Lace Mat Progress

Norma Benporath Lace Mat Tat-Along
Round 3

Hurray!  Round three is complete. The Norma Benborath Lace Mat is looking graceful, even before blocking. 

Here is a photo of it pinned onto a round blocking template.  Hmmm, it might be time to print out a new one  (judging from all the pin holes).

Many thanks to LadyShuttleMaker for offering these free printable templates on her blog.  They are so handy!

Today (Veteran's Day in the USA) will mark the beginning of round four.  I have tatted all eight finishing clovers separately so they are ready to attach as I tat. The finishing clovers are tatted in Lizbeth^®40 Gold #611 and (crossing fingers) will draw the eye outward to the edges of the mat.

So far I really like how the Lizbeth^®40 Honey Drizzle #180 complements the first two rounds. (Lizbeth^®40 Pineapple Parfait #170, for those who like to know).

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!

County Fair Doily

Round five is complete and round six is in progress. The square doily is past the half-way point & now measures 11 cm. (4.3 inches) from corner to corner.

Rows 5 and 6 of Purple and Teal Square Doily
Debbie Arnold © 2002
It is tatted in size 40 Lizbeth Linen (color #693) and size 50 Treebeard HDT from LadyShuttleMaker.

I stopped halfway through round six to show you how the scallop from round four turns into a square.

Sw4nkyL4c3r is right, though. I obsess over trivial things when it comes to lace. I am still distracted by the difference in thread sizes. Nobody else seems to notice!

As I tat, the refrain from this Queen song is buzzing in the back of my brain.



Under pressure! It must be from all the obsessing.  ツ

Bali Fever
In spite of the need to focus on the square doily for the fair, Bali fever continues. It's all Heather's fault for dying such an alluring colorway. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it!)

But some of the blame must also go to Mary Konior (may she rest in peace among a choir of tatting angels). The two-row repeat of her spinning wheel glass mat is positively addicting. "Just one more ring," or "just until the next color change" eat up the tatting time.

And I am equally, if not more, to blame for allowing myself to get distracted by thread and things such as this:

WPlus9 Mehndi Medallions
Lookie what came in the mail – clear stamps that look like tatting. I saw these on one of my obscure, late-night blog crawls. Another crafter had made a gorgeous card featuring one of the stamps and it just leaped off the screen and said, "Don't I look like tatting?"

I was powerless to resist the impulse (Wouldn't you have been? Okay, maybe not.) and bought a set the next day. Late night blog crawling makes you weak.

But what fun I will have creating labels and cards with tatting-like stamps. Already a small, but creative corner of my brain is buzzing with images of tatted teapots affixed to pretty papers with tatting designs stamped, maybe even embossed, on them.

More Beguiling Stamps

Last week I shared a striking stamp from Australia that arrived with samples from The Thread Exchange site Fox launched several weeks ago.  Here are some from the bonny shores of Ireland.

The sender had me at "Eire". Aren't the flowers pretty and inviting? Something about them just says come see our bonny shores for yourself. The sight of them made Ciarrán homesick.

More Love from Postie

As if the stamps, threads and songs weren't enough of a distraction, a book search that I set up several years ago turned up a hardback copy of Cathy Bryant's "Tatting" for a reasonable price. Usually when I find it online it is being sold for some astronomical sum! So I purchased it used from a library in Iowa for $15.00. It is in excellent condition.  Une bonne affaire!

Round 4 of Fair Doily

Row 4 of Purple and Teal Square Doily
Debbie Arnold © 2002
Round four (4) is complete and thankfully went smoothly. Except for the final ring with that blasted final join. It took three tries to get it right.

(Fox be praised! She sent me instructions to understand how to make the final join correctly.) Thank you, Fox!

This motif now measures four inches (10.2 centimeters) from corner to corner. It is tatted in size 40 Lizbeth Linen (color #693) and size 50 Treebeard HDT from LadyShuttleMaker.

The split-ring clovers in round four are why I chose to tat this doily. When I get to round seven (7) you will see a pretty scallop emerge after the second round of split-ring clovers are added. Cas tatted this great example in blue and white in 2005.

Whether or not the scallop stands out in my doily remains to be seen. The ladies from my lace guild think the mossy/linen combo looks elegant and "not at all old-fashioned." What a nice compliment. 

Tatting Tea Tuesday
Brewing up a cuppa green tea Kombucha to settle in for some much needed tatting zen.

It has been melancholy around Silly Hat Central since Saturday, May 1st, after learning of a SCAdian friend's death from lung cancer. The news came as a shock since I hadn't known the lady was ill.

That's all I have to say about that.

Two packages arrived in the mail over the weekend: one from Jane Eborall and another from Jan Stawasz. The first mailer, Jane's, was destroyed in my enthusiasm to get at the contents.

It contained two superb Pop-a-Bobbin shuttles: one made from Iroko and the other from Ash. That brings my greedy total to four Pop-a-bobbin shuttles. Gonna load 'em up for a test drive today!

Jan's mailer included these two shuttles.

Two Jan Stawasz Shuttles
These generously sized beauties are three inches in length (7.6 cm) and 5/8 inch wide (1.5 cm) so they are well suited for larger projects. Gonna give them a go too.

Today I will attempt Dragon in Egg from Heather, the Tarnished Tatter's book, "Afternoon Tatting."

Since I have "geared up" my tatting goals lately, I  am adding tatted wedding hearts to the list, plus a stab at a treble clef. That's a tall order!

Better get tatting . . .

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

Round 3 of Fair Doily

Round 3 of Square Fair Doily, unblocked
Round three (3) is complete and thankfully it went smoothly, though it is beginning to ruffle. Sharon Briggs' blocking method worked like a charm on the ruffle.

Round 3 of Square Fair Doily, blocked
Round four (4) is made up of split rings, which I really enjoy. I am looking forward to working them in two colors.

Kickin' It Up a Notch
It is time to really shift things into high gear. I want to tat an Easter egg this week, plus tat the first of several entwined hearts for a wedding project on which I have volunteered to assist.

AND a lucky winner must be choosen for the International Tatting Day - Pamper Yourself Giveaway on April 1st! Who will it be?

It could be you! But only if you enter.

Milward Shuttle - My eBay auction win!
Milward Shuttle
Last week I won an eBay auction and scored a Milward tatting shuttle from a seller in the UK. It didn't come with a hook, but I am still over the moon with excitement to be its proud new owner.

Milward stopped producing these shuttles in the 1980s so they are increasingly hard to find.

In October 2009 Fox wrote of her eBay auction win of a Milward shuttle and an English Aero. It's true, my longing quadrupled after reading her post. My English Aero quest continues with a broad, "I got a Milward" grin!

ISO Manuela Thread
The English Aero is not the only thing I am in search of. Recently I took a thread inventory and realized that some color planning and organizing was in order. One thread I was not able to buy was size 20 Manuela  "Vanilla" color #055.

The incredible family of tatters on the Here_Be_Tatters list have graciously helped me in my search.

• Jeff (Bridge City Tatting) helped me find the correct color number for Manuela Vanilla. 
• Elesa Hurley looked through her thread stash and offered me her ball of Manuela "Natural" color #002. 

Thanks to you both, and anyone else who checked their stash for Manuela "Vanilla." The quest continues, so if you stumble upon a source, please let me know!

Last but not least, here is how I have organized my "ball" cottons. A 50% off Michaels A&C coupon came in handy to purchase this three-drawer cabinet. Now I have a separate drawer for size 20, 40 and size 50 - 80 threads. A narrow basket in each drawer will hold hand-dyed threads (HDT).

Thread Storage
Off to tat hearts and eggs and split rings.

Hope to see you for Tatting Tea Tuesday!

Lion or Lamb? And ♥ for Postie

How did March arrive in your little corner of Tat Land?

Gusting winds mixed with mild sunshine were the order of the day in ce petit coin, rather like a spunky lamb kicking up its heels.

This illustrative cartoon by PBS Stargazer Jack Horkheimer on In Like a Lion and Out Like a Lamb tells the constellatory story behind the old adage.

Whether or not you are a weather watcher, (Say that three times fast.) the early light of Spring is not far off. Lion Winter may not retire quietly, but we may take heart that light is just an equinox away.

Tatting Tea Tuesday
Hot tea has been a steadfast companion these past few days. Today instead of Throat Coat, I sit down with a comforting cuppa Rooibos Vanilla topped off with a splash of chocolate soy milk. Mmmm, so yummy.

Work continues on my ChocoRaspberry nine-sided motif but have decided not to show it until I finish the second round. Test tatting for Heather, the Tarnished Tatter continues too. Can't show you that either, just yet.

What I can show you is an Easter Egg and four goodies that arrived Monday via post.

Easter Egg No 5
© 2004 Forleget Akacia
This is Easter Egg No 5 from Tatted Easter Eggs by Kirsten Wind Hansen, published by Forleget Akacia.  It is tatted in two rounds using one shuttle and ball thread. I chose Lizbeth size 40 in Marble (color 121) for the rings and DMC Cordonnet Special size 40 in Ecru for the chains. The finished egg measures 6 cm by 7 cm or approximately 2 ½ by 2 ¾ inches.

Easter Egg No 5 is motif number nine for my 25 motif challenge. Lizbeth Marble (color 121) is a timeless, masculine colorway. Great for projects with bold, classic tones. It was not on my list of threads to buy, but jumped off the shelf and said, "Take me home!"

♥ for Postie
Postie brought lots of wonderful things yesterday. Three goodies from LadyShuttleMaker:

• a skein of size 50 Treebeard HDT to pair with some Omega size 50 in color 1394 Brown Gray.
• The Exquisite Collection of Tatted Butterflies, volumes I & II

My fingers are itching to try the Treebeard and Brown Gray together, but I must wait until the Omega thread arrives via mail order.

After poring over the butterfly books, I decided I couldn't wait and tatted Twitter last evening in bed. The instructions say it is a good project to use up left over thread on your shuttles. And it is!

Twitter © 2010 Sherry Pence
Twitter was tatted using 2 shuttles wound CTM with Lizbeth size 40 Marble (colorway 121).

Can you believe this wee flutter is the first butterfly I have ever tatted? So charmed was I that I tossed it on the scanner even before finishing off the ends.

Lastly, Postie brought the 40-page booklet entitled, Elgiva Agnes Nicholls, Tatter, Life and Career 1900-1982 by Heather Lickley for the Ring of Tatters.

Tatskool showed me her copy a week or so ago during a video chat and I knew immediately that I HAD to have this book for my tatting reference library.

It is a lovingly recorded and well-researched bit of history, with many previously unpublished photos of Elgiva and her work. If you are a collector, this booklet is a must-have for your library.