There are as many ways to make as there are people making. And by this I mean how you experience your making, whether it is a touchstone at the end of a long day, or if it is a means of income. Some makers can make the same item over and over and over, while others can't keep focused on a single project for more than the time it takes to get a whim to start something new. Some makers have learned the craft they love and stick with it like a lover, while others flit from one craft (or technique) to another, always looking for a new "fix".

Me, while I'm always committed to my first love, knitting, I can't help but sneak out and try all sorts of new stuff with the opportunity and interest arise.

And this weekend I started trying out something new, Tatting.

For those unfamiliar, tatting is a technique for making lace that can use a needle or shuttles. It's not a currently popular technique, however I've been seeing it pop up more and more in the last little while.

My first introduction to the idea of tatting through my grandfather back in 2011. Apparently when his father, my great-grandfather, was a young man he was ill and learned how to shuttle tatt lace. My grandfather offered me his father's shuttles, which he had been storing since his mother died. However, when he went to find them they had been lost.

My first shuttle (taken from the Etsy listing), unfortunately it got dropped when moving and the shop is closed and so I can't get another.

My second set of shuttles, Aero-type that have been "improved" by an Etsy Seller (LaCossette) both sides have different designs, so it is easy to remember which side is "up" when wrapping to do the first half of the stitch.

Not to be deterred, I went to the internet and bought myself a shuttle and the now-unavailable Craftsy class on Shuttle Tatting. And I found that it was a confusing technique to learn and the available designs a tad ugly. So I set aside the shuttle.

However, about a year ago, I found that there were new books on tatting that had attractive projects. So this past weekend I decided to pick up the shuttles and try something new.

Here are the results of my labor.

So it's not much to look at, and it is slow going at times, but I'm enjoying the challenge of learning something new.

So I'm going to keep plugging away at this and make some fun little bits of lace that I might be able to work into a piece of embroidery. I'm using KnitPicks Curio #10 crochet thread because it's what I have on hand and all the colors coordinate well.