Did I mention before that I am innately lazy!?!?!

I am also short on tatting time–meaning that because I work full-time, time available to me to tat is veeeeerrrrry limited.

Combine these two things and you learn that I have developed ways to cope with tatting techniques ‘in my own way’  (as we all have!).

I love to start a tatted piece/block/round/etc. with Continuous Thread Method (CTM) because:

• There are not 2 starting thread ends to have to finish.
• The start is more stable/structurally sound

Thus as I was tatting this morning (just before starting work) I stopped to shoot this picture showing my approach to CTM.

In this case today I was starting fresh with a new thread color–in the process of winding two shuttles CTM.  What I do is wind the first shuttle.  Then I unwind an appropriate amount of thread (for the second shuttle) onto the first shuttle.  But I add an extra twist to it by using 2 pieces of plastic (that I keep in my tatting pouch) on either side of the shuttle.  These pieces of plastic will not allow the thread to slip off the rounded/slanted edges of my shuttle.  Then I cut the thread from the ball and wind this thread end onto my second shuttle.  In the past, when I didn’t use these plastic pieces, as I was winding the thread onto the second shuttle, the thread would slip off the first shuttle and I would end up with tangles of thread which would really frustrate me.