Shopping!

As today is the final time this summer that The Sprout will spend Friday at Day Camp, I decided to treat myself to a shopping trip to Kohl's.  (It has been 5 years since any new clothing has entered my wardrobe. Not since maternity clothing.)

I am so pleased with this tunic top. Look at the interesting neckline.  The moment I saw it I said to myself, 'I'm going to add tatting to this!'

Neologistic Rant - Incentivize?

Readers of this blog know that I like to have fun with words. I am not a hater of coined phrases. But I must protest a recent media abuse attempt to coin a new phrase:

INCENTIVIZE

Seriously?

Wikipedia offers up many wonderful examples of neologisms:
"Popular examples of neologism can be found in science, fiction, branding, literature, linguistic and popular culture.

• Examples include laser (1960) from Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation, robotics (1941), and agitprop (1930)."
• Popular literature examples include cyberspace, from "Neuromancer" by William Gibson.
• Lewis Carroll has been called "the king of neologistic poems" because of his poem, "Jabberwocky", which incorporated invented words like chortle (a combination of 'chuckle' and 'snort') and slithy.

Popular culture phenomena have created many new phrases, such as jumping the shark from the 70s TV series Happy Days, and Internet.

Incentivize isn't fit to lick the boots of legitimate neologisms, IMHO.

The early bird gets the worm or so I have heard. It is true in this case:  Neologism Competition

I leave you to idly chortle over invented words. You will surely do better than incentivize.

A Tale of Two Fillings and Fair Results!

Thank you all for your kind and supportive comments about The Sprout's day at the dentist.

The Sprout was so brave! He stayed calm through the laughing gas and the novocain. After his lip and cheek went numb he willingly opened wide and the dentist went in to start drilling.

That's when the hysterics started. When the drill sound came from inside his mouth. He got through it, thanks to the amazing patience and gentle hand of the dentist.

Then it was time for ice cream: a dentist-approved strawberry milkshake to help pass the time while the effects of the novocain wore off.

Later we headed to the County Fair. Here are a few pictures to share with you all.

Sw4nkyL4c3r entered the most fetching Venetian mask, tatted in black with Swarovski crystals and decorated with feathers. I was shocked to see a red ribbon on it! The mask was a shoe-in for the blue, or so I had presumed.

A delicate, ecru tatting bag filled with tatting tools was chosen for the blue ribbon. It is lovelier than my cell phone photo can portray, hearkening back to a style from a bygone era.

And a darling, wee bunny was entered by a new tatter! Hurray, a new tatter!

Prince William County Fair tatters, if you are reading please accept my warmest congratulations and an offer to meet up any Wednesday evening in August or September at the Yarn Cloud for tatting and chatting. The tea is on me!

Why didn't I enter? Because I hadn't completed the doily I started (but only got half-way through)  from 2010. It never entered my mind to enter something else that I had completed. Sometimes I can be such a dim-wit.

Here are a few more photos from the Home Arts competitions.

The crocheted watermelon purse makes me smile! Wouldn't it be a hoot to tat a watermelon purse? How about an ensemble of watermelon-themed accessories?

*crickets chirping* Okay, maybe it's better to stick to chocolate-themed items.

Riding on a kiddie tractor ride with his best friend, Little Man A.

Just look at that face. Those dark, expressive eyes. Is he not a deadly lil' charmer?

Tatting Tea Tuesday - Blue Hands & A Braid

This morning The Sprout has his second harrowing experience at the pediatric dentist. He is having cavities filled. He has decided he hates going to the dentist. Do you blame him?

Hands of Blue

The photo reminds me of the mysterious pair of assassins from Joss Whedon's cancelled TV series Firefly and follow-up film Serenity. Those blue-glove-wearing baddies were creepy and deadly.

The red doodad on The Sprout's nose is supplying laughing gas. Even with the gas he cried hysterically the entire time (10 days ago) and I suspect he will scream again.

Make no mistake, these visits are hard on the mommy too. Tatting zen doesn't even scratch the surface of guilt I feel knowing that I did not do enough to keep his teeth clean.

(An inside voice is saying, "but thank goodness we found out before the decay affected his permanent teeth." Is that even a valid thought? Would tooth decay affect the underlying teeth?)

We are now using fluoride tooth paste, dental floss and an anti-cavity rinse to keep future cavities at bay. And by we I mean the whole family. I guess that's something.

Once we get home I intend to break out the chamomile tea and a big box of tissues, in case my post-procedure nerves get the better of me.

Motif 25 - Interlocking Ring Lanyard

I have begun the "braid" technique described in Jane from South Africa's Interlocking Ring Choker pattern. (A lovely piece of jewelry!)

Jane Eborall describes it in her post from July 2010: Just look at these

The threads used for this are:

• Lizbeth^® 40 #157 Raspberry Frappe for the foundation row. 
• Lizbeth^® 40 #638 Christmas Green for the Interlocking Row.

If you are fond of tatting split rings (as I am) I encourage you to try this technique. I am enjoying it immensely. My only regret is not planning ahead to include beads in the center of the foundation rings. If I had done that the end result would be spectacular!

The photo shows only a few inches, but I have so far completed interlocking rings for 12 out of 36 inches of the foundation row. (30.5 cm out of 91.4 cm)

This, or one of Gina's (Tatting Goddess), Interlocking Ring techniques would make gorgeous friendship bracelets, don't you think?

This will be a lanyard for Palmetto Tat Days. Once finished it will be counted as Motif #25 of my first 25 motif challenge.

Score One for Charlie Brown

Oh, ha ha!  What a marvelous treat I found in my mailbox today. An unexpected letter from Lily! (Aren't these simply THE BEST sort of surprises?)

Just a little, hand-addressed envelope. So very exciting to open and read! I was immediately time-shifted back to younger days when I would anxiously await letters from far-away pen pals.

This letter was every bit, if not more, exciting than those. It felt a bit bumpy in spots and I immediately thought, "Lily sent me tatting!"

I ran. I kid you not, RAN home to open the letter.

Sounds silly right? But having an appreciation for the time, effort, energy and love that goes into a hand-made piece of tatting, I get excited when someone sends some to me. Don't you?

Here's what I saw as I opened the contents:

Not sure if you can see the round, embossed spots in the paper...at regular intervals...can you make out the barest hint of an outlined shape in the paper?

Okay, okay, enough stalling. Ta-daah!

Oh Lily, these are even more bright, bold and beautiful in Peacock Blues than I could have ever imagined. And the gold beads and wires accentuate the lace to perfection. Your stitches are impeccable. Stunning! I will wear them proudly and think of your generosity every time I do.

It all started back on July 30 with this comment on Lily's blog:

Thank you, Lily, from the bottom of my Peanuts-lovin' heart.

I accept this spectacular gift in honor of Charlie Brown. This time Lucy didn't pull away the football. This time he kicked it through the goal post.

Tatting Tea Tuesday - In the Zone

Juggling multiple projects can frazzle the nerves but this past week I was in the zone. Let's credit the adrenaline rush from registering for Palmetto Tat Days online. I'm getting excited!

My tea for today is a tall glass of iced pomegranate apple green tea. It goes down smooth and easy on hot summer days.

Beginning Tatting - Level 1 Kit

This week:

• I wound 12 floss cards with tatting thread samples, loaded 6 Pony shuttles and assembled 6 new (beginner level) tatting kits for my class that starts tomorrow night.

Fleur de Lis Motif Sample

• I tatted a new sample in Lizbeth^® 20 #642 Lilac Medium. The rings on the sides are floating free to test a hypothesis fueled by Jane Eborall's awesome Diamond Mat. How will the Fleur de Lis motif look joined together into larger shapes?

A quick-n-dirty, not-pretty-enough-for-prime-time pattern is available for any brave soul wishing to test tat. Email me at the address listed in the "About Me" widget on the right navigation panel above. (Look for the red-headed cartoon girl.)

Heart's Honor © Wanda Salmans 2011

• Wanda Salmans' Heart's Honor bookmark is closer to completion. I'm half way through round two.

This is my "on the go" tatting project. It is great for tatting in the car or while DH watches TV shows I don't care for. This design is eminently preferable to "Mansquito" or Sasquatch or Ghost Hunter TV. (Apologies to fans of these shows. They are just not my cup of tea.)

Lizbeth^® 40 Peacock Blues is the thread I am using for Wanda's lovely bookmark. It looks pretty to me, but sometimes I am not a good judge of a variegated thread overpowering a design. Do tell: do you think Wanda's design is getting lost?

Flying Minor Norwegian Dragon © 2008 Anne Bruvold

• I began a test tat of Anne Bruvold's Flying Minor Norwegian Dragon in pastel-colored quilting cotton blended with a sample of YLI red-gold variegated thread CrazyMom sent me.Thanks, CrazyMom, I have been so anxious to try the sparkly threads you sent.
• As I mentioned, I registered for Palmetto Tat Days online.  Wheeee! 
• I registered The Sprout for his second year of preschool. Where has this summer gone?

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

Starting to Pack

Call me crazy (it wouldn't be the first time) but I have started packing for Tat Days.

Here is a sweet list of recommendations from say la vee blog to help anyone else with their advance planning phase: packing