For his Guild

I had a request in mid March for some "tattings of jewelry nature" that would be for sale. The request was for a door prize at a "Twisted Sisters Craft Guild".  I offered all I had and two earrings were chosen.

The top earrings are Sweetheart by Marilee Rockley, they are actually navy blue, size 20 Hakelgarn.  The pattern is in her Boutique tatting book. Available from Yarnplayer or her Etsy page.

The lower pair in black is by Corina Mayfeldt  Waves done with silver beads and size 50 Altin Basak.

Around the world in 8 days

I ordered some Clover bobbin shuttles and am taking them for a spin tonight.  They arrived from Japan in 8 days. The shuttle length is the same length as the post shuttles with the pick having the exact curve. Once a full bobbin is inserted the width does increase slightly.

Each shuttle comes with two bobbins and a bobbin winder. The winder holds a bobbin either in the cradle part or the winding end.  In the cradle it doubles as the ball thread and does not spin. To change shuttles, just exchange the bobbin in the shuttle.  

I have never been in the habit of pulling on a shuttle for more thread, rather I use my thumb to turn the bobbin and this is how you must use these shuttles.

 When I bought these, the website said that the bobbins do NOT fit other shuttles and they are a bit taller than Aero or Aerlit bobbins. I did squeeze one into a pop-a-bobbin but I am not short of bobbins. I have some cheap shuttles that have hooks that the clover bobbins fit into.  Extra bobbins can be purchased and they come with a bobbin winder. Lucky me the bobbins do fit my bobbin winder.

Each bobbin has a little corner loop on the post which you are instructed to tie the thread through. The instructions I received were in Japanese they have one page with shuttle and bobbin instructions and the other side with tatting instructions and diagrams.

I also  bought the shuttle and bobbin case shown below. So far I am quite impressed with these clover bobbin shuttles.  

Happy ITD

April 1 marks International Tatting Day and tatters around the world are encouraged to celebrate and participate by tatting in public.  For some reason unbeknownst to me eating chocolate is also involved. I celebrated with tatting at home and chocolate was involved. I also attended the online tatting class which is always a pleasure to reconnect with other tatters.

Speaking of other tatters this lovely maple leaf arrived yesterday as part of an exchange from another tatter in Canada.  She is reminded of maple syrup time which means that Spring has arrived.  If you have ever spent a winter in Canada you will know how wonderful the first signs of Spring feel.

I have heard that my exchange has also arrived to the home of a tatter in the UK.

What did you do for ITD?

Beanile Tatting

This is an Amulet Pouch designed by Nina Libin for the 20th Annual Shuttlebirds Tatting Workshop. I was fortunate to be able to attend in April of 2016.  I finished the front and back during the workshop. It has taken me almost a year but I finally did the final round attaching the front to the back.

The Amulet is shown beside an Aero bobbin above so you can get the idea of the size. The second picture shows what the backside looks like.  It is tatted with Silver DMC Diamant metallic embroidery thread.  Navy beads are added to the tatting using the Beanile method.
It is a difficult to get a good picture so I've added another below.  

There are a pair of matching earring and the chain which are still in the NUTS (nagging unfinished tasks) pile. 

Ice Drop Fever

I've been bitten by the Ice Drop Bug. Ice Drops are tatted using florists beads in the centre, The beads are quite heavy and make a nice ornament.

I put a brooch pin on the back, size 20 makes a 3D brooch 3.5 inches across tip to tip.


The pattern is by Diane Cademartori and here is a link to a free pattern. You may know her as Lace Loving Librarian.

The choices of color combinations are endless and I searched my stash for something smaller to use as earrings.  I found some shank buttons and was able to twist the shank off without too much damage.

I used a size 30 vintage Coats thread and kept the stitch count the same as the brooch.  I only did rounds one and two of the pattern.  I added a jump ring and the earrings sit straight on. They are light and look pretty from both sides.

Thanks to Diane for the inspiration for these earrings.