Tuesday, 2 October 2012

Beanile Tatting Anyone?

I don't know how I ended up on that page... not an unusual occurrence when surfing the web but I found Nina Libin's website.  I had heard her name before, probably in connection with Tat Days but had never really seen her work.  I would say it's more beading than tatting, in the sense that you see mostly the beads rather than the tatting, but it's very interesting.  And of course, I had to give it a try!

This is one of her free patterns which sadly doesn't have a name... just a number.  You can find it on her website.


I don't have that many seed beads (size 11) so I worked with what I have and this is the result.  I think the shape is lovely and I will be tatting it again.  The first one (the blue) went a bit wrong and the outside chains were a bit too tight.  I added a couple of stitches when I made the green.  I'm not sure what is the size of the thread she recommends (metallic embroidery thread).  The blue is tatted with DMC cotton perle 12 and the green is tatted with Lizbeth 40.  I think the Lizbeth works out better.

Surprisingly, there are about 150 beads in only the one earring.  I'm not a huge fan of working with beads (mostly because I find it slow-going, from having to string the beads to having to stop when you tat to wind and unwind the shuttles to slide the beads) but I find Nina's designs very ingenious.  I need to get more seed beads!

And then I tatted the little necklace of the previous post for myself and I'm wearing it today.  I used Lizbeth Wedgwood Dark with some black pearls and I like how it turned out.


Best wishes,

Posted by Frivole at 16:33
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13 comments:

  1. Crazy Mom!2 October 2012 at 17:33

    Nina's work is FABULOUS. And she's really fun in person - charming and a delightful teacher.

    To really get into her work, you need to do some designs which use size 15 (and smaller!) beads.

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  2. Michelle2 October 2012 at 17:40

    Lovely necklace!

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  3. Margarets designer cards2 October 2012 at 18:28

    Lovely earrings like you I don't know if I want to play with so many beads,
    Lovely necklace looks lovely on you.
    Margaret

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  4. Ladytats2 October 2012 at 18:59

    now that is a pretty necklace in that color. and the earrings are nice. Will you make the match to the pairs? I like the green one. I have looked at several of Nina's patterns over the years, but have not yet tatted any.

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  5. Sharon2 October 2012 at 21:04

    Nina's bead patterns are wonderful. She's an excellent teacher too. Once the beads are on the thread, the tatting (and counting -- lots of counting!) goes quickly.

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  6. God's Kid2 October 2012 at 21:17

    Neat earrings! :)
    Sweet necklace!! :)

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  7. Lace-lovin' Librarian ~ Diane2 October 2012 at 22:23

    I have all except the last one of Nina's books, and her work is awesome! However, I've never actually tatted one of her patterns... intimidation, maybe? You've done a great job interpreting her designs!

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  8. Fox2 October 2012 at 22:37

    Beautiful necklace. It looks terrific.
    Fox : )

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  9. victats@gmail.com3 October 2012 at 01:05

    I love her designs and they're so fun to tat. I just won her main book on the weekend. I couldn't believe more people didn't bid on it. Crazy mom is right about using the size 15 beads and metallic thread.

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  10. H J Hess3 October 2012 at 03:21

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  11. H J Hess3 October 2012 at 03:22

    Nina Libin is AWESOME!!!
    I absolutely love Nina and her Beanile tatting.
    A warning . . . once you start tatting Nina's designs, you're well and truly hooked.

    ReplyDelete
  12. H J Hess3 October 2012 at 03:23

    Nina Libin is AWESOME!!!
    I absolutely love Nina and her Beanile tatting.
    A warning . . . once you start tatting Nina's designs, you're well and truly hooked.

    ReplyDelete
  13. louine3 October 2012 at 04:05

    You did a fantastic job.....I love Nina's work....but like you I think of it as more beading than tatting....at this point in my tatting (only about 20 months) I am still more about the tatting than the beads.....right now I only but on beads as an accent but I hope to get to the point that I can attempt some of Nina's patterns. If I keep going to Palmetto, I hope to be in one of her classes at some point in time....but I feel that I need to become a better tatter first.

    ReplyDelete

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