Tatting Tea Tuesday: Farfalla 2

Farfalla  Butterfly 2

Another butterfly flew off the shuttles!

Farfalla (a.k.a. Alfie) Butterfly 2
For this one I experimented with using blended threads for the antennae and SCMR body, throwing off the round one wings in a solid color. It took three shuttles for round one, but it wasn't difficult to tat the three-shuttle part, since it was only two double stitches at a go.

Once again, for those who are interested, the thread list:

• Lizbeth®20 #642 Lilac Medium  for round 1 wings
• A blend of lavender/black/yellow threads for antennae and body
• Tat-ilicious HDT by Jess in Night Thunder for round 2 

You can find the free pattern on the Italian tatting web site:  CHIACCHIERINO  The butterfly diagram can be found on this page: Gioielli di chiacchierino

Still need to snip one thread after this beauty's steam press, but isn't he a clever gent?

I am tempted to call him Stormageddon, Dark Lord of All, after the Doctor Who episode called "Closing Time!"  At the end of that episode the baby decides he prefers the name Alfie.



So Alfie it is. Norma Jean and Alfie look good together, n'est-ce pas?

Norma Jean and Alfie together

Only after examining the two butterflies side by side did I notice that one of Norma Jean's lower wings is missing a repeat of 5 DS and a picot. So sorry Norma Jean!  You're still sexy to me.

Wishing you all blissful me time to create something beautiful. See you next Tuesday for more communi-tea!

Don't spare the horses...AUGH!

Two more horses
tatted in the car.

AUGH!  Instead of working on my Gingerbread Boy, I have been tatting more horses on paperclips.  In addition to the first one, I have completed #2 in Lizbeth^® 40 Pink Cocoa #166 and #3 in blue and taupe HDT from Shuttle Lab Trends  (size 20, I think).

Here is a photo of the thread.  I have lost the label, so I don't know the name or the size.  AUGH!  Hope Bates created it...by any chance, could Hope -- or another reader -- fill in the blanks?

HDT from Shuttle Lab Trends

Just as I was hiding the ends on horse #3 I get a call from my LYS asking about Lizbeth^® threads. The shop owner was placing an order before leaving for holiday break. What threads did I want to have on hand for the January tat-along?

I responded, "Any size 20 variegated thread that looks vaguely "horsey."

Palomino -- golden, yellow or tan
Bay/Chestnut/Roan -- reddish-brown to brown or rust to dark brown
Pinto -- brown and white patches of color
Grey

Plus, Pink Cocoa #166, Sea Shells #114 and Autumn Apple Pie #169.

Even though I am sure someone will want to tat "Black Beauty," I asked not to have black on hand.  It is simply too hard on the eyes unless tatting under a very bright light.  Shop lights are good, but not bright enough for black thread.

Après moi, le déluge
And then the shop owner dropped the bomb...could I tat up more samples?

I wanted to scream, "No!" (Why didn't I say no?)

Shouldn't I be completing projects (Gingerbread Boy, felt partridge, heart to send to JB) already in progress rather than starting something new?

CrazyMom suggested that the shop owner (who both needle and shuttle tats) create the additional samples herself.  What a wonderful suggestion.

But I opened my mouth and out came the words, "Well, these don't take very long to make, I can make another one for you in Autumn Apple Pie."  AUGH!

So, horse #4 is in progress using Lizbeth^® Autumn Apple Pie. I am sure that Lizbeth^® Sea Shells will also make a pretty, pretty, paperclip pony. And Lizbeth^® Pink Cocoa is the stuff of little girls' dreams.

It's a good thing we have so many scrumptious threads to choose from, with hand-dyed threads on the top of this Unrepentant Thread Junky's list, followed by drawers of lovely Lizbeth^®. 

Snow Angel Poetry Challenge

Snow Angel © 2011 Sharren Sarver Morgan
Tatted by IsDihara

Snow Angel Poetry Challenge
As angel lace reeled off the shuttles and visions of snow angels danced in my head, a poem was born, or at least most of one.

My 300th blog post is coming up fast (this post is number 298) and I thought, 'What better time for a quick bit o' knot-tea fun?' So I'm having a giveaway!

The challenge is to find a suitable last line to the following bit of verse:

Snow Angel by IsDihara (and...you?)

It's fun to walk in the sparkling snow,
And hear my boots go crunch.

Frolicking in a frosty 'spance
thrills my heart a bunch.

Swooshy imprints in the snow,
Give my cheeks a rosy glow,
And leave behind a cool halo,

Snow angels are big funch!

ADD YOUR LAST LINE IN THE COMMENTS FOR THIS POST.
PLEASE LEAVE ME A VALID WAY TO CONTACT YOU.
IF I PICK YOUR ENTRY, YOU WIN A PRIZE!


DEADLINE to enter is THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2011, at midnight, Eastern Standard Time.

Contest is open to all domestic and international followers of Ambitatterous. You must be a "regular reader" to qualify. That means a reader who has spent a minimum of three months following this blog.

I will pay shipping for the winning entry.

I will announce the Poetry Contest Challenge WINNER on Friday, December 9, 2011.

Thank you for reading regularly from your corner of Tat Land, wherever it may be! Good Luck!

Giveaway - Tuscan Lace Prize Pack

What Do I Win?
This Tuscan Lace prize package will bring a little ray of sunshine to warm up a wintry day.

A gorgeous, 50-yard skein of sun-drenched Tuscany HDT by LadyShuttleMaker in size 20, a box of Lipton "Tuscan Lemon" Black Tea and an 8-ounce jar of luxurious, Tuscan Lace hand and body lotion made by New Hands Soaps and Lotions.

REMEMBER TO ADD YOUR LAST LINE IN THE COMMENTS FOR THIS POST.
PLEASE LEAVE ME A VALID WAY TO CONTACT YOU.
IF I PICK YOUR ENTRY, YOU WIN A PRIZE!
GOOD LUCK AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Waiting Room Giveaway Winners!

(Exclaimed in a southern belle voice, accompanied with appropriate mannerisms...) Why, I do declare Tat Land has nimble-fingered, quick-thinking HDT lovers.

Congratulations to the first winner, deft detective Karrieann!

Her comment arrived 62 minutes into the giveaway. Silly me, I thought it would take you all days to figure it out. Can you believe that Karrieann beat out the second runner-up by less than a minute?  Hoo-wee, that's playin' it shrewd and fast!

As I watched the entries come in, though, I wondered...

Did the hint that Shannon_in_Love unknowingly divulged 19 minutes into the giveaway help point any of you in the right direction? Her entry was RED HOT, but missing one key detail. She returned soon after with the correct answer, but not in time to beat Karrieann.

So I'm giving Shannon_in_Love a consolation prize. The second runner-up, Crazy Mom, agreed that she should receive it.

So congratulations to Shannon_in_Love, the second winner!

Shannon, please email me with your mailing address. I will also send you a 50-yard skein of HDT from my stash. 

And THANK YOU to EVERYONE who commented. Your entries made this my most exciting giveaway yet!

Motif 6 - Rosone

I have completed the rosone (Italian for rosette) from Il Lavoro Chiacchierino 14, page 8. The thread is YarnPlayer's Celery in size 20. It will count as Motif 6 in my second 25 Motif Challenge.

This is a very sturdy six-sided medallion. I really like it in Celery and think it would be even lovelier tatted in Yarnplayer's Roses HDT. That said, it also begs to be tatted as a proper snowflake.

As I tatted away, the stitch counts seemed odd. And I kept wondering two things: why are the inner rings double joined? (Aside from adding strength, I mean.) Is it an attempt to form hexagons?

A honeycomb center would certainly be pretty. Then the motif could be called "Honey and Clover." What could be done to make the inner rings look more hexagonal?

It is an interesting avenue for exploration, once I have completed my Tat Days class projects. But as is, this motif is quite inviting.

Waiting Room Giveaway

This photo of me tatting in the waiting room at the doctor's office (while DH's foot was being examined - notice I did not say 'head,' ha ha!) - was created with Paper Camera. The effect applied to the photo was called Comic (somethingorother), perhaps Comic Grunge?

Can anyone tell what it is I am tatting? (The lace draped over my right hand.)

The person who posts the first correct answer in the comments will win a 50-yard skein of hand-dyed thread from my stash.

I haven't yet chosen the winning thread, so tell me your favorite color and I will try to match the winner with HDT in his or her favorite color or at least a colorway that includes his or her favorite color.

I will not reveal the correct answer until Saturday, October 22nd at 12:00 noon EST. So hurry, that is less than three days away!

P.S. If nobody guesses the correct answer I will ask DH to take another photo with PaperCamera using another bit of tatting and you will have a second chance to win!

Everybody ready? Let the guessing begin!

Tat Days 2011 Loot

“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island.”
~ Walt Disney

And there is more treasure at Tat Days than a Disney dreamer can imagine. It comes in many forms and guises.

Crazy Mom shared photos of her uber swag haul from Tat Days 2011, including the large tote bag, size 20 Omega thread and a clear bag jam-packed with nifty trinkets of every size and description.

I took the liberty of spreading mine out for a more detailed view. It is just one of the many ways Palmetto staff attend to every little detail for their guests. They excel at this.

Snack Room Treasure
Feeling peckish between classes? Need a late night snack? No problem. The snack room is filled to overflowing with every imaginable treat and refreshment. Another example of how Palmetto staffers attend to every little detail for their guests.

Finding Chocolate Strawberry tea in the snack room was a delightful surprise. I was so busy squealing with glee I forgot to snap a photo for the blog. Crazy Mom came to my rescue with this link - Chocolate Tea. Thanks, Crazy Mom!

Tat Days 2011 Spoils

Vending Room Treasure
Having experienced wicked, hedonistic shopping impulses in 2010, I came prepared with a shopping list. For the most part I stuck to it, only splurging on the Rosemarie Peel pattern book.

Two copies of Martha Ess' Playing with Picots and Tat Days 2011 Pattern CD were purchased. One copy of each item now lives in the Piedmont Lace Guild of Virginia's library.

Aren't you all impressed with my willpower?

Shuttle Lab Trends was a new vendor (for me) whose wares I am eager to try.

In 2009 I had seen photos of gorgeous, drool-worthy HDTs from this vendor, and lace made from them, show up on other blogs, but none were available in 2010.

Imagine me hovering vulture-like over the display of threads, beautifully blinged shuttles, etc., deciding what to take home. I bought four fabulous HDTs.

---

Beanile Treasure
The loot I am most thrilled about are Nina Libin's beanile lace kits.

Winter Solstice © 2011 Nina Libin

Did you see my first completed earring in the above photo? No? Here is a close up.

Dazzling, eh? When the second earring is finished I will block them together. Then on to the exquisite necklace and pendant. This could be the beginning of a beautiful beanile relationship.

The second kit is an icy, crystalline enchantment called "The Snow Queen - I." It will be a snow day tat later this winter. Nina gifted Crazy Mom with the Snow Queen - I earrings she tatted. You can see them here.

Can you believe I'm not finished? (Almost.) Crazy Mom was so generous, she let me pick out this custom mix of gemstone beads. They're so pretty!

And last but not least, Georgia Seitz handed me this creative button sample on the final day. Her online tatting class page gives lots of inspiration for embellishing them. I'm looking forward to playing around with these to see what I can come up with. Thanks, Georgia!

Here is what they look like when you find them in their commercial packaging.

Whew! My fingers are tired! I hope you enjoyed this loot post. Back to tatting for me!

Eye, Eye, Capt. and ♥ from Postie!

On Monday, the human residents of Silly Hat Central had eye exams, so we drove to the nearest Metro station and rode the "city train" to visit the Optometrist.

The Sprout and I both did great! His eyesight is exactly where the doctor wanted it to be and no change for me since last year. Big Daddy has officially joined the Progressive Lenses Club for Men.

The Sprout really enjoyed riding the Metro and asked if we could take more trips on the city train. "Can we go to the Aquarium on the city train? I want to see killer whales and sharks."

Alas, we had to explain the "city train" only travels around the city. The closest killer whales were in Florida.**

We stopped by the outlet mall on the way home to buy a pair of Crocs on inventory clearance. Here they are.

I don't know what is more exciting, the fact that they are for me or that with the money I saved I decorated them with Harry Potter Sorting Hat, Gryffindor Crest and Goofy Jibbits. If only they had tatting shuttle Jibbitz!

The Sprout donned this Pirates of the Caribbean hat in the Disney Outlet and had us grinning from ear to ear. (That's a shark on his crocs.)

♥ from Postie
Two parcels arrived via post on Monday while we were out.

And three gorgeous skeins of Lady ShuttleMaker's HDT!

The arrival of these parcels couldn't have been better timed. Inside the box were these beauties.

Suffice it to say, as thunder rolls and lightning crashes outside I am happily unwinding Helm's Deep HDT and loading up new shuttles for their first tat.

One is called "Tea for Two" and the other, "Pretty Pansies." Both the HDT and the shuttles are more enchanting than the photos can portray.  Squeee!

** This past weekend I learned that SeaWorld in Aurora, OH, and Geauga Lake had both closed down in 2007. Both places held fond memories from my own childhood. How disappointing to not share these attractions with The Sprout.

Motif 23 - Margaret, Adapted

An adaptation of Lyn Morton's "Margaret"
into a nine-sided motif

A UFO that began as a design experiment in 2009 is finally done.

This piece was intended to be part of my first 25 motif challenge so, in a weird way, it is good that I hadn't yet completed the challenge. (That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.)

Here is the post that started it all. Snowed in Under a Cherry Moon

The hypothesis: Can Lyn Morton's Margaret motif (found in her book, Tatting Patterns, page 81) with its six-petal flower, be tatted as a nine-petal flower and turned into a nine-sided motif?

The proof: Yes, it can.

I did make one more change to Lyn Morton's pattern. I threw off a ring from the connecting chains in round two in order to create a bit more negative space. The rings create an inner circle that I find quite pleasing.

Lyn Morton's "Margaret" includes a third round of chains with single rings to connect the flowers. Round three adds strength and gives the motif a polished finish.

Doesn't Tatskool's luscious ChocoRaspberry HDT make this piece look sweet as a gumdrop? (It is size 40 thread, I think.)

I would love to tat this again using her Apple Blossom HDT. And again in three solid colors (white, yellow and green).

I will count this motif as number 23 in my 25 motif challenge.

Boy does it feel good to finish this motif!

ChocoLove Giveaway!

ChocoLove Giveaway Prizes
Ah, l'amour. If secret longings (or the more openly professed kind) have your tatting heart pounding, let me help take your mind off things with a sweet treat.

What could be sweeter than a GIVEAWAY?

Here's your chance to sate those lace cravings with one of four "ChocoLove" gift packs.

Up for grabs are four Dream in Chocolate notepads. (They are all the same, so I only put one in the photo.)

Tatskool has donated four scrumptious skeins from her superb Choco-family of hand-dyed threads (HDT):

• ChocoMango
• ChocoLime
• ChocoRaspberry
• Raspberry Ripple with Real Vanilla

Four 3.2 oz (90 g) bars of dark Belgian chocolate in these tempting flavors:

• Raspberries in Dark Chocolate
• Peppermint in Dark Chocolate
• Orange Peel in Dark Chocolate
• Chilies & Cherries in Dark Chocolate

Winners will receive one gift pack each containing a Dream in Chocolate notepad, a bar of ChocoLove Belgian dark chocolate (It has a love poem inside.) and a skein of Tatskool's size 20 HDT.

Does that put you in the mood?

To enter, please leave a comment on THIS POST by 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, February 21. Also please include a valid contact. (You can use your blog or e-mail address. For example, isdihara at verizon dot net)

Winners will be chosen by random number generator and announced on Tuesday, February 22, 2011.

Even if you are feeling cynical about love this year, there's no better revenge than indulging in a little lace-inspired ChocoLove. Good Luck!

Free Shipping - Today Only!

Don't forget to visit Lady ShuttleMaker's blog for her Mondo Monday Anniversary Treat. Four years ago today she opened her Etsy shop and is offering FREE SHIPPING on her hand-painted, ceramic Art Shuttles!

This is an exceptional savings for tatters around the globe. Just think...Belgian Dark Chocolate, gorgeous threads + an Art Shuttle = a Valentine trifecta worthy of any tatters dreams!

Tatting Tea Tuesday -- Goodbye July

Let's kick off the last Tatting Tea Tuesday for July with a photo of my pretty new teacup. It's perfect for steeping loose leaf teas and comes with a handy lid.

It's hard to think about hot tea when the thermometer is once again threatening triple digits.

Is it just me or is this scorcher of a summer spinning out of control? I was hoping for a few cool barbecues, some front porch tatting and hammock time by now. Would someone kindly stop summer from rushing headlong into the fiery arms of Autumn?

Motif #11 - Spinning Wheel Glass Mat

Summer may be spinning out of control, but the glass mat I have been working on reeled off without incident. It is tatted in Heather, the Tarnished Tatter's Bali HDT in size 30. The pattern is from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior. It measures 4 inches (10 cm.) across.

This will be motif #11 for my 25 motif challenge. Now that it is finished I wonder if all the central rings could be tatted in yellow. Or . . .

How would it look tatted with a stained glass effect?

A Tatting Lesson

While in my home state last week, I started teaching my niece Jalice (not her real name) to tat. Want to see photos of our first lesson?

Jalice getting acquainted with her purple Sew-Mate post shuttle. She picked up the flip in 2 - 3 minutes. That's the fastest I have seen anyone leap that hurdle.

Jalice picking out her first knot. Alas, she did a lot of this during the first lesson. If she got discouraged she didn't let it show.

Here she is showing off her first double stitches. She picked up the basics quickly, but didn't close the ring (5-5-5-5). An impromptu lesson over the phone (using YouTube videos) served to illustrate the process.

Motif #12 - Queen of Hearts

Last but not least is my latest bit of tatting. Mary Konior's Queen of Hearts in Lizbeth size 40, color #139 Fruit Fizz and #696 Autumn Orange medium.

This heart measures 2 3/8 inches (6 cm.) at its widest point and counts as motif #12 in my 25 motif challenge.

I like these two colors more than I expected to. The Autumn Orange medium looks like a fresh-cut jack-o-lantern. The Fruit Fizz looks like something straight out of a Nigella Lawson recipe. (Enlarge the recipe image to see what I mean.)

Thinking I was being clever, I employed shoe-lace tricks to alternate the colors for each big ring. Don't know how it affected the color flow. Will have to tat one without the shoe-lace tricks for comparison. I am beginning to understand why Tatskool makes so many test tats!

This heart is not error-free. The first chain, at the bottom tip, is inward-facing. It is supposed to curve outward. Oops! I didn't even notice until I got the whole way around and began tatting the last chain. What could I do, but tat it backwards to match the first one? The final join had to be altered because of this error.

Fox made me feel a little bit better about getting the first chain going the wrong direction with her post: It's All About Karey. At least Fox fixed hers...

There is one more error where I joined a four-picot chain in the wrong place. Can you spot it? I didn't even notice until I enlarged the image 150% in PhotoShop.
Ah well, c'est la vie.

Wishing you all more me-time to create something beautiful.

See you in August for more communi-tea!

Gonna Tat Like It's My Birthday

Last year I was fortunate enough for my birthday to fall on Tatting Tea Tuesday. This year, as the big day falls on a Wednesday, I'm gonna tat like it's my birthday.

Because today IS my birthday! LOL 

The Sprout liked this (no doubt because of the large robot):




I thought this one was hilarious!





♥ from Postie
Two tatting parcels were waiting when I got home  yesterday. It is hard to be blue when you know you have tatting goodies from postie! Here's what I got:

Icelas sent the lovely vintage handkerchief with matching thread and a handmade bookmark as a blog giveaway prize. A few others (Tatskool, Lace-lovin' Librarian Diane, Vanessa) have tatted incredible edgings recently. Looks like it is my turn.

Honestly, I've not seen such a perfect match between thread and cloth. Well done, Icelas! And thanks for sending such a pretty prize package my way.

Heather, the Tarnished Tatter, has been having fun dyeing new HDT. She sent two skeins: IsDihara's Dream in size 50 and Summer Brights in size 40.

Your eyes do not deceive. She named a colorway after me. Isn't that just the bee's knees?

Alas, I must buckle down and get my county fair entry finished, mounted or shadow-boxed or some fashion of presentation. So these tempting threads will be whispering sweet nothings in my ear for a short while.

Next post -- photos of me teaching my niece to tat!

Tatting Tea TuesdayRound 6 Finished

Row 6 of Purple and Teal Square Doily
Debbie Arnold © 2002
Round six (6) of the County Fair doily is complete.

Less than four weeks remain before the fair opens. Four more rows to tat. The pressure is on! Maybe I should stop here until after the fair judging?

The next three rounds build the beautiful bracketed square shape. If I forge ahead and don't get all 10 rows done, I risk it looking unfinished. If I leave it as is, it looks like a nice glass mat.

Speaking of which, progress on the spinning wheel glass mat continues slow but steady. It occurs to me that instead of a doily, I could submit multiple coasters for the county fair. But how to present them?

FYI - both mats are the same size.

4 repeats of Mary Konior's Spinning
Wheel Glass Mat in Bali HDT, size 30
Every Time a Bell Rings...
...an angel gets his wings, or so goes the quote from "It's a Wonderful Life."

I snapped this partial shot of the glass mat because it looked like one half of a pair of angel wings. Has anyone else used this pattern to tat angel wings?

Lastly, I attempted to make a birthday card using rubber stamps, scrapbooking papers and a few embellishments. It started out simple, but exploded into a three-trip-to-Michaels event fairly quickly. Why?

I purchased the wrong kind of inkpad for the coated cardstock used to craft the lotus blossom and the ink never fully dried. Not with help from a hair dryer or a heat gun. Even after sitting out to air dry in a well air-conditioned house for a week, the ink rubbed off easily on my fingers. Live and learn!

People like Etha Schuette make it look easy. That just goes to show you how talented they are.

Whether it is a card, a bit of lace or something else, here's hoping you all find time time to create something beautiful. See you next Tuesday for more communi-tea!

Note: This post was scheduled in advance, but I took along fresh spearmint leaves from my backyard mint patch to brew a refreshing tea before departing home to Silly Hat Central. Hoping your tea was tasty today!

Gone, flitted away.

June has slipped through my fingers.

Remember when we were desperate for the first signs of Spring? It seemed like old man winter would never loosen his grip. Then Spring arrived and left again in a rush of adolescent heat.

Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote the words "Gone, flitted away" in a poem titled simply, "Gone." The poem is often used in memorials but the words also suit slippery days like today.

Tatting Tea Tuesday
What tea befits a Tuesday that is gone, flitted away in procrastination and minutiae?

Sun tea! A homemade infusion of green and Lady Grey with a fresh slice of lemon.

I have had a paisley design on my mind, but it turned out to be more leafy than paisley. Here is a sketch.

It can be tatted all in one pass, but to do it I had to start with a chain. And beads (or Josephine knots) may be added, especially around the edges.

If anyone thinks this looks too similar to a leaf design they have seen elsewhere, please let me know.

This is as far as I got on the test tat before Bali fever took over. More on that later.

County Fair
Have you noticed that county fair season is upon us? Batatter finished her county fair project this week, and her Bellaluna Bat is a work of art!

Instead of buckling down to work on my fair doily, I spent several days winding off exchange threads and receiving lovely notes with coveted samples tucked inside. These tantalizing new threads have been calling, begging to be tried.

Envelopes have arrived from near and far.

This striking stamp from Australia caught The Sprout's eye as soon as I pulled the letter from the post box.

"Is that one for ME, mommy?" he asked. "See? It has a TRAIN on it!" And so it did.

Bali Ha'i
Then I heard the siren song of Heather, The Tarnished Tatter's Bali HDT in size 50. It beckoned, luring me like a sailor, calling me away to start Mary Konior's spinning wheel glass mat.

So many others have made this spectacular glass mat. The pattern can be found in "Tatting with Visual Patterns" on page 72. While I'm not that far along, I completely understand why people are so fond of this pattern. (Why is it called a glass mat and not a coaster?)

Bali colorway has a lush quality that reminds me of exotic sunsets. The thread has a bit of a soft hand, but so long as you don't unpick (retrotat, tonk) too often, rings close smoothly and hold their shape.

Goodness, for a post about time racing by, I have blathered on, haven't I? Time to put this post to bed.

Wishing you all more me-time to create something beautiful.

See you in July for more communi-tea!

High Hopes Fizzle

Remember when I posted this photo of Tatskool's Just Daffodils HDT to tat Julie Patterson's Spring bookmark?

Ooh, I love Just Daffodils. It performs to perfection.

My complicated brain demanded that I not settle for a single twine-y, daffodilly vine. No...I had to double the width, maybe tat a clover at the top and bottom to give it a nice finish at each end.

Many times I picked it up and put it down, working a bit here and a bit there as time permitted. So I didn't notice that I had changed gears along the way.  See the glaring green gaffe?

Some posies have a green leaf attached while others have a fourth flower petal. 

Now this lace looks ugly uneven (Ugh. Blech. Phooey.) but not because of the gorgeous thread. I did manage to tat up until the last six inches of green...

Do I start over from scratch or chalk it up as a lace fail and fuhgetaboutit?

I would welcome any suggestions, tips or advice!

Long Overdue: Size 50 HDT from Heather

This was a post-in-progress when Silly Hat Central's router went kaput. 

Does this happen to you?

You carve out a little niche of time to blog, get into a comfortable groove, but don't quite get through everything you wanted to write. You make a note to get that last bit in the next post.

And before you can say "Bob's your Uncle," you are facing a blog backlog.

Backlogs don't sound all that bad. That is, until they get out of control. Ambitatterous has had a blog backlog for months. Despite best efforts to whittle it down, the reserve banks up again all too soon.

This goodie is one that could no longer remain cached.

As a thank you for test-tatting two swan motifs for her book, Afternoon Tatting, Heather, The Tarnished Tatter mailed me these lovely goodies: three skeins of simply gorgeous HDT in size 50, two googly-eyed ceramic "Sammy" shuttles, size 10 HDT bamboo and more!

But I foolishly didn't photograph them right away. Now the shuttles are stashed and not readily accessible, but the threads are.

Isn't Heather the best? She has indefatigable design talent and a generous, giving heart.

"Wine & Roses" Weigela

Here are flowers for Heather from my "Wine and Roses" Weigela bush. (I confess to filching this idea from another tatter's blog. It is such a lovely way to show gratitude and share photos from your garden.)

Weigela, soaked in spray.

And just because the Kodak moment was too good not to share, here is The Sprout playing with the hose in the back yard. You can see the full Weigela bush in all its wild, unkempt glory. But I don't think the bush (as beautiful as it is) is the center of interest.

The Sprout taking aim at his dog Ginger.