The Exquisite Collection of Tatted Butterflies Book I and Book II available again

I sold out of both my butterfly books but I am happy to report that another run has been printed and are now available for sale once again in my Etsy Shop.

Whoo hoo!

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!

New Shuttle Design

Well, now that silver prices are through the roof I have to carefully plan each and every silver shuttle that I make. What do you think of this design? I will practice it in copper first.
It used to cost me in materials alone $70 to make each shuttle, for that same shuttle it will now cost me $112 and of course that doesn't include time, firing costs, or the investment I made in tools and equipment. So this is not a money making enterprise for me at all. My ultimate goal is to make the world's most beautiful tatting shuttle that ever was and ever will be! Now, whether or not I accomplish this goal remains to be seen, and of course beauty is subjective, but if I aim high the shuttles I make along the way should be pretty decent. It may take my entire life and I may never "get there" but the journey should be fun!
I am spurred on by my love of tatting and the encouragement of my beloved tatting family.
...and of course I will always keep you posted on my progress.

Current silver shuttles for sale.

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.

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 for State Fair

I tatted a meandering edge to finish this doily. It needs a good blocking, but I'll get around to that when I get around to it.
This pregnancy has slowed me WAAAAAYYYY down but I am sure that is probably something I needed in my life anyway.
So the good news is that I did NOT end up in the hospital again this week. Halllleighluuujah!
I go in for weekly evaluations, ultra sounds, measurements, etc, with my fetal medicine team...and yes they are a wonder team. I really do feel like I am in good hands.
Since my cervix is doing such a good job of not getting shorter they upgraded me from bed rest to "light activity". It is just a trial for this week to see what happens, but I am hoping this means a positive upward trend.
I don't even know what "light activity" means. To me it means I can bust a move back to the studio....but very "lightly" of course.
I was also able to do a little laundry, dishes, and even prepare dinner for DH. I almost feel like a normal human again.
My belly is getting huge. It really does literally look like I am sporting a basket ball in there. Soooo funny!
I'll see if I can get some belly pics posted soon.

So I found out that the theme for our State Fair is "A Barnyard Ball". That means I get the chance to bust out Tatted Animals, Tatting Farm Animals, maybe some items from New Critters On the Block, Animal Bookmarks, A Tatted Zoo, and most likely a pattern or two from our beloved Jane Eborall.
Is this exciting or what?!?!? I have so many ideas!

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.

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.

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.

Some fun stuff today...

This is the progress thus far on this little experiment. I wonder what it will end up being?

Yesterday I taught "HOPE" in the online tatting class it was a lot of fun. I tatted this one before class. She was tatted in black and "Confetti Sprinkles" Size 20.
If you want to see some beautiful tatting hop over to TATSKOOL's blog and check out what she has done with this pattern.

New shuttles with Hallmark

Here is the newest pure silver tatting shuttle. It is a little bigger than the previous silver shuttles I made and this is even hallmarked as .999 percent pure silver.
I am feeling so much better today after a dismal week. My hands don't even hurt today...YAYYYY! It is sunny outside and I think I may even go pull some weeds!

Free Butterfly tatting pattern by Sherry Pence....HOPE

"Hope"
Here she is. A lot of work goes into designing and writing a pattern so please leave a comment letting me know that you have downloaded her.
Enjoy!

"HOPE" and The Holocaust Project

If you guessed a butterfly you were correct. This is tatted in cotton and silk.

Has anyone ever noticed the peculiar commonalities that we tatters share with one another? I am not referring to our "reclusive" tendencies, or that we have enough patience to try a Saint (I mean come on...tatting?...thousands of tiny knots?...yes we are crazy!)
Nor am I referring to the fact that we are one of the most generous and tight knit communities on the world wide web.
No...I would like to talk about something that is perhaps a little sadder. How many of us suffer from chronic pain, depression or other health conditions? There is something soothing about tatting that draws us in and brings us together to comfort one another.
These tatters are who I designed "HOPE" for. Just a small symbol of the threads that bind us and a reminder that we are not alone.
I am working on diagramming "HOPE" this weekend and the pattern will be free and posted early next week...(maybe sooner if all goes well.)

I also think this would be a great butterfly for The Butterfly Project.
If you haven't already heard about this wonderful project, please check it out ASAP!

Monday MONDO Giveaway Part IX

Hold on to your hair everyone because today's giveaway is instant gratification and EVERYONE goes home with the prize.


"Treble Clef" Free Pattern.
Surprisingly for such simple looking pattern this took me weeks to get right. It has a folded ring in it so for those who haven't had the privilege of tatting one, now is your chance. It's a great pattern for using up that left over thread on your shuttles....and it tats up very quickly. Enjoy!
This was tatted in KrystleDawn's "Windbreaker".




I have been working a lot with precious metals in the studio and that got me to thinking about tatting with wire. I have done a lot of tatting OVER wire but have never tatted WITH wire. This is copper wire and it tats up as nicely as you could ever expect wire to tat up. I am playing around with it as I can see a lot of potential in its application, so we will see where this endeavor leads me.
Also, I am refining my skills with my new line of shuttles. They are incredibly expensive to make as one might expect when working in precious gems and metals so I have very little to no room for mistakes. I am very excited about what I have so far and I will be putting a couple up for sale real soon.

This is a ring that I made with a small portion of left over materials, I really love it. Now mind you, I am not in the jewelry making business and don't intend to branch off into what thousands of other people can do better than I, but it is good practice for my future shuttles.


If you like this pattern and decide to download it, please just leave a quick comment letting me know that you did!

HAPPY MONDAY!!!

Monday MONDO Giveaway Part III

....a refresher on the rules:
You must comment every week on the new giveaway post (ex: THIS ONE)
If you are eligible for two entries you must put this (2) in your comment.
Entries are accepted up until midnight every Saturday. If you miss the deadline you will have to try again the following week.
Please review the giveaway rules here.




This week's first prize is a necklace made by myself. The original tatted leaf is tatted in size 80 thread, with matching glass beads strung on nylon coated 20 lb stainless steal wire with silver plated lobster claw findings.

Remember the more who enter the more prizes that will be given away...so really it behooves you to share the good news.

The winner/s will be announced on Sunday, followed by a brand new giveaway on Monday.



Have fun and good luck!