Needlework & Lacemaking Kits For Sale

This last weekend, I took inventory of Needlework & Lacemaking Kits that I have leftover from my years (1998-2006) teaching on the national needlework show series.  I think it is time to find homes for some of my babies.  This is no coincidence that this occurs after helping the brother of a deceased tatting friend go through her "craft room" stuff.  I realized that A. You can't take it with you & B. That all your stuff can be a burden to the people who inherit it. 

So I am offering for sale, leftover kits in various artforms: Carrickmacross Lace, Romanian Point Lace, Filet Lace, Smocking, Ribbon Work, & several fun, interesting embroidery forms.

Go to:   www.TheShuttleSmith.com

Go to:  "NEEDLEWORK KITS FOR SALE"  under the "BOOKS FOR SALE" tab.

There is more information on the webpage.

Questions:  email me direct at   k.bovard@yahoo.com   or   TheShuttleSmith@gmail.com

The (non-tatting) Secret Fiber Art Life of The ShuttleSmith

I have a bit of a confession to make....I don't only create fiber art in the form of Tatting!  I also do/have done alot of needlework and needlelace work.  If you have read my bio (on my website) I mention that I grew up sewing, embroidering, knitting/crochet, etc.---anything fiber art related that I could get my hands on!  Then as an adult I learned more refined needlelace techniques, many that I eventually taught at a regional and national level. 

These include:

• Carrickmacross Lace
• Teneriffe/Sol/Nanduti Lace
• Romanian Point Lace
• Needle Lace
• Filet Lace (True)
• Smocking

I have had the pleasure to take & teach tatting to national needlework shows, where I had a goal of 'converting' cross-stitchers to lacemakers.  It was at these shows that I introduced other unique needlework forms (including the above list) to the cross-stitch world including (to name a few that come to mine):

• Huck Embroidery
• Chicken Scratch Embroidery
• Ribbon Work
• Surface Embroidery Stitches (for Crazy Quilting)
• Crazy Quilting Patchworking

What I did this weekend

This weekend, on Saturday, I spent the whole day demonstrating tatting in Wahoo, Nebraska at the "Christmas on the Prairie" event. 

I tatted for 6 hours with 5 fellow tatters/lacemakers---It was heaven!

After a delicious Mexican supper with two friends I drove home to Omaha the 35 miles in the second snowfall of the year.  It was quite beautiful.  The temperature was so cold that there was no horrible ice storm so the driving was quite fine (except for the idiot in front of me who insisted on going 35mph the whole way).

On the left (separated by the red edging) is my 'Traditional' tatting, mostly holiday pieces (not in the picture).  On the right of the table is my 'Modern' tatting---specifically my Split Ring Tatting pieces (packed into 3 cigar boxes) & my two books:  Fun with Split Ring Tatting & MORE Fun with Split Ring Tatting.

I am working on a Padded/Split Ring Greek-Key design cross---destined to be in my third book, CROSSES IN SPLIT RING TATTING.

A SRT Snowflake for the season--New Free Pattern

I was looking through my Design Notebook this week and was looking at a couple of my snowflake designs and thought "I should get one done while it is in season".

So Monday I went home and found this lightly variegated blue thread.  I know that it should be tatted in white thread, but I'm just not a white-kinda person.  Don't get me wrong, I love the look of white tatting!  I really do.  My problem is that I just don't work well with white thread, i.e.  I don't have the time to devote to the cleanliness that is needed to work with white thread.  (That is why all my work is in dark or vibrant colors.)  So the fact that this snowflake is blue reminds me of glacial.  In this case the process is reversed--snowflakes come down and aggregate to become glaciers which take on a stellar blue color.  My snowflake knows that it is destined to become glacier-blue and has decided to start that way.

I tatted it on breaks from work and evenings in two days and then started creating the illustrated pattern.  I realized that the creation of the illustrated pattern takes at least as much time as the actual tatting.   Both are labors of love.

BTW, I have about 5-6 more snowflake patterns in my design notebook....most are quite a bit bigger that this one, thus this one is named 'small snowflake'.

This pattern may not be in time for Christmas, but here in Nebraska snowflakes still fly for several months into the new year.

go to:  www.TheShuttleSmith.com

Then go to FREE SPLIT RING TATTING PATTERN

The actual pattern is in PDF form at the bottom of the page.
 
ENJOY!!!!