Tat's Heaven

It took me all week to tat Jane's chicken wing pattern, very apt for this time of the year, when we think of chickens, eggs and Easter! The pattern can be found here. I used some thread Jane gave me last weekend and combined it with some thread I had at home. It is a lovely pattern and I fully intend to work it again, but the trials and tribulations were not caused by the pattern, time was the reason I was so slow at completing it. No the trials and tribulations are caused by the "Pop-A-bobbin Tatting Shuttle!" When the suggestion to I'm in the garage about the idea of making wooden shuttles was tentatively made last year, I never thought, nor did he, that it would be a project that would go quite the way it has! The first attempts to make a wooden shuttle in the Autumn didn ’t go well and so it was back to the “drawing board” and eventually a shuttle has been produced that is proving to be acceptable to a lot of tatters. However, I thought it might be a good idea t...

I know it is a little early for Easter but the shops are full of chocolate eggs so I thought I would show a few on my blog. The little baskets I tatted using Jane's pattern. The thread is ancient Coats but the colours seem to blend well together. Now here are the latest pop-a-bobbin shuttles. Purple heart, ebony and coco bola rosewood (which seems to have its plug missing!). Where did you put it Jane? The popper tool is also very attractive don't you think? The three of us "I'm in the garage", Jane and myself had a management meeting on Sunday, the first time we have all been together in one room since production had started. Anyway we sorted a few teething problems out, well at least tried to! There have also been a few supply problems which has caused a slight delay in sending orders out. I will tell you about them on another post as they have not yet been completely resolved. In fact today has been a most frustrating day chasing bobbins, and at one point I w...

Life has been very hectic in this part of the world and so there has been very little time for tatting. These are two key rings I made earlier this year. I'm not going to use them for carrying keys around on but rather for holding those keys that remain indoors such as spare keys or keys that are hardly ever used. So I will hang them up on a key ring holder in the hall way. Here are the latest shuttles lined up on a table. Some of them will be travelling on Saturday to Jane's home. Unfortunately due to the delay in the bobbins arriving not every one who has ordered a shuttle will receive them from this batch. As you know the hooks for the shuttles are hand made by "I'm in the garage", over the past three weeks we have been trying to source ready made small hooks at a reasonable price from various places which include India, Japan and China but so far we have been unsuccessful as the order for such hooks has to be in the region of thousands to make it viable for ...

Tomorrow is Mothering Sunday and not Mother's Day which over the years it has come to be known as in the UK. Mothering Sunday has much earlier origins as a date in the Church calendar. It was a day when people returned to their “mother church” – the nearest large church or cathedral – on the fourth Sunday of Lent. As such, the date moves with the date of Easter, so can fall any time from the start of March to mid-April, which means if it was not for the commercialisation of the day few people would realise when it actually was! Despite its historical significance in the UK, it is now almost impossible to buy a card that says, “Happy Mothering Sunday”. Also on this day those who were in service, such as maids and living away from home, were given the day off and were allowed to visit their mothers, often bringing with them flowers that they had picked on the way. As you can see I tatted some hearts, the pattern is called "Heart of a Butterfly" by Irene Woo. I have made...

As you all must know by now, unless you have been on another planet! The Pop-A-bobbin shuttles are in full production and there are quite a few different woods they are being made out of, which I will try and list soon. Some woods we have bought locally and others have been purchased from overseas. Sharren Morgan asked for a cedar shuttle when the last batch were being made, and so far she is the only person to own one made out of this particular wood. The cedar tree that the wood came from is in these two pictures. As you can see it is very near to the church. About 18 months ago the tree had to have a huge branch cut off it because it was dangerously close to falling on the church and doing considerable damage, particularly as there is stained glass window that would have been badly damaged if it had fallen. One log of the wood was brought around by the Vicar for " i'm in the garage" this was before the shuttles were a glint in his eyes! Now this particular tree is b...

I think seahorses are fascinating especially the way they glide through the water, mystic beautiful creatures. But did you know they are the only species in which males truly become pregnant? Well there is an amazing fact! How many times have you heard it said "if men could have babies the world's population would decline?" These two are now on their journey to Canada, not swimming but in an envelope with an airmail sticker. They are being sent as a way of a thank you to two people who I met from Canada in January. Robin and her daughter Hayley. They both helped find and then order for me an adult beaver costume, which arrived so quickly, it was ordered on a Monday and the parcel arrived on the Thursday! Which could be faster than a tatting shuttle!? Hayley is very fond of sea horses hence the reason why I am sending them. Also in the envelope is of course a tatted Robin for Robin! The pattern for these dear little seahorses is here on Jane's pattern page . This is th...