Support Handmade - Shop for a Cure

It may not ward off weird rashes, but shopping CAN help give hope for a cancer cure.

My twin sister, Igoya, is supporting the American Cancer Society and Ovarian and Breast Cancer research by "running" a special offer in her Etsy store. Let's "relay" our way toward the finish line.

Make a Purchase for Life - Together We Can Make a Difference
During SEPT and OCT New Hands Soaps and Lotions will make a 5% donation on any store purchase.

Ask about Igoya's foaming bath whip. Or try her Tuscan Lace hand lotion. I'm hooked on 'em! (Her chocolate milk bath and oversized bath teas are gloriously indulgent too. See how spoiled I am?)

Need more sweat equity for your Etsy buck?

To show you how hard she'll work to support the American Cancer Society, Igoya has prepared a special spa cloth promotion tailored-made for Ovarian and Breast Cancer fundraising.

During SEPT. and OCT. your purchase of a Pink & Teal Pure Cotton Spa cloth set will guarantee a 25% donation to Ovarian and Breast Cancer fundraising through the American Cancer Society.

Don't miss the Etsy widget for New Hands Soaps and Lotions in the right navigation bar!
(under My Blog List)

Thank you for your kind attention and happy shopping.

Do You Have Threadophilia?

The inspiration for today's post comes from Spinning Daily

Don't be shocked, but occasionally I read blogs on topics other than tatting. When I do they are generally fiber, fabric or book related.

So when Spinning Daily asked if I was a yarnophiliac, I said yes! Their marketing e-mail offered a prescription-free cure. I chuckled at the clever spin (← pun), but quickly converted "yarnophilia" into a more lace-worthy disorder.

Threadophilia: A deep love of and abnormal obsession with thread.

Unrepentant thread junkies (like me) embrace our condition. We don't need a cure!

But let's take things one step further, shall we?

Tatophilia: A deep love of and abnormal obsession with tatting.

Now that's what I'm bloggin' 'bout.

Tatting Tea Tuesday - Lanyard Love & A Hatchling

Keeping this short and sweet in order to be ready to receive The Sprout's teacher shortly after lunch for a scheduled Home Visit.

Two Interlocking Ring Lanyards

Motif 25 - Interlocking Ring Lanyards - Finished
Thanks to 12 - 13 hours of hurricane rain (courtesy of Ms. Irene) I had several hours of tatting time. I finished not one, but two "braided" lanyards using Jane from South Africa's interlocking rings.

The threads used for the one on the left are:

• Lizbeth^® 20 #638 Christmas Green for the foundation row.
• Lizbeth^® 20 #652 Royal Blue for the Interlocking Row.

The threads used for the one on the right are:

• Lizbeth^® 40 #157 Raspberry Frappe for the foundation row.
• Lizbeth^® 40 #638 Christmas Green for the Interlocking Row.

The lanyards turned out rather well if I do say so myself. If I tat another, I will add a bead to the center of each ring in the foundation chain to give the braid some sparkly pizazz.

This officially completes my first 25 motif challenge.

I will be starting a second challenge as soon as I decide whether to focus on a tatted animal theme, work my way through a tatting book or continue letting untried techniques be my guide.

Hatchling Has a Head
One other project that I can share with you is progress on the Dragon Hatchling.

The foundation is Anne Bruvold's Flying Minor Norwegian Dragon (Water Dragon) tatted in pastel-colored quilting cotton blended with a sample of YLI red-gold variegated thread.

Applying interlocking rings to the the tail, body and neck adds dimension and looks like scales. The interlocking rings and body bits are tatted in Altin Basak 40 Nakis Simi (Gold - Sari) and Ozen, size 50 - a 100% Polyester thread sample from Backwoods Tatter (by way of CrazyMom).

Next to come are the wings. He is to be a love present for The Sprout while I am away at Tat Days. So I must get him finished in time!

As I tat this darling wee dragon, I imagine him hatching in an abandoned mine shaft where gold dust still glitters in alluvial deposits. His name is Zaurun. It is a blending of the Pashto name Zarin, the Hindi (and Cambodian) name Arun and the symbol for the chemical element for gold, Au.

Here is how one (very classy, IMHO) woman weathered Irene: High Tea in a Hurricane

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

Tatting Tea Tuesday Earthquake!

Thank you to all you lovely folks who have texted, emailed and called to inquire if everyone at Silly Hat Central was okay after the earthquake that struck earlier this afternoon. We're all fine.

The epicenter of the 3.7-mile deep (6 km), 5.8 magnitude earthquake was 70 miles away.

My younger sister, a Maryland resident, also felt the earthquake. When I called her cell phone, her exact words were, "I'm fine. My building shook like crap!"

My father was in Indianapolis, IN, driving an 18-wheeler (He's 75. Why is he still working?) and had not yet heard about the earthquake when I called his cell phone at 3:10 PM.

My mother was sitting on her back porch swing and didn't feel the shaking at all. (Not to worry mom, The Sprout and I - somehow - didn't feel it either.)

My husband was in Chicago, IL, on a business trip and I assured him that we are all fine. (We're still fine, honey!)

Here is what wikipedia has to say about seismic activity in my little corner of Tat Land.

The Virginia Seismic Zone is located in the U.S. State of Virginia in the Piedmont province covering approximately 8,000 km² (~3,000 mi²). Earthquakes in Virginia are irregular and rarely above 4.5 on the Richter magnitude scale.

A look at the historical data for the eastern US states shows that this is the biggest quake to hit the east coast since 1897 (a 5.9 in VA) and the second biggest of all time (well, since they started recording such things) after a 7.3 that hit South Carolina in 1886.

As of approximately 3:05 PM CNN reports that all National Monuments are "stable but closed" and so far the only reported damage is to part of the central tower of the National Cathedral. (The cathedral is the highest point in Washington, D.C.)

The Wall Street Journal has just posted this disturbing bit of news:
Virginia Nuclear Power Plant Loses Power After Quake

The news services are reporting that the effects of the quake could be felt as far north as Toronto, Canada. Fox, did you feel it?

If you felt the earthquake in your corner of Tat Land, please leave me a comment and tell me what you were doing when the earth started moving.

Are You Still Reading?
If so, let me treat you to a small video skit called Tea and Earthquakes.

Shopping!

As today is the final time this summer that The Sprout will spend Friday at Day Camp, I decided to treat myself to a shopping trip to Kohl's.  (It has been 5 years since any new clothing has entered my wardrobe. Not since maternity clothing.)

I am so pleased with this tunic top. Look at the interesting neckline.  The moment I saw it I said to myself, 'I'm going to add tatting to this!'

Neologistic Rant - Incentivize?

Readers of this blog know that I like to have fun with words. I am not a hater of coined phrases. But I must protest a recent media abuse attempt to coin a new phrase:

INCENTIVIZE

Seriously?

Wikipedia offers up many wonderful examples of neologisms:
"Popular examples of neologism can be found in science, fiction, branding, literature, linguistic and popular culture.

• Examples include laser (1960) from Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation, robotics (1941), and agitprop (1930)."
• Popular literature examples include cyberspace, from "Neuromancer" by William Gibson.
• Lewis Carroll has been called "the king of neologistic poems" because of his poem, "Jabberwocky", which incorporated invented words like chortle (a combination of 'chuckle' and 'snort') and slithy.

Popular culture phenomena have created many new phrases, such as jumping the shark from the 70s TV series Happy Days, and Internet.

Incentivize isn't fit to lick the boots of legitimate neologisms, IMHO.

The early bird gets the worm or so I have heard. It is true in this case:  Neologism Competition

I leave you to idly chortle over invented words. You will surely do better than incentivize.

A Tale of Two Fillings and Fair Results!

Thank you all for your kind and supportive comments about The Sprout's day at the dentist.

The Sprout was so brave! He stayed calm through the laughing gas and the novocain. After his lip and cheek went numb he willingly opened wide and the dentist went in to start drilling.

That's when the hysterics started. When the drill sound came from inside his mouth. He got through it, thanks to the amazing patience and gentle hand of the dentist.

Then it was time for ice cream: a dentist-approved strawberry milkshake to help pass the time while the effects of the novocain wore off.

Later we headed to the County Fair. Here are a few pictures to share with you all.

Sw4nkyL4c3r entered the most fetching Venetian mask, tatted in black with Swarovski crystals and decorated with feathers. I was shocked to see a red ribbon on it! The mask was a shoe-in for the blue, or so I had presumed.

A delicate, ecru tatting bag filled with tatting tools was chosen for the blue ribbon. It is lovelier than my cell phone photo can portray, hearkening back to a style from a bygone era.

And a darling, wee bunny was entered by a new tatter! Hurray, a new tatter!

Prince William County Fair tatters, if you are reading please accept my warmest congratulations and an offer to meet up any Wednesday evening in August or September at the Yarn Cloud for tatting and chatting. The tea is on me!

Why didn't I enter? Because I hadn't completed the doily I started (but only got half-way through)  from 2010. It never entered my mind to enter something else that I had completed. Sometimes I can be such a dim-wit.

Here are a few more photos from the Home Arts competitions.

The crocheted watermelon purse makes me smile! Wouldn't it be a hoot to tat a watermelon purse? How about an ensemble of watermelon-themed accessories?

*crickets chirping* Okay, maybe it's better to stick to chocolate-themed items.

Riding on a kiddie tractor ride with his best friend, Little Man A.

Just look at that face. Those dark, expressive eyes. Is he not a deadly lil' charmer?