I started my trip to Tat Days in Taccoa, Georgia on Saturday, August 30th from Omaha, Nebraska.  I had bought concert tickets (something I rarely do!) to see Journey but the concert was on Sunday and didn’t want to wait two days to leave on my adventure…so I sold the tickets.

This trip actually appealed to multiple facets of my life that I enjoy:

1. To travel on my motorcycle which allows me to think and pray.  I spend the first half of the trip letting go of the details of my life at home.  Then I spend the trip on my way home, contemplating what I need to do (mentally and physically) to go forward appropriately in my life.
2. Taking secondary roads (not interstate highways) and seeing ‘real’ America
3. Camping via motorcycle–the challenge of being comfortable and finding unique places to stop
4. Eating in local restaurants–finding new/different foods.  I really enjoy eating breakfasts in small town cafes on/near main streets.
5. Talking to new people (I really am my father’s daughter!).
6. Riding (that how motorcyclists travel) curvy/twisty roads
7. Going to Tat Days Tatting Conference.
8. Seeing old tatting friends from the past.
9. Meeting new tatting friends.
10. Getting re-energized in my love for tatting
11. Selling my tatting books.
12. Selling my leather and copper-enamelled tatting shuttles—seeing how well-received they were.

So I travelled on my motorcycle.  I had two luggage cases, one on each side, at the back.  On the seat I strapped down two water-resistant bags that held my camping gear.  One bag had my tent and a ground-cover to put under the tent.  The second bag held my bedding which includes a blow-up air mattress, a down-filled sleeping bag and a fleece sleeping bag.  This way, I am ready for either hot or cold sleeping conditions.  I should point out that I sleep VEEERRRY comfortably in my tent.

As I mentioned before, my MO is to ziz-zag my way to my destination, taking secondary (not interstate) roads.  Along the way I found and became a ‘Country Store’ Junkie!  I discovered some very quaint, old-time stores in the middle of nowhere–usually where 2 roads intersected.  Many of these stores sold gas, basic groceries, snacks, and sometime simple meals.  I didn’t mind paying higher prices for gas for my motorcycle to use as an excuse to stop at them and explore.

Just outside this same general store was a tobacco barn–a unique sight for a Nebraska Farm Girl.

One of the highlights for me as a motorcyclist (especially being from Nebraska–land of straight roads!) was traveling in the mountains and riding on curvy/twisty roads.  I spent alot of time in Missouri, Tennessee, North Carolina, and northern Georgia enjoying the roads and exquisite scenery.  I went to the ‘motorcyclist’s mecca’–a road called “The Dragon’s Tail”.  It’s a  very unique road that boasts having 318 curves in 11 miles.  What you do is stop at a certain vista point and get off and interact with other motorcyclist, then ‘ride the dragon’ to the other end at a place called Deal’s Gap and get off and interact again with motorcyclists, looking a other’s motorcycles, eating, and buying t-shirt souvenirs.  At Deal’s Gap is the infamous ‘Tree of Shame” where motorcyclists who crashed on The Dragon’s Tail (happens alot!) hang broken parts of their motorcycles on it.

Next post will include Tat Days photos and memories.

I’m back (a little early) from Tat Days in Taccoa, GA.  I actually went to work today because I hate to waste vacation days.  I use my vacation days to get away from Omaha.

I had a great trip for the most part.  I spent 5 days traveling on my motorcycle to get to Taccoa, GA, camping every night along the way.   Yes, I did get rained on (mostly at night) and there was one day that the temperature was hot.

I spent the time going seeing everything I wanted to see which included some very scenic roads in Tennessee and North Carolina.  I had one minor mechanical problem with my motorcycle but an ‘angel’ came by and fabricated a solution to my problem.

I went directly home and should have gotten to Omaha on Tuesday but was caught in a major storm in NW Missouri, 100 miles from home.  I was smart enough to get a motel room and waited out the storm till the next morning.

I will post pictures of my trip and of Tat Days very soon—when I have the  pictures with me and the time to post them.

As always the Palmetto Tatters hosted a superb Tat Days happening.   If you get a chance to go….DO IT!!!!  I guarantee you will not be disappointed.  It is tatting overload….and you will love every minute of it!

I am realizing that i have a problem with ‘Comments’ on this Blog site.  I am getting some spam-type comments right now.  Luckily my comments are set up to be moderated and thus the junk ones are not showing up automatically on my blog page.  Please be patient with me as I strive to figure this stuff out.  It basically means that I have to approach my computer-genius husband about this problem.  (Hopefully he will read this reference to him and be inclined to help me when I do throw this problem at him.)

I’m going to be gone for two weeks on my motorcycle/tatting journey to/from Palmetto Tat Days.

I have recently decided that I AM going to Palmetto Tat Days this coming Sept 5-6th!!

Me and my beloved Moto Guzzi motorcycle will be  zig-zagging our way through the secondary roads of America heading to Toccoa, Georgia.

I am busy prepping my motorcycle & camping gear for the journey.

I am also creating more Glass-Enameled Copper Tatting Shuttles.   The enameled shuttles were actually the impetus/excuse to make the trip.

I invited my husband along to make the trip with me, but he declined….so its just me.

I plan to take a week to get there and a week to get home.  My MO is to take secondary highways (no interstates!) and to camp (tent-out) as many nights as I can.  I ‘feel’ safe(r) when traveling secondary highways and going through smaller towns.  I’m fairly careful when traveling but do feel a hightened sense of insecurity when around big cities and interstate highways–they ‘creep’ me out—everything is so impersonal.

I leave Saturday and am planning to be in Toccoa, Georgia on Thursday.  Google maps says the distance should be 1075 miles but the way I travel, it will be more.  Who knows what I will see and the people I will get to talk to on my way there and back!!!!  I’m a slight Extrovert (according to Myers-Briggs Test).  I really am ‘my father’s daughter’ in that I love to talk to people.  My favorite thing is to eat in local diners, sitting at the counter.  Eventually the ‘old guys’ will start up a conversation with me and I learn stuff.

“Enamel? You mean you painted this with Nail polish? Bathroom paint? Resin?”

“No. I painted it with fire.”

The simplest definition of Copper ENAMELING is: The fusion of glass powders onto a base of copper metal.

The base metal has a higher melting point than the glass enamel so that the glass will fuse to the metal surface before the metal gets to the temperature in which it will melt.

The product of Copper Enameling is GLASS on a base of metal.

It is a way to decorate a metal base product (in my case tatting shuttles) with colors & patterns. The end product is more ‘Glass’ than ‘Metal’. It actually ‘tinks/sounds’ like glass…..and the glass surface will break if the shuttle is dropped to a hard surface!

The major manufacturer of enamel powders (Thompson Enamels) offer 169 different colors of enamel. There are two main categories of enamels: opaque and transparent as well as other types such as metallic and opalescent.

Combine all those colors & types with various ways to ‘decorate’ or to customize the surface and you will find that the technique of enameling offers infinite possibilities.

However, the caveat of that statement is also that enameling often offers unexpected results. Some of these results can be ‘good’ surprises and occasionally there can be ‘bad’ results. In 60+ shuttles that I have made, only one was a true and utter disaster.

The enamel powder (finely ground glass with pigments and minerals) is applied to the metal base (copper usually–as it is cheapest–why use precious/expensive metals such as gold or pure silver when you are going to cover the surface with glass?) by various ways such as sprinkling, painting. The the enamel poweder is ‘fused’ (you can read ‘melted’) by heating the metal and enamel powder unit to 1450 degrees Fahrenheit (red hot!) with either a torch or in a kiln. I use a handheld torch with MAP gas. This is why it is termed “Painting with Fire”. I can use the 169 colors to mix and match the powders together to create individual works of art.

There is a large element of unpredictability involved. The different colors of enamels each have their own physical characteristics as they are ‘fired’ to fuse/melt to the metal. Enameling is an artform of which it is said: “Success may come early to the beginner, but then the enamelist spends a lifetime learning the intricacies”. I have found this sooooo true! I achieved almost instant success in learning to enamel, but I have had some results that I didn’t expect and weren’t what I had hoped for. I have found that enameling is a truly addicting artform….there are so many variations to try: color combinations, many surface embellishing techniques. Each piece of enamel art becomes it’s own experiment. However, the process is forgiving in that the artist can build the piece in layers through multiple firings, adding, correcting, and modifying the work.

The ShuttleSmith Glass-Enameled Copper Tatting Shuttles are decorated on one side with glass-enamel that is colorful (what is photographed/depicted in photos). The backside is ‘finished’ with a layer of semi-opaque glass enamel. The picture below is the backside of 5 randomly chosen shuttles to show the finish work. Unfortunately, they are not as ‘pretty’ as I would like them to me due to the process that the piece undergoes in the enameling process. But the shuttle backsides are covered and smooth–they will not oxidize (tarnish).

Backside of 5 randomly chosen shuttles

This is the final posting about how I ‘use’ lace as a decoration in my bedroom. My dresser and nightstand are dark wood that are great contrasts to white/ecru lace. So I had glass tops custom cut to sandwich my lace and keep it clean. Now I have a usable surface that I can spill make-up and place my coffee cup on and still enjoy the lace without hurting it.

Shown here are 2 and a half pieces of Romanian Point Lace, 3 small tatted snowflakes (made by me), a piece of Teneriffe Lace and half a piece of Carrickmacross Lace (made by me).

Anne Orr Pattern #6 from Cross-Stitch and Tatting, Book No. 14 (published by J. & P. Coats Co., 1923)

Find the pattern in my home menu under   Anne Orr Historical Split Ring Tatting Patterns

Then look in The ShuttleSmith’s Historical Illustrated SRT Patterns

The Pattern is in PDF.

I finally got around to figuring out how to add PDF files to my website pages!!!

I now have 3 Illustrated Pattern PDFs posted on this website.

Go to:  Anne Orr Historical Split Ring Tatting Patterns on my homepage menu.

Then click on the subpage:  The ShuttleSmith Illustrated Historical SRT Patterns.

I did not ‘design’ these patterns.  They are historical patterns by the Anne Orr Studio that I consider the ‘missing links’ between the introduction of the technique of Split Ring Tatting Technique and  the actual usage of the technique in actual patterns.

I have worked the patterns, making minor revisions, and then created a modern illustrated pattern.  The original written patterns can be seen on my webpage under:  Split Ring History on my homepage menu.

I will continue to add more of these historical patterns in the future.  Watch here for announcements.

I have decided to update my Copper Glass-Enameled Tatting Shuttles.

I took off the old ones and replaced them with 12 new ones.

They will be available until I decide to update in the future.

My ‘babies’ need homes!!  Please ‘adopt’ them for a nominal fee of $25.  Free shipping to US addresses.

This is another posting of how I use lace. This is my the top of my bedroom dresser. It is a lovely dark-colored wood that was just begging to have lace put upon it! So I did just that, covering the lace with a custom-cut piece of glass. Now the surface is still functional….I can spill and put stuff all over it and still my lace is beautiful.

The pieces seen in this view are: 4 tatted pieces (tatted by me); Teneriffe Lace (2)-upper left and right, Romanian Point Lace, the swan is a piece of Carrickmacross Lace (designed and worked by me), the circular piece is bobbin lace that a friend brought back to me from Belgium while on vacation.