Irons in the Fire

It has been a busy week in my lil' corner of Tatland.

The 8 students at my beginning tatting class received kits with 3 samples of Lizbeth thread size 20, 2 shuttles (one Clover post and one German Aero bobbin), picot gauge, extra bobbin, corsage pin and a few other goodies.

All of them left the two-hour class having successfully made "the flip" and having tatted chains. A few of them completed their first 10-stitch ring. Three came back Saturday morning for some extra help after having frustrating experiences with stitches that stubbornly refused to flip.

This coming Thursday (July 7th) I hope they all return to learn picots, joins and combining rings and chains. They will also leave with a simple butterfly pattern and a few beginner patterns to try out their skills. (If they haven't already started their butterflies in class.)

Moving right along...

Remember this? I began Mindy Al-Aaraji's Clover Motif ©2003 on June 14 and have completed Round 1. (The Irish Crochet center was made by my sister Igoya.)

Golly, that white thread scans poorly, even with a pale fabric behind it. All threads are Lizbeth 20. (Christmas Green #638, Mint Light #689 and Snow White #601) What a high contrast piece!

In 2009, Martha Ess and Tatting Chic worked out a way to hide the color change in a Single Shuttle Split Ring. It was the perfect technique to use for a multi-color Round 1. Martha cleverly suggested adding the 4th shuttle to place the color exactly where I wanted it.

Please note, to tat Round 1 in one color requires only 2 shuttles wound CTM. To tat it in two colors, 3 shuttles are needed (but the split rings will be two colors). To get those split rings all one color required a 4th shuttle.

(Fox, see how my split rings are all wonky in this piece? They should be more even, but I am still quite thrilled with this effort.)

Martha, thank you for working out the 4th shuttle color option! And Jane, thank you for loaning your Brain Cell #3 to the task as well as preparing the SSSR Double Core tutorial. I couldn't have tatted Round 1 without you both. I love this technique!

Speaking of split rings, this 8/8 split ring chain is tatted in Lizbeth 40 Raspberry Frappé. It is a foundation chain for a ring trim braid that will be 36 inches (91.4 cm) long. The original necklace designed by Jane in South Africa is the pattern for a lanyard I hope to complete before Palmetto Tat Days 2011.

FYI, the shuttles are 2 1/2-inch Buffalo Horn Tatting Shuttles sold by LACIS.

This foundation chain is a perfect "on the go" tat. No pattern needed. And tatting a ring here and there really helps keep me from getting bored. The cell phone photo doesn't do these dreamy, creamy colors justice. They're perfect for a hot summer day!

Are you tatting this weekend? Whatever your plans, I hope you take time to create something beautiful. See you on Tuesday!

Summer Tattin' - knot-tea song lyrics

In honor of my new beginner's tatting class starting on June 30th, I offer up a knot-tea song lyric.

Summer Tattin'
Sung to the Tune of "Summer Nights" from the movie "Grease"

[IsDihara]
Summer Tattin' got me a class.

[Students]
Summer Tattin' signed up so fast.

[IsDihara]
Six new students waiting for me.

[Students]
Makin' lace, just like Aunt Bea.

[Both]
First lesson comes with a kit, to uh-oh get stitches to flip.

[Everyone]
Uh Well-a well-a well-a huh

[Students]
What's a pinch? Did yours flip?

[IsDihara]
OK, hold it like this.

[Students]
Holy cow! Mine just flipped.

[IsDihara]
Great! You made your first stitch!

"What is so rare as a day in June?"

"Then, if ever, come perfect days.”
by James Russell Lowell (1819-1891)

Today I type from the playground on a beautiful, breezy sunny day. The kids are out in droves to PLAY!

The Sprout is in his favorite spot - the sandbox - scooping and sand-dozing with a shovel, bucket and a front-loader toy. We're at the Fantasy Playground, a wonderland of wooden bridges, tunnels, alcoves and nooks. A great place for imaginative play.

This Tatting Tea Tuesday finds me still in catch-up mode and dreaming of Palmetto Tat Days in September.

I managed to finally mail a notecard with the Margaret Daisy motif to Fox. (This photo is a teaser. You can barely see it sitting coyly beneath one of my teacups.)

See this awesome digital transfer I found on Etsy? Tea o'clock! Can't wait to put it on something. It just seems so suitable for a tatting frame of mind.

Would it be too abstruse (<-- word of the day!) to transfer this onto a t-shirt and print underneath: "It's always tatting time somewhere."
 
Irons in the Fire
I am working on a few tatting projects. One is a lanyard for my Tat Days ID tag. Another is an airplane for a baby onesie. I have completed samples for Doretha Albee's Rose Medalion and her original design using the SCMR (published in "Tatting Knots and Notes," Vol. 13, Issue 5, April 1999). I have started round 2 of Mindy Al-Aaraji's Clover Motif. Test tatting continues for Wanda's Heart's Honor bookmark. And last but not least is a split ring edging for a silly project I have been thinking about.

Normally working on multiple projects is the way I work best, but juggling is starting to frazzle my focus, so it is time to get 'em done.

Here are a few photos of these works in progress.

Kokeshi & More

Knit Kokeshi Doll by Igoya
My twin sister Igoya is so talented. She knit this sweet little doll for a friend who recently had her first child and asked permission to name the baby after her daughter.

Igoya's Kokeshi doll still needs a few facial details, but even without a pouty mouth, two dark eyes and a hint of blush on her cheeks, she's just too cute.

Here is a link to a lovely Kokeshi Doll-shaped Card download. (Sorry, it's not free.)

Hanky from LLL Diane's Giveaway
with Ciarrán and canine pals

Scalloped Hanky
This delicately scalloped, wildflower-embroidered handkerchief was a gift from Lace-lovin' Librarian Diane. It arrived on May 24th. I have been horribly remiss in posting the photos. This may sound odd, but each time I pick it up I want to go pick wildflowers. Thank you for this sweet inspiration, Diane!

Ciarrán brought both crazy salt shakers into the picture this time. That lep is one incorrigible (and adorable) attention hound. Could it have anything to do with me saying that men who keep pets attract women? (Hmmm, I may be onto something.)

♥ from Postie
Yesterday my mail carrier slipped a fat, padded envelope inside my storm door from CrazyMom. Just look at all the goodies she sent!

See that heart-shaped basket? See the size 15/0 Miyuki Rocailles in two to-die-for colors? See all that thread? Two crisply starched hankies? Shuttle bling paper? The plump, pink pig with googly eyes? (Googly eyes are very popular with The Sprout.) AND a tin? Here is what I found inside the tin.

Contents of Mint Tin

One more treasure was packed in this trove of goodies - a music mix CD for The Sprout. It has been playing almost nonstop since yesterday. Lots and lots of songs a four-year-old can love!

Last night he particularly identified with track 15 - Mama's Soup Surprise by Bruce Springsteen. I found myself singing along with "The Marvelous Toy" by Peter, Paul & Mary. But the one that got stuck in my head and won't come out is "Ha Ha This a Way" by Leadbelly. Thanks for all the catchy songs, CrazyMom!

As for tea, I'm sipping Jack Frost - a caffeine-free herbal blend of African red bush, vanilla, peppermint and spearmint. Hoping it will help dispel the sweltering heat and humidity that plagues my corner of Tat Land.

Stay cool in your corner(s) of Tat Land. Wishing you all blissful me time to create something beautiful. See you next Tuesday for more communi-tea!

Tatter on NPR

[Editor's Note: Special thanks to Tatting Pam from Texas who scooped this awesome bit of tatting news!]

Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!

No, that isn't me trying to be funny. It is actually the name of the radio program where a tatter was a contestant and won a free recorded message for her answering machine.

Anyone who has listened to this program knows how entertaining it is. I find it to be clever and laugh-out-loud funny.

Listen to the full show - June 4, 2011

After the second segment, called Bluff the Listener (in which the tatter was featured), actor Kevin Bacon was interviewed and played another game called "Not My Job." Funny stuff!

Motif 24 - Nelson Edging

Tying up a few loose ends before jumping into new tatting projects: can you believe I forgot to count Nelson Edging in my 25 motif challenge?

I posted about finishing the socks on April 26, but didn't count the edging toward my 25 Motif Challenge.

March 23 - A Time for Tatting

March 1 - Edging Toward Spring

You can see that this project took nearly two months for me to complete. This is a result of "catch as catch can" tatting and is in no way a reflection on Orsi's edging.
Nelson was a joy to tat!

Tatting with small children requires a bit of flexibility. You make the best of whatever tatting time is available. It comes in small snatches, like while you are waiting for the dryer buzzer to go off or for a pot of water to boil. Or after the kidlet(s) are tucked into their beds. Is this why so many tatters of yore kept a shuttle in their apron pocket?

A Brain Cloud?
Lapses of attention are becoming increasingly problematic. Even a bit alarming. (I forgot to buckle The Sprout into the car seat again today. And this time he reminded me while we were on a highway!) I walk around my house in circles because I put something down and can't find it. I search for words and can't remember if I leave things on. Am I losing my mind?

Luckily I found this article online that helped assuage my fears: Pay attention to your fuzzy thinking. Time for some pampering and extra sleep. YAY!

In Memory of Doretha Albee

Doretha Albee (1935 - 2011)

On Saturday, April 16, 2011, Tat Land lost a treasured rose. I never had the pleasure of meeting Doretha Albee, but her contributions to the tatting community were generous and many. For that I am forever grateful.

Georgia Seitz was fortunate to know her and has published this memorial on BellaOnline. Shared here with permission.

Doretha Albee's "Rose Medallion" first appeared in "Tatting Online, The Official 1999 Tat Chat Pattern Book," published 1999 and edited by Georgia Seitz. Shared here by permission of the editor in memory of Doretha.

In January 2000, Carol Lawecki tatted this lovely multi-colored "Rose Medallion" by Doretha Albee and has kindly granted me permission to share her photo here. Thank you, Carol!

Did you know that Mrs. Albee designed a Pineapple Doily? Yessirree! Designed in 1997, it is called Pineapple Heaven.

CrazyMom is tatting this lovely doily. You can follow her progress here: Doily Progress

"Tatting Knots and Notes Revisited, Book 1"

Doretha's only published book to which I can find any reference is the newsletter compilation, "Tatting Knots and Notes Revisited, Book 1." A copy of it, I am told, is available through the I.O.L.I. Lending Library.

I'm not an I.O.L.I. member. However, PLG of VA tatter Anita Barry shared 4 issues of "Tatting Knots and Notes" from 1999 that she had saved in her library. Was I excited!

The tone of the newsletters was intimate and genial. I immediately felt as if I were sitting with Doretha tatting and chatting over tea. Few bloggers, including me, achieve this level of warmth in their writings. Once I had devoured them all I was left wanting more.

Doretha shared anecdotes, patterns from turn-of-the-century needlework magazines, tatting news and original designs.

She wrote of hating to cut and tie ends (Don't we all!) and often reworked antique patterns to make use of modern techniques. Clear photos of her own samples rounded out the pattern sections.

Doretha's window on the tatting world was filled with warmth and charm.
Let's all encourage "Tatting Knots and Notes Revisited, Book 1" to be reprinted.

Never having known her, I feel sure that I would have liked her immensely. Thank you, Doretha Albee, for continuing to publish this newsletter after Pat Perry died in 1991.

Thank you also for leaving a legacy of tatting companionship that will grow and flourish for generations to come.

On this last Tatting Tea Tuesday of May 2011, I raise my teacup^* in tribute and bow my head in silence before picking up my shuttles.

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

^* Today's tea is an infusion of decaf green/pomegranate/raspberry/mint.