This the apron on my husband's recaneing project so you can see how big it is.
Another view(sorry for fuzzy pic)
Against a blue chair back ground.
Close up detail of embroidery.I thought I'd share with you a piece of my family history that started the wonderful world of tatting for me. This was my Great Great Grandmother Alice Atkin Gary's skirt apron she tatted and embroidered herself.(Sorry it is stained and because it is over 100 yrs old I don't know how to remove the stains without hurting it.). My Great Grandmother gave this to me when I was 15 and told me it was tatted by my gggrandmother , Alice. My ggrandmother , Bertha, didn't know how to tat( she was a wonderful cook and taught me cooking and sewing.) but it sparked my curiosity in tatting.
My gggrandmother Alice was a remarkable women for her time and died in 1040's. She supported herself by giving music lessons(in a time period that women didn't work), because her husband was confined to wheelchair. She taught my ggrandfather how to play the mandolin and she herself played the piano and sang.( I know were the music genes come from!).
There was no one to 'show' me how to tat so I taught myself from a book on how to tat. For the first several tries I almost gave up(glad I didn't.). But I was the one who caved her own crochet hook so I could teach myself to crochet because I wanted to make a crocheted poncho(yea I'm THAT old). So with being tired of making knots I finally found someone who could show me that little 'flip' that causes the thread to flip on itself.(I didn't release the tension on my left hand.) WOW! how simple was that and like they say the rest is history! I have been tatting now for close to 40 years and I think of Alice and how something she made out of necessity sparked a desire in one of her posterity. Now it is my job to pass it on. I have taught my daughter and look forward to teach grandchildren when they come.
Thanks for sharing a piece of my history with me on this important day!(Oh, don't forget the chocolate-I know I won't!) :)
2 comments:
Wow! Look at that lovely little tatted edging on that aprion! Very sweet! What a precious heirloom to have in your possession!
Happy International Tatting Day to you, too! :)
How lovely. Thank you for sharing it with us. What an innovative young woman you were to carve your own crochet hook and teach yourself to tat. I also love your slideshow. Frogs are fabulous!
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