I guess I was wrong!

When I posted yesterday, I forgot that I had finished another Doodle Ice Drop the night before using my new Gothic shuttle from Lorraine Kolasa. I really do enjoy tatting with these beautiful brass shuttles!

The kids were busy playing today, so I had time to catch up on Ice Drops.

I hadn't tatted any in the past few days, so I decided to go with a basic one pass pattern to quickly build my stash.

I did a little reorganizing in my sewing room before everyone was up this morning, and I found some shuttles from Ayumi Horiai that I hadn't used yet.

I must have been really attracted to this one, because I purchased two!

I think five Ice Drops in one day might be a record for me!

Starting the day off right

I started the day by working on Renulek's Wiosna 2018. No, I didn't get far, but I'm happy with the way this round is going. I'm pleased that I made the decision to snip the tight round.

I started another shawl, because I have a ton of yarn to use up! This is The Virus Shawl, which I learned about from my friend Denise. There are several YouTube videos showing how to work this pattern. I just happened to choose this one by Fiber Spider. The tutorial is excellent, and I found that I was able to keep just ahead of the video by the second pattern repeat.

A new little flat shuttle arrived in the mail today. This adorable little hedgehog is by Ayumi Horiai and is available at Tatting Corner. I haven't tatted with it yet, because I'm working with size 20 thread. This little cutie will probably work best with size 80 thread. I have such a weakness for hedgehogs!

Today's Ice Drop is one that I just might keep for myself! The bead is a coin pearl. It's so much prettier in person! The shuttle is one of my favorites from Rita Richmond of Shuttle by Design. The pearl background is perfect for this beautiful lighthouse scene. I have a fascination with lighthouses, and since high school I've had the romantic notion of living in one. I think the stairs would be too much for me these days, but it's fun to dream!

FIMO shuttles

Lisa Adams of Tatting Corner contacted me recently and asked if I'd be willing to test some new FIMO shuttles that Ayumi Horiai was sending her as samples. Of course I said yes!

You knew that I'd tat Ice Drops, didn't you?

The smaller of the two shuttles is about an inch and a half long.

The shuttles are rather thick, but that didn't seem to make much difference. I was easily able to wind 5 yards of size 20 thread on this shuttle.

Sophia fell in love with this shuttle. I have to admit, it caught my eye also!

This one is slightly longer.

It's about the same thickness as the smaller shuttle. I wound a good six yards of size 20 thread on this shuttle, and I could have easily added more, but I didn't need any more. In fact, I only needed about half of what I wound on to the shuttle.

So, here are my thoughts on these shuttles. I had seen information on them before Lisa contacted me, and I really didn't think I'd be interested in them. However, once I saw them in person, I fell in love! They are so colorful!

The smaller shuttle was a little too small for me, so I kept dropping it. My hands aren't tiny, but they aren't large either. They're about 6 1/2" from the heel of my hand to the tip of my middle finger. So, when purchasing, I know to order the larger shuttle for myself.

The shuttles have a nice weight to them, and I was really surprised at how much thread they each held. I thought the small one would only hold about three yards, and it held a generous five yards.

The surface of the shuttles is not super smooth, which was good for gripping. The texture of the shuttles did slow me down a little, but not to the point where it was irritating. From what Lisa has told me, Ayumi is still working on refining these shuttles, and there is a possibility that there will be some kind of coating to make the surface smoother.

It will be fun to keep an eye on Lisa's shop and see what goodies come from Japan!

Keep on Spinning!

It's no secret that Mary Konior's Spinning Wheel glass mat is my all-time-favorite pattern. I've mostly tatted it in size 20 and size 80, but I'm finding that I really am enjoying tatting it in size 10.

I know that I could have had it finished by now, but I'm really enjoying working at a leisurely pace.

Rita asked if I could make crocheted flower buttons in pairs for her. She has something special in mind, but I'm not sure exactly what she's planning. Of course I need to finish more than one pair so that she can get started!

My new shuttles by Ayumi Horiai arrived from Japan today! I guess I really liked the blue ones... I ordered on two different days and managed to choose the blue one both times. I wonder what that says about me? Do you think it means I like blue? ;-)