This past week we have celebrated Earth Day and so, I have been thinking green. I mentioned in the last newsletter how tatters can recycle by bringing forgotten vintage tatting patterns back to life and share them with tatters around the world in just a click of the mouse. Here are some patterns too good to miss.

"Ich Kann Handarbeiten" is the German title of a public domain book we know as "Handwork from our grandmother's era". The original was published in German by Mizi Donner and Carl Schnebel, 1913, Berlin. The tatting section, "Die Frivolitätenarbeit (Occhi-Technik)" was not attributed to any one person in my edition in the front. I have recently compared the information, illustrations and patterns and determined that at the bottom of the photos of the lace pieces, they are the work of Frau Tina Frauberger.

Tina Frauberger, neé Philippina Christina Lauterbach (1861-1937) married an art historian, Heinrich Frauberger (1845–1920), An educated and talented needle artist her first love was for tatting. She designed many patterns both graceful and dainty as well as useful and enduring.

She and her husband founded an institute which taught tatting to those blinded in WW1. During the post-war years she published two books of tatting patterns. Both these books are available for free download.

I have compared the 1913 edition of the Donner and Schnebel book to the 1919 and 1921 editions of Frauberger's book and found both illustrations, text and patterns reproduced. The 1913 edition may be read at http://www.bellaonline.com/content/link_edit.asp?id=112325. I have annotated the pages identifying as many patterns as I could. All figures are from the Frauberger 1919 edition unless otherwise noted.

Among the dozen patterns that appear in both or all three editions, I found two that have been modernized with new text, diagrams and/or new tatted lace models by the tatters of the Online Tatting Class. I have included those links in the notes for you to enjoy.