The ShuttleSmith’s Week of Tatting

I learned to tat on Monday,  
My stitches were very fine.
I forgot to thaw out dinner, 
So we went out to dine.
I tatted snowflakes Tuesday,
They really were a must.
The symmetry was quite lovely,
But I forgot to dust.
On Wednesday I tatted crosses,
I so enjoyed the fun.
I learned to pray while tatting,
But the laundry didn’t get done.
I learned to tat split Rings on Thursday,
It’s fun to use two threads.  
I guess I really was engrossed,  
I never made the bed.
I started a doily on Friday, 
Oh how the colors I adore. 
But somehow in the enjoyment, 
I didn’t notice the dirty floor.
I added beads to my tatting on Saturday, 
They really enhance my double stitches. 
I was so engaged with those shiny things, 
That I ignored the dirty dishes
I found a maid on Sunday,  
My week is now complete.  
Now I can tat the hours away,  
And my house will still be neat.

‘Tatted Lace’ from Turkey

While on a tourist trip to Turkey in 2019 I was ‘talking’ to this women in the photo about if she had some needle-made ‘oyasi/oya’ for sale like what she had on the edge of her headdress.  I pulled out my Moonlit tatting shuttle to try to tell her that I did NOT want ‘tatted’ lace (I can make that myself).  Her eyes went big when she saw the Moonlit shuttle and asked to hold it herself.  (Keep in mind that I did not speak Turkish, and she did not speak English.) After I realized that she was fondling the Moonlit shuttle longingly, she motioned to her table of lace wares and suggested that we make a trade–my Moonlit shuttle for a piece of lace from her booth.  I chose this piece of machine-made ‘tatted’ lace thinking that I was getting the better end of the deal.  She wanted me to take two, which I declined.

New Video with more info about TattingTube & how it can support Tatting

I posted my second TattingTube video a week or so ago but haven’t had a chance to promote it.  Actually this video was created to introduce (more fully) my dream/inspiration of creating a video community of information about tatting to promote tatting.

Please consider creating a YouTube channel of your own and sharing your own journey/life with tatting.

When I went into YouTube today to get the address to my video I discovered that there is a new TattingTube channel & tatting content creator—Wanda’s Knotty Thoughts.  I was soooo excited to see this video.  Wanda’s YouTube video is exactly what I was envisioning.  The videos do not have to be long….its just a way to share what we’re working on; give patterns, designs, designers, etc exposure to show that TATTING IS NOT DEAD to the non-tatting public but also gives us a way to ‘meet/see’ other tatters.  I was so excited to be able to put a face to a name with Wanda as well as get an introduction to what she is working on.

A ‘new/old’ connection between tatting & motorcycling—my two passions

Just today I was having coffee with my tatting friend, Beth when we bumped into my motorcycling friend, Dee and had coffee and conversation together. Upon hearing about Beth’s & my connection to tatting remembered hearing about a woman traveling with her mother in a sidecar. The mother tatted!!!

This really peaked my interest because: 1. I ride a motorcycle; 2. I used to ride a motorcycle with a sidecar (when my kids were little we took them everywhere with us, around the country, even to Alaska); 3. Tatting; 4. Cross-country touring.

So we looked it up and found the following article: https://ridermagazine.com/2015/08/04/effies-great-adventure-first-women-to-ride-cross-country/

According to the article, the mother in the sidecar, learned to tat in the first quarter of their cross-country trip and was after and avid tatter.

I just love this story!

I have a YouTube Channel!

I just today, created and posted a video to my new YouTube channel:  TheShuttleSmithTatting.

I’m a bit clumsy in my recording, but I had to start somewhere.  I find that if I ‘over-think’ something I never get it started/done. I hired a wonderful ‘social media marketer’ who has been helping me get-going in the confusing social media world.  She (Claire) pushed me to disregard my comfort-level and ‘just do it!’ That is why I actually have a video to post. (I can find a million excuses to not start something.)

In this video, I not only introduce myself  and my business, The ShuttleSmith, but I also am introducing my vision of creating a YouTube ‘community’ of tatters that I am naming ‘TattingTube’.  I will be posting more information about this concept in the very near future.  I’m very excited about TattingTube not only for myself but also for promoting the tatting world in general.

Please consider ‘liking’ and ‘subscribing’ to my YouTube channel to help me promote tatting.

 

The ShuttleSmith Sterling Silver Tatting Shuttles are BACK!!

For a limited time/volume, Karen Bovard-Sayre/The ShuttleSmith is making available (soon) her sterling silver tatting shuttles.

The yellow sign in the first photo was ‘dusted-off’. It was my original banner/sign from the 1990’s when I was actively making my sterling silver tatting shuttles.  (I taped-off the ‘sterling silver’ part when I recycled this sign for my Enameled Tatting Shuttles.)

So, the sterling silver shuttles shown in the first 2 photos from today are what I have available.  Look for them in my Etsy shop (TheShuttleSmith) soon.

 

 

My new life in Grand Junction, CO

I just realized that I haven’t really updated my website with my ‘new life’ change—I MOVED from Omaha, NE/Council Bluffs, IA to Grand Junction, CO the very end of 2021 (Dec 28th to be precise).

The first several months were spent settling into our new home. This meant not only unpacking stuff but also painting, cleaning, working in the yard, etc.  It turns out, we purchased a home that needed more work than we had thought.  In July, I just finished painting the last room!  We/had painted 3 bedrooms, the living and dining room (which was turned into my husband’s work-from-home office) before we moved in.  Once here/in 2022 I finished painting the hallway (the worst room with 6 doorways!), the entryway, kitchen and sun room.  We were without kitchen counters and kitchen sink for over 5 weeks due to Home Depot’s contractor messing up our new kitchen counter install.  I am so thankful for a kitchen sink to this day.

What free time I did have was spent preparing for the first ever Tatting Cruise hosted by Tatting Corner in March.  It was a blast!  If you get a chance, do go in the future (next one is scheduled for November 2023).  I shall plan to post more about that in upcoming blogs.

The next big event I prepped for was the IOLI (Lace) Convention in Phoenix, AZ area the end of July–July in Phoenix is quite hot!  I vended and took one class.  I debuted the first kit in my new business (Needle Lace Arts).  More about that the Convention and Needle Lace Arts in future blogs too.

I spend about a quarter of my time/life traveling back to Nebraska to visit elderly parents either by train (Amtrak–my favorite) or plane.

In the future, I plan to introduce you all to this beautiful new region that I live in.  I have enjoyed and been inspired by Jane Eborall’s photos of where she lives and have appreciated her willingness to share her home.  So I plan to do the same.

I would also like to start video blogging about tatting related things.  Stay tuned for more about that endeavor.

Any comments—contact me at:  k.bovard@yahoo.com or call me at: 402–960-7370.  Colorado is in Mountain time zone.