The hiney is done! I'm going to redo the tail later. It wasn't actually to be done until the very end but I wanted to see how it would look. I didn't do the purl tatting like the instructions say. Instead, I did a lockstitch chain which makes it straight, but I only used 2 strands of the floss and I had meant to use at least 3. I may even use 4 if I need a bit more thickness, but I'll try a sample or two when I get to that point. It's easy to cut out and doesn't take long to do.

Someone commented on lace pieces on ebay recently. I think I did get some off ebay not too long ago, but most of the time I think they are too expensive from there. I usually rely on garage sales and second hand stores. I've gotten some real beauties there for far less than ebay. There is a length of pointed lace, tatted, that I put in a file titled "rescued lace" in the group photos. It's about 6 inches wides and several feet long. I think I paid $5 where I found it. On ebay, I wouldn't have been able to touch it. In this case, it would be worth the extra dollars, but many pieces on ebay are not. There is still a lot of mislabeling, although not as many misidentified pieces of tatting as there used to be. And there are other pieces that don't get near what they are worth.

Shuttles are sometimes called something else because the seller doesn't know what they are. I have almost everything I want at this point anyway. There was a scrimshaw shuttle I really really wanted - because of the design on it - but someone else got it. I've seen a few scrimshaw ones since, but they aren't what I want. I wanted a cedar shuttle too - still haven't got one. The maker sells other wooden shuttles but I wanted the cedar one. I'm afraid to use my laser cut shuttles now, ever since I had one break. The Shuttle Shop replaced it - that's not the issue. It's just the concern now that they might break. I love the feel of wood but I haven't found a wooden shuttle as convenient as my colored clovers yet. I got one at I.O.L.I. with the tiny hook which I love, but the way you have to wind it is a pain. It's not the post - it's got the slits that you have to go through. I think it's hard on the thread. Bone shuttles too, because they have such sharp edges, I know they have to cut the thread or weaken it every time it's pulled through.

Well, I'm going to start tatting the elephant headpiece.........my goal is to have the headpiece and front legs done next weekend. That will only leave the ear!

Also gotta tat the petals for the 3D tulip at the Tatting Guild meeting next Saturday. Maybe I'll do that tonight instead. It won't take long and they'll be done.