A lady at work
makes these wonderful and intricate ornament (as well as doilies and
other things) by hand. It's called "tatting". I had never heard of
tatting before, and in fact, I am not even sure how to use the word...
Is it the method? The result? The process? What do you call the person
who makes it?
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| Looks great in my tree |
Anyway, she had her work station area decorated with those and when I
commented on how nice they looked, she told me she was selling them. My jaw dropped when she told me the price...
No, they were not too expensive. Quite the opposite. She sells them for next to nothing! It barely covers the cost of her supplies and, as a fellow crafter, I can appreciate how much work goes into them so I just could not in all good conscience just give her the price she was asking, so instead, I offered to make something for her as a trade.
She
took me up on my offer but did not ask for anything specific. "Just
make what you want", she said. So I made her an infinity scarf in Fall colours - her favourite:
I did make a third thing for her, which I will give her as soon as I find it. It mysteriously disappeared somewhere in my sewing room as soon as it was done. Time to do a major clean up in there!
I really enjoy sewing little things to give as gifts (or in this case, as an exchange), especially if the recipient is a crafter who values hand work. I have a few more to make for Christmas. What about you? Are you busy making little things this holiday season?
Beautiful ornaments! That's a great scarf.
ReplyDeleteI learned to tat from my husband's grandmother. It is a very time consuming craft, but the results are lovely. The last tatted lace I made for a stocking edge measured 3/4inch high and 9 inches long-and took 5 hours to complete 8)
ReplyDeleteYes, the material cost for an ornament is in the neighborhood of $0.20, but the time and skill are valuable commodities as well!!
I'm so glad that you are making a fair trade of great gifts you both will love:)
I once bought earings made of tatting ("frivolité" in French) at a craft fair. They were made from metallic wired used for jewelry. Quite impressive.
ReplyDeleteLove the colors of the scarf! And I feel like it is always hard to put a price on something homemade like that. At least for myself, I always worry about where I fall on the spectrum of undercharging and cheating myself or overcharging and possibly scaring the customer/client/friend/etc. away. Such a slippery slope that is often debated!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous ornament - so happy she agreed to the trade! And I love what you made for her. I'm busy sewing up gifts too and starting to worry about running out of time to be honest. Hope I can finish everything by Christmas!
ReplyDelete