Here is a Quilt-Inspired Split Ring Tatting piece I have not posted yet.  The top photo shows the piece as a work-in-progress–it shows a bit about how the piece is worked.

The middle picture is a diagram of how “Rail Fence” traditional quilt block works….it shows the individual quilt block and then how the quilt block looks/works when the basic design is repeated.

In traditional Split Ring Tatting Technique, the block would have to be make with each of the four colors as a separate ’round’ with only the darker color being ‘continuous’ from one block to another.  However with the addition of Padded Tatting Technique to Split Ring Tatting Technique, I can tat a fairly large round continuously.  It’s all about efficiency in tatting and minimizing/negating thread ends!

The top photo shows 2 rounds being tatted at the same time.

Each ’round’ requires 3 shuttles:  2 for the ‘base-color’ (yellow &  black)–Split Ring Tatting Technique; 1 shuttle for the ‘padded-color’ (grey & blue).

These are the two motifs that I used as the ‘challenge project’ at the recent 2015 IOLI Convention tatting class (Fun with Quilt-Inpired Split Ring Tatting) I taught.  Both motifs utilize both Padded Tatting Technique & Split Ring Tatting Technique simultaneouly.  The bottom motif shows “Rail Fence with several ‘repeats’ of the basic design element.

I was on the Amtrak train 2 weeks ago heading from Omaha to Grand Junction for a long-weekend vacation when I decided to take inventory of what I had in my tatting bag.  I love those little round,  ‘jewelry-travel’ bags.  My personal favorites are the ones without a rigid base—they squish-down better to stuff into my purse.  I have this tatting bag in my purse and with me ALL THE TIME!  In fact, if it accidentally gets left at home, I sort of freak out.  It feels  like a major part of my life is missing.

In regards to my shuttles:  I use the Boye plastic fixed-center post shuttles.  These are the shuttles I could find growing up in the 70’s (yikes I’m giving away my age!!) in rural NE Nebraska.  Thus I got use to them:  their feel in my hand, the (larger) amount of thread they hold, the usefulness of the point, etc.  If you look close you can see my tatting-in-progress, a SRT snowflake of my own design.  The ‘aero-type’ shuttles (the 2 colorful ones are HH Aerlits) are only in my tatting bag to be used as crochet hooks.  I recently purchased the 3 HH Moonlit shuttles on the lower right.  They seem to have everything I like in a shuttle:  larger size (I have larger hands), same size as the Boyes; holds a decent amount of thread–probably more than my beloved Boyes; & a built-in hook—something I’ve never had before in a center-post shuttle.  Pictured is also a Clover shuttle (my secondary-favorite shuttle) and a NAG (Needle Arts Goddess) handmade wood shuttle.

In regards to my Ancillary Tools (top to bottom):  A paper copy of my current pattern; my reading glasses in a hard case (I’m old!); pen & mechanical pencil (to jot-down new pattern ideas & correct current patterns); Uncle Bill’s Tweezers (for the occasional opening-a-closed-ring problem); safety pins (for pinning my work in progress out of the way); scissor-snip in an enclosed case (God’s gift to my tatting!); an old perfume-sample glass vial, probably from the 60’s to house my size 24 tapestry needles that I use to sew-in ends; metal tooth-pick & sheath (my irreplaceable Split Ring Tatting tool to encourage tiny ‘joining-picots’ to be big enough to get a crochet hook into to create a join); 2 pieces of plastic (used to unwind/wind thread to create ‘continuous thread method’ between two shuttles–See previous post http://survivalarchitecture.com/shuttlesmithblog/continuous-thread-method-my-tip/ for my how-to.

After a long time away from this blog, I decided to send out another Anne Orr Illustrated Historical SRT Pattern.

This is what I call “#11” out of Anne Orr’s ‘Book #14’.

The pattern is on my website ‘page’ at:  http://survivalarchitecture.com/shuttlesmithblog/the-shuttlesmith-illustrated-historical-srt-patterns

I don’t know what happened to #10. I will have to look into this.

I Just checked and #10 is NOT a Split Ring Tatting Technique photo.  It is an ordinary tatting pattern–no split rings!  That is why I skipped it.  KB

My vacation time (from Omaha, Nebraska where I live/work) has been spent this summer in Grand Junction, Colorado.  This is where I was last weekend.

My time was spent working on the house there (a little bit) and seeing the sights of the beautiful area.  One day we drove through the Colorado Monument National Park, getting out and hiking into different biomes along the route.  It is truly beautiful/majestic.

The other thing that we did was go motorcycling (dirt-riding to be more precise) in the desert and region around Grand Junction.  We spent two days doing this and it was a great way to see and experience the desert.  There are miles and miles of trails on BLM land that are there to be explored.

But I am happy to report that I did get some tatting done!  I completed 3 snowflakes during the trip.  I am now in ‘Snowflake-mode’, having fun designing different snowflakes on graph paper and then tatting them into thread.  Look for a future book!

These are the motifs I designed and used for the recent IOLI Convention “Quilt-Inspired Fun with Split Ring Tatting” class I taught the end of July in Iowa City.

I used these two motifs as the ‘challenge-project’ because they incorporated using Padded Tatting Technique with Split Ring Tatting Technique.

In Padded-Split Ring Tatting there is a primary color/row in which you use two shuttles of thread of the same color and create the row with split rings.  The secondary color is carried along  (‘Padded’) inside the primary color stitches until it is needed and then is used to create a ‘Take-Off’ ring (as a regularly-tatted ring).

In the Pinwheel motif, each of the six rounds is done using 2 shuttle of the primary color (either red or blue) and one shuttle of the yellow that is carried along (‘padded’) inside the primary colored split rings.

In the Rail Fence motif, the piece is completed in two rounds:  Round 1—Yellow & Gray;  Round 2—Blue & Black.  In Round 1, the Yellow is the primary color (2 shuttles=Split Rings) and the gray creates the ‘padded’ rings.  In Round 2, the Black is the primary color (2 shuttle=Split Rings) and the blue creates the ‘Padded’ rings.

Sooooo, I was working on my Quilt-Inspired Designs for Split Ring Tatting  book(s) getting them ready for printing and instead of doing what I was SUPPOSED to be doing (proofing what I have done!) I started to  ‘play’ with the basic design on the left.

If you look at the basic design you can see that it is assymetric.  But I decided to play with it anyway to see what a more complex pattern it could make.

The design on the right is the outcome.  At first glance it looks symmetrical….but that is actually deceiving.  It IS & IS NOT symmetrical.

My next step will be to play with what happens when I change the color of the diamonds.

I have a new view of life lately!!!  I have been getting ready to go to the IOLI Convention in Iowa City, Iowa (which was July 27-August 1) for over a year now.  It all started when I was proposing classes to the Convention coordinators over a year ago.  They liked the idea of a quilt-themed tatting class based upon Split Ring Tatting Technique.  I had been playing around with the quilt idea to create tatting patterns for a while, but had not really dived into the topic.  When this class topic was chosen, I DID immerse myself into the world of historic quilt blocks–a world of color, repetition and symmetry, all concepts that I enjoy in my tatting.

So for over a year, I have been studying historic quilt blocks and converting the designs into tatting.  Once again, Split Ring Tatting Technique gave me the base to create my tatted quilt-interpretations.

I created two different books based upon quilt designs:  Patchwork Quilt Blocks in Split Ring Tatting & Quilt-Inspired Designs in Split Ring Tatting.  They are quite different from one another.

For the last year, I have spent every spare free minute I had working on some aspect of these two books….getting all the details done.  I knew I was going to be ‘down-to- the wire’ with getting them printed that I decided to test my publishing skills by getting a third book done: Block Alphabets in Split Ring Tatting.  This book of 2 different block alphabets (and frames to use the letters/number)  had been about 90% done for several years.  This book had lost my interest to finish due to the fun I was having with the Quilt-Inspired books.  But I ‘buckled-down’ and poured my time into finishing it.

All three of these books were published and printed in the time span of end of June to the beginning of July.  I had possession of 3 boxes of my 5 books all in time to go to IOLI Convention where I debutted them.

Now they are available for purchase on my website:  www.TheShuttleSmith.com  Click on the “Tatting Books” tab.  Payment is via PayPal

I was working in my studio the other day and I was taking something out of a box.  Pip (the cat) saw the box and was trying to get into it. I didn’t want this to happen so, I distracted him by putting a paper bag down and open onto the floor. Pip was immediately drawn to it, and crawled inside–a relatively tight fit, and started to purr loudly. I got a camera and took these photos. He was a happy cat.

Enjoy!

Don’t you just love the color of my carpeting?!?!?  I pulled it out of a dumpster at work about 20 years ago!  It works!!!

Now that I have my 3 new ‘Fun with Split Ring Tatting’ books done I feel like I am on an downhill course.  I am actively getting ready to go to IOLI Convention in Iowa City, Iowa in a couple of weeks (first week in August).  My studio is a total mess, though I will have to say that it is a relatively ‘organized’ mess.  I have piles of stuff that I am amassing to go to Convention.  I’m teaching so I have had to get handouts and supplies for each different class.  I am also vending, debutting my 3 new books and my two old books as well as my copper-enameled and leather tatting shuttles.

The two photos above are the Leather Tatting Shuttles that I am making for sale in the vending room.  The top photo shows shuttles ‘almost’ done.  The bottom photo show shuttles ‘on the way’ to done.  When I get back from Convention, I will put them for sale on my Etsy store along with some enameled tatting shuttles and my 3 new books.  For a while, my 3 new books will only be available from me:

• Block Alphabets in Split Ring Tatting
• Quilt-Inspired Designs in Split Ring Tatting
• Patchwork Quilt Blocks in Split Ring Tatting

I really have only this weekend to get things done, because next Thursday I get on an AmTrak train here in Omaha, Nebraska to go to Grand Junction, Colorado for a vacation for a few days.  I’m looking forward to tatting (& talking to people about tatting) on the train.  Hopefully I’ll have pictures to share.

Tonight, friends are coming over to help my husband learn to brew beer with the kit I bought him for Christmas.  I have a bit of a secret:  I love a good (dark, flavorful) beer!  In fact, one of my favorite things is to sit on my porch, with my cats, tatting and a good beer.  I don’t drink usually more than one….too many calories and alcohol.  I’m really a cheap drunk!