A Givin' and Gettin' Tatting Tea Tuesday

Today's the day! Are you ready?

And the winner of my anniversary drawing is...

** drum roll**

Kathy Niklewicz!

Congratulations Kathy! Email me at the address in my profile with your address and I'll send you your wonderful prize package!

Thank you to everyone that stopped by and entered the drawing. I have really had fun coming up with what to put in the prize package. The biggest problem - from my end - was when to stop adding stuff! I kept thinking "this would be cool to put in" or "that really fits the theme" and a few hundred other thoughts. I finally had to tell myself "enough already!" LOL! Kathy, I hope you enjoy the package as much as I have enjoyed putting it together and givin' it out!

I've also been enjoying making my next bookmark. Last week I asked for a suggestion of a good one to make. Gina suggested using 'Pumpkins on a Vine' by Heidi Sunday for a fall themed one, and Isdihara gave me the link to the pattern, so I gave it a try.

I think I got a little carried away - it's like "Pumpkins on a Tangled Vine" now. This is definitely a one-of-a-kind bookmark. The outsides are per the pattern except that I added the turns to come back down. Then I had to figure out how to connect the two sides together so I started adding the pumpkins down the middle. That made it look kind of like a pumpkin ladder so I started a little free-form tatting up and down the sides. Then I had to come up with a bottom that didn't look like it had just been whacked off at random. Just look at the pumpkin patch that grew up out of all that! I'm very happy with this. It's a bit three-dimensional because of the way the vines climb around, very textured. I stayed up late finishing this because I just had to see how it was going to end. Thank you, Heidi, for the wonderful pattern, and Gina and Isdihara for the inspiration and help finding the pattern. This was fun!

Oh, it's made with Lizbeth size 20 in 694 (Harvest Orange Med) and 684 (Leaf Green Med). I'm counting this as #13 of my second 25 Motif Challenge. How appropriate for October, hey?

Now on to the gettin'!
About a week ago I was on the Handy Hands website admiring all the books - okay, drooling over some of the books - and I mentioned to my husband that I really would like this book. And he replied "Why don't you get it? Birthday, Christmas - something's coming up pretty soon." So I did.

This is a wonderful book, full of enough pictures of gorgeous shuttles to make any shuttle-tatter drool. Pam has done a lot of work looking into the history of shuttles and shuttle making and put it together for the rest of us. Wow! If you are interested at all in the history of shuttle making, or would like to see a lot of ways people have added "bling" to their shuttles, and you get the chance, check out this book!

But the gettin's not done! I also picked me up a few Clover shuttles - as I was making an order anyway, right? And then of course I had to personalize them a little bit. It seems everyone is dressing up their shuttles right now - and it's such fun! Of course, the new book has a lot of inspiration in it, too!

This blue one was pretty easy - I just added a little fingernail bling*, then sealed it. Makes for a fancy-looking shuttle in a very quick time!

And then I touched up one with material. Cutting out the shape of the shuttle was a little bit of work - my scissors seems to have developed a dull spot, just where I cut the most! But I succeeded! I think it came out very well! These are pictures of both sides of the same shuttle.


Here I thought I wasn't much of an orange fan - but I'll take this shuttle anytime!

Over the next few weeks I suppose I'll be working mostly on snowflakes and other Christmas goodies. Can you believe it's almost November already? And I realize that I'm way behind on all those things I try to do for Christmas gifts. I have quite a list of things I want to do and my time is getting short. So I'll sit here this Tuesday morning, sip a little hot tea (mint!), wind my pretty new shuttles and get started on more of that givin' stuff.

May all of you have a fun and safe Halloween and find a little time for tatting!

*Fingernail bling - those little decals you can get to jazz up your fingernails.*