A New Shuttle and Motifs 36-38

So, a month or so back I participated in Wicked Nothings' Shuttle Exchange...and today I received my return package...and I am so excited and thankful!!!!! :)

Look at all this great stuff! :)

 Many thanks to Vicki for the beautiful wooden shuttle (my first-ever handmade shuttle!!) :)

How amazingly adorable is that! Vicki said it was made by Ontario local Norm Reid...it's awesome! :) The thread is "Picking Raspberries" by Karey Solomon, and is really, really nice! I can't wait to tat something with it!

 Vicki also sent some examples of her own gorgeous work! It's hard to tell in this picture, but the motif on the left has gold glittery thread though both the black and mustard-colored thread, and the motif on the right is all sparkly! Lovely!

Vicki also included this sweet little blue travel box, some doodads, beads and some ready-made picot gauges ;)

Thanks again, Vicki!! :)

I have also been doing some holiday tatting in preparation for teaching my second tatting class this weekend...and somehow I've managed to make three motifs in three days!

This was my first one, and it was a pain to make!!!

Motif #36 (#3 on my way to 25 by the 25th) It's the "Little Ring Snowflake" from Vida Sunderman's "Tatted Snowflakes", tatted in size 80 DMC...this one makes me giggle because hopefully there are never 'yellow snow' flakes in the sky ;)

 You can kind of tell that the white thread in the middle is slightly discolored...there was a lot of tugging and pulling to make this one work out...not sure why, but there it is. Ick.

Last night I followed with another snowflake, this time all white:

Motif #37 (#4 on the way to 25 by the 25th) More DMC size 80...This is "Snowflake 5" from "Festive Snowflakes and Ornaments" edited by Barbara Foster. The weird discoloration on the "butterfly" at 2:00 is water from our broken iron... :)

 Finally, tonight I worked on this, a bell:

Motif #38 (#5 on the way to 25 by the 25th... 1/5th of the way there!!) This is Lizbeth Wedgewood Dk (#656) size 80...I have to admit, I am consistently amazed at the quality of Lizbeth thread. Needless to say, the issues I was having with the DMC earlier in the week were virtually nonexistent with this thread! The motif is "Cloverleaf Bell" from Monica Hahn's "Christmas Angels and Other Tatting Patterns."

 I actually added two chains to the pattern to avoid a cut-tie-hide (reducing the pattern from 4 rounds to three, a win in my book.) :)

So there you have it...back on the tatting wagon once again! I'm looking forward to teaching my second class this weekend...it will be basically the same people attending, and we'll be working on holiday-themed motifs...we'll see how it goes! :)