Made by Dad...

I know I've posted about the display case my dad made for me in the past, but now I feel like I have it set up properly with doilies highlighting each tray.


This is the display case sitting on the table in the living room. Can you tell this piece is very special to me?


I laid all the trays side-by-side so that you can see the beautiful workmanship.


I guess you could call this my plastic tray! I love my Tatsy shuttles! There are times when I just want to be able to tat without joining threads or tat with size 10, and the Tatsy shuttles fit the bill. The purple shuttle decorated with tatting at the top was a gift from my friend Denise. She does a fabulous job of decorating shuttles! On the lower left are two decorated shuttles I won on eBay. On the right, you can see my very first tatting shuttles. I don't use them any more, because the Susan Bates labels are wearing off. I want whoever inherits my collection to be able to identify them! In the middle you can see my Comfi Shuttles... just had to have them!


Here you see my Pelc double bobbin shuttle... haven't learned how to use it yet... some day! I don't really like the metal shuttles, but they're part of my collection! My friend Denise gave me the tatted heart stamp... she and I know what to get each other for gifts!


This is my Lacis shuttle collection, along with shuttles from Nina Libin and gourd shuttles from Alexandra Beatty Designs.


My fish shuttles, pierced shuttle, and inlay shuttle are from Purse Paradise. The three etched shuttles on the bottom right are from Handy Hands. The two Corian shuttles on the bottom left are from Canada... sorry, I don't remember exactly where I got them! Oops! It looks like one of my ceramic shuttles lost its way!

Thank you Ladytats for identifying the source of my Corian shuttles! The Corian shuttles are from Gail at Tat's All.


This is part of my Grizzly Mountain Arts collection. Yes, I did say part! Some shuttles are being used right now, and some are in their special boxes/baskets that make a set.


Of course, Dad was always thinking! This is the top of the display case. I can show off my special shuttles and keep the dust at bay! If you look carefully at the left side of each tray, Dad inset little beads to indicate the tray number. There are also little pegs at the top left and bottom right with corresponding holes above so that each tray stays in place.

No, these are not all my shuttles. I have several bags, baskets, and boxes with works-in-progress. I might be happier if I only worked on one project at a time, but I'm very easily distracted! Maybe if I get my sewing room cleaned, I'll be able to show you more! ; )

Secrets of the shuttle chest...

Okay, Marilee and Carol. You two have been wanting to know all the secrets of the chest, so here they are! Please don't be deceived... this does not represent my entire shuttle collection! If I ever stop tatting, I'll be able to put all my shuttles in one place and count how many I have... who am I kidding? ; )


Aero shuttles, both English and German, as well as an Aero wannabe - lots of extra bobbins!
Large wooden shuttle from Handy Hands
Plastic (?) shuttle won on eBay
Tatting is the Daffodil Doily minus the last round from Learn to Tat by Janette Baker


Peter Cua shuttles
Spinning Wheel glass mat


From top - flat shuttle from Mielke Fibers
4 Diana Andra shuttles, center shuttle from eBay auction
Fish shuttle from Georgia Seitz
3 shuttles from eBay auction (csickler ?)
3 David Reed Smith shuttles
Spinning Wheel glass mat


Ceramic shuttles from Sherry Pence, LadyShuttleMaker
Spinning Wheel glass mat


Ceramic shuttles from Sherry Pence, LadyShuttleMaker
Daffodil Doily from Learn to Tat by Janette Baker


Ceramic shuttles from Sherry Pence, LadyShuttleMaker
Spinning Wheel glass mat
Note: lower left is the original "Diane" shuttle, named for me!


Shuttles and thread winders from Chris Hinton at The Shuttle Shop
Outer row of Daffodil Doily from Learn to Tat by Janette Baker, attached to hemstitched round


3 shuttles for Beanile tatting by Nina Libin
3 shuttles won on eBay
2 SewMate shuttles
3 Jan Stawasz shuttles
Spinning Wheel glass mat


2 Shuttle Brothers shuttles - double shuttle was a gift from my friend Denise, carved from a tree from her yard!
3 Silent Tatters from Roseground in England
Lots of extra bobbins for both the Shuttle Brothers shuttles and the Silent Tatters
3 Noreen Crone-Findlay shuttles
2 hand-crafted wood shuttles from England - I've forgotten the name of the woodworker, but I believe he has passed away. These shuttles either came from Roseground or Lyn Morton Designs in England. If you are familiar with these shuttles, please let me know who made them!

How I spent my summer vacation...

Remember those wonderful back-to-school essays? Believe it or not, children still write about their summer vacations when they return to school in August/September. Luckily, teachers have become much more creative with the starter sentences!


I managed to knit one dish cloth... I really need to finish some more... mine are getting pretty ragged looking!


I finished my Coral Reef Spinning Wheel, and put it in its drawer.


My sister bought this chest for me last year as a birthday present. Whatever its original purpose, we both thought it made an excellent display case for shuttles. We lined each drawer with felt, and I decided that tatted doilies would be perfect for showing off the shuttles. Most, but not all, of the drawers now sport Spinning Wheel glass mats!

I read The Canterbury Papers by Judith Koll Healey. I love historical fiction! I get a feel for the time period, and I find fictional accounts to be much more interesting than the history classes I took in high school and college! This was an easy read, and thank goodness, it was missing the steamy scenes that leave nothing to the imagination!


We visited Superior Shores Resort, where Joanne and Jan will be married August 15, 2010. It's a beautiful, restful spot.


After checking out the resort, we headed up to Gooseberry Falls. Joanne would love to have her wedding pictures taken there, but we're not sure how practical that would be! On the way back, we stopped at Betty's Pies for a treat to take to Andrea's the next day. That pie makes me want to learn how to be a pie maker! We also stopped at a wonderful little yarn shop, Playing With Yarn. Of course, we had to buy yarn, needles, hooks, and patterns!


We drove to the top of the hill in Duluth to get a view of the bay... fascinating!


On Sunday, we drove to visit Andrea and her family at their fishing cabin in Wisconsin.


Ella had her first piece of watermelon,


...and Lily showed off her swimming skills!

We're hoping to take Alison, Eva, and Aidan to Fairoaks Dairy Farm this week. Dan won't be able to go with us... poor guy has to work! I'll be getting together with my study partner this week to finalize our last class, and then I'll be free to do as I please! I'm thinking I'd better get in an straighten up the sewing room... it's a mess!

Finished with classes!

Well, almost! I've completed all the reading, watched all the videos, and responded to all the questions. Next week my study partner and I will get together to review our work, and then we'll send it off to be evaluated. Now I can get back to some of my projects!

While watching videos, I practiced Kumihimo, Japanese braiding, which I learned at the Downers Grove L.A.C.E. event. Using a Kumihimo disk makes the project very portable, and easy to put down if you have to take notes!


I'll have to pack a bag of supplies this morning. Dave and I are heading up to Minnesota to visit Joanne, Jan, Andrea, Jake, Lily, and Ella. I get really bored in the car if I don't have anything to do. Let me see... I really need some new dish cloths. I want to finish my Coral Reef Spinning Wheel. I could work on Yvette's beaded bag. There's that lace scarf I started last summer... I think I'll be able to stay busy!

Tuesday I'll be able to get back into my blogging routine. I have a lot of catching up to do... blogs to read, responses to make. Oh, how happy I am to be finished with those classes!

It's so hard to be good!

...especially when luscious new threads arrive in the mail! Do you recognize these? They're from Tatskool... Chocolate Sauce, Raspberry Sorbet, Raspberry Ripple with Real Vanilla... Oh, how I want to tat! However, schoolwork calls. I've just started the third of my summer classes, and there is a ton of reading to do. I'm not complaining... I'm just finding it hard to focus with so many fun things waiting for me!


My nephew Erich is getting married on September 5, Mom and Dad's anniversary. It will be a special day! I'm making his lovely fiance Yvette a beaded bag from Encyclopedia of Crochet by Donna Kooler. I use the term making very loosely. I've only strung 30 beads, and I need 250 for the first side alone!


I'm going to try very hard to complete my class by the end of next week so that I have plenty of time to play!

I missed my blogaversary!

...with good reason! I was overwhelmed with the gift of family for my birthday! My sister Janet drove down Monday night, and we sat up 'til midnight talking. Janet took me out to breakfast yesterday morning, and then helped me set up my new refrigerator, and clean up the old one. Thank you, Janet! (Thank goodness there's one person in the family who gets pleasure out of cleaning! By the way, that's not me!)


Andrea, Jake, Lily, and Ella are visiting from Minnesota. Alison, Eva, and Aidan came down for the day (poor Dan had to work). Carol fixed a fabulous Italian feast for dinner. Dave surprised me with a luscious strawberry filled birthday cake, decorated with blue roses... blue is my favorite color, and roses are my favorite flower. Joanne couldn't be here, but she did call and sing me the birthday dirge, which my sister Janet taught us years ago... you probably don't want to know that one! ; )


So, that's why I missed my blogaversary. I can't believe I've been blogging for two years! I've met some wonderful people through this blog, and the urge to post has kept me tatting. I guess I'll just have to see if I can keep it going for another two years!

L.A.C.E. Day fun!

I took a break from studying yesterday and attended the L.A.C.E. Day event in Downers Grove, IL. I almost forgot to go! Luckily, Dave and I were talking Friday night, and he asked me what time I had to leave for my "thing." He's never quite sure what I'm up to! : ) If he hadn't brought it up, I might have forgotten and stayed home to work on my class!

What a lovely group of ladies! They were very welcoming and encouraging! As I was checking in I heard, "Hello, Diane." It was Gina, the Tatting Goddess! I had attended the lace event hosted by Gina's guild in April. What fun! Two lace events in two months! As Gina was introducing me to her sister Linda, I saw Marilee Rockley, Yarnplayer, sitting at a table! I met Marilee almost two years ago at Harvest Days. While we girls were chatting, Barbara Gordon came over! My day was made, and I'd been there less than 10 minutes! The picture is a bit fuzzy. I forgot to take my camera, so this was taken with my phone. Left to right: me, Marilee, Barbara, Gina, Linda.

Gina, Linda, and Barbara were off to a bobbin lace class, so Marilee and I went to the vendor room. Oh, my goodness! Talk about sensory overload! Several of my favorite vendors were there! If Dave had any idea of how much money I COULD spend on lacemaking supplies, he'd probably suffer from heart palpitations! All of the vendors were very knowledgeable, and very friendly. It was hard to not buy something from everyone... oh, wait! I think I did! Well, all but one. I really wanted a pillow stand for my bobbin lace pillow, but I didn't have any more money to spend!


In the afternoon, I participated in a Kumihimo class and made this pretty little Princess Charming Scissors Fob. It's supposed to have beads at the end of the tassel, but mine just looked messy, so I cut of the beads and decided to just have fringe. We were told that the idea behind using beads is that if you drop your scissors, the beads will hit the ground first and save the tips of your scissors.

I wish I had taken my camera. There was a display of the most beautiful lace you can imagine, and there was a lady demonstrating bobbin lace. The day provided the mental break I really needed!