Jane Eborall Tatter Extraordinaire

Jane Eborall is one of the tatting world’s favorite designers and all round delightful luminaries.  I first learned of her work when I joined a delightful tatting group on Yahoo.

Jane is a very funny and charming woman who just knocks me out with her delicious and wry comments.

I am dazzled by her ability to ‘draw’ with tatting. Just look at this incredible Kangaroo:

photo courtesy of Jane Eborall copyright. Used with permission.

I asked Jane some questions about her work, beginning with where she lives:

I live in a famous town in the centre of England.  To give you a clue – the most famous writer in history was born here!

photo courtesy of Jane Eborall copyright. Used with permission.

1.  Do you have a favorite kind of project to design?

I think my favourite design project is always going to be something that nobody has thought of doing before!!  I like designing small projects but ones that can be expanded too.

Not really.  I love using beads, though.

Getting started!  Oh, and designing a pattern with the fewest ’starts and finishes’.  I don’t like having to hide ends so wherever possible I avoid those situations.

I love to see my designs being made by other people and seeing how they can vary.

I’m not sure I’d be classed as a professional as I don’t ask for payment for patterns.  But I have been designing for probably thirty years. I started by accident in order to amuse a class of four/five year olds.  I made earrings!

Now this is difficult to answer.  Almost impossible.  It can be anything.  Something I see while out walking, something I see in a shop.  It can be something somebody suggests or just an idea that pops into my mind.

I dabble in sewing and have done a little work with crochet, netting and combining netting and tatting.

Hmmm, once a design is finished it’s of no further interest to me, I’m afraid!  I tend to put most of them onto my web site.  I do give to other sites and magazines too.  I’ve never quite ‘got round’ to doing a book as the next idea is usually ready to be started!

No, see above!  Too busy on the next idea!!

Nowhere!  They can get them for free from my pattern pages.

Yes, I do have a blog.  It’s the one place I can be really myself and talk tatting and make fun of myself!  JANE’S BLOG

photo courtesy of Jane Eborall copyright. Used with permission.

12. Do you have a tatting community that influences you and is important to you?   Is it important to you to be in touch with your peers?

I belong to lots of online tatting lists and am an avid watcher of blogs.  It’s very important to me to be in touch with other addicts and to talk to them regularly.

The next one but that’ll only be my favourite until the one after!  I think I have a certain special feeling for one or two.  The Tattysaurus because he was one of the first patterns I put up on the internet and the flower fairies too – they took roughly three years of ‘return visits’ to get sorted.

Oh yes, loads!!!  There’s currently an ostrich that’s lurking in the corner waiting to be taken out yet again!!

You could link to my WEBSITE- and just keep asking questions!!!  I’m really only small fry in tat land, though!

Bah, humbug, say I- Jane is one of the jewels in the crown of the tatting world, she’s just a very humble one.

Bless her funny and generous heart and hands! Yay, Jane!