Botanical trend

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Italiano: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Qa1X1KqDRsvnCfMAUVCSMzGur49ST1c-/view

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Before continuing the recap of my summer, I have to go back a bit, to last spring and more precisely to last May.

I usually keep shuttles with work attached in various purses, and without fail I forget their contents. I found one of these purses in May, with a good number of tatted leaves inside, made throughout several months. In fact, after the mini croton tatted during the game #LeafMeEndrucks (September 2024, included in the laceshop dollroom - https://ninettacaruso.blogspot.com/2025/01/the-lace-shop-of-my-dreams.html ), I continued the production of the cute little leaves with Muskaan's "E15 Leaf Doodle #1" pattern:
E15 Leaf Doodle #1 - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NL5KHsLxOHkfILCTTKojfhHy6B9v9EG3/view 

So, fresh from tatting the Iris for Orvieto, and still captured by this "botanical" trend, I took a bunch of those leaves and put them into a cheap bead cap for jewellery, to obtain the effect of a mini houseplant. The relaxing spot I built around it was a consequence: in fact the houseplant was so nice that I couldn't help but add all the rest of the furniture!

armchair, coffee table, shelf, vase and pot are all made by me

I invite you to watch a short video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/16oaVsYrJgEFKRx2vqs0abikE5E8sHEJp/view

To tell the truth, I confess that I no longer remember if the leaves were all the same pattern, while I remember well that last year Muskaan shared 3 different versions and I tried them all. These are the other 2 versions:
E15 Leaf Doodle #2 - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1i8XWpjtcrvK8C_cfa8KyGvJiXNn_KPP7/view 
E15 Leaf Doodle #3 - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1m8chbwS1oD6Xjq4Uwm2R291zdAUL1VJ1/view

These are the three versions, worked with Lizbeth size 80, col.136.

In the next photos you see details taken from other pics, because in the mini boxroom everything is now glued and I cannot show you the various parts separately:

In the “vase” on the coffee table beside the houseplant, you can notice a rose made with the "Smiling Flowers" pattern that I shared here: https://ninettacaruso.blogspot.com/2024/07/smiling-flowers.html 

Also, at the top left on the shelf you can see another pot, where I tried to get the effect of a succulent plant, made with a single leaf worked according to Muskaan’s E28 HEART pattern (except for the string of "dot picot"): 
E28 HEART pattern - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-rWqmDAd51VwxOqtt9spD-FIX5zYDAUE/view 

I want to use Muskaan's words, to describe what I consider a brilliant pattern: "This is a cute little motif to use for learning and applying techniques and effects (this one has CWJs and dot picot string); to embellish with beads or decorative picots; to use as a charm; to use as jewellery; ....” (https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2023/06/yet-another-heart.html )

You should try it now, whatever thread is already loaded in your shuttles!

The E28 heart-leaf was "a leftover" from the pot of African Violets made in November 2024, worked with DMC Special Dentelles size 80 thread, color 469:

The flowers are made of 5 rings without picots. I cannot remember the exact stitch count, perhaps rings are made of 16ds.

Muskaan’s leaves kept me company throughout this summer.
In fact I continued to tat them, sometimes just to empty the shuttles, but some other times with a rather ambitious idea in mind, of making a mini greenhouse of tatted plants... So far I only have two plants (the violet and the anthurium), I will definitely make more. I just have to stop using them for other mini rooms!! 

And now I’d tell you about the anthurium! So here it is... In November I made the red leaves with the precise plan of making an anthurium, and it took me several attempts to get the right shape. The starting pattern is again Muskaan's "E15 Leaf Doodle #1", but with two rings less (if you follow Muskaan's pattern, the ring J became 2-2, and I worked from ring C to chain Q, joining the last picot of P to the first picot of C). I don't remember the color of the thread I used, in any case it is the DMC Special Dentelles size 80. Let’s go fast forward to May, when I found all the leaves and began to assemble the plant:

I wound the leaf’s ending tails around the wire (0.3mm). I started attaching the wire to the picot of the upper central ring of the leaf (ring I in the pattern), then passed it in the picots below, then down to the base of the leaf, and lastly I started to wind the thread, absolutely with no glue on the leaf, only one drop at the very end of the stem.

For the pistils, I simply wrapped the thread around the wire (0.3mm)

The result is very naturalistic:

Thanks to Muskaan's creativity, the pattern E15 of the #Endrucks1920Project is in the subset of main patterns which have a large number of derivative patterns. I suggest you to read (or read again) her post where she shows the creative potential offered by the E15 design: https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-power-of-15.html 

Thread Lizbeth size 80, col. 134

In this blog, instead, you will soon find something more about my summer: events and short trips. Surely, in the recap of my summer I must include the International Lace Day on June 22nd, but I will tell you about that in the next post. Again, you’ll find a lot about the “Endrucks 1920 Project”. Muskaan and I are working with enthusiasm and dedication on all the PDFs, trying to improve the instructions, double-check everything and even sometimes tatting again the models... and luckily I always learn something new, that's what fascinates me in this Project!

Note: If you like exploring the vast range of derivative patterns, ideas, models, information related to the Project, start from the document called EPLinks - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1w1TZBg-HIzseGEUoJ-rko7tNbtSgZY5A18Oy2Y9Hh0Y/view, choose one pattern from the vast collection and share it with us, you can reach us in Facebook (we have a dedicated group!) or leave a comment under our blogposts, Muskaan and I will be happy to see your tatting and we will send you a gift too (that is another pattern). Due to the current updating of many of the PDFs, if you have saved a link to one or more documents in the past, just click on them again to refresh or check with your printed copies. When you post remember to write the name of the designer and pattern number (E1, E2, E3, etc.) or name in case of derivatives, and also always use the hashtag #Endrucks1920Project . Thank you.

Ciao, Ninetta

where did I take the shuttles?

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Italiano: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-59o3zbzk0jU1facPB5NtSHmHceLRUF2/view

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I know, I don't update my blog much, and yet there would be a lot to say. This summer Muskaan and I spent a lot of our time reviewing all documents in the “Endrucks 1920 Project” (#Endrucks1920Project), a titanic work and still ongoing. I feel as I worked a lot (on computer) but achieved nothing (with shuttles). To reassure myself, I need to take stock of my summer.

The title here is not for the fact that I cannot locate my shuttles ;-P on the contrary I even bought three amazing wooden shuttles (rosewood, birch root and mahogany), made by Laszlo Horvath aka Banyek, from Budapest (Purchased via his Ebay shop “smalcointattingshuttles”).

Rather, the title is a good pretext to tell you that on 7th June I took my shuttles to Orvieto, a city in Central Italy, a small city with ancient history, a monumental Cathedral and local delicacies, not far from Bolsena Lake. 

That day I went to the exhibition “An Iris for Orvieto”, that was initially held from 5th to 8th June 2025 and then extended to 14th and 15th June.

This is an annual event, among the organizers there is Mrs. Loretta Lovisa, Master of her lace “Merletto di Orvieto”, a tradition started at the end of the 19th century when the Irish lace was introduced in Italy in that area, and it soon became a distinct lace technique following the reproduction of the figures featured in the 14th century bas-reliefs of the Cathedral. Here is a very informative page prepared by Loretta: https://www.merlettodiorvieto.it/en/history-of-orvieto-lace/

Loretta is an enthusiastic promoter, and organizes and attends exhibitions, events and collaborations. Among these there is one recent collaboration with the brand Fendi for which she designed and realized one of their “Hand in Hand” Baguettes. The event “An Iris for Orvieto” was part of the annual “Orvieto in Fiore” (Orvieto in bloom) event which takes place on Pentecost (a religious festivity). This year Loretta chose the iris, since this flower is also a symbol of hope, in line with the theme chosen for Jubilee 2025: “The Thread of Hope.” 

There were really beautiful works of art, masterpieces of embroidery and lace, made with various techniques, sent from different parts of Italy. I took some photos, but here is a reel shared by Loretta in Facebook with all the flowers: https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1AYafu68Ri/ 

In spring she invited Luigia Tosin and me, both belonging to the Association "Ago, Filo e Fuselli", to send our flowers on behalf of the association, respectively in bobbin lace and tatting. 

Here is the flower designed and executed by Luigia, who is a Master in bobbin lace:

I received a wonderful welcome, I felt like I was visiting old friends, united by the same passion for lace. Our sincere thanks, from me on behalf of all in our association, goes to the organizers of the "An Iris for Orvieto" event, especially to Loretta and our hosts Maria Antonietta and Marco, who welcomed us so warmly. The exhibition was set up in a noble palace, “Palazzo Bisenzi”, one of Orvieto's historic residences. A curiosity: the palace is also famous for having hosted Sigmund Freud, who stayed in Orvieto several times, starting in 1897. 

During the exhibition, Loretta let me have a table for promoting our association, and I took the opportunity to display the models from the "Endrucks 1920 Project", and to briefly explain it to dozens of visitors, including foreign tourists, who came to admire the lace irises.

I designed my iris starting from pattern E11 (the 11th pattern) from the German book ‘Die Schiffchen-Spitzen’, 1920, by Frau Eleonore Endrucks-Leichtenstern. Thread is my favourite DMC Special Dentelles, size 80. I promise to share the pattern, sooner or later, but with the current schedule ongoing in the Endrucks 1920 Project, I could take long to transform my notes and scribbles into a shareable pattern!
The idea started because the shape of part of the edging E11 looks like a petal. I consulted a certain Smiling Lady you know, for one of her precious tips, and she approved the choice. As usual, several tests followed, but given the limited time available, I followed the advice of my aunt, an occasional painter, to use all the prototypes: she convinced me that the flower would look more natural if the petals weren't all perfectly identical!

 

For the leaves, I needed a compact, elongated structure, so I tried block tatting shaped into a long, narrow strip. Again, I made several prototypes before getting the right shape.

At the tip I attached the wire (0.3mm), sewed it along the leaf and then wrapped it to form the stems. In a similar way, I added wire to shape the petals (only along the middle of petal). The flower is 14cm high, from the bottom of the stem to the highest tip.

Here is a very short video of the tatted Iris, taken before sending it to the exhibition: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Vy4Af5rN34Eh6BFRnx37ReVl8IwY9r3O/view 

Here is the link to the reworked pattern E11 from the German book ‘Die Schiffchen-Spitzen’: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qwj9o6vfjMUckkYB1t0z_HRBgOR9zJ15/view 

Note: If you like exploring the vast range of derivative patterns, ideas, models, information related to the Project, start your exploration from the document called EPLinks - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1w1TZBg-HIzseGEUoJ-rko7tNbtSgZY5A18Oy2Y9Hh0Y/view

Muskaan and I will be happy to see your tatting. When you post remember to write the name of the designer and pattern number and also use the hashtag #Endrucks1920Project . Thank you.

Ciao,
Ninetta

P.S. Summer recap has just started!

let's go promoting lace!

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Italiano: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1THbEMD5LFi-951i8U1OM5IhKfPTxhxMe/view?usp=drivesdk

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The Exhibition ‘Threads and Schools – 2nd Edition’, held from 8th to 16th March 2025, was the second in a series of annual events, organised by the local association “Ago, Filo e Fuselli”, mostly thanks to our President Luigia Tosin, with the collaboration of Alessandra Caputo (President of “Merletto Italiano” and the owner of the site www.merlettoitaliano.it). We usually organise an exhibition each year in March, to promote lace and the lace’s cultural heritage. 

The theme we want to explore, that is highlighted in the subtitle: "To educate, To know, To know how to do", is the transmission of historical and artistic knowledge, both material and immaterial, of Italian lace. The crucial aspect is how to pass down the art of lacemaking, and we all can agree that it is very important to raise the issue and discuss it. 

We – in our association - are particularly sensitive to the topic, because our city is relatively new. Founded in 1936 and destroyed in 1944, it was reborn after the WWII, with the arrival of people from various parts of Italy, and also from abroad. The flow of people moving here never stops and we now live in a big city with 80 thousand residents. We do not have a long local tradition of lace. Everyone used to have their own culture and traditions, but the elders are struggling to pass on the art to the new generations.

Of course, the exhibition is a great opportunity for lacemakers to showcase their work. But mainly it is an amazing opportunity to invite school children, and our main goal is to involve as many children as possible. Fortunately, a small percentage of parents show some interest, and some children return to take lessons, even after the exhibition is over. Last year I met Elena, a sweet 8yo, who came for 2 months and learned the basics of the shuttle. There are pics of her, taken for the “International Lace Day 2024”, shared in Fb with her parents’ permission, but I’ve never asked the permission to share her in my blog. Obviously, you can easily guess, I felt as though I won the lottery!!! She didn’t come back this year, but I’m sure she will tat again, one day or another, in her future!

Pic taken during this year’s exhibition, when some little girls tried tatting.

Last year lacemakers came from North Italy, this year they came from Central Italy. 
I’ll share here some pictures taken during the week. For pictures of the single panels please visit the Fb page of our association "Ago Filo e Fuselli". The exhibition was opened with a conference in the city Hall, followed by the official opening.

In the table dedicated to our association, we had the artwork entitled: “Women Weave History”, the 3D work created by assembling the works of the ladies of the association “Ago, Filo e Fuselli”, according to the design by Luigia Tosin. The work stood out in 2012 at the 10th International Lace Competition titled “Women: the long road to emancipation”, held in Sansepolcro(Italy), when the judges awarded the association with the following motivation: “as an interesting work demonstrating the stages of the most prominent women in recent centuries”. The competition was promoted in Sansepolcro by the “Lace in the city of Piero” Association, during the 15th International Biennial of Sansepolcro.

We had on display also the bobbin lace work made by Luigia Tosin (for the red bag on the left the design is by Luigia, for the bag on the right the design is by Michela Zoncher). In addition, other works by the associated ladies were also on display.

And at our table we were proud to display the bobbin lace made by the youngest member of our association, Giulia, who is only 7yo!

I was in charge of preparing the posters, the maps and all the captions, many "do not touch" labels, and of producing (with the help of online tools) the vocal texts to be associated with the QR codes positioned next to the panels. We aren’t a big group, and most of us are retired ladies, so I’m one of the young girls, lol!, also available for flyer distribution and “quick tasks”! 

The day of the conference I was really anxious, but everything went well. The aim was to share experiences of teaching, and every speaker confirmed that there are great difficulties in transmitting the art of lace. Everyone searches, and experiments with, ways to approach the new generations. The most moving testimony was from the manager of the Museum of Pescocostanzo, a small town of 1000 people, with a centuries-long tradition of bobbin lace. He concluded his speech with a very sad phrase, hypothesizing that their lace will no longer exist in 30 years... But we also had optimistic testimonies, from a city were an association regained vitality during the COVID season: they are currently around 300 lacers, and in their region they have also been allowed to teach in schools. We all agree that we need to create opportunities to reach young people. In our association we try to do it with our annual exhibition, relying on visits from schools.

The laces displayed in the exhibition were wonderful, all with their peculiarity - techniques, tools and drawings. We had a lot of samplers, too. Pictures are here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1044929907659801&type=3 

I talked about the “Endrucks 1920 Project” but not in the conference. I’m really happy that the Project has received many compliments from expert lacemakers. I told to the visitors about the “Game of the Month” and how many tatters have learned new techniques just to be able to take part. Of course, I stated clearly, it's not only my work, I’m only one of the many designers from all around the globe who contribute to the Project. I therefore gladly share the compliments with Muskaan and all the Endrucks group.

Also in this edition, I presented the Project like a school's work or a sampler book, but this time I tatted a subset of the derived models from E's vast collection and glued them in a second handmade accordion book. Many visitors knew only the “mandala-like” version of tatting designs, and couldn’t believe that it’s possible to reach such variety in shapes with tatting. In fact in the Project we have a vast range of motifs, from foliage to jewellery and many different shapes, including letters, and also 3D; these designs are not the tatting usually seen in exhibitions here in Italy! 

In January, February and March, I had very little time for the Endrucks’ Project, but I thought the exhibition could not have passed without something new, tatted especially for the occasion. So, in late January I had the insane idea to tat my banner to be put on top of the accordion book. I tatted one letter per night, about one hour and half per letter, I didn't mind if there were cuts and they were not perfect, they had to be good on the first try, I really didn’t have time to tat them twice. They were very fast to tat, because I had already tatted all the original patterns and I knew the patterns well. I also had the help of Muskaan, who saw a preview of my models and suggested to add chains for a bold look. I’m very grateful to my talented Partner In Crime, she’s always present and positive, and always encourages me.

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UPDATE: Here is the list of the patterns for the letters in the banner: 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_arrhYZfmim2XEoczaLnZtW08ULYUvlW/view 

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Me wearing the earrings tatted with a pattern derived from E32 from the book 'Die Schiffchen-Spitzen', 1920, author Eleonore Endrucks-Leichtenstern, and already included in the “Endrucks 1920 Project”.

 A heartfelt thanks goes to all those who made this event possible, and to all the participants and visitors. Next appointment will be next year (2026), with participating associations from South Italy.

In the meantime, I try to promote tatting and the “Endrucks 1920 Project” whenever I can. I sent one of my works, together with a work made by Luigia Tosin in bobbin lace, to an exhibition in Orvieto (a city in Central Italy), that will be held in June. The event is called “An Iris for Orvieto”, and in fact I tatted a 3D iris flower, with a pattern derived from E11. I promise you that the pattern will be available in the Project’s collection. Pictures will come soon!

Ciao, Ninetta. 

what’s in a name

Here I am again, with another roundup for the #Endrucks1920Project. For the #NameMeEndrucks Game Of The Month in June 2024, we invited our group to go through the 44 patterns in the 1920 book, ‘Die Schiffchen-Spitzen’, and detect, adapt, and tat the letters of  ENDRUCKS’ name from the author’s own patterns, from any motif in the book.

June 28th is the birth anniversary of Frau Eleonore Endrucks, the author of the 1920’s tatting book for which our Endrucks 1920 Project (#Endrucks1920Project) has been created. She was born in 1885 in Cologne (Germany), exactly 140 years ago, and the book was published when she was 35yo. We should be very grateful to Simone Beyer, who discovered her birth date and even few biographical notes. This info is contained in a document with the translation into English of the book’s Preface and Tips. Here is the link – https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-LzBnvzj7azCWLXJACSvcNHegXfP4fv_/view 

We are planning to create a proper document about Frau Eleonore’s life and her family, thanks to the work behind the scenes by another lady, ElisaT, who’s also helping us in tracking down contemporary (1916 to 1935) patterns in the style of the Endrucks' book. I talked about it here: - https://ninettacaruso.blogspot.com/2024/04/findings-and-online-life.html

For years we had used a banner which I tatted following the alphabet designed by Edda Guastalla, very similar to Endrucks' style (but not included in our Project, it’s in Edda's Etsy shop). Frau Endrucks’ birth anniversary in June 2024 was the right occasion for organizing a game, with the aim to design our own Endrucksian letters, and hopefully assemble a new banner.

Eventually, the wonderful and clever group has produced many letters, banners, and numbers too, which continue to arrive till today! The list is growing and now they are all gathering in one specific directory - many have patterns, some are only tatted models. Here is the link: “Lettering & Numerals” – it includes letters, numbers, words, banners, and we hope there will be entire alphabet sets! –   https://docs.google.com/document/d/1S4AP67BmSNIRJ2Vo36EHgUQ3yQMkrIjCv43YvYvWWRE/view 

You can join the fun whenever you like! Here is the link to the game details, prepared by Muskaan - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1235560633606162/posts/1825973364564883/   .

And here is the link to the FB album dedicated to the Game - https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.860405692809774&type=3

In this roundup there are ONLY pics of the letters and banners sent in DURING JUNE 2024 by members of the group, listed alphabetically. For this initial set, many patterns have been shared already and others are being prepared.

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1. Anita Spotz Barry – She posted a Number 2 extracted from E17, saying:– “I tried to stay true to Endruck’s pattern, yet tat a number 2 out of her arrangement of rings & chains”.
More surprisingly, the model turned counterclockwise 90° becomes a bird! Anita’s magic!

2. Julie Santos Villegas – She showed us her trials and first ideas and soon came up with a Number 2 extracted from E13, and a Number 8 extracted from E39 (models only). Then she showed us her work in progress for her own banner, and all her afterthought around the “S” in particular. Then, she put there a sentence we often read in our group! - “I learned a lot doing this project.“ - Me too, dear!
E is from E41 ; N is from E24 ; D is from E26 ; R is from E9 ; U is from E1 ; C is from E5 ; K is from E27 ; and S is from E23 .

We used the banner for happy new year wishes in the first week of 2025, and it is the current cover of our Fb group.

3. Lella Loops – Lella is the short name for Donatella, so she chose to needle tat the Letter D from E26.

4. Manju Talekar – Undoubtedly, she started with the idea of tatting a banner. She told us that she tatted the C and the E with two shuttles, in one pass, and used Lizbeth size 20 thread.
E is from E41 ; N is from E24 ; D is from E10  ; and C is from E1 .

Be prepared to something special, because she’s working on an entire alphabet, all letters derived from E17! In a few weeks she has already reached the halfway mark. Read updates in the “Lettering & Numerals” directory.

5. Muskaan – When we first talked about the Game, I was still in the nebulous phase when she immediately found 3 letters: in her words “E jumped right out from E2 without requiring any change; D could be extracted by rotating E5; and C was visible in E17 when flipped over!”. She thought she could not take an active (actual tatting) part in the game, but in June there was also the International Lace Day, a very tempting occasion to make the shuttles fly! By the end of that Day, she had two “C”, one from E17 and the other from E10 (both are still models only).
Then, for the Number 28 she tatted 3 versions, and shared in her blog a cascade of ideas (who else but she can see a squirrel from her number 2 ?????).
Read what she says here - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2024/06/see-cs.html
and here - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2024/06/evolutionary-addiction.html

6. Ninetta Caruso – Here is my tiny and crooked letter K adapted from E27. But the Smiling Lady said it’s “Italic” (or cursive), so I couldn’t object! 😄
It was not good at the first try and you can see my false starts in the background! Then I changed a little the stitch count and it eventually looked like the letter K!!

7. Paola Bevilacqua – She posted on 29th of June, just in time to gift us two letters, D from E19 (where she included two “captured picots”(*)!), and E from E32. Both were tatted using a metallic Sanbest thread, which she didn’t like working with. She was not fully satisfied with the E and reworked it later in October, with a more cooperative cotton thread. In October, she thought to use the E idea and transform it into a letter B or a number 8. Patterns are now all available.
(*) “captured picots” - https://ninettacaruso.blogspot.com/search/label/captured%20picot

8. Vani Kattoju – Just at the beginning of the month, she came out with an amazing full banner! Then she shared another R, from E9 (model only).
E is from E1 ; N is from E1 ; D is from E5 ; R is from E8 ; U is from E1 ; C is from E5 ; K is from E21 ; and S is from E28 .

We used her banner to celebrate the 3-year anniversary of the Fb group in the last months of 2024.

➤ Many more ideas and patterns, which have been shared afterward and still continue to arrive, are listed in the “Lettering & Numerals” directory –   https://docs.google.com/document/d/1S4AP67BmSNIRJ2Vo36EHgUQ3yQMkrIjCv43YvYvWWRE/view

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So, “what's in a name”? What we call just an edging, from another point of view, inspires and triggers creativity to transform into anything else, and it happens every time we look at it with new eyes. From me and Muskaan an enthusiastic thank you to everyone and the wish to always be inspired and have new eyes! We wouldn’t be wrong in saying in the name of creativity that Frau Eleonore would have been very proud of you!!  🥰

Read Important Endrucks 1920 Project links (EP Links) here
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1w1TZBg-HIzseGEUoJ-rko7tNbtSgZY5A18Oy2Y9Hh0Y/view – Save or bookmark this to easily access our vastly expanding Project -

Ciao,
Ninetta and Muskaan