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!
You should know, DH created this diagram from my hastily scrawled Post-it® sketch. Adding the stitch counts was my job. They are incomplete, but I couldn't force my eyes to focus any longer and had to go to bed. Hubby's Photoshop skills are so much better than mine. I am begging for tips on how to diagram in Photoshop.