Flame Lantana Ho! UPDATED

Ahoy me hearties! Silly Hat Central is awash in deck swabbin', net and sail hangin' and lots of timber me' shiverin' today, so that the only ones who be walkin' the plank tomorrow for The Sprout's Dread Pirate party be scurvy dogs!

On Tuesday I be sharin' a peek of the latest treasure from Tatskool - the fiery Flame Lantana hand-dyed thread. Oh, it be fine and proper loot for a pirate!

If ye not be back, then I be sendin ya to Davey Jones' Locker! Aaaarrrggghh!

Avast! Ye know you're on deck when ye see me Jolly Roger! The snow be no hindrance.

And the deck hands be playin' games of chance.

Arrr, it be good t' be a pirate, argh! Be sure t' come back Tuesday for ROY treasure -- Flame Lantana HDT.

Snowed in Under a Cherry Moon

More snow! New Tea! And a tiny bit of tatting.

Valentine's Day has come and gone but I'm still feeling its rosy glow. So I start Tatting Tea Tuesday by brewing up "a romantic tea of tender warmth."

That's what it says on the package of Cherry Moon Decaf Green Tea I purchased as a Valentine's Day treat.

Disclaimer: I do not profit by promoting the teas I drink while tatting on TTT, but I do enjoy describing them.

This one is a relaxing blend of decaffeinated Sencha green tea and hibiscus, plus some unspecified flavor mix concocted by the Eastern Shore Tea Company. I do not taste cherry, but I do detect a light fruit (orange or apple?) and rosehips flavor. A quick check of the company's web site confirms the blend has hibiscus, rosehips, apple pieces, orange, and cherry flavors. Wow, if only I were as good at wine tasting!

The packaging invites the buyer to share this tea with a special friend. And so I shall.

If you would like to try a sample of Cherry Moon Decaf Green tea, let me know in the comment section below and I will mail you a foil-wrapped tea bag. Be sure to email me privately with your contact info!

Now for the tatting.

An experiment is underway. Here's the hypothesis: Can Lyn Morton's Margaret motif (found in her book, Tatting Patterns, page 81) with its six-petal flower, be tatted as a nine-petal flower and turned into a nine-sided motif?

So far I like the way it is progressing in Tatskool's luscious ChocoRaspberry. The five-petal posies are positively cheerful. And would be even more so if tatted in Springtime colors with green chains.

I did make one more change to Lyn Morton's pattern. I threw off a ring from the connecting chains in order to expand the circumference of the circle, allowing room for nine posies and creating a bit more negative space.

Pardon the messy state of the tatting (unclipped strings and what not). I had hoped to be farther along, but with a pirate birthday party planned for later this week, I'm swamped. Aarrgh!

Wishing you all blissful me time to create something beautiful.

See you next Tuesday for more communi-tea!

Always on my Mind

As Valentine's Day winds down in my corner of Tat Land, I wanted to pop in with a heart day recap.

The lads surprised me with many lovely valentines. First, the Sprout bounded onto the bed bright and early exclaiming, "Happy Bal-tine Day!" and planted a big, sweet smooch on a sleepy mommy. Isn't that just the best way to start a day?

Next was the opening of the cards and presenting of two (one small and one large) heart-shaped boxes of chocolate. Good gracious! Mr. Whitman and Mr. Stover, the lads had you both covered!

So far the orange creme curse hasn't reared it's sickly sweet head. (Growing up with three chocolate-loving sisters, it inevitably fell to me to reach into the box and pull out the dreaded orange creme candy every time.)

But there's more! Big Daddy pulled a large gift-wrapped box out from under the bed. Inside was a new Dell laptop computer. It has a 17-inch display. Sweet!

That's my guy, bringing home electronics. Not that I'm complaining. Now, if need be, I can blog from the road or bed.

One of many incredible photos on exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History
These photos were taken during a January trip to the National Mall where we visited three of the Smithsonian museums. Everywhere I turned I was seeing hearts.

Sailor's Valentine, 1880's

The displays are so well done at the Smithsonian. Even the most staid subjects are brought to life with color and lighting. Check out the bones:

Pacific Walrus - see the heart?

Irish Elk - no heart, just lovely light and graceful lines.

Tyrannasaurus Rex - rrrraaaaaaarrrrr!

Whale suspended from ceiling.

Wishing you all a whale of a day filled with sweet wishes, surprises, treats, and tatting. See you on Tuesday, when I am hoping to show you some of the tatting I managed to do over the weekend.

Snow-Smacked, the Sick-quel

Panoramic view of our neighborhood street
(as seen from our front door)
Or how Silly Hat Central was laid low by stomach flu.

Gastroenteritis is going around my little corner of Tat Land. When my neighbors complained about it raging through their homes almost two weeks ago I thought, "Knock on wood, it passed us by." But I was wrong.

Big Daddy shoveling the driveway
This past Friday and Saturday my little corner of Tat Land also got walloped with record snowfall. No worries! Silly Hat Central was well-provisioned and ready. Friday night The Sprout started vomiting at 1:00 a.m. and had the accompanying diarrhea. It wasn't pretty but Doctor's Mom and Dad handled it.

Last night at 2:00 a.m. Dr. Dad repeated the Sprout's command performance and has been down for the past two days. The Sprout is feeling better but still has a touchy tummy.

I am relieved to report that I feel fit as a fiddle today. Hurray!  Thank you for all your get-well wishes!

Big Daddy shoveling the driveway
(as seen from our front door)
The weatherman is calling for anywhere from 8 to 14 inches of snow to fall today through Wednesday.

What started out as the perfect snow-in, is turning out to be a gastro-ordeal for the men.

Tatting Tea Tuesday
On a brighter note, I saw this lovely blog post today on the topic of Tea on Tuesday. Christine does include tatting in one of her photos. I wonder if we could get her started tatting, so she could join in the TTT fun?

And be sure to scroll all the way down so you don't miss the GORGEOUS Bougainvillea photo. If the sight of that doesn't dispel the Snowed-In Blues, nothing will.

As for me, no tatting to show you today.

This stunning heart doily made by Carla over at Chiacchierino della nonna stopped me dead in my tracks. I immediately noticed (thanks to Sharon's superb tutelage in the Design_Tat online course) that the split rings leading down to the bottom trefoil would make a dramatic "X" if tatted in a different color.

And I did see this very comfy-looking yoga ensemble embellished with Mehndi embroidery. The design just screams to be tatted, don't you think?

Well, I'm off to squeeze in a bit of tatting me time before the sick men-folk awake from slumber.

Wishing you all blissful me time to create something beautiful.

See you next Tuesday for more communi-tea!

Pamper Yourself Giveaway WINNERS

Thank you to everyone who entered! It makes me so happy to share the Valentine love with you all, since you have been so generous with your advice, praise and support of my tatting endeavors.

I entered all participants of my Pamper Yourself Giveaway into an Excel spreadsheet. Everyone was assigned a different number and those who were eligible for two entries were assigned two numbers. I then used a random number generator to pick the two winning numbers.

Prize pack number one goes to Tatting-Marie.
Prize pack number two goes to Jeanette.

Congratulations ladies, please send your mailing addresses to IsDihara@verizon.net so I can sent out your prize packages.

And remember, if you weren't a winner and still want to try any of these spa soaps, lotions, linen sprays or lip treatments, head on over to New Hands Soaps and Lotions on Etsy and don't forget to type in the FREEBIE code for a free dark chocolate lip balm.

There, my sales pitch is done. ツ

Pamper Yourself Giveaway Correction and a FREEBIE

Quite a lot of attention is on The Big Game in the US, but for anyone who cares, I must make a correction to the Pamper Yourself Giveaway.

In the prize package I incorrectly listed the linen spray as a 4 oz. (118.3 ml) instead of 2.5 oz (74 ml). Sorry for the confusion! The smaller spray is the correct one.

Also, if your name is not picked by random number generator tomorrow and you still would like to try any of these lovely products, Igoya will sweeten the deal by adding a FREE dark chocolate flavored lip balm to your purchase. Just type the word TATTING into the comment field on the order form to receive your FREE lip balm.

Please come back tomorrow, when I announce the two lucky winners!

100th Post "Quirky Fact" Tell All

In homage to Sports Widows Everywhere
First, a philosophical question:  Can you call yourself a sports widow if your spouse doesn't watch sports?

Here at Silly Hat Central, I'm the big sports fan of the house. That said, I only watch Steeler football, Penguins hockey and DCI World Championships^* when I can find them on TV.

(I'm a total pushover for the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet too.)

With my 100th post falling on Super Bowl Sunday, I thought a quirky fact tell all might be fun to share!

^*Some would argue that marching band competitions don't count. They never marched in a competitive music corps.

So without further adieu, I present . . . [drumroll]

This article was originally posted on Sunday, February 3, 2008 on A Parently Speaking.

The Super Bowl and Snapple Cap Comments
Congratulations to Eli Manning and the New York Giants for winning Super Bowl XLII.

Today's Big Game was a good one. Neither the Giants or the Patriots are my favorite team, but I appreciate a hard-played sporting event. And who doesn't love rooting for the underdog?

Every year at this time I think about the Super Bowl counting system. When those roman numerals flash across the TV screen it's as if the NFL is screaming out how old I am.

That's right. That big, splashy logo is a neon sign of my age.

Does that make me as old as the Super Bowl? Well, yes and no.

A quick check of Super Bowl history casts doubt on a seemingly simple comparison:

Fact #1: I was born in July, 1965.
Fact #2: The first Super Bowl was played in January, 1967.

So, I'm not really as old as the Super Bowl. I was born 18 months before the first Super Bowl was played. But because of the way birthdays are counted and the month of the year during which The Big Game is held, I get to lay claim to being the same age as the Super Bowl.

It's an amusing little enigma. Just like me.

I used to pull out this bit o' trivia at cocktail parties. But let's face it, I haven't been to a social function in over a year and half. New moms don't often see the light of day, let alone sip drinks and make witty conversation. That's why we're called Stay-At-Home moms, isn't it?

Actually I think it's kind of cool being able to stay at home. (This from the career woman who swore she'd go back to work. Talk about life being stranger than fiction.)

And saying I'm as old as the Super Bowl is remarkable, if not entirely accurate. So, if I end up with Alzheimers, my family, friends and caregivers will have an easy way to remember how old I am.

Or maybe dropping my enigmatic factoid at a cocktail party of their own.

Got a quirky little fact that's your claim to fame?
Leave me a comment and tell me about it.

I'll post a "Most Likely to Make It Onto a Snapple Cap" list, complete with roman numerals if you really want me to.

Come on. You know you're Snapple-cap-worthy!