all things pass

Here you will find the continuation of the summary of my summer, what I've been putting off for a month. 
I warn you that this post is a little crowded. But but if I split it into separate posts, I'd probably still postpone them!

********************

Sunday, June 22nd: it was International Lace Day! I participated both with my friends of the association #agofiloefuselli I belong to, and with the tatting group of the #Endrucks1920Project.
In the local association we’re in a period of transition. Unfortunately, the association has not had its own venue for more than a year, and for our weekly meetings we had to move 4 times. For the International Lace Day we organized to work outdoors, in public, so a small part of us could spend a relaxing afternoon, chatting and working, despite the hot weather. We have also prepared a booth, to show our lace, inviting curious passers-by to stop and maybe come and visit us later for the courses. Some of us preferred to stay at home, but they did not fail to give their support and encouragement, as you can see from the pics they sent.

The International Lace Day, which takes place once a year, has a Facebook group in Italian - “INTERNATIONAL LACE DAY ITALIA” - https://www.facebook.com/groups/InternationalLaceDayItalia  -
As for me, I tatted a pattern from the #Endrucks1920Project, which is ever growing! On the occasion of June 22nd, we had a little surprise: the "E42 Roses" by Daniela Galli, which is a rose in two versions! They are nice and quick to tat, but I stopped at the second one. I used my usual thin size 80 thread and my little things went lost under all the other lace in the booth! Lol, I found them at the end of the day! Thank you Daniela! Here is the PDF - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HiDjl4A_CkRcRGqpjhEItWqgEI1bGMhE/view 

Also, a big thank you to Muskaan, who prepared the document and the drawings for the pattern. She tatted a bunch of E42 roses and shared them here - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2025/08/celebration-tatting.html  

********************

On June 28th was Frau Eleonore Endrucks' 140th birth anniversary. I wonder what she would say if she were here today, seeing her tatted designs still alive and inspiring tatters of the third millennium… We are a fantastic Facebook group, nearly 3000 members, with several times the original 44 patterns! We celebrated the anniversary by sharing another banner, tatted by me in February, when I wanted to tat something new for the exhibition we had in March, with the local association. The patterns for the letters had to wait some months to be ready. Then I had the help of my Partner In Crime, Muskaan, who saw a preview of my models and documents, and gifted me her tips for both the design and the presentation. She also suggested changes to the former letter S, and actually the new S gave birth to numbers 6 and 9, and to a lowercase ‘g’. I’m very grateful to my talented friend, she’s always present and positive, and always ready to encourage.
Here is the list of the patterns for the letters in the banner: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_arrhYZfmim2XEoczaLnZtW08ULYUvlW/view 
You can find many patterns for Letters and Numbers in our collection – thanks to the creativity of our talented group. The links to all patterns are listed in the “Lettering & Numerals from Endrucks” directory - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1S4AP67BmSNIRJ2Vo36EHgUQ3yQMkrIjCv43YvYvWWRE/view 

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 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.

********************

In July, I made for myself a recap of the tatting courses at the association #agofiloefuselli. Let’s welcome 4 new tatters in the world! I’m proud of the ladies who came to learn, and certainly I also always learn something back from them, on how to teach and what I can offer. I am lucky to have the opportunity to host in-person lessons, I really like the human relationship, beyond simply teaching a technique. 

But I really like to share online too. This summer I shared a video on Facebook, which I hope will be useful to understand how to insert beads with the AOSJ method. Here is the link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aKqdDaRuX1Go188HR2gC2xU5LHCToOS3/view 
The photo-tutorial has been on my blog for some time, here: https://ninettacaruso.blogspot.com/2021/01/aosj-for-adding-beads-in-split-ring.html 

 

********************

Every now and then I also tat patterns that are not from the Endrucks Project! In July I retat the pattern from the "Summer 2023" event of the Facebook group “Chiacchierino: Filo, Amore e Fantasia” – a pattern that I love, by Daniela Galli - Group link:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/796909010465227  🥰 Grazie Daniela!

********************

During the summer I went to Rome, more often than in the past. I visited Villa Farnese and Galleria Borghese, very rich in art (especially the latter), unmissable places, containers of precious art treasures of the capital.

Detail of a ceiling at Villa Farnese. It looks quite a pattern, isn’t it?

Detail of a room in the Borghese Gallery, a young man on a horse nearly to fall from the ceiling. The composed group has a fascinating story, to learn it read here - https://www.collezionegalleriaborghese.it/en/opere/marcus-curtius-throws-himself-into-the-chasm

On August 6, I visited the temporary exhibition of D&G at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome: it was exciting. I must say that it is not the type of fashion I would wear, but the atmosphere of the exhibition enchanted me! Above all, it is remarkable and absolutely admirable that, over the years, the two creative designers have involved many Italian artisans, enhancing the value of crafts made by hand and bringing niche activities to the world's attention. As a whole, I liked the exhibition tremendously, both for how it was conceived (every room had a theme and it was like an immersive experience), and for the great space and attention given to craftsmanship and to the creation of unique pieces. 

********************

To close the post, I will tell you about the visit to the Lace Museum of Pescocostanzo, on August 12, to reach it we made a car trip of about 3 hours and stayed overnight. I was also lucky enough to meet Paola Bevilacqua because the town is halfway between my city and the city where Paola spent her summer holidays. We worked it out and met!

The Museum has a website: https://museodelmerlettoatombolo.it/ . If you ever can go to Pescocostanzo, I recommend you visit the Museum, it contains real treasures. There are unique laces, once belonging to local families, now admired by visitors from all over the world. The director accompanied us on the visit, with great competence and kindness. He told me that they welcome many foreign tourists interested in seeing how the bobbin lace is worked, and local ladies go specifically to the museum to work in public, one of them is 86 years old. Their bobbin lace has unique style and designs. Unlike today, once it was well known and made in every home, every family used to have a rich trousseau; now  they struggle to pass these old traditions to the new generations. I admire those people who commit themselves to promote the knowledge and heritage of the lace, so the beautiful things don’t pass.

********************

Summer’s time passed. We have a proverb: "good weather and bad weather do not last the same amount of time". Well, I can assure you that this summer has really flown by for me.

Ciao, Ninetta

colour me Endrucks - roundup

I'm so happy to have joined the Project, it's a great way to learn and to improve my tatting, and it’s an incredible source of inspiration. Each participant brings a different perspective and new ideas, and we love this creativity, it’s what makes the project grow. And the bigger the project gets, the more we have to do behind the scenes! Much of this work is done through the partnership with Muskaan, but I’m the lazy girl and she is the real engine of the project! In her blog you always find the latest news! Have you read the last posts about our September 2024 game?
https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2024/09/leafy-game.html
https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2024/09/leafy-birdie.html

Instead in my blog I'm forever running behind. In fact I still have to show you the roundups of many games held in the Facebook group “Endrucks 1920 Project Group” in 2023 and 2024!
In this post you will find the collection of photos published during the game “Colour Me”, held in June 2023.

This colourful game consists in tatting one (or more) edging pattern from a subset of main patterns, using minimum 2 colours. Of course all patterns we chose for this game are from Eleonore Endrucks’ book ‘Die Schiffchen-Spitzen’, 1920, reworked and compiled in the  Endrucks 1920 Project document - https://docs.google.com/document/d/17LEVftXweztBIOWh4sL4BB7bX65ssoOsOn4oXIgCepY/view
In June 2023 we proposed 7 patterns which, in our opinion, resemble trees, but tatters chose freely their favourite colours and then the final look was not always something you can call a tree. Here is the list with links to respective pattern pdf:
PATTERN E3 - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UY6CZQh0cjacyx6joTrGyU6UbA1rfMle/view
PATTERN E6 - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xgjOW8CBDfPEpIKPD9n_naXaf8QbPXef/view  
PATTERN E7 - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UDNg-1W6LJ3pyrn_Umz5f33BF01_92-E/view    (Adaptation by Julie Santos Villegas - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SmqcWxtPAlvveValWZmTlq-tHucSa6wr/view  )         
PATTERN E8 - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cDLzuixuSm3vC9axCCDLit0KKiIfI_aR/view   
PATTERN E10 - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YFBYqbgssthqDKYi8YkTX-fvAPmIYbm-/view
PATTERN E14 - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mWiQTu_9oVPYpX_1MsObBRR7n1MJWr80/view
PATTERN E41 - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zl7ep8dK4-SO_rWlqltcN6Hc2g4L1-80/view

A few tatters chose different patterns, not in the set for the game, but we welcome every participation!

------------------------------------------------

Next are the pics from fellow members of the group, listed alphabetically. 

1. Anna Bonelli, pattern E3 – She used soft light colours and opted to decorate her shirt with this flourishing edging.

2. Brookie Heightsmen, patterns E14 and E41 – She wrote that she didn’t feel in shape to tat, and she found her tatting was not very good. But we are very thankful that she decided to take part anyway, and with 2 models! Her E14 coloured thread reminded Muskaan of Holi, the festival of colours, in India! 

 Also, Brookie in her E41 sampler saw a stained-glass window with flowers. I can see it!

3. Margaret Davies, pattern E8 – She used Lizbeth size 20 thread, medium blue and Christmas green. She was unsure what to do with it, and we can only guess from her comments, perhaps she attached it to a pillowcase.

4. Michelle Forclaz, pattern E8 – She wrote that she had a problem at the end of the trunk. Which problem, I cannot spot it… She’s very creative, during that time she enriched our collection with a cat derived from E6 (July 2023), a fox’s head and a butterfly (July 2023) derived from the E3 - Eye Spy Heart by Muskaan. These are displayed in respective directories.

Note - If you like exploring the vast range of patterns, ideas, models, information related to the Project, we compiled all the important links in one document called EPLinks - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1w1TZBg-HIzseGEUoJ-rko7tNbtSgZY5A18Oy2Y9Hh0Y/view

5. Muskaan, pattern E14 – She devoted all her time in June 2023 to design variations of the patterns E14, ending up with an entire forest! In her blog she shared her work in progress, impressions and symbols, here:  https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2023/06/impressions.html
In the next pic there are her single E14 motifs as trees. She said “Single shuttle and ball (size 40), reposition methods used; different shades and picots for seasonal symbolism; couldn't add beads due to size mismatch.”
(That reminds me an old friend who used to show us wonderful photos, and later we discovered that he usually took 20 and showed us 2! So Muskaan, how many trees you have tatted?)

For the 2023 International Lace Day (25 June) she wound her shuttle again:

On 2nd July she revealed her interpretation of the #colourmeendrucks – “depicting the same tree during the Six Seasons we have in India. The foliage (rings) in each differ in the number and size of picots, each conveying a sense of the season. All tatted in size 40 threads in 12 different shades. “ 

Another month passed, and at the end of August 2023 she shared with us her pattern pdf link for the E14 trees for The Six Seasons of India – you can find details and pdf link in her blog here:  https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2023/08/make-forest.html 

6. Nancy Moore, pattern E43  – She called it “snakes in the garden, because of the two-colour split rings down the centre where the shuttles are reversed before each new ring.” Tatted in size 80. She wrote: “I made the same mistake in each half which gave the motif a very artistic/organic feel. I like the crooked blooms!” I think she created something very original!
And also, Muskaan commented that it can easily be tweaked into a butterfly, too. That’s a very nice idea, I love butterflies!

7. Ninetta Caruso, pattern E6 – I think it was the first time I tatted that pattern, and I found it very enjoyable. The thread is Lizbeth size 80, the multicoloured thread colour 154, and the green (I cannot remember the colour number).

8. Paola Bevilacqua, patterns E2+(E28 Heart) – She combined together patterns E2 and E28 Heart (by Muskaan) for a new edging. The beautiful hat, embellished with the edging tatted with two shades of bronze metallic thread, looks even more beautiful when worn by a budding fashion model, Paola's sweet granddaughter!

9. Pina Pinto, pattern E8 – Really clever use of beads to give the effect of real fruits hanging on the tree! 

10. Sally Biggers, pattern E29 – Her bookmark was tatted with Lizbeth size 20, colour 130 (Island Breeze). She wrote: “So enjoyed this month's challenge.  Am envious of those who were able to post multiple patterns, but also thankful that they were able to carry this out!”. She created at least 3 derivative patterns for our collection, one of them is the “January Snowflake” from the E43, that I tatted in April with flowery colours.

11. Silvana Buonvino, patterns E3, E6, E8, E10, E14 – She never fails to fulfil our wishes and is one of the most active tatters in the group! For the E3, she posted a nice edging with contrasting colours, they look like moving dancers holding hands! 

For the E6 she used the colour combo yellow and pink, resulting in a nice set, and now I’m very curious to know where she used them! 

With her E8, she managed to perfectly convey the idea of a row of trees. 

Looking with more attention to her E10, I think it is her coloured version of the “Victorian Love” bracelet by Wally Sosa (shown in the main pattern pdf). 

For the E14, she used bright metallic thread, multicolour range 30 (Guastalla) and light blue Sanbest, probably ready for jewellery or an application for a fashion top.

12. Teresa Grzeskowiak, pattern E8 – It was her first try at block tatting and her first submission in our group! We are very happy and energised every time a new tatter joins the Project!

13. Vani Kattoju, pattern E8 - Have you noticed the little birds on the tree? Or are they flowers? Vani jokes and encourage us to be imaginative.

------------------------------------------------

Now that the game is over, I’d like to repeat here part of our invitation to the game with the questions about design and colours, to see if any comment/answer will arrive to satisfy our curiosity…

We all love colours, don’t we! But everyone “sees” them in different ways, depending on personal experience, cultural heritage, or just their own preference. How do you combine colours in your tatting? Do you rationally apply the colour theory? Do you consult sites specialised in teaching how to mix colours? Do you ask friends/mum/sister/hubby to throw the dice? Do you just try to use up your stash, depending on your mood and without a clear idea in mind? Are you going to tell us your method?

Many thanks to all our participants and thanks to all members for colouring our group every day and not only in June 2023!

Ciao, Ninetta.

P.S. If you like taking inspiration from current or past games, these are collected in a separate document, just choose one and start and send us the pic of your model! - EP Events: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZiNdE53cvqj2cLlxVP-wlga8aocPtzs5/view

roundup 2 - stars and snowflakes for tatme dec2022

In December 2022 we had our first “Tat Me” game in the Fb Endrucks group. It consisted of tatting from a given set of patterns, snowflakes and stars derived from Endrucks patterns E3 and E12. Whosoever tatted the most number of models won the right to have them shown in the cover-pic of our group, from 24th to 31st December.

We received over 100 models!! That's awesome!!

Many thanks to Krystyna Mura who shared her 3 pdfs for stars and snowflakes derived from pattern E12, and to Muskaan, who designed the heart pattern derived from E3, which I incorporated to obtain a  snowflake.

Many many thanks to Paola Emilia Rotuletti who won the competition, tatting 28 models! Actually she told us that she tatted more than these, but we didn’t need more proof as she won by a wide margin!
Just one week after we started the game, Paola had already tatted 12 models! If you can make it out in the next pic, the dark green version of the Filigree star has pointed onion rings, that’s just a simple example of how our collection of different models can grow! She used these stars and snowflakes to dress up her Christmas 2022 Tree, and also as gift tags.

This is the list of the top five members, who tatted the most number of models:

• Paola Emilia Rotuletti - 28 (and we don’t know how many more!)
• Paola Bevilacqua - 21 (just because she was on something else for Christmas!)
• Anna Tedesco - 15 (well, that is the official count!)
• Lou Bunker - 12 (I think she’s trustworthy)
• Ruth Palsson - 9 (all given away, so maybe she needed more?)

I invite you to read the previous post ( https://ninettacaruso.blogspot.com/2024/08/roundup-1-stars-and-snowflakes-for.html )
and to visit the Facebook album where all models are compiled (there are more than 100 pictures) - https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.850439426182885&type=3    

In a successive third post I’ll show you my tatting and some stepwise pics I took for the game.

-------------------------------------------------

 Continuing from previous post.

16. Krystyna Mura - She said: “It was a great pleasure to share the patterns with the group 💗💝💗 I'm overjoyed to see so many beautiful stars and snowflakes tatted during this game!” - Many thanks! During December 2022 she added three models to her collection!

17. Laura Grisogani - She shared with us only her first attempt, where she admits to have made many errors, well hidden, imho... She told us that she has little time to devote to tatting, but if she could, she would always participate!

18. Lou Bunker - She tatted 12 snowflakes, with beads and using also metallic thread, a very nice and varied set, and a good count to enter in the top-five for the game!

19. Margaret Davies - She is the tatter who shared her Endrucks’ Angel (and Bell) pattern for our #tagmeEndrucks game held in November 2022 (the pattern is listed in the Angels & Tree Ornaments directory - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MVEEhKE79euDmOY65Es95rYihb5P9UcqmAJWG5qw4Ws/view ) - She often posts in our group! She said it was snowing outside and was bitterly cold for several days there where she lives. Great time to stay at home and tat! About her snowflakes, she ironically said: “all my points have a mind of their own,  no matter what I do they love to point in any direction but straight. Perhaps it’s my silly arthritis hand.” Let it snow, Margaret, in any direction!

20. Mela Cabo - She used metallic thread for tatting her snowflake and wished Merry Christmas to the group with a sweet picture.

21. Muskaan - Actually Muskaan and I started tatting stars and snowflakes in November, hence our participation to the competition would have not been fair… Anyway, the both of us together couldn’t reach the half of the number of models reached by the winner, LOL! Muskaan showed us her before and after pics, challenging herself with bead placement, in three posts in her blog:
https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2022/12/before-and-after-1.html
https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2022/12/before-and-after-2.html
https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2022/12/before-and-after-3.html

22. Paola Bevilacqua - Midway through the month, she shared a short video with her sparkling twinkles, tatted with metallic thread. “Only” a second place for her, with 21 models! But her shuttles never rest, she tatted all the time till Christmas for more gifts and decorations!

23. Paola Emilia Rotuletti - She won the competition with 28 models! Her collection picture is at the start of this post.

24. Reiko Akamatsu - In her Filigree Star she didn’t tat the little rings in the tips. She posted her pic writing: “May peace come”. Unfortunately we still need this wish.

25. Roberta Porati - She added sparkle (to the already sparkling Sanbest metallic thread) using a lot of beads. Also, she added her own touch in one of them, adding an inner round to the Celtic pattern. She tried her hand at split chain for the first time in her tatting life! Well done!

26. Ruth Palsson - She tatted 9 snowflakes, using Lizbeth 20 (cotton and metallic) and DMC Diamant, and gave them away as Christmas gifts. She is in the top-five too! She wrote that tatting the Filigree was a learning process: she had never done split chains. She said: “Googled it and decided it was too difficult with the time I had available before I left the country to travel for X’mas! Had a good look at the pattern and realized it needed SCMR to do those thrown rings. Googled that too.” Thanks to a tutorial found online by Frivole, she could make it! Wonderful!

She also had a great help from Muskaan on how to avoid gapsosis in thrown rings. Muskaan’s blog is an amazing resource, and here is the link we are talking of:
- https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2017/05/squirreling-away-gapsosis.html
And also Muskaan left in the comment more tips:

“With time I no longer need to fold the thrown ring(s). Simply position the TR flat, leave the tiniest bit of bare thread (enough to cover the height of the ds, and make the 1st half-stitch as close and 'under' the TR. You might need to wriggle the thread/stitch into position. Then hold it in your pinch and Then tat the next half-stitch. Remove from pinch only after 1 complete ds is made.
Several ways to make TRs (the pdf has detailed steps) - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2021/08/thrown-floating-and-8-rings.html
Some tatters make an unflipped half-stitch at the base of TR before continuing with the chain. I don't like it, nor need it. But whatever works for you is fine.
Hope these tips help?”

Absolutely she helps!

27. Sharada Rajan - She posted only 5 stars and snowflakes, but she said there were a few more. I'm delighted to know that our game “produced” more stars and snowflakes than we can see, LOL!

28. Silvana Buonvino - She enjoyed tatting all her stars and snowflakes. For the Filigree star, she tatted the inner motif first, in pink and light blue (typically colours for newborns), and she thinks that having a four-leaf clover inside, makes for an auspicious gift for a newborn baby.

29. Stella Marina - She posted her first Filigree star very fast, just two days after we started the game. But then pre-Christmas chores have taken over, and she couldn't add more stars to her collection.

30. Vani Kattoju - She’s a creative tatter and at the time of the game she had just joined the group. She used cone thread and Lizbeth metallic gold. She is one of the two ladies who tatted all the letters for a new “Endrucks” banner, during the recent game “Name Me” in June 2024.

31. Winnie Ho - she is a very good tatter, and she’s the same lady who came out with the idea of the carrot and snap pea earrings (listed in the Jewellery directory - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ns-C3xQq4CA1tjZwGxFIyKWelLJbqwXJ/view ) - She posted only one snowflake on 22nd Dec, just in time for the game, and shared with us a very funny anecdote, she told us that she accidentally dropped the snowflake in her bowl of cereals when it was almost finished! So she had to wash and dry it before she could continue!

**********************

And ... if you’re still there, I tatted some snowflakes and stars too, before and during the game, that perhaps you want to look at… So, here is me in the last position, not for the competition but for the fun:
32. Ninetta Caruso - next post!

Ciao, Ninetta

Part 1 - https://ninettacaruso.blogspot.com/2024/08/roundup-1-stars-and-snowflakes-for.html 

Part 2 - https://ninettacaruso.blogspot.com/2024/08/stars-and-snowflakes-for-tatme-dec2022.html 

Part 3 - https://ninettacaruso.blogspot.com/2024/08/it-was-my-turn-stars-and-snowflakes-for.html