The Blogess

Another blog I cannot get enough of is The Blogess. Author Jenny Lawson's audacity has generated many blog success stories and a book!

WARNING:  Her personality is addictive and outrageous. Snort-your-drink, wet-your-pants funny.

If I had a tiny fraction of her chutzpah I'd be a wealthy woman. She is brazen and cheeky and I love reading her posts.

Like this one:  Does this cat make me look fat?

Thank you, CrazyMom, for turning me on to this humdinger of a blog.

Jason. For the love of God

Posting a note to myself.  One of the first blogs I read regularly in 2006 (that wasn't a tatting blog) was this one.  It was called (you guessed it)  "Jason. For the love of God."  That Chick Over There regularly kept me in stitches with her thoughts, prose and rants.

Then came the sad, sad day when I noticed her RSS feed hadn't updated in awhile.  The while stretched longer and longer until I resigned myself that I would no longer get to read her thoughts on life. It was like a light had gone out in the world.

Fast forward to today. While making preparations for the July 1^st demise of Google Reader, I noticed a new (to me) post!  It directed readers to a new blog.... *drumroll*

That Chick Over There You might also know me as Stephanie Snowe. I'm a mom, a wife, a writer, and a blogger. Oh and people think I'm hilarious and they are right.

...now has her own domain: Stephanie Snowe: The Blog!

Oh how I have missed you, Chick.  Settling in for a leisurely read.  It is a good day.

UPDATE:
Carol Lawecki asked for information on what alternatives exist for Google Reader. Here is what I found:

• Flipboard -  lets you compose and share personalised magazines. It's very well done.
• Reeder -  available on the Mac, iPhone, and iPad. It takes your Google Reader subscriptions and presents them in a "clean and well-lighted" way.
• Digg Reader - ready to save power users from Google Reader shutdown
• Feedly - a highly customizable app, offered as an app on iOS and Android, and as extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari on your laptop or desktop.

MercuryNews.com has a nice graphic summarizing options:  Google Reader's going away, but...

Hope this helps!

♥ from Postie ♥

Ooh, it has been a good week for post. An unexpected parcel arrived from a northern cousin, she of the flying shuttles, the magnificent Fox! To what do I owe this good fortune?

Goodies from Fox

The note card caused a brief pause, as I didn't recall doing anything requiring a thank you note...

Fox was thanking me again for sending her a Pansy shuttle from La Cossette many moons ago. (Tat-ology 2011: So Blessed)

...enclosed was a pretty wisteria shuttle from La Cossette to add to my collection. Yippee!
That is not all. Cindy from A Happy Bluebird made a terrific felt needle book to pass along.

Fox's timing couldn't be better, as I am stitching my fingers raw with applique work on the Palmetto Tat Days fund-raiser wall hanging. Applique needles are sharp and having a case to keep them in is a life-saver.

Fox and Cindy, THANK YOU so much my friends!

Blue-eyed penguins for Tat Days charity fund raiser

Gettin' Grape-y with a Pineapple
When my stitching fingers need a break, I ply my shuttles toward a promised heart for JB.  Here is a sneak peek of her heart so far.

In progress:
Pineapple Split Ring Heart © 2004 Sherry Matthews
Tatting by IsDihara

Pineapple Split Ring Heart pattern can be found online at Needle Tatting Forum (registration required). It is also linked from Tatting Pattern Central.  (Registration is still required at Needle Tatting Forum to access the pattern, but once logged in, the link at Tatting Pattern Central opens right up.)

Arlene shared a photo of her two completed hearts back in 2008 on her blog: Arlene Tats and Knits: Sending out Hearts  Check out her blog to see a photo of her lovely hearts.

Time to confess...I improvised the pattern, substituting two joined rings for the clover at the bottom.

Red is de rigueur, but the soft purple shades of Lizbeth® 40 #165 Grape Splash add charm, n'est-ce pas? Once completed, this heart will be a milestone - my first pineapple pattern.

Hoping you have time to indulge in lace-making endeavors today and can also enjoy a summer cuppa.  See you next Tuesday for more communi-tea!

Motif 24 - German Triangle Motif

For Tatting Tea Tuesday I decided to forego tea and focus on creating a new blog header. Still tweaking the fonts, but doesn't the lace look good in succulent summer colors?

Inspired by Jeff Hamilton (Bridge City Tatting) and Fox (Tat-ology), I have blithely jumped on the bandwagon for Susanne Schwenke's triangle motif.  The pattern and diagram are available in her book "Spitzen-Kreationen" on pages 42-43.

Susanne Schwenke triangle motif
tatted by IsDihara

Thread used is Lizbeth® 20 #156 Juicy Watermelon. I was using up leftovers from the Jane's Bookmark Cross I made at the end of May. This triangle is so nice to tat and gave me good practice working only from a diagram.

The backdrop is one of my fingerless gloves. The soft halo the Angora fibers give the lace is quite pleasing. Here is another look at the gloves:

Hand-spun Angora
knit fingerless gloves, top

One side is smooth and the other is ribbed so it is like having two sets of gloves in one.

Hand-spun Angora
knit fingerless gloves, bottom

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

A Call for Dragonflies

The 2013 Tat Days scholarship fund raiser involves tatting dragonflies (as well as other bits).  All tatters are welcome to participate. Dragonflies must be received no later than JULY 1st.

Sharing a quick list of  free dragonfly pattern links:

Libel, the Dragonfly © Riet Surtel Smeulders 2002
http://www.georgiaseitz.com/2002/sssr/rietdfly.html

Beaded Dragonfly – Sue Hanson © 1999 and © 2005
http://freespace.virgin.net/bo.hanson/Tatting/BeadedDragonfly/BeadedDragonfly.htm

Dragonfly - © Jane Eborall 2011
http://www.janeeborall.freeservers.com/dragonfly.pdf

Dragonfly Pattern © Shirley Hill
http://www.ringoftatters.org.uk/patterns/shirleyhill/sh.html

Dragonfly and Swan © Jon Yusoff 2010
http://tatsaway-patterns.blogspot.com/2010/02/dragonfly-and-swan.html

Mrs. Mile's Dragonfly © 2010
http://lalalime.blogspot.com/2010/06/life-in-general-my-first-tatting.html

Little Beaded Dragonfly © Debbie Arnold 2000
http://ds9designs.com/littledragonfly.pdf

Dragonfly by © Lisa Reichert 2002
http://www.tatsall.ca/patterns/LRdragonfly.htm

Also, a lovely dragonfly designed by Sharren Morgan is included on the Tat Days 2010 Pattern CD. Here is a snapshot.

And a dragonfly I tatted from Riet's wonderful pattern  (see link above): Outdoor Tatting - Dragonfly!

Please consider sending in one or more dragonflies of your choosing to help raise money for the scholarship fund.  As a scholarship recipient last year, I can attest to the value and NEED for this marvelous scholarship.

That is why I am stitching and tatting to create a decorated wall hanging to be auctioned off for fund. It is a huge blessing to tatters who otherwise would not be able to attend.

Editor's Note:  As of publishing time the link to the 2013 Tat Day Fundraiser page was broken.  As soon as it is working again I will add it to this post!

UPDATED at 2:10 p.m. on June 8, 2013
The link is back up!  http://www.georgiaseitz.com/2013/new2013fundraiser.pdf

And there are more opportunities than I knew!  Flowers, dragonflies, tatting to adorn Mardis Gras masks...please read through all the ways you can help!

Double Cross

The first Tatting Tea Tuesday of summer started out with me sipping an iced green tea Nojito.  I make my own mint syrup, adding several splashes of lime to the green tea plus a fresh sprig or two of mint.  YUM!  Feel free to add rum if you prefer a Mojito-tea concoction.

Two Jane's Bookmark Crosses
Designed by Grace Tan/Jane McLellan
Tatted by IsDihara 2013

This week I completed a second Jane's Bookmark Cross. One for each of Sapling's Kindergarten teachers. These turned out great! Both are lovely and were a joy to tat. Sapling's last day of school is June 13, 2013, so I even completed them before deadline.  Perhaps the most amazing part!

This second cross is tatted in Lizbeth® 20 #149 Peacock Blues. It measures three (3) inches in length (7.62 cm) and two (2) inches wide (5.08 cm).

Hats off again to Grace Tan who cleverly adapted Jane McClelland's bookmark pattern into a cross.  And gratitude also to Jane McLellan who adapted her bookmark from a braid that appeared in the May 1984 Anna Burda magazine.  Such amazing talent from these two tatting ladies.

Jane's Bookmark Cross pattern PDF may be downloaded from the Tatting Class Homework page: New Pattern from Grace Tan

Ramblings and a Sneak Peek

To kick off summer tatting season I had wanted to tat another Celtic Strawberry Heart by Birgit Phelps or one of Martha Ess' charming Split Ring Ladybugs (pattern available on Palmetto Tat Days 2009 Pattern CD).  Alas, with the stitching I am doing I wasn't able to start either project.

It seems the Piedmont Palm Frond group was the lone sponsor of a decorated wall hanging this year. We had been keeping mum about our theme but I see no reason to keep it under wraps any longer. Here's a sneak peek at our whimsical blue-eyed penguins:

Playful penguins wall hanging for
2013 Tat Days fund-raising auction.

There will be more to discover about these capricious penguins at Palmetto Tat Days in September.  The wall hanging will have hand-stitched applique, couching and some bead work as well as tatting and bobbin lace. My hope is that such fun-loving sea-birds will be in demand on auction night.

Bubble Tea and Motif 23

This post was supposed to be published on Tuesday. Since I started walking with a tatting friend on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, I haven't been so consistent with publishing my Tatting Tea Tuesday posts.

This one, for instance. The tatting photos and starter text were prepared on Monday.  All I needed to do was sit down at the computer and finish after returning from my Tuesday two-mile walk.

Close up of the tapioca pearls in my tea.

Didn't happen.
The upside of a Thursday post is that I can share the bubble tea I am drinking today.

Lemony Green Bubble Tea (iced)

It is a super-tasty indulgence with cell-supporting antioxidants and cancer-fighting catechins.  Bubble tea is also called boba or pearl milk tea and originated in Taiwan.   Mine is tea without the milk, but if you add the milk you also get a small calcium boost.

Motif 23 - Jane's Bookmark Cross

As for tatting, I am having a great time making my first (ever) crosses to give as gifts to Sapling's Kindergarten teachers.  Hard to believe, isn't it? I have been tatting for over 30 years and these are my first crosses. 

Jane's Bookmark Cross
progress after day one

I just love how the green rings fall at each end of the horizontal bars and the juicy fruit hues cluster toward the center. And I used the SSSR to finish the bottom ring. A great method of hiding ends.

Scan of Day 1 progress on
Jane's Bookmark Cross

The white background on the scanner makes it harder to see the pale green stitches, but had the most sharp resolution.  Of course, these images are of the lace unblocked.

Jane's Bookmark Cross
progress, day two

This cross is tatted in Lizbeth^® 20 #156 Juicy Watermelon and measures three (3) inches in length (7.62 cm) and two (2) inches wide (5.08 cm).  Grace Tan cleverly adapted Jane McClelland's bookmark pattern into a cross, which itself was adapted by Jane from a braid that appeared in the May 1984 Anna Burda magazine.

Isn't teamwork wonderful? The evolution story of this cross is quite good too. Without the Internet bringing these people together would this cross have been created?

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