Grab your coat, and get your hat, Leave your worry on the doorstep. Just direct your feet, To the sunny side of the street.”
Dorothy Fields