Silver Earrings by Alan Kolodny!

YAY! Look at the GORGEOUS set of earrings that was waiting for me in the mail:-)

These earrings were tatted by Alan Kolodny, and, as he explained in his letter, they were the first he tatted in wire. They are very delicate earrings in a very fine gauge (silver over copper wire), with swarovski crystal teardrops. His newer earrings are done in a heavier gauge and are pure silver!! They are simply stunning, and can be purchased at his Etsy shop The Joyful Tatter.

I was the lucky winner of Alan's first giveaway, and I am so excited to have won:-) He is a very interesting character (Preacher, Professional Clown, Wire Tatter). If you haven't checked out Alan's blog before, I recommend you check out Another Joyful Creation. I cannot wait to wear my new earrings:-)

Three Giveaways to Announce!!

Three wonderful Giveaways to announce! First Shantock Bears is having her first Giveaway for the cute little ornament to the left! Just drop by her blog to enter. All she asks is that you offer her ideas for a name for this little cutie, and spread the word about the giveaway. And do hurry, because the drawing is next weekend!! Good luck everyone:-)

And while you're in the "NAME THAT___" kind of mood. Jump on over to Tatting Fool's Blog and enter her Name That Snowflake contest! Just enter your name suggestion, and if yours is chosen you will receive a copy of Catherine Austin's book "A New Twist on Tatting," and the snowflake pattern!!

And finally, this sweet little teddy bear needs to find a home! If you would like to offer Ruth a home, just drop by Desert Mountain Bear and enter to win. Such a sweet little lady needs a good home, so all teddy bear lovers rush over to enter! Good Luck All!!

Lots to Share- New Tatting- Plus I won TWO Giveaways:-)

Hello again to my dear blogging buddies! I know it has been quite a while since my last post, but things here have been quite chaotic lately. I have managed to squeeze in a bit of tatting time here and there and have two wonderful giveaway wins to discuss:-)

First things first though. Shortly before Easter my DH was told he had a middle ear condition that would require surgery. We spent the next week and a half or so trying to get things in order for surgery. He had his surgery day before yesterday, and the Dr. seems pleased with the results, but it will be a while yet til we know if, and to what degree, his hearing was effected. He is back home now, and although in pain, he is recovering nicely.
Through the chaos of Easter holiday shopping, socializing, and of course preparing for DH's surgery I did manage to squeeze in a bit of tatting time. I managed to complete three tiny teddy bear collars for teddies I put in my youngest son's, and my two nieces' Easter baskets. I think they came out very well!

I also completed my pendant for the InTatters pendant exchange. I want so badly to show you how well it turned out, but I feel it wouldn't be fair til I know my partner has received it, so you can look forward to seeing it in the next week or so once it's made it's way to Germany! I do so hope she loves it as much as I love making it:-)

Now through the chaos of Easter/Surgery I do have two bits of EXCELLENT news to share!!! I feel like shouting "I won! I won!" But I will compose myself for a minute:-) I am very excited to announce I won not one, but two wonderful giveaways! First I will say this just doesn't happen to me everyday. I enter drawings and such but don't win, and so to win TWO was kind of mind blowing for me!! I am so excited- can't help it:-)

Ok, so here are my wonderful wins!

First, Ambitatterous had a lovely International Tatting Day giveaway, and I am so pleased to have won it. It was my very first giveaway winning and when it arrived she had thrown in a few extra goodies I hadn't expected! A skein of Vanilla Sky by Tatskool- what a lovely colorway! I cannot wait to try it out:-) And a Tatted Easter Egg, which I do so love:-) Isdihara does very beautiful work!!! I cannot wait to try the lotion and soaps, as they smell so nice. If you would be interested in purchasing some as well, you can visit the Etsy shop to buy some.

Then, day before yesterday I got a message from Alan Kolodny from Another Joyful Creation, that I was the winner of his FIRST Giveaway! A gorgeous pair of Tatted Earrings done in a silver wire with Swarovski crystals!!! How happy am I to have won these lovely earrings!!!! I love Alan's work, and have admired his pieces for quite some time. I have tried tatting with wire once, and it can be quite difficult, his is definitly a skill to be admired in my opinion! I will show a picture once they arrive.

Thanks to Isdihara and Alan, for having these generous giveaways (and of course to all other tatters and non-tatters who have them as well)! I cannot wait til I hit some sort of milestone so I can have my very own giveaway!! Hmmm...what should it be? 100 posts seems too far away, and so does 100 followers! Ah...perhaps Mother's Day!! We are all either mothers or have mothers right?! Could be the perfect excuse to have my FIRST GIVEAWAY!!! I guess you will just have to follow my blog to see what happens:-)

InTatters on Facebook and another wonderful Giveaway!

I have news to share with my tatting friends! InTatters in now on Facebook! I am not sure if this is old news to some of you out there, but I stubbled across this fact today, and thought I would share, just in case some of you don't know yet. Make sure you check out the InTatters Facebook site!

Another giveaway to announce as well! Ambitatterous is having a giveaway for a lovely soap and lotion set. This giveaway is in honor of International Tatting Day, also know as April Fool's Day to the non-tatter. April first is a day to celebrate our love of tatting. So enter to win this special gift, and keep on tatting!

Ok, I am sure you can tell by the lack of tatting updates I have had little tatting to brag. Well, life's that way sometimes. Four boys to run around after (14, 12, 9 and 15 months) sometimes makes finding tatting time impossible. No matter how busy they keep me, or how much sometimes I wish I had more "me time", I know these days are flying by and someday I will miss this. So I try to enjoy the chaos, and squeeze in time here and there. And I have managed to do a little.

I am a little over halfway done with the edging on mom's doily, and have been playing around with two other small projects. If I could have just focused my attention on mom's I would have finished by now, I know, but sometimes you just can't help yourself. And now I need to redirect my focus and work on a pendant for the InTatters pendant exchange. I am really excited about doing an exchange again! But this is yet another setback for completing mom's doily. I think I might need your help to keep me motivated please:-) I will keep you posted!

Another Give Away:-)

Bearbits is having a Spring Give Away!! Check out the lovely little teddy she has decided to share with her blogging buddies:-) So Many lovely Give Aways lately...GOOD LUCK ALL!!!

Nicki Lee's Give Away

Nicki Lee's RaviloLee Dreams is having a GIVE AWAY!!! She has decided to share her love of Crazy Quilts and Hand Dyed Lace with her fellow bloggers. This give away include a crazy quilting book, lots of lovely hand dyed lace, and other goodies:-) Just visit Nicki's Blog to enter, and while you're at it check out her lovely hand dyed laces at her ETSY STORE