On Becoming Ambittaterous

I've been experimenting with expanding my tatting world into the needle realm. With four years of shuttle experience under my belt, I feel it's about time. I've made some interesting discoveries along the way.

A lot of the posts on forums, blogs, and such regarding shuttle vs. needle tend to be prefaced with "I've only ever used a shuttle, but..." or "I never could get the hang of shuttle but..." I didn't find someone who could speak authoritatively on both until I met a fellow tatter at a recent craft show. As a shuttle tatter, it blows my mind how easy it is to unravel--yes, unravel!--needle tatting when you've made a mistake. In fact, I asked my friend to demonstrate it more than once, just to get the full paradigm shift underway. Additionally, the smaller motions inherent to needle tatting suggest to me that it's significantly faster than its shuttle counterpart. It's also significantly easier for beading. On the con side, I wasn't aware of the difficulties inherent in creating rings and chains of two different colors while working on needles, and I don't like the idea of needing several different sizes of needle to handle different threads. I commonly work in anything from size 10 all the way down to size 80, my favorites being 20 and 80, which can all be handled by the same shuttle.

I'm still a raw beginner on needle tatting, being that I've only messed around with it for the last day or so. I got the hang of stitches and picots but I haven't gotten my rings closed correctly yet. I'm reminded of my initial struggles as a shuttle tatter--no teacher, no decent instructions--and countless "nooses" formed by rings that wouldn't close. I also remember the sweet, sweet smell of victory that emanated from that first closed ring...like it was yesterday...ah yes! You will be mine again, closed ring! You WILL be mine.

Are you ambittaterous? Have a preference for one or the other? I'd love to hear about your learning experiences, so don't be shy, step up to the comments!

Nancy Drew and the Case of the Christmas Creep

You know they're coming. The winter holidays. Whether you call it Christmas or Winter Solstice, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa, or something completely different, you and the fine folks on the Monty Python crew all celebrate or are at least touched by one of these festive occasions. And that means gifts. And gifts mean a last-minute scramble--despite the 12 months' advance notice you've had this year, and every year prior.

This phenomenon may always be an unsolved mystery, but the ghost of Christmas future doesn't have to haunt you. This year, I have vowed to do things differently! I've been busy creating a list of who gets what, as well as actually embarking on said projects. (Gasp!) I thought I'd share a list of ideas, in case you're trying to prevent your own holiday stresses. They're all fast, relatively painless, and useful for other (surprising) gifting occasions, such as birthdays.

The Piquant Picot's "Oh Shit, I Forgot" Guide to Stitchable Holiday Gifts

Knit or Crochet

• Drawsting Bags: To gamers, they're dice bags, but they have all kinds of great uses. To personalize the gift, you could present it with something inside, such as small candies, or, if you are a gamer (and can bear to part with them!) the coveted dice themselves. 
• Slippers: Soft, comfortable, and fairly quick, slippers make a gift that will be appreciated in cold winter weather!
• Spa Kit: This gift can include more or less stitching, depending on your time crunch. If you're short on time, whip up a washcloth or two, buy some soap or lotion and a candle, and you're done. If you can go at a more leisurely pace, you could make a loofah, an eye pillow, a shower mitt, pedicure booties--go wild!
• Phone Sleeve: Everyone's got to have their electronic accessories, and those accessories need accessories of their own! You could make a sleeve, pouch, or cover for a phone, mp3 player, eReader, iPad or tablet. 

Tatting

• Earrings: A pair of earrings is quick and fun. If your recipient doesn't have pierced ears, a pendant is a good alternative.
• Sachet: If you can do a little sewing, you can tat an edging or motif for a cloth sachet filled with any scent your recipient might enjoy.
• Luggage Tag Holder: For the wanderer in your life, why not tat a little something to mark their suitcases? Join a couple motifs together, slide a card inside, and create a tie with a series of split rings.
• Card: You can totally one-up Hallmark with a unique creation of your own. Tat your favorite motif and glue it to a card. If you want to get fancy, cut a "window" in the card and glue paper on the back to form a pocket, so that the lace can be removed and used as an ornament or bookmark after the card has been enjoyed.

How do you combat the Christmas Creep? Any ideas for great gifts? Please share in the comments!

The Piquant Picot

What's a piquant picot? Let's get a little help from dictionary.com on that matter:
pi·quant 
adjective

1.

agreeably pungent or sharp in taste or flavor; pleasantly biting or tart: a piquant aspic.

2.

agreeably stimulating, interesting, or attractive: a piquant glance.

3.

of an interestingly provocative or lively character: a piquant wit.

pi-cot 

noun

one of a number of ornamental loops in embroidery, or along theedge of lace, ribbon, etc.

Now you've probably got a handle on piquant, but picot sounds a little vague, doesn't it? Let's clear matters up a little further: 

That is a hand-tatted doily (made by me, in fact!). The little loops that stick out off of the rings and chains are the picots. They're easiest to see around the outside edge of the doily.

One question leads to another! What is tatting? Tatting is a technique for making lace through a series of knot-like stitches. It can be created with a shuttle, a needle, or even with string alone, if you're desperate enough! (Ask me how I know...) 

So put it all together: The Piquant Picot is a repository for fiber fantasies, for art, for wit (I hope!), and for thread porn such as the delight pictured above. Welcome! And enjoy!