Old Tatting unearthed

Look what turned up when my daughter was clearing up her grandmother's (my MIL) old things. It was while she was helping her grandma to pack up all the things at the house because they had to move, lock stock and barrel. The land where the house is on right now has been acquired by the government for roadwork project.

But ..... back to the interesting stuff...

Among the many things that she sorted through, she came across three very old tatting edgings. Two were completed while the third was in progress with the shuttle and ball still attached. Looking at the torn label on the ball, I can barely figured out that the thread is Coats mercerised crochet cotton in size 20. And the shuttle must be an old clover because I remember using something like it a long time ago when I first started tatting. That was over 35 years ago and I am guessing that these pieces are almost that old.


I found the clover edging (at the bottom) very simple yet interesting. I made a small portion of the design by counting the ds on the old one. I don't know how it was made originally but I did it with two shuttles. Mine is the larger one in the middle. The unfinished one right at the top looks familiar - I might have seen it on some tatting site somewhere.

Along with the tatting there is another interesting find - not tatting though. It is something that my MIL made to give away to guests at the wedding reception when I married her son. Just to let you all know, my MIL is very good at crafts and she particularly like to make flowers out of all kind of material - fabric, straws, beads, etc. Traditionally, in the custom of the Malays, guests are given hard-boiled eggs placed in decorative containers. And in this case, she made them in the shape of armchairs with padded cushion with the egg nestled in it. What do you think of this?


The frame of the armchair was made using cording with pliable wires in it. I remember watching her making it during the preparation for the wedding.