Can the time of day affect your tatting? Absolutely! I’ve heard many tatters express their thoughts towards when they prefer to tat. This isn’t talking about just the time of day but also the mood, the environment and various other factors that come into play for a tatting session. Of course, the ‘die hard’ tatters are probably asking themselves, “What’s she talking about? If you have a few minutes it’s a good time to tat!” In some ways I agree and in other ways I have to disagree. Let me explain.

Concentration, relaxation and environment play a big part on the end results of our projects. Even as an experienced tatter, we know how the dog chasing the cat, the kids rough-housing and the TV blaring can cause us to make frequent mistakes, throw out tension off and read a pattern wrong. If, as an experienced tatter, we realize the benefit of calm surroundings, while crafting; how much more so might someone, new to tatting, need to be aware of their environment while practicing, learning a new stitch or striving to read a diagram?

A beginning tatter needs to feel relaxed and comfortable in order to get the stitches uniform and proper. Of course, they could just as easily learn the mechanics of tatting no matter what the environment, but to concentrate on learning the ‘feel’ for the tension and eyeballing the gauge of the picots, the beginner will do much better in a relaxed and soothing atmosphere.

So, how does time of day have a factor in the tatting equation? It’s all about light, energy and (once again) concentration. Especially, while working with darker shades, it’s difficult to see what you’re working on. I often pull aside the drapes or let up the shade so that I have natural sunlight flowing into the room and onto my tatting work. This natural light is much easier on the eyes and clarifies the tatting stitches. It also makes it a lot easier to see that tiny picots that I need to use for joining.

A person is more relaxed in the morning or early afternoon. Yet, others can relax more once the children are put to bed or after the supper dishes are washed and put away. So, evening works better and is more enjoyable for others. And, yet, others find a few minutes during a work break or lunch time at the office/factory/work station. This is a great way to ‘get away’ from the pressures and stress of the work place. I call it “taking a mini vacation”. We can take that time to do something we love; tatting. And, in just a few minutes tatting can do a reverse role by giving us relaxation in a hectic surrounding. Just make sure that their boss doesn’t mind this activity at the work place.

And the last factor of light (or actually the time of day) has to do with concentration. This may not necessarily have anything to do with the time of day, but actually the situation of the moment. If the kids are running around and picking on each other, this is obviously not a good time for tatting. If, on the other hand, you’d put them to bed for a nap (so they can calm down), this is a great time for you to have time to yourself; a wonderful time to relax and get yourself calmed down as well.

Remember to take advantage of the time you have. But, make sure that the time that you have is the right time for tatting.