Christmas in July, Doily Update, and a Deformed Flower

Howdy all. As most of you on Here-Be-Tatters know, we opened our packages on July 31st. My partner was Sylvia Free from Wales. Here is a group shot of what I received.


As you can see, I received lots of really cool things. I'll insert close up pictures as needed. First up is a really nice tatted doily done in peach thread and beads. Also tatted, is a little candle frill done in red thread with clear beads.

Also included was a really neat copper shuttle winder made by Sylvia's husband. I think it should work well for some of the post shuttles I have. Not the wooden or ceramic ones however.

Sylvia also sent a bunch of beads, buttons, bells, and holographic sequins for me to play with. There was also a floss bobbin as well as a few hair clips to manage thread from a ball. Really handy.

And bangles. Sylvia also sent some bangles for me to attach tatting to. I am glad she did. I can't imagine myself going shopping for these. I feel awkward sometimes while wandering through the craft department at Wal*Mart as it is, let alone who knows where in order find them.

Sylvia sent me a ball of the most absolutely, most beautiful, everyone must have shade of blue thread that you have ever seen. Unfortunately, I can't capture the true colour of this blue.

As you can see, the thread is Altin Basak. Since I can't get the true colour of this thread, I'll let you seek out a better picture. It is colour number 344. I HAVE to buy more of this thread. Period. I will try scanning a completed item made with this thread when I get to using it. Sylvia mentioned that the thread colour is one that appeared in the Siamese Fighting Fish that her husband used to breed. So, the first project made with this thread has to be one of my bettas.

There was also a round coaster made of real slate from North Wales. It is really cool.

According to Sylvia, the coaster depicts one of the miners at Llechwedd Slate museum in North Wales splitting slate by hand.

Finally, Sylvia sent a package of some really nice hard candies called "Lossin Dant". The name loosely translates to "sweet tooth", and are made near where Sylvia lives. They are really good. Sylvia sent four postcards depicting her home of Penarth, the Welsh flag, and Cardiff (the capital of Wales). I'll scan and post them later.

Thank you again Sylvia. You're an awesome partner and an awesome tatter. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! And thank you Sue for giving me such an awesome partner. Of course, judging from the pictures posted on HBT, there were many, many awesome partners.

Now, new business. I have been working on my doily. Here is a recent progress pic.

It's slowly coming. I am hoping to complete the second round in the next few days. I'll keep you posted.

Finally, my hibiscus recently quit flowering. The last flower it produced, however, was one, um, less than desirable. It was lighter in colour, and looks as if it was two flowers merged together. I think a picture will be good here.

You really can't see the twin flower here, but trust me, that is what it looked like. The plant aborted the flower a few days before it should have opened. I guess the plant knew something was wrong. Pretty weird anyway.

I should mention, that I intend to post tomorrow and Wednesday. I really mean it. I really do. I have a lot to post about. That's all for now.

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Now playing: Great Big Sea - Concerning Charlie Horse
via FoxyTunes

Quick Doily Update

I have finished the centre of the doily I have been working on. Here is a progress pic:

I just finished the centre round a little while ago. The doily measures about 3 1/2 inches in diameter. All the ends you see in the upper left side are all hidden. I prefer to cut them short but not completely until I am done. You may notice that there are four ends that I had to hide. Well, after I had finished the round and had joined to the beginning, a thread broke. Yup, and it broke close to the join so there was no way to salvage it. I had to undo the final chain, add a two new threads (continuously so I didn't have two more ends to hide), and remake the chain, hiding the two ends from the broken chain. I can now continue on with round two, while I watch an episode of Star Trek: Voyager I previously recorded.

I'm Procrastinating Again (AKA What Else Is New?)

I seem to be going through a period of procrastination. Of course, some may say I never leave this period, but I digress. I haven't touched my final motif, again. I also haven't scanned or photographed the things I got from Gina. I think this is similar to what I do when a favourite TV show comes to an end (or has ended for shows that were before my time). I almost never watch the final show. I've seen nearly every episode of M*A*S*H multiple times, but not the finale. This way, the show never ends for me. I guess, if I don't work on Motif # 25, the challenge won't come to an end either.

However, I have been tatting. I started a doily. Yes, you heard me right. Instead of finishing the challenge, I started a (fairly) large project. Here is an (early) progress pic:

This is "Lucky Clover" from Tatting Patterns and Designs by Gun Blomqvist and Elwy Persson. The thread is one I got from Gale at Tat's All. It is called Accent , I'm using colour #148, Mediterranean Blue. It is a 2 ply rayon thread that is about the same size as a size 50 thread. It is absolutely awesome to tat with. This is the first major project that I am using this thread for. Nearly every time I order from Gale, I buy a couple bobbins of this thread. Currently, Gale is selling the thread by the bobbin, but she has started selling a variegated version of Accent by the spool, so she may be selling the solids by the spool now. I will have to ask as I really like this thread. Well, so far anyway.

That's all I have right now. Hopefully, and I mean hopefully, I will get back to the final motif soon. Here is another pic of the doily. I couldn't decide which one looked better.

A Little Tatting, Lunar Photos, and a New Love of My Life

I haven't done much tatting since my last post. I got my package from Gina recently, but I will need a few days to scan and photograph everything I got from her. I finished the tatting for my Christmas in July partner. I found out today that my partner got her package already. I'm impressed. That lady at Canada Post told me it will take 6-8 business days. It only took 3 business days. Here is a preview of what I tatted for my partner.

For this motif I used DMC Cordonnet size 50 thread paired with Oren Bayan Metallic thread. I'm not sure what size equivalent this combination works out to, probably between a size 10 to 20. That is only a guess. I will have to make a sample one of these days. I have not touched my final motif since I last posted. I may try to complete another petal or two tonight. Of course, this is weather permitting. We could get a thunderstorm, which could knock out the power. I love the forecast that Forecastfox is displaying for today: Not as warm with a t-storm, 27 C. Can't say I have ever seen a rhyming forecast before.

It has been really hot here the last few days; the temperature has been in the 27-29 degrees C range lately. And, if thats not hot enough, my house seems to get a few degrees hotter than it is outside. I don't have air conditioning, but I do have several fans that kinda help. To be a complete geek, I have the fans connected to X-10 home automation controllers that react to an X-10 compatible temperature sensor. All of which interact with my PC. Depending on the reading the sensor sends to the computer, the fans turn on or off in response to the inside temperature. It works quite well. It's even better when the computer announces that the fans (or plant or aquarium lights) are going on or off, and plays sound effects from the computer of Star Trek Voyager.

Now, last night, I took some picture of the moon with my new camera. I'm actually quite impressed with the images I got.

It's a little blurry around the edges, but I assume that is because of the digital zoom. This photo was taken with out a telescope of any kind. I used all available zoom settings that my camera has. That is, 6x optical zoom multiplied by 4x digital zoom for a total of 24x zoom. I'll have to play around with the settings some more to see if I can eliminate some of the blurriness. Ironically, I was trying to photograph the moon during an eclipse this past February that made me want a new camera. Here is a photo from that attempt:

Quite a difference, isn't it? This was as close as I could get. My old camera has only 2x digital zoom.

Finally, I have a new love of my life. I don't know how I lived without her. I can't decide what I like more. Her sleek, feminine, disk-shaped body or her awesome cleaning abilities. May I introduce you all to................




iRobot Roomba 400!

I don't know how I lived without Roomba. It is a pretty good vacuum. I have wanted one, ever since iRobot first released them . I was at Wal*Mart one day and as soon as I saw Roomba, I knew I had to have one. The particular model I have, Roomba 400, is an entry level model, but it can be upgraded to have scheduling capabilities and a base station Roomba will seek out when it is done cleaning. I know what you all are thinking. I promise to leave home more often and have more human contact.

Canadian Maple Leaf and a Few Other Pictures

As many of you may know, Canada Day was last Tuesday. I meant to post this sooner, but I had to work a lot last week. On top of that I went away for a five day holiday (nothing special); more on that later. Last year I created a simplistic tatted maple leaf for a project I have been meaning to do.

I wrote up the pattern earlier this evening in case anyone wants to make it. For the record, I have not seen anything like this, but, as always, someone else may have a similar design. If so let me know.

Start CTM (Continuous thread method) with red, or desired colour thread.

R: 6---3-3 Cl RW
CH: 3-3 RW
R: 5+7---1----1---3-5 Cl
R: 5+6---1----1---6-5 Cl
R: 5+3---1----1---7-5 Cl RW
Ch: 3+3 RW
R: 3+3---6 Cl

While holding both threads to the back of the work, join to the same

picot that the second chain joins to.

Ch: 8 or until desired length. Cut, tie and hide.

Abbreviations

R -> Ring
Ch -> Chain
- -> regular size picot
--- -> long picot
---- -> extra long picot
RW -> reverse work

If there is something that isn't clear, just leave me a comment, and I'll fix it.

I have been working on my final motif for the 25 Motif Challenge. It is one I made before but forgot to photograph. I'm not sure when I'll be done, I have four out of six yellow petals complete, and then I have a couple blue petals and a calyx to make. As with many other people, I am participating in the Here Be Tatters yahoo! group summer exchange. I'll show what I made when my partner gets it.

As I mentioned earlier, I went on a five day holiday this past weekend. It wasn't anything special, I just went to my parents house. I can report that my mom loved the bracelets I made. I also made her a pair of Yarnplayer's Carnival earrings. I didn't get a picture of the completed earrings (surprise, surprise) but here is a progress pic;

I used some Altin Basak thread (colour 3005 I believe) and some blue Czech seed beads. Instead of a pearl in the centre, I used a bead made of Turquoise Howlite (AKA Faux Turquoise). If I do say so myself, they looked good. I made a slight modification to the pattern. Because my mom prefers earrings that are shorter in length, I eliminated the spiral chain and shortened the beads that dangle from the centre picot. The shuttle, is, of course, one of LadyShuttlemaker's ceramic shuttles.

While at my parent's house, I took some pictures of the Prairie Lilies that grow wild throughout Saskatchewan (and probably elsewhere as well).

The Prairie Lily AKA Western Red Lily (Lilium philadelphicum) is the provincial flower of Saskatchewan. They can be seen growing alongside roads and in forests throughout the province. There are also over twenty species of native orchids that grow in Saskatchewan as well, but I haven't seen them in person. Well, I don't think I have seen them, I'm sure I may have but didn't know it.

Finally, I had a surprise when I got home on Monday. I had purchased a Hibiscus over a month ago. I have always wanted one and finally found one. I researched the proper care for them and gave it a quick prune to make it look nice. The plant started growing well, and produced several buds. Yes, buds. I guess that means I'm doing something right. One of the buds opened while I was gone.

My hand is right behind the flower. I couldn't believe how big the flower is. It's a good thing I took some pictures of the flower, as it was closed when I got home this afternoon. Not a problem though; there are another half a dozen or so buds just waiting to open. Here is another picture from a different perspective.

That's all for now. I'll try to post again soon (now where have I heard that before?).

Motifs # 23 & 24, Just a Couple Bracelets

As the title says, my next two motifs, #23 and #24 are two bracelets for my mom. Here is the first one:

This bracelet was inspired by the bookmark I made earlier this year. The pattern is Interlocking Clovers from Mary Konior's book "Tatting Patterns". This has been my main tatting piece for the last four or five days. I made two pieces of lace, one in Flora 20, colour # 204 (yellow) for the inside of the bracelet, and three strands of DFN metallic silver embroidery floss for the outside of the bracelet. I added some gold silver-lined beads for some added sparkle. Of course, I thought the gold beads looked good when I was threading them on (using the method Yarnplayer demonstrated on her blog). After working on it, I realized that red would have looked better (kinda like rubies), though blue would have looked good too. I joined the silver layer to the yellow layer as it was being worked. Before joining the last short end, I inserted a 1 inch brass cuff bracelet (available from BeadFX, I'm sure it can be found elsewhere) then finished the last silver chain, and joining to the yellow layer. I kinda like it; I hope my mom will too. Oh, and please ignore the hairy wrist being used to model both bracelets. I'm going to be giving my mom both bracelets next weekend and if I don't photograph them now, I may forget.

The second bracelet is one I started a few months ago. I was unsure of how to finish the ends, so it was set aside.


This bracelet is called "Pearl Tatting Bracelet" and was designed by Birgit Phelps. For this bracelet, I used C-Lon beading cord in two shades of purple and three Swarovski crystal beads. The pattern was fairly simple to make, though the pearl tatting part was time consuming compared to regular tatting. The thread I used probably added some complications. For those of you unfamiliar with C-Lon thread, it is a heavy nylon thread used for beading mainly, but it does tat quite well. Finishing took a bit of time to get right. I know that nylon thread is often melted when finishing, but I wasn't happy with the results. So, this project has been an almost done UFO. I ordered a larger clasp from... do I need to say where? I tied the clasp onto the thread and secured the knot with Super Glue. This was the most common finishing method for nylon thread that I found. If anyone has any other suggestions, I would love to hear them.

Finally, I have decided not to participate in the latest tagging game. I just can't think of six unimportant things about me. I'm sure there will be more tagging later. Until next time.

Some Tatting, Some Photos, and Did I mention I'm a Winner

As usual, it's been a while since I last posted. I finished the "Colonial Afghan". Here is a picture of it:

Thanks to my new camera (see post below), I have gotten a better photo of the afghan. It must the nature of the yarn that is making this afghan so hard to photograph. You should see the zig-zag pattern more clearly now. I think I may have to make another one for my mom. Of course, hers will have to be purple (oh the humanity, purple!).

I have also done some tatting as well. Here is my motif # 22 in the 25 Motif Challenge:

This pattern is called "English Ivy" and was designed by own very own Sharon Briggs. The pattern is in Sharon's book "Transitions in Tatting: From Flat to Floral". I used Yarnplayer's "Celery" HDT in size 30 and DMC Cebelia size 30 in colour number 699. I really like this pattern. I plan on making several more stem of different lengths to make a 3D plant. Due to carelessness of my part, this stem has a mutated leaf. I, um, forgot the short chain between the first and second ring, and didn't notice till I had to make the chain between the last two rings. I didn't want to cut off what I had made, so I left it the way it was. I actually like the "unintentional design variation" that occurred. Nature isn't perfect after all.

As I mentioned in the title of this post, I am a winner. Not once, but twice. First I won Gina B's monthly drawing. I can't wait to see what she makes for me. If you haven't entered her drawing, just go to her blog to find her email address and relevant posts about the drawing. Secondly, I won a $25 gift certificate from my favorite Canadian bead store, BeadFX. I'm very happy with this store, and you can't beat $4.95 ExpressPost shipping for all order under $100 (over $100 are shipped free if you're wondering). Now that I have the endorsement out of the way.....

Finally, last post I showed a picture of a closeup of a plant I have. Here is the plant that it came from:

This plant is called the Cape Sundew (Drosera capensis). This is another one of my carnivorous plants. I also plan of immortalizing this plant in tatting. I'm just not sure when. I have to finish the Venus Fly Tat (I made another leaf type, but still have to write out the pattern) and the Betta. Oh, and by the way, I have also been tagged in the latest round of tagging. If I can think of six unimportant things about myself, I'll post them tomorrow (or maybe later tonight). Until next time.

TIAS 3 Comes to a Close

As many of you following Jane's TIAS 3 know, the final part was posted. Here is my finished piece:

I did the hair differently (Jane said we could!). The hair is actually done similarly to one of Martha Ess's creations. And as many other people have mentioned, the surprise Jane sends after we completed the TIAS is really cool. Jane has been one busy lady.

I haven't done much tatting besides the TIAS. I have been working on my "Colonial Afghan". I am getting close to the end. I should have finished it a while ago, but I have been busy with work and gardening. I will post a new picture once it is complete. I transplanted a bunch of my Cannas as well as a bunch of herbs into large containers last week. I'll show pictures once they flower, or do something spectacular.

I do have a few pictures to show. A couple of my spiking phalaenopsis orchids opened their flowers recently. Here is the first one:

This is probably my favorite phalaenopsis orchid I have (currently, anyway). Unfortunately, it is a NOID plant; NOID meaning no identification (or I have NO IDea what the plant is). The second phal is the same one I posted about earlier this year. I wanted to see if I could reflower a phalaenopsis. It worked. I shouldn't tell you what the next flower is. I'm sure no one would guess right.

It is not an orchid. Give up? All right, I'll tell. Here is a picture of the plant that the flower came from:

Quite a contrast, isn't it. This is a Mexican Butterwort, another carnivorous plant of mine. Actually, it is a new addition to my CP collection. I also got a new digital camera! I have been wanting one for a loooooooong time now, since February. February is a long time for some people. Any way, after looking at a few different models I chose a Canon Powershot A720 IS. This camera has many feature I wanted. It has optical zoom (my old camera only had digital zoom), lots of preset settings for special occasions (it has setting for taking pictures of aquariums and one for fireworks to name a few), it can make videos (I can make tatting videos! Maybe not), it has a Macro mode (which I have wanted for a long time), and it was in my price range at $200 CDN after instant rebates. I'll post again soon, I plan on doing a little tatting today yet. Before I go, I'll leave you with one more picture:

No comments on this one today. Have pleasant dreams!

Just Some Pictures to Show

On her blog, Gina is showing her progress on Filigree Scroll, from Traditional Tatting Patterns edited by Rita Weiss. She mentions a few problems with the pattern. I made this pattern a few (I'm not sure how long ago) years ago. Here is my version:

I left Gina a comment telling her I made the motif before and offered to show my version. I was sure I did a better job on it. I really did. i even blocked it before posting, but it didn't help that much. I'm not sure exactly what size thread I used. It must be either a size 20 or 30. It is a inexpensive 3 cord crochet cotton. That's the problem! I knew it wasn't me! But seriously, looking at it, it looks like the chains were not tightened enough. I think I will remake the motif sometime. Maybe in some HDT.......

Here is my progress on Day 5 of TIAS 3:

It's looking familiar now. I have a few ideas on what it could be, but I'll keep quiet for a while yet. While looking at Jane's blog, I came across a motif of hers that is suspiciously similar. But I'm not talking. You may notice that the Josephine Knots at the bottom (I think) look different. The one on the left is done the traditional way, the second is done using the Jane's method. The instructions are at the bottom of the page. Mark, AKA TatMan, has posted instructions on making the double stitch in a different way, he calls it a "Dizzy Double Stitch". This is the same thing that Jane is using except it is for both halves of the DS; Jane is using only the second half. It works well, but I need more practice with it. That's all for now.

Test Tatting, TIAS 3, and an Update on "It"

As I mentioned in my last post, I have been doing some test tatting for Linda Davies. Linda asked me nicely to show some of the completed pieces. Here are a few parts of her Gladiolus flower that will appear in her next book.


These are the large and medium petals that will produce, well, large and medium flowers once two sets of petals are made for each flower. You can't tell in the pictures, but I used the same shade of Flora 20 thread (# 225) for both sets of petals and the bud.

These next picture are the Gladiolus bud, large and small calyxes. Isn't Linda great? She thinks of everything when designing a new flower. I should note that I have reduced the image size to protect Linda's design. I'm sure everyone understands.

I am also following Jane's TIAS 3 that is currently running right now. This is my progress up to the end of Day 4.

I didn't scan my progress for Days 1-3. I probably won't scan after every day's progress, though it will depend on the number of parts the pattern is broken down in. At this point I haven't the faintest idea what TIAS 3 will become. And I'm not sure I want to know yet; it's so much fun not knowing what you're tatting.

I'm sure everyone remembers "It", from previous posts. If not here is a reminder:


Well, I spent this afternoon working on "It" and I'm proud to say he's not "It" anymore. I'd like to introduce everyone to "Red" (coming up with names isn't one of my strong skills):

I'm not completely happy with some of his fins, but at least he looks like what he is supposed to. Red is a male Betta (or Siamese Fighting Fish). I'm going to try blocking him to see if I can shape his fins better. I should also note that I forgot to add a bead for Red's eye when I was tatting him, so I added it in with Photoshop. Here's a picture of Red's big brother, Big Red (I told you naming isn't a strong skill of mine):

Big Red is the fish that I based Red on. Please ignore the plastic plants in the background. This picture was taken before I put live plants in the aquarium. Now, I know what you are thinking, when will the pattern be available? To be honest, I don't know. I'm not sure I can reproduce Red's fins. I have been thinking that maybe I will write up the pattern (and modify the diagram) for the body and have everybody free tat the fins like I did. What do you think? I'd love to hear your comments and suggestions. I going to count Red as my motif # 21 in the 25 Motif Challenge. That's all for now.

Introducing ...... A New Tatted Plant Species!

I guess the title tells all. I won't keep you all in suspense any longer. Here it is:

Pretty good, eh? OK, OK. I didn't make this one. This is my personal Venus Fly Trap (actually, there are three in this pot) that my tatted version is based off of. Now here is the one I made:

I call this a "Venus Fly Tat". Pretty clever, if I do say so myself. I will have to make a few more large leaves, then perhaps a couple small, unopened ones. Eventually, I plan on having the pattern available. I'm not sure when; how I did it was probably, um, imaginative. The whole leaf is done continuously, starting at a ring and ending with a split ring. The stem is tatted over doubled wire. I haven't spent as much time on this (and "It") as I would like because I have been test tatting for Linda Davies. More on that another day.

I received my bookmark from my other partner recently. Here is "Louie" (he was named when I got him).

This is from Valerie of Singapore. I wonder if she knows Ellen? Louie is from Diana Steven's book "A Tatted Zoo", done in Flora size 20. Valerie made a few modifications to the pattern.

Here are the bookmarks I made for Valerie and Karin:

The bookmarks are made with LadyShuttleMaker's "Tutti Fruitti" thread in size 20. Karin's bookmark has orange Flora 20 in colour number 224. Valerie's bookmark has red Flora 20 in colour number 221. The pattern is of course Martha Ess's "Maltese Ring Bookmark" from Tat Days 2007. I am happy to report that both Valerie and Karin really liked their bookmarks. I am counting these as motifs # 19 and # 20 in the 25 Motif Challenge. That's all for now.

I've Been Tatting

First off, I want to show a design that I have been thinking about making for awhile now. I won't tell you what it is for a few days yet (I need to make a few more). I'm pretty sure there isn't a tatted version yet.


Hopefully it isn't too obvious what it is. But you're welcome to make guesses it you want (I won't tell what it is but it would be fun to see if anyone can guess). I also have a couple new tatting books. I received Sharon's book "Transitions In Tatting" and Rozella Linden's (AKA Ruth Perry) newest Celtic tatting book "Celtic Tatting: A Design Journey on an Ancient Theme". I have lots of things picked out to make. Now, if only I could find more time (unfortunately I have to work over the upcoming long weekend, so it may be next week before I get more serious tatting done).

I also have Motif # 18 for the 25 Motif Challenge finished.

This is Ruth Perry's Celtic Daffodil. This flower has a total of nine Celtic knots, consisting of two different types. If you are interested in the flower, you can contact Ruth directly (her blog may have contact info, otherwise leave me a comment and I'll send you her email address). I tatted the daffodil in size 20 Flora in colour # 204 (I think). This was given to my Mom for Mother's Day (I remembered to take a picture!).

Oh, I also have an update on "It". I remade It and I am more pleased with how It turned out. I still have more work on it before I will reveal more information about It.

It is still pretty unrecognizable at this point, but once I add some features to It, it will be much easier to identify It. I think that's all for now. Hopefully I will post again in a few days.

A Little Bit of Crochet, Tatting, Designin', and Exchangin'

Judging by the title, you'd think I've been busy. Well, you'd be partially right. I have been working on my crochet afghan since my bookmarks for the exchange were mailed. I promised a photo when I last posted. It wasn't easy, but here is a close up of the afghan:


This image is the best one I could come up with. I think I may have to look into a new digital camera. I'm not sure if I mentioned it earlier, but the afghan is called "Colonial Zig-Zag" by Shirley Brown. I'm using Lion Brand Homespun in, wait for it, Colonial! Yes, the pattern name is correct, I didn't change it. The Homespun yarn is really nice to work with, but it has one drawback, it unravels when cut. So you have to knot the ends when you cut it. I am so glad that I decided not to make a fringe on it. Besides requiring nearly a full skein of yarn (I didn't want to buy more than needed), I personally think fringes are kind of "girly" (sorry ladies, don't throw your tatting shuttles at me, unless they are Aero's!).

I have not done much tatting since finishing my bookmarks for the exchange. I have started a pattern by Ruth Perry, but it won't be done for a few days at least. The main piece of tatting I have been working on is a design I came up with. I really don't want to show it, but I will anyway. I will not, however, tell you what it is supposed to be.

To be honest, "it" would look better if I'd followed the (really nice) diagram I had made. Everything pictured was tatted continuously (which may have been part of the problem). I'll be revisiting this piece again later. I'm sure it will look much better. I have also decided to try one of LadyShuttleMaker's ceramic shuttles. I know, I know. I have mentioned before that I like Aero's and Aero type shuttles, but I keep getting drawn to post type shuttles. Here is my new shuttle:

This is one of Sherry's "Agateware" shuttles. When she first showed it, I knew it HAD to be mine. It is actually not a bad tatting shuttle. I did find that when using fine threads, the shuttle unwinds when let go, but that more of a slight annoyance more than anything.

Finally I have received my bookmark from my first partner Karin from Germany. She sent me a really nice bookmark that she designed herself.

This is a really pretty bookmark. Karin used Coats Eldorado in size 10 colour # 4288. The fringe at the bottom is made from cut really long picots. OK, so fringes aren't always girly. Besides the bookmark Karin sent a cool postcard (as well as something extra).

I've been in a number of exchanges, and this one is certainly one of the best. I sure hope Karin likes the bookmark (and the colours I've used). I'll show the bookmarks I have made once both of my partners have received them. Until next time.