Re-learning to Tat

My mother tried to teach me years ago but I was never
very good at it. Well, try try again.

Needle Punch Embroidery

Years ago my mother and I bought some needlepunch kits on sale. At the time I remember almost finishing one, going out to run a few errands, and then when I got home I discovered my border collie had chewed it all up. That was in the 80's.

Now years later I was thinking of making a rug, and found ordinary craft stores don't have much in the way of rugmaking supplies. So my eye fell upon a needle punch kit. And now I have the confidence to design my own projects, so I dove right in. I learned the hard way that too much in one day can leave a nasty blister on a person's thumb. Now that it's healed up, I'm ready to go again.

My first design was a memento of my trip to Quartzsite AZ. I'm using embroidery floss.

Lacing on a gourd

This was a tricky one. I had to use a thin wire bent in half as a needle threader to fish the lace through the drilled holes. Lacing is added to gourds to add visual interest as well as shoring up a crack so it doesn't get any bigger.

Freeform Embroidery

A piece I made a few years ago. I should do more of this. It was a whole lot of fun.

netting

My first attempt at netting. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Stickweaving Photos

I made my sticks by sharpening dowel sections and drilling a hole in one end of each stick with a dremel.

Card Weaving

I've been experimenting with card weaving. A man in the SCA first told me about it years ago in a little demo on Inkle weaving in his garage. Years later I decided to try it out myself. I'll probably use it to make a bell pull.