Secret Revealed! Plus, a Giveaway!

Halloween has come and gone and I realized that I had promised to share a secret I have been keeping.

Several months ago, Mothermark hatched a plan to add tatting to her Teapot Tuesday cards and approached me about creating the tatted bits for her cards. I am so flattered and even more excited! Let me tell you, it is NOT easy for me to keep a secret either!

The reason for unveiling this collaboration by Halloween was that I had sent her a photo of my Halloween teapot. I call it my Witchiepoo Shoe teapot.

I was expecting to show you my teapot and the card she created from it. Mothermark went on a card-making hiatus for about a month and when she returned she has been deluged with hundreds of birthday cards!

On October 27, she posted her first post-hiatus Teapot Tuesday card and it looks like the inspiration came from a haunted house teapot instead. Boo! Or maybe it is a teapot-shaped candle, that moon looks a bit waxy!  (Har har!)

One WARNING before you go over to her blog to see. I got a big, red malware warning when I clicked on her site. After reading over the diagnostic details, I chose to proceed anyway and everything worked out okay for me. But you may not want to take that risk.

Here is the link to her October 27th Teapot Tuesday post: Blacken White's Gettin' Color Tonight

Here is another photo of it, just because I like this teapot so much. (Though I wish I had turned on my Ott Lite to bring out the true beauty of the colors.)

What is that peeking out from behind the spout? Flowering teas? You caught me. I'm stone cold busted. I know some people think they are creepy, but I love watching them bloom while I wait for the tea to steep.

Pressing on! At some point I am sure that Mothermark will create a card using my teapot, and when she does I will be jumping with glee! Golly, I hope she wasn't waiting for me to send her tatting to go along with it. It never occurred to me to do that. D'oh!

Tell you what? Let's make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Ha, ha! In other words, turn my oversight into a GIVEAWAY.

Here are the rules:
1.  Tat a small snippet of edging or doodle or a mini-motif, something that would fit on a 3x5 card and post a photo of it on your blog. If you don't have a blog, send me a photo in an email attachment.

2.Then come back and leave a comment on this post, letting me know where to go to see your beautiful tatted creation.

3.  Entries must be completed and your comment posted by Friday, November 13th.

Everyone who participates will receive two sachets of flowering tea from me! Plus the winner will have his or her tatting sent to Mothermark to be used on a future Teapot Tuesday card!

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!

In Praise of the Color Orange

There is no blue without yellow and without orange.

~Vincent Van Gogh

This Tatting Tea Tuesday is dedicated to all things orange: pumpkins, Orange Pekoe (or any other orange-scented or flavored tea), safety cones, tiger lilies, orange juice, Carnelian stones, kumquats and my brand new teapot!

This week I have been busy tatting doodles and pumpkins and working on adding a second round to the Sweetheart motif that Birgit Phelps designed in 2003.

I also have been working on finishing the two giveaway prizes from last week. But I don't want to reveal those just yet. Let's just say one of the prizes may arrive with an orange doodle or two.

So far, this one is my favorite.

Tatted Pumpkin by Sherry Matthews © 2004Made using vintage STAR tatting cotton, size 70.Green stem improvised from Mary Maynard's Pumpkin Pattern

My Mondo Monday Giveaway prize arrived in the mail this past week! The mailer was packed full of Halloween-y goodness! With gorgeous thread like this I could tat a whole patch of pumpkins. Really sincere ones. Worthy of The Great Pumpkin!

"Autumn Orange," size 20, by Lady ShuttleMakerand black seed beads for Halloween-y fun!

Isn't it superb? Honestly, my cup overflows with an embarrassment of tatting largesse.

But that's not all! I can't wait to share some of the goodies I got on loan yesterday from a new needle tatting friend named Bonnie.

Bonnie and I met at LacySusan's shop so she could partake of the trove of tatting riches (books and supplies) Lacy Susan has for sale (along with a vast array of bobbin lacing supplies).

Bonnie showed amazing restraint. Me? Not so much. (Unrepentant thread junkies disavow all knowledge of such words in their vocabularies.)

Look! A sneak peek of Tatskool's scrumptious new colorway called Bracken Crunch in a size 60, six-cord cotton. It is a member of the mouth-watering ChocoLime family of colors. Just winding it on the shuttles triggered a wicked Heath^® toffee bar craving.

Along with the 2 purple Sew-mate shuttles pictured above, I purchased 2 Aero-style shuttles (They are the bulk shuttles, labeled "made in Germany." They do not say "Aero" on them anywhere.)

. . . a size 22 (0.5 mm) crochet hook for joining, a bobbin lace pricker, a pack of needles for the pricker, and two bobbin lace books.

The two bobbin lace books are both authored by Rosemary Shepherd:

1. Introduction to Bobbin Lacemaking

2. An Early Lace Workbook: Bobbin Lace Techniques before the Baroque

Quite a haul, if I do say so myself!

But I digress. Bonnie loaned me her copy of Contemporary Tatting: New Designs from an Old Art by Judith Connors. This is a lovely book that includes a pattern for a tatted "take anywhere" cup of tea. It is a darling teacup design that includes split rings. Can't wait to tat one up!

She also printed out a copy of a 3D cup and saucer 2003 pattern by Roger a.k.a. Freedman that had been posted on a needle tatting group site at msn.com. It includes a tatted spoon pattern! It looks as though msn.com has closed its groups site. So having a printed copy of this pattern is like hitting the TTT jackpot!

Since I can't show you this doozy of a tatted teacup find, here is another teacup and saucer pattern originally published in an old Workbasket magazine. Suzann Welker rewrote it so there are no cuts and ties. It involves split rings and split chains, but only short ones.

And just so you don't think ill of unrepentent thread junkies in general (or me in particular) I was not completely greedy. I promised to share my copy of Let's Tat by Angeline H. Crichlow and The Tatted Artistry of Teiko Fujito (Lacis Publications) with Bonnie when I see her on Sunday, October 25.

More later, tatting friends! The hour is late and my eyelids droop. Want to know more about the tome pictured above? Ask and I will answer. (in my next post) Now it is off to bed with me.

As Fox so eloquently puts it . . . "Anon"

And The Winner Is...

It's time to announce a winner for the Fractured Quotes: "Knot-TEA" Parody & GIVEAWAY!

I entered all participants into my Excel spreadsheet. Everyone was assigned a different number and those who were eligible for two entries were assigned two numbers. I then used a random number generator to choose the winning number. Here is the result:


Lucky number 7 and the winner of a Halloween-themed quilted ball ornament is Tattrldy! Congrats, Wanda!

And now for a fun surprise! Since I have enough quilting fabric to make two ornaments, I decided to make two prizes. Which confirms what many of you have long suspected. I AM a glutton for punishment. LOL!

So the second winning number is 2 (how serendipitous is that?) — and the second quilted ball ornament goes to Tatskool! Congratulations, Tatskool!

Ladies, please email me your mailing addresses (isdihara@verizon.net) so I can send your prizes out in about a week. (I need some extra time since I am still tatting the center motifs for these.)

Thank you to everyone who played along with my twisted giveaway. The entries were very creative and inspired! Can you believe I've had a certain 70s tune stuck in my head all week? LOL!

And now, every time I pick up a shuttle I say the following affirmation:

'Gentle shuttle! Let the thread yield to thee.'

Special thanks to LadyShuttleMaker a.k.a. MadMadPotter for providing the best giveaway model a blogger could follow for a first-time giveaway!

I now return you to your regularly scheduled Tatting Tea Tuesday creative thread capade.

Wishing you all blissful me time to create something beautiful.

See you next Tuesday for more communi-tea!

Fractured Quotes:"Knot-TEA Fun" GIVEAWAY

Pumpkin Vine Edging by Heidi Sunday

Maybe it's the Autumn chill in the air. Or all the giveaway energy buzzing around Tat Land lately.

Maybe it's just a wild hair.

Whatever it is, today I feel a bit knot-TEA.

So I'm having a Knot-Tea Parody contest and GIVEAWAY!

Here are the rules:

1. Open your favorite web browser and search for tea quotes. (You could also enjoy a leisurely browse through the library or your personal stash of tea books if you prefer. I'm not picky.)

Lewis Carroll took a children's rhyme and bent it to his silly whim:

“Twinkle, twinkle little bat. How I wonder what you're at! Up above the world you fly, Like a tea-tray in the sky” ~ Lewis Carroll

2. Alter it so that it reflects tea and tatting. The word tatting (or one of its common variants) must appear in the altered quote. Something like this:

“Twinkle, twinkle little tat. Worked into a table mat. Lacy knots line up so fine, Making tea-time small talk shine.” ~ IsDihara (based upon a quote by Lewis Carroll)

3. Change author's name to your screen name & post your fractured quote in the comments below. (You may list the source quote and author as a clickable link.)

4. The cut-off date for submitting your entry is midnight on Monday, October 12, 2009, Eastern Standard Time. Winner will be announced on Tuesday, October 13th.

5. That's it!

Yes, you have to work a tiny bit harder than just writing a comment. Follow Mary ("practically perfect in every way") Poppins' advice:

Lyrics Mary Poppins - A Spoonful Of Sugar lyrics

Want another chance to win?

If you post about this giveaway on your blog you qualify for a second entry.

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

Winner will be chosen via random number generator.

Winner will receive a quilted ball ornament decorated with tatting. Here is a link to a page with several colorful examples of quilted ball ornaments (none with tatting on them).

Here are the fat quarters I picked out for the ball ornament. The Pumpkin Vine Edging will be used to trim the ball. Only three fabrics will be used for the ornament, but I left the color field open wide. The only color I forgot was Frankenstein monster green. Hee, hee!

So have all the fun you want. (Especially you punsters!) Good luck.

Thanks for being knot-tea with me and fracturing a quote along the way!

See you next Tuesday for more communi-tea. Mwah-hah-hah-hah!

End of Summer Blues?

Image reprinted with permission
Copyright © 2009 Carol Gillott
We all hate to see the lazy days of summer come to an end, don't we? I'm no exception. As August heat gives way to cooler breezes and geese trek across the skies, it is getting harder to ignore the unavoidable truth - Autumn is around the corner.

But before Fall's dazzling foliage, pumpkins and hayrides take over the landscape, I want to bask in the illusion of Indian summer.

Tatting Tea Tuesday pays tribute to everyone who, like me, is in denial about the end of summer. All hail its glorious last days!

Basic Strawberry Heart © 2003 Birgit Phelps
(Celtic-style Top to come later)
As I settle in with a cup of strawberry herbal tea, I pull out some Coats & Clarks "boilfast" size 70 tatting cotton in a perfectly ripe, juicy red.

Another of my flea market finds, it came in a 12-inch metal tin that was filled with partial spools of vintage tatting thread. Apparently they had been stashed away for a rainy day, then sold at auction.

What better way to honor summer's last hurrah than with a symbol of its bounty? My freezer is filled with juicy strawberries fresh-picked in May so we can
enjoy mouthfuls of sunshine all winter long.

I'm making two of these strawberry hearts for a special Teapot Tuesday project I have been keeping mum about for awhile now. More on that later.

This bitty berry project would be done except that the only green cotton I have is either size 80 in a pale, mint green or size 20 Manuela in a dark, Hunter green.

So I await the arrival of a size 80 Christmas green from Handy Hands. It should arrive by parcel post later in the week.

Once the Celtic-style tops are done I will post again and share the surprise that Mothermark over at This is My Story has in store. I'm so excited about it and can't wait to share it with you!

But my part in this project has had to simmer on a back burner while I focus on the lessons for the Design-Tat class. Mothermark waits patiently, but I figured I had better send her something before summer was well and gone.

You, however, won't have to wait longer than Halloween (October 30th) for news of our awesome little collaborative tea project.

In the meantime, revel in the glorious pseudo-summer days that remain and prepare for Autumn's splendor.

Wishing you all blissful me time to create something beautiful.

See you next Tuesday for more communi-tea!

Coffee, Tea or ...Diet Coke n' Chocolate?

Late night blog crawling on a Wednesday night found me at the lovely Krystal Dawn Tats page. Where I saw her early August post about Tatting Coffee Thursday.

Oh, ha, ha, ha! I love all the comments about tatting with a different drink of choice for each day of the week! You guys rock!

Whether it's coffee Thursdays, Diet Coke n' Chocolate Saturdays or whatever else trips your fancy, it's all good!

If you do another tatting coffee Thursday, Krystle, please let me know so I can join in. That goes for Diet Coke n' Chocolate Saturdays too, TattingChic! Although I'd have to make mine a caffeine-free Diet Coke and add a splash of lime.

See, we all put our personal spins on things. And Ladytats, you are absolutely right about one thing -- as long as you include some chocolate, no one cares if it is tea or coffee or Irish coffee or Irish hot chocolate or Diet Coke or . . . martinis?

Image reprinted with permission
Copyright © 2009 Karen Sloan

Anyone up for Tatting Martini Mondays? (See it there, on the end table, next to that comfy chair?)

Why yes, there is a story that goes along with this wild and crazy idea.

Last October a bunch o' the gals got together to decorate haunted gingerbread houses and we broke out the martini glasses. Hoo-boy! Did we ever get silly! And sweet mercy, the hangover I had the next day. Ouch! I would have suggested chocolate martinis, but we don't have a day of the week with a CH sound in it. More's the pity.

Since I have strayed into Halloween-ish territory with my martini tangent, I wanted to leave you with battatter's fiendishly clever 3D haunted house. But I can't seem to find a link to a photo anywhere online. Blarg and bother! I know I have seen it.

UPDATE: Thank you, batatter, for sending over the image.

FYI--for anyone who is still reading, if you want to see more photos of this awesome 3D tatted haunted house, go to batatter's blog and type either "haunted house" or "boo" in the search field.

As for Martini Mondays, even I have to admit martinis are a bit hardcore. Just imagine all the wonky knots that would result from a "3-martini tat!"