Big shuttles

I emptied a shuttle the other day. Needless to say, it was a very big shuttle, compared to my Aeros, anyway. In fact, it was a shuttle I had gotten from Nina Libin, designed for tatting with beads. It works great on those big projects and is more comfortable for me than the Tatsy style.

I so miss having a hook, though. Does anyone make an oversized shuttle with a hook? (It's got to be a hook, not a point!)

One of these days, I'll show you the original project that led to this "leftover". Am I being a terrible tease, or did I forget where I put it for safe keeping? I'm not telling....

Valentine Exchange from Marty

I recently participated in the Valentine's Day Exchange hosted by Karey Solomon through the Threads of a Tatting Goddess Yahoo group. I received my really nice package from Marty (Marlene Lewis) a few days ago. She sent a large heart that she designed herself and attached to a pretty card. Inside was an ornament, bookmark, and thread sample, as well as a copy of the pattern.

The ornament uses a section of Iris Niebach's Beatrice doily, and the bookmark is a pattern by Diana Stevens from her Animal Bookmark book. The thread sample is hand dyed thread done by Marty's sister, Bonnie, and is the same used to tat her heart.

Many thanks to Marty for the beautiful gifts.

I'm Still At It

Still playing with buttons and things. Some results are better than others.

This last one is my favorite so far.

Is There Any Hope?

Lately, I've been obsessed with buttons.




And at the same time, stone chips and nuggets are preying on my mind.


The problem is, everything I buy makes me want to buy something else. Some of the buttons are calling for beads to go with them. All these things need thicker thread, which I have precious little of in my stash.

Is there any hope for this sort of thing on Etsy? I see some people sell quite a lot of items, and some...don't. It would be nice if this new hobby could pay for itself. On the other hand, if prospects are poor, the time spent taking nice photos and writing the listings could be better used on something else.

Motif Seventeen--Norman

This is obviously Norman, the rooster from Jane's TIAS. Watching the mystery motif slowly emerge in Jane's game was a lot of fun, as always.

Early Tatting

This is a piece of my early tatting from the summer when I first learned. So if any beginners out there are having a hard time, believe me, it WILL get better.

One important lesson here: good threads do matter. This mess might have looked better if I had not been working with some sort of cheap bedspread cotton. Even today, I have difficulty making neat, even stitches if I work with poor quality thread. Good thread will both look so much better and be easier to work with too.

WIP - TatBit's Amazing Patterns

Since the time of this post, TatBit has removed her public patterns.

I encourage everyone to visit TatBit's blog. Teri is generously sharing lots of patterns and adding to them daily. Above is the beginning of her New Wave Doily and I plan to make some more of her designs after this one.

The pattern notation may be different than you are used to, but read the instructions and abbreviation list carefully and all should be clear.

Thank you for sharing, Teri !