Teapots, T.I.A.S. and another UFO

Why do I blog surf when my to-do list is as long as my arm? It's a mystery. Am I alone in this?

But if not for procrastination, I would not have discovered that it is National Hot Tea month. (Did you know?) This tea news comes as a revelation. Plus, I found these pretty teapots at Julena's Place.

Tat It And See
Did you go to gander at teapot grandeur? Thanks for coming back! Now I can share my T.I.A.S. Days 3 and 4.

T.I.A.S. Day 3
This is my first tat-a-long and I'm having an absolute blast! Still don't have a clue what the end result could be, but getting there sure is fun.

Time to confess: I wound 5 yards on each of the first two shuttles and had way too much variegated thread left over, so I tatted up a second set of Days 1 and 2. Can you believe I still have a lot of leftover thread?

T.I.A.S. Day 4
Day 4 was an intriguing tat. It really set my imagination going. Looking at it turned this way, it resembles a guitar or maybe a mandolin.

Image Source: Mandolin
October Blog Giveaway
The second quilted ball ornament still isn't quite finished.

Ciarrán reprimands me daily for not showing you my progress. See how smug he looks?

This ornament is actually the second go at Tatskool's giveaway prize. The Sprout decided to dunk the first one in a tall glass of iced tea that I had sitting out.

Here's how it happened.

The phone rang. Sprout was across the room playing with trains. I put the ornament down to answer the phone and not two minutes later I hear, "Mommy, I didit!" Cringing, I went to see what he had gotten into...

He was standing on the dining room table, looking at me with a beaming face only a triumphant child can muster.

"It floats, Mama! It FLOATS!" he said. And sure enough, the first fabric-covered ball was floating like a bobber in my glass. It was slightly soggy.

So I started over from scratch. This time keeping the project under lock and key. I've got to tat an edging to decorate the quilt binding trim, add blue ribbons, a bit of bling and a hanging cord. Then I am done.

Don't the fabric colors and tatting play off each other beautifully? Lovely, lovely Bracken Crunch! And the edging trim will add texture and dimension that will set the whole thing off perfectly.

Tatskool, you have the patience of Job.

Motif #7, Tea Cupboard & More

This post will continue to grow throughout the day, as I have so much to post and so little time to blog.

Let's kick things off with a peek into my tea cupboard.

My Tea Stash
What's in Your Larder?
On January 3rd, the Tarnished Tatter shared a peek into her tea cupboard as she geared up for the first Tatting Tea Tuesday of 2010. Thanks for sharing, Heather!

I swear I did not tidy up the cupboard beforehand. Quite frankly, the top two shelves are too tall for me reach without a step stool.

Next is a completed UFO^* from October 2009. (See Something Witchy is Brewing for details.)

It will be Motif #7 of my 25 Motif Challenge.

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."

The motif is tatted in Witches Brew HDT, size 20, from that tatting paragon Lady Shuttlemaker. Couldn't decide if I liked it better on white or black. You be the judge.

^* UFO - Un-Finished Object. A term used on knitting (and possibly crochet?) blogs.

Still to come, another October UFO, T.I.A.S. Day 3 and more...

Tatting Tea News of the Weird

I was going to hold this until next Tuesday, but decided the odd chuckle or smirk might just lift a few spirits today. Enjoy this specially brewed tatting tea news-of-the-weird from Laughing Squid!

Holy Schemoley! Shuttles

Purpleheart Sunflower Shuttle, no tip
from The Shuttle Shop
The first Tatting Tea Tuesday of 2010 dawns clear, but with high, stinging, cold winds. Another day to hide inside, dreaming of sunflowers. But clever lady Jane starts her first  T.I.A.S. of the year today. Hurray!

T.I.A.S. Day 1

Having lurked and guessed through a few past T.I.A.S. games, I am quite excited to tat along with this one. So today I sip my new favorite tea – Lord Nelson^® Rooibos Vanilla – and enjoy Day 1.

Holey Schemoley, this tea is yummy and isn't the sunflower shuttle a beauty?

On a lark I emailed the Shuttle Shop, asking if they might consider crafting one of these inlaid marvels in purpleheart instead of rosewood. Don't get me wrong, I adore rosewood. My all-time favorite shuttle is made from rosewood. See it here, next to the purpleheart?

Gorgeous woods, both. But a moisture-sucking vortex of doom settles over my house every winter, causing all manner of issues. My eight-foot,-mahogany hall tree has two cracks. I have also lost two rosewood shuttles.

You see, I can't have another one made if this one cracks. I have forgotten the name and address of the manufacturer.

What I do know is that I purchased it in the late 1990s from a vendor at the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival. His table was located in the main barn and he mainly sold drop spindles. And when I went begging for this replacement, he told me he didn't make shuttles anymore because he didn't sell enough of them. But he agreed to make a replacement one for me. (It was probably the welling tears in my eyes or the pleading tone in my voice, LOL!)

I think he was from Colorado or Wyoming or Montana...or maybe even farther points west.

So, if you have ever seen a rosewood shuttle like this, please let me know. And yes, each year at Sheep and Wool I go trolling spindle vendors with my rosewood shuttle in hand, asking if anyone makes it. So far no luck.

One last Holey Schemoley moment — can you believe I won one of Lace-Lovin' Librarian Diane's handmade shuttles in her new year giveaway? What a delightful surprise! Thank you, Diane! I'm over the moon with excitement. Can't wait to show it off, once it arrives.

Oh and before I forget, Holey Schemoley! A whopping 94% of respondents voted to continue Tatting Tea Tuesday posts in 2010. I'm so glad you (at least 36 of you) are enjoying it as much as I am.

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

National Treasure — ♥ Georgia Seitz ♥

Congratulations to Georgia Seitz for championing the tatting cause and exemplifying the qualities most admired by her peers through action, support and published works. Ms. Seitz is a national treasure.

It gives me great pleasure to announce Georgia as the recipient of this year's award. She has inspired and encouraged, taught and touched tatters for 30 years.

Georgia continues to bring about positive change with the online tatting class — 2010 is its 11th year in session — teaching at local lace guilds and IOLI conventions, and helping to raise scholarship funds at Tat Days.

Hundreds of lacers have been influenced by Georgia and her teachings. But she would be the first to tell you that all of the tatting events online are a group effort and not a one-tatter show. (See her comment below.)

When the call for nominations went out in June 2009, it was apparent almost immediately that Georgia was first choice in many minds. What wasn't clear until later was that the polling would be unanimous.

One voter wrote in, "As much as I would like to nominate myself...I have been fortunate to experience her style of teaching...Georgia (Seitz) gets my vote."

Half a dozen voters commented about the vivacity Georgia brings to tatting classes and events. Her presence at a tatting event 'always makes for a very merry, laughter-filled' occasion.

Georgia Seitz's first nationally published patterns appeared in Piecework, Vol. 1 No. 3 Nov-Dec 1993. She has also been one of the tatting editors for the Belgian Lace School's International Lace Magazine.

She began with an interest in lacemaking which had her collecting lace pieces for years. In the early '70's she began seeking tatted lace almost exclusively. Since 1979 she has been tatting and teaching.

In 1985, Georgia took up a new challenge. During that summer, she was listening to the CBS Evening News when she heard Charles Kuralt give a report from "On The Road". Charles was interviewing a number of old ladies from the Midwest who tatted lace. At the end of the interview Charles said that when these ladies died, so would tatting. Georgia sat down right then and sent off a telegram to Charles telling him that "Tatting is alive and well and thriving in Alaska!"

She has exhibited or judged tatted lace at the Alaska State fair often and has five times been recognized as Division Champion in Tatting at the Fur-Rondy (1988, 1989, twice in 1991 and 1993). After ten years of trying she finally received a Grand Championship Purple Rosette at the 1996 Alaska State Fair for a doily with a beaded tatted edging. Unfortunately, the category was not "Tatting", but "Other."

Undaunted, Georgia continues to teach,  write and publish a series of books on tatting, entitled Ribbonwinners.

She operates her own mail order business for publishing pattern books and tatting shuttle manufacturing.  And in her own words, "I have loved every minute of it."

Georgia says her greatest joy is "watching new tatters blossom, old hands gain confidence to design, and encouraging other tatters to publish."

Please join me in congratulating Georgia Seitz and thanking her for her unwavering support!

Editor's Note: Thank you, Georgia, for sharing information from speeches, bios and other published materials to compile this award feature. All images are reprinted with the permission of Georgia Seitz. 

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The National Treasure award is given by nomination to tatters for their dedication and support of the art form around the globe. The award recognizes individuals who go above and beyond in their efforts to further the art of tatting through their contributions, and who exemplify (through action) excellence by expanding tatting boundaries or otherwise perpetuating the art.

Nominations will be awarded annually or as often as nominations permit. Calls for nomination will be posted four times each year as a reminder.

Tatting Tea Tuesday in Review

Take one last look back at Tatting Tea Tuesday before we kiss 2009 and the aughts goodbye.

This photo has come to symbolize Tatting Tea Tuesday for me.  My favorite teapot. Yards of pretty edging and a lovely doily.

But what if THIS had been my favorite teapot?
I know it's supposed to be all Jules Verne goes gasket-y, but I still get a slight "I dream of Jeannie" vibe off it.

Tatting Tea Tuesday kicked off on June 2, with the posting of Chantilly Border edging from the May/June issue of Piecework magazine. I keep losing count as I scroll through the posts, but my best guess-timate is 20 published out of 31 possible posts. And you joined me for most of them, so hat's off  & big applause to you!

Along the way, you have shared my growing pains, successes, small peeks into life raising the smartest, most adorable, rough-and-tumble toddler a mother could ever hope to have, and born witness to my burgeoning addiction to hand-dyed thread.

Many personal milestones were achieved through TTT. My first successful snowflake, the completion of the partridge ornament project and my first blog giveaway. 

But most of all, Tatting Tea Tuesday opened a window into Tat Land where I found cherished new friends and was gifted with a lucky leprechaun named Ciarrán.

Thank you so much for contributing to Tatting Tea Tuesday in 2009. Your participation molded it into the fun communi-tea it has grown to be.

I have enjoyed every minute of the journey these past five months. Even more so because your contributions made it richer and more vibrant than I ever expected.

 Should Tatting Tea Tuesday continue in 2010?
Cast your vote in the blog poll at the top of this post.

NEXT:  A Ribbonwinner Comes to Tea

Happy Boxing Day and a Big Thank You!

As the year winds down, I just wanted to share my gratitude for all the company, kind comments and emails you have contributed in 2009. I am overwhelmed and flattered when people take time out of their busy schedules to read what I write. The dialog is what keeps me actively blogging to share and learn. Hugs to you all!

During a recent shopping outing I found a darling little craft book called Pretty Little Felts - mixed-media crafts to tickle your fancy by Julie Collings. (Can you spot the tatting peeking demurely out of a photo in the author's latest blog post?)

Normally I don't buy craft books unless I am learning a new technique. (Okay, except for tatting books!) But this one had to come home with me.

Ms. Collings' book included a touching dedication.

"To my mother and grandmother who always made beautiful things with their hands."

Amazing photographs stopped me dead in my tracks. Staring back at me, big as life, was tatting! And not just a token smattering here and there. There was even a small doily that incorporated Coronation Cord. This type of cording hasn't been produced since the 1920's.

Call me crazy. I suddenly felt a kinship with this crafty woman. It is part of the reason why I have resolved to create more mixed-media projects with tatting in 2010.

May the new year be brimming with creative possibilities for you.

Happy Boxing Day!