Unrepentant Thread Junkie

New Stash as of June 2009

I used to think that Flora thread was the bee's knees (actually I still do) but since it is getting harder and harder to come by, I am slowly becoming a Lizbeth convert.

Who can argue with the quality or the value? It's 100% Egyptian cotton! 'Go ahead,' I say to my childlike inner fibernut, 'let a lil' luxury grace your lace.'

And so I bought more. This time in size 40 variegated. The recent sale, plus a free shipping/handling offer was simply too good to pass up. Psst, I hear rumors of another sale coming up soon...

Of course hand-dyed threads (HDTs) are the only things thwarting total Lizbeth assimilation.

Since TattingChic has already entertained us with with her clever "Walk Like an Egyptian" clip, I humbly present my own homage with this YouTube clip from "Asterix & Obelix Meet Cleopatra."

Adventure after adventure, these two adorable Gauls almost single-handedly stave off Roman conquest with the help of a magic potion brewed up by the village druid. Love the artwork! Love the French humor. Good ones such as this never lose their appeal.

Much like hand-dyed threads, LOL! I know you can empathize with my HDT addiction love affair.

Oh my! Don't these colors just cry out Hand-Dyed-Thread? Bright. Cheery. A sun-kissed harbinger of Autumn splendor. I think I'm in love.

Vote: Aye or Nay?

Up way too late blog crawling, I caught myself writing a couple of novel-length comments on other tatters' blogs. Now I'm feeling guilty and wondering if I have alienated potential tatting friends.

What is your take on comments? Do you prefer short and sweet? Colorful and descriptive? Are Pride and Prejudice posts more like Crime and Punishment? Don't care as long as the comment is complimentary? Please share your thoughts.

Tatting Tea Tuesday - Motif #2

Last week's short break from designing yielded this (not quite finished) patriotic bookmark. Fringe still needs to be added to each end. But it turned out nicely so I rushed to scan it and post it up for Tatting Tea Tuesday.

This bookmark is my second motif for the 25 Motif Challenge. It is tatted using Flora red, white and blue variegated tatting cotton in size 40. The pattern comes from "Tatting Patterns" by Mary Konior.

Is it too weird to be enamored of a motif? This motif comes together quickly and has enough variety to hold my interest. And the best part? The final join secures a chain to the base of a ring. No twisted picots.

This motif would look lovely repeated around an outer layer of a doily. So don't be surprised if a later 25 motif challenge item includes eight or nine or more of these around the outer edge.

Lastly, the thread has been in my stash for a long time, waiting for a project that would really show it off. I quite like how it looks, though a comparison with hand-dyed thread is warranted.

Tatting at the County Fair

This week Big Daddy, The Sprout and I visited the county fair, taking in the sights, sounds, foods and fun. Of course I scoped out the Home Arts building to see what tatting was on display. I found two entries. Both were First Place, blue ribbon winners. Congrats to the tatters who submitted these entries! (There were no names on the displays, so I have no idea who they are.)

Celtic Motif from the County Fair

Shadow-box of bridal tatting from the County Fair

And this shisha embroidery item really stood out, so I had to photograph it. As a security measure, I have blurred out the county and state names on the ribbon as well as the green entry tag.

There were loads of crocheted, knitted, quilted, home-baked and home-canned items at the fair. One other (to me) unusual display was hand-blown and decorated, Faberge-style eggs. I wanted to include a photo, but there were too many ribbons and tags to alter and I would not have been able to get this posted today if I didn't stop fiddling in PhotoShop. Email me privately if you would like to see.

Ohmigosh, I was so busy finishing the tatting for motif #2 that I forgot to brew a cup of tea to enjoy! Let's pretend that it was something patriotic, like (I'm making this up...) Boston Tea Party blend or something.

I did find a wacky teapot blog to share called Teapots, Teapots, Teapots. There are breathtaking teapots here such as the heart-shaped teapot, plus plenty of unusual art tea pots to tease a grin or two. Like the Purple Teapot or the Ronald Reagan Teapot!

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