Several of my readers and I have been talking lately about  NOT recycling needlework and craft magazines so that a valuable ethnilogical, anthropological, historic and sociological resource is not lost. (Besides, we just plain like old needlecraft magazines and books!)
First of all
check out the
lace behind
the bunny
tatting
shuttle….
It’s  a fragment
of needle lace that
I bought 20 years
from a lace collector.
I am fascinated by fragments of  interesting lace whenever I come upon them, as I feel that they are a valuable resource that have clues to the history of needlework.
Anyhow… check out the tiny flowers… aren’t they gorgeous?  Bear with me… this gets a …read more

Many years ago, I bought some samples and fragments of handmade lace from a woman who had been collecting lace for years.
One of the tiny pieces that I bought then,
and have cherished ever since,
has always been a mystery to me.
But, now, I am convinced that I  know what it is!
Lynn and Elizabeth left comments
on yesterday’s post and have confirmed
that the piece of  ‘mystery lace’
that I wrote about yesterday is
definitely needlepoint lace.
And, I am convinced that this
3 inch/7.5 cm square is, as well.
It’s utterly exquisite, and is worked on
an extraordinarily miniature scale!
When I was googling around,
researching handmade lace,
I googled on ‘needle …read more

Yesterday,  I posted pics of  an improvised drying rack for hanging tatting shuttles after I have varnished them.
Lynn posted a comment saying that she uses  a pasta drying rack for drying her lace bobbins.
I thought that this was a great idea, and filed it away in the- hmmmm… ‘clever… file’….
When we dropped in on a garage sale,
I spotted a wire basket
that gave me an aha moment…..
I thought…
it’s not a pasta dryer
but ….
this will work
BEAUTIFULLY
for drying  the tatting shuttles.
So, that’s my ‘yay’ for the day.
And, now, there’s another totally excellent book that I want to give the thumbs up to….
‘Tatting with …read more

 Bloggy giveaway carnival time is over…..

The other day, I posted about the Hedgehog Tatting Shuttles that I have just designed and am now making.

Well……
I  offered one of my  Hedgehog Tatting Shuttles (one of a kind, handmade by me) as a prize in the bloggy giveaway carnival!
ANd the winner is #60, Nicole – congratulations! Hope you will enjoy it!
and make sure you leave a valid email address. 
The Contest  is now closed.

Image Source: Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright
Please note: I am no longer writing hankering for yarn. You can catch up with me at www.tottietalkscrafts.com

I have always found hedgehogs to be charming.
But, we have a greyhound, so we could never have a pet hedgehog. (’Mmmm, tasty’, I can imagine him saying….)
So, recently, when one of my readers asked me if I would make a teardrop shaped tatting shuttle, I did some sketches, and played with it, and came up with:

I am VERY pleased with it!
It tats like a dream, not at all spikey like it’s real life inspiration.
I love it when fun things evolve out of conversations with my hankering for yarn buddies!
Image  Source: Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

While we were driving to the West coast at the beginning of Sept 08, I finally finished crocheting the background for a freeform butterfly shawl that I’ve been working on for ages.
The shawl is a combination of tatting and crochet and is a small semi-circular shoulder shawl. It is super comfortable to wear as it stays in place without tugging.
I love putting crochet together with tatting as they are  harmonious  partners.

I went through a fair amount of frustration with making the shawl, as I had to frog it many times to find the perfect combination of threads.
But, now I love …read more

 
Tatting Chic won the Lady Hoare tatting shuttle that I gave away recently on my blog.
She wrote about it: Tatting Chic and the new Lady Hoare shuttle
She was disappointed to find it slow and difficult to work with.
The Lady Hoare tatting shuttles are slower to work with, but you can move along with them at a fair clip, once you get used to them.
AND, there is a secret to working with them comfortably.
Pinch lightly on one of the openings, and have the rest of the tatting shuttle ‘float’ out in front of your fingers.   A closed shuttle will sit mostly …read more

People have been asking me if the Little Bird Tatting Shuttle is available for purchasing.
I have sold out the Little Bird tatting shuttles, but do have a few of the Blue Birds of Happiness left.

I just did a quick google search about tatting shuttles and other needlework tools.
One of the neatest things that came up was a site that has a copy of a book called:
‘Old Time Tools and Toys of Needlework’ 
It’s such a charming read that I found myself getting totally absorbed in it!
I loved reading about the Lady Hoare shuttles.  The quotation about the joys and pleasures of needlework is just lovely. I don’t want to break copyright, so I won’t quote it, but definitely recommend a quick browse (or leisurely schmooz ).
Interesting that the poet Chaucer wrote about ladies doing something …read more

Tatted butterflies make wonderful earrings.
I fell in love with Kreinik’s Metallic 1/8″ ribbon thread and wanted to tat some butterflies with it:

There’s 5 meters on the spool, but I didn’t know if that would be enough to tat 2 butterflies.
So, I decided to do an experiment.
I wound 5 m of Rainbow Hemp Beading Twine from Jolly store  onto my tatting shuttle and tatted these Rainbow Butterflies:

Poifeck!
You can get a pair of earrings with less than 5 m!
So, I went ahead and wrapped my shuttle with the spool of
Kreinik Metallics #209C 1/8″ Ribbon yarn  
and it tatted up BEAUTIFULLY!

I am …read more