Sunday, February 1, 2009

May I Have A WORD With You?

Few phrases strike more fear in my heart than this one! When someone utters this infamous phrase then one of two things goes through my mind. The first thing that I think of is, "Uh-oh!!! What did I do NOW?" the second thing that might go through my mind would be, "WHAT!?! What is it!?! WHAT!?!". Neither one of these thoughts are very pleasant nor are the feelings they evoke, *LOL!

You, however, can just relax! When I say "May I have a WORD with you", I mean just that! A WORD or two or three or maybe four or more! *LOL! We use a lot of words when we blog, don't we? Even if we mostly show pictures; there are words written and used in blogging. There's no denying it. I was inspired today when reading this blog post on April Showers' Blog! She posted a word cloud that Wordle.net put together for her by putting in her blog URL. Curiosity got the best of me and, of course, I had to try it out!

~*~
Here is the result!
It uses the words you use most as the largest words, *LOL!

Wordle: TattingChic1

You can click on the image to enlarge it.

Hmmm... "Tatting" and "giveaway" are the largest words on there.

Go figure!!!

Try it! You might learn a lot about your blog! *LOL!

~*~

So, what did I do with the rest of my day?

I started a new *WIP!

Wanna see?

It's the start of Lady Shuttle Maker's

Royal Diadem tatted doily design!

I also ordered some very special

custom silk *HDT to tat it in!


I have heard it said that when you are

tatting a large project for the

very first time it's wisest to tat it

in a less expensive thread.

Why, you ask?

The reason for that is just in case you make a mistake...

...you might have to do ghastly things to your project.

Like perform...

*****...GASP...*****

Dun dun dunnnnnnnnn!!!

TATTING SURGERY!!!

(Insert woman's scream from horror movie here)

EEEEEEEEEK!!!!


Yes, it's true it happens and I have the photos to prove it...see?

It's all good, though because I'm practising in

the much less expensive

Valdani perle cotton threads!

See?

I bought these particular balls of Valdani thread

after viewing this post on Lace Lovin' Librarian's blog!

I had to run right over to Beadinmama's eBay shop and

see what all the fuss was about.

I wasn't disappointed!
She's even painted a custom gourd shuttle for me!
(More on that later...stay tuned!!!)

One thing I really like about

Lady Shuttle Maker's Royal Diadem

doily pattern book is that she put these

little babies right inside the front cover!

See? They are picot gauges;

custom made just for this pattern's design.

Isn't that cool!?

Now THAT's customer service!

~*~

Well, now that I've had a word with you I'd love for you to have a word with me, *LOL! It's all good, right!?! Comments are always welcome and I cherish each and every one of them! Thanks for letting me share my latest *WIP with you! I have a poll on the top right side bar of my blog and I'd love to have your input on that as well! I've been busy with *OWOH visitors and being a visitor myself so I'll get around to my regular blog visiting soon, I promise!

Be sure to stop by the giveaway post to enter by commenting on that post! You have until February 11, 2009 to sign up.

Love,

TattingChic

xoxo

*Acronyms:

WIP = Work In Progress

HDT = Hand Dyed Thread

OWOH = One World One Heart

LOL = Laughing Out Loud

53 absolutely fabulous things were said:

TatForFun said...

Sigh...
Still feel a bit envy of someone who can do online shopping ^_^

Draffin Bears said...

Love your new WIP ~ those colours are great.

I am hoping that no tatting surgery will be required - eek!

Have a great week.

Hugs
Carolyn

Bella Sinclair said...

Oh no no noooooooooo. A little Percocet to numb the pain, please. *sigh* Well, I guess a little snip-snip is necessary every now and then. Still, how sad.

Beautiful thread, though. And as a WIP, it looks wonderful! So it will be large, eh? Woweeee, can't wait!

You have a beautiful word cloud, by the way. :D

Pat said...

That's beautiful thread, I sometimes use that brand of perle cotton to embroider with. Your work is so very nice - just love it. Thanks also, for your comment today.....you always make my day. pat

Unknown said...

Awww...sorry, Novice. I don't mean to make you feel envious. That is not my intention. I just wanted to share, that's all. Sorry!

Hi Carolyn! Thank you for visiting! Glad you like the WIP. Oh, that tatting surgery has already been done! Had to start over already! No great loss, LOL! I'd only done 5 rings by the time I made the unforgiving mistake.

Hi Bella Sinclair, yes, the "pain" of surgery! It is painful sometimes, too, when a bit of tatting has to be snipped...sigh...it's all for the greater good of the piece as a whole, LOL! I'm not sure how large it will be in the end. It sure is a pretty pattern. I'm thinking 12 inches maybe or more? I honestly don't know because each size of thread lends a different size in the finished piece.

Hi Pat! Perle cotton sure is pretty and Valdani's overdyes are GORGEOUS! Perle cotton is not ideal to tat with. I haven't tatted with Valdani's Perle and I'm finding it's not as smooth as DMC's perle cotton. It's still pretty, nonetheless and I love the textures each brand and type of thread yield!

JennaLouiseCreates said...

I'm thrilled to have found you:) I am also on stitchin fingers. I will be back, your blog is awesome. Thanks for stopping by mine:) Jenna Louise

Draffin Bears said...

Oh I'm sorry TattingChic ~ I read your post quickly and did not realize the surgery had taken place.
Only 5 rings ( sounds like a lot of work already)

I hope that your WIP goes well and can't wait to see your completed work.

Hugs
Carolyn

MelMel said...

Hi there, thank you for popping by and leaving such a lovely comment!
I love what your making now....your so talented!xx

renee said...

Beaaautiful!!!

I can't seem to e-mail you so I just wanted to post my message. I'm sorry this has to be so public.

My name is Renee Yu and I am the designer behind the label 'giraffe&rabbit'. The pair of cupcake earrings being given away by Kathleen on Handmade Heavenlies were actually made by me - she bought them from me a while ago. Now that we have had a personal fallout, she has taken the pictures from my Etsy listing and is giving these earrings away pretending they were made by her. I saw this today when somebody showed me and now I feel like crying.

If you do not believe me, please do check my Etsy store - http://www.giraffeandrabbit.etsy.com.

Please be very careful of this lady. While I do not mind her re-gifting out these earrings, I would have liked to have been asked, and also to receive credit on her blog. This is really upsetting and hurtful and I just want to stop her hurting anybody else.

Have a good day guys - I'm so sorry if I spoiled it with bad news!

Regards,
Renee
giraffe&rabbit.

Lace-lovin' Librarian ~ Diane said...

Sometimes I feel guilty when I inspire someone else to spend money, but this time I'm happy to see what you were inspired to buy! I can't wait to see how your Royal Diadem turns out, and please, please, please, remember to show us your custom painted gourd shuttle!

Unknown said...

May I have a word with you? Entertaining. That is how I find your blog. It is fun starting each day reading my favorite tatting blogs and yours is great. Wouldn't that word cloud make a neat wall graphic for a craft room?

Kathleen Grace said...

Oh cute! I have to go try the Wordle! You know I love your tatting:>)

Unknown said...

Hi Jenna Louise! Thanks so much for commenting! That is cool that we are both on Stitchin' Fingers! I go to eTattters much more often, but I like Stitchin' Fingers, too! I want to learn how to do SRE and CQ (silk ribbon embroidery and Crazy Quiltying). That way I'll have someplace pretty to put my tatted motifs other than my tatting journal. So that's why I joined Stitching FIngers (for the inspiration).

Hi Carolyn, oh, not to worry...the surgery went well, LOL! I wasn't too far into it by the time I had to start over. Besides, there are tricks for doing surgery when you're WAY far into it so you don't have to start completely over. Thanks for the well wishes...oh, don't worry about the reading too fast thing! I do it all the time. I have a jillion blogs on my google reader, LOL! I'm notorious for skimming blog posts, LOL!

Hi, Mel, thanks for stopping by and leaving a sweet comment.

Hi Renee. Well, Perhaps if what you're saying is true then it may be good that this comment was public. In the online tatting community we are big on giving credit to original designers and so I can imagine how hurtful that is. I hope you are able to get it all straighted out. Have you thought of emailing Lisa Swiftka tha hostess of the OWOH event? The OWOH link is on every participants blog and she has her email available there.

Hi Diane! Glad to hear you don't feel guilty! I was glad to find her! The shuttle is a design I've been looking around for years for and I mean YEARS and I've actually asked other shuttle makers to do this and they said they couldn't. Well she DID! I haven't received it yet, but of COURSE I will post it on my blog when I get it. I got lot's of other fun stuff, too! She has some beautiful things there!

LOL! Thank you, Clyde! I appreciate your very sweet comment. It means a lot to me. :)

Thanks, Kathleen Grace, my tatting loves you too, LOL! Have fun at Wordle. I hope you post your word cloud, too!

Paula said...

May I have a word with you?
Your pictures are always so awesome...*sigh*... and so are you!
Okay, I feel better now.

I'm a little afraid to try the wordle... mine will probably have things like "terrorist" and "poop" in great big letters... very classy.

Linda said...

That is the prettiest thread you are using for your latest WIP. I'm going to try the wordie thing:)...hugs, Linda

Twyla and Lindsey said...

Thanks for telling me about the wordle! I did it and it was fun! The biggest word in ours was Vintage and then Cards. No surprise there, I guess:) Beautiful thread is one of life's luxuries, isn't it? You make such beautiful things with it. Have a great day! Twyla

Elyse said...

you have to spell-out your acronyms to me. i am new to this world of tatting! it's all lovely though. :)

Terrielee said...

Hello Tatting Chic! :)
Your new wip is so pretty! I'm wondering what your gourd shuttle is going to look like??? I like to grow gourds and make things from them... but a tatting shuttle? How fascinating! Btw, you inspired to to go on a treasure hunt of sorts! Sunday I dug, Dug, DUGGED through my beloved 23+ years' trove of collected goodies (I'm not 23+, lol, my trove is!!! - I wish I were!!! lol). Anyway... Ta-taaa! I found it!!! My old stainless steel tatting shuttle! Now... do I have a clue as to how to use it??? Yikes! I'm going to be watching your blog! Threads, etc... I'm clueless! My tatting memories have atrophied severly! lol! But I'm so excited too! Thank you fro re-kindling my fire!
Terrielee :)

Unknown said...

Whew! Paula, I'm glad you got that all off your chest. Are you relieved as I am??? I think your word cloud would be hilarious! You should try it out, LOL!

Hi, Linda! Thank you for your nice comment. Have fun at wordle!

Twyla, I'll bet your word cloud was very sweet! I wonder if you're going to post it? I guess I'll see later if you do or not.

Hi Elyse, the Acronyms are spelled out for you at the bottom of the post. None of them are strictly for tatting. Thanks for stopping by.

Very cool, Terrielee! I'm so glad you found your tatting shuttle! Awesome! I'd like to invite you to join eTatters. It's free. The badge is on my right sidebar and you just click to go there and join! It's a social network for tatters of ALL skill level. You'll like it if you're ready to start tatting again! Please come and visit my blog often and I'd love to see you on eTatters, too! :)

Back Through Time said...

Your WIP is lovely, Love the color!
Cracked up over your tatting surgery, LOL
Michelle

Kate Tracton said...

You make me want to haul out my tatting shuttles and dust them off! I just don't know if my creaky fingers can do it anymore.

Oh, how well I remember those annoying and painful tatting surgeries!

Happy Day,

Kate

Attic Clutter said...

OWOH
oh great post
lots of great thoughts here..
I love the cigar purse too.. would be fun to have one..
hugs, Patty

Barbara Jean said...

Absolutely love the detail of all the tatting.
I have a few small pieces i have picked up here and there, and so admire the patience and time and love that must have gone into making it.

Thanks for entering my nest giveaway.

Blessings,
BArbara jean

The Victorian Parlor said...

Wow-can't wait to see the finished project! Love the word cloud!

Krystle said...

I've been eyeing that pattern for awhile. Do tell how it goes and what level tatter can accomplish it!

vintage girl at heart said...

Love your WIP!! I admire your patience and perseverence.. with your lovely little WOA's.. works of art!!! A new one for you!!
I am off to try out the little word linky you shared with us.
Have a Blessed week and thanks so much for your WOK= words of kindness on my blog.
((I have had way too much shugar today!!!))

CakesMix said...

Hi TattingChic,
You have a great sense of humor! The tatting surgery pic is something I can definitely relate to! :)

Unknown said...

Thank you, Michelle! Glad you stopped by.

Hi, Kate! That's fabulous! I hope you do find your tatting shuttles and dust them off! I'll bet your "creaky fingers" (as you called them) could "remember".

Hi Patty,
I'm not sure what you meant by "OWOH". Are you enjoying the One World One Heart event? Is that what you meant? Thanks for visiting.

Thanks for stopping by, Barbara Jean! Your nest giveaway is very nice. I'd love to win it. That is very nice that you have collected some tatting over the years. I hope you show it!

Hello to The Victorian Parlor! So glad you stopped by! Thank you for your comment.

Hi Krystle, this much I do know that the techniques used are split rings, block tatting, dimpled rings and some "fun with picots". This is inside the front cover. So, if you can do those techniques you can tat this pattern right up!

Hi Vintage Girl at Heart! You comment gave me a chuckle...WOK!!! LOL! Very cute. You are welcome and thank you for stopping by and leaving such a sweet comment...and WOH = Words Of Humor!

Hi CakesMix! Thanks...glad you like the tatting surgery pic, LOL! It's so "painful" when it happens, isn't it?

Celestina Marie said...

Love your WIP. Going to be gorgeous and I like the color.
Interesting about the most used words.
hugs, Celestina Marie

Tracy said...

Your new WIP is looking beautiful....love the coloring. And those picot gauges are very neat! Very fun with the WORD! ;o) Happy week, my friend! ((HUGS))

Ais said...

Wow... now that is no acronym. Really love the word cloud...your's is really nice. Lovely thread...as always... you know I love everything about your blog. :)

MJ Ornaments said...

I tried the word website and it was really interesting! Love your new creation.
Take care,
Martha

MelMel said...

Thank you for the wonderful comment!
xxx

Mona said...

yes you can!

Unknown said...

Hi Celestina Marie. I'm glad you like the color of the lace I'm tatting. Thank you.

Hi Tracy, thanks for stopping by. You're always like a little ray o'sunshine stopping by!

You're right, Ais, that word cloud is no acronym, LOL! You're so sweet, thank you. You made my day. :)

Hi Martha. I'll bet your word cloud had some lovely words on it.

Um, Oh, NO...thank YOU, Mel mel! ;)

LOL, Mona Van Dijk! I just DID! ;)

Gina said...

Will be watching for your completed doily!!!!

I've done the word cloud on another blog I have. They're fun!

Fete et Fleur said...

Thanks for the link, but I was slightly traumatized by the word display. I would recommend that people have 7 or more posts showing to get a good idea of words they use. I only have 3 posts showing at a time and my last few posts have been dealing with this eBay problem. Yikes! I’m just glad I didn’t throw in any profanity when I shared my frustration.

I'm loving the color of your new WIP!

Karla Cook @ Roads to Everywhere said...

I don't know whether silk or cotton goes better with linen or not. Maybe it has to do with what the use will be.

Great pictures, as usual.

Unknown said...

What a great post! And so very true :)

Your project is beautiful as always. I love the colors! I saw a bunny shuttle yesterday on Etsy :) I cant use it but I like it, lol! I thought of you :)

Hugs,
Amy

Christine said...

Oh my goodness, I am amazed at what you are working on every time I stop by. I can't wait to see the finished project in your gorgeous silk thread. I know I will never tat. It's the one thing I wanted to learn. I learned to knit, crochet and do other things, but Gram passed before she could teach me and arthritis in fingers is too far advanced, but I sure love to watch others do it and I love to see the finished projects. My Gram used to tat little tiny cattails and glue them to little note cards she would send to people. I just loved that.

In addition to "May I have a word with you?", I hate these words unless I am the one saying them:

"Would you please step into my office". (insert woman's shreek from horror movie here..) LOL!

To be honest, I love to ask people to step into my office. There's a little bit of a sadist in me that loves to see the blood drain from their faces when I turn to walk back into my office. Oh, I am so naughty.

When you have a chance stop by my silly blog and see if you can win my little challenge.

Wbm Fitness said...

Hey thanks so much for commenting on my blog today! I really appreciate it.

Charmingdesigns said...

I LOVE those scissors!!! I signed up sooo late...I cant believe how many people have visited me in just a few hours...wow. Laurie

Sweet Cottage Dreams said...

LOL! Insert laughter! You are hilarious and sooooo patient to do tatting! Kudos to you!!!

Becky

Victoria - Florence and Mary said...

Oh I have to try out the wordle/blog thing!! I'll let you know how i get on.

As for our singing sheep... if I can get a copy i'll be posting a video on my blog of this soon i hope!

Victoria x

Tatfully Yours said...

The only other words that put fear into my as much as "May I have a WORD with you" is "I have had a call from one of our customers...." I clean houses and when people call they do not call to say nice things.(Sometimes!!!!)LOL
Kelly

Unknown said...

Hi Gina, so, you've done the word cloud, aye? They are revealing, aren't they?

LOL! That is funny about your word cloud, Nancy! Thanks for the nice comment about the WIP.

Hi Karla, I take it you looked at the poll. The napkins are going to be used for Christmas napkins. So they are kind of special.

Hi Amy! Thanks for thinking of me! I went and searched etsy for a bunny shuttle and it came up w/ my good friend, Noreen's shop! Yes, I've already seen her bunny and goddess shuttles...stay tuned! ;)

Hi Christine...gosh, you know your post starts out with a really sweet story about your grandmother tatting and making cards and ends with your sordid tale of emotional sadism...hmmmm... I'll be totally honest with you; I don't know how to respond to that! LOL! Ummmm...thanks for the warning???

You're welcome, WBM fitness...I think! I went to visit your blog and didn't recall visiting...hmmmm...a mystery!

Thanks, Laurie! I can't remember where I got the scissors! Michael's maybe? Oh, you didn't sign up too late AT ALL! People still have a whole week to sign up for your giveaway! It's fabulous, isn't it?!

Hi Becky, ya know, you are not the first person to equate doing tatting to having patience and I have to say...honestly, I don't think that patience has anything to do with it...I just really love doing it! Thank you for the compliment, though! That's sure is sweet of you to say.

Hi Victoria! I'll be looking out for the word cloud and the singing goat on your blog, LOL!

Ugh! Kelly, that sounds awful! Yes, those are not my favorite words to hear! It sounds like you work very hard for your money so I hope you hear more good than bad from your employers.

Sally L. Smith said...

Hello, Tatter. Thanks for visiting my blog. You asked if I sell my journals and yes I do. I was wondering whether to put the one with tatted lace online or in the shop around the corner from me (where I have put most of them) so you helped me make up my mind. Yes, it is in my etsy shop--same name as my blog with etsy (dot) com. Come visit. Wish I could tat. I tried to teach myself but it's harder than it looks.

csipkelelkű said...

I'm thankful for the list of abbreviations! IMHO you, English speaking people just love abbrevs.
Anyway, now I know that WIP does not mean Wery Important Picot, and HDT is not an explosive, nor a narcotic...
THNX! LOL

CJ STITCHING AND BLOOMS said...

Good DAY, I always enjoy reading your posts because they always make me smile. I can not imagine you do tatting surgery very often. LOL Love the pastel green valdini threads. I use them often in my embroidery. I reckon you should learn Crazy Quilting soooo you will have a place to put all your gorgeous tatting pieces. VBG Hugs Judy

Unknown said...

Hi Sally L. Smith! Thanks for visiting. Your journals are lovely. I checked your Etsy shop and you have some beautiful things. I didn't see the journal with the tatting on it though. I had wondered if it had sold already, but I didn't see it in the "sold" items, either. Hmmm...
Well, maybe some other time!
Thanks for stopping by. Come again!

Yes, we English speaking people love us some acronyms, don't we? Actually I do a lot of tongue-in-cheek (making fun) posting of acronyms because they get ridiculous. Your comment gave me a chuckle!

Hi CJ Stitching and Blooms! I would LOVE to learn CQ! I really want to. I want to learn SRE (silk ribbon embroidery), too! Oh, the beautiful things I could make with those skills! Thanks for stopping by!

A Romantic Porch said...

Oh my you have so many exciting things going on here! xo rachel

Anne said...

I love Wordle! It's so much fun! And thanks for stopping by my blog during One World - One Heart! :-)

Unknown said...

LOL! Thanks, Rachel! You're too cute. :)

Hi Anne, thanks for coming over to visit.