Which One?

As I said in my last post I had another idea for a design and this one is very seasonal, and yes as Jane McLellan said there is a huge gap between the original idea and the final product, but I don't find that gap fun at all!  I have worked on this particular idea all week between preparing for Holy Week and children's activities, and also having a massive Spring clean in certain areas of the house.  I even spent hours removing wood dust off the freezer washing machine and surrounding areas in the garage, when 'Im in the garage was out, you have no idea what mess he makes in there to produce shuttles!

So the result is these two button eggs, well I hope you recognise them as such!  I showed the first one to several people but did not say what it was supposed to be and they all said it was a pendant.  I was rather deflated at that, but how would they know what I was trying to design?  I then came up with the second button egg.  So which one should I run with?  Excuse the way they are scanned, my scanner is high up and I can't see whether they are straight or not!  The first one is using two threads 30 and 40 and the second is Lizbeth 20.

To me designing tatting patterns is like giving birth, when it is over you are delighted but it is the pain before then that hurts so much!   These eggs are what I have given birth to, perhaps they will hatch!!

Trying to design something

Not having the patience and the time to spend doing a lot of tatting, I  frequently have an idea in my head of a design and want instant and fulfilling results when I attempt to do it,  but this never happens.   I have such tremendous admiration for those who seem to just pluck something out of the air and then tat it. Although talking to my big sister it doesn't really happen like that, there are many trials and tribulations along the way.  I made this pendant, a failed attempt as it is not what I was aiming for, but I did wear it today, it reminds me, of a fuchsia flower

Well a little!  But this one does have a bee attacking it!

More shuttles and the new line of "hooks with hats" are going into Jane's Etsy shop later on today.

A zebrano shuttle to wet your appetite.

I have another tatting idea which I am going to try this week, so keep your fingers crossed!

Mothering Sunday

I am pleased to announce that the winner of the giveaway is Singtatter, please could you e.mail me on popabobbinshuttle@gmail.com with your address, and many congratulations - your luck is obviously in!  It is a bit of a coincidence as the items will be going to Singapore, a place I am visiting this year.

Today is Mothering Sunday which is a movable date in the UK as it is always on the fourth Sunday of Lent.  Today the new window was dedicated in one of the churches.  The church dates from the 11th century but the window is very modern, nevertheless it does not look out of place. It was designed and made by a very talented lady.  There is a great deal of symbolism in the window which is dedicated to a former parishioner.  

The hand you see in the window was inspired by a hand that is seen in the plaster of the door way into the church. The imprint of a hand has been there for hundreds of years and is called "the hand of God". Parishioners used to put their hand on it either when entering or leaving the church.

Also the font that "Im in the garage" made was dedicated by the Bishop at another church in the same village, so it was quite an exciting day.

More shuttles and a few hook holders (as seen in the giveaway) have travelled to Jane's home and she will be announcing their arrival into her shop soon.  

Perhaps you can see that they are even more streamlined than before.  We are all waiting for the garage to get a little warmer, so that more shuttles can be made!

200th Blog Post

To celebrate I am giving away this silk draw-string bag, a new hook holder and a dove.  The hook size is 0.4 and the wood is cocobola rosewood.  I did not make the bag or the embellishment but did add the tatting.  The dove has been cut from a plinth that was underneath an altar and is made from English oak, the plinth had been in the church for well over 100 years old until it was removed recently.

All you have to do is express your wish to win the give-away by making a comment.  You have until Saturday 17th March (St. Patrick's Day) and I will announce the winner on Sunday 18th March after using a Random Number Generator, so please come back then to see who has one, it could be you!

There will soon be some pop-a-bobbin shuttles for sale plus hook holders, and I will take a photograph of the new shuttles as the design has been refined again.

Meanwhile I wish you the luck of the Irish!

Thank you to all who have entered this giveaway, I just wanted to clarify that it is open to everyone regardless of where they live. I am prepared to post to all corners of the world!  Well that is as long as I have an address!

Nearly there!

This is my 199th post and to celebrate my 200th there will be a "giveaway", so do come back then, to see what it is.  


I started a blog in April 2009 and have averaged just over 60 posts a year. This does not seem many especially compared to some people who obviously have a lot more time and energy than I do, but at least I am consistent!


My latest tatting project has been these necklaces.


Looking at Jane's star motif which is here, it just shouted out to be turned into a necklace.


The left hand one is made with the Lizbeth thread that Jane choose the colour combination for, Pink Cocoa.

The one on the right is using HDT given to me by Sue Anna

'Im in the garage has had a nasty cold which he then passed on to me.  Because of this shuttle production grounded to a halt for awhile.  


However, he is now back in the garage and is about to start the hook holders. He is going to make a few single ones and is also planning to make some double ended ones.  The only problem is that he doesn't know what sizes the two hooks should be on each end of the double ones. What  sizes are preferred for these? Any help will be much appreciated with this problem!   

Leap Year

The last day of February, the month when snowdrops are seen. The dove is made out of the oak wood left over from the making of the font, there are another 30 resting in a basket.  A few bits of wood have also been reserved for some shuttles, so as the wood was originally in the church for many years (underneath the altar) they will be very holy shuttles!

It is of course a Leap Year and today 29th February gives us an extra day which only happens once every 4 yrs.  These extra days are needed to keep our calendar in alignment with the Earth's revolutions around the sun. It is also the year that women are supposed to be able to propose to men, what's new?!

Leap stands for something that jumps, or taking a leap in a different direction,  in my case it stands for leaping from one country to another.  I am travelling to see my son in Singapore this year, and have another trip in the planning stage, but more of that later.

Time to leap over to the wood pile!  We are delighted to say that more Mahonia wood has been sourced and these pieces have been cut trimmed and are now drying out.  It is the yellow shuttle on the top of my blog and is quite popular.

Also this plum cherry was found locally and so it is also drying -  look at that lovely pink stripe in it.

Pop-a-bobbin shuttle making has commenced again as the font is finished.  The new crochet hooks have arrived so the hook holders can now be made for them.   My 200th blog post is also nearly here and I am planning a giveaway but cannot decide what - will have to see what is in the garage!

Oliver Twist

This year marks the bicentenary of Charles Dickens who was born on 7th February 1812. One of the many books he wrote was Oliver Twist about a poor orphan boy in Victorian England.  Probably the most famous line from the book is when Oliver asks for more gruel and says "please sir, I want some more".

So it was with some amusement that I walked in to a charity shop this month and picked up a reel of machine thread called Oliver Twists, for it just reminded me of this character which Dickens portrayed so vividly in his book.  By adding some brown fine sewing thread it became a bit more manageable but sadly the original colours disappeared.  The star motif is Janes and can be found here.
Next I tatted it with a turquoise colour size 60 Coats thread.

     

This is the Canopy Bookmark from Martha Ess's book Playing with Picots, I thought it looked complicated to tat but was amazed how easy it was and what such a lovely effect.

And finally the thread bare without any additions, using another of Jane's patterns 

called Oh so simple edging  as Oliver Twist said "please sir I want more!"