Note cards

[lalou]

Does anyone keep track of techniques they learn?

I mean writing them down with explanation of what they are and how to make them?

or is it just me and my forgetful mind?

I have note cards in alphabetical order, explanations, directions, pictures etc........ so when i' m working on a pattern that has a knot in it i don't
remember i just pull my cards out:blush:

i know they must have a book out there with all this information in it.

[Tammy]

WOW!!! What a great idea. :flowers: I think I should start something like this. It would work for other fiber arts too.

You say 'cards', do you mean like 3x5 recipe type of cards?

I think as I'm teaching a few people to tat in our Crafters' Circle I will strongly suggest this idea to them.

[carolivy]

Sounds like an interesting idea! Great start to a book, maybe? :wink:

[Nancy in Dallas]

Wonderful idea! I use a note book binder and each pattern I make I have all my notes, and even a sample to refer back to.

[tattrldy]

Wow! You guys are so organized! I've meant to do the note thing - even started once or twice - then I get busy and don't finish. I'm very impressed lalou and Nancy!

[ldr103]

I've thought about it, but I'm a fly-by the-seat-of-my-pants tatter and I just make it up as I go along. However, I do keep pretty close track of my experiments in dyeing--I keep a recipe book and stick samples in it so I can reproduce colors.

[PattyD]

Your idea is so simple, straight forward and absolutely brilliant! I will begin making my cards today!

[Lynn]

Cards would get misplaced too easily in my house. I try to keep track of all my interests online through bookmarks. I made a Google document in which I enter URLs along with a description of the technique. This list if bookmarks was once just the normal bookmark list for Firefox, but after losing all of them, I decided to back them up on Google. Now, remembering to transfer new bookmarks is a different story. :whistling:

[carolivy]

Cards would get misplaced too easily in my house. I try to keep track of all my interests online through bookmarks. I made a Google document in which I enter URLs along with a description of the technique. This list if bookmarks was once just the normal bookmark list for Firefox, but after losing all of them, I decided to back them up on Google. Now, remembering to transfer new bookmarks is a different story. :whistling:

I Export all of my Bookmarks about once a month (sometimes more than that if I have Bookmarked lots of stuff or deleted a lot of old links that no longer work). Then when I back up my computer to my external hard-drive, I have all my Internet Bookmarks saved as well. Came in REAL handy a couple weeks ago when my computer crashed! After I got back up and running, all I had to do was Import those Bookmarks and I was back in business. :cool:

[Tammy]

Right now I can't remember how I did it but years ago I saved all my bookmarks/favorites to a htm or html file then opened it in word and saved it as a doc. I printed out a copy too so that if I had a major system failure I could get to them. This was back before SD cards, thumb/flash/jump drives I think I had saved it to a 3.5 too. :ohmy: Gene just bought us a TB external hard drive so everything will be going on that. :D

I bet we could come up with a data base for doing our note cards on the computer. Can't wait to get my hands on future DIL's Access college books. :w00t:

[carolivy]

Actually, when I go grocery shopping this next weekend, I'm going to buy a set of Spiral Bound Index Cards to do this on. I really like the idea of having tips and tries of new techniques someplace handy I can see. I do it for my Tea Bag Folding (have 3 HUGE 3" 3-ring binders full!) so why don't I for this? hmmmm.....

[delseylynne]

You kids are so organized - but it sounds like a terrific idea - since I don't even keep track of the patters I alter/modify. This is especially sad - since I give so much of it away - I don't remember what patterns I used or what I did to them. I better get up to speed on this.

[tattabugg]

What a great idea! I was going to start a journal type of thing but this might be better!

[Ridgewoman]

With this sort of thing, you can punch a hole in the corner of a card (I had a LARGE ring that fit over my wrist ~ for a diff. purpose, in college) and put it on a ring; easy to flip through.
Be sure to begin to do this from the first. It's difficult going back even a couple of years and trying to catch up on such a project. I usually keep a couple of reference books at my side or a binder with print outs of techniques I use most often; but, might forget. B

[katie]

Knitter's Companion is just like what you describe. It's about 3x5 size with spiral binding at the top, so you flip each page over the top. Each page has instructions for some knitting technic on each side of it. It has charts & thread size info, & just everything you need to know related to knitting. It's small & tucks into a project bag or your purse.

There is one for crochet & a few other crafts. One for tatting would be perfect!! It could include things like thread to bead size, how a ring looks in different sizes of threads, all the different technics we use. Wowza!

[Sulu]

I've organized my tips / explanations etc. on my computer. I got an overall tatting file, and in that I have one labelled Techniques and in that I have files labelled Picots, Joinings, cluny, beads etc. Then I have a file called Patterns and in that I have 'Celtic', 'Christmas', etc. In all the files I have explanations, pictures, drawings and patterns relevant for that file.

I use bookmarks as well, but I don't want to rely on them solely, since again and again I've experience that one link has been relocated or the file just taken completely down. This way I have it all when I need it, and can easily print the relevant pages out or just browse through if I need it.

Nb. If I download a pattern or a picture made by someone else, I make sure always to write the name of the person who made it in the name of the file. I found out that if I just save it under 'snowflake10' and want to make it 1 year later, I can no longer remember who actually made it, unless it's written down.

[carolivy]

I bought my spiral bound index cards tonight when we went grocery shopping and I'm going to start putting in new techniques and how to do them. Not going to worry about the stuff I use all the time, but it will be nice to have something to refer back to for the stuff I don't use very often.

[Shirl]

wow this is a fantastic idea...I am going to use this for my knitting

[ninibestiole]

l've two notepad one to write down ideas of pattern and one to draw the pattern

[Karen Bickerton]

I started by using the little cards and putting them plus my working sample in a snack size ziplock bag with a hole punched through it and a large ring put throught them. They are not alphabetised, but I know not only every new technique I've learned, but also samples of patterns I've tried to design as well. I take these to tatting meetings or demonstrations for people to flip through.
I've recently started doing this on my computer as well, having a scan of the project and my notes with it together in one place. It makes it much easier when I go to write a pattern, as I can find it all together, and I can keep all my adjustments up to date. If I'll be tatting on the road, I do a quick print out of the current state of the project, make notes on it while I'm out, type the notes in when I get back and begin again!

[PattyD]

I think my biggest problem with cards is the naming thing. What to call things. There are 4 or 5 names for multiple thread approaches that only differ by whether they are on a a chain, a ring or a picot (pearl tatting -chain, maltese tatting -ring, daisy picots - picots on a ring (why not picots anywhere?)). I still haven't heard a really good name for unflipped tatting as in split rings or over multiple core threads. I am the kind of person who likes to hang details on a relevant structure to reduce the number of actually different formations while including their variations AND having useful, descriptive names. And I shudder to call things "normal", when what the usual practice is today could change quickly into a rarely used method.

Shuttle tatting is identified with flipped tatting, even though it is entirely possibly to never flip a shuttle tatted stitch (unusual, but possible). And then there is the whole international issue about what happens to names when they get translated. I am seriously working on a book, but it will be from my somewhat different point of view. So my card file grows and grows and sometimes reviewing them feels more like Solitaire than research.

[Nimm]

I have a ring binder which is made for 5x7 note cards. That way I can rearrange them when I need to, or think I need to.

[louine]

I keep internet files and back them up but I also keep a notebook for most crafts---- but have had to purchase a large file box for my knitting patterns and paper back books.....I have a closet that has shelves in it to keep all of my patterns and supplies. Right now I have two tatting notebooks---one sectioned for seasonal tatting and one for Doilies and other motifs....I am soon going to need a file box for my tatting.

I was a school teacher and I used to do the same thing with Lesson Plans and topics. As to the computer, I taught on-line for the Virtual High school for about 5 years and we had to upload lesson and download student work so I got in the habit of ending every computer session with a back-up.

I really like the idea of keeping a sample or picture of items tatted.....I am doing to try that as well.

[susiearnholt]

I use small binders with mini-sheet protectors so I can fold 8 1/2 X 11 paper in half and insert and remove it as needed. I also bought a pad of grid paper that size so I can draw and write my patterns more easily. After this summer, I had to get ANOTHER binder!

[tatting margaret]

Its a brilliant idea, I have a note pad with some patterns i have been working on and was thinking of getting a book like an address book with abc down the side and blank pages so I could write the patterns in and then I could find them easier than a scappy worn out note pad.
Margaret

[box_of_fluffies]

I love this idea too! I am new to tatting and have taken photos of the things I have tatted so far, I have made notes on what thread I used and which book the pattern was from, and I haven't yet decided whether to put them all in a big A3 diary that I have from last year and glue the photos in, or into a spiral bound folder. I haven't been able to work out how to do my own album or blog online, and I'm not particularly computer literate, but I will have to work on it!! I need more time!!!!

[jamlover]

Mine is a large eight an a half by eleven loose leaf binder divided into techniques, hearts, crosses, flowers/foliage, all other motifs, doilies, edgings, bookmarks, seasonal etc. Think that about covers my categories. Categories depends on what you are interested in doing. Photos by most patterns.

When I found intatters a year ago my supply of patterns increased so much it was necessary to organize a little.

[Judy]

... I haven't yet decided whether to put them all in a big A3 diary that I have from last year and glue the photos in, or into a spiral bound folder. I haven't been able to work out how to do my own album or blog online.... I have a large fat binder for each YEAR.. Well, I had to abandon that. Not able to find things. Now I sort by topic. Jewelry in one, Christmas in another, Doilies in a third, etc. Also, I've stopped printing off patterns until i want to use them. Those categories go with the computer files I've captured with free patterns. Fluffies, In Tatters has a pretty easy album to use. We'd love to see the photos. Try it, and if you get stuck, let us know.

[Piney Woods Tatter]

Note cards are okay and I do use them, but I keep large notebooks and art journals of my designs and I also "scrapbook" many of my prototypes. I also have what I call my treasure box. It is simply a fancy decorative box I found at Michael's that I toss little bits of tatted boo-boos and oopsies into along with miscellaneous beads, buttons & the like. I will sometimes drop a small note on a design idea in as well. Then, when the mood strikes, I dig in the treasure box. You never know when inspiration will sparkle & "poof" into something spectacular!!!

[Holly Ann]

I print out a lot of info and put it in a binder.