Introducing Tats n' Knits

Have you ever been simply amazed by the work produced by extremely talented individuals? So amazed that you could not be satisfied until you had a better understanding of their work?

I experienced this recently when I saw the beautiful tatted pieces created by Pamela Quevedo. For at least 30 minutes, or so it seemed, I clicked on page after page, picture after picture, of the tatted pieces for sale in Pamela's Etsy shop - Tats n' Knits. Until that moment I had never been exposed to the art of tatting that dates back to the 19th century. After a quick Google search, I learned that tatting is a technique for handcrafting a particularly durable lace constructed by a series of knots and loops (Wikipedia). Quite interestingly, tatting can be used to make lace edging as well as doilies, collars, and other decorative pieces. The lace is formed by a pattern of rings and chains formed from a series of lark's head (or half-hitch) knots, called double stitches (ds), over a core thread (Wikipedia).

Thankfully tatting was not a mystery to Pamela whose designs, elegantly showcased in Tats n' Knits, are often inspired by other artist's metal worked jewelry. "...mostly my designs come from vintage patterns reworked in 'my' style." A stay-at-home mom to two little girls, Pamela has a passion for edgy, modern, Gothic and vintage all rolled into one. "I've been crafting since early childhood, knitting, crochet, sewing and drawing. Tatting is simply the most recent craft I've taken up."

Looking at Pamela's designs, I was surprised by the fact that she has only been tatting for a few years. Tats n' Knits is bursting with necklaces, bracelets, earrings and other intricate pieces. "My children are my full time job, luckily they allow me time to tat every day." Honestly, I don't know how she does it all!

Whenever I feature amazing artists, I always ask, "What advice would you give to fellow crafters and Etsyians?" To this Pamela responded, "I don't know if I'm the best person to give advice, but the one thing I know is, if you make what you love making, then it doesn't matter how much or little you sell. I enjoy what I do and I've been lucky enough to find customers all over the world who do too!