Thursday, October 15, 2009

Split Chain Success!


Popping online to share a tatting success — I have finally conquered split chains!

Five years ago I learned how to make split rings an have become quite fond of them. But I have avoided split chains. That is, until a split chain was the only way I could tat myself out of a designing jam.

Remember these SweetHearts?


The colorful one on the left is in the process of getting an additional round. Can I just say, this HDT rocks!


And can you believe that it took me three days to figure out the split chain technique? Three exasperating days!

And I was following this excellent PDF tutorial:

The problem was working the stitches right-handed. I'm naturally left-handed and haven't tatted anything right-handed in oh, around 10 years. Awkwardness really slowed me down. But I got it.

Clever scrutinizers will notice the imbalanced threads. Round 1 uses size 20 cotton throughout, while round 2 uses size 40 in color Rainbow Bright HDT by Tatskool and size 20 in a deep purple-to-white variegated from Flora. The split chain really accentuates it.

In spite of the imbalance, I am forging ahead as a test tat of round two. The thread is such a dream to work with and the colorway too lovely to waste.

Better brush up on my right-handed tatting though, or else this blogger will be Ambitatterous no more! Can't have that now, can we?

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

And The Winner Is...

It's time to announce a winner for the Fractured Quotes: "Knot-TEA" Parody & GIVEAWAY!

I entered all participants into my Excel spreadsheet. Everyone was assigned a different number and those who were eligible for two entries were assigned two numbers. I then used a random number generator to choose the winning number. Here is the result:


Lucky number 7 and the winner of a Halloween-themed quilted ball ornament is Tattrldy! Congrats, Wanda!

And now for a fun surprise! Since I have enough quilting fabric to make two ornaments, I decided to make two prizes. Which confirms what many of you have long suspected. I AM a glutton for punishment. LOL!

So the second winning number is 2 (how serendipitous is that?) — and the second quilted ball ornament goes to Tatskool! Congratulations, Tatskool!

Ladies, please email me your mailing addresses (isdihara@verizon.net) so I can send your prizes out in about a week. (I need some extra time since I am still tatting the center motifs for these.)

Thank you to everyone who played along with my twisted giveaway. The entries were very creative and inspired! Can you believe I've had a certain 70s tune stuck in my head all week? LOL!

And now, every time I pick up a shuttle I say the following affirmation:
'Gentle shuttle! Let the thread yield to thee.'
Special thanks to LadyShuttleMaker a.k.a. MadMadPotter for providing the best giveaway model a blogger could follow for a first-time giveaway!

I now return you to your regularly scheduled Tatting Tea Tuesday creative thread capade.

Wishing you all blissful me time to create something beautiful.

See you next Tuesday for more communi-tea!