The story behind the copper tatting shuttles

I will be listing the rest of this group of copper shuttles this week in my Etsy shop.

I thought I would share my process since I always find the making of things interesting. So consider this your "Mr. Rogers" tour.

I spend a lot of time (sometimes weeks) conceptualizing, drawing and perfecting the "rough draft".
I take that draft and create a mold from it.
I take that mold and hand build the shuttle with precious metal copper clay.
I spend a lot of time shaping and sanding that shuttle.
I take that shuttle and place it in a kiln that has been fired to over 1700 degrees Fahrenheit.
After a specified period of firing I open the kiln and take out the molten hot shuttle and submerse it in water.
This is the scariest part of the whole process.
When the shuttle has cooled I soak it in a chemical solution to remove fire scale.
Then I spend an entire day, sometimes two, re-shaping, polishing, sanding, buffing and polishing some more.
When the shuttle is to my satisfaction I coat it with a jewelry grade non-tarnishing finish.
Then I take macro pictures from every angle of that shuttle and list it for sale.

I hope you enjoyed learning more about my process.

A picture says a 1000 words.,..TEASER

On a designing kick

I got some more copper in so I will be making a few new copper shuttles soon. Here is my newest design. Who doesn't love butterflies?

New copper tatting shuttles

Stage 1.) Designed, assembled, sanded.

Stage 2.) Fired, sintered, removal of fire scale.

Stage 3.) Pickled, polished and coated with jewelry grade non-tarnishing finish.

Copper shuttle #1 is listed.

I read about and purchased a new product that is supposed to prevent tarnishing and to help those who have allergies to certain metals. I made a copper ring for testing this since I myself have a minor allergy to copper. After coating the ring I slept with it on my finger all night and have been wearing it all day and not one hint of green anywhere on my skin. So it is working so far!

On another note, Piccadilly tried carrots for the first time yesterday and her reaction was HILARIOUS! It is the first solid food she has eaten other than rice and oatmeal cereals. I got it on video and if I can figure out my editing software I will post it. Needless to say I changed the stinkiest diaper by far today...yes I gagged until my eyes watered. I have a feeling this is only the beginning!

Tuesday's Shuttle, Tatting Hook Pens, ..more Pottery

Newest Copper Shuttle


I did a custom set of my original tatting hook pens for the Tarnished Tatter. I am so pleased with how they turned out I am thinking of doing a set for myself.

...and more greenware to show. I have to fire and glaze and fire again...and all needs to be done in the next two weeks so I am quite busy.
....Just for the record and to clear up any possible confusion. I have been doing pottery with tatting on it for over a decade. This is not new to me..in fact I have blogged about this particular type of work here, and also here.
When shuttlebirds tatting convention is over I will start listing my pottery with tatting embellishments in my etsy shop.

Thursday's Shuttle

Copper Shuttle

There were some very valid questions about tarnishing when I listed my last copper shuttle. I found it ever so amusing that there was so much more concern about the copper tarnishing as opposed to the silver tarnishing. Regardless I will address these concerns in this post.

A LOT of hand work goes into each and every shuttle. My precious metal shuttles are finished with a protective polish.
With proper use and storage and an occasional polish on the owners part you can keep your shuttle as shiny as the day you bought it. This includes both copper and silver.

When I say "proper use and storage" I mean that in order to get your shuttle to the point of "tarnish concern" that people have raised you would need to leave your shuttle in the garden for a couple of years.

...now say some people like that copper patina... would that effect thread? Probably, but I think that you could easily put an acrylic coat over the copper to remedy that issue. I am doing some experimenting in that particular area...but it will take a lot of time before I can answer those questions.

I will be away from my computer this weekend so please forgive me if I don't answer emails and questions until early next week.


....OH and P.S
Since I will be away this weekend, I will draw the winner for the Monday MONDO giveaway on Tues 23rd.


Cheers,

Saturday's Shuttle

This is a copper shuttle.
This is a design that I drew and hand carved into a mold. It will show up a few more times most likely in Silver and perhaps bronze.

WILD FLOWERS and Treasury's

Just listed another COPPER Shuttle.



WILD FLOWERS

I dyed this brand new colorway and then went looking for a suitable image to accompany it and found Rachel Britt's beautiful painting. Please be sure to check her site.

...and here are a few recent Etsy accolades that have drifted my way....