♥ for Postie and Spring Bling

This past week I received three wonderful packages that made me feel so special! One had traveled all the way across the sea from JaneE. It reaffirmed my faith in Royal Mail.

This image is from Jane Eborall's Etsy shop listing. It is the butterfly bookmark I bought for Igoya, my twin sister.



Forgot to snap a photo before mailing it out, so I had to wait to share the images. Igoya should be receiving it today. Jane did such a splendid job!

I did, however, remember to take this seahorse bookmark photo. Isn't he a handsome gent!

They are both really stunning lace creations. It was quite difficult choosing which to send and which to keep.

Spring Bling

This second package was actually the first to arrive, but my dithering kept me from doing anything other than fondling the pretty papers and holding Clover shuttles up to them. Thank you, Lace-lovin' Librarian Diane, for your generosity and color-coordinating everything in advance.

The shuttles are mine for the blinging. Diane did not send them. Her gift of papers was generous enough!

Giveaway Prize 

The third package was jam-packed with even more shuttle decorations. Thank you, Bree, for sharing so generously. It is the biggest giveaway prize I have ever received. Now to get blinging!

Dip a Toe or Jump in?

So the moment of truth has come. I decided to toe-dip instead of jumping in.

I covered a bon bon box with mulberry paper and lined the inside with a glittery gold. Toss in a few shamrocks for luck and...

Voila! A travel box fit for a leprechaun.
(He might need Ray-Bans^®...)

(Image courtesy of Ray-Ban^® Virtual Mirror)

Holy cow! Where has the time gone? I have another whole post worth of macaroon goodness to share for Tatting Tea Tuesday. Ah well, it will have to wait until tomorrow. Check back for Mad for Macarons

Happy Macaroon Day!

Since I missed Macaroon Day last year, (organized by François Payard himself to coincide with the jour du macaron in Paris), I feel compelled to spread the word about this little French confection.


This Tuesday, March 22, I propose celebrating the arrival of Spring by settling in for Tatting Tea Tuesday with your favorite cuppa and a tasty macaroon.

Who's with me?

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Curious about these meringue-like marvels?

National Public Radio published this story earlier this year:

NPR - Move Over Cupcake, Make Way for the Macaroon

Paris Breakfasts shares Jour du Macaron 2011 photos.

One of my Twitter pals, @NotQuiteNigella, posts this about her love-hate relationship with macaroon baking.

The Macaron Whisperer

I even competed in @NotQuiteNigella's Ultimate Chocolate Cake Challenge in 2008 and did much better than I expected.

A Parently Speaking (2008)- The Ultimate Chocolate Cake Challenge

A Parently Speaking (2008) - You Still Have Time to Vote

Whether or not you have means to bake or acquire one or more of these tasty treats, I wish you a very Happy Macaroon Day!

Paper, Podge and a Plane

My poor abused fingers have been bandaged lately, which makes tatting awkward, so I switched to scrapbooking and experimenting with Mod Podge.

Here is the first digital scrapbook page I finished. Of course, one very eager elf leapt with glee as soon as I agreed to post it.

The bottom section leaves room to add hybrid items, such as bits of tatting and an accordian-fold mini-photo book.

The journaling wraps around the page. It is hard to read unless you can enlarge the image to 8x8 or larger. So here's what it says:

It's up, up and away for Ciarrán the leprechaun! Here he is taking advantage of a fine Spring day to joy ride on Birgitte Tessier’s model airplane.

Waving goodbye, our intrepid lep' takes to the skies and sets his sights westward. It is a quest he hopes will end in romance as he heads off to win the heart of his lady fair. Ciarrán had the good fortune to train with her during his academy days in a remote Irish location.

With naught but a lucky coin and his passion to guide him, it will be the adventure of a lifetime. Good luck to you, Ciarrán!

The photos were taken LAST Spring, hence the May 2010 date. Since then I have not heard heard the end of lep pestering to post this page.

Does Ciarrán have secret motives? A flight plan?

I did spy him skulking through the kitchen the other night. The next morning there was an unsealed letter addressed to a lady lep sitting on the breakfast table.

'What does that wily sprite have up his sleeve?' I thought and peeked into the envelope.

*gasp* A glimpse inside the card...

The card bore the lady lep's name as well as a bit of Irish poetry. Not wanting to spoil the surprise in case the recipient reads this blog, I cropped off those parts. (Sorry!)

But oh, it makes my heart glad to see that Ciarrán has not given up on romance. His resolve hasn't waned in spite of receiving no word from his lady fair in a year. And let's not forget he has a rival.

Will Ciarrán's love interest favor him with an answer?

Stay tuned for more Adventures of Ciarrán the Leprechaun.

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This post has gotten quite long so watch for details of my experiments in Mod Podge in the next post.

Next:  Dip a Toe or Jump In?

Civil War Tatting

On Saturday I will be giving a short talk on tatting at a stitcher's guild meeting, and hope to mention how tatting fits into the Civil War timeframe.

I am not well-versed in Civil War historical research. Luckily I don't need to be. Virginia Mescher has published a great article on Civil War tatting that Kersti kindly posted with permission over at InTatters forum.

Follow this link to read all about it: Civil War Tatting

Or read it via the Online Tatting Class: Civil War Tatting

Historian Lorene Payne of the Southern Fauquier Historical Society is coming to speak at the Piedmont Lace Guild's April meeting. She will give a presentation on Ladies Wear of the Americas in full 19th century garb!

The program is open to guild members and guests.
E-mail info@piedmontlace.org to join me as my guest.

Hope and Union

design*sponge loves this little peek inside a sunny, Charleston, SC coffee shop called Hope and Union and I must confess to mirroring her yearning to move inside. But for a different reason.

I want to tat there! Bet I'm not alone.

Who lives close enough to this coffee shop to go, tat and take pictures so I can live vicariously through you?

Fifteen Seconds of Fame?

Last September, my Tatting Tea Tuesday - Tidbits post announced a future 15 seconds of fame.

It came! It came!
My 15 seconds of fame...

A complimentary copy of the March/April 2011 issue of Piecework magazine arrived in today's mail. ツ

In the "By Post" column (page 4) is my Letter to the Editor regarding the tatted edging shown in "A Tray Cloth to Hemstitch" (September/October 2010).

Georgia Seitz's web site is cited as a source for the edging pattern. It is to be found here:

"Butterick's Tatting & Netting" 1896

Tatting & Netting, Part 1 (page 24 of 40)

Seeing one's name in print is strangely surreal. (Squee!)

The March/April 2011 issue hits newsstands March 8th.

This issue contains NO TATTING, but it is filled to bursting with rich, vibrant color!

Read on for today's Tatting Tea Tuesday post.

Tatting Tea Tuesday - Edging toward Spring

Happy Tatting Tea Tuesday on this first day of March. Were you able tat at IHOP this morning?

Long lines stretched out the door of my local IHOP.
Folks in my area must really like free pancakes.

I wanted to tat at IHOP, but sadly came home to paint. I haven't finished painting 180 craft sticks that must be done by March 5th for the lace guild.

Painting hasn't kept me from my shuttles entirely. This week I have been test tatting two new patterns for CrazyMom, plus breaking in four new Pony shuttles.

CrazyMom's patterns must be kept top secret for now, but here is what has been reeling off the (new to me) Aero-style shuttles.

Nelson Edging © 2011
Design by Orsi (part of her Napoleon series)

Both samples are 3-inches (7.6 cm) long. The first is tatted in size 30 Bali HDT by Backwoods Tatter. The second sample is tatted in size 40 Lizbeth^® #663.

Don't they look grand? The Lizbeth^® is a trifle more crisp than the Bali HDT; the difference only showing up when closing the Josephine Rings.

Thank you, Orsi, for sharing this superb edging on your blog. The whole Napoleon series is stately and elegant. Your patterns are exquisite!

Meandering Vine
More inspiration comes from Lace-lovin Librarian ~ Diane, who has been test-tatting an edging for her sister. Her process fanned the edging spark in me.

Edging #8861 from Tatting No. 207, 1944

Meandering vine #8861 was her sister's chosen edging. (Hey, I have that book too! Tatting. Published by The Spool Cotton Company No. 207, 1944.)

The clustered rings that make up this flowery pattern have always looked like butterflies to me. So pretty.

Watch for a color edging using #8861 to come soon. In the meantime, head on over to Diane's blog to monitor her progress or enter her Spring Bling Giveaway!

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