Needle Tatting Tutorial Uploaded !

Needle Tatted Earrings with Beads

It was so hard getting this project off the ground. My Windows Movie Maker maker and I were no longer married, so I had to figure out how to do it myself :-/ and I had to wait until the mood hit (which is the way I've been operating since we split). Anyway, I figured out how to import, drag and drop, add fades, titles, captions and music (which disappeared when I added narration...arrrgh !) and voila ! My second tute in two years. Now that I know how, there will be more to come :-) I prefer making photo sequences because if I screw up while in the middle of a project, I would have to start another one and work up to that point just to re-record the video. Maybe I'll use video with a quick project. However, I have a very vocal parrot who tends to dominate the airwaves whenever he senses something important is going on (aarrgh !). I hope you like the video (don't know why it looks so out of focus...the photos were crystal clear when I was working with them...maybe compression altered them...oh, well).

Tatting Addiction

Red Tatted Bracelet, originally uploaded by ambrosianbeads.

I haven't done any real beadweaving in ages it seems. It has to do with my emotional state during the divorce I just went through :-( However, I got a little kick in the creative pants, so to speak, by learning how to tat recently. The two basic design elements, ring and chain, are all I know, but I figured out how to link them along the edge and turn corners so I designed this bracelet with beads. This one I made for a friend for Valentine's Day. She has been an enormous source of support for me in the last year, and I wanted to present her with this little token of gratitude. She loved it !I've posted more bracelet photos on Flickr and will be listing a bracelet or two in my Etsy shop soon.

Tatting Favorites

Since I'm on this tatting kick, I decided to see what kind of tatting I could find on Etsy, and as I discovered, there is alot ! Enjoy !

Second tatting attempt (PixUp)

Second tatting attempt (PixUp), originally uploaded by ambrosianbeads.

A couple weeks ago, I blogged on Fiberlines about learning to tat. My intention is to incorporate beads and make some jewelry items. After finishing my very first tatted medallion, I dug up this pretty pearl cotton that I've had for years, and strung it with some 8/0s. I'm hoping this will turn into a bracelet and I might figure out a way to work some beadweaving into the edges. Stay tuned !

While you're waiting on pins and needles for the outcome of this project, take a look at totusmel's incredible Tatted Mask instructions on Instructables, or visit this tatting forum to meet fellow tatters.