Playing with HWT

When I posted about my latest Spinning Wheel the other day, Jane suggested I try one in HWT... great idea! However, I didn't want to commit to that large a piece without doing a trial first. So... Stumpy to the rescue! I used three strands of Sulky Blendables, so smooth and easy to tat.

It's really very pretty in person, but it just doesn't show up well under the Ott Lite...

or in daylight. Oh, well... the test run was a success, and I think I will try a Spinning Wheel in HWT. Thanks for the idea, Jane!

Hmmm... can you tell it's a little bit humid outside? Just look at the way that Stumpy is curling. Looks like a trip to the blocking board is in order!

Sulky Blendables #4031 ~ Country Colonial

I think Country Colonial is a very pretty color combo, and it goes very well with the shuttle... purely accidental! Yes, this is another shuttle I decorated with fabric from Ann. I do like the flexibility and the color/pattern choices when using fabric. However, it is much thicker than the single layer of napkin. On this shuttle, one end had come unglued, so I dabbed a little on, held it in place for a few minutes, and it was as good as new!

Another set of Stumpy motifs is on its way to The Shuttle Shop!

Sulky Blendables #4030 ~ Vintage Rose

Roses are my favorite flower, so I really enjoyed tatting this beautiful color, Vintage Rose. The shuttle is another one that I decorated with fabric from Ann. Can you see the bit of sparkle?

I hope to have another rose inspired post later today... just had to tease you! : )

Sulky Blendables #4029 ~ Mocha Mauve

School is out for the summer, so I'm hoping I have more time to tat. So far, I've been too busy to spend very much time with my shuttles. I did manage to complete this set of Stumpy motifs for Chris and Erin Hinton. I'm really looking forward to the day when they start posting pictures of their Tatted Shuttles!

This Clover shuttle is another one that I decorated with fabric from Ann. She certainly was generous with her fabrics!

Sulky Blendables #4028 ~ Storm Clouds

The name Storm Clouds really suits this thread! I had a hard time keeping going on this one. The color just wasn't interesting to me. Maybe if it had been named dolphin...

The shuttle is one of my newest from La Cossette, and I love it! The name of the shuttle is Grape. Perhaps La Cossette should be the one to name Sulky colors. She always seems to get it right!

This is the last week of school. Today was the last full day with students. Tomorrow is Teacher Institute day, when we wrap up all of our end-of-the-year chores. Thursday is report card day, and then I'll be free to tat to my heart's content! I'm also planning on spending some time with my bobbin lace and quilting this summer. Mom is coming up to visit in June. Other than that, we have no special plans for the summer, and that suits me just fine!

King Tut #913 ~ Jewel of the Nile

I'm discovering that I have many more abandoned projects than I realized! This shuttle was loaded with Jewel of the Nile, so that's what I used for my next set of Stumpy motifs. The motifs look a little wonky, so I guess I should have blocked them. I will before I send them off to Chris and Erin Hinton to be shuttle-fied.

The pink Clover shuttle is another one blinged by me with fabric from Ann. My, I really was daring when I combined pink and red for two shuttles!

The hardest part of working with the quilting thread is retro-tatting. I have been very successful undoing chains, but I've only succeeded in opening one ring. The tips of the shuttles are totally useless  for thread this fine. Luckily, I have a pin vise from Grizzly Mountain Arts. I put a tapestry needle in the pin vise, and it's perfect for undoing knots. I'm sure that with practice, I'll be able to conquer those rings any day now!

Sulky Blendables #4027 ~ Silver Slate

In between laundry loads, I managed to tat another set of Stumpy motifs, this time in Silver Slate. I was not impressed with this color on the spool, or as I was tatting. But once the motif was finished, I decided that I like it! The shuttle is another one that I blinged with fabric from Ann. Little gifts can mean so much!

As a result of today's tatting, I now have another group of motifs to send off to Chris and Erin Hinton at The Shuttle Shop!

Sulky Blendables #4026 ~ Earth Pastels

Earth Pastels? The color name doesn't really work for me, but it sure is pretty. My friend Nancy would love this because it combines peach and green, her two favorite colors. Maybe I suggest to Sulky that they rename the thread "Nancy's Favorite Colors." Of course, that wouldn't make sense to anyone but Nancy and me, so I guess the color name should remain Earth Pastels.

The shuttle is another one that I blinged with fabric from Ann. I hesitated using pink and red together, because that was always a big no-no when I was growing up. My red-headed friends never wore pink, although pastel plaids, especially with pink, were wildly popular when I was in high school. As you can see, I was daring, and I really like the results!

Sulky Blendables #4024 ~ Heather

Yes, I'm still tatting Stumpy motifs for The Shuttle Shop! This color way, Heather, is especially pretty, but I don't think it shows up very well in the picture. Daughter Alison has told me that she'll send me a link for how to set up a little light studio so that I can take better pictures. We'll see if it helps my photography skills. : )

The shuttle was decorated by Cindy at A Happy Bluebird, and I believe it is my first shuttle decorated with a napkin. I love it!

Sulky Blendables #4023 ~ Natural Taupe... again!

I've been checking off the color numbers as I go through the Sulky Blendables, until now. I didn't check to see what the color name was until I finished tatting these two Stumpy motifs. That's when I discovered I'd already used this color. Oh, well!

The shuttle is one of my early blinging attempts. My friend Denise and I got together to play with shuttles one day, and Denise brought along Halloween decals. We had a lot of fun that day!

Why not white?

I've been enjoying making these Stumpy motifs for Chris and Erin Hinton at The Shuttle Shop. They're destined to be "Tatted Shuttles" one day, but I don't think there will be a white set any time soon. True, white is classic, crisp, and clean. It certainly looks pretty next to this sparkling blue shuttle blinged by my friend Denise.

So, why not white?

Because there wasn't enough thread on the shuttle! ; )

P.S. ~ I know... add more thread. I can't. I was using thread that was left wound on the shuttle, and I have no idea what I was using! Besides, color is so much more fun!

Sulky Blendables #4022 ~ Midnight Sky

Are you getting bored with my thread journey yet? I'm not! I find it very relaxing to come home after a day at school and be able to sit and tat a pattern that I don't have to think about. Plus, it's so much fun to look at all my pretty shuttles! This one was from Val. I'm still amazed at her ability to perfectly place those pretty little decals.

And another set is ready to go off in the mail to Chris and Erin Hinton to be shuttle-fied!

Sulky Blendalbes #4021 ~ Truly Teal

Lovely, lovely color! I think I need to look for a mallard pattern now! The shuttle is one of my most recent eBay purchases. The wood is curly maple, and the inlay is blue dyed paua shell. The shell inlay is so smooth!

Sulky Blendables #4020 ~ Moss Medley

I was a little bored tatting with Moss Medley. The color is so close to Forest Floor. On the spool, Moss Medley appears to have more gold in it, and Forest Floor more green. So it could be that if I were tatting a larger piece, such as Mary Konior's Spinning Wheel glass mat, I might see a greater difference in the two colors. Maybe that should be my next challenge!

It was a pleasure using my new pink fish shuttle from Anika Nassar. I love the way the "scales" sparkled as I tatted! : )

Sulky Blendables #4019 ~ Forest Floor

Oh, I do like this color! I think the name is perfect... shades of light brown mixed in with the green... all very subdued... I can almost feel the sunlight filtering through the trees!

I may have mentioned that I've been trying out a self-imposed austerity budget in preparation for retirement. I know it's four years away, but old habits die hard. Anyway, I've been very unsuccessful in my budgeting efforts. Point in case... I couldn't resist this beautiful silver shuttle inlaid with turquoise and malachite from West Pine Creations! I love the feel of it in my hands, and I feel so elegant tatting with it! Yes, there is a bit of adjustment when tatting with a shuttle like this. I've had to learn to turn the shuttle sideways so that the thread doesn't catch on the stones. This slows me down a bit, but I don't mind. I've never been a speed tatter, and I don't think I ever will be!

Although I purchased the shuttle, Marie kindly sent me two tatted teapots (Martha Ess's patterns), as well as a Tatting Essentials tool. They were a thank you for sending thread samples. I never expect anything in return for thread samples, but I am always thrilled with unexpected gifts! The teapots have been tatted with some of the Sulky thread that I sent to Marie, blended with metallic thread. They really shimmer in the sunlight! Thank you, Marie!

Stephanie Grace recently posted a picture of her motif in shades of red. I had written to her that red is my mom's favorite color, and she sent it to me to give to Mom! She also sent two other pieces and some thread samples. The generosity of tatters overwhelms me at times. Thank you, Stephanie Grace!

I try to stay away from eBay. There are way too many temptations there! As you can see, I succumbed and won this lovely little Bee Shuttle from Jitterbug62. It arrived in a pretty little organza bag decorated with tatting. What a thrill! Thank you, Carollyn!

Is there any help for me? I can't help myself... I LOVE tatting shuttles!

Sulky Blendables #4018 ~ Summer Grass

I think this thread is named appropriately, especially since it's the exact color of our grass as I look at it with the morning sun shining on it. We've had quite a bit of rain over the past couple of days, and we're very glad to have it!

This is a very busy time of year for my husband. He's a wholesale tropical plant dealer, and the month of May can either make or break his business for the year. Since the weather has been beautiful, it looks like it will be a good year for him. Yippee!

Sadly, this is the last LaCossette shuttle I have to share with you... unless I happen to purchase some more! This one is named Ornate Teal. Believe it or not, I'm not even halfway through the shuttles in my lighted shuttle case. I'm really enjoying using each of these little beauties and remembering how they became part of my collection!

Sulky Blendables #4017 ~ Lime Sherbet

I think of lime as having more green in it. This looks more like the center of a lime than lime sherbet to me, but it still is yummy thread! The shuttle is my new Regency Clover shuttle from LaCossette. I hope she doesn't make any more... I'll be tempted to buy them! ; )

So, another set of Stumpy motifs is in the mail the Chris Hinton at The Shuttle Shop! I'm really looking forward to seeing how these shuttles turn out, especially the Peacock Plume and the Valdani.

Sulky Blendables #4016 ~ Peacock Plume

Oh, how I love this color! I'm thinking of making the Peacock out of it. I wonder if I'm up to the challenge? Maybe I should try it in a thicker thread first. : )

I absolutely love my new shuttle from LaCossette! It's perfect... my favorite color, my favorite inexpensive shuttle, my favorite flower... a shuttle to be used again and again!

Valdani?

The next shuttle in my cabinet was a gift from Tatting-Marie, and I love it! There was thread left on it from a Mary Konior pattern I tatted a while back, so I wound some of it on to my new Tatting Forums member shuttle and tatted my Stumpy motifs. I'm pretty sure the thread is a Valdani sample from Fox. I do like the color combination!

Sulky Blendables #4015 ~ Cool Waters

Isn't this a pretty color? I can't tell you how much I'm enjoying working with these threads! I feel like a real tatter! ; )

The shuttle was a gift from Fox. I had tried it before with some size 20 Lizbeth, and it just didn't work well for me. You may remember that for a while I didn't enjoy using the bobbin shuttles with the fine thread. Size 40 seemed to be the best fit for me. However, now that I've been using the 30 wt Sulky Blendables with the bobbin shuttles for a while, I'm finding that I really like the bobbin shuttles.

I think this is one of the Pony shuttles, and except for the protrusion at the end, I really like it. I love the ratcheting sound when I unwind thread from the bobbin. Maybe I should have a Pony shuttle in every color... or two!