New Ideas....

So, today is really, really hot. Can't work on the shuttles outside until after sundown. The dust from the sanding is too much for working inside. Then there is sealing the images so they remain defined rather than run when I apply the adhesive. Because of the smell, I can't work on that inside. While I wait for some cooler temps to come along, I have been thinking about some other ideas that I had. 

I was out doing my regular weekly shopping, there was a stop by Hobby Lobby to look at their clay collection. I was thinking about the charms I wanted to make to go into my tatting. Yeah, I want to make some faeries, butterflies and dragons along with the usual beads and cabochons for use in my tatted pieces. While thinking about all of this, I wondered if this same material would also work for thread winders and flat shuttles. I found some translucent material which I could apply  over my images to seal them to the surfaces and still be seen.

I was wondering if those of you who play with polymer clay thought that making things like shuttles from this material was worth it. I would be moving into flat shuttles for a future round. I have seen all sorts of shapes of flat shuttles. There are tricks for using the "Lady Hoare" shuttles successfully. But what other shapes would you like to see. I will stay away from the "duck" shuttles because there is already someone quite proficiently working on those. :D While I make the shuttles, there would be a pair of matching thread winders along with this. I feel that I may want to go this route just to control the quality of my product.

For now I will continue with the current shuttle selection until I get these perfected and in production. And then I have another idea or two about a unique presentation for these shuttles for storage when not in use. But with so many ideas running through my head, I just don't always know which direction to go. The ideas are plenty but my time is involved in just getting one from the brain to the oven or sewing machine. What do you do when you have just too many ideas and not enough time to get them down before they flit off into the neather regions of the brain.

Oh, should I offer the new shuttles in two sizes or maybe three? See, there was another idea that just popped into the brain. *sigh* I could go on all day with the ideas swimming in my brain but I have things to do tonight in order to get myself back into the tatting stream. Shout out to Barbara Gordon for giving me some ideas on "froggers". There may be some with some hand-made charms coming down the road that will be used on tatted chains. Would I sell them with or without the "frogger" needle? 

Hum, there goes the brain again.

Better go before things get out of hand and tangents come along.

Happy tatting

Arial - the Tattered Faerie