1st Blogoversary and 100th Post Celebration and Giveaway!!!

Today is a very special day here at TattingChic the blog because TattingChic the person is having a double celebration! It's double the fun because not only is this my 1st Blogoversary, it's also my 100th post!!! Woo Hoo!!! Can you believe I made it? This definately calls for a party, what do you say?

So come on in, get comfortable!

~*~

Looky what I made!

Just for you!

I made a cake!

What celebration would be complete

without a surprise!

Look at this!

A Party Hat!!!

(click on photos to go to exact blog post the hat was on)

Can you believe I won a party hat

during my 1st blogoversary week

from the beautifully talented Vanessa

at A Fanciful Twist!?!

~*~

Since this is a fabulous celebration

a giveaway is in order,

don't you think so, too?

Here's the prize:

"Learn To Tat"

a book complete w/ interactive DVD

by Janette Baker

A Shuttle and a sample of thread!

The thread is Manuela brand size 10

crochet cotton color # m218

Look at this fabulous thread holder!

Here it is closed:

You can pop it open so you can get your thread!

~*~

Yes! That is just prize #1!!!

Oh My GOODNESS!!!
Did I just say

"prize #1"???

Does that mean that there is a prize #2?

~*~

Why yes!!!

Since it's DOUBLE the fun;

I thought we'd have

DOUBLE the prizes!

~*~

Prize #2

Is




"Learn To Tat"
a book complete w/ interactive DVD
by Janette Baker

This time it will be accompanied by a

vintage stiffened tatted heart!

I say "vintage" because it's about 16 yrs old, LOL!

It's quasi~vintage, really, LOL!

~*~

How do you enter, you ask?

Well, you need to have an active blog!

(an active blog that I can access from your

blogger profile or comment)

Then all you have to do is comment on this post by

Midnight PST on March 31, 2009!!!

I will announce my winner on

TATTING DAY!

When is Tatting Day???

April 1st ~ NO Foolin'!!

~*~

Thank you for stopping by to celebrate with me! Good luck to all of you! I appreciate all the friendship and support that I've received from fellow bloggers over the past year! Thanks so much for being such wonderful bloggy buddies! I won't be commenting back on this post because I'll be using a random integer generator to pick the winner from the comments! :)
Thanks for visiting!

~TattingChic

xoxo

P.S. You may have noticed an item on my right sidebar called "followers". Feel free to join in! If you would like to keep updated on this blog it will update you in your blogger dashboard and if you have a google reader it automatically imports blogs you are following to that! This is in no way a requirement for the giveaway! Just a friendly invitation to come back and visit often! :)

Jury Duty Tatting

Didn't I just say in a comment back to someone in my last post that it would be a dream to spend the day tatting and get paid for it? Well, it happened today! LOL! I had jury duty and didn't get called to serve on a jury so I spent the most of the entire 8 hour day tatting at the "Hall of Justice"! Woo Hoo! My work pays for it so that is awesome! I actually look forward to jury duty if I can remember to take my tatting along! I even got to share with a couple of interested gals who wanted to know more about what it was that I was doing! Very cool!!!

~*~

Here is the result of nearly six hours of tatting!

I am trying out the Finca brand thread

I recently bought. It's size 16 Perle Cotton.

I am using the pink and green thread from

the "Mardi Gras Sampler" pack.

Pink is C/2240 (T-491) and

Green is C/4350 (T-1115).

I am very impressed with how well Finca tats

for a perle cotton thread! It is very smooth

and strong and not nearly as "fuzzy" as many

other perle cottons!

I found Finca's size 16 to be similar to

size 40 or 50 in other cotton crochet threads.

The pattern I am working on is called

"Dahlia"

"Dahlia" is on pages 48-49 of Mary Konior's
"A Pattern Book of Tatting"

One of my new "toys"! Hee hee!

I got to take my new book out for a "spin"!
Thank YOU, Jury Duty! LOL!

~*~

I have to say that besides being able to tat it is a privilege to be able to do my "civic duty" and go do jury duty! I am very grateful to be an American Citizen and I do NOT take the blessing of that citizenship for granted! Our great country may be having a very challenging time right now, but it is a great place to live and I am grateful for the opportunities and blessings I have been given from being born here. I am grateful for the hardships my ancestors endured to make sure that their posterity would be born on American soil. Jury duty is a very small price to pay for that privilege and blessing!

Thanks for stopping by and letting me share my tatting and heartfelt feelings about civic duties with you! Hope you stop by again! Feel free to leave a comment and share with me what you think of my tatting (or jury duty, for that matter! LOL!).

OMGoodness! This is my 99th post! My next post will be my 100th! Shall I wait a WHOLE week and a half for my blogoversary so I can have them all in one BIG SHABANG!?! What to do. What to do.

Stay tuned...

TattingChic

xoxo

Top O' The Mornin' To Ya!

Hello everyone! For some of you St. Patrick's Day has already passed, for many of you the "top o'the mornin' " has already come and gone, but know the sentiment still applies! I wish you the best of blessings where ever you are.

In celebration of St. Patrick's Day I've got some green tatting for you today.

~*~

Here is a

Four Leaf Clover

design by Lynette Hodges and tatted by

ME! ;)

Hey this makes

Motif # 25 Four Leaf Clover

Not my best work! LOL! This is what happens when you mix muscle relaxants with tatting!

If you are a tatter and would like to know where I got the pattern

simply click on the photo to go to the pattern link.

I've provided a current list of

St. Paddy's Day Tatting Patterns

just for you!

Click on the pink colored title of the pattern:

Here is a windfall of tatted shamrock's

at Ruth Perry's

(also known as Rozella Linden)

Tatting Pattern Calendar!

{Thanks for the head's up in the comments,

Jeff from Bridge City Tatting!}

***

For a beautiful Shamrock Wreath go to

Tatted Shamrock Wreath by Martha Ess;

***

If you'd like to tat a frilly shamrock try the

Priscilla Shamrock

(Priscilla refers to a vintage needlework publishing company);

***

Or if a simple shamrock is more your style

here's a simple pattern,

Teresa's Shamrock;

***

Here is an absolutely SCRUMPTIOUS

Beaded Shamrock

from the ever so talented Yarnplayer.

(Thank you for the email tip, Carol from Carol's Tatting Blog!)

She also has a Celtic Knot Shamrock for this year;

***

And last, but certainly not least

here is Singtatter's blog post on her

Lucky Four Leaf Clover

tatting pattern. If you click on her underlined

title of the pattern it will take you to her

free PDF version!

~*~

For those of you just looking for some adventure

that doesn't include tatting patterns

Tatskool from Tat's A Cool Challenge

lives in Ireland currently.

She has this lovely post for today!

She has a penchant for producing adorable

leprechauns and some very lucky tatter's around

the globe have received these little darlings!

(I am not one of them...ahem; clearing throat VERY loudly...!)

Oisin, the Leprechaun is having fun with

Isaac and Tattycat over at Laura's Tatting Muse.

You can read about Lady Shuttle Maker's

mischievous little guy here...

...or you can see the adventures of all

these little guys who even have their own blog:

It's A Leprechaun's Life!

~*~

So Happy St. Patrick's Day adventures to you all! Thank you for stopping by my blog I always enjoy your visits and comments! They are fun to read and I cherish them all!

I have received a very lovely award or two from some fellow tatters and I just want you to know (and you know who you are) that I have not forgotten about them and plan to post them later...it's just that it's getting on in the day and somehow I don't think my boss would understand if I showed up to work late because of "blogging", LOL! Know what I mean?

Toodles,

~TattingChic

:)

My Tatting Library Is Now Complete!

Yes, my tatting library is complete now that I have acquired some tatting books that I have searched high and low for that are out of print! I was fortunate enough to find them on a used book seller's site. I was appalled at some of the prices some people were asking for these babies! Did you know that some people actually had the gall to ask $109.00 for one of these books below?

HELLO!!!

Anyway, I just want to warn you that there are some unreasonable prices out there and if you are shopping for these books please don't pay more than $45.00 for them. I found each of them for that amount or less, so if you see a seller asking for an unreasonable price just pass on by until you find something better. That is too much to ask!
So, now that I'm done with my soap box I'd like to commence with the show and tell!

I ordered these books back in February and the last of them finally arrived yesterday!

~*~

Here is a fun classic

called, "Tatting"

by Cathy Bryant

Okay, the next 3 books are ones I have

waited so long to find and I finally did!
I am SOOOOOO excited to show you!
They are all by the beloved tatting designer

Mary Konior!

This is "Tatting Patterns"

Next is "A Pattern Book of Tatting"


Last is "Tatting in Lace"

To my knowledge Mary Konior

wrote 4 books. The 3 pictured above

are now out of print and that is why they

are so hard to find which would explain why

I am sooooooo excited about acquiring them!

The 4th book she wrote I already own and it is called

"Tatting With Visual Patterns"

It is my favorite tatting book!

If you click on the title it will take you to

Handy Hands which still has it for sale for

a very reasonable $19.95 USD.

The reason I mention this is that

some of these used book sellers are trying

to sell the same soft copy (used, and yes,

I said soft copy) for $60+ USD.

Handy Hands Tatting will sell it for a lot

less and it's brand new!

No, I do not get paid for mentioning

Handy Hands Tatting, I just know they

are a dependable tatting goods source.

Ironically, I cannot find my copy of

"Tatting With Visual Patterns" right now,

but I do have a photo of a bookmark that

I tatted a few years ago from my favorite pattern

from this book. The pattern is called

"Black Magic". I like it because

I find the pattern visually appealing.

Here's a photo of a bookmark I tatted

from that pattern.

Click on photo to enlarge



The motif on the end I added by improvising on

the pattern a little and adding a Josephine chain.

I use this bookmark in my scriptures.

It is tatted in DMC size 80 tatting thread.

Did I say that my tatting library is now complete!

LOL... and you believed me???

I think it will NEVER be complete!
There is always another tatting book I want,

but this is about as complete as it will get for a while

as I am so excited to finally have these books!
I have been looking for them for years!

~*~

Thanks for stopping by! I always appreciate visits from my bloggy friends! I've had severe back pain over the last week and had no relief until yesterday when I got a new muscle relaxant. This is the first day that I've been able to sit for a period of time! Thank you Doctor and muscle relaxants! What a relief! I will finally be able to go back to work tomorrow! I am so excited! TV can get sooo boring! I've been in too much pain to even tat! Hence, the photos of projects from years ago that I've been sharing with you! For those of you following the TIAS I hope to finish that this next weekend so stay tuned!!!

As far as the blogoversary/100 post countdown goes this make blog post # 97!!! We're getting closer! Woo Hoooooo!

Toodles!

~TattingChic

xoxo

Signs of Spring; Signs of Hope!

The first blossoms of Spring are such a symbol of hope to me! They are a symbol of better things to come! A few trees that I can see outside my window have had some beautiful pink blossoms that I have been wanting to share with you for a few weeks now. Let me share some of the photos I took today.

~*~

Pretty Pink Blossoms

Pink Blossoms Against the Blue Sky!



~*~


Speaking of spring blossoms a lot of people
are beginning to share more photos of flowers
that they have either tatted or crocheted.
Lately, I've noticed on Threads of A Tatting Goddess
that Gina has shared some crocheted pieces she
has been working on.

It reminded me of some thread crochet that I have done.
I taught myself to thread crochet about 4 years ago.
I made some coasters that I thought I would share with you today.

The following coasters are my first attempts
at thread crochet. They are crocheted from a
book entitled "99 Little Doilies"

by a crochet designer named
Patricia Kristoffersen.


I really admire her work! Her patterns are
exquisite and have a bit of a 3-D look to them.


Mind you, they've really been used as coasters so
they're a little smooshed and look ...um... "well-loved", LOL! Tatting and thread crochet are nothing alike!
The only thing they have in common is the
use of crochet thread for both types of needlework.

In many respects crochet is much easier to do than tatting.

However, I love that in tatting there is only one stitch

(Called the double stitch - DS)

that is done over and over and to me, that is easier, LOL!

~*~

Thanks for stopping by! I'm glad to be able to share my pretty pink blossom photos and crochet with you. As always, your comments are welcome. I love hearing what my bloggy friends have to say!

Hope you are having a lovely weekend!

Hugs,

TattingChic

xoxo

The Opal of My Eye

I am the QUEEN of corn! If you guessed that the title of the post was a corny pun on the saying "The Apple of My Eye", then you guessed right! When something is "the apple of your eye" ( or "my" eye or "his" eye or 'her" eye, whatever the case may be) it is something that means a lot to you. Generally, people make this statement in reference to their children or grandchildren, LOL!
I'm making this statement in reference to a beautiful new shuttle I received this last weekend! Oh, it has an Opal in the center of it! Would you like to see it?

~*~

Here it is!

It's a blue opal inlaid in a beautiful rosewood shuttle

from "The Shuttle Shop"!

Look at the way that beautiful blue opal

sparkles in the sunlight!
Here's a closeup of a side view.

The "TSS" stands for "The Shuttle Shop"

by Chris and Erin Hinton.

Those letters are laser etched into the side

of the post of the shuttle!

Chris Hinton makes beautiful shuttles as anyone

who has seen them can attest to!

If you would like to have one of these shuttles

for yourself you can email Chris and Erin at

chinton@nnex.net .

Erin says that sometimes overseas emails bounce

back so she says that this other email may work

better for international tatting friends

inlayfreak@yahoo.com .

Erin says that they hope to get their

website up and running soon.

(Edited 3/24/09

The Shuttle Shop

is now operating online)

Here it is next to "my precious".

I feel very fortunate to be at a place in my life

where I can acquire such lovely shuttles.

~*~

Thank you for letting me share my latest treasure with you! Speaking of treasures... I have come to treasure all my bloggy friends I have made on the internet through this blog. Blogging has truly enriched my life. I realize that I may sound like a broken record by now by saying that. Did you know that I have been blogging for almost a year now? These past 12 months have been some of the hardest I have ever had to deal with in my "real" life. If I didn't have this blog and the frienships and support I've received over the past year I would've gone insane! LOL! March 28th will mark my 1 yr blogaversary! You may have noticed a little button on the right side bar of my blog counting down the days!!! This is also my 95th post!!! Can you believe it? That's only 5 blog posts away from my 100th post! A blogaversary ~ now, that calls for a celebration...100 posts ~ that's a cause for celebration, as well! What do you say I combine them both together and have a blogaversary/100th post party~? Maybe a giveaway on March 28th, 2009??? What do you say? Let me know what you think and stay tuned!

Thanks so much for being a treasured part of my life!
Love,

TattingChic

xoxo

Playing "Catch~Up" with the TIAS

On a previous post I showed you some new shuttles and a current project I am working on called a TIAS. "TIAS" stands for Tat It And See. I have no idea what it is that I am tatting because the designer reveals only a portion of the pattern little by little. I just have to "tat it and see" what it is! This TIAS is hosted by the world famous tatting designer Iris Niebach. I'm not sure how she feels about being called "world famous", but when it comes to tatting design she sure is! Iris has a blog called the The Tattingplayer. That is where the pattern bits are posted.



I'm so excited to finally get caught up with all four days that have been posted so far! I was behind for several days and today I got caught up on Days 2-4. The nice thing about a TIAS is that you don't have to do it exactly at the same time that the person hosting the TIAS posts the pattern bits. You can start late...months or even years later if you had to... just as long as the TIAS pattern pieces are still available online.

~*~

TIAS Day 2

Click on the photo to be taken to this portion of the pattern!

TIAS Day 3

Click on the photo to be taken to this portion of the pattern!

TIAS Day 4Click on the photo to be taken to this portion of the pattern!

Any guesses on what it could be?

I have no idea. I do know this ~ whatever

it is ~ it sure is beautiful!

Iris is known for her beautiful

and intricate tatting designs.

Thank you, Iris!

I look forward to the other days of this TIAS.

~*~

You may have noticed in the photos above that a new tool is appearing with the bunny and goddess tatting shuttles. That is a mini crochet hook (this one is a 0.5mm hook) attached by a silver and turquoise bear shaped beaded chain to a ring that fits my little finger. I use that hook to join parts of the pattern to itself. For those of you who tat it is perfect for doing picot joins and lock joins. As you can see there is no pick or hook on these lovely hand carved shuttles so I use a crochet hook to take it's place. In this case I thought this was a lovely tool, much prettier than a regular ol' stainless steel crochet hook! I got it from Alexandra Beatty Designs! Yes, the same shop that I got my "Wild Thing" tatting shuttle, LOL!

Thank you for stopping by! I always appreciate comments. Whether you have a guess on the TIAS or you just want to say hello ~ your comments are welcome!

Have a fabulous week! :)

Bye for now,

TattingChic

xoxo