A Gifty!

Ever have one of those days where you're just not "up to snuff"? Yesterday was one of those days. I had been the recipient of some sad news and was rather blue. Then, like a little hug from heaven a package came in the mail! It was a total surprise! The return addressee said "Laurie's Charming Designs"! Does that sound familiar to anyone? It does to me! She is one of my very good bloggy friends! It cheered me up no end!

Let me show you what was inside the package!

~*~

This darling mini-easel!

Isn't it cute?

Look at those sweet beads dangling from the wire scroll work!

I remember seeing it on this blog post!
I still can't believe she sent it to me!

***

It came inside a plain brown cardboard box

with this sweet little nest painted on the package!Such a sweet and thoughtful touch!

***

A sweet little hand-painted tag accompanied the gift!

Isn't that sweet?

***
The other side says:
"Thank You for being my friend!"

Awww! So sweet!
***
Thank YOU, Laurie!

This sweet little easel is the perfect companion to
the hand-painted tile dry erase board that
I won from Laurie almost a year ago from now.

***
When it did arrive I went and bought an easel
just for it, but I never thought the easel quite
fit the lovely little dry erase board!
I <3 this easel!

It's just adorable!
I now have the classiest menu board in the neighborhood!
I am sure of it!

Thank you, Laurie!

~*~

This is one of many, many ways in which blogging has been a blessing in my life! My bloggy friends have enriched my life in ways I just cannot describe. A 3-D friend said to me the other day, "I read your blog the other day. I really enjoyed reading the comments people leave. They talk to you like they're your BEST FRIENDS!". She said this with a bit of shock. I laughed! "They are!", I said with a chuckle! It's true! Here's a big bloggy hug for each of you!

Thank you for being sweet friends! I'd love to hear from you before you go! Comments are always welcome here!

Jane's Technique Page for the Double Core SSSR

Many of you in the online tatting community are well aware of Jane Eborall and her generous gifts to those of us who tat. Her gifts consist of timeless hours spent making technique pages, pattern pages, blog posts, and TIAS (Tat It And See) pages for all who tat to enjoy. She does this for free. She is kind to all who wish to learn anything about tatting...whether it's how to learn tatting in the beginning stages or how to proceed with a very advanced tatting technique. She is so well known by those of us who tat that you could almost call her a "famous" tatter. LOL! I laugh only because tatting itself is not that well-known, so to be a "famous" tatter is not saying much in the "fame scale". In the tatting world, however, Jane is a jewel in the tatting community's crown. Yet she carries this off without a sense of grandiosity.

Well, I am "going on", aren't I? So, "What's all this about?", you may be wondering. You see, Jane has created a technique page for the revised SSSR (Single Shuttle Split Ring) that I "demonstrated" in a previous post! Why am I making such a big deal about it??? It IS a big deal! Jane Eborall made a technique page based on something I (little ol' me) shared? WOW! I'm honored!

So, without further adieu:

Here's the page!

~*~

Double Core Single Shuttle Split Ring

~*~

Thank you for stopping by! I hope that if you do tat that Jane's presentation might give a different perspective on a new technique! If you do not tat, be sure and stop by Jane's blog, "Tatting and Nothing Much Else" and give her a quick hello! Be sure to stop by her technique and pattern pages if you are interested in learning something new in tatting. Her pages are like a free online encyclopedia of tatting techniques!

I'd love to hear from you before you go!
Toodles!

~TattingChic

xoxo

Tatting From Scotland!

I had the pleasure of getting a fun package from Scotland this past week! It was from Trayna of Scotland! Recently, Trayna had a giveaway on her blog and I was one of the lucky winners! Well, okay, she actually gave something to each person who entered! Isn't that generous? I certainly think so! If you have never had the opportunity to see Scottish tatting now is your chance, ladies and gents!

"What's the difference between Scottish Tatting and regular tatting?", you ask?

Why, in Scottish tatting the person tatting up the tatted bits is actually IN Scotland! It is actually even more authentic if the person is actually Scottish. Ha Ha! Gotcha! You thought there was some new special brand of tatting that I was going to tell you about, didn't you? Actually, I have a special place in my heart for Scotland. I had a very good friend who hailed from there. She is someone that I have lost touch with, but she came into my life (much like a long lost big sister) when I really needed a very good friend and she certainly fit the bill! Thank you, Scottish friend who is no longer in my life...wherever you are!

Well, back to tatting. Trayna certainly was kind to tat up a bunch of goodies for everyone who entered her giveaway, wouldn't you say? Would you like to see what Trayna sent?

Well would ya?

~*~

Okay, here ya go:

She sent this postcard from Scotland

and these lovely tatted motifs.

Here's the pretty snowflake closeup.


Look at this lovely round motif in green!

What a sweet butterfly!

Look at these very skillfully made picots!

(Picots are the pretty loops you see sticking out of the tatted rings.)

Thank you, Trayna!

I love my tatted bits you sent!

They made my day.

~*~

Thank you for stopping by to see the tatting from Scotland! I hope you liked it. I did! LOL! I am wondering where to put it. I am contemplating getting a new journal to put in tatted motifs from my tatting friends!

Be sure to say hello before you run off to visit Trayna's blog. I'd love to hear from you!

Toodles!

~TattingChic

xoxo

A Tale of Two Split Rings

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom in tatting, it was the age of foolishness in regards to the ridiculous behavior displayed by people who thought they "owned" tatting, it was the epoch of belief that we all had discovered something new, it was the epoch of incredulity that someone had actually discovered it before us, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope that there was actually more techniques to discover in tatting, it was the winter of despair that perhaps it was all too difficult to learn, we had everything before us (tatting thread, tatting books, tatting shuttles), we had nothing before us (tatting thread, tatting books, tatting shuttles) and we needed to buy MORE...MORE, we were all going direct to heaven (to get our tatted angel wings), we were all going direct the other way (in a tatted handbasket) - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."

~~Charles TattingChickens

~*~

Yes, as promised, I present to you "A Tale of Two Split Rings".

The following heart is the one I completed using today's technique.

This is Motif #5 Antique Rose Heart
for my second round of the 25 Motif Challenge.
Designed by Martha Ess and tatted in Yarnplayer's "Peace" and "Leafy" size 20 HDT's.

Here is last the heart from the last post completed using the MSR (Mock Split Ring)

Here they are side by side: The one that had the MSR is on the right.

Personally I like the one on the left better. I think it looks neater and tidier.

I think it has a lot to do with the following technique.

In my last post I mentioned that I

had done some commiserating with Gina, Jane, Laura, and Martha

on how to climb out of a round with 2 colors.

During our back and forth emails Martha suggested the following technique!

Of course I had to tat up another heart and to try it out!

She suggested that I try a SSSR (Single Shuttle Split Ring).

Remember that?

Her thought was to do the first half with 2 shuttles ~ resulting in a double core to solve the "how-do-we-get-the-green-thread-to-the-top-of-the-pink-Split-Ring" Dilemma.


So I did!

Here, let me show you!

~*~

Here we are at the place in a new round where we need to make

a split ring in order to continue on in that round.

Should I:

a) Go ahead and do a regular Split Ring resulting in 2 different colors on each side and hope no one notices.

b) Do a MSR (Mock Split Ring) as before...which quite honestly is hard with the Split Chain stitches and looked "wonky" after all that work.

c) Do a SSSR and hope no one notices that the green thread is at the bottom of the Split Ring.

d) Try Martha's suggestion and revise the SSSR just a bit.

What to do?

I went with "d"! Let me show you Martha's suggestion.

***

Skills needed:

SSSR (Single Shuttle Split Ring)

The ability to tat with 2 shuttles at one time, LOL!

***

First do the first half of the SSSR as a "regular ring"...only use both shuttles for the core thread. You wrap ONLY THE PINK THREAD around your hand, but pick up BOTH SHUTTLES to do the double stitches after the loop on your hand is made.

Here's what the first part of that ring will look like.(Sorry, I was the only one at home when these photos were taken so I had to take the ring off my hand in order to take the pictures, LOL!)

Here's a close up of the double core coming out of the double stitches.
Next, you drop both shuttles and just let them hang and complete the second half of the SSSR with the pink thread's loop. Here's a close up of the completed stitches of the ring.

Next, close the ring by pulling on the SSSR loop.

Here's a close up of the closed ring. Notice the threads coming out of the top AND out of the bottom.

Remember to pull the loop around the "neck" of the new ring before you close the loop.
Close up of loop around the neck of the new ring.

Complete the ring by pulling on the pink shuttle thread to close the SSSR loop at the bottom of the ring.
Close up of new completed ring!

Now, I can continue tatting as usual!
~*~

One thing I noticed was that this ring I showed you just now sure was easier to do AND it looked more uniform and even than the MSR from the last post. It was prettier! I've got comparisons of the close ups of the 2 split rings to show you so you can judge for yourself!

MSR (Mock Split Ring)

SSSR (Single Shuttle Split Ring) with 1st half a double core

***

What do you think? ( the SSSR is shown from the backside)

***

Another thing I noticed was that the SSSR was more uniform compared with the regular rings.

See?

The MSR is a big larger and more awkward looking compared to the following rings.

See?

If you make excellent Split Chain stitches, then the MSR (Mock Split Ring) or Dora Young Technique may be for you. If not, consider this version of the SSSR to climb out of a round with 2 colors.

~*~

Thanks for letting me share with you "A Tale of Two Split Rings"! For those of you who don't tat "YOU CAN WAKE UP NOW!", LOL! I appreciate you bearing with the tatting jargon through another long-winded post! For my tatting friends, I hope this helps with the climbing out of rounds with 2 colors dilemma! I liked this version better due to the lovely results and how easy it was to do! If you find this helpful, be sure to let Martha know how much you liked her suggestion! It just goes to show that when we work together we can come up with much better ideas in the tatting community!

For my friends in the USA I'd like to wish you all a very

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

I am very grateful for all the blessings that I have from living in this beautiful and great country. I am also very grateful for all the men and women who have sacrificed their lives to ensure this blessing for me. Thank you! God Bless America!

For all my bloggy friends from around the world I am grateful for your friendship! Thanks again for visiting and be sure to say hello before you go!

Love,

TattingChic

xoxo

Edited 5/30/09:

For Jane Eborall's technique page

on this Double Core SSSR technique

click here.

Mock Split Ring

Have you ever noticed that there are a lot of different acronyms in tatting? Acronyms like SSSR, SR, SCMR, LJ, SC ...aaand the list goes on! With all of the different acronyms and bits of info spinning around soon a tatter may feel like their own head is spinning! Well, I'm here to add to the acronymial head-spinning fun! Yes, I'm using poetic license to create a word (acronymial).

The other day I was working on Martha Ess' Antique Rose Heart pattern from her book "Tat's Amore". Martha suggests using 1 color for this pattern due to the Split Ring and Split Chain utilized to climb out of the rounds. Tatters know that when working on patterns that require Split Chains and Split Rings for climbing out of rounds that you need to work with 1 color otherwise your work will look...well...honestly, kinda wonky with half a chain being one color and the other half is another color. What happens if you really WANT to use 2 different colors (one for rings and one for chains)? It just isn't going to work, is it?

Or is it?

One solution is to perform "Cut and Ties" (***gasp***) between each round. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with that. Sometimes this seems like the only solution and if you don't mind hiding the ends this is a very legitimate and workable solution. For years I have done this and I haven't minded. I've utilized the Magic Thread technique to hide my ends and it's worked quite well for me.

Lately, since I've learned to do Split Chain stitches, I've found that I really do like having the option of climbing out of a round that has a chain to be climbed out of. I have finally succumbed to the seductive thought of having less thread ends to hide. "Come to meeeee" the thought says and willingly, almost hypnotically, I follow.

But how??? How??? How with 2 colors? I thought, I pondered, I prayed and I pondered some more and finally the following solution came to my mind!

"EUREKA!",

I cried aloud...

(okay not really)

...as I thought I had discovered a totally new technique! I'll call it the Mock Split Ring (cuz, it's like a split ring, but not really) or

...wait for it...

(after all, this is a NEW acronym)

MSR!

I called my friend Laura to share in the joy of this moment. She had never heard of it either she said. In her infinite wisdom she suggested I share it with Gina, Jane, and Martha in order to see if they had ever heard of this fabulous "new" technique ...and...of course...they had, LOL! Funny thing is, not only had Jane posted it on her blog, but ironically Laura and I had both COMMENTED on that very blog post, LOL! Jane even has this Snowflake Pattern using it.

Ah, well, such is the glory of life...illuminated for but a moment...only to be shadowed by the dark, grey, starkness we call reality! LOL! All these fabulous ladies did give me kind congratulations for taking the time to figure it out on my own, though. Martha even gave me kudos for finding a practical application of it on my own. Thank you, Ladies! You are all very kind!

~*~

Well, enough of all that.

I'd like to present to you my Moment of Discovery:

The Dora Young Split Ring

or

as I like to call it

The MSR (Mock Split Ring)

Tatting Skills needed:

SLT (Shoe Lace Trick)

SC (Split Chain)

LJ (Lock Join)

***

Here we are at a point of dilemma in tatting.

Here is the last chain of a round.

The mid-point of this chain needs to have the second

half finished by doing a split chain which normally

would result in the second half of the chain being PINK

when all the rest of the chains are green.

What is the solution to climb out of the round?

Should I:

a) go ahead and do it in pink and hope no one notices.

b) figure out a way to make it work so I can have a green SC.

I went with "B"! I did it by performing the

SLT or Shoelace Trick.

See!

Here's a close up:

Now the green is where it needs to be to perform
a Split Chain! Woo Hoo. Easy peasy! (the SLT is easy, that is)

Here is the Split Chain completed:
Now comes the second dilemma! How do I make
a Split Ring in order to climb into that next round?

(This is where the MSR comes in to play)

What would be the best solution?

Should I:
a) Do a regular Split Ring and hope no one notices that 1/2 is pink and 1/2 is green.
b) do a SSSR and hope that no one notices that the green thread is hanging at the bottom of the ring.
c) figure out how to get the green to the top of the Split Ring inside as the core thread.

I went with "C" by figuring out the MSR.

Here is how to start the MSR

Step 1) Tat a regular pink Chain perpendicular to the horizontal green chain using the green thread as the "core thread" or "shuttle thread".

Next dilemma...
...the pink thread is on the left.
I need it on the right.

Solution:
Step 2) SLT!

See?


Now, with the pink thread on the right it can be joined down

at the base of the ring with a LJ (Lock Join).

Step 3) Lock Join to base of ring leaving a small amount of thread between top of ring and base of ring.

Here's a close up of the Lock Join at the base of the ring. (Notice how the length is just what is needed for

the other half of the MSR.)

Now, I just do Split Chain stitches all the
way up the side from bottom to top.

See here:

Step 4)Use Split Chain stitches to climb back up to top of ring from bottom

Mock Split Ring complete!

Now, I can continue tatting as usual.

Please note, this was an example

of how to utilize a technique to climb out of

a round. I never said it was going to be pretty!

Just know, it wasn't about showing

off my "beautiful" (and yes, I'm being sarcastic) split chain

stitches, but just sharing an option on how to utilize

a technique in everyday tatting.

~*~

I hope you've enjoyed this demonstration of a practical application of the MSR or Dora Whats-her-face technique.

I mean, Dora Young Split Ring

I'm sharing it because if you are one of those who find hiding ends unpleasant, but find that climbing out of rings and chains can limit your color choices, then, perhaps, this will help you put an end to that. I also liked the thought of possibly making a personal contribution to the ever growing list of Tatting Acronyms with the MSR. Hee hee.

Stay tuned for next time when I will present "A Tale Of Two Split Rings"...a study of another way to climb out with a SSSR using 2 shuttles...What???? A Single Shuttle Split Ring with TWO SHUTTLES??? What am I thinking? Why? What? How? All that and more will be answered in the next episode...

BTW, I'm am using Yarnplayer's HDT of "Peace" and "Leafy" size 20 to complete this tatted heart.

Thanks for stopping by! I'd love to hear from you!
If you tat, then Happy Tatting! If you don't tat, then Happy Whatever-it-is-that-you-like-to-do!

~TattingChic
xoxo

Thank you, Martha, for graciously allowing
me to use your pattern to demonstrate
this technique.

A Blossoming Heart!

A few posts back I showed you my Heart In Progress. I made some philosophical comparisons to the literal (tatted) and figurative (my heart on the inside) heart. This week my heart has blossomed! Let me explain.

Tatted hearts are one of my favorite things to make. There is one called "Heart Blossom" from the book Tatting Hearts by Teri Dusenbury. It is an absolutely beautiful heart and I have wanted to make it for over 16 years, but have always been intimidated by it for some reason. Maybe it's the fact that it requires 3 shuttles. I'm not really sure why it bothered me, since I've designed a pattern that requires 4 shuttles, LOL! Well, I finally tatted that heart up this last week!

Here, let me show you!

~*~

This will count as a motif during my second round

of the 25 Motif Challenge!

Motif #4 Heart Blossom.

It's tatted in Lizbeth thread called

"Victorian Red".

Whew!!! This one was a lot of work for me.

It took me probably 20 hours combined if

you count all the unpicking and stuff I had to do.

I did a few revisions of the techniques suggested in the pattern.

(Notice how I thnk of patterns as "suggestions" and not "tatting gospel", LOL!)

For me, revisions take time because I really have to

think and then, upon trying it a different way, it may or

may not work and I end up unpicking very often.

That is what made this heart so time consuming for me.

I also tried a new technique; the SSSR!
~*~
Recently, Gina from Threads of a Tatting Goddess

shared the following video on how to make

a SSSR (Single Shuttle Split Ring). Until recently

it was the general school of thought that a split

ring was only possible with 2 shuttles until

some tatting genius figured out how to do it with one.

Thank you, Soluranne!

This particular video was found on the old
eTatters at Ning site which will soon be closed down.
I found it on You Tube! YAY! This video really
helped me see how to do it and I have succesfully figured out
how to make SSSR's!

The video was made by Anne B of Norway.

Thank you, Anne B! :)

Anne, because of your video I was able to figure it out!

"V" for VICTORY!

***

Now, to SSSR or Not SSSR...

...TAT is the question!

~*~

Here's a photo of my next heart in this same pattern.

Heart In Progress:

I took this photo during the stage that requires
3 shuttles. 3 shuttles only sounds intimidating. It's really 2
shuttles and then working on another part with 1 shuttle
(or 2; if you decide to do a regular SR. SR = Split Ring). The three shuttles are not used at the same time.
As you can see here, I decided to do the SR with
the one shuttle or SSSR. See the shuttle on the right?
That's being used to make the the SSSRs

***

The SSSRs in this heart are used to make the arches.

Here's a close-up of one of the arches in the completed heart.

I've heard some people say they think that the SSSRs

are "too bulky", but I didn't find that to be the case.

~*~

Another part of the pattern that I revised to make

it all one round was the center wheel.

I used a chain with 7 "Thrown Rings" (floating rings) to make
the center wheel above. The center "ring" is actually
a chain, it's not quite a SCMR, just a chain. The last 2 DS
on the chain are actually Split Chain stitches and then
the 8th ring is a split ring used to crawl out and make the
outer daisies of the inner part of this heart.

Confusing? Well, yes, that's why it took so long!

Incidentally, I'm doing this heart again (same color)

and it's going MUCH faster! Thank heavens.

~*~

Thank you for letting me share my most recent tatting victories with you! My heart is blossoming with gratitude for the online tatting community for giving me access to all of these wonderful techniques used to make tatting so much easier! My tatting skills have much improved thanks to the internet and all the wonderful tatters who share their understanding of certain techniques, skills, and wisdom with others for free! You guys are just awesome, thank you!

My heart is also blossoming with gratitude for all my fabulous blogging buddies who take the time to stop by and say hello! Your comments mean so much and I am grateful for each and everyone of them! I'd love to hear what you have to say!

Have a super fabulous weekend!

~TattingChic

xoxo