100% Pure Silver BOBBIN shuttle with hook tip

OK bobbin shuttle tatters, you spoke and I listened. Here it is, the title says it all. This shuttle this will be "MADE TO ORDER" in my Etsy Shop. It will look just like this but with a hook tip size of your choosing.
It comes with a steel bobbin and tension screw. This is my most technical shuttle endeavour to date and I am quite pleased with the results. It is top notch!
More info will follow shortly...

PURE silver shuttles discounted 12% to 17% OFF

Hello tatting friends, just a short note to let you know that I have discounted a few of my pure 99.9% silver shuttles.
I know some people may look at the price of one of my silver shuttles and think, "Wow, that LadyShuttleMaker who does she think she is??? Does she think her shuttles are worth gold?!?!?
Well, not exactly gold but yes, silver indeed, is at an all time high.
Let me explain. It takes around 50g of Silver clay to make one shuttle. As of this blog post 50 grams of Silver costs $112 + shipping.
After tools, finishing supplies, and firing costs, I am already running at a loss. This does not even begin to take into account my years of expertise or the hours upon hours of craftsmanship that goes into each precious metal shuttle.

Yes, I know, this is not a very smart business venture on my part. I did this, in part, because I wanted to see if I could, and because I wanted to create some of the most beautiful and special shuttles on the planet... regardless of cost.

My hope was to at least break even but I have lost hope for that. And that is ok, not everything is about money. But it would be nice to minimize my losses.

Anyhow, I know there are some out there who have been secretly drooling over these shuttles for awhile so to you I say, "SALE SALE SALE"!

Up first we have:

This shuttle was $145 and is now $120. It is a little difficult to see in the photo but it has a lovely light green enameling in the recesses of the design.

Next we have:

This one used to be $125 and is now $110




And finally this shuttle used to be $140 and is now $120

And just to emphasize, these are NOT silver PLATED, nor or they STERLING silver...they are PURE PURE PURE SILVER!!!!!

With Christmas around the corner my heart is full of good cheer and I just want to share that!

Can you imagine what an awesome stocking stuffer one of these would make?

Oooh la la!

I am very proud to present my newest pure silver tatting shuttle. A lot of very hard work went into this shuttle and I debated back and forth on whether I should keep this one for myself. But at this point I cannot afford to do so, therefore I have placed it for sale in the etsy shop. It is an absolute dream to tat with!

Sad but not surprising news...

Well, it is official the price of silver clay has more than doubled, it has almost tripled. The manufacturers are located in Japan and they can no longer absorb the losses from all that has happened since the first major earthquake. So there is that plus the price of silver has increased significantly in the last year
As it was, every silver shuttle I made cost me $70 in raw clay alone, that does not account for my time, expertise, firing costs, and the investment I made in other tools and equipment.
Oddly, I made a purchase of silver clay one day before the first earthquake and I still have a little of that left for maybe a dozen or so shuttles. I will use it very sparingly over the next year. Once it is gone...no more silver shuttles. I cannot afford the new prices. So those of you who bought my first silver shuttles, count yourselves lucky because they are worth more than you paid for them in silver alone.
I foresee the value of silver to just keep increasing. I currently have 9 silver shuttles in the shop. I will not increase the price of the shuttles that are already listed but I will have to for any new shuttles I make in the future. I am hoping to just break even in the long run.
I will still be able to make some copper shuttles though so I guess there is a copper lining in this cloud?!?!?
Here is a picture of Piccadilly who is so adequately expressing how I feel about the situation.

New shuttle and the "Squinchy face"

Newest silver shuttle can be found here.


Miss P just discovered a new face to try out. I call it the "squinchy face" and it isn't very pretty but it makes me laugh.

If anyone follows my MadMadPotter blog you know that I have undertaken a new endeavor. Every first Thursday of the month all the art galleries and art coops hold an open house. The artists are encouraged to attend so that customers can meet them. That is where I was last night meeting new people and talking about my work...my pottery work. But it is known that I am also a tatter and that is perking some interest. I am hoping to get a display together to put in the shop to draw people's interest and educate. Also, there is a very good possibility that I can teach tatting classes there as well.
Life one step at at time.

Finished!

Here it is, the fruit of all my labor over the last few weeks, from concept to reality, my largest silver shuttle to date. I used twice as much silver for this shuttle than I have used on other silver shuttles. The enameling was a success and overall I am happy with the end results.


Little Miss P is learning to sit upright on her own and she is so proud of herself, it is all she wants to do these days. I can't believe how fast she is growing up.

Ideas materializing

Remember this post about two weeks ago? After a lot and I mean a LOT of hard work this is where I am on this project. I am working on enameling now.



Here are some more PURE silver shuttles I am working on. They will be available in the shop very soon. There is a new product on the market that when applied to precious metal is supposed to prevent tarnishing. So I am giving that a go as well. I will be making some more copper shuttles soon....boy I tell ya, my "to do" list is growing and growing as I am trying to get used to the pace of being a new mom which means I can no longer guarantee when things will be finished. Ah well, I LOVE being a mom and much to my own surprise I am not so bad at it!
Health permitting there are a lot of exciting new things I will be adding to my Etsy shop for your pleasure!

So excited!!!

I hope this isn't premature...but I am so excited about this project that I had to share the concept before it is even finished.
I have been designing this shuttle for two days straight and I think it is finally where I want it to be.
This will be a pure silver shuttle with pic tip and enameling if all goes well.
I have to meticulously plan every step before execution because failure will be too costly.
The price of silver has doubled since last year and unfortunately the two major manufacturers of precious metal clay are in Japan so I have no idea what that will do to future supply.
Anyway...now that I feel good about the design I think I can finally get some sleep. When I get excited about a project I can forget to eat or sleep for a couple of days....I know...it drives my hubby crazy.

Anyway, on another note Piccadilly discovered her feet today...hilarious!

Tatting ladies, pictures galore and my special diet

I had the opportunity and privilege to meet three of the four ladies of DMR. Teresa and her lovely daughter are visiting from GA. Dena and grandma Elaine are fellow Idahoans. It is always nice to meet other tatters, especially a tatting family. No one in my family tats...and trust me I have tried to get my sisters to come around. So I think Piccadilly is my last hope.

I have been working hard on some new shuttles and despite my ever growing expertise, my failure rate is still around 50 to 60 percent which is why I think I am still the only known ceramic shuttle artist in the world....because it is an exasperating venture ...AND I'm crazy!

Here are Miss P's four month pictures. The knitted hat she is wearing is from LaceRn. She is finally starting to grow into some of her lovely gifts and I am trying to document it before she grows right out of them.

Check out the knitted Mary Janes from Tatfully Yours! Yes they (as well as the scottie dog dress) are still a bit big but I just couldn't help myself!
Also still a bit big, here is Marty's onesie with her beautiful tatting on it. She is growing so quickly that I am afraid to miss any opportunity for her to sport her fancy duds.
Since I have been nursing I am having such a difficult time trying to maintain a healthy weight so that I can continue to nurse. It is taking everything out of me and I think it is greatly contributing to my constant fatigue. I drink 1050 calories of Ensure everyday on top of an already calorie loaded diet. It's become a full time job in and of itself. I would like to be able to breastfeed for the pediatrician recommended year but I may only make it to 6 months. I am very grateful that I have made it this far!


Here are a few more treasuries that my work has appeared in. I think it is always fun to see how people group things together.

Well I think that is plenty for today!

Belated St. Patty's Surprise

Blathnaid aka Brenda the lovely leprechaun lass and I decided together to create a special silver shuttle for Tatskool. Since the shuttle had to travel all the way to Ireland it didn't quite arrive when it was supposed to. Anyhow, now that it has landed safely we can share it with you!

I have not been feeling at all well this week, so every little thing is a big challenge. But I did want to share what I accomplished in a small block of time when I wasn't too miserable.


I am working a few pottery pieces with tatting embellishments to take to ShuttleBirds this year....so if you are going to this "Oh so FUN" convention you will be the first to lay hands on this very special pottery.

Tuesday's Shuttle and new "CONFETTI SPRINKLES"

Pure Silver 100% Handcrafted Tatting Shuttle


"CONFETTI SPRINKLES"

Newest "Jewel"

I have been working diligently and meticulously and I am very excited to present my newest pure silver tatting shuttles. I will unfold the new ones every day or so starting with this beauty today.
This one has a light green enameling to really show off the raised design.