Fifteen Seconds of Fame?

Last September, my Tatting Tea Tuesday - Tidbits post announced a future 15 seconds of fame.

It came! It came!
My 15 seconds of fame...

A complimentary copy of the March/April 2011 issue of Piecework magazine arrived in today's mail. ツ

In the "By Post" column (page 4) is my Letter to the Editor regarding the tatted edging shown in "A Tray Cloth to Hemstitch" (September/October 2010).

Georgia Seitz's web site is cited as a source for the edging pattern. It is to be found here:

"Butterick's Tatting & Netting" 1896

Tatting & Netting, Part 1 (page 24 of 40)

Seeing one's name in print is strangely surreal. (Squee!)

The March/April 2011 issue hits newsstands March 8th.

This issue contains NO TATTING, but it is filled to bursting with rich, vibrant color!

Read on for today's Tatting Tea Tuesday post.

Photos from Tat Days, part 1

Waving Hi from Tat Days! What a marvelous, tat-in adventure it has been so far. Warm, southern-style welcomes, adding faces and names to dozens of online friends, incredible classes, shopping and more.

Photos are added. It is good to be home (*hugs.home.network*)

Georgia posing with Ciarrán.

Perhaps the most surprising thing was that I didn't fall down in a dead feint at meeting Georgia Seitz. In fact, when I introduced myself she gave me the biggest hug. Thank you, Georgia, for being even more wonderful in person than you are online.

If you click on the image to enlarge it and zoom in on Georgia's ID badge, you will see her thyme leaf warding off insidious microbes. It is not the clearest photo. The leaf is tatted in Lizbeth 40 #136 Autumn Spice and I thought it looked so pretty!

She got that leaf as a gift from me, since she was so busy during the conference. Couldn't leave Georgia's threads unprotected, no!

Tatters chatting in the lobby.

By my estimation, 75 lacers attended Tat Days.

Everyone I met is more wonderful than I could have ever imagined. Truly. Everyone.

First impressions

Southern hospitality rocks! What a luxury to find real feather pillows and a down comforter on the bed. The waitress at our first restaurant, a place called Ribeyes, went out of her way to suggest local attractions for The Sprout and never once let on that we talked funny.

The steaks and burgers were so tasty at Ribeyes that we ate there twice. It was always hoppin'-busy and the clientele raved to us about how much they loved the food.

The second night the same waitress greeted us warmly and said, "You came back!" Then she asked The Sprout if he saw the Zedonk at the zoo. As busy as that woman was both times, I was surprised she remembered us at all. That's hospitality, eh?

But back to Tat Days! So many tatters' faces that were familiar to me from photos are now personalized with conversations, shared classes and meals, games, activities and chats.

Martha Ess shows Krystledawne's mom Karieann (left) and me (right) how to tat her broomstick tatted bookmark.

Karrieann turned out to be sitting right next to me in my first Friday class. Crazy Mom was a few seats away. Pre-class conviviality turned many unfamiliar faces into new tatting friends.

CrazyMom, how did I manage to spend so much time with you and NOT get a photo of you?!? 
(Methinks you are crazy like a fox.)  I'm so envious that you took Nina's bead class! So many great classes and not enough hours in two days to take them all.

Photo kindly shared by HJ Hess (center)
John (left), me (center front) and Karriean (right)

Krystledawne, more proof that I met your marvelous mom!

Squeeee! Martha Ess taught my first class -- a broomstick tatted bookmark. This was the class I was most eager to take and it turned out to be the biggest challenge. *mumbles* (...still haven't completed it...) But I will!  It is such a brilliant pattern! FAB! Cross your fingers that I finish it tonight.

Crafty Tatting 2 class with Georgia Seitz and Bernie Cosell (another VA tatter) was so much fun! We learned how to make pop-up inserts on which to affix tatted motifs and these 3D paper holiday trees we then could decorate with tatting. Crafty goodness!

Bernie taught me Maltese Rings. It was so easy once I got over my mental block. Thanks, Bernie! Now I can tackle those teapots in Martha's "T is for Tatting" book that I have been longing to tat.

Wally posing with Ciarrán after class.

I took two classes on Saturday with Wally Sosa and oh my! Both Wally and her techniques are delightful. I danced out of her classroom on twinkle toes thinking of ways to add Schwarino Flying Rings and Rolled Picots to my projects.

It is so difficult not to break into peels of gleeful squeals over every tiny detail. I am trying to maintain a modicum of composure, but you all must realize that I was such a wide-eyed, first-timer!

I marveled at seeing more than one or two tatters in the same room, interacting and learning together. I was amazed at the silent auction items, the Mary Konior display (more on that later) and the display of tatted works people brought just to show and tell.

I was humbled by the gorgeous tatting people wore on their bodies and the laces flying off their shuttles.

Meeting Riet Surtel-Smeulders was such a treat! Riet was so sweet to share bars of Belgian chocolate with The Sprout (I got one too). YUM!

But the most humbling thing was how many people approached me and said how they knew me. Hegla, bless her heart, even described me as FAMOUS (What?) and like family.  But every sentiment and gesture touched my heart deeply.

'Cause you all don't realize how special it was for me to meet and spend time with all of YOU! The pleasure was entirely mine. I can't wait until I get to see you all again to make more Tat Days magic.

So -- anon, when I can share photos and tales of a leprechaun reunion, high jinks, a lep of unusual size (that Ciarrán quippingly called Gigantor) and the lovely Miss Scarlet!

Crazy Quilt Block Tatting

A quick update to share some of my tatting attempts to help Georgia Seitz in her 2010 Tat Days Scholarship fundraising project. Georgia has asked for help with crazy quilt block #86.

Here is a link to other crazy quilt blocks for the project: 2010 Scholarship PTG Fundraiser. At this juncture I am unsure if all of the blocks shown are unclaimed or if they are spoken for, but if you are interested in helping out I am sure Georgia will steer you in the right direction.

I have one last snippet of pumpkin on a vine edging left over from 2009's Halloween quilted ball ornament (closer look) that I think will look beautiful on block #86.

Birgit's spider should look right at home on quilt block #86. This is how far along I am in tatting the ingeniously constructed little arachnid.

With her long legs she looks a bit gothic, Tim Burton-esque? Just wait until those legs are finger-tatted.

Also in mind for the blue wavy segment of the quilt block is a baby whale from Heather, the Tarnished Tatter's book, "Afternoon Tatting." You can see a sample of the wee whale baby from Heather's Etsy page.

Cross your fingers that I will have finished the spider and started the baby whale in time for Tatting Tea Tuesday.

A Giveaway — No Foolin'

For many, April 1st is a day for tomfoolery, pranks and hoaxes. But for tatters it is a day devoted to furthering a lace-making art.

Did you know that April Fools Day is also International Tatting Day?

Many tatters still don't know about our special day. So in the interest of getting the word out far and wide, I am having another giveaway!

Enter for a chance to win this pampering set from New Hands Soaps and Lotions.

Amber Romance Gift Set
NHSL is my twin sister's Etsy shop. In February Igoya prepared a Posh Petals custom set for me to use as a prize. In it was an indulgent combination of chocolate lip balm, champagne and strawberries linen spray and posh petals soap.

As good as that was, this gift set is even better! Amber romance is a warm and mildly aphrodisiac scent with black cherry, creme Anglaise, sandalwood, sensual amber and Egyptian musk.

Included in the prize package is a 6-ounce lotion and two 7.5 ounce bars of long-lasting, handmade soap.

And since we're "partyin' like its our birthday," I'm throwing in a skein of Tatskool's Vanilla Sky hand-dyed thread. Just in time for Easter or Spring tatting projects.

HERE'S HOW TO ENTER:

1. Leave a comment on this post. You must leave a valid e-mail address to be eligible for the prize. Comments without valid contact information will not be entered in the drawing.

2. Cut-off date for entries is Wednesday, March 31.

3. Winner will be announced on Thursday, April 1st.

For more chances to win you can

1. post about this giveaway on your blog to qualify for an additional entry.

2. post about this giveaway on Twitter to qualify for an additional entry.

Be sure to add a (2) or (3) to your comment, just like in LadyShuttleMaker's Mondo Monday Giveaways. Kindly include a clickable link or the name of your blog so I may verify your entry. Once verified, you will be added to my giveaway spreadsheet a second or even a third time.

Winner will be chosen via random number generator.

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Wanna see my past posts for International Tatting Day?

2009 - International Tatting Day – No Foolin'

2008 - No Foolin' – International Tatting Day

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Each year in honor of International Tatting Day I sit down to tat with my fish-shaped shuttle. Over the past two years I have searched in vain for a Celtic fish pattern. If anyone finds one please do forward details or a link.

That said, it would be remiss of me not to point out that Jane Eborall offers many wonderful animal patterns for free, including an impressive goldfish in three sizes, small fishy earrings and even a starfish.

Special thanks to Georgia Seitz for making my beloved fish shuttle and Lady Jane for sharing her limitless creative artistry.

If you're still reading, click on this link to read a lovely poem called The Name of a Fish by Faith Shearin.

Now, let's all spread the word about International Tatting Day!

Dr. Mom's Mail Call

Today the post arrived with three (Count 'em, three!) packages for me!

Julie Beagle, our post-surgery pooch came home Tuesday night — so Dr. Mom has been administering meds, helping the hopped-up hound navigate stairs while she wears her e-collar, and policing the "no licking" law over her sutures.

Julie Beagle is doing very well and I expect a speedy recovery, but Dr. Mom sure did appreciate getting so many goodies in the mail.

Quit stalling, you say? Show me the goods, you say?

*drumroll*  Okay.

First wave of tatting goodies
In spite of the fact that you can count three items in this photo, it only documents two of the packages of note.

Package one contained two tatting books signed by Georgia Seitz from her Ribbonwinners series:

   1. Book 2: Tatting: It's Not Just Doilies Anymore!
         "Celebrate the Spring Holidays"

   2. Book Six: Tatting Talk
         "A Self-Imporvement Guide for Tatters"
            (Revised Color Edition 2006)

Now, I cannot tell a lie. This is the third copy of book six that I have purchased over the years. The first was printed in black and white. So when a color edition came out I bought it again. It is by far the most well-used tatting book in my tatting library. Initially a technique book, but frequently used for reference.

Why the third copy? A few weeks ago I thought I had lost my color edition of Book Six. I was panic-stricken. I was frantic. I felt like I had lost a loved one. (No, I am not exaggerating about this.) A dashed off a note, practically begging Georgia to sell me another copy. And could she please autograph it?

Well, if you've ever dealt with Georgia, you know how lovely a person she is to interact with. I've never met her in person, but boy-oh-boy, would I like to. (If I ever do, my knees would probably buckle and I'd drop to the floor muttering something unitelligible at the sight of her.) Of course she posted off both copies and wrote totally warm, charming notes in each one. And of course I found my second copy several hours after I sent her my frantic note. So now I have three.

If I ever set foot in her state of residence, I will call her and ask if I can make a detour to meet her. And upon arrival pass out on her front porch!  LOL!

Tatted Pumpkin Earrings
Package two contained Elizabeth's exquisite 100th sale giveaway prize! The tatted pumpkin earrings!! They are more gorgeous in person than the photo in her Etsy shop conveys. My photos don't do them justice at all.
They are drop dead gorgeous!

For those of you who have been salivating to really see how these beauties look, I couldn't leave you with the schlocky shot above. Here is a super-uber-close-up from my scanner. You can see the extraordinary brilliance of the Swarovski crystal beads, the polished detail of the leaves and the shimmer of the pearls inside the perfect, perfect tatting.  Thank you, Elizabeth!

As if all this wasn't enough, the July/August 1996 edition of Piecework magazine that I scoured the Internet for (and found on eBay) arrived too! This issue includes Armenian needle lace, a sample of Rickrack and Tatting from Nufashond Rick Rack Braid No. 37 (originally published in 1917 by The Narrow Fabric Co.), an article on coronation cord, and the much-coveted Icelandic knitted lace shawl article with pattern.

The lace guild ladies are going to go wild to see this magazine. Anita, the other tatting lady in the guild, and I have been trading emails on the topic of tatting and coronation cord lately, and the lace shawl pattern is also of interest to a few of my newfound guildies. It is a great issue!

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!

Pet PeevesReflections in A Hand Mirror

This post was originally published in 2003 on Ambitatterous website.

A personal pet peeve of mine is the notion that left-handed tatters need only a hand mirror and a cursory understanding of geometry (more specifically, how to place a mirror at a 45-degree angle) to tat with the fluidity and efficiency of their right-handed cousins.

Anyone who has ever plied a tatting shuttle knows that it takes two hands (no matter which one is dominant) to tat, not one. Therefore, the tatter must read the instruction, apply the hand mirror to available images for reference, PUT DOWN THE MIRROR and pick up the shuttle -- thereby displacing the visual reference so critical to success in tatting's initial learning stages.

It's not as easy as it looks. Try mentally reversing the drawings (or photographs) generally found in, say, the standard crochet lace instruction booklet.

That's not to say that left-handed tatters don't accomplish the same flow and grace of motion that right-handed tatters do, because we do. As Georgia Seitz says, "There are as many ways to tat as there are tatters." In my opinion, it just takes longer for us lefties because of the mental gymnastics.

That said, every lefty encounters directional and joining challenges in their learning curves. These challenges may or may not be present in less sinister studies.

Fishy Fun on Tatting Tea Tuesday

Happy Bastille Day, everyone.

Instead of nibbling fancy French chocolate and tatting with the colors of the French flag, I'm settling in with a mandarin orange/decaf green tea. Today's tea accompaniments include gossip, photos and a bit of tea lore.

This past week I have been steadfastly working on a design for a heart. Just finished it late last night. The test sample looks so ragtag from emptying three shuttles of end-threads I just couldn't bring myself to scan it. Writing out the pattern to work it all in one pass will make it easier for you all to try.

Test tatting continues on the fleur de lis edging as well. It has been giving me some trouble, but I am still excited to get it worked out. Who knew "communi-tea" would be so invigorating.

Who am I kidding? It's all you! Your continued interest has spurred my "creativi-tea" as well as huge swells of gratitude. Can't thank you all enough for dropping by my little tatting corner each week.

Can I share a delicious bit of tea gossip? Just a tiny morsel to tease your appetites...

I received a flood of nearly unanimous responses to my recent call for nominations to revive my old National Treasure feature. You all didn't waste any time! You knew who you wanted to see.

But I can't spill the beans about who it is. That would be cheating. No amount of wheedling, trickery or chocolate will get me to talk. (Can't believe I wrote that chocolate wouldn't work.) I can tell you this: it is a joy to prepare this write-up.

To keep things interesting and fun, the following photo contains two clues to the National Treasure candidate's identity.

(I've probably just made it too easy for you uber-sleuths out there.)

If you've seen one of these fish-shaped shuttles before, you might hazard a guess as to the next National Treasure tatter's identity. Mine arrived earlier this week via parcel post. It has been a great week for receiving tatting goodies!

Decypher the squiggle underneath the fish for clue #2... Isn't this fun?

Can't wait to use this fishy shuttle next time International Tatting Day rolls around. (April 1st) I'm sure I will use it before then too.

Last but not least is tea lore from Tea Digest: Teatime at the Cat-Tea Corner. (Why? Because I love the pun!) It's not revolutionary, but still welcome in this little corner of tat-land.

Well, my tea has gone cold while I'm at the computer. Off for a freshly steeped cuppa to begin writing out the pattern for my heart.

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

Flat Shuttle Love

Lookie see what I found the other day in my craft closet — a gift from Georgia Seitz! Honestly, I can't believe she sent me this nine years ago. Where does the time go?

I really need to buy one of her fish-shaped shuttles to add to my collection. It would be perfect to use on April 1^st for International Tatting Day. Especially since I pay homage to this special day by melding the French tradition of "April fish" with "April fools" while eating chocolate and tatting. For a more meaningful explanation of my unique tribute, read No Foolin' — International Tatting Day.

Georgia is one of the nicest people you could wish to meet. And her Tatting Talk self improvement guide is a wonderful book. Thank you, Georgia, for the lovely gift!