Two Novels: Ruinous Lace & Night Circus

I have been sitting on the fence about reading this new lacy novel, leaning one way and then the other; not quite ready to jump.  Reviews have been intriguing and so I lean forward, almost deciding to read.  Then I read between the lines of "point of view of the dog" comments and pull back, hesitating.

The Ruins of Lace, by Iris Anthony

I'm a dog lover and a sentimental. There are hints (inklings) in reviews that the dog portrayed in the novel may be mistreated.  If said canine is abused or worse, put to death, for the sake of lace, I will be emotionally wounded. Perhaps even scarred.

And so I checked out this book from the library instead:

The Night Circcus, by Erin Morgenstern

Whooo-boy!  Has it been a fantastic ride so far: imagine tripping down a magical lane with a rare Victorian Circus as the venue and two competing illusionists driving the plot.

**SPOILERS**
Having fallen under its spell, I worry that elements of parental cruelty found in early chapters of this book may ultimately lead me to or over the ruinous edge. The two illusionists are bound in a pact. Will they ultimately outwit and escape their fate? Or be doomed to a duel to the death?

The descriptive passages in this book are, to me, captivating and engrossing. Those who prefer dialog to description may not relish this book as much as I.  That said, it is a superb distraction from The Ruins of Lace, by Iris Anthony.

If you enjoy fantasy novels, I would say read the reviews and consider The Night Circus.

As for The Ruins of Lace, I'm still sitting on the fence. 

Calling all Pattern Sleuths SOLVED

Does anyone know the source for this heart pattern?  It looks so familiar...

Corazón perfumado
By Corazón Frívolo
http://www.flickr.com/photos/corazonfrivolo/5748222036/lightbox/

I have so far eliminated the following antique patterns sources from my search:

Antique Pattern Library:
 1.  Beeton, Isabella. Beeton's Book of Needlework, 1870 (the tatting chapters)
 2.  Beyer's Handwerkboeken Serie H. 40, Frivolité met Afbeeldingen., 1920
 3.  Bucilla Blue Book No. 3, Original Designs in Tatting, Novelty & Filet Crochet, 1916
 4.  Priscilla Tatting Book, 1909
 5.  Dillmont, Therese. de, D.M.C. Tatting, 1920
 6.  Endrucks-Leichtenstern, Eleonore.  Schiffchen-Spitzen, Die, 1920
 7.  Farnes, Emma. [B] Alphabets in Crochet & Tatting,
 8.  Fitch, Mary E. [4] Crocheted Yokes and Tatting, 1915
 9.  Hayden, Hazel. Round Yoke in Tatting, 1916
10. Hees, Marie Antoinette. Old and New Designs in Tatting, Book No. 5, 1916

Note:  Several of these antique pattern books include four-ring elements, but I have so far been unable to connect them to the ring-and-chain work seen in the heart sachet.

SOLVED!
Thank you to everyone who looked and thought and sleuthed along with me. Kathy Niklewicz commented that she could "'almost positively' say that it's Teri Dusenbury's very popular "Regal Heart" pattern from her "Hearts" book." And she was right! It is even pictured on the front cover.

Incidentally Kathy, I also tatted this heart back in the 1990s. I was intimidated by split rings and never attempted any of the other hearts from this book. (That's why it looked so familiar.)

Thank you, thank you for solving the mystery!  I am adding this pattern to my holiday ornament To-Do List, since it looks so sweet adorning a felt heart.  And I will add beads.  (Fox, you saw that coming, yes?)

Lace Mat Lag

Norma Benporath Lace Mat Tat-Along
Rounds 1 and 2

With round two complete, the Norma Benborath Lace Mat has been put on the back burner.  Why?  Because the thread color I chose for rounds three and four has not yet arrived from China to the Handy Hands warehouse.

The lace currently measures 3.5 inches (8.9 cm) in diameter.  Rounds 1 and 2 are tatted in Lizbeth^®40 Pineapple Parfait #170.  I would like to continue rounds 3 and 4 in Lizbeth^®40 Honey Drizzle #180.

My progress for this Tat-Along may be behind many of the other participants, but no worries. It is not a race. When the new Honey Drizzle thread arrives I will carry on.

Norma Benporath Lace Mat Tat-Along
Rounds 1 and 2

While the rhythm of this pattern makes it enjoyable to tat, the repetitive picots on all the chains (IMHO) make this lace look old-fashioned. Some people really like this look.  I am not a fan.

If I were to tat this again, I would remove the picots on the chains of round one and omit all but the joining picots in round two.

Adding beads to all those decorative picots would certainly "sparkle up" this mat.  Not sure if it would make me happier. What say you, bead lovers?  Does this need a dose of bead love?

Light and Lacy in Yellow

In spite of the long list of post-Tat Days projects, I couldn't resist joining in Jon's Tat Along to make the Norma Benporath Lace Mat.

My rationalization? It is perfect in-car tatting for after-school dismissal. Yesterday I had planned to start round two, but got caught up in an utterly diverting chat and didn't tat a double stitch.

Jon's post from September 12, The Lace Mat, gives great historical details about this pattern, but I will try to sum up (so that I can remember in the coming years).

On March 16, 1938, The Queenslander newspaper published this pattern under the headline "Tatting for Busy People" giving Norma Benporath a proper byline.  (Yay!)

The National Library of Australia (NLA) granted Jon permission to rewrite the patterns it has archived to preserve the designs and make them accessible to current tatters.

Jon included a few handy notes for folks eager to start the Tat Along. I was curious about bullet number three in particular:

Here is what my round one looked like before I flattened it out with a quick shot of steam. (After first pinning the lace to my ironing board, or course.)

Thank you Jon for being so wise as to include this note. I would surely have abandoned the work had you not advised me to not panic. ツ

Later this afternoon I will begin round two for Tatting Tea Tuesday. Imagine me with a travel cuppa of chocco-strawberry decaf with a splash of chocolate soy milk. NPR playing on the car radio. Happily tatting along. The sunny yellow thread juxtaposed with the soggy, grey skies.

That is how I plan to banish the rain and continue dreaming of Indian summer.

Wishing you all blissful me time to create something beautiful. See you next Tuesday for more communi-tea!

Snow Angel Poetry Challenge

Snow Angel © 2011 Sharren Sarver Morgan
Tatted by IsDihara

Snow Angel Poetry Challenge
As angel lace reeled off the shuttles and visions of snow angels danced in my head, a poem was born, or at least most of one.

My 300th blog post is coming up fast (this post is number 298) and I thought, 'What better time for a quick bit o' knot-tea fun?' So I'm having a giveaway!

The challenge is to find a suitable last line to the following bit of verse:

Snow Angel by IsDihara (and...you?)

It's fun to walk in the sparkling snow,
And hear my boots go crunch.

Frolicking in a frosty 'spance
thrills my heart a bunch.

Swooshy imprints in the snow,
Give my cheeks a rosy glow,
And leave behind a cool halo,

Snow angels are big funch!

ADD YOUR LAST LINE IN THE COMMENTS FOR THIS POST.
PLEASE LEAVE ME A VALID WAY TO CONTACT YOU.
IF I PICK YOUR ENTRY, YOU WIN A PRIZE!


DEADLINE to enter is THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2011, at midnight, Eastern Standard Time.

Contest is open to all domestic and international followers of Ambitatterous. You must be a "regular reader" to qualify. That means a reader who has spent a minimum of three months following this blog.

I will pay shipping for the winning entry.

I will announce the Poetry Contest Challenge WINNER on Friday, December 9, 2011.

Thank you for reading regularly from your corner of Tat Land, wherever it may be! Good Luck!

Giveaway - Tuscan Lace Prize Pack

What Do I Win?
This Tuscan Lace prize package will bring a little ray of sunshine to warm up a wintry day.

A gorgeous, 50-yard skein of sun-drenched Tuscany HDT by LadyShuttleMaker in size 20, a box of Lipton "Tuscan Lemon" Black Tea and an 8-ounce jar of luxurious, Tuscan Lace hand and body lotion made by New Hands Soaps and Lotions.

REMEMBER TO ADD YOUR LAST LINE IN THE COMMENTS FOR THIS POST.
PLEASE LEAVE ME A VALID WAY TO CONTACT YOU.
IF I PICK YOUR ENTRY, YOU WIN A PRIZE!
GOOD LUCK AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Tatting Tea Tuesday - Edging toward Spring

Happy Tatting Tea Tuesday on this first day of March. Were you able tat at IHOP this morning?

Long lines stretched out the door of my local IHOP.
Folks in my area must really like free pancakes.

I wanted to tat at IHOP, but sadly came home to paint. I haven't finished painting 180 craft sticks that must be done by March 5th for the lace guild.

Painting hasn't kept me from my shuttles entirely. This week I have been test tatting two new patterns for CrazyMom, plus breaking in four new Pony shuttles.

CrazyMom's patterns must be kept top secret for now, but here is what has been reeling off the (new to me) Aero-style shuttles.

Nelson Edging © 2011
Design by Orsi (part of her Napoleon series)

Both samples are 3-inches (7.6 cm) long. The first is tatted in size 30 Bali HDT by Backwoods Tatter. The second sample is tatted in size 40 Lizbeth^® #663.

Don't they look grand? The Lizbeth^® is a trifle more crisp than the Bali HDT; the difference only showing up when closing the Josephine Rings.

Thank you, Orsi, for sharing this superb edging on your blog. The whole Napoleon series is stately and elegant. Your patterns are exquisite!

Meandering Vine
More inspiration comes from Lace-lovin Librarian ~ Diane, who has been test-tatting an edging for her sister. Her process fanned the edging spark in me.

Edging #8861 from Tatting No. 207, 1944

Meandering vine #8861 was her sister's chosen edging. (Hey, I have that book too! Tatting. Published by The Spool Cotton Company No. 207, 1944.)

The clustered rings that make up this flowery pattern have always looked like butterflies to me. So pretty.

Watch for a color edging using #8861 to come soon. In the meantime, head on over to Diane's blog to monitor her progress or enter her Spring Bling Giveaway!

Wishing you all blissful me time to create something beautiful. See you next Tuesday for more communi-tea!

Engrossed in Edwardian Drama

Season 1 may be over, but I only just sat down to savor episode 1 of Downton Abbey on PBS.com.

It is an engrossing Edwarian tale, with intrigues, undercurrents and swells of supremely satisfying noble and weak moments. Looking at all the lace is a perk.

Full episodes will only be view-able until February 22, so don't wait to see this delicious slice of "upstairs-downstairs" society life. You won't be sorry.

County Fair Doily

Round five is complete and round six is in progress. The square doily is past the half-way point & now measures 11 cm. (4.3 inches) from corner to corner.

Rows 5 and 6 of Purple and Teal Square Doily
Debbie Arnold © 2002
It is tatted in size 40 Lizbeth Linen (color #693) and size 50 Treebeard HDT from LadyShuttleMaker.

I stopped halfway through round six to show you how the scallop from round four turns into a square.

Sw4nkyL4c3r is right, though. I obsess over trivial things when it comes to lace. I am still distracted by the difference in thread sizes. Nobody else seems to notice!

As I tat, the refrain from this Queen song is buzzing in the back of my brain.



Under pressure! It must be from all the obsessing.  ツ

Bali Fever
In spite of the need to focus on the square doily for the fair, Bali fever continues. It's all Heather's fault for dying such an alluring colorway. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it!)

But some of the blame must also go to Mary Konior (may she rest in peace among a choir of tatting angels). The two-row repeat of her spinning wheel glass mat is positively addicting. "Just one more ring," or "just until the next color change" eat up the tatting time.

And I am equally, if not more, to blame for allowing myself to get distracted by thread and things such as this:

WPlus9 Mehndi Medallions
Lookie what came in the mail – clear stamps that look like tatting. I saw these on one of my obscure, late-night blog crawls. Another crafter had made a gorgeous card featuring one of the stamps and it just leaped off the screen and said, "Don't I look like tatting?"

I was powerless to resist the impulse (Wouldn't you have been? Okay, maybe not.) and bought a set the next day. Late night blog crawling makes you weak.

But what fun I will have creating labels and cards with tatting-like stamps. Already a small, but creative corner of my brain is buzzing with images of tatted teapots affixed to pretty papers with tatting designs stamped, maybe even embossed, on them.

More Beguiling Stamps

Last week I shared a striking stamp from Australia that arrived with samples from The Thread Exchange site Fox launched several weeks ago.  Here are some from the bonny shores of Ireland.

The sender had me at "Eire". Aren't the flowers pretty and inviting? Something about them just says come see our bonny shores for yourself. The sight of them made Ciarrán homesick.

More Love from Postie

As if the stamps, threads and songs weren't enough of a distraction, a book search that I set up several years ago turned up a hardback copy of Cathy Bryant's "Tatting" for a reasonable price. Usually when I find it online it is being sold for some astronomical sum! So I purchased it used from a library in Iowa for $15.00. It is in excellent condition.  Une bonne affaire!

Round 4 of Fair Doily

Row 4 of Purple and Teal Square Doily
Debbie Arnold © 2002
Round four (4) is complete and thankfully went smoothly. Except for the final ring with that blasted final join. It took three tries to get it right.

(Fox be praised! She sent me instructions to understand how to make the final join correctly.) Thank you, Fox!

This motif now measures four inches (10.2 centimeters) from corner to corner. It is tatted in size 40 Lizbeth Linen (color #693) and size 50 Treebeard HDT from LadyShuttleMaker.

The split-ring clovers in round four are why I chose to tat this doily. When I get to round seven (7) you will see a pretty scallop emerge after the second round of split-ring clovers are added. Cas tatted this great example in blue and white in 2005.

Whether or not the scallop stands out in my doily remains to be seen. The ladies from my lace guild think the mossy/linen combo looks elegant and "not at all old-fashioned." What a nice compliment. 

Tatting Tea Tuesday
Brewing up a cuppa green tea Kombucha to settle in for some much needed tatting zen.

It has been melancholy around Silly Hat Central since Saturday, May 1st, after learning of a SCAdian friend's death from lung cancer. The news came as a shock since I hadn't known the lady was ill.

That's all I have to say about that.

Two packages arrived in the mail over the weekend: one from Jane Eborall and another from Jan Stawasz. The first mailer, Jane's, was destroyed in my enthusiasm to get at the contents.

It contained two superb Pop-a-Bobbin shuttles: one made from Iroko and the other from Ash. That brings my greedy total to four Pop-a-bobbin shuttles. Gonna load 'em up for a test drive today!

Jan's mailer included these two shuttles.

Two Jan Stawasz Shuttles
These generously sized beauties are three inches in length (7.6 cm) and 5/8 inch wide (1.5 cm) so they are well suited for larger projects. Gonna give them a go too.

Today I will attempt Dragon in Egg from Heather, the Tarnished Tatter's book, "Afternoon Tatting."

Since I have "geared up" my tatting goals lately, I  am adding tatted wedding hearts to the list, plus a stab at a treble clef. That's a tall order!

Better get tatting . . .

Wishing you all blissful me time to create something beautiful. See you next Tuesday for more communi-tea!

Behind-the Scenes Lace Tour

Metal bobbin lace sample with needle lace trim

Last Thursday I attended a behind-the-scenes lace tour at the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of American History. If you are interested in tatting and bobbin laces, this tour is well worth your time.

Silver bobbin lace

It was also Earth Day, so the Mall was bustling with activity. Wish I had snapped a photo of the rally. Activists holding whale tails and picket signs marched alongside Greenpeace staffers sweltering in full-body whale suits. You can see photos of them here:)

Thompson describing the pricking process

Volunteer Karen Thompson led the two-hour lace tour. Besides being marvelous, warm and patient, her love of lace epitomizes why we were all there. She was a font of knowledge with a clear passion for preserving handmade laces.

Here she is talking about lace ruffs. Actual lace ruffs were heavily starched or supported with boning. The goofy-looking model is yours truly.

Karen Thompson also teaches museum visitors to make lace each week from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. with one other volunteer instructor.

How did I hear about this backroom lace tour? Karen Thomspon's article in Piece Work magazine (July/August 2009) first tipped me off, but Shirley Hays' blog post (Shade Tree Art) with photos of tatting sealed the deal.

There was one bulletin-style board pinned full of tatting on display for the tour. My photos suffer from a bit of motion blur from holding the camera high above my head and tripping the shutter.

My intention was to take one overall shot and use PhotoShop to crop close-ups. The motion blur wrecks that plan. But you can still see enough of the lace to get a pretty good idea of the fine threads used and method of attaching individual motifs into larger shapes.

Karen Thompson told me that there was more tatting in the collection. Perhaps future tatters can ask to see some of the pieces in the storage drawers.

The tour is limited to eight persons.

Planning a trip to the nation's capitol? Call ahead and reserve your spot for the lace tour.

Many more photos of the lace tour, plus a few from the Ipswitch exhibit can be viewed from Orla's Flikr account.  Thank you, Orla for hosting them all!

MORE TO COME! Watch for the Bayeux Tapestry made in lace, black Chantilly lace and more.