Travel, Fair Tatting and Motifs 23-24!

Hi!

I am so sorry it's been so long since I really posted...believe it or not, I've been super-busy Tatting All Over the Place (among other things!)

I tatted on a plane

My German/Spanish seatmate was kind enough to snap this shot for me...

 I also tatted across America, in the car on the way home from Atlanta...

(Don't worry, we were stopped at a rest stop when Chris took this picture)

...and also on the way to the Olympic Trials in Omaha (mom was quilting at the same time!)

Again, don't worry, Chris was in the passenger seat

I also tatted when we were waiting for the packers to show up...apparently I have bad posture or need to use bifocals when I'm doing intricate things!

The reason I did so much tatting (besides the fact that I just really enjoy it) is because it's Fair Season!

Yes, July and August is Fair Season in Iowa, and I wanted to make sure that I was ready...last year I entered in both our local and State fair and had lot of fun with it, so I decided to do it again this year.

Well, wasn't I surprised when I looked at our local fair's entry book and found that they had added an entire tatting section! You see, last year I had to enter things in the "other than mentioned' categories because, while they had separate sections for knitting, crochet, embroidery, and counted cross-stitch, they had nothing for tatting. When I brought it in they were very pleased to have something new entered, and so this year I guess they decided to create a tatting category. So of course I couldn't not enter!

Here are a couple of my pieces for the fair, which also happen to be my motifs #23 and #24!

Two more selections from Lyn Morton's "Tatting Patterns"

I'm also entering a few things in the State Fair...one of the best things about being part of the State Department is that, no matter where you live in the world, you are still considered a resident of the US, in whatever state you choose as your home state...since home for me will always be Iowa, I get to keep my residency there, and so can enter things in the State Fair as well as the county fair. :)

One of the things I had to do in order to prepare for the fairs was to figure out this blocking thing. Thank you to those who gave me the blocking advice...I was still scared out of my mind when I started, but I think it worked out pretty well...

I started out with the small motifs like these...I wasn't sure where to begin, so I took some advice someone gave me and washed them, and then laid them out on the ironing board to be ironed and dry:

This one was especially needing some help...ok I admit it, blocking is AMAZING!!

 Once that seemed to be working I moved on to the larger items like the spring doily:

And then I got to the big white doily, which needed a LOT of help, and 200+ pins!

I started out putting the tatting on tinfoil, but I had to use a butter knife to peel it off...

...so then I decided to put them on wax paper, and that seemed to work better and stick less:

Anyway, once I got into the groove I decided it was time to block...the crown.

Yes, I finally decided it was time to work in a third dimension, and I decided to start with a crown.

Before I blocked it, it looked something like this:

I had to put it on a cup so you could even tell it was a crown

I wondered what I should use to make it look more like a crown and less like a blob...my mother-in-law suggested a Styrofoam cone, but unfortunately the ENTIRE TOWN OF OSKALOOSA, IOWA was fresh-out...and then my mom suggested this fine bit of antique finery...my grandma's ricer!

It was PERFECT! Thank you Grandma!

I did the top part first, with spray starch:

Then when it was dry, I used heavy liquid starch for the bottom:

And then it was done!

Isn't my mommy the perfect model?

I also had fun taking this random picture:

So, there it is.

Blocking skill, check!

Also, in somewhat related news, here is the gift I made that I showed you the motifs but not the actual thing:

It's a piggy! I made it for my niece Norah, whose mother grew up around pigs and showed them at fairs, etc. FUN!

KF