Summer Vacation Part 1

The majority of the thread exchange tatting I did this summer was during a train trip I took with my husband, John, from Fullerton, California to Naperville, Illinois. The trip itself was about forty hours (two nights) each way aboard Amtrak's Southwest Chief. Of course I didn't tat the entire forty hours. I took time out to eat, sleep, nap, read, and a few other things. For the fun of it, I did make note of where along the route I started and ended each motif, or at least my nearest guess.

The actual purpose for the trip was to attend a Windjammer's Unlimited Convention. The Windjammers are a group of people dedicated to the playing and preservation of traditional Circus Music (www.circusmusic.org, in case you're curious).

We could have flown in except that John won’t trust his trombone to airline baggage handlers. My French horn will fit in an overhead compartment, but his trombone would have to be checked. Taking the train ensured that the only person who would lay a hand on his trombone was him.

John and I boarded the train Saturday evening in Fullerton, California. I didn't get any tatting done that evening, though. After settling into our sleeper, we went to dinner, then unwound from the hectic days leading up to our trip by just watching the desert landscape go by in the twilight.


I started this piece sometime before I started on my vacation. I didn't finish it 'til somewhere around the Arizona/New Mexico state line. Valery Stewart from Scott City, Kansas gave it to me. It is YLI Silk Floss. I used 3 strands of the floss. The pattern is from the January, 1992 Workbasket.

Margaret Boos from London, Ontario, Canada gave me this thread. I worked on it from Gallup, New Mexico to Las Vegas, New Mexico. The thread is Altin Baesk, size 50. The color is number 365. This pattern is also from the January, 1992 Workbasket.

As a side note, the train arrived in Albuquerque, New Mexico early. Albuquerque is the longest stop on the route, but rather than the usual half hour or so, we had an hour and a half. That gave us an opportunity to walk into the old part of Albuquerque and look around a bit. The local historical society has done a wonderful job of putting pictorial plaques on the buildings that either described what the existing building started as or, if the original building had been replaced, what it was and what it looked like.

Margaret also gave me this thread. It is Valdani Size 12, color number 0541. The pattern is from the July 1978 Workbasket. It was tatted between Las Vegas, New Mexico and La Plata, Missouri.

Between La Plata, Missouri and Fort Mason, Iowa, I worked on this thread from Bonnie Peters of Casadagy New York. It is Omega Size 30 and the pattern is from the July 1982 Workbasket.

The last thread I worked on for the trip east was this Flora in size 10, also from Bonnie Peters. I started it in Fort Mason, Iowa and finished it at Mendota, Illinois. The pattern is from the March 1961 Workbasket.

Stay tuned for part 2.