The Merry Month of May

Well its almost the end of May!

I really haven't had much time to tat latterly but when new thread comes through my door the urge to see what it looks like when tatted, gets the better of me.

A very very kind person called Sue Anna sent me the HDT you now see in this container. My stash quadrupled overnight! I might even be in danger of being addicted to it now! Thank you so so much Sue Anna.

The butterfly is made from one of the skeins.





If you look at Fox's blog you will see that she has posted the threads that the earrings are made from. The red one is the metallic thread and the other one is Yarn Players garden afternoon.

Now this chap is on a tree not too far from where I live, no idea who put him there, but he could be a green man, and he could represent the coming of Summer, lets hope so! A little less frightening than Fox's witch I'd say!!!

This month also saw the arrival of the bobbins for the shuttles, they were held up for various reasons. The new batch are purple, but a really nice purple and go well with the shuttles. "I'm in the garage" is slowly catching up with the orders so please be patient if you haven't received yours yet, he is working his little fingers to the bone!

Winsome

What does the word "Winsome" mean ? Well accordingly to my very old battered Oxford Dictionary it means "charming, attractive, bright" which really does suit the earrings below.

The pattern is Janes and you will find it here.

With using different beads you can make them look really pretty, yes and winsome!
These are my Winsome earrings - the tigereye beads were given to me by Ridgewoman, via Jane, they are sort of blowing in the wind.

THINK BIG!

Martha asked if "I'm in the garage" could make a special post shuttle for her that would hold a lot of thread and beads, but she also wanted a hook attached to it. Was it possible? Well actually yes, this is the result - now again I have to say it hasn't been tested but so far so good. The shuttle is 3 7/8" long

Here is Jane's latest cabone ring pattern and this too is an over sized dangle! At its widest it measures almost 2 1/2" . It had to have a bit of cosmetic surgery (a extra knot at the top) as the bead was not a snug fit and was very heavy. With the proper sized plastic rings and beads they work extremely well. I just thought I would try making a larger one. Will post the smaller ones I have made another day, before I give them away! They are so addictive and I was fortunate enough to be given the chance to test the pattern before it went live!

Now those of you who have put your name down for a pop-A-bobbin shuttle may be wondering where it is, and how come that special orders are being made before your shuttle? The answer is that we were awaiting the plastic bobbins. I am delighted, thrilled and jumping up in the air because they have now arrived in the UK and hopefully should be in the garage tomorrow.

Wood Stories

The other week we had a visitor a tatter and lace maker who brought with her some very special bits of wood, a piece of horse chestnut which came from a tree that once stood near her home when she was a child. The other piece you see in the picture is a piece of Laburnum which she also produced from a plastic bag. You will notice that it has a very interesting grain, quite purple inside, this may fade as the wood dries, hopefully not. She has obviously requested a shuttle or two to be made!

This is the wood before it was cut

Back in February I talked about one of the wood suppliers who lived in America, we purchased purple heart and cocobola wood from him. The first delivery was delayed because he managed to saw his thumb off. Well just before Easter some more wood was ordered. “I’m in the garage” kept in touch by e.mail with this wood supplier and although he did develop an infection in his thumb, he was getting on fine and he informed us that he was about to post the consignment. We did not hear from him for a long time despite trying to contact him via e.mail. One evening a few weeks ago an e.mail was received from a relation of his to say that he had been badly burnt in a house fire and had died a few days later from his injuries. Curious to know more I searched the Internet and sure enough found a newspaper article about the fire and even a picture of the burnt out shell of his home. In there was our wood which he never managed to post

On a happier note this is a picture of “I’m in the garage” with a chain saw. The wood he is cutting is a huge piece of cherry wood that was given to us by a friend about 3 yrs ago, the tree used to stand in his garden.

Here are the cherry logs before they were cut, well seasoned in the garden


There is one good thing the garage is now a lot warmer than it used to be in the depths of winter!

Shuttles and Thread

These are the first post shuttles to be made out of the wood that Krystle sent. The top one is an ordinary post shuttle and the one underneath is a post shuttle with a point, this time pointing upwards.




I hope the photographs are
clear enough for you to see.




"I'm in the garage" thinks the wood is teak. Krystle requested this wood to be used for her shuttles so I will be posting them to her very soon.

Something that flew the opposite way across "the pond" last week was this HDT from Yarnplayer, Garden Afternoon which does remind me of an English summer afternoon. Unfortunately we are having a very cold spell in England at the moment, so I need this beautiful thread to give me something to look forward to. On so many blogs I've seen photographs of the amazing HDT collections other tatters have. Below you see my entire collection, all I own - that's it! I feel it is too precious to use, but I purchased it with a project in mind so when I have time it will be put to full use.

Marilee was so kind to send me a sample of "leafy" . My cup runneth over!

Iona Crosses

There is a small island off the west coast of Scotland that is famous for its Christian heritage. St. Columba founded a monastery there 1,400 years ago. He left Ireland for Scotland and arrived in Iona in 563 AD not as missionary, but as an act of self-imposed penance for a terrible mess he had caused at home. He had upset the king of Ireland by refusing to hand over a copy of the Gospels he had illegally copied, this led to a pitched battle in which Columba's warrior family prevailed. Full of remorse for his actions and the deaths he had ultimately caused he fled, finally setting on Iona as the first place he found from where he couldn't see his native Ireland. One of the features on the island is even called "The Hill with its back to Ireland". Iona became the greatest centre of learning in Dark Age Europe.

For just under 400 years the settlement lay in ruins until, in 1938, the Iona Community, an Ecumenical Christian group, was founded there by the Rev George MacLeod. Today it is a centre of pilgrimage for many Christians who find the beauty and simplicity of the place awe inspiring.
I have given one of these Iona Crosses to the Vicar who is now there on holiday and enjoying the peace and tranquility away from hectic Parish Life. The crosses are made working with two threads DMC 30 and Coats 40, and the pattern - well it’s a clever, brilliant and beautiful pattern that Jane gave me, a sisters perk!!!