Cats and Dogs

I have been doing some tatting lately, not always what I should be doing but enjoying what I have been doing. I realized a few days ago that it will be autumn soon, with cooler weather and fall colors. This inspired me to tat with browns and oranges. And try a few different patterns.

Kitty and pumpkin on burlap on wandasknottythoughts
A kitty and pumpkin on burlap

I’m not sure I like the burlap as a background, but I do like the kitty and pumpkin. The kitty was motivated by my Morgan Mouse pattern. I thought I saw a kitty in it the other day when I glanced over it. I’m pleased by how it turned out, the right background or not. I used size 20 thread and a 1/2 inch button. I have the pattern done if you’re interested, it’s on My Patterns page.

We have a cute dog, Bonnie, a Corgi mix. We did some training to get her to obey and have better manners, and now she and I spend our days together without too many problems. But once in a while, there are still times…

Tangled thread on wandasknottythoughts
Tangled thread

I must admit that leaving my tatting where she could get at it was my fault, not hers. But it was aggravating to find an almost full ball of thread in a tangled mess. It took an hour and a half to untangle it. I didn’t even think about it being left out when I went out to water my plants, or that she was in the house by herself.

I have a lot of pretty shuttles I could use, but I usually tat with inexpensive Clover shuttles. I’m so glad I did this time because it wasn’t only the ball of thread she got to.

Chewed-on shuttle on wandasknottythoughts
Chewed-on shuttle
Doggy toy shuttle on wandasknottythoughts
Doggy toy shuttle

As you can see, she thought the shuttle was a nice chew toy. I used fine sandpaper to smooth out the teeth marks, which worked well. It might not be pretty, but it is much smoother now.

Shuttle after a bit of work on wandasknottythoughts
Shuttle after a bit of work

Bonnie chewed on the backend of the shuttle so the pointy tip was not damaged. The backend was sprung, which didn’t mean it couldn’t be used, but I thought I’d try fixing that, too.

Shuttle after a bit of work on wandasknottythoughts
Shuttle after a bit of work

I put the shuttle in hot water for a bit, then clipped on a clothespin and did it again. The tips are closer than they were. I’m going to try it again, to see if I can’t get them a bit closer. I used the shuttle on a small project the way it is and the thread did not catch on any rough spots, so even if I can’t get the ends any closer I haven’t lost a shuttle.

I submitted the pattern that I’ve been working on to Tatting Corner for the chance to teach it on the cruise. I received nice comments from the test tatters on it, so I’m hoping there will be enough interest in it for others to want to do it.

I do not receive anything from Tatting Corner for including them in my post or if anyone clicks the link.

“Cat’s motto: No matter what you’ve done wrong, always try to make it look like the dog did it.” – Unknown

4 thoughts on “Cats and Dogs”

  1. We have a puppy that loves to tangle sewing thread, so you have my sympathy! Love the cat, thanks for the pattern.

  2. Oh dear at least it was not one of your best shuttles, We had a dog that loved blue wool, it got to the point that we could not knit anything in blue wool, she would just take it, needles and all, we spent hours sorting it out when she got fed up with it, even when she went blind she still found the blue wool in a pile of different coloured wool, there is something about blue that attracts them.

    1. Oh, my, Margaret, that is funny, even if you couldn’t use blue. This is the first ball of thread she’s gotten into, so I can’t say if she is really attracted to it or if it was just available.

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