Tatting -- a love of many years!!!!
Hello & thank you for looking at my Etsy shop!! My name is Lori B but I am known online as Lacemakermom as I am an avid tatter!!!!
My grand adventure in lacemaking started in the 80's in college with my landlady, Lucy Greenwood of Strathroy, Ontario. She was constantly doing something with her hands while watching tv in the evenings. I was curious and she was tickled to be teaching someone to tat.
In the years that followed, my shuttle was only brought out for special occasions. I'd make doilies for the homes of grandparents, parents, and even a sibling. But all the while, as I followed the patterns of others, I'd be slightly discontent with a row here, a cluster there..... & finally set out to make some patterns on my own!!!
This was the beginning of wonders and even some wonderful failures!!!! My shuttles rarely get a rest anymore as I'm always tatting to sell & tatting to create!!!! Notice the plural word shuttles. .. well I have over 30 of them, each wound with a different color of thread!!! And always at least two each of white and ecru!!! My fave shuttle is the plastic version by Clover, as I wasn't fortunate enough to have a silver shuttle handed down to me from a previous generation!!! And my fave thread is Cebelia crochet cotton size 30. I ran into Altan Basik thread, European size 50, comparable to North American size 30, when looking for metallics and am a fan of their variagades too!!! Variegated thread...oh my the different spellings!!!
My best and brightest pattern by far must be my Angel. She took two years of trial and error to get her to hang from a single wee top loop (called a picot, pronounced pea-co, in tatting). Other patterns haven't taken quite that amount of time to put together, though some try!!!! And I must admit, I truly LOVE to design!!!! Let me know if you've got a special project in mind... but please remember that a square inch in tatting can represent up to an hours worth of time. It is an art form for the patient!!!!!
Every item you see in my shop is made by ME.... and me alone. I do not have any colaborators at all. And if by chance a pattern isn't originally my own, it is definitely listed as such. That being said, almost every single pattern available in my shop is my own. There may be some similarities in simpler designs, as coming up with a new way to make a vintage looking wreath can be difficult. But I do think you'll like the way I play with color and how my particular take on a shape turns out in the end.
Even though I've not set out to keep the art form Victorian, my patterns tend to reflect the patterns of old. I like that!!!! I've seen some truly modern patterns and love them too, but for some reason I come right back to the Victorian look when designing myself. Must be some Olde English in me!!!
Ok, so I'm always asked if I starch my items & the answer is no. I've come up thru the "starch with a mixture of cornstarch and water" age and must admit that I'm not a fan. So my patterns are designed to hold their shape while hanging on an ornament hook from a single loop. Nowadays, should you like starching, the spray versions do just fine!!! Just keep items sealed away from critters as starch is candy to mice, etc.
And there you have a glimpse into my grand adventure, which is tatting!!!! My love is first for my family and then for my tatting. ... even though Lacemakermom implies the opposite!!!! Enjoy looking through my Etsy shop. I hope you find something to treasure!!!!
:) Lori B aka Lacemakermom
