mercoledì 14 ottobre 2015

Tatting from the heart: Lory Tatting...

From classic to modern




Lory was taught basic tatting by an old lady, who jealously let her take just a brief glance at her art... Everyone of us surely knows how easy it is to meet some of these wonderful artisans who are hardly willing to share their art; but the basics were enough for Lory to
master the tatting technique and achieve great results!

Her first works concentrated on classical themes such as borders, doilies and tablecloths, realized with beautiful cotton thread

In this picture you can see a beautiful white doily with a tatted motif border.

The tablecloth was a huge work, perfectly embroidered and enriched with tatted lace inserts. The time, patience and ability you need to achieve such a result are only known by those who ever tried...

The bottom picture displays a beautiful doily, a masterpiece I would say, tatted with a thin cotton thread which adds richness and beauty to the whole work.


Lory realized these works when she was around seventeen: though sometimes these techniques are said to belong to elder people, I actually believe these are ageless passions...and I'm sure my fellow handcrafters agree!



To wear her own tatting was such a satisfaction...especially since it was the most important day in her life! : what you see here is Lory's wedding dress, embellished with a fine tatted lace border. 
When it's about tatting, you don't need to make anything complicated to get a beautiful result: this is in fact a very simple motif adding a great effect. 

During the last years, though still making classic works, Lory concentrated more on jewels tatting.
It goes without saying, that tatting smaller things allows us to reach a wider audience: everyone can afford a beautiful bracelet or earrings for a reasonable price, getting their own small and precious lace sample. Not the same for a bigger work, which is more likely to be an investment...



These beautiful earrings are so very popular among tatters, many of us have tatted them: they're simple, clean and offer a variety of finishing combinations.
This is Lory's very first original designed pattern. She named it 'Lory tatting' and she is soon going to display it in her Etsy shop.


Here's a variation on the same pattern: using a different colour gives the pattern a more 'casual' effect...














This beautiful Ankars is also one of Lory's own patterns: mastering the Ankars technique is one of the most ambitious goals for every tatter who aims to create beautiful jewels. 
This one is so rich though delicate and small, a real concentration of ability and taste.

This, too, will soon be displayed in Lory's Etsy shop, which I am glad to link here:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/LoryTatting

As you may see, Lory has just started her internet activity and her Etsy shop is only at its
beginning; she is actually selling a lot by hand, fulfilling orders she gets from local people, making jewels as well as small beautiful works for marriages, confirmations or baptism, such as this beautiful tatted angel


This little piece of a beauty would surely be a beautiful gift for any ceremony, precious and appreciated...







This was tatted in fine cotton thread and stiffened, in order to keep its shape firm: it is surprising how such a fine lace can achieve a steady shape...





The following pattern is Lory's last one designed, also employing Ankars technique.



Don't you think this is an absolute beauty? You can hardly figure out how many variations you could achieve working on this same pattern!



This rich pendant pattern has already been sold on Etsy and ancountered much success: if you like a really rich effect, offering you numberless variations, this is it... 



And here's a really particular model: being tatted around a metal circle holding the structure, it achieves a sort of 'phantom' effect with the outer circle 'floating' around the inner motiv.

Now, I really hope I gave you good suggestions, and maybe now you will be willing to know Lory from a closer point of view.
In addition to her ability she is also a really heartful person, always helping generously and sharing her advices whenever asked.
If you wish to meet her, here are the links to her pages:
Blog: http://lorytatting.blogspot.it/
Google: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+LoryTatting/posts
Pinterest:https://www.pinterest.com/lorytatting/lorytatting/ (here you will find more of her works, and also a free pattern!)
Fb page:https://www.facebook.com/LoryTattingCreations?ref=aymt_homepage_panel&__mref=message_bubble

Thank you for your attention! I hope you had a nice time reading, and hope to have you again as my readers in my next posts!

Please, don't forget to leave comments, join the blog and subscribe your mail address: more creative handcrafters are going to be featured, as well as tutorials and more more more!














martedì 6 ottobre 2015

The eclectic tatter from Puerto Rico: meet Wally Sosa!

I'm so glad to start this long journey in the land of creativity with this special and so original tatter!
I can see Wally's creations via facebook, and she often strikes my imagination with her originality.


Wally learnt tatting in 1990, falling in love with a shuttle and sticking to her new technique which has become to her the first expression of her creativity, as well as a relaxing therapy.





Could you imagine any tribal tatting?
I couldn't...not until I saw this beautiful set.           




Tatting is known to be one of the finest   laces techniques, reaching its best when done with very thin cotton threads. And this is undoubtedly true when it's about doilies, or runners, or borders. But when it comes to jewels we have to start think differently.
To tat this set Wally employed a thick cotton thread, enriching it with beautiful glass and wood beads. The design is really simple, yet absolutely original.
(See this set here :https://www.etsy.com/listing/242440076/squared-mini-bib-tatting-set?ref=shop_home_active_16)





Just like this other set, also tatted with a thick cotton thread, and enriched with glass beads: a simple pattern design, for an effective result

(https://www.etsy.com/listing/242336325/two-colors-beaded-earring-and-necklace?ref=related-0

I know it's absolutely personal, but I love these necklaces!



....Yet...another surprise!...this cute 'Victorian miser bag' is really something special,
imagine a bride's hanky bag...or a bridesmaid bag...you could not figure a better jewel.
In my thoughts, this could also be a beautiful bonbonniere, a surely appreciated gift for your marriage guests, or for a Confirmation...



Its pattern reminds me of an ancient book of patterns for young ladies learning and practicing tatting beside the window,...just as we ourselves sometimes do...beside the TV..., and maybe one of these tatting books is where Wally found this pattern, but most of the times she creates her patterns herself, designing something brand new.

Pattern design is in fact another of her talents: she has collected her original designs in 6 self-published books which you can find in her Etsy shop: one whole book about Celtic tatting, one collection of bookmarks, and one entirely dedicated to hearts!
Here you can find, together with her original patterns, also new hints and ideas employing unusual materials for this traditional technique



As you can see, Wally used a particular unusual thread in the middle of this bookmark: she likes to explore all possibilities: this may sometimes be frustrating, when you just happen to find out that you worked for a bad result, but satisfactions are surely overwhelming delusions!



This is tatted around a hair elastic: can you imagine how the effect would be once worn?...a rich sparkling effect!

You can find her books here:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/96169850/up-to-the-hair-with-tatting-vol-1-a?ref=shop_home_active_11)

(https://www.etsy.com/listing/96169011/knot-just-bookmarks-a-collection-of?ref=shop_home_active_12)

Would you belive you could tat with a T-shirt?...mmmh...
Well..I know what the immediate answer would be, but...here's wally's idea:



Here's how she cut one t-shirt, obtaining 34 yards of tarn, and tatting them into a simple butterfly trivet










Here's one of the hearts patterns you can find in her book 'From my heart' (https://www.etsy.com/listing/65914158/from-my-heart-a-tatted-hearts-patterns?ref=shop_home_active_8)
I like how she mixed different shuttle techniques: split ring and twisted chain in such an unusual way, obtaining an unexpected result.

Another use of the twisted chain can be seen in Wally's latest creation: here's a bracelet in which she combines a triple twisted chain inserting a rhinestone initial letter:



If you like these beautiful rhinestone letters, you would find it quite hard to use them in tatting. Well, here's the way! 

Now, to close this post, let me show you an absolute beauty: what would you wear if you wanted to be sure everybody would comment and appreciate?
Here it is:

Much more than a scarf, this is a work of art and patience. It's one of those things you are so proud to wear and to show.
To tat this you need ability and patience, and love for this beautiful art.





So, is Wally a surprise for you? ...a nice discover I would say... 

If you wish to know more about her, as I hope you do, just visit her blog :http://www.needles-n-shuttles.com/
Take a look at her creations in her Esty shop https://www.etsy.com/shop/needledreams?ref=l2-shopheader-name
Tweet her :https://twitter.com/needledreams 
Follow her on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/needledreams/



If you wish to be featured in this blog, and have a dedicated post, just like Wally, just send me an e-mail here :thehandcraftsellerblog@yahoo.it 

if you enjoyed this article, please share share share! Join the blog and submit your mail address to be sure we'll always keep in touch!
Thank you for following! 
Any comments are welcome!










giovedì 1 ottobre 2015

Who wants to be featured?



...Who wants to be featured?...



How does this work?

In my first post I just wrote a brief introduction. Now it's the time to let you know how this blog is going to work, and what exactly are its aims.

My idea is to built a sort of handcrafters community show, in which I am going to introduce you and your creations, by writing single articles concentrating on one artisan at a time. The content of the article must, of course, come from you yourselves: I'll just re-elaborate your texts and pictures to fit the blog, and then share each post on different platforms (Fb, Pinterest, Google Plus, Instagram, Twitter...), the same will be required to you in order to reach the widest public.


Shall I say it?  ABSOLUTELY FREE...NO FEES will ever be applied to any of you!
You will only be asked to share share share, both for yourselves, and for your fellow creatives who will be featured here.

What do you have to do to be featured?

-First of all, subscribe to the blog-Submit your mail address-Send me a mail, linking to your works and add a brief description of your work.-I'll let you know about your article...Being ONE AND ALONE I won't be able to publish all the articles I would like, and I'm afraid I will also have to make a choice among the many of you, though I'll do my best to feature everyoneIt goes without saying, that the main thing needed to be featured here is that your creations are ABSOLUTELY AND ENTIRELY HANDMADE! No matter how perfect they shall be, passion and honesty are our main values.

For now Happy Crafting !!! and...hope to hear from many of you soon!