New TIAS, Sewing Gauge and Shrink Plastic Flat Shuttle

Iris started a new TIAS! Without any diagram or photo, Day 1 is truely tat it and see what comes out of it! Am I on the right track?

Also in the photo is one of my favourite picot gauges - a sewing gauge. They come in hard plastic and metal, I like them thin, handy, durable and fuss-free, and many sizes all in one and all the arms are annotated. I counted 20 picot sizes from the smallest 1/8" to the largest 4"!

Did you notice the transparent disc at the top left corner ? I made this flat shuttle from shrink plastic back in 2005. It's not easy to shrink a long piece down nicely and flatly, or perhaps I'm too much of a perfectionest or simply I'm not skillful enough. But well, this is the one and only one I tried, and have since only used it once to tat something very small.

Shuttle, Shuttles and More Shuttles, and Cute MicroDragons

My birthday is fast approaching. I decided to treat myself to a few new shuttles which I have been eyeing for a while.

The 1st one I bought off eBay is a handcrafted gourd tatting shuttle with roses created by Alexandra Beatty. It is sage green on top with warm amber beige in colour inside and on the sides and has an original illustration by the artist of pink, white, and yellow roses with leaves. Design is the same on both sides of the shuttle. Measures 3 1/16" in length by 1" in width, by 5/8th in thickness.

Next are a pair of tatting shuttles (pair at bottom of photo) handmade by Jan Stawasz, which I bought from Karen Glass at Etsy. Post-style, approximately two inches long, crafted from plexiglass, metallic silver and gold in colour. Very smooth and nice colours!

Couldn't resist these cuties (top 3 of photo) made by Noreen Crone Findlay: Blessed Bunny Tatting Shuttle, abt 2 inches long & 1 inch tall, Tattie Hedgehog, The Blue Bird of Happiness, abt 2 inches long & 1 inch tall. Very cute and smooth on the outside edge, though the holes have some wood splinters which may catch the thread.

I was offered a 2nd chance at eBay to buy this bobbin-shuttle (2nd shuttle on the right above the namecard) from Hungary. It isn't such a good deal after all. I doubt the shuttle can work - the screw is tight yet the bobbin is rolling freely. I wasn't impressed with the workmanship on the wood either. Well, I have put in one of my favourite working and smallest GR8 shuttles (immediately above Jan's namecard in the photo) as a comparison of the size of the various shuttles.

I'm working on more paper clips, but couldn't resist trying this microdragon by Anne Bruvold. The red dragon was tatted with Altin Basak Simli threads (not too bad a thread if your tension is loose enough to close the rings without snapping the metallic thread). The smaller blue one was done with Omega size 50 (#137 and #138). The colours of Omega threads appeal to me, but luckily I didn't buy more than these 2 balls. Perhaps I'm too used to Flora and Olmpus threads, I didn't like the texture of the Omega thread - I didn't have to retro-tat and it is fuzzy even as I use it straight from the ball!

New Christmas Shuttle, Heart Coaster and A Wonderful Concert

Received this new shuttle a few days ago, which I won on ebay. Made by the Shuttle Shop using Northern Black Cherry wood, this is the Christmas 2008 edition featuring a hedgehog. This is my 4th shuttle from the Shuttle Shop.

I was packing my stuff and found this acrylic coaster which I bought from Ikea months (or is it years!) ago. I remembered I bought it with the intention to put a tatted heart inside, as the coaster is made up of 2 identical pieces (top and bottom) and with magnets to attach both pieces together. This tatted heart was the one I won in Wendy's blog giveaway a little while ago, and I have attached it with glue dots on a cover of a note book. Now I think it is just so perfect in this coaster, both in shape and size, isn't it ?

And after the long wait, he was finally here, standing on stage, with a full house of 7000 audience on each night, all eyes on him, and I was among the 7000 there on the 2nd night, together with my mother, my colleague and her 3 sisters!

He's so handsome, so manly and such well-toned muscles. Fans were screaming away the whole night long, and were too eager to sit down (at the same time, it was very cramp as the organiser added so many seats!). Though I prefer his Canto pops to the Chinese songs, Andy is remarkable in his showmanship - all the different dances (real dance, not just hopping and jumping around), magic stunt, and a drama performance. I must also add the digital screen effect was fantastic. This was the most spectacular of the 5 concerts I attended this year, and most tiring one having to stand the most of the 2 hour plus!

This jacket was so cute!
Took a few video clips of some of the Cantonese songs Andy sang. Weren't well taken, but watching them brought back fond memories of the concert.

New Shuttles, More Amazing Works from Vicki, Motif No. 16/25 and Wizard of Oz

The artistic-looking acrylic shuttles made by Craig are pretty to look at, and since they are the bobbin-type, I just have to get my hands on them. They are bulkier than what they looked in the photo and do not come with hook (the one on both ends are GR8 shuttles). Well, I haven't tried using them, so no verdict yet.Dakota Burl in the centre, Acrylic Black And White Pearl on the right and Acrylic Yellow And Gold on the left.

Remember my summertime exchange from Vicki ? Well, we thought it was lost after waiting for 2 months and Vicki is such a gem to prepare another one for me. This time, it arrived much faster. See these treasures Vicki made - a thimble with a tatted holder, an amulet bag starched to look like an ornament! Can't thank her enough!

And here's my latest Motif No. 16/25 for the coming Christmas season - a quick tree motif tatted in 1 round if you can manage split ring and split chain. I haven't managed to draw the diagram out yet, it might be a bit difficult to follow the written pattern. I think the pattern cannot be enlarged, I will try to get the diagram done and re-post the pattern.

(11 Nov 08: Added the diagram in the pattern. I don't know why the following can't be enlarged, so if anyone wants to have the pattern, you can leave a comment with your email address or retrieve the pdf file from HBT's files:

http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/gBwaSWEaKEWEIBgGhhhxktC8P-FvV3ochYZ2Xq70RgtzlgS10fnEU3Zpv-pjcSzxic1SKJ09kTRUmjyvuCxfRoT9IkZICOo5/ALL%20Patterns/Ellen )

We just came back from the muscial, Wizard of Oz, held at the Drama Centre Theatre. The script was developed by John Kane and the Royal Shakespeare Company, this is the best "children" muscial we have watched so far. Stretching 2 hours, the length is just nice. Props, settings and costumes are appropriate, creative and colourful. Songs are delightful. Yes, we enjoyed every moment. Now, we're waiting for 27 Nov for the next musical, Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs, directed by Hossan Leong!

Love These Treasures! Andy Lau is Coming to Singapore!

If you have been following Dave's GMA blog, you might have noticed this custom-made order a little while ago. Dave sent my orders in 3 packages and I just received the last one. Here are what I got from him this time!

The scissors fob on the right is what I requested - a scissors fob with a small tatting shuttle hanging on it and it will work for a small quick project. Dave carved the shuttle from fossil mammoth ivory, 1 1/4" in length, and scrimshawed with my name. The shuttle hangs from a fob beaded with clear, green and purple Swarovski crystals. I will use the clasp on other end to attach a picot hook. Lovely, isn't it ?

The pendents on the top left and below are Celtic Ogham pendants - Dave made the mammoth ivory one on the top with symbols meaning protection, and Jo made the earthenware one below with symbols meaning joy. I like them long, and the earthly colours, and the most unique meaningful symbols.

Next are 2 hand-carved Yak bone - " Endless Knot" and "Precious Umbrella" -pendants made in Nepal. These 2 are part of the 8 auspicious symbols traditionally used to represent the qualities of the Buddha. The Umbrella symbolises protection against all evils, while the Endless Knot symbolises love and unity of all things.

Last but the least, I got another of Jo's solid moisturizing lotion bar. No, I have not finished the first bar I bought, but I love it so much, I just have to have one in my hangbag, and another one in my office! Lovely scent!
And before I end off, I'm too excited to hold back this news - I managed to get tickets for Andy Lau's Wonderful World Concert Tour 2008 and on the front 6th row! Ok, what's the big deal ? Well, Andy is the No. 1 idol in the Chinese entertainment scene, the tour kicked off in September last year and has successfully conquered 16 cities to-date, selling out every venue. Tickets are going so fast for the Singapore 12 Dec 2008 show, even the S$198 Category 1 tickets are left with back seats in the early afternoon of the 1st day of ticket sale! Due to the overwhelming response, a second show on 13 Dec 2008 has just been added today, and yes! we managed to get seats on the 6th row, thanks, to my colleague!

Motif No. 13/25 - Butterfly Bookmarks, New Shuttle, Ivan's Drawing

I bought some butterfly hairclips recently and have this sudden urge to tat some butterflies. These are the first 2 I came up with - the pink one was tatted with Flora 20 threads, and the other with Manuela 20 thread. With a ribbon weaved through the body, I think they will make a quick bookmark. What do you think ? Watch out for 1 or 2 more variations. These will be part of Motif No. 13 for the 25-Motif Challenge.

Next is my latest acquisition from ebay - a 1 1/2 inch Irish bog oak tatting shuttle that used 4000 year old Irish bog oak and inlayed with a simple Celtic swirl design in Malachite.

And here's the feeding device Ivan drew from the basis sketch I talked about earlier. Ivan went through with me how the machine works (if it works, I wonder), but well, I'm still impressed!

Latest Buy and A New Tatted Heart

I enjoyed most crafts even as a child, and have tried quite a lot over the years. Love tatting the most. I learnt tatting from Sheila Dutton in 1999, and also picked up a bit of bobbin lace later.

I have accumulated a small collection of shuttles and a pretty decent stash of tatting books and threads. I have photos of most of my shuttles in my Flickr album: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8463498@N02/sets/72157600602387671/ and threads: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8463498@N02/sets/72157600602580216/
Here is my latest buy from Sherry Pence - a ceramic shuttle and 10 skeins of her hand-dyed threads.

I have been pretty active in tatting exchanges in the last few years. These are the exchanges I have participated in : http://www.flickr.com/photos/8463498@N02/sets/72157600602578394/

And now, I have just joined Sharon Briggs' International Round Robin. Those in my group are Jennifer (USA), Victoria (Canada), Hanna (Sweden), Meme (Chile) and myself (Singapore) - a truly international group, all of us are from different places. I have designed and sent a heart to Jennifer for Feb 08. I got the inspiration from a piece of jewellery, and tatted it in Flora 20 mainly. My 2nd child, Joey, named it "Heart Destiny".