Saturday, March 29, 2014

News - some good, some bad

Well, I have news that I have been waiting for.

I got a letter today from my credit card company that my case has been closed and the results are in my favor. So I get to keep the money I spent on the CNC machine that I bought in November that never worked. I still have the machine. I searched the internet today and found a guy who may be able to fix the machine. He charges $80 an hour. I'm not sure if I want to spend that much money on a machine that may not get fixed. I may just buy a new machine. I may just wait. I'm not sure what I want to do. Now that I have the money back, I might just hand on to it for a while.

Now the bad news. I got a message from the guy I get my colored wood from to make shuttles. He believes he has lost his seller and won't be able to supply me with the different colored wood any more. I have some left over and can make more shuttles after I get back from vacation and sell in my Etsy store. They will be sold as limited edition.

Not much else going on. I'm getting ready to prepare everything for my conference and vacation. I can't wait. One week from today I will be hanging out with my tatting buddies from all over and talking the language of tatting for 3 days. Then Shawn and I will be on our first vacation ever. 23 years of marriage and we've never done this before. It will be so much fun and relaxing.

Friday, March 28, 2014

My Gettysburg tatting group

I had a great time last evening with my tatting group in Gettysburg PA.

These ladies are so much fun and lift  your spirits if you are down. We laugh and chat more than tat at the meetings. It's so refreshing to know a group of ladies that I don't have one ounce of dislike for. I truly know that they are all wonderful people.

So last night I brought all of the shuttles I made and thread I dyed that I intend to bring to Fingerlakes. Well I came home $200 + richer and 6 shuttles and 28 skeins of thread lighter. I had no idea I was going to sell such a large amount of items.

This morning I made 6 shuttles to make up for the ones I sold last night. I am not going to dye more thread simply because I have enough thread to bring. I still have a large selection.

There is a lady who attends our group who wants to carry my thread in her shop. She has a shop where she sells civil war related items. She wasnt some of the vintage colors. I'm so excited. She also sells shuttles and took a very big interest in my shuttle design. WOW.

I am exhausted from making shuttles. So today I'm finished. No more shuttles are going to be made until after I get back from vacation.

Today I'm going to organize my shuttle collection and go to coinstar and cash in all of the change in the house so I can have more money to spend on goodies. I will post pix of my new purchases whenI get back. One more week and I'll be in NY. I'm so excited.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Decorate tatting shuttles with fabric

Here is a post from a fellow blogger on how to decorate tatting shuttles with fabric. I must do this. I have so much fabric that would look so cute as a shuttle.

Thanks for posting Marie.
http://westpinecreations.blogspot.com/

Fabric Shuttles These are Boye shuttles I prettied up with left over fabric.


1.) Sand the shuttle lightly (roughen it up). If you fabric is too light and shuttle, too dark, paint white acrylic paint on top of the shuttle.
2.) Add decoupage to the top shuttle and back of fabric. Leave the fabric a little larger than the shuttle.
3. ) Once, dry, trim the fabric, next to the shuttle.
4.) Add another coat of decoupage to the top and side. Repeat one more time.
5.) Once dry add three coats of colorless fingernail polish. Allow the coats to dry, before adding the next coat.

 
 

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Shuttles, Shuttles and more Shuttles

I have been working hard to get shuttles made for the tatting conference in Lodi, NY. I think I have 20 of mine made and Shawn has about 10 of his so far.
I posted a picture on Facebook and I thought there was going to be a war over two of the shuttles I made. Here is the picture.
People went crazy over the blue shuttles. I've already sold them to two people in Australia. I have one more piece of wood to be able to make two more. I have other colors also. I didn't think it would cause such chaos. WOW. I had to order more wood from the eBay seller where I got the wood, just to have some so people don't go nuts at Fingerlakes. My favorite ones are the pink ones, but of course because I love pink. People acted like I dyed the wood myself and had an unlimited supply to make them shuttles, even tho I posted that I bought the wood that way and could only produce 4 shuttles. I guess people really don't read the posts.

If I don't sell all of the shuttles at the conference, I will put them in my Etsy store.

I also got all 100 skeins of thread dyed. I am waiting for the last batch to dry before I take pix of them all. I took one picture and posted it on Facebook.
 
 
This is the first batch that I completed. This batch is 34 size 20 and 6 size 40. I have a total of 42 size 40 and 60 size 20 skeins dyed. I will be happy if I sell all of them while I'm gone, but I don't think I will. I came up with some really nice color combinations. I wish I could keep every skein for myself, but I know I need to sell them. My goal is to sell $300 worth of supplies to be able to buy goodies. If I sell more, then that's a great bonus.
 
I really don't need any goodies this year since I bought everything I wanted last year. I do want to buy all of the GR8 books. I was supposed to have already purchased them but I forgot to mail them a check so I will have to wait until I get back unless they are for sale there. I also want to get a few novelty things. And maybe another GR8 shuttle. Not much else. I have everything I need.
 
The next thing I need to figure out is if I am going to bring my entire shuttle collection with me. I haven't decided yet. Either way, I need to do a major organization of them. That's one thing I plan on doing next week. I won't be making any more shuttles next week. I need a break before I leave. Plus I have a lot of things to do before I go. I need to shop for food for the house sitters, do laundry, get all of my class needs gathered and put together. I'm having lunch with a lady who needle tats and wants to meet new tatters. I am also having dinner with two very special people. Nothing as stressful or time consuming as making the shuttles or dying thread, but things that need to be done, none the less.
 
I don't think it will ever stop. I guess it's better than sitting at home with nothing at all to do. 

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Terriable experience at the movies.

What a terrible experience.

We planned on having a date day since we've been so busy and not able to enjoy our time together in a long time. We planned on going to dinner and a movie.

We went to Buffalo Wild Wings and had a nice meal. Our waiter was really nice and took great care of us. That was the end of the enjoyment of the date.

Shawn and I went to the movies to see God's not Dead. There was a large group from a church there. Before the movie started they were climbing all over the chairs, asking other patrons to move so they could all sit together, kicking chairs and yelling across the threatre. I went out and asked the ushers to pay special attention to our thearte since I have a feeling they would be trouble. They were so rude, rowdie, and loud that the lady sitting next to me was crying because she could not hear the movie. I stood up at one point and yelled at them that they should be ashamed of themselves and that they were not the only people in the theatre. Even the church pastor and his wife talked throughout the movie. They yelled, jumped up and down, stomped the floor and made fools of themselves. Twice I asked them to be quiet. At the end of the movie one of the group came over to me and offered me money to make up for their ill behaviour. I refused. I was landlocked in my seat and couldn't get out to go get an employee.
Once the movie was over I went to the manager to complain and they gave us our money back. We were approached in the lobby by a group of people who thanked me for speaking up. While chatting with this group, another member of the church approached me and said "I apologize for our church, BUT we tend to get a little carried away". What kind of apology was that? The but negated the apology. I told her that her church members were rude and out of control. I also said that if an non believer was in that theatre they would have been surely turned off of Christianity by their actions. I said they ruined their testimony. She didn't understand so I had to break it down. "If a non believer was in there, they would say 'if this is how Christians act during a movie I don't want anything to do with them'. " I also told her that her pastor should be embarrassed that his church acted so poorly. She didn't get it.
I don't go to the movies often and this really turned me off. I'm so disappointed that our evening was ruined.


On a better note. I did get a new purse. It's about time. I've been carrying the same Coach purse for the past 3 years. I usually only carry Coach purses. I always check out the sale items first. At the front door I was handed a coupon for 30% off plus an additional 20% off. When I went to the rear of the store, I found several purses that I fell in love with. I saw a cream and white bag that was $299 regular price. It was 50% off, then 30% off then 20% off. I ended up getting the purse for $82. I am so happy with my purchase. I can't wait to transfer everything into it. And my daughter will be happy that it's not a bucket purse because I keep so much in my purse that I can never find my keys in the bottom. This one has pockets so I will be more organized.

Well, off to bed. Tatting to be done tomorrow.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Picture of the thread I dyed last night

So here is a photo of the thread I dyed last night.


There are 3 skeins missing from this picture. One is because I am keeping it. It's peacock colors.
One is a bright yellow one that got a little dark dye on it while I was handeling it and I have to overdye it.
One is a blue one and I have to rewrap the skein. It got all messy.
So this is 34 skeins of size 20 and 6 skeins of size 40.
What do you think?

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Hand Dying Thread

Today I started getting the thread dyed to take with me to Finger Lakes. I got 37 skeins of size 20 dyed and only 6 skeins of size 40 dyed before my back decided to no longer cooperate.

It's a long way to 100 skeins but I will get them all done.

I haven't made one shuttle yet. I still have a few weeks to get them done. If I make 3 shuttles a day for a week, I'll have 15 to bring with me. Shawn on the other hand has been busy making some beautiful ones for me to bring. He's been quite busy with making them and filling orders thru the Etsy store. It seems that his shuttles are popular. I'm so pleased because he works so hard at designing and making them. He is so meticulous.

I wish I had pictures to post of the thread, but it is still drying. I will photograph it in batches as I dye it.

One of the problems with dying my own thread is that every skein I dye, I want to keep. The colors are so yummy. I know that I could make two of every color, but that would defeat the purpose of selling thread. Plus I have a ton of thread that I need to use before I can add more to my collection. I did however make one skein for myself of peacock colors.

I feel a little behind in everything right now. Last year at this time I had all of my shuttles loaded and ready to go in little bags with labels. This year I don't even have my thread picked out yet, let alone what shuttles I will be using. I still need to pack my secret angel gift ready also. UGH. I need to get off of my rear and get things done.

Well, more tatting to get done tonight.

Friday, March 14, 2014

I have a goal to get ready for Fingerlakes

I have a goal to get 100 skeins of thread hand dyed and 30 tatting shuttles made to bring to Fingerlakes with me.

So far I have 19 skeins wrapped but nothing dyed yet. No shuttles made. I have 3 weeks to get all of this done. Shawn has several shuttles made for me to bring. I have to get my rear in gear. I know that it won't take me a really long time to make the shuttles, but I've gotten so picky that if I make the slightest little error, I probably won't bring that shuttle.

One good thing is that I have a PayPal credit card swipe device, so I don't have to only ask for cash. Good for me, I don't know how good for my fellow tatters. :-)

I hope to sell enough thread and shuttles to make enough money to spend on my goodies. I am looking for some new GR8s to pick up and a few other novelties. Maybe a book or two if I find something really interesting.

I am going to try and bring 60 skeins of size 20 thread and 40 skeins of size 40 thread. I think the 20 is more popular, but I personally love tatting with 30 and 40.

I am especially excited that Shawn will be coming up to NY on Saturday. He originally was planning on showing up Sunday afternoon, but I kind of talked him into coming a day early. We have fabulous house/pet sitters so that won't be an issue.

He's going to ride his motorcycle up so we will be able to have time on the bike while on vacation. I'm trying to plan some things for us to do but want to take at least one day to relax and just do nothing. After all, we only have 4 or 5 days there. I want to take a hike and get a massage (neither of us have ever had a massage before) and I want to take a bike ride and go check out all of the unique little shops around the area.

I'm getting excited just planning this vacation. This is our first true vacation in almost 23 years of marriage. I am so thankful that we signed up for the vacation plan. It is forcing us to take a vacation. This will be a good thing.

Anyway, off to bed so I can get up and get working on thread and shuttles.

Monday, March 10, 2014

Fingerlakes Tatting Conference

I got my class list for Fingerlakes Tatting Conference this past Saturday. I got all the classes I wanted.

Here is my class schedule:

Saturday Morning - Tatting Bug
Saturday Afternoon - Tatted Amigurumi
Sunday Morning - Bluebird of Happiness
Sunday Afternoon - Snowflake/Dollhouse Doily with RUTH PERRY.

I am so excited that I got the class with Ruth Perry.

I need to get all of my tatting shuttles and threads ready and loaded up.

I hope some of my friends got some of the classes with me.

I am excited for my vacation to start. I'm not sure what day Shawn will be joining me. I'm trying to talk him into coming up on Saturday. He can hang out with Cynthia's husband while we are tatting on Sunday. He's not sure what day he's comning up.

I am so happy that I have great house/pet sitters while we are gone. We are blessed that we have young people that we trust to stay at our house and can relax and not worry about the pets or our home being at risk.

I plan on hiking at least one day and then going out and exploring the finger lakes at least one day.

Well, back to tatting a necklace that I've been working on. I need to figure out what to do for the centerpiece. It's got me stumped. I'm going to look on Pinterest for some inspiration.

Sunday, March 9, 2014

An article about shuttle hoarders


One of my friends on Facebook posted a link to an article about shuttle tatters that I think is written about me.
Here is the article with the link to her blog:
Sharonstattedlace.blogspot.com
Are you a shuttle hoarder?
I noticed a thread on InTatters in regard to shuttles. Some people have a lot of them. Some people start out with a couple and then they seem to multiply like rabbits. Some people have hundreds of shuttles. There are times when you are making a project that you need pairs of shuttles for working different parts of a design so it's not that difficult for a serious tatter to require 6 or 8 shuttles.

I can see, when you are learning to tat that you need to try out different types of shuttles. You might love large shuttles, or you might have small hands that need a smaller shuttle. You might try out a post shuttle without a hook and then find that working with an attached hook is easier. Or you might use a shuttle with a hook and find that it gets caught in every stitch. So you try out a few varieties to see what you like.

If you fall in love with post style shuttles you will inevitably acquire a few more since pairs of them will be attached to projects and half full shuttles will require emptying. Bobbin style shuttle are emptied by popping them out and letting the thread unwind so fewer shuttles are required.

Some connoisseurs will want to have one of every kind, just because they are collectors. They will haunt antique stores and flea markets looking for that unique shuttle to round out their display.

Then there are the hoarders. They can't pass a rack of shuttles without buying one. Or 10. If there are shuttles available online, they need one in every colour. Decorated shuttles are bought for every occasion, in fact occasions are invented for excuses to buy more. There are shuttles all over the house. There are some by the comfy tatting chair and a few on the computer desk. Every craft bag a purse has some stuffed in it. There are some stuffed down behind the cushions and peeking out under pillows. There are boxes stuffed in cupboards full of them. Some are hiding out in drawers, some dangle by a thread from pockets. The cat chases others under the sofa, and the dog has left teeth marks in one or two. The hoarders never saw a shuttle they didn't like.

Better watch out, there might be a hoarder near you. Maybe it's time to go count your shuttles.
 
I must admit. I am a shuttle hoarder. The truth needs to be told.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Bobbin Lace divider and striver pins for sale

I just got finished posting some new items in my Etsy store - NAGStudio.

I made some Bobbin Lace divider pins and striver pins.

The divider pins are for seperating bobbins while working on a pattern or pricking. The striver pins are for marking a spot you strive to get to on the pattern during your lacing session. I had a lot of fun making them and hope they will sell.  Here are some pictures of the ones I made.
 
 
 
 
 
I am hoping that someone will like them.
 
I was also asked to make a YouTube video on how to open up a closed ring in tatting. I've gotten pretty good at it and think I will be able to make the video with no problem. I think it will be exciting to make a video that will help others while tatting.
 
Well not much else going on. Back to tatting.