Rabbit Shuttle

    Isn't this just darling? Carollyn (MadTatter80) sent me a rabbit shuttle. It is just so cute and the way she packaged it is so inventive. It has text done with calligraphy and artwork. The little rabbit is inside in a nest of shavings. The pouch is sealed with a wire-stem flower. Just a wonderfully creative package all together.

    Now I have to see if I can tat with it. I have never used the flat shuttles before.

What a Day

    Well. This has been a productive Friday. I stayed home from work today because my car has been in the shop undergoing repairs from the accident a couple weeks ago. I had a rental, but it ran out yesterday. I am cheap enough to say I am not paying for this accident, so I returned the rental and went home on vacation time.
    So.
    Today I have cut grass and cleaned around the house. I have worked on a tatting project that I will post in a few days, hopefully, that I am doing for a local tea house. I got my car back and it looks great. Then I checked the mail and my package is there. Two of them. One I will post tomorrow.

    Look at what I have now. I ordered more shuttles and they arrived in bunches, 2 or three at a time.
Some arrived Wednesday. Some arrived Thursday. The rest arrived today. This is a nice collection of Pop-A-Bobbin shuttles. I have misplaced the package for the Ebony and Apple ones, but that is because they are in use. I love these shuttles!

Pins and Shuttles

    The Pop-A Bobbin shuttles I have been using come with a pin in it and an extra pin in case you lose one. I got to wondering what would I do if I lost both. Then I looked at the 3D printer. I opened Rhino 3D. I drew a pin. I printed 2. They work! And they only take 10 minutes to make. I just keep finding things to print, and for the most part, they are useful.

Now, can I print a bobbin?

Purple Dragon

    I had some purple thread and wanted to make something with it, so I made another dragon. I am starting to like making these. They take maybe 3 hours and are not too hard to do. I think the purple came out nice. Tomorrow I am going to a guild event and will take these with me. I may make a couple while I am there. I'll bet the children there will like them.

Hope This Helps

    I made one more batch of shuttles. These will go, as marked, to Spokane, Washington, today. They should arrive in a couple of days. I made about 200 for this batch. It did not take long.

I did, though, burn up my tool while smoothing edges. I use a Dremel tool with a flex extension to make it easier. I built a box from light pine, then added rubber glove sleeves and mounted the tool to the side with the flex attachment inside. Finally, I hinged a piece of clear Lexan for a top. I can grind away and keep the shrapnel inside the box. I think I must have tried to curve the flex tool too tightly. It melted the rubber covering and about a half dozen shuttles, then the cable inside snapped.

Carousel Ring Round 3

    Just another photo to keep me going. I got the third round of rings in the gold color done. Doing the rings over and over gets a bit repetitive so, to break the boredom of it, I also do other items. I always come back to it though. I think there are 2 more of these rounds to finish the bottom. Then I can start designing the support. You might notice the rings are more relaxed in this round. I did not have to beat them up. They are laying like they should. Now on to the next round.

    Today I think I will work on the TAT program. I need to get that done.

Happy Easter!

More Shuttles

    I am making more shuttles to send to the Shuttlebirds. I thought I would try a new color of plastic this time. I really did not know how they would turn out. I think I really like the pink. It is not usually my favorite color (green is) but this really works well. I am going to make a rack of them for myself as well. I suppose I need to add some to the bag I did for the Palmetto Tatters also.

Accident

    I knew I should have just stayed home and tatted. I have the day off work and I decided to take a break from tatting. I am working on finishing the next round of the carousel doily. I headed to Walmart to pick up a few of the weekly staples. I usually go through a neighborhood so I can avoid traffic. I was coming up to the corner where I get back on the highway and someone in a mini-van turned in. I stopped, as they were swinging wide across the street. It did not matter. They stayed on my side and hit my car (the blue Prius).

 

    Yep, I should have just stayed home tatting. I have worked on it this afternoon though and should have it ready to post tomorrow.

Minor Norwegian Dragon

    Someone on Craftree was having trouble with a pattern for a Minor Norwegian Dragon. I checked out the pattern and decided I wanted one, so here he is. A golden dragon. That is the name of the Chinese restaurant here. Maybe he is their mascot. Cute little fellow, though. Need to do the dimpled ring better. (I hate dimpled rings, in case you haven't heard.)
 

    Dues for the Palmetto Tatters is one butterfly a year. Would this "butterfly" count? (Just kidding.)

Getting Ready Already

    If you have looked at much on this blog, you know I like to do 3D printing. Believe it or not, most of what I print is tatting related. In preparation for Tat Days in September I have been doing more of the "teaching" shuttles that I made for last year. I just spent about an hour and a half with a Dremel Tool cleaning them up. The printing leaves the bottom edge pretty rough, so I have to smooth it a bit.

   I think this may be a good start. If you want some, come to Tat Days and get them. I would love to meet and tat with you. I wish everyone could come, but some of you live just too far away and there is water in the way so you can't just drive. To be honest, I will probably never see where a lot of you live because the cost of flying is just out of my price range. Thankfully, we can tat and chat on here.

    Now on to the tatting I have to work on today. I think my fingers have quit vibrating from the grinding too. I have a couple of small things to finish. I will post those when I do.

Catch Up

    Yesterday was International Tatting Day. I did do some tatting yesterday, but I am not allowed to show it. I worked on my TAT program and got a bit of it done. Still more to do. I am working on the artisan phase. It is taking a while because I have a lot of other things I want to tat also.
    I am trying to catch up with UFO's today. That's UnFinished Objects. I caught up with 2 anyway.
I saw on Craftree someone had done a nice clover just before St. Patrick's day so I had to try one. The first attempt did not work out so well. This one is a bit better, but I think it could be improved if I paid a little more attention.

 

    I had started on a butterfly from Iris Niebach's book of butterflies. I do not like the body because it is a bauble and I have a time with baubles. I decided to go ahead and finish what I started, though.I suppose it looks OK. It could be a whole lot better. I think from now on I will make the body black so the gaps don't show as much.

I have a couple more things to work on today. I think I will sit on the deck out back and watch the dogs play while I tat.