My grandmother taught me to tat, and I made all the lace for my sister's wedding gown. I can't imagine where I got all that time!
The metal ones are available in stores now, but very difficult to work with. I wouldn't try. The others are an early plastic, I forget what it's called. You have one really good one, the one with a pic on the end, that looks like a spear on the tip. That is the one to use. With the other 2 ivory colored ones, you have to use a crochet hook to pick the thread through each loop, which takes a lot longer.

The spool possibly might be for making "bobbin lace", something I know very little about but would like to learn.

I have this stuff as well. Yes, they are tatting shuttles.

The two little pick looking concerns are lace bobbins. I remember my Irish Grannie making her own lace and the one with the grooves would be used where you had to catch the loop and twist or otherwise manipulate it and the smooth one was good for use with the shuttles.

They may be for lace making. (The stilletto things.) Have you seen women making hand made lace? They usually have a pillow with the lace in the center, and lots of bodkins/shuttles hanging all around in a circle. There are things sticking up like pins that are where the pattern is taking place. The thread spools could have been used for lace making, and the tatting shuttles may be able to go that direction too. The key may have gone to a cabinet that held the supplies, ---or not. We really just have to try and piece together things as best we can. Try looking on some tatting websites, and try lace making as well.
Here is Wickapedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lacehttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ty_pitsi_C.JPG

http://bits.wikimedia.org/static-1.2...gnify-clip.png
An example of bobbin lace during manufacture.

Lace is an openwork fabric, patterned with open holes in the work, made by machine or by hand.[SUP][1][/SUP] The holes


an example of tattinghttp://tattingcorner.com/p7lsm_img_1...255_rev_fs.jpg
Slide 4 of 10





I think she has one of the stillettto things under her hand

My Great Aunt Bertha tried to teach me to tat with one of those. She just said watch my hand - right. I never mastered the art of threading a sewing machine while it sews either.