HANDCRAFTER'S JOY LIES IN GATHERING OF TATTERS AT HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

Byline: VICTORIA GIRAUD

Pat Saletore, docent coordinator at Heritage Junction, is a confirmed ``tatting'' lover from way back.

It was this love of historical crafts that drove her to help organize the monthly Heritage Handcrafters Sundays at Heritage Junction.

``We open up the place to share those talents. A form of our history is being lost,'' Pat declared. ``We're doing this for both preservation and fun, to keep people aware of crafts knowledge.

``Tatting,'' Pat explained, ``is a form of knotting to make laces. A lot of people can remember grandma doing it. It's very delicate.''

It wasn't easy to learn the skill, which uses a small shuttle to loop and knot the thread. ``People who used to tatt went so fast, I gave up,'' Pat remembered. But she was soon back at it, and finally figured it out the ``awfullest way,'' by learning from a book.

She's got her grandmother's shuttle and now has a small collection of them. The Internet developed into the best source for these shuttles, since many antique stores don't know much about them and sometimes don't even know what they are.

The handcrafters event, which will be held for the second time from 1 to 4 p.m. Aug. 24, is ``like a sewing bee, but more diverse,'' Pat explained. There will be women there doing and explaining other crafts as well, like crocheting, needlepoint and embroidery.

A Victorian tea party, at $12.50 per person, is also being planned at Heritage Junction for Sept. 14 and will become a monthly event. Depending on the weather, it will be held in the rose garden, a historical house or the freight room. Besides tea, the volunteers will most likely be serving scones, watercress sandwiches and tea cakes. Sue Bidwell will give a talk on the history of tea and its accouterments.

History has been a longtime interest with Pat. Growing up in Lewiston, Idaho - one of the important locations on Lewis and Clark's exploratory western journey - she was already an historical docent in high school. A resident of Santa Clarita for 20 years, she's been part of the Santa Clarita Historical Society (and is its recording secretary) since 1990.

Handcrafts fit right into this interest. The only thing that holds her back from crocheting is carpal tunnel syndrome. But it didn't stop her making a special pair of gloves to go with her costume for Old Town Days. ``It took me two weeks to get over it,'' she said ruefully.

Although Pat likes history in general, she does have a few favorite periods. One of them is the Californio period, before Americans moved into the state. Describing it as a cross between ``elegance and barbarism,'' Pat pointed out that the contrasts were interesting. There were ``silk dresses on Persian carpets in adobe houses.''

Genealogy is another hobby. Her father's people came from West Virginia; she affectionately calls them ``hillbillies.'' She's traced her mother's family, the Dudleys, who were Virginia planters, back to 16th-century England.

Pat's husband, Dilip, presents a challenge when it comes to genealogy. Raised in New Delhi, India, his family came from Bangalore in the south of India, where they had migrated from northern Kashmir.

``Their concept of genealogy is different. I've tried, but it's a morass. It only involves the men,'' Pat explained.

Pat met her husband when she was a student and he was beginning his Ph.D. at the University of Idaho. They both took cross-cultural communications class, and she was paired up with him.

``As part of the class requirement, we had to meet each other weekly,'' Pat remembered.

When Pat's first child was born, she took her for a visit to New Delhi. ``It's an absolutely fascinating culture,'' Pat enthused and added that her house is filled with Indian art.

Although Pat is involved in many community activities such as the Santa Clarita Civic Association and the Pride Committee, she's preparing for the time when her kids' three children get older and get out of high school. ``I'd like to find a job so I can reach more equilibrium.''

In the meantime, she has her genealogy ``which is never finished,'' her handicrafts, her computer and all those history books she likes to read.

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Photo

Photo: (color) Heritage Junction docent Pat Saletore stands in Victorian costume outside a house at the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society.

Terri Thuente/Daily News