Getting ready for snow!

Well, maybe not snow, but definitely snowflakes! I have so many snowflake patterns, and I keep thinking they're the perfect gift. If I'm going to give them as gifts, I really need to get started now.

This is "The Second Day of December" from 24 Snowflakes in Tatting by Lene Bjorn. I didn't start with "The First Day of December" because I couldn't figure out how to get started. Some day...

P.S. - I used DMC size 12 perle cotton

I am seriously addicted...

to tatting shuttles! After seeing these beautiful shuttles on kkommy's blog, I asked for the link to the site where she purchased them. Since I'm not fluent in Japanese, I had to rely on Google Translate to get my order placed, but place it I did!


Aren't the colors beautiful?


They're very slightly larger than the Clover shuttles available here, but not enough that it makes any difference.

A word of warning, though... if you decide to pursue these shuttles, check the exchange rate first! You may decide that these little beauties are shuttles you can do without!

Tatting Tea Tuesday

Yesterday, my friend Denise (Lace Rn) and I got together for our first official Tatting Tea Tuesday! Although we live only about 3 miles from each other, we aren't able to get together very often because of our work schedules. We had so much fun yesterday! We tatted and chatted for about 2 1/2 hours!


I think I took the wrong picture here... it should have been of the new Winder Shuttle that Denise won over at The Tatting Forums. Denise is working on Anne Bruvold's Dragon Wing Doily. I'm working on a snowflake from 24 Snowflakes in Tatting by Lene Bjorn.


Denise finds the cutest little things! This little frog (she bought one for each of us) is supposed to be our tatting good luck charm. It didn't work for either one of us yesterday... we both had to rip it, rip it! Well, we really just retro-tatted, but you get the idea!

Oh, and Jeff... in your honor, we finished our Tatting Tea Tuesday with a beer!

Playing with shapes and threads

I love shuttle-shaped motifs! Somehow, I never seem to tat them. This weekend, I had shuttle shapes on my mind and did a little surfing for some inspiration, and when I saw Anne Bruvold's "Sandra", I saw a tatting shuttle! With a little adaptation of Anne's beautiful pattern, I was able to tat a shuttle shape in one round without using split rings. I was very pleased with myself! I then decided to make the same motif without picots. I think the one with picots looks much better. The thread is Krystledawne's size 40 HDT.

Next, I decided to try Kersti Anear's "Stumpy" in size 80 DMC. I've played with size 80 before, but this is the first time I've completed something with it. I love the way it looks!

I still had some of Krystle's size 40 left (enough for two Stumpy motifs), so I decided to tweak the width of Stumpy by increasing the count on the center ring of the side clovers from 10 to 15. I think it looks okay, but I'm not sure that it makes that much difference.

Then, just because I love blue, I made two more Stumpy motifs using Lizbeth size 40, color #656. There's been a lot of discussion regarding Lizbeth threads lately. I guess I've been really lucky. I've had no trouble at all. The colors are wonderful, and easy for me to get. Handy Hands isn't too far away from me, so I usually get next day delivery when I place an order. Yesterday, Dave and I stopped at Hobby Lobby, and I picked up two balls on clearance. I think Hobby Lobby must automatically put stock on their clearance rack once it's been in the store for a certain amount of time. The two balls I picked up were $2.56 off, and the two colors I bought were available for full price. I guess it pays to shop the clearance rack!

So, what will I do with all these shuttle-shaped motifs? I'm sending them off to Chris Hinton so that he can play with a new shuttle idea. You'll have to head on over to The Tatting Forums to read all about it. Look for Chris's post on spilling the beans!

Flowers

It just hit me this morning that we are into September already! So, I decided to make my September Challenge Bookmark for The Tatting Forums. This is "Flowers" by Jill Hanna, from Barbara Foster's Tatted Bookmarks: Needle & Shuttle. The thread is Oren Bayan, size 50, color #090.

I've had this book for several years, but this is the first piece I've tatted from it. I'm glad I did!

And the winner is...

Lace Rn... my friend Denise!

What did she win? One of Chris Hinton's new Winder Shuttles!

Congratulations, Lace Rn!

We are all very envious! Please post pictures of your first project made with your prize shuttle... inquiring minds want to know!

Today is the day!

Chris and Erin Hinton will be drawing the name of one lucky person to win Chris's new Winder Shuttle. The drawing is at 8 p.m. (tonight) CDT (Chicago time zone works), live at The Tatting Forums. I'll also be posting the winner's name here, in case you have trouble getting to The Tatting Forums.

What do you have to do to be entered in the drawing? Simple... join The Tatting Forums! We're a small, friendly group, and we'd love to have you join us! It's free. You can brag about your tatting... in fact, we'd all love to see what you're bragging about! You can ask questions... what are friends for? You can chat live with tatting friends around the world. I'm thoroughly enjoying myself there, and I love having another way to stay in touch with my tatting buddies!

Sorry, the shuttles are not available for sale yet. Chris is still in the development stage. However, you can read the posts showing the reactions from test tatters. It's very interesting to read how the design of the shuttle, or the way the shuttle is held, can affect one's tatting. I've discovered things about my tatting technique that I never realized until someone raised a question. It's kind of fun tracking the flow of ideas!

So, don't be shy! There's still time to join, and once you join, you're automatically entered for the drawing. Wouldn't it be fun if we managed to reach 200 members by 8 p.m.?