Bastille Day Macarons

Bien sûr, Bastille Day is Thursday, July 14.

Call me crazy (I'm not even French), but I get into the spirit of the day. Typically Silly Hat Central celebrates Bastille Day with a French-style meal, a Bastille Day cocktail and a few impromptu exclamations of "Storm the Bastille!"

Not quite the fever of joviality that descends upon Paris, but il est bon, oui?

This year there will be macarons. Yes! There will be be macarons!

What? You want to get in on the mac action?

Bastille Day Macarons Near You

Lucky Australian tatters who wish to try these lighter-than-air confections can visit Baroque Bistro in Sydney for limited edition Bastille Day macarons.

Tatters who live in or around Takapuna, Auckland, New Zealand can avail themselves of a FREE macaron at The Department Store.

Mount Holly, Vermont tatters and their neighbors can drop by A Dozen Eggs Bake Shoppe for Bastille Day sweet treats.

Pasadena, California, tatters who wish to try a tasty mac can go to 'Lette Macarons on South Fair Oaks Avenue. The PasadenaNow.com Living Section (Food and Wine column) had this to day: Let them eat macarons!

I will be making my own and nibbling them with tea on a picnic blanket, but however you celebrate your inner monsieur or mademoiselle...

Vive la France! Vive le macaron! Vive la frivolité!

Elusive Shuttle Socks

There are some CRAZY socks out there. Anatomically correct bone socks, toeless socks (which look kinda cute in the photo), Union Jack socks, even Foot Kandy.

Every once in a while, I read about a tatter who has purchased novelty socks with shuttles on them. Who sells these?

Quilters have novelty socks: Quilters Socks
Knitters have novelty socks: Knitting Girls

Will one of the Palmetto Tat Days vendors have them?

Tatting Tea Tuesday with Sw4nkyL4c3r

July kicked off with fireworks and a wonderful Tatting Tea Tuesday! Sw4nkyL4c3r dropped by for some shuttle tatting. (She is a needle tatter.) She wanted to get in some shuttle practice in order to demonstrate Civil War-era tatting during the commemorative event later this month. (Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War and the Battle of First Manassas)

Tatting Tea Tuesday leftovers

We noshed on "Romeo & Juliet" cookies from the bakery, drank strawberry tea, tatted and chatted the afternoon away.

Every so often she would giggle and say, "I did it! Six whole stitches," or "Look! A ring with three picots." And then she would giggle again, saying, "Of course, if I were using my needle I'd be done with the whole project by now."

She was absolutely right. She is a fast needle tatter. Her stitches do not suffer in the least for speed. They are uniform and evenly tensioned. Talk about a natural.

I also introduced her to the owner of the Yarn Cloud (the shop where I teach shuttle tatting). The owner asked if she would teach a needle tatting class in September!

This is marvelous news for anyone thinking about trying tatting!

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus
It is Christmas in July and I believe! I feel like standing on the street corner, yelling "Hear ye! Hear ye!" because Yarn Cloud sells Lizbeth threads!

Many have sighed heavily and resigned themselves after JoAnn Fabric and Crafts limited sales of Lizbeth threads to a small fraction of their US stores. Hobby Lobby came to the rescue, but the closest Hobby Lobby in my area is 35 miles away. So I am thrilled to have a local shop that carries quality tatting thread.

As for tatting, I got farther along on the foundation chain for my ring trim braid lanyard. Last post it was 18 inches (45.7 cm). It is now 32 inches (81.3 cm) long. Only 4 more inches to go. Then the fun really begins!

Irons in the Fire

It has been a busy week in my lil' corner of Tatland.

The 8 students at my beginning tatting class received kits with 3 samples of Lizbeth thread size 20, 2 shuttles (one Clover post and one German Aero bobbin), picot gauge, extra bobbin, corsage pin and a few other goodies.

All of them left the two-hour class having successfully made "the flip" and having tatted chains. A few of them completed their first 10-stitch ring. Three came back Saturday morning for some extra help after having frustrating experiences with stitches that stubbornly refused to flip.

This coming Thursday (July 7th) I hope they all return to learn picots, joins and combining rings and chains. They will also leave with a simple butterfly pattern and a few beginner patterns to try out their skills. (If they haven't already started their butterflies in class.)

Moving right along...

Remember this? I began Mindy Al-Aaraji's Clover Motif ©2003 on June 14 and have completed Round 1. (The Irish Crochet center was made by my sister Igoya.)

Golly, that white thread scans poorly, even with a pale fabric behind it. All threads are Lizbeth 20. (Christmas Green #638, Mint Light #689 and Snow White #601) What a high contrast piece!

In 2009, Martha Ess and Tatting Chic worked out a way to hide the color change in a Single Shuttle Split Ring. It was the perfect technique to use for a multi-color Round 1. Martha cleverly suggested adding the 4th shuttle to place the color exactly where I wanted it.

Please note, to tat Round 1 in one color requires only 2 shuttles wound CTM. To tat it in two colors, 3 shuttles are needed (but the split rings will be two colors). To get those split rings all one color required a 4th shuttle.

(Fox, see how my split rings are all wonky in this piece? They should be more even, but I am still quite thrilled with this effort.)

Martha, thank you for working out the 4th shuttle color option! And Jane, thank you for loaning your Brain Cell #3 to the task as well as preparing the SSSR Double Core tutorial. I couldn't have tatted Round 1 without you both. I love this technique!

Speaking of split rings, this 8/8 split ring chain is tatted in Lizbeth 40 Raspberry Frappé. It is a foundation chain for a ring trim braid that will be 36 inches (91.4 cm) long. The original necklace designed by Jane in South Africa is the pattern for a lanyard I hope to complete before Palmetto Tat Days 2011.

FYI, the shuttles are 2 1/2-inch Buffalo Horn Tatting Shuttles sold by LACIS.

This foundation chain is a perfect "on the go" tat. No pattern needed. And tatting a ring here and there really helps keep me from getting bored. The cell phone photo doesn't do these dreamy, creamy colors justice. They're perfect for a hot summer day!

Are you tatting this weekend? Whatever your plans, I hope you take time to create something beautiful. See you on Tuesday!

Summer Tattin' - knot-tea song lyrics

In honor of my new beginner's tatting class starting on June 30th, I offer up a knot-tea song lyric.

Summer Tattin'
Sung to the Tune of "Summer Nights" from the movie "Grease"

[IsDihara]
Summer Tattin' got me a class.

[Students]
Summer Tattin' signed up so fast.

[IsDihara]
Six new students waiting for me.

[Students]
Makin' lace, just like Aunt Bea.

[Both]
First lesson comes with a kit, to uh-oh get stitches to flip.

[Everyone]
Uh Well-a well-a well-a huh

[Students]
What's a pinch? Did yours flip?

[IsDihara]
OK, hold it like this.

[Students]
Holy cow! Mine just flipped.

[IsDihara]
Great! You made your first stitch!

"What is so rare as a day in June?"

"Then, if ever, come perfect days.”
by James Russell Lowell (1819-1891)

Today I type from the playground on a beautiful, breezy sunny day. The kids are out in droves to PLAY!

The Sprout is in his favorite spot - the sandbox - scooping and sand-dozing with a shovel, bucket and a front-loader toy. We're at the Fantasy Playground, a wonderland of wooden bridges, tunnels, alcoves and nooks. A great place for imaginative play.

This Tatting Tea Tuesday finds me still in catch-up mode and dreaming of Palmetto Tat Days in September.

I managed to finally mail a notecard with the Margaret Daisy motif to Fox. (This photo is a teaser. You can barely see it sitting coyly beneath one of my teacups.)

See this awesome digital transfer I found on Etsy? Tea o'clock! Can't wait to put it on something. It just seems so suitable for a tatting frame of mind.

Would it be too abstruse (<-- word of the day!) to transfer this onto a t-shirt and print underneath: "It's always tatting time somewhere."
 
Irons in the Fire
I am working on a few tatting projects. One is a lanyard for my Tat Days ID tag. Another is an airplane for a baby onesie. I have completed samples for Doretha Albee's Rose Medalion and her original design using the SCMR (published in "Tatting Knots and Notes," Vol. 13, Issue 5, April 1999). I have started round 2 of Mindy Al-Aaraji's Clover Motif. Test tatting continues for Wanda's Heart's Honor bookmark. And last but not least is a split ring edging for a silly project I have been thinking about.

Normally working on multiple projects is the way I work best, but juggling is starting to frazzle my focus, so it is time to get 'em done.

Here are a few photos of these works in progress.

Kokeshi & More

Knit Kokeshi Doll by Igoya
My twin sister Igoya is so talented. She knit this sweet little doll for a friend who recently had her first child and asked permission to name the baby after her daughter.

Igoya's Kokeshi doll still needs a few facial details, but even without a pouty mouth, two dark eyes and a hint of blush on her cheeks, she's just too cute.

Here is a link to a lovely Kokeshi Doll-shaped Card download. (Sorry, it's not free.)

Hanky from LLL Diane's Giveaway
with Ciarrán and canine pals

Scalloped Hanky
This delicately scalloped, wildflower-embroidered handkerchief was a gift from Lace-lovin' Librarian Diane. It arrived on May 24th. I have been horribly remiss in posting the photos. This may sound odd, but each time I pick it up I want to go pick wildflowers. Thank you for this sweet inspiration, Diane!

Ciarrán brought both crazy salt shakers into the picture this time. That lep is one incorrigible (and adorable) attention hound. Could it have anything to do with me saying that men who keep pets attract women? (Hmmm, I may be onto something.)

♥ from Postie
Yesterday my mail carrier slipped a fat, padded envelope inside my storm door from CrazyMom. Just look at all the goodies she sent!

See that heart-shaped basket? See the size 15/0 Miyuki Rocailles in two to-die-for colors? See all that thread? Two crisply starched hankies? Shuttle bling paper? The plump, pink pig with googly eyes? (Googly eyes are very popular with The Sprout.) AND a tin? Here is what I found inside the tin.

Contents of Mint Tin

One more treasure was packed in this trove of goodies - a music mix CD for The Sprout. It has been playing almost nonstop since yesterday. Lots and lots of songs a four-year-old can love!

Last night he particularly identified with track 15 - Mama's Soup Surprise by Bruce Springsteen. I found myself singing along with "The Marvelous Toy" by Peter, Paul & Mary. But the one that got stuck in my head and won't come out is "Ha Ha This a Way" by Leadbelly. Thanks for all the catchy songs, CrazyMom!

As for tea, I'm sipping Jack Frost - a caffeine-free herbal blend of African red bush, vanilla, peppermint and spearmint. Hoping it will help dispel the sweltering heat and humidity that plagues my corner of Tat Land.

Stay cool in your corner(s) of Tat Land. Wishing you all blissful me time to create something beautiful. See you next Tuesday for more communi-tea!