Stocking Stuffer Winner

Congratulations to Sheila Miller More, the winner of the Piney Woods Stocking Stuffer Giveaway!

Sheila left a comment on one of the Facebook postings and was selected via random number generator.  Thanks for commenting, Sheila!  Please message me on Facebook or contact me using the button to the right of the blog.  I'll be happy to ship your goodies as soon as I have your info.

Thank you to everyone who follows the blog and encourages me in my creative endeavors.  The kind words you bestow upon me truly make my days!  I dearly love tatting and hope to instill in others the wonders & joys of needle & thread (or shuttle/hook & thread).  It has been an interesting experience, this blogging thing.  I quite enjoy it! 

Special thank yous go to Barbara Gordon, Nancy Dugas Gilmore, Jean Krieger, and others who have encouraged me to blog and share more of my work.  I always knew there were lots of wonderful folks in our tatting community, but I never imagined the amount of kindness and encouragement that has been lavished upon me as I embarked upon this latest journey. 

As you may know, I am in the process of slowly cleaning out my in-house atelier.  That is one of the reasons I have hosted so many giveaways.  Jim (my husband) says I must get rid of some "stuff" so there is room for the new additions to my working spaces.  After I get the in-house atelier renovated, Jim & I are going to build a "tatting shanty" in the Piney Woods.  The building process will be chronicled on the blog and I am sure I will be asking for ideas and suggestions for many things concerning the shanty.  Please feel free to comment and contact me with your input.

Not much tatting has gone on in the Piney Woods today as I have been washing our sleeping bags and other stuff that is needed for an upcoming family adventure.  Next week will bring more tatting goodies and perhaps a little "something" for the New Year.  Have a marvelous weekend doing whatever it is that makes your soul sing!  Until next week~

Happy Tatting!



Frosty!

It was so nice and frosty in the Piney Woods this morning!  I awoke to a cool temperature of 26F and a beautiful frost covered everything- even the chicken coops.  For the first time this Fall, I had to scrape the windshield of the Jeep and warm it up before taking off.  I LOVE this time of year- Christmas music on the radio, cool temps, hot cocoa and busy tatting needles!  Yes, dear readers, I am in a great mood today.

I played with the Violet Meadows thread this morning and tatted this:

Here is the completed foundation with a simple chain round tatted after the ICRs.  When you tat more than 8 interlocking chain-rings, it really wants to twist on you.  There are 12 in this foundation, but I managed.  A little helpful hint is to block the ICRs and spritz with Mary Ellen's Best Press before proceeding to the additional tatting.

Believe me, this is really helps!

I was digging in the atelier and came across my box of Czech art glass buttons.  This green one looks nice on the Violet Meadows foundation.  I know it covers up the ICRs, but what do you think?  Should I include the button in the design of this piece?

The ICRs provide a good base for the button as it is quite heavy.  I had originally planned to make this a larger doily-like piece, but am now considering making it an accent for my grey wool cloche and doing another larger piece with the other balls I have of the Violet Meadows.  Comments???

By the way, I am still looking for those tiny mother-of-pearl buttons and can't find them for anything.  I wonder if the kid has been plundering in my atelier again...hmmm.

Don't forget to leave a comment on Tuesday's post or the Facebook post for your chance to win the Piney Woods Stocking Stuffer Event!

It's time for me to take Lily Fey for her run in the woods, so until tomorrow~

Happy Tatting!



Puppy Dog Tails

I had planned to tat peacefully all day, but ended up untangling LOTS of thread and saying very unladylike things about my puppy dog's tail.  Lily Fey usually lays at the side of my tatting chair and only moves to give a warning bark to intruders or have her large head petted.  Well, I made the mistake of talking sweet to my daughter's dog, Harry. Lily Fey had to jump up, wiggle and vigorously wag her whiplike tail to show me how cute she is, when disaster struck...  her tail hit and knocked off my tray of bobbins (which are wound with Valdani 35 wt. and Sulky Blendables 12 wt. quilting cottons).  They crashed to the floor and bobbins came out of their little slots and unwound themselves all over the place.  I have spent the morning untangling said bobbins and wishing I had a couple more of the Clover bobbin towers (which are the most nifty-neato way to store your bobbins- I have 2 already).

As you can imgaine, my tatting mojo is almost non-existant today!  Lily Fey is sulking on her pillow, giving me her most pitiful "I'm sorry, Mama" look.  She is forgiven, of course, but she sure did put a huge kink in my plans.  Oh, well... at least my dog loves me.

I leave you today with an image of a work-in-progress:

Not much progress, but I did start the foundation of interlocking chain-rings before our "mishap".  This piece will be made using Valdani size 12 pearl cotton in M40 "Violet Meadows" and the planned accent pieces include 4mm Swarovski bicones in "Purple Velvet", Czech seed beads in "Matte Olive" and a selection of olive green dyed freshwater pearls.  Updates will soon follow.

SPECIAL NOTE:  Don't forget to leave a comment on yesterday's post or on the facebook post about the Stocking Stuffer Giveaway for your chance to win some nice tatting goodies!

Until tomorrow~

Happy Tatting!



Stocking Stuffer Giveaway

Merry Christmas from the Piney Woods!!!

How would you like to win the "Stocking Stuffer Giveaway"?

This is what is up for grabs this time around:

A lovely little hinged-lid tin box filled with:

1 ball of size 20 Lizbeth

1 ball size 8 DMC perle cotton

1 ball size 16 Finca perle cotton

1 ball size 12 Finca perle cotton

6 balls of Majestic tatting cotton

3 vintage spools of Lily sewing thread

1 spool of Kreinik metallic braid

1 box (40g) of Dynamite green seed beads

and who knows what else I may find to include in this one!

This giveaway will be different from the others.  To enter you must leave a comment on this post OR on my Facebook posting of this specific event.  This Friday, December 9th, a winner will be selected by a random number generator and notified via email or facebook.

There will be one more giveaway event BEFORE the end of the year, but this is the last Christmas one.  Good luck and please let me know how you like the blog & what you'd do with the loot!

Well, I have a bunch of Christmas tatting to get done, so I'd better hop to it- as soon as I get the Facebook post up.  Until tomorrow~

Happy Tatting!