Shuttles From My Husband

Over the years I have mentioned that I have a wonderful husband. He recently surprised me again with a couple of new shuttles he made. Not for any special occasion, just because he knows how much I like shuttles!

Oak shuttle front on wandasknottythoughts
Oak shuttle front

This is made of oak. We have several pieces of oak handrails which were removed from a local hospital when they made improvements. He randomly will make something from the wood when he’s feeling inspired. That day, he made a shuttle for me.

Oak shuttle post on wandasknottythoughts
Oak shuttle post

I love the look and feel of this shuttle! It tats beautifully!

Cherry shuttle back on wandasknottythoughts
Cherry shuttle back

My husband found a pretty piece of wood in the scrap pile. He’s not sure what it is but believes it may be cherry.

Cherry shuttle front on wandasknottythoughts
Cherry shuttle front

We may not know the type of wood it is, but it makes a gorgeous shuttle! It also tats very nice. I love working with it.

As he was in the mood to work with shuttles, I brought him the shuttle he made me way back in 2009. I love that he made me this shuttle, but it was so thick I didn’t really care to use it much. I asked if he could thin it down a bit.

2009 Oak shuttle on wandasknottythoughts
2009 Oak shuttle

He did a great job! Unfortunately, thinning it down removed the carving of the date from one side and my initials from the other. I’m thinking of ways the dates can be added back to this shuttle and the others as well.

Back of 2009 oak shuttle on wandasknottythoughts
Back of 2009 oak shuttle

He made the tips on this shuttle a bit different from the others, with one blade shorter than the other. I do like how this loads thread better, but not enough to complain about the others! All of them feel good in my hands. I’ve found my favorite shuttles!

While he was in the woodworking mood he made another piece out of oak. This was done on our CNC machine.

Oak sun on wandasknottythoughts
Oak sun

May the sun shine on you to aid in your tatting adventures!

New Shuttles

Over the last few months, I have acquired several new shuttles. Four of them are from Middy Clark, of The Knotted Vine. If you haven’t seen her work, please check them out! They are beautiful!

Tatting Corner Cruise 2023 cruise shuttle on wandasknottythoughts
Tatting Corner Cruise 2023 cruise shuttle
Knotical Adentures 2023 shuttle, back on wandasknottythoughts
Knotical Adventures 2023 shuttle, back

This is the one that Maddy made for the Tatting Corner cruise this summer. Isn’t it beautiful? It tats beautifully, as well.

Celtic Silver Plate Brass Shuttle on wandasknottythoughts
Celtic Silver Plate Brass Shuttle

This Celtic shuttle is one that I bought from Middy on the cruise. She had brought shuttles with her to sell specifically to those of us cruisers. I haven’t tatted with it yet, but it feels wonderful.

Holiday brass shuttle on wandasknottythougths
Holiday brass shut

Middly also had several blades for unfinished shuttles. She was offering them to fellow cruisers, to be sent to us after the cruise. I found a couple that spoke to me 🙂 I like this seasonal shuttle. It has the same pattern on the other side as well.

Dragon shuttle on wandasknottythoughts
Dragon shuttle

This dragon shuttle is fantastic, isn’t it? I don’t know how Middly does this, but it’s great. If my daughter tatted, she’d be jealous of this one. This one tats as nice as the Ship one. The back of this one does not have the dragon on it.

The Knotted Vine shuttles on wandasknottythoughts
The Knotted Vine shuttles

I do not get any compensation for mentioning of The Knotted Vine.

I’m still working on patterns for Tatting Corner’s Tat Days this summer. They are about ready to go to the test tatters. Every once in a while, I have to take a break from this or my eyes will cross. I tatted The Tatting Lace Crown by 1001 Nós Frivolité.

Tatting Lace Crown on wandasknottythoughts
Tatting Lace Crown by 1001 Lós Frivolité

I made this with size 10 Lizbeth thread that was left on the shuttle. This worked up quick and easy. It’s very cute. She posted this pattern on Facebook if you’d like to give it a try.

As I tat, both getting ready for Tat Days, and little side projects, I have several beautiful shuttles to choose from. Such hard choices!

“God always gives His best to those who leave the choice with him.” Jim Elliot

Tatting Corner’s Tat Days part 4

I have been tatting but nothing I can share. I designed a pattern I hope will be accepted for Tatting Corner’s cruise next year. I have sent it to a couple of test tatters, two for shuttle and one who also needle tats. The shuttle tatting pattern has been approved by the testers, now I’m just waiting on the needle tatter to help me with needle notations. I can’t share this until sometime after the cruise.

Yes, I still have things to share from Tat Days. It was a busy week, from when we left home until we returned.

When we got to the Tatting Corner shop Thursday (7/7) morning my husband immediately started looking for things for me. I had to stop him as I had plans for the auction on Saturday – we couldn’t spend all of our money right away! We did keep a few things he liked and a few things I picked out.

Mahogany shuttle on wandasknottythoughts
Mahogany shuttle

This is a Mahogany shuttle that Jack liked. I’ve already been using it and it tats nicely. The clover shuttle is there for a size reference.

Celic shuttle on wandasknottythoughts
Celic shuttle

This is a redwood Celic shuttle. I thought at first it was a Celtic shuttle, but it’s too wide for that style. I finally looked it up online. Celic is a town and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina according to Wikipedia, make what you will of that. Google maps show it in the northeast part of the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina. I take it to mean that it is from or like shuttles of that area. I haven’t tried it yet.

I picked up a couple of shuttles from nekonomekoubou. I don’t know that I’ll ever use them but I think they are so cute!

Cat shuttle on wandasknottythoughts
Cat shuttle
Bird shuttle on wandasknottythoughts
Bird shuttle

Aren’t they gorgeous? My granddaughter loves the cat one. The clover shuttle is there for size comparison. I’m afraid to use them yet, afraid I’d drop them! For now, I’ll just admire them.

On our way to Indiana, we stopped for the night in Hannibal, Missouri, which is the boyhood home of Mark Twain. The area we were in looked intriguing but it was so hot we didn’t feel like getting out to look around. We went to the Riverside Inn where we had a room for the night and didn’t go out again. Our rooms had a view of the Mississippi River and a Mexican restaurant down the stairs and through a door. That was the extent of our exploring that evening. The next morning we did drive through the area but it was too early for most things to be open.

The lighthouse in Hannibal on wandasknottythoughts
The lighthouse in Hannibal

We had planned to meet with Diane, the Lace-lovin’ Librarian, and her husband for lunch on Wednesday but they had problems with their water well and couldn’t make it. It was disappointing but completely understandable. Instead, we stopped in Springfield, Illinois to see the area where Abraham Lincoln lived just before they went to Washington, DC. Neither Jack nor I had ever been there. We only spent a couple of hours there but it was interesting.

Abe's house on wandasknottythoughts
Abe’s house

Lincoln’s house was the only building you had to have a ticket for and go on a guided tour of. The timing wasn’t right for that so we only saw the outside of it, plus the neighborhood. If we get back in Springfield we’ll try to go back again.

On the way home, we went through Vandalia, Illinois, and stopped there for a bit of lunch. We were surprised to notice they have a miniature gateway arch.

Vandalia arch on wandasknottythoughts
Vandalia arch

You can see that it is much smaller than the one in St. Louis, LOL.

Jack was going to turn back and get on the Interstate the same way we got off, but I saw something interesting on the map that I wanted to check out. It was easy to get to and close to the next Interstate entrance.

The Kaskaskia Dragon on wandasknottythoughts
The Kaskaskia Dragon

The Kaskaskia dragon actually breaths fire, for a few tokens. We didn’t buy any so I didn’t see it breathe fire, but the mouth sure looked like it did.

Kaskaskia Dragon on wandasknottythoughts
Kaskaskia Dragon
Vandalia knight on wandasknottythoughts
Vandalia knight

The knight looks like he’s gotten the rough end of the deal.

I don’t recall seeing the sign, but I understand this tourist attraction is to draw people to the Kiskiskia Dragon RV park. I’m not advertising for them, we just enjoyed the dragon.

I’m hoping to have some tatting done by next week that I can share. I still have things to share from Tat Days, like the items I bought at the auction. Let’s see if I can post by next Monday!

“Travel becomes a strategy for accumulating photographs.” Susan Sontag

1920’s Shuttle

1920's Boye shuttle on wandasknottythouhts
1920’s Boye shuttle

In my previous post, I talked about a shuttle that was a gift to me by my brother-in-law. I also shared it on my blog FaceBook page where Sharon Tabor shared some history of Boye shuttles. She was gracious enough to allow me to share the information that she had about them. The following is her comment on the FB post.

“The tipped curve was made by a former user. I have a complete set of Boye metal shuttles from 1915-1992. The first Boye shuttles were pinched in the middle. The shuttle you were gifted is from about 1920. The shape was changed after the 1917 patent and was made in 2 sizes 3″ and 3 1/2”

Pre-WWII, the shuttles were nickel or zinc plated brass. The one your brother-in-law gifted you is a brass shuttle with a zinc coating (it is dull) During WWII all metal was diverted to the war effort and hence the invention of celluloid ( an early but flammable plastic). The 3 1/2″ shuttles were discontinued in 1947.

Since I documented my Boye collection, I have found the 1917 shuttle I was missing. The last Boye shuttles made in the USA were only printed on one side and the back was blank.

Your shuttle is circa 1920-1923.

A great reference book is Tatting Shuttles of American Collectors by Heidi Nakayama” Sharon Tabor

Shuttle collection by Sharon Tabor on wandasknottythoughts
Shuttle collection by Sharon Tabor

Thank you, Sharon, for the wonderful information and for allowing me to share it on my blog. Isn’t this a great collection of shuttles?

On a different note, I am still working on the pattern for the Isla Snowflake. I’m hoping to have it done in a few days.

Twosday

Today is Tuesday, 2/22/22 or 22/2/22, depending on how it’s written in your part of the world. Either way, it is a palindrome, meaning it reads the same backward as it does forward. This type of ‘Twosday’ is so special that it won’t happen again for another 400 years. I’ve heard that a lot of people have chosen today to get married. I guess you’d never forget your anniversary!

I meant to post much earlier in the day today but have met with ‘two’ many issues that I didn’t expect, which put me way behind on everything I did plan to do. So I better get on it while it is still Tuesday, I mean ‘Twosday’.

My sweet brother-in-law remembered me when he found a tatting shuttle at a flea market recently and bought it for me.

Boye shuttle with whistle on wandasknottythoughts
Boye shuttle with whistle

You can see this was a well-used shuttle by how the finish is worn off. There is still enough left to see it is a Boye shuttle. It still has a variegated pink thread on the bobbin, which looks to be size 80.

I’m not sure how old the shuttle is but looks to be from before 1923. I have another metal Boye shuttle I compared it to. Notice in the center of the top shuttle it says “PAT APR.17.’23”. The center of the bottom shuttle, the one I was just given, says “PAT APL’D FOR”

Two Boye shuttles

The older one (bottom) is longer and the body is wider than the newer one. You can see that the top shuttle has the bobbin peeking out on both sides of the body, while the bottom one is as wide as the bobbin. The pick at the tip is different, also.

Different tips on the shuttles on wandasknottythoughts
Different tips on the shuttles

The older one (right) has the tip curving up compared to the body instead of to the side like the newer one (left). All the metal Boye shuttles I’ve seen before have the pick curved to the side. Maybe this was a change before the patten went through?

One of the things that delayed me writing my post today was an event I attended. Newton, Kansas, the town that I used to live in is celebrating the sesquicentennial (150th) anniversary of its incorporation. They threw a party where the mayor gave a proclamation and had local organizations put on the entertainment for the evening in the form of local music groups and a dance troupe. I stopped to check it out and stayed longer than expected.

The City was selling souvenirs at the party in the form of t-shirts and wooden train whistles, of which I had to indulge. Trains have been a major part of Newton from the beginning, when it was the trailhead of the Chisholm Trail. The railroad basically cuts the town in half. If you spend any time in Newton, Kansas, even today, you understand the t-shirt.

Newton t-shirt and whistle on wandasknottythoughts
Newton t-shirt and whistle
Whistle and shuttles on wandasknottythoughts
Whistle and shuttles

I didn’t really need the wooden train whistle (or the t-shirts!) but, hey, it’s cute.

I’m still working on the pattern for the Isla snowflake. I think I’ve got the stitch count down where I’m happy with it. Now I have to start diagramming it, the most un-fun part of sharing my patterns. I’ve also realized I should document the pattern for the doily I have in the background, one I made in 2014. I think I would like to make it again. That makes two patterns to work on. There’s that two again.

“Today is the day to celebrate Newton! 150 years ago on February 22, 1872, Newton, ‘the wickedest city in the West” made up of businessmen, gamblers and cowboys with 27 saloons and the AT& SF railroad tracks running right through the middle of it all, was incorporated as a city.” Harvey County Historical Society

February Tat and Chat

Last Tuesday my two most recent tatting students came over for a tat and chat.  We’ve been getting together about once a month for several months now.  We have so much fun!  I’m not sure just how much tatting actually gets done but we do talk about it and have a great time.

Sherry cautiously  works on her tatting @ wandasknottythoughts.com

Sherry takes a cautious approach to tatting.  She doesn’t like taking out mistakes so doesn’t work very fast but she’s making progress.  She’s working on a heart that she would like to frame.

Becky winds a shuttle preparing for her next project @ wandasknottythoughts.com

Becky is a lot more bold and not afraid to make mistakes.  Since last month she tatted four hearts, framed them and gave them away for Valentine’s day.  She didn’t yet have a pattern that called for it but she wanted to learn how to make split rings.  She was doing it quite well with them by the time she left.

Becky brought a few flea market finds, a small doily, small piece of hen and chicks and a shuttle @ wandasknottythoughts.com
 Becky brought along a few flee market/antique store finds.  The small doily was found some time ago and looks to be made in about size 30.  Another time she and her husband did some bargaining for the silver shuttle.  The larger one we have determined is made from French ivory and is in very nice shape.  It is about the size of a Tatsy shuttle (the silver about the size of regular Clover) and still has tatting attached, the hen and chicks probably made in size 30.
We’ve set a date for our March get-together and made plans for our April meet to be on April 1 for International Tatting Day. They think they can handle the requirements: tat something fun, do it in public, and eat chocolate!
Have you made plans for International Tatting Day yet?
Image result for talk quotes sayings

 

Would you like coffee with your hearts?

Flower Heart earrings, pattern by Tatfully Yours 
I’m still having fun making Kelly’s ‘Flower Heart’ earrings.  I made a pair of pink ones for my oldest daughter who currently has long, very dark hair, which makes an excellent backdrop for the earrings.  These are in Lizbeth #622 size 20 with pink seed beads.  She  wore them to work the next day (at a Starbucks) and a little later I got a phone call from her.  One of her co-workers loved them and wanted a pair in Starbucks green. 
I looked through my stash of thread looking for a green that was close to “Starbucks green”.   I used the logo on a bag of coffee as my sample color.  The only green I had that came close was an almost empty ball of DMC size 8 Pearl cotton.  I have no idea the color number as the label was lost a long time ago.  When I gave them to my daughter to pass along she thought they looked good.  I’m waiting for a picture of the happy (I hope!) recipient wearing them.
Have you been participating in or following the 2013 TIAS?  There are only a few days left before it’s complete, leaving us with what surely must be a baby buggy (or pram if you’re on the other side of the pond).
TIAS 2013 Day 9
I’m very happy in what the TIAS is becoming.  Family friends are expecting a baby later this year and I was wondering what I should make for them.  I had thought about Jane’s stork like I had done for my daughter but this will certainly be fun, too.  It’s much too early to know if it will be a boy or girl so I’ll wait a little while to start one for them. 
Last month I saw on Lace-Loving Librarian Diane’s blog about some shuttles she found at Hobby Lobby.  Well, guess where I was yesterday and what I found?  Yes, I found them, too.  And, yes, just like Diane I didn’t really need them but I couldn’t not buy them, could I?    The left one is wood, the one in the middle is carved bone. The pink Clover is there to give a size reference.  Before I try tatting with them I think I’ll take some very fine emery cloth to the middle of both of them as they don’t look all that smooth inside.  That said I’m looking forward to giving both of them a test drive.

Am I done making hearts yet?  I don’t know.  I have made more hearts this year than I think I have for the last five years put together, but I’m having a lot of fun with them.  My boss has accused me of making a different pair of earrings every day – which isn’t true, by the way – but these heart earrings are so quick and easy and fun to make that it’s almost true.  And it’s fun to see them on my daughter (and her friends) that I might just have to keep on for awhile.  Time will tell. 
(Though I do have an idea I’d like to try that doesn’t have any hearts in it at all….)
I’m hoping to get my tatting and tea in for Tatting Tea Tuesday sometime this afternoon.  I’ve been too busy yet this morning, but the day isn’t over yet!  And though it is Tatting Tea Tuesday I couldn’t resist this poem.
Caffeine is my shepherd; I shall not doze.
It maketh me to wake in green pastures:
It leadeth me beyond the sleeping masses.
It restoreth my buzz:
It leadeth me in the paths of consciousness for its name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of addiction
I will fear no Equal:
For thou art with me; thy cream and they sugar they comfort me.
Thou preparest a carafe before me in the presence of The Starbucks:
Thou anointest my day with pep; my mug runneth over.
Surely richness and taste shall follow me all the days of my life: 
And I will dwell in the House of Mochas forever.

~Author Unknown