{"id":63,"date":"2007-02-05T00:06:42","date_gmt":"2007-02-05T08:06:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cheldodge.net\/blog\/?p=53"},"modified":"2007-02-05T00:06:42","modified_gmt":"2007-02-05T08:06:42","slug":"featured-etsy-shop-totusmel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/lavajewelry\/2007\/02\/05\/featured-etsy-shop-totusmel\/","title":{"rendered":"Featured Etsy Shop: TotusMel"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today’s featured Etsy shop is TotusMel<\/b>, a shop featuring needle-tatted goods, primarily jewelry. TotusMel also offers some adorable knitted bears.<\/p>\n

I asked the owner of TotusMel a few questions about her work…<\/i><\/p>\n

How did you get started tatting?<\/b>
\nI was looking for a diversion from my usual crafts, mostly knitting & crochet when I discovered tatting. I had very limited success teaching myself shuttle tatting and took to the web to find online tutorials. That’s when I stumbled upon needle tatting. It produced the same results as the shuttle, but I found the method much easier to teach myself. It was about a year later that I started to create bracelets out of boredom with the doilies & bookmarks.<\/p>\n

What inspires you in your work?<\/b>
\nMost of my jewelry designs started life as vintage edging patterns, but I’m constantly changing them to make better chokers & bracelets. I want to make jewelry that has an intricate & fancy look, but is simple enough to wear any day.<\/p>\n

What are your favorite materials to use?<\/b>
\nI love the fact that tatting can be as simple as a ball of cotton thread & a needle. It’s so much more accessible and portable than many people realize. you don’t need beads or findings or expensive tools & threads to make beautiful intricate jewelry.<\/p>\n

TotusMel’s work is available exclusively at TotusMel.etsy.com<\/a>. I love the goth\/Victorian look of TotusMel’s pieces. Come check out her shop; there aren’t too many people around who do tatting, and it’s wonderful to see it used to make something other than doilies and lace collars.<\/b><\/p>\n

<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n

TotusMel images used with permission.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"