No, nothing new - other than new to me. I can show you some old things:
My friends will tell you I like to look at eBay now and then (my family will tell you I'm addicted to it, but I'm really not). Both these shuttles are old, circa 1915, according to Heidi Nakayama, author of Tatting Shuttles of American Collectors. It's a very good book, full in information and eye candy, and IMHO a very worthwhile addition to your bookshelf. She has a very interesting website and blog, too, which you might want to visit.
These shuttles use a very old-fashioned bobbin that, believe it or not, is still being made; I bought a pack of 10 at Hancock Fabric last year. The top shuttle is the first one I bought; it came without a bobbin, so I figured I'd never be able to actually tat with it, unless I ran across some of these long skinny bobbins in an antique store (or an "ann-teek" - actually junk store). I was pleasantly (ecstatically) surprised to discover a card of these bobbins on a rack in my local Hancock's. This view is of the sides, which is where you snap in the bobbin (which is tricky) - note the really shiny bobbin in the top shuttle; that's the new one!These are probably the oldest shuttles I have. I tend to prefer the older metal shuttles to the celluloid ones, because celluloid can deterioriate more easily than the metal ones.
Time to take my meds and put the ice pack on my knee for awhile. Have a wonderful day!
Thank you for sharing the WONDERFUL metal shuttles circa 1915 -- what I wouldn't give to get my hands on one (or two) of those! Please do share with us your thoughts once you take them for a spin, will you?
ReplyDeleteI've never got my mucky mitts on one of those - perhaps next time we're in the USofA I'll go 'junk' storing!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI've had one of these shuttles for several years and didn't think I'd get to use it. Now that you've let me know bobbins are available I'll be on the look out. Are they marketed as a shuttle bobbin or something else and fit the shuttles? Karen In OR
ReplyDeleteIn the Hancock Fabrics here, there is a "half-wall" near the center of the store, and they have all sorts of new parts and attachments for antique sewing machines hanging on it. These old bobbins, which are marketed for Singer models 87 and 88, were hanging right in the middle. There are 10 on the card and there was a slight discount - don't remember why - but it brought the cost-per-bobbin to about 90c. I didn't think it was bad, really!
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