Vintage pattern books and some old spoons...they're only EPNS but I love them, especially the small one from Harrods!My daughter loves vintage clothes and has promised herself that, once her GCSEs are over, she is going to have a go at making herself a dress with some vintage fabric that she bought a year or so ago. These vintage patterns at 10p each were right up her street! The green dress in the centre is her favourite!
A bag of delights...well, to me anyway...full of embroidery threads and tapisserie wools for 50p!
Looking through our finds when we arrived home, we were both amazed at the intricacy of the gorgeous lace in the 'Tatting Designs' booklet and my daughter wondered how it was done. I had never tried tatting, but I knew that it involved a shuttle and that I didn't have one amongst all my bits and bobs, which meant that we would remain unenlightened! Imagine our surprise when, as I continued pulling different coloured skeins of embroidery thread from my 50p bag of delights, I found a shuttle complete with small piece of tatting (shown in the foreground of the photo below)! There was no longer any excuse not to tat! So we consulted YouTube for video demonstrations...the ladies there make it look so easy! I was all fingers and thumbs with it - lefthandedness, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it! My daughter had slightly more success!
Hers is the piece that looks slightly more like knotting than tatting, but she has improved since and can 'double' and make a 'picot'! I think it could be a while before we have this gorgeous lace collar and cuffs set from 'Tatting Design' though! 
Such skill, such patience and such beautiful end results! Any tips on how to tat?Back soon,
Rebecca
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