Skip to main content

The Gentle Arts


The Gentle Arts book 
While I am always reluctant to make New Year’s resolutions, I openly declared that 2013 was going to be a “gentler” year. Coincidentally, while sorting books I came across “The Gentle Arts – 200 Years of Australian Women’s Domestic & Decorative Arts”. It is full of  amazing textile work – from hand coloured photos to filet crochet,  delicate embroidery to  weaving – fine and gentle work.  … which motivated me to learn shuttle tatting.  A friend gave me a shuttle and lent me a basic instruction book – first attempt not so successful! I hate to say I failed, but the results were certainly an alternate version of tatting! I just could not get the right thread knotting around the other!  
History of tatting in  Australia in "The Gentle Arts" 
Tatting instructions 
While on holidays, my mother taught me to needle tat and that seemed quite easy, so back to working with the shuttle with even more determination.  Fortunately my aunt visited and brought with her a giant tatting shuttle and some cord. I tried that and this was the turning point – yes, a successful tatted chain and with some little picots!
Samples of  my learner tatting ... top right hand samples of needle tatting, and others are tatted with a shuttle. 
Tatting is not only one of the gentle arts, but it is also one of those useful domestic arts that can be done while watching TV.  So thanks to the return of Master Chef in the evenings for an hour or so, I have continued to practise my tatting and make some temari which I think is another gentle art. 

and a special mention ... Happy birthday to a special nine year old. 

Labels:

Comments

  1. UnknownJanuary 31, 2013 at 12:09 PM

    I am definitely a failed tatter. My teacher told me I was her very first failure in 40 years. At least if you make a mistake in crochet, you can undo it. Don't have to throw it away.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownFebruary 1, 2013 at 7:06 AM

    Transferring the knot from one thread to the other is tricky! I couldn't get the hang of it until I saw a you tube video, written instructions just don't show it I found. There is a wonderful blogger that tats using her own hand dyed threads, if I find it I'll send you the link, her work is just beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wilma Simmons (Empress Wu Designs)February 1, 2013 at 11:04 AM

    Thanks Judi and Tracy,
    Tracy, good tip - I will have a look at youtube too but found the giant shuttle with rat tail cord worked really well. Judi, I'll show you when I come up to Hervey Bay in March.

    ReplyDelete
  4. BluMoonFebruary 2, 2013 at 7:52 AM

    I haven't tried tatting but you have made a good start! I love your Temari they are so beautiful.
    Jackie

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for reading my blog and please share your thoughts about my blog post by leaving a comment.Your comment won't appear immediately as comments are verified before publication in an effort to reduce the amount of spam appearing. Anonymous comments will not be published.

Popular posts from this blog

Bilby Infatuation

  Wrapped wire and fabric bilby sculpture : Wilma Simmons 2016  Over the years I have been fascinated with the plight of the bilby and it has inspired quite a few of my cloth creations... With long pinkish-coloured ears and silky, blue-grey fur, the Bilby has become Australia’s version of the Easter Bunny. Unlike the rabbit, bilby numbers are falling rapidly. There were originally two species but the Greater Bilby is now commonly referred to simply as ‘the Bilby’ as the Lesser Bilby (Macrotis leucura) is thought to have become extinct in the early 1950s... Bilbies are nocturnal, emerging after dark to forage for food. Using their long snouts, they dig out bulbs, tubers, spiders, termites, witchetty grubs and fungi. They use their tongues to lick up grass seeds. Bilbies have poor sight and rely on good hearing and a keen sense of smell. To minimise threats from predators they’ll mostly stay within 250m of their burrows, but sometimes roam further afield depending on the food...
1 comment
Read more

Non-Committal Collage Anything Goes

Have you heard of non-committal collage?   I hadn't until one of the other participants of the 100 Day Project started doing this each day and showing the results....  Here are  Peggy's  rules :  1. S elect 9 scraps of paper from  collage  box/stash  2. Make three  different compositions using each scrap at least once.  (some pieces can be used more than once)  3. Do not alter the scraps of paper in any way.  4.Do not use glue.  5.Take photo, disassemble and return scraps to box.   I thought this would be a fun and quick exercise to do for Tag Tuesday's theme , Anything Goes... so here are my "non-committal collage" tags....  Did you spot the nine pieces? Would  you like to suggest some titles?   And I repeated the exercise before putting back the 9 scraps of paper, so these are different items.  Hope you will try this exercise -  it is lots of...
1 comment
Read more

"Temari Or Not Temari?" Tutorial

 Background Information:  Temari (literally translated “hand ball”) is a Japanese folk craft that is alleged to have originated in China and was introduced to Japan five or six hundred years ago. Traditionally, the balls were constructed from wrapped kimono fabric remnants and silk threads. They were made by mothers and grandmothers for children to play with. Nowadays, decorative embroidered temari represent a highly valued and cherished gift symbolizing friendship and loyalty. Recently I've wondered if your don't use traditional techniques whether you should call what you create "temari". That is an ongoing debate but today I share what I do to make a "non-traditional temari".... 1.I start  with a polystrene ball ( traditionally the balls were wound  silk scraps or other organic materials) and begin to wrap with approx 4 ply wool, turning the ball as I wrap.  2. I then wrap another layer of wool in a similar fashion , this time a 3 or 2 ...
8 comments
Read more