Cold weather tatting

re

Hi all!
It's cold over here, we are gattered arround the fireplace, listening to the winter storm outside.
Not the best weather in South Central Texas.
I finally got some time to post again and to show what I did/got recently!
First - the presents.
My birthday is 2 weeks before xmas, and guess what I got this time!
Sit down - 4 of Peter Kua's shuttles - 2 albino horns (one plain, one with a phenix), 1 horn and one coconut!.

Well, here the phenix does not look much as a phenix, but it's still there!












As you can see, the cocnut shuttle is already in use - I started an oval doily with cream colored Gutermann's hand quilting coton. It's just a pleasure to work with (both the shuttle and the thread).







For Xmas I got (among the other things) Elgiva Nicols' tatting techniques book and a good copy of Lady Hoare's book. Isn't he just the perfect match for a tatter?

Yesterday we went finish the cold weather shopping - you know, people over here are not used to drive even with 1/4" snow on the roads. And we (I just had the feeling we need to) stopped by one of the local thrift stores - mostly to look for books and alike. This one usually has a pretty good supplies for crafts - ends and bits of fabrics and threads, I often discover some nice threads there. This time I managed to dig a gallon size bag with some bobins in different clors. Well, I had not my glasses, and the bag was sealed, but I got it. At home it happened to be a bagful of acrilic thread for punch embroydery - looks like a very fine wool, something between size 10 and size 15.



I was disappointed in the beginning - the thread is somewhat fluffy for my stile of tatting - I err more on the tight side. I started to think about what to make with it today, and remembered about a thread somewhere in the mailing lists about a tatted shawl. This yarn is just right for making a shawl from pieces. The idea I have now is to make about 100 (maybe less or more, depends of my mood) smal square motifs, then to join them together. I will think about the joining later - could be with tatting or with crochetted chains. Here's the start!
The motifs are rings only, from one of mine DMC's books. I decided to go for one shuttle, as the yarn is not too easy to work, and may cause troubles when working with chains and rings.