Here's some of what I've been working on -

These are 3 of the tatted rings I've been making for the new etsy store I plan on opening just for jewelry, both the beaded stuff I make and some tatting. There are so many great tatters over there already. I should have done this a few years ago but didn't think there was a market in selling tatting. It takes so long to make things so it's hard to get paid for your time. The pattern is on yarnplayer's blog and she allows people to make things from the pats she posts to sell. She has a great blog and etsy store. The thread she dyes is amazing! In case you're wondering the book the rings are laying on is an old one I bought at my local libraires book sale. It's from 1047 and has a variety of needlecrafts. I was so lucky to find it.

The metal bowl I have this tatting in belonged to my Gran. I love it and recently dug it out of storage to enjoy. I have quite a few things from everyone in my family. They all know I love old china and things like that so when they clean out cupboards I usually end up with boxes. Prob with that is I have a basement full not to mention all the cupboard in my kitchen. I would have liked to take some of it to an antique mall to sell but how do you explain that you know longer have something when the person who gave it to you asks to borrow it.

The tatting I'm doing here is with 2 shuttles and 2 balls (one is just the thread wrapped around paper). It's just a basic ring and chain edging that I decided to try joining at the chains. They wrap around not join at picots. I came up with this on my own after doing reading on Celtic tatting. I don't think anyone can claim this pattern as their own since it's such a basic pattern. I know I don't claim it as mine. I plan on turning it into a vintage looking bracelet/cuff. I know by the time I'm done with it I'll want to keep it!

That's the hardest thing about tatting, deciding whether you can claim the design as yours or not. Like the basic square I use for my mini tatted quilts. I saw it in an old vintage booklet I bought. The book is now available online as a copy right free download so anyone can use that same block and do their own thing with it. Some things in tatting are just too basic to claim as your own design. It's what you do with it that makes it yours. Like how I took that basic 4 ring square and turned it into mini quilts. As far as I know no one has ever done that before with tatting so that makes it a new design that I can claim. Just how it's used but not the square itself. I've never seen any rings like the one yarnplayer came up with even though when you look at it, it's just a basic trim. But it's how she used it that makes it her design. Or when someone takes a basic motif and adds beads or charms and turns it into a necklace. They used their imagination so I think the tatted piece could be claimed as their design. But what happens when someone else uses that same basic motif and adds other kinds of beads, can they say it's their design? It's the same thing with basic doll and bear body patterns. It's all such a grey area that causes anger and hurt feelings.

BTW, if you want to learn how to tat, online classes are run by http://www.georgiaseitz.com/ . I've never taken them but have had a look at the classes. They look really good and they're FREE!

Some one asked about making and selling dolls using my patterns. I have terms of use them so there is no question that you can sell what you make as long as you're not hiring people to do the work. As for the free patterns on my web site, yes there are free patterns over there so go look some time, the same goes for them.