Silver Horse Head Earrings motif#5

Tatting in silver gives you a very different perspective. 1) you can't just try out a pattern in silver, mistakes are costly. 2) you have to have very strong and steady hands, 3) you can't watch TV and tat in silver ( a real bummer) - you have to focus 4) you have think about negative space in a new way - you can't stiffen it.
----- but I'm still having fun doing it!

These are Dawn's horse head earrings in silver, my latest work. Watch for them in my ETSY store.

Its Like Learning To Tatt All Over Again motif# 2, 3, 4

Tatting in silver is a real challenge. If you make a mistake in thread you can either retro-tat or start again, no big deal. With silver you can't undo and silver costs an arm and a leg. But I have to admit it is a lot of fun, its like learning to tat all over again, with a whole new set of challenges, it has that feeling you get when you first learn to tat and you realize you've created something beautiful from just an ordinary piece of thread. I still have lot to learn about working in the different types of silver (who knew there was different types), in the mean time here are some pictures of my latest projects. The photos are not all that great, but I do have some professional photos on the way for my Etsy store.

Special credit goes to Briget Phelps for sharing her wonderful "Sweetheart" pattern. Its perfect with St. Valentine's Day coming up.

Stay tuned for more pictures (earrings are next) and watch for new items in my Etsy store.

I'm Back and Tatting in Silver

It's been months since I had time to blog, between my duties as Pastor, my birthday party business and my first high end craft show, I've been swamped. I'm just now finishing my Christmas gifts.
Now for the tatting...
I've been tatting up a storm trying to get enough stuff ready for upcoming shows that I have actually developed a tatting callus. Who knew that was even possible?
The most exciting part has to do with the show I did. I met a lot of other crafts people, one was someone who makes jewelry with wire, using knitting and knotting techniques. She encouraged me to try tatting with silver, she even gave me a good size length of wire to start with. It's taken a bit to get a handle on how to work with wire but the results are awesome. Here are some pictures I took of a pendant and earrings in silver, the pattern is the center of the "arches" doily.