Tat's Heaven

As you will recognise the title of this post is actually part of a song called the "Twelve Days of Christmas" and today is either the 6th or 7th day depending on which tradition you are following but the days end at Epiphany, either the eve or actual day itself 6th January.  So may I present two post shuttles made from pear wood. On the theme of trees here is a tree with birds in, although probably not partridges, the wood is cherry.   I'm in the garage made it many years ago.  The wood came from a tree near where we lived at that time in Germany, sadly it was chopped down and we missed it greatly as it produced some beautiful cherries. This tree is really a jigsaw and the birds can be displayed however you wish. It stands approximately 6 1/2 inches high and 5 inches wide. I am aware that Pam Palmer has published a tatting book called the Twelve Days of Christmas, however I do not possess this myself but I know someone who has a copy, big sister!  It must be int...

This year was good having Christmas Day on a Sunday, giving a clear week before the usual Sunday services begin again. Although of course next Sunday will fall on New Year's day and that means an early start.  At home though our Christmas was quiet, no family gatherings and everything pretty low key. In fact we have a small artificial Christmas tree which has in the past stood on a table and I was going to decorate it with my tatting but never actually managed to set it up, it is still in a plastic bag near the sofa.   This is the nearest I got to a decorated tree, taken from Martha Ess's new book. It is tatted in Lizbeth Christmas green, the thread is a new addition to my now ever increasing collection. And I sat and tatted this snowflake on Christmas Day, it comes from Le Blog de Frivole and the pattern can be found here  . Thank you Frivole this is the first time I attempted the snowflake and could have perhaps made it a little better but food and drink had taken over ...

It was a craze a few years ago, well it was for me, to buy wire bangles from shops as they were cheap and cheerful and were good for displaying tatting, especially at Christmas.  However, the fashion has changed and now they are not so common, well not here in the UK.  Fortunately I still have a very good supply and now and then use them for such a purpose, some tatting fits exactly whilst others, not quite. I made three big sister angels ( from Martha Ess's new book ) to fit in rings using Lizbeth, Coats and Manuela thread and they all fitted quite differently.  The angel above is using Manuela In my 'awaiting to finish' tatting pile were some robins, I had seriously got stuck with their eyes for some reason or another and they were abandoned for over a year.  The other evening I managed to finish that part of them. But then had trouble with the legs, you can just see where one was started, on the bottom robin and then it was chopped off! They remind me of that song...

The trouble with using exotic woods for the pop-a-bobbin shuttles is that it is difficult to match the plug for the middle of them.   Him in the garage tried to make them with the tools he has available but it took a lot of time and effort.  So he looked on e.bay for a dowelling machine, these are now obsolete,  in other words they are not made anymore and are really collectors items.  Of course there are big machines that now do the job quicker and efficiently in factories and the wood is cut to shape in bulk.  A machine was found, in the USA, an offer was made for it and accepted and was duly purchased, it cost nearly £400, but this did include a cutter and the customs charges.   But he is so happy with his new toy, it is vintage probably made in the 1960/70s.  If you look closely you will see that it says Stanley USA on it. It works on the same principle as a pencil sharpener. The plugs after coming out of the new tool but they still need to go into...

I have been designing and making earrings, although when I say designing, I just didn't follow a pattern, made them up myself, however there is sure to be a similar design somewhere.  I apologise if I have unintentionally used someone elses pattern. Yesterday my son, who lives in Singapore, witnessed a lunar eclipse and posted these pictures on facebook.  Just felt the need to share them with you, I did ask his permission! A total eclipse only happens during a full moon. It occurs when the moon passes through the earth's shadow. 
 This eclipse was also seen in other parts of the world, from Alaska to Central Asia and Australia. So did anyone else see it? I t is a busy Sunday for me, the Hanging of the Greens service went extremely wel this morning, and thanks to the internet and the churches in America who gave me the idea.  This afternoon it is a Scout carol service and baby Jesus is in the boot of my car ready to take a journey into the nearest town, just hope that a Ma...

I made these angels about twenty years ago, the pattern is in a tatting book that was basically the only one I used at that time as it contained, what appeared to me,  such very modern designs. How life has changed in the tatting world.   The book is called The Complete Book of Tatting by Rebecca Jones.  The sad thing is that these angels will have to be thrown away, they have gone yellow, probably because I used sugared water to stiffen them, all I knew in those days, and they are a bit worse for wear.  Also I think they are having a 'bad hair day!' Not to mention the the loss of one eye. I can't stop tatting Martha's snowflakes but think they do look better without beads. Or may be not! Had a really nasty cold last week so have a lot to catch up with, including finding some angels for a Scout Carol service (no not tatted angels or one eyed ones!) sorting out some carol singing and readings for Thursday evening in accommodation where some elderly people live. Also c...