Hi all. I've been tatting for over 30 years. Have a website with free tatting instructions:
http://www.tattingjustforyou.com and recently started a blog with free basic patterns:
http://tattypatty.blogspot.com
The only trick to tatting is in learning the doublestitch and realizing that the shuttle thread has to go around the thread on your hand and not tangle with it. Unfortunately, both right and wrong stitches look the same but if you tat wrong you cannot pull the thread to close the ring.