The Ants Come Marching In, Day 2

Mass genocide ensues after ants demoralize mommy. Longtime friend and undercover ant war strategist Marty gave me some very good advice after yesterday's post: take the war to them!

So I did. Or more accurately, WE did . . .

Awesome neighbor Eva suggested I mix up a batch of ant-killer solution using 40:40:20 (or 2:2:1, same thing) ratio of water, alcohol and dish soap. She even came over to help! This stuff works great! It kills ants on contact, and safe for pets, kids and the environment.

What? You want a tale from the trenches? Well, okay.

While outside on backyard ant reconnaissance, Eva and I discovered a mondo-gi-normous bed of ant larvae being tended to by a small army of what I can only describe as Nanny ants. Upon detection there was a mad scramble to save the babies, but we (Eva and I) eradicated the ants with the homemade spray. We were quite the war mongers!

But one question remains...does anyone know if it will kill the larvae? I mean, it's not extermination if the eggs are allowed to hatch.

#b Mood: disgusted
Rain, rain, falls all day. Ants stream in and overrun kitchen. Launching umpteenth ants-b-gone campaign. When will it end?

Happy International Sushi Day

Hilarious new Teapot Tuesday post from @Mothermark: http://ping.fm/49w3R

Tatting Tea Tuesday

This article was originally posted on June 09, 2009

at 12:07:29 AM on A Parently Speaking

It's Tatting Tea Tuesday!

I'm so excited to start this communi-tea! I hope you all have fun!

Here are the rules:

• Set aside some time to tat.
• Put the kettle on for tea.
• Share your progress on your blog or your favorite tatting group list, with "Tatting Tea Tuesday" in the headline or email subject line.

(Adding the Communit-tea part is optional, I just like the pun.)

And don't forget to leave me a comment with a link to your post or message so I can come see.

This week I began tatting an edging called Chantilly Border.
Source: May/June 2009 issue of Piecework magazine, p. 41

The original pattern was written in longhand notation, which I find hard to follow. So I read through the instructions and re-wrote them in shorthand formula. I cannot post the pattern though, until I have been granted permission by the magazine.

What I can tell you is this: the pattern is gleaned from Weldon's Practical Needlework, Volume 4. And facsimile printings of Volume 4 are available to order from Interweave Press^® by visiting Interweave Store. Or purchase a copy of Piecework magazine.

Chantilly Border is a lovely edging pattern that tats up quickly and is easy to memorize. I am using a vintage cotton in size 70 so it tats up dainty and delicate. Click on the image above to see a larger view.

Did you notice my two twisted joins in the large rings at picot #6? I didn't notice them until I saw the image full size. How would you work an awkward join without twisting it? Tips? Suggestions?

Unfortunately The Sprout woke up early from his nap so I only managed 2 1/2 repeats before having to stop. Not that I'm complaining. Today's effort is the first tatting I have done since 2005. The shuttle felt so good in my hand. The tea was delicious. Taking a few relaxing moments for myself? Priceless.

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

My Tatting Ancestry

[Image: Margaret Singer DeSmet, 1925]
To say I was born into a crafting family would be to understate the obvious. As did her mother before her (see portrait photo), my grandmother quilted, knit, crocheted, and tatted.

Grandma learned to tat from her older sister Clara, who died of the flu in 1920 at the age of 28. Gram' speaks fondly of Clara's tatting and tells how Clara tatted the whole bodice of her wedding gown. Her last surviving tatted work is a delicate, pink baby bonnet.

"Clara must have been expecting before she caught the flu," Gram' explains, "because she tatted a delicate baby bonnet before she died." For years, Gram' kept the baby bonnet tucked away lovingly in a drawer.

I learned tatting from my grandmother in the early 1980's. Gram' was always working on one fiber arts project or another, but it was the steady clicking of her tatting shuttle and the yards of impossibly fine lace that led me to ask her to show me how.

To this day she insists that I taught myself.

[Image: Genevieve DeSmet Gesin, born 1908]

Gram' is right-handed, you see. Because I'm left-handed I started out thinking that I was uncommon since, according to the only authority on the subject I knew, it wasn't ordinarily possible for a left-handed person to tat. It wouldn't be until many years later, with the help of the Internet, that I would discover that "handedness" was no more of a deterrent in tatting than in any other fiber art.

The fact that no one else in my grandmother's line had yet picked up the art of tatting kept me practicing during those frustrating early days. I recall telling myself over and over, as "the flip" continued to elude my stiff, aching fingers, " this will teach you patience."

When it finally happened I remember being stunned, duplicating "the flip" a few times more to be sure it wasn't a fluke. The rest fell together pretty quickly.

I could wax on (ad nauseum) about each tiny triumph along the way, like learning how to count double stitches, maintain tension, evenly size picots or "shore up" gaps between my rings and chains. The truth is, each time I picked up my shuttle I triumphed over an obstacle. You will too.

Carrying on the tradition is an opportunity to honor the incredible woman that calls me granddaughter and to show my love and respect for her. I am proud to stand among the tatting women in my family and hope to pass the tatting torch on to my descendants, as well as anyone else who wishes to learn.