Something Witchy is Brewing

This past week a package of HDT arrived from Lady ShuttleMaker.

Doesn't this colorway just leap off the screen? I love, love, love the witchy progression of orange to yellow to green, back to yellow to orange and finally to purple.

This is a colorway that I have wanted for well over a year. Mind you, Tatskool's Bracken Crunch was pre-loaded CTM onto two shuttles, ready to work on this pattern and another set of loaded shuttles ready to test tat one of her lovely motifs from the Design_Tat course. But the call was too strong. It was the call of size 20 Witches Brew!

The pattern comes from page 53 of Georgia Seitz's pattern book, "Tatting on the Edge...and Beyond." It was first published in "Tatting Knots and Notes," a newsletter edited by Doretha Albee. The pattern is called "Doretha's Teardrop Edging."

So I must beg forgiveness from Tatskool for bumping her scrumptious thread and motif to play with this seasonal skein. The fun, Halloween colors just begged to be tatted into something fun in the days preceding All Hallow's Eve.

As it turns out, I didn't complete this doily any way.

All day Friday I was learning how to make bobbin lace.

My 1^st Practice Piece(linen stitch and half stitch)
This is the end result of my first lesson in Torchon. (Second lesson happens this coming Friday.) This practice piece looked a lot better while it was still pinned to the pillow. Clearly I need to learn the best way to remove the pins and free the lace...

But back to Doretha's Teardrop Edging. The pattern repeats 12 times before joining back to the starting point. Each repeat forms a small, rounded wedge that would make lovely beaded earrings or 3D flower petals.

It is late and my eyes have gotten heavy, so I must stop here for now. Watch for progress in a post to come. Happy Halloween to all. And to all, a good night!

Tea Rap brought to you by Tatting Goddess

Oh Sweet Mercy! The Tea Rap by The Tea Cup Mafia that Tatting Goddess posted today is a riot!
Check it out over at Threads of a Tatting Goddess.

You really must go pay her blog a visit to catch this video. Just be duly warned, the language is GANGSTA (not PG-rated). I guess they told you, coffee snobs.  (Now the Diet Coke Crew needs a rap too!)

Star Tatting Cotton on EBay

So sorry to cheat you out of a Tatting Tea Tuesday post this week.

Illness has hit Silly Hat Central and I have been doing the Dr. Mom bit. Can you believe I came down with the first symptoms? Unbelievably raw, sore throat, intermittent headache and fatigue. And moms don't get sick days.

My winning prescription: Theraflu, lots of hot tea (that new teapot has gotten a lot of use) and a DH who took over when I needed to go lay down. What a good guy!

So far the rest of my household has had symptoms but are fairing well. The Sprout, however, has been exposed to flu so I have been watching him very closely with the pediatrician on speed dial and my finger poised over the panic button. Knock on wood that swine flu doesn't grace our doorstep before The Sprout gets his flu shot(s).

Oh, and my parents stopped by to visit on Saturday on their way to sunnier shores. Love them to come, but hate the last-minute "white tornado" frenzy before they arrive. It leaves no time to tat!

LOT 39 SPOOLS VINTAGE CROCHETTATTING THREAD STAR DMC
For the record, it has been ages upon ages since I visited eBay. But I just had to go looking for sellers auctioning off a stash of vintage Star tatting cotton. Ever since tatting the pumpkins I haven't been able to get it out of my mind. Success! I found one seller listing 39 items grouped together. And I won!

Perhaps my spools had been kept in impeccable condition or maybe The Star Thread Company was that good at making fine quality threads. Whatever the case may be, I have never worked with a thread, Lizbeth included (and you know how fond I am of it), that was as break-resistant and tangle-free.

The box arrived yesterday. Fourteen spools of tatting cottons, mostly Star, but Lily & Coats & Clark spools also thrown in the mix. Eight white spools, size 30. The threads are indeed in good condition, very clean and smoke/pet hair free. No stains.

There are several spools of pink in this lot. I am not a huge fan of pink, so I will most likely keep one spool and give the rest of the pinks away. Leave me a comment if you would like some pink!

Alas, my list of items that must be tatted ahead of this fun research project is long. So instead of loading up my new Aero-style shuttles and tatting away, I contented myself with fondling spools and pairing complimentary colors.

Once I get to where I can test my theory with the new spools, I will herald my finding from the (virtual) rooftops. Crossing my fingers that these threads are up to the same standard as my current Star stash.

Have you used Star tatting cotton? What do you think of it?

If you have never tried it, what is your favorite tatting thread and why?