Recently I have been filing books in my tatting reference library. It isn't hard to sort by title or author or language but it is so hard not to stop and look at every third book. I keep finding myself deep in the pages when I should be on to the next stack.
Stacks of vintage pubs recently passed through my hands on route to the Antique Pattern Library (APL) for scanning and online preservation. BTW, the APL is the most wonderful site for finding vintage publications, not just tatting but on so many subjects. The APL is run by volunteers and they are holding the end of year fundraising event. They receive matching funds for every small contribution they receive. So if you visit and find a book to download for free, and perhaps, you could spare a dollar, or euro, or pound, please do. http://www.antiquepatternlibrary.org/
Here at BellaOnline.com there is also a treasure trove of vintage tatting to be found.
https://www.bellaonline.com/subjects/6778.asp
And these oldie patterns are full of inspiration. Even the crochet patterns are intriguing and I often wonder if they could be reinterpreted in tatting. Just look at these three samples:
This yoke reminds of Ruth Scharf's tatted leaves. See how this lovely doily by Erin and Martina from 2005 shows the effect of the dense tatted leaves which mimic the dense Irish crochet style leaves.
And this corset cover also from the Princess Yoke Book 1916:
This yoke looks to me like 8-pt flowers tatted as cluny leaves bordered by split rings forming a trellis for the flowers to bloom on.
Don't be timid, try out a pattern from another medium!
Happy Tatting!
Here's the latest article from the Tatting site at BellaOnline.com. Mlle Riego's Lace Tatting Book The famous Mlle. Riego has a number of tatting patterns books, among them this one, "The Lace Tatting Book," ©1866. http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art305722.asp Please visit tatting.bellaonline.com for even more great content about Tatting. To participate in free, fun online discussions, this site has a community forum all about Tatting located here - http://forums.bellaonline.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=39 I hope to hear from you sometime soon, either in the forum or in response to this email message. I thrive on your feedback! Have fun passing this message along to family and friends, because we all love free knowledge! Georgia Seitz, Tatting Editor http://tatting.bellaonline.com One of the hundreds of sites at BellaOnline.com
