Demonstrating Tatting at The Handcart Days in Bountiful, Utah

Hello my bloggy friends! I guess it's been awhile, hasn't it? A lot has happened in my life since we last "spoke"... I guess I've got a lot of explain' to do, but before we get into all that let me share with you about what I did today! I went with someone from my local tatting group, "The Bonneville Tatters" to "The Handcart Days" in Bountiful, Utah and demonstrated tatting! It was really a nice day and we shared the lovely art of tatting with quite a few interested parties!

I even captured part of the day in some pics! Here, let me share them with you!

First, here is my partner in crime, Nannette.

She is tatting away diligently at something.
She even gave me permission to share her
pic on my blog! Wasn't that nice of her?

You can kind of get an idea of our table layout from this picture!
We had all kinds of tatted goodies we were displaying.

Of course as luck would have it the project I
was working on had a ring that wouldn't close
so I wasn't a very good "demonstrator"... LOL!


Here are some close ups of some of the tatted
goodies we were displaying...

...we had tatted lanyards and necklaces.

tatted brooches, snowflakes, earrings, doilies, bookmarks,
hearts, and of course, tatting shuttles!

This pictures shows a piece with some cluny work
that I haven't shown on my blog before and a pink
bookmark that Rozella Linden sent me once.
Yes, "THE" Rozella Linden...She has written books
on Celtic Tatting. Some of my tatting friends that are
involved in the online community may know her by her
real name "Ruth Perry". She also sent me a tatting shuttle...
...but that's a whole 'nother blog post! ;)

We were in an Art Center in Bountiful so there was a
bounty of beautiful artsy pieces to look at!
I snapped a few pics of things that caught my eye!

For instance this intriguing and beautiful necklace
was on display right behind us!
Isn't it gorgeous?
It looks like it was made out of all natural pieces.

Then in the center of the room and in front
of our table was this beautiful children's dress.
It was gorgeous!

Well, that was my Saturday! How was yours? Feel free to share what you think about our day at "The Handcart Days" in the comments! I've missed my bloggy friends but it's been hard to blog without a camera handy! I will share more in the near future now that I have a camera!... or well, actually...camera software!
(((huggles)))

♥

XOXO

What's Playing on YOUR Shuttle?

Yes, you heard me right! I said "What's playing on YOUR shuttle?" Yes, your tatting shuttle!

"What?", you ask in return, silently to yourself as you read this, "Has TattingChic gone off her rocker? Completely Nutzo? Why would she ask such a preposterous thing?"

Well, let me explain! I have a tatting shuttle made from a vinyl record! YUP! A good old fashioned vinyl record. So, I was just wondering what it used to play! You know...what's "Playing" on it, LOL! It's just a little "PLAY" on words, so to speak! LOL! I got it from another Etsy artist named Shadetreeart! Some of you may also know her blog which is also called Shade Tree Art.

Would you like me to stop teasing you with words and just show you what the shuttle looks like?
Alrighty then, let's hit it, baby!

~*~

Here it is...
...the star of our show!

A tatting shuttle made from a vinyl record!
It's green!

~*~
Okay, I know you're looking at that thinking
"No, it's black, TattingChic",
but it's "green" in the sense that it's
an upcycled vinyl recond and Shadetree Art put an
old record to good use instead of throwing it away!
~*~

Here's a closer look so you can see the
striations of the record.
You can click on the photos to enlarge
them to get a better look.

It's kind of cool, aye?

~*~

Thanks for letting me share that with you! So, with all that said...I really do wonder what was playing on my tatting shuttle. Was it Frank Sinatra? The Beatles? Or a Symphony....Pachelbel's Canon in D Minor? LOL! I guess I will never know. It would be kind of neat to know what the source of the vinyl record was. The post in between the blades is just black painted wood or acrylic as near as I can tell that is glued to the blades. The blades make a pinging sound as the thread passes through the blades. It's kinda cool! It feels smooth to the touch, but it scratches easily, LOL! Just like any vinyl record...but I don't have to worry about it skipping, ;)

Be sure to say hello and let me know what you think! I love visitors and comments are always welcome here at TattingChic!

♥

XOXO

Pink Jewel

Dear friends,

I have a new tatting shuttle! I ordered it from La Cossette. She's the same talented artist who sold me the Blue Diamond tatting shuttle. I had asked for a pink tatting shuttle to coordinate with the blue beauty and she did not disappoint! Let me show you!

~*~

Here it is!

I like how the front has a little pearl
in the divet there!
So pretty!

~*~

Then the other side is just as lovely!
It has sparkly paper!

The photo doesn't show how it sparkles and
shines in person, but it does!

I think it's lovely!

Did you notice the way the burgundy paper
is punched around the edges?

It's a new "Punch Around the Page"
paper punch set by Martha Stewart.
Doesn't it look like tatting?
I thought it reminded me of a tatted
clover~leaf edging on a handkerchief.
It was called "Ribbon Loop" although
I thought it should've been called
"Tatted Lace" instead!

Martha, Martha, Martha! ;)

(Don't get me wrong...I love her stuff
I just think she should've consulted with
me first before titling this paper punch
set because it looks more like tatting
than ribbon, ha ha!!!)

~*~

Well, thanks for letting me share this new tatting shuttle with you here in bloggerland! It's always a pleasure! Be sure and leave a comment because I love to hear from bloggy friends! If you are new to my blog then I'd love to hear from you, too so introduce yourself! Comments are always welcome here at TattingChic and I'd to know what you think of the new shuttle and hear how you're doing!

♥

XOXO

Blue Diamond

Hello! Today I got a tatting shuttle in the mail all the way from the UK! It's a lovely one called "Blue Diamond". I love it when shuttle makers (or artists) name their shuttles! It's so fun that way you know! Would you like to see some pictures of the beauty that I got? Shall we commence with the photo shoot? You know I couldn't settle for just one photo! This little gem looks lovely on both sides, you know!

Here she is!

~*~

Blue Diamond!

She's from the etsy shop of
La Cossette!
She makes the loveliest Decoupaged
Aero Tatting shuttles!

~*~

Inside the package was this lovely little
envelope that she packaged the shuttle in!
Isn't it pretty?

Here are some more photos!

Here's the other side!

And just one more photo of the side
I like the best!

Isn't she lovely?

~*~

Okay, I have been seeing these fun blinged up shuttles
on everyone's tatting blogs and I'm feeling a little left out!
I had to go get a bling stash, you know!

So, here it is!

I'll let you know what I come up with!

~*~

Thank you for stopping by today to see my new tatting shuttle! I was so excited to get something in the mail besides the usual bill. Let me know what you think in the comments. It's always so nice to hear from my blog buddies!

♥

XOXO

Antique Tatting Shuttles

Hello, Hello! Did you miss me??? I missed you! ;) Sorry I've been gone so long from blogland! I wish I had some exciting excuse like I've been in Europe and the Prince of Denmark kept me detained with very important business, but I've no such exciting news to tell you! How can I possibly make it up to you?

I KNOW!

I'll show you my antique tatting shuttle collection!

These aren't just ANY tatting shuttles, you know!
Many of them are from the Victorian Era! :D

Well, there's no time like the present so let's get started! Shall we?

First, let me show you my
Sterling Silver
"Webster"
Enamel Tatting Shuttle

Isn't it a Beauty?
I am really lucky to have that one!
It's called a "Webster" because Webster was the
name of the Silversmith who made it.
He had his own special Silvermith stamp.
It's a "W" with a slash through it.
It's from the Victorian Era!

~*~

Next on the docket is another
tatting shuttle from the Victorian Era!
It's made of horn with shell inlay!

Pretty, aye? I think so!
This one hasn't arrived yet so I've stolen the pic
from the eBay seller!
Thanks, Fred! LOL! ;)

~*~

Okay, if you've been following my blog for awhile
you may have seen this one before.
I featured it in this post.
It has a colorful past.
Well, at least Lydia Pinkham's "Vegetable Compound" does, LOL!
You can read all about it in the previous post!

This is the other side of the Lydia Pinkham shuttle.
It is Celluloid.

TIP FOR THE DAY:
It's always a good idea to store your
celluloid shuttles in a separate container from
your metal shuttles because celluloid gives off a
gas that tends to discolor metal shuttles!

This shuttle is from the early 1900's.


~*~

Here is another shuttle from the Victorian Era!
This is also another Webster shuttle!
It is sterling silver and if you look in the lower
left hand side you can see the word
"Sterling" stamped on the shuttle.
Also Webster stamped his "W" with a slash
Silversmith stamp on the front on this shuttle.
It's on the top left on this one.

This one has a wreath of holly leaves around the engraved area.
It has an engraved "S" on it.
It is hard to find old shuttles without an engraved initial on it
these days! I think they just add to the charm! ;)

~*~

Now, here's another very rare shuttle from
the Victorian Era!
What makes it so rare?
Well, it's tortoise shell.
No, I don't mean the plastic tortoise shell
you see all over the place...it's real tortoise shell.
You see, in the Victorian Era "Tortoise Shell" was
very popular! Tatting shuttles made of this substance were
not uncommon, but they are rare now, and just as well, because I
love animals...especially tortoises and turtles! But this was a
rare and special find and I've always wanted one.

This one came from the UK.
I like how the light shines through it!
I wish you could see it in person.
It's very flexible!

~*~

The next shuttle is one that was very common
from the Victorian Era!
Many girls who inherit shuttles from their
ancestors from that time usually inherit this type of shuttle.
It's a bone shuttle!

People from that Era seemed to use every part of their
animals and didn't let anything go to waste....not even the bone.
So here we have a bone tatting shuttle!
Many items were made from bone, it was not uncommon.

~*~

Well, that's the end of my show and tell! Thanks for letting me share with you! I hope you're not in shock from hearing from me after so long! How long has it been? Easter? Tee hee! I promise not to make you wait so long before I post again! Sooooo, what's so special about the Victorian Era? I mean why so much emphasis on my collecting shuttles from that Era? Well, other than the fact that it's really old...yes, the late 1800's. What' makes tatting shuttles from this era so special to me is the fact that this is when tatting first had it's heyday! It is when tatting first became popularized! So there you have it! That's why I have an emphasis on collecting antique tatting shuttles from the Victorian Era!
What do you think of them? Be sure and let me know in the comments! You KNOW I love comments, right? Well, if you don't know that...don't be shy! Leave a comment because I LOVE comments and I'd love to know what you think! Oh, and by the way, no, they are not for sale, LOL! Just in case you were wondering! ;)

♥

XOXO

Thank You Santa!

Well, Happy New Year to all of you! Many of you have already ushered in the long awaited blue moon of a New Year, but I still have about 2 hours to go! So, with the clock ticking away the minutes I thought I'd share with you some of what that darling Santa Claus brought me!

That Jolly old Elf! He knows that TattingChic sure likes her tatting shuttles and he did not disappoint! Can I show you some of the goodies!?!

~*~

Here are some cute vintage
celluloid shuttles in darling pastels.
How did Santa know I would love these??

~*~

This is something I was so excited to get!
A vintage Milward Shuttle!
How fun is that!?!

~*~

Okay, the special of the day was this
absolutely fabulous antique shuttle
from around the turn of the century...
...no...not the turn of this century...
...the turn of last century!
It's from the early 1900's!

It's a Lydia Pinkham cellulose
acetate advertising shuttle!

Isn't it totally cool!?!
I think so!
These Lydia Pinkham shuttles even
come with an interesting past!
***
Okay, here's the story of
Lydia Pinkham and the Cellulose Acetate Advertising Shuttle Forgery:

To start it all off, I wanted to learn more
about this very unique shuttle!
Upon doing research on "Google" I found this page.
It told me all about the Lydia Pinkham
Cellulose Acetate tatting shuttle.
The page in turn lead me to another page entitled:
Lydia E. Pinkham's
Cellulose Acetate (CA) Shuttle Forgery!
GASP!

It is the tale of a possible eBay forgery found on this page!

Upon closer inspection
I was glad to see that mine
does not look like a forgery;
much to my relief!

Besides...Santa didn't get it on eBay.
***
Special thanks to
Daniel "Tatmeister" Rusch-Fischer
for permission to take screen shots of his pages
and link to his website!
***
Thank you!
~*~

Apparently Lydia Pinkham's
40 Proof Alcohol based "Vegetable Compound"
has received her far more reaching notoriety
than she may have had ever intended.
Here's a video of "The Scaffold" from the 1960's singing a song about her.
Thank you WiggyVideos

The lyrics to this song "Lily the Pink"
are based on an old drinking song
called "Lydia Pink"
that orignated in the 1890's!

"We'll drink a, drink a, drink
To Lydia Pink a, Pink a, Pink
The savior of the human ra-hay-hayce
She invented a medicinal compound
Whose effects God can only replace.

Now here's a story,
A little bit gory,
A little bit happy
A little bit sa - hah - had
Bout Lydia Pink and
Her medicinal compound
and how it drove her to the bad.

Lydia died and went up to heaven,
All the church bells they did ri - hing - hing
She took with her Medicinal Compound
Hark! The herald angels sing!

So-oh drink a, drink a, drink
To Lydia Pink a, Pink a, Pink
The savior of the human ra-hay-hayce
She invented a medicinal compound
Whose effects God can only replace."

Source link:
Drinking song circa 1890s

Thanks to my friend Katherine from
Stitchin' Fingers for pointing out this song to me!

~*~

So glad you could stop by to say hello! Happy New Year and all that Jazz! It's fun to have bloggy friends like you to share my Christmas Pressies with! It makes like all the more delightful! However you are celebrating the New Year (or have celebrated it already or will celebrate it) I hope it is a safe and happy celebration for you all!
I'd love to hear from you so say hello! It'll make my day!

♥

XOXO

In The Pink

The saying "In the Pink" means in perfect condition, especially of health. Some of you may have noticed that on occasion I have mentioned, though briefly, that I've had some health challenges. I am happy to say that I am getting closer and closer to that state of being "in the pink"! Let's hear it for good health!

Pink is also one of my most very favorite colors. If I am forced to pick a favorite I will usually choose pink, but I love other colors, too!

PINK!

It's girly ~ I'm girly. It's feminine ~ I'm feminine. It tends to work well with my skin tone. I could think of a million other reasons why I like pink and why it's a perfect color for me!

I'd like to show you some fabulous blogalicious, tattalicious, and pinkalicious goodies!

~*~

Look at this beautiful pink box
that arrived in the mail from
Celestina Marie!

The box was a total surprise!
Look at the darling pink rose on the
pink background with white polka dots!
I am swooning over the pretty pink
and white stripes on the side of the box.

Just look at the beautiful white trim
on the side of the box lid!

Let's peek inside, shall we?

What's this peeking out of the pretty pink
sheer bag and rosy tissue paper?

It's a LOVELY painted tatting shuttle!
Look at the inside of the box, too!

Okay, now I did say that the box was a surprise.

The shuttle was not!

We had made arrangements earlier for her to
paint her beautiful shabby chic roses on a
wooden tatting shuttle for me.

I sent her this tatting shuttle
(that I purchased from Sistermaide's Etsy Shop).

And she sent it back looking like this:

Swoooooooon!

Oh, the photo does not do it justice!
It is beautiful with it's white background
and pink rosebud with pink polka dots!

Here's another "before" shot of the
tatting shuttle on it's side:

after:

She painted the sides pink and the post pink
with white inside the blades of the shuttle!

***

Accompanying this lovely shuttle was
this pretty card:

It says, "The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart."

The flipside had a personal note on it:

Thank you so much, Celeste!
I LOVE it!

Celeste is getting a tatted bookmark from me.
I told her I was going to wait until I had it done
to post it. As you can see, the shuttle is so
very pretty that I simply couldn't wait!

Edited 8/31/09:
You can see Celestina Marie's
blog post on the
shuttle by clicking here!

***

Next, I'd like to show you that I got
some pink hand knitted house slippers
from Twyla of Two Crazy Crafters!

Aren't they cute?

Finally, an obligatory blogger foot photo!


They are comfy, too!

You know, I have always wanted a pair of
hand knitted house slippers and now I have them!

Twyla had a birthday giveaway and I was
one of the lucky winners! YAY!

Thank you, Twyla!
They are warm and cozy!

***

Now, just in case you were wondering...
this is not just a blog about some gal
who "gets a lot of stuff from other bloggers"...

I do tat, too!

See!

Wink, wink, Jessica!

This is a sneak peak for all of you of some pink
tatting for a very special bloggy pal
(and you know who you are)!

~*~

Thank you for visiting my blog today! Whether or not you like pink I do hope this blog post finds you "in the pink" yourself! Please say hello and let me know how you are doing!

♥

XOXO

Happy Birthday America!

Apple pie?

Check!

Hotdogs and Buns?

Check!

Watermelon?

Check!

Looks like I'm already to celebrate Independence Day today! To all my friends in the USA Happy 4th of July!

~*~

Happy Birthday America!

It's your birthday, America, so make a wish!
What would you wish for America today?

I would wish for a healthier economy.

Isn't the box pictured above darling? I purchased
it from Rosemary of Rose's Petit Maison.
I bought it from her Etsy shop
called The Vintage Crown.
I love little boxes, tee hee!
***
What's that peeking out from underneath that box?
***
Why, it's a star tatted up in some patriotic colors, of course!
This star is called "Star in Clovers" by Jon Yusoff

of Jon's Thread Escapade.

It will count as

Motif #6

in my 2nd round of the 25 Motif Challenge!

***

Here's a close up of the star in the center. I like the way this was designed with the repeating star motif.

***

I thought I'd show you some photos of the star in progress

This star was made with 2 shuttles.

I used these shuttles, here.

They are made of acrylic and I think they are pretty.

They are larger than a typical tatting shuttle and they hold

a LOT of thread! They are perfect for tatting with beads!

These shuttles are hand made by Jan Stawasz of Poland.
He is an extremely talented tatter. Go look at his stuff.

You won't be disappointed. His work is absolutely,

extraordinarily STUNNING! I'm not kidding!

~*~

Thank you for stopping by to visit during the celebration of USA's birthday! If you are an international friend I hope you have a lovely fourth day of the month of July! I realize that not all my blog friends are American and I'm grateful for the visitors I get from all over this beautiful planet! Thank you for your visits and sweet comments!

In my last post I shared about a friend from Denmark. She has shared with me that there is a town in Denmark that celebrates the 4th of July every year in honor of their American friends! I think that is so cool! I don't think that most American's are aware of the beautiful gesture of friendship from our Danish friends! This festival is called "Rebildfesten".

Before you run off to Rebildfesten be sure to stop and say hello here! I love hearing from my bloggy friends from all over!

Happy Independence Day!

XOXO