Pizzo - that is lace

From the Italian tatting meeting, I came back home with many gifts, many of those are from Edda Guastalla, she's been very generous. I received her threads, one of her tatted angels, her instructions for ice drops used in her class and also a pattern from her shop.

I've already started it, using the yellow anchor thread, size 80, leftover after the swirling butterflies doily. There are flaws, my fault, I forget to join some picots, I joined to the wrong place a couple times, there is a ring with the wrong number of picots. But I  love it very much, it's a beautiful pattern and I'll finish it, in any case. I don't even know if I have sufficient thread for a complete round, so let's say that this will be just my first sample.

She called her edging "Pizzo Lazzaroni" (Lazzaroni is a surname and she has a nice private story behind that name's choice). It can be found in her etsy shop, here:  

https://www.etsy.com/listing/549340820/pizzo-maria-lazzaroni

... in Italian we have the word "merletto", that is lace, then "pizzo" that is... lace, and also "trina" that is... lace, again! Actually there are differences, but it's a challenge for me, now, telling you why and when using one or the other word... Mainly Italian geographical and historical differences but also subtle meaning's differences. For example, you can often found "pizzo chiacchierino", but never "trina chiacchierino", the etymology for the word trina is the Latin triple and it is often used for the most refined and sheer kind of laces, made with the finest thread.

Ciao,

Ninetta
P.S. good news! I found the two doilies that I had started, they're safe at home, I'll show you in next posts!

a bunch of gifts

It's a long way by train, from where I live to the place the Italian Tatting meeting was held. Time was just what I needed to finally finish this gift for a dear friend:

 The beautiful scene is not completely my own work, I've been helped by Dali L'artista, the same lady that decorates the lovely shuttles that lately are in my pictures.

At the meeting, we also had gifts' exchange, which was not planned and was a nice surprise! Tatters are all very generous people!

Here it is a bunch made with Italian sugared almonds, a gift made by Paola Bevilacqua, she posted other pics in Facebook:

 (Can you spot the little tatted butterfly? 🥰)

Then, Stefania Di Cesare gave me a couple of her handmade paper roses, they are so realistic-looking that I dully kept on touching them to assure myself that it was paper!
She has handmade all bunches of roses gave to the tatting context winners.

All participants were given samples of Edda Guastalla's thread, but I couldn't resist and bought many other spools for little presents for my bobbin lace's friends, and of course also a bunch of self-gifts for filling my own stash:

The first two spools are already on the shuttles, I started a bracelet, anyway what else I could tat? 😂

But I've heard you wondering "Where are the doilies that you'd started before the meeting?" Well, that's my question, too. Did they get lost long the way to Rimini, or on the way back? Are they playing hide and seek here at home? Hmmm...

Ciao,
Ninetta

Postcard from Rimini

Good time flies and the wonderful weekend spent in Viserba near Rimini, for the First Italian Tatting Meeting, flew indeed!

It's a great experience, that enriches the soul! And I'd never seen more than three tatters in a room, before! We were a lot!

I took my tatting there, too. The glass showcase was very big, compared to the size of my tatting! Thanks to Stefania Di Cesare, our sweet host, and her family.

Edda Guastalla was there, too. She took her beautiful tatting and tons of thread, of course I bought it! Every tatter in the world has already tried her threads, her Facebook page is the well known "Fili & Gioielli a chiacchierino".

There are many pictures on Facebook, which actually I'm using for this post, but I took only one or two! I was busy tatting and chatting!

The ladies who came, also took their lace, so we had a lot of wows and compliments to share!

During the meeting, we organized short courses, Edda taught her many ways to tat ice drops, while I offered the opportunity to learn the treble tatting stitch.

That is Edda with three of her students...

And here's me, near two very experienced tatters... I felt shy while teaching to those ladies, who - I know - make amazing things with their hands! All five "students" made it and enjoyed the whole process.
Thanks to everyone, teaching is always a "giving and receiving" experience 💕

We missed Daniela Ambrosini, who was supposed to come, but she didn't.  She sent her parure and Stefania held a raffle to win it.

The next is a beautiful necklace, designed and tatted by Stefania. She also makes amazing roses with paper, I'm blessed that she gave me two of her roses, they look real! There are many pictures in her page "P&D Original Design" in Facebook.

The last, is a beautiful postcard from Rimini, Stefania is the charming lady weaving from the balcony, wearing her own necklace:

I hope that this wonderful experience may be organised again, next year. We all need to know that tatting is appreciated and alive, a lace that, like all others amazing kind of lace, should be far from being called a minor art!

Ciao,
Ninetta