St. Andrews and Advent Giveaway

Today is quite special for many reasons it is Advent Sunday in the Church.  Advent is a term from the Latin word 'adventus' which means "arrival".  It is a time of waiting for the arrival of Christmas and is associated mainly with Advent Calendars and in particular the fun of opening to see what is revealed behind each number!  Whilst in Scotland the people are celebrating St. Andrew's day as he is the Patron Saint of Scotland.  Google has marked the day with a doodle of the Flying Scotsman - the world famous steam locomotive.

However,  here on this blog there is a special giveaway.  Please leave a comment if you would like the chance of winning the shuttle and thread holder (please note this does not include the piece of wood underneath or the foliage), you have until 3rd December when I will announce the winner by using a random number generator.

The shuttle is made out of sequoia,  the tree that the wood comes from stands in front of the church in the village where the Revd Awdry author of Thomas the Tank Engine stories spent his early years, as his father was Vicar of the parish.    The shuttle is varnished and the thread holder is made out of mahogany but has only just been cut out so needs some finishing touches!  The Giveaway is open to everyone across the world but please respect the fact that it is only people who tat that should enter. That is of course, if you win, then the plan to pass the items on to someone else who can tat.  I will also put a few more items in the package before I post to make it more festive.

I do hope those of you in the USA had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Here in the UK we were treated (not sure if that is the right word) for the first time in a really big way to Black Friday.  Retailers slashed prices and in some stores there was very little English politeness as fights and scuffles broke out with people trying to get bargains.  It was a day on which to avoid the large supermarkets.

On a calmer note here is the Advent wreath in church ready to be lit this morning.

  

Good luck everyone 

Beaded Tatting Finery

Which is the title of Marilee"s latest book which Sue Anna kindly gifted me whilst Jane brought it  back from Tat Days to eventually pass on.  I straight away, after only just getting the book into my hands, made the Flower Chain.  However, I added beads to the outside chains, just because I like beads really, for no other reason.   As I  did not have any size 10 thread I used 20 but otherwise stuck to the pattern, promise!   I am very pleased with the result and hope to wear it very soon - yes it is for me.  Fortunately if anyone requests another necklace, I do have enough of the larger beads to make at least one more.  They come from a rather lovely necklace that was in a charity shop, although not my style the beads are of a good quality .

Look out for my next blog post which will include a give-away.  I have been very tempted to join one of the exchanges that have been taking place on the various Facebook groups.  But by offering a give-away it does mean that everyone has a chance to win especially those who do not feel they can afford to take part in an exchange.  Also you may have noticed that 'giveaways' are not so common as they used to be, so to cheer up the dark dreary Winter days why not have a bit of fun!

Christmas Bell

Well all the shuttles have been sold and there are only the tree thread holders left in Jane's shop.  The shuttles are now jumping on aeroplanes and travelling all over the world, such a lovely thought and I hope they enjoy their new homes.

Watch out for a give-away which I hope to do soon,  a sort of thank you to all who follow this blog and those who have bought shuttles.

I am trying to get some Christmas tatting done and found this lovely bell from Renulek,  What I did not realise was that by using 20 thread it comes out quite large I also put some sparkly beads on it

Very Busy!

At the moment the house and garage are in a complete mess as shuttles, tatting and other craft work seem to have invaded every available space.   Another batch of pop-a-bobbin shuttles and post shuttles will be on their way to Jane this weekend.   Included in the batch are some flat shuttles and a new thread winder just in time for the festive season. Although the thread winder is a new item and we are not sure if anyone would really want it!

On Saturday there is a Christmas Fayre at one of the churches so I am taking some tatting. I am really not expecting to sell much as these events do not generate much income, but it is a chance to 'show case' my talent (with the usual helpful and unhelpful comments) and get all the items hidden in boxes out to see the light of day!

I have also crocheted these corsages or brooches, which ever you wish to call them, for another stall, well it was much more fun to do than make cakes.  I do love cooking but find that my cakes never look as good as other peoples!

The most annoying part about these Fayres is that you always have bright ideas of what you think might sell at the last minute. Then you proceed to spend precious hours making them only to find that nobody is interested in buying such items!

After this weekend I hope to get the house back to some normality. 

Cup Cake Addiction

I have finally come to the end of the cup cake addiction and now on another one, which I will show you soon.

Here are some to wet your appetite - strawberry, lemon, chocolate and mint cakes with two pairs of earrings.  What was particularly good about this pattern was that it used up some of my bead soup,  so much fun using random coloured beads together.

A batch of pop-a-bobbin shuttles and post shuttles are just coming to the end of their production and now it is final testing, a stressful time! 

Sadly there are always rejects, and here are some of them from past batches, we do not have the heart to throw them away so they stay in a special box. 

Snowflake and Star

Some evenings when I am actually at home and not out attending meetings etc, Jane and I scan in what we have tatted and e.mail it asking each others opinions. Although I have to say that this is rather one sided as I find very little time to tat, especially anything new.  It can be very hard making any criticisms when it comes to other people's tatting especially when it happens to be your own sister!    Not every time is my opinion asked but I do get to see most her patterns, if not all, before they are published.  Occasionally I find time to tat them too, not as a test tatter though as I tend to know where her patterns are going anyway and if I don't then it is usually because I am too thick to understand and have to shout for help!    The inside out snowflake I tried before Jane published it on her blog and this is the first and only one I have made. I decided to use some really long bugle beads that I had been given ages ago.

Now for the star, quite unusual to find a five pointed tatted star pattern, this one is from Rosemarie Peel's tatting for pleasure it is resting on some post shuttles which need to go on a journey!

So I can't wait to show you the next pattern that Jane has designed, I hope she blogs about it soon!

Three Snowflakes

Someone has asked me for small snowflakes to put on an angel that she is making.  The church she attends is asking the congregation make angels so that they can be displayed in church at Christmas.  However trying to find a pattern that was interesting but effective was a bit of a challenge.  I started with the large one which is Renuleks , but that one was far too big so then made Betsy's snowflake which you can find here.  My final attempt to find one even smaller is from Jeanne Lugert and this snowflake is so delicate and just right.  I did alter the picots slightly to make them more flaky looking and was pleased with the effect.  All three snowflakes are tatted in one round so only two ends need to be tied.

I hope to see the angel that I have made three of the smallest snowflakes for, especially as there is now talk of tatting a 'halo'  - which could be a bit of a challenge!  I will also need to see the angel to get measurements for such a holy head piece if it is required to be tatted.