Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Picot Gauges

Does anyone else out there use picot gauges?  I've always wondered how important even picots are to people.  Now, let me say that I think that the best way to get even picots is practice, practice, practice!  I don't use picot gauges when doing regular tatting - I think they are way too time consuming and I've been tatting long enough that my picots are pretty even anyway.

But when beading, or doing a pattern where different sized, graduated, or larger picots are part of the overall design, I find picot gauges very helpful.  I created this little set out of heavy card stock and since I do a lot of bead work in my tatting and often use decorative picots in my work, I use mine all the time.

They sit with my shuttles, teeny-tiny crochet hooks and collapsible eye needles as one of my "essential" tools.  I have made a few of them to offer in my etsy shop, if anyone else is interested.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Missing Mary Konior

Is it possible to miss someone you've never actually met?  Somehow I think of people out there in tatting land as my friends even if we've never spoken.  After all, we do have something pretty substantial in common - we love tatting!  Designers are especially near and dear to my heart - so many talented people out there, and I feel like I know them through their methods, particular style and ways of designing tatting.

One of my favorites has always been Mary Konior, and so when I heard of her passing, I just had to pull out her books and peruse the loveliness within (they are quite well worn as I have perused them often in the past - but it had been a while).  Her designs are so neat, so symmetrical,  and very unique as well.  She had a very specific style, and I think it's easy to pick her designs out of a crowd.



Even though I never met her, I feel very strongly the tatting world lost a very special lady.  I am so thankful she left behind a legacy of her lovely designs for us to remember her by.