Tatters from all over the South-East of England came together for this annual Tatting Day at Hurstpierpoint, organised by Sylvia McDavitt. Several local groups were there, including the Cuckfield Group, Invicta Tatters from Orpington, Hurstpierpoint Tatters, Brighton Tat & Chat and Pompey Tatters from Portsmouth. A lovely occasion to meet up with old friends and make new ones!
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After coffee the busy programme began with a demo of the Cluny technique by Sylvia. She used the very clear instructions and photos from Mimi Dillman's website. |
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Then there were workshops on Split Ring and Beads in Tatting:
At the same time there was a beginners' table where new people could learn how to tat.
Competition
The subject of the competition was "A Tatted Initial". There were lots of entries showing different techniques including rings and chains with variations, chains decorated with picot flowers, and split rings. Inspiration for all of us as there are often occasions when we need to tat an initial for a special card.
The winners were:
| Second: Faith Martin | First: Marion Horley | Third: Mary Wallace |
And here are some of the other entries:
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Group Displays
Members of some of the groups had worked together to produce large themed displays:
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| Brighton Tat & Chat: Tatted Jewellery | Hurstpierpoint Group: “FAN”tasy from a pattern shared by Ann Stubbs |
Afternoon tea, cake and raffle rounded off a very relaxed and successful day.
Southern Tatters' Tatting Day for 2011 will be on 7th May, NOT 23rd April which is Easter weekend. Ruth Baker will be giving a talk on “Tatting and Tatters” and there will also be a display of her work. Sylvia says “Come and join us, we would love to see you”.
The national magazine Workbox (Oct/Nov 2010) contains an article by beginner tatter Rosina Robinson, entitled “Tatters are Matey”. It is quite long and very enthusiastic, a good encouragement for other new tatters. There are several photos including some of the ones shown here. As always in this magazine, a wide variety of needlecraft topics are covered from embroidery to spinning with a drop spindle. I ordered my copy from our local WH Smiths and it came the next day.
