I'm making up for lost tatting time! The shuttle bag is a variation of Judi Banashek's mignonette shuttle bag. The original is in Advanced Tatting Patterns by Judi but you'll have to take the T.A.T. proficiency course to get the variation. I tatted the bag while in Australia - yes, I had one or two afternoons or evenings to play. I used the AIDA thread I purchased from Crochet Australia. One is a soft sage green and the other is a muted dusty rose. I really love the way that thread works up - I wish it came in size 30 or 40!

I realized yesterday that I still hadn't sent my heart in to The Fringe Element Tatters, a Canadian based tatting group. When you check out the link, you'll see another link to their Tat Day, Fall Into Tatting! I wanted to make a pretty but simple heart and pulled out this Coates Upholstery thread that I bought on clearance sometime in the distant past and this Kreinik Metallic braid, also a former clearance item. I was quite pleased with the result. Scans don't show the sparkle but this looks like spun sugar. The braid is rather thick so it tatted up larger - almost like size 10. I used the upholstery thread to give it stability though I probably did not need to. The pattern is from Gloria's Tatting, her hearts and flowers edging. The booklet has long been out of print but you can sometimes find it in a clearance rack or on ebay or ...a garage sale. I just might have to make another one for myself!

My next project in T.A.T. is a button sampler. I'm really not fond of tatting with buttons so this will probably be another TWO sample session.