About Us
The Tatting Connection was established in Tempe, Arizona in 1994.
I Peter 4:10 Joshua 22:5 I Thes. 4:11-12 Psalm 15
Hi! I’m Heather. Thanks for visiting my site. I hope you find a lot of useful information here. If you have suggestions, comments, questions or just want to talk about tatting or something else you found on this site, please e-mail me at tattingconnection@gmail.com.
I’m proud to be an Arizona native as you can see by the Arizona flag I designed and tatted. I’m always working on new southwestern designs in tatting also, like the chili pepper and saguaro cactus ornaments.
I’ve been tatting since 1986. People always ask me if a family member taught me to tat, but my grandmother and I actually learned how to tat at the same time. She called me up one day and asked if I wanted to take a tatting class with her, and I said “what’s tatting?” 🙂 She had always wanted to learn but didn’t want to take the class alone so we learned together, me at 16 years old and she at 72!
I’ve entered many tatted items in the Arizona State Fair over the years, winning over 50 ribbons. You’ll see some of these items on the Gallery page.
In 1999 I started making jewelry. I love working with wire and Swarovski crystal. My studio set up is nearly finished and I’m anxious to get back to the metalwork I enjoy, but for now, I mostly do wirework, beading and stringing. I like to make jewelry that can be worn every day without feeling over dressed. Jewelry for special occasions is nice, but I like to be able to wear pretty things every day!
In 2005 I realized a life-long dream and got my first horse. He was a rescue and it has been quite challenging, but I wouldn’t change it for the world! We’ve both learned a lot and he is no longer the spooky, unsaddle-able, cranky horse that I loaded into a trailer 12 years ago. We’ve earned quite a few ribbons at our Arizona Dressage Association schooling shows including getting Reserve Champion High Point in Training Level for multiple show seasons and High Point for the 2016 schooling show season at Training Level. We have also won a few ribbons for dressage at the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show! In 2016 I made the decision to retire Khal from showing. His arthritis prevents him from moving well enough to compete with the younger horses and while we were still having fun, competition seemed to be getting frustrating for him. He is now a happy trail horse, gets to be out on pasture every day and really enjoys his semi-retirement. He has his own page here, under Horse Stuff.
In 2016 I realized another dream and got a Belgian Tervuren puppy. I thought I wanted a dog maybe between 1 and 3 years old, a Tervuren rescue perhaps, who would have the basic training already there but still young enough to do agility, obedience and whatever else we decided to do. But, of course, when I saw the puppies I fell in love and decided that taking on the initial training was worth having a fluff ball of a puppy around the house. The cats thought otherwise, but eventually they came around to at least tolerate him. Vivant et Lisse Infinite Blessings “Finn” joined the household in January 2016. He’s a smart little guy, not so little anymore actually. He has his CGCA, his Championship (conformation showing), his RATCHX title, his Platinum Bronze Crazy 8’s barn hunt title, a Farm Dog Certification, his Trick Dog Intermediate title and a Rally Intermediate title! Check out his page under Dog Stuff.
When I have time for other hobbies, I like to sew, cross-stitch, read (Dick Francis, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien are some of my favorites) and write fiction and devotionals. Photography is also one of my loves, especially taking photos on our trail rides in South Mountain, San Tans and wherever else I can get with my horse. Check out the Other Fun Stuff page for some of my other DIY projects.
Thanks again for visiting my site, and keep checking for updates!