In celebration of my 2 year blogiversary on hankering for yarn, I am having a heap of contests
This is a Lady Hoare tatting shuttle that I made. I won’t be making them anymore, as they are incredibly finicky and tricky to make. Besides, I am having so much fun making and working with my ‘Little Bird’ Tatting shuttles, that I think I’ll stick with them!

Congratulations TattingChic! Your number was 2 and that’s what came up! Please send me a response to the email that I sent you, so I can mail your treasure to you!

Hope you will enjoy them!

Image source: Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

I carved this Lady Hoare Style tatting shuttle from mahogany. They take ages to carve, and I have decided not to make them anymore.

I am so delighted with the Little Bird tatting shuttles that I designed and now make that I am going to stick to making them. They’re a delight.

ANYHOW! Here’s how you can win the last Lady Hoare tatting shuttle that I will ever make!

The contest begins NOW and runs until  7 pm Mountain Time, August 3, 2008.

Here are the rules:

1]  To enter the contest, leave a comment in the comment box on this page.

2]  You MUST leave me a valid email address, because I’ll need to email you when you win.

(BUT my email has been flakier than can be believed, so I HIGHLY recommend  checking back on this page on August 3 after 7 pm Mountain Time.)

3]  You have until Tuesday August 5 to respond, and if you don’t, I’ll draw again and award them to someone else (horrors! It HAS happened!)

4] There are no limits to the number of times that you can enter. Feel free to enter as often as you want! It means a better chance of winning….. ;o)
5] My family are not allowed to enter, but friends and fellow travellers are most welcome to enter!  The draw is based on randomly drawing a number, so it’s neutral and fair. )

6] I’ll pay the postage if you live in Canada or the USA, but if you live somewhere else on the planet, I’ll ask you to cover the postage.
7]  To see the other contests that I am having  please click the link:

Noreen’s Contests 

Image source: Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I am participating in the Bloggy Giveaways! Click the link to join in: Bloggy Giveaways

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

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 he called ‘pearling’ or ‘purling’, but it sounds like tatting, not knitting…..  hmmmm…..

intriguing…..

Image source: Noreen Crone-Findlay 

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

Yesterday, I posted a note about the tatted cord that I have just designed. It’s for a Lady Hoare tatting shuttle that I made and broke… rats… so it became a necklace.

Here’s how I tatted the cord:

With a dental floss threader, thread a heap of ‘e’ beads onto the cone of Lion Brand Lamé yarn.

The cord is a sequence of *5 double knots (dk), slip a bead down the thread to the last dk, 1 dk, 1 picot, 1 dk, slip a bead down to the dk* repeated from * to *

The pic above shows the bead slipped down to the last of the 5 dk.

And the pic below shows the dk that holds the 1st bead in place.

Here’s the picot and the next dk:

So, I repeated the * to * for 30 inches (75 cm) and then took the thread through the eye of the jewelry clasp, and headed back up the cord:

For the 2nd half of the cord, I did 5 dk, then joined the shuttle thread to the picot, and repeated this process for the entire length of the cord.

At the end, I worked a ring of 9 dk, closed it, cut the threads, tied knots, trimmed the ends and did a little happy dance!

Image source: Noreen Crone-Findlay

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

this tatted cord:

I am really pleased with the cord. I wanted it to be simple and not too frou frou.

It’s light and really pleasant to wear.

I am going to make it up in other threads to see how it looks in other colors and textures.

I loved the process of coming up with this design, and now, I am super inspired about designing all kinds of other tatted jewelry!

Fun!

Image Source: Noreen Crone-Findlay (copyright)

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

making a tatting shuttle that broke.

And, so I recycled it and made it into a necklace:

And, now, I am debating about the cord for the necklace.

I know I am going to use Lion Brand Lamé in the oilslick version, but I am waffling about how I am going to make it.

I know that the Cordelia cordmaker on the left, works soooooooooooo beautifully for making square cords.

But…. since the necklace began it’s life as a tatting shuttle, it would make sense to tat the cord….

So, that’s what I have done!

Here’s the link to the finished cord: Tatted necklace

Image source: Noreen Crone-Findlay (c)

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

I broke one of the tatting shuttles

sigh.

I tossed it into the sawdust bucket for burning next winter.

Tammy suggested that I reclaim it and use it as an inkle shuttle.

I like my inkle shuttles to have straight sides, so it wouldn’t work for that…. But…

I had been thinking that the Lady Hoare shuttles look like little dancing people….. so…..

I raced out to the workshop, grabbed the broken shuttle, and drilled a tiny hole.

I put a wire through it and a bead onto it (for the head) and

Voila!

I decided to burn embellishments on it:

and dip it into the varnish:

And, now, I am just delighted with it!

So, there you have it – a bit of an old desk drawer is recycled into a tatting shuttle, which is recycled into a necklace.

Recycling squared!

What have you reclaimed or recycled lately?

And…. do you have a favorite shuttle, tatting or otherwise?

Also, thank you so much for posting comments.

You inspire me! Yay for creativity!

Image source: Noreen Crone-Findlay

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

In my previous posting, I showed how I got started making the Lady Hoare tatting shuttle.

I took the bits of recycled wood back out to the workshop, and cut the 2 shuttles out on the bandsaw:

Then finished up the openings with a smaller saw:

Next, time to make some sawdust:

You can see how it’s looking more ’shuttle -y’:

Time to switch to files:

OH RATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I snapped one prong off! THIS is why I always cut out TWO!

(I didn’t waste the broken one- see what I did with it)

So, start all over and be a WHOLE lot more careful!

HURRAH! I actually finished it without breaking it!

Finishing touch time:

I burned a little interlacing heart on it.

Voila! my new tatting shuttle from an old desk drawer!

They are a monster load of work to make, so I wouldn’t be making them for sale.

Besides, people can order beautiful Lady Hoare tatting shuttles from Lacis in Oakland, CA.

(no profit in saying so, but I dearly love their shop and the people who created and run it)

I LOVE making my own tools, and especially love it when I am reclaiming the stuff I am using in making the new treasure !

Image Source: Noreen Crone-Findlay

Post from: Hankering for Yarn