Kool Tatting and More

Another Collector with me.

2010-01-28T18:51:00.000Z

I was not the only one collecting badges wherever we went. My son collected Scout badges for his camp blanket and my daughter and I egged each other one wherever we were! She had lots of penfriends in the days of real mail and they were often Guides.

Here is her banner....

She has lots of countries in there that I don't have....I can see, Norway, Greenland, Nevada ...she has Guide Badges where I have Brownie ones...and she even has a Chinese coin with a hole in the middle

.........and some original Fimo creations that she is so good at.

A little while ago she told me that I could have all her badges...she has moved on....or realises how much room collections takes up and how many more things she is going to want to collect. But giving it to your mother is not quite the same as throwing it away!

Maybe I will show some of my Irish Badges by way of coming to the end of this project. You have been very good to stay with me.

There are so many that I have had to start another banner.

The blue ones on the right are Brownie badges and the green ones on the left are Guide badges and in the middle are specials.

Looking at these interest and group badges, they are just the same as they were in the 1950's when I would have been Brownie age. I still have the badges sewn on my Guide Blouse and they are just the same. It took us a long time to modernise, now our onterest badges actually look 'interesting' and attractive.....but they will all be sewn on to my second banner....eventually!!

I love the special commemorative badges.....let's zoom in on a few.

This was the first special badge a I ever saw and I was hooked!

This was our 70th Anniversary celebrations. Guiding didn't start in Ireland until 1911, most countries will be celebrating their centenary this year but ours isn't until next year,

We planted hundreds of Daffodils all over Ireland, ours were round our community center. Imagine my horror the following spring to be greeted by a little Brownies with a few daffodils clutched in her hand. "These are for you Brown Owl"

What could I say....except to explain to them all why we shouldn't pick them.

Suffice to say within a few years they were gone!!

These were for our 75th Celebrations.

Here is our 80th Celebrations......our entry into the European union....Trees for Africa when we raised money to buy trees......Water badge when we learned how to conserve water and what it was like to live without running water....Thinking day Peace badge...and so on.

Our latest anniversary was our 90th in 2001...but that's on my new banner. if I ever get them sewn on I will show you....now that's a threat.

England

2010-01-27T17:38:00.000Z

Last but not least are the posters from England. My SIL was my contact in Braintree Essex and the Brownies were from Braintree and Bocking.
It seemed that all the local packs wanted to get involved so I received a whole sheaf of posters.

Wow, what a lot of Brownies!

Now for my UK badge banner, I thought that this was all of them until i went through my swops box today and discovered loads more badges that need sewing on.

The Brown badges on the right are the old style that are very similar to ours. The rectangular ones are the six/little groups) badges and the triangular ones are interest badges. the square ones are for the footpath, road and highway along which they travel on their Brownie Journey.

On the left are the new funky badges that the kids love. The oval one is a six badge and the diamond shapes are interest badges.

Maybe this merits closer inspection.

Along the top are (well some of them are) badges for the different counties and regions. the ones in the center are mostly for special events. the rainbow in the middle is the badge of Rainbow Guides...the littlest ones. the yellow metal badge on the left is the new Brownie Enrollment pin.

I have got tremendous feedback and lots of groups wanting to take part. USA and Canada are the dominant ones...isn't there any one else out there.

Comments are more than welcome.

Wales

2010-01-26T18:27:00.002Z

Closer to home was a Brownie pack from Anglesey, an island off the coast of North Wales. On old school friend had a daughter in the pack.....mmm very soon we read that my friend(who also learned to tat at school with me!) had taken over as temporary Brown Owl.....sounds familiar!!
We were friends with this pack for several years, exchanging photos, letters and making scrapbooks for each other. It was great for the packs to see what other Brownies were doing.

They even tried to teach us a bit of Welsh.

Tanzania

2010-01-25T18:02:00.000Z

Dar es Salaam is another special place for me. I was so happy to get a reply from a Brownie Pack.

A super poster. I hope they will take part again.

I don't have a badge collection from Africa. Would love some.

Thank you all for the responses that I am getting , keep them coming and do please leave a comment if you are enjoying this world journey.

Fiji, where the day begins.

2010-01-24T17:28:00.001Z

I have a soft spot in my heart for Fiji so it was with delight that I got a response from the Guides of Fiji.

2nd Suva Brownie Pack sent this poster.

They also sent a photo of their group and a sheet about the songs and names of their sixes....

they are the traditional Brownie Figures of Gnomes, Sprites, Imps and Leprechauns. The names and songs are fascinating.

Also a leaders handbook and a gorgeous book about Guiding in the Pacific.

As well as Fiji there are Brownies in The Cook Islands......my daughter and I had the pleasure of visiting a Guide Company in Rarotonga......Kiribati, Solomon Islands,Tonga,Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Western Samoa.

I remember crossing the International dateline between Fiji and Tonga....on my birthday...and losing half of it!!

Joy of joys they also sent a badge!

Here it is in my tiny Pacific Collection.

Italy.

2010-01-23T16:41:00.000Z

We received a poster back from a primary school in Sicily.

Wowee! this was a work of art.

With it came a letter......signed by all of the pupils.

The translation reads...to the best of our ability

Dear friends,

We are 16 schoolchildren, 9 girls and 7 boys, in Class 4B in the elementary school in Ficarenzzia district of Aciostello near Catania. Catania is a beautiful city in Sicily bathed by the sea of Tonio.

We have received your letter together with the drawing of your land and we are happy to take part in your 'sign of peace'.

We also wish so much for there to be peace always in the world.

For this we send to you a beautiful poem by the poet Lim-Tiem-Mim called

PEACE

It's not important who you are,
man or woman,

old or young,
workman or peasant,
soldier or student or merchant.

It's not important what is your creed,
politics or religion.

If you had asked me what is the thing most important to mankind.

I would reply,
first, next, always,

Peace.

We send many regards to you and return an embrace with the right hand.

Isn't that beautiful.

Can any of my Italian tatting friends find me a link to a Cerchio (Brownie pack) of Coccinelle (ladybirds.)

Australia and New Zealand.

2010-01-22T18:44:00.009Z

My contact in Australia turned out to be a Lone Ranger Guide who also works with a Brownie Pack.
I was so delighted to get a poster back from New South Wales as we were in Sydney for 4 months in 1986 and for two of those we helped out with a Brownie Guide Pack in Sydney. I still use some of the idea that they taught me. Wonderful kids and a wonderful leader. What are they all doing now?

Lots of interesting things on here, rubbings of the coins....she also sent a sheet of photocopies of all the bank notes.

I don't remember if she sent any badges. My badge banner for Australia is bursting with memories.

Let's zoom in on some of my favourite bits ....

....like the little Koala in Brownie uniform and the Kangaroo in Guide uniform. O also like the woven bookmarks with the Promise and Law on them.

I guess they are celebrating their centenary this year as are Canada, we don't celebrate until next year.

Now to another favourite place....New Zealand. I didn't meet any Guides but I did get to the Guide shop in Aukland to buy as many badges as I could.

I wrote to the Guide shop and they passed our poster on to a Brownie pack who sent this lovely poster back.

Such a lot of work went into this. lets look at a few details.

These are the groups that the Brownies are divided into to. Each one is a six, with a sixer as a leader.

The silver fern is one of the badges that they work for. You can see them all on my badge banner.

A close up of some of my favourites.....

.......they even have Brownie and Guide Buttons!!...and they have the embroidered bookmarks too.Their enrollment badges/pins are just like the Briitsh ones.See the little green plastic good luck Tiki. Just realised where the little gold Tiki pin that is rattling around on my desk, came from...the 2 little holes above the plastic one. Now I have to zoom in on the Kiwi brooch set with paua shell.

Battater has just shown a tatted Kiwi and given the pattern...so......I HAVE to tat it!

Byeee!

I NEED new contacts for Australia and New Zealand.......to date I have, potentially Singapore, Texas. North Carolina, Georgia and Canada(Ottawa).

China.

2010-01-21T18:01:00.008Z

Wowee! Texas yesterday and today I have been able to contact the Guide association in Singapore.

I would love to be able to send one to Singapore as it holds many happy memories for me.

Last time the only poster that I received from Asia was from the Taiwanese Brownies, Taiwan, Republic of China.

This poster is just delightful and one of my treasures.

Let's have a closer look at some of the drawings.

Isn't this a delightful drawing of a Brownie in uniform.

Pinned to the poster was the Brownie badge (with the frog)and a Friendship badge, the start of my Asian Collection.

As well as a letter with great stamps the Brownies had made ornaments to hang up, each with a stamp set into it.

It would be so nice to know what the writing means.

Are there any more tatters out there who might be able to find out about Brownies in their country?

All comments will be appreciated even if you can't help.

U.S.A. and Canada.

2010-01-20T16:14:00.004Z

I now have a link with a Brownie Girl Scout Troop in Texas...yipee!

Last time my only contact in the states was with a leader in Maine who had a relative living near me. The Brownies were all in the 6 to 7 age group and sent us this poster.
Their troop is part of the Abnaki Girls Scout Council which means Land of the Morning Sun....as they are the first to see the sunrise in the United States of America.

We were delighted when this leader and her daughter came to visit our pack. This really brings home to the girls the fact that there are Brownies all over the world. We wrote to them and swopped scrapbooks and photos and badges/patches.

This is their Brownie Girl Scout pin which is on my very small American badge collection.

My contact in Canada was with a group of Pathfinders in the 12 to 15 age group.

They sent this poster....

.....and a gigantic laminated poster about Canada.

More posters coming soon, more comments welcome!

Peace begins....

2010-01-20T16:06:00.001Z

..........................with you and me!

Many years ago.....back in the dark ages......well 1989.....there was a badge going for a Peace Project...and I am a sucker for a Brownie badge!

In our leaders magazine there was a Children's Peace Treaty, and this gave me an idea.

So I got all of my Brownies to draw a picture of something either related to Brownies or to Ireland, just a pencil outline drawing. They came up with some great pictures. I cut them out and made a collage of them around the treaty on a large sheet of paper A3 size..that's about 11.5in by 16in.

The following week they all signed the treaty, and yet another week later they were all given several photocopies of the sheet to colour.

These things are always long drawn out when you only meet once a week.

This is my coloured copy to just show you how it comes to life.

So we come to the crunch

What were we going to do with our poster????

My idea was to send off as many copies as possible all over the world, to Brownies Guide/Brownie Girl Scouts. Known also by many other names in the different countries.....but all in the age group of 7 to 11 years.

Remember that in those days.....21 years ago we didn't have personal scanners or the internet at home.

Snail mail ruled.

The pack to be sent out contained our treaty and a blank one which we asked them to decorate, sign and send back to us, as well as information about Brownies in Ireland and about our own pack and local area....and anything else we could think of!!

My daughter who is a great illustrator had a big part to play in the finished products. She also had lots of penfriends all over the world, some in Guiding, who were sent a copy...with a request to pass it on to a Brownie pack.

Friends, relatives, Brownies all came up with names. Then there were places we had visited and Brownie packs and Guide shops that we had worked with and visited, and when all else failed...I just sent them to the Guide HQ in the capital city of a country, and the 4 World Guiding Centers and hoped for a response.

Altogether I sent out to 25 countries.....Australia, Brazil, Canada, Republic of China, Denmark, Fiji, Finland, Greece, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Tanzania, UK, USA, and Zimbabwe.

In 1990 there were 112 member countries, not sure how many there are now.

The red ticks are where I sent to and the green ticks are ones that sent a poster back...tho' some did write but my poster never did get a response from a Brownie Pack.

We marked them in on a map...great way to learn some geography!

For me this project goes down in history as one of the best things that I ever did.

21 years later.

These children are now in their late 20's or early 30's that's a whole generation ago!

And we still don't have peace!

You will not know this but the uniform that our Brownies wear has changed considerably in 21 years.

In the 1980's I was doing a doll making badge ....no not a Brownie badge!!

I had to make 3 dolls and one had to be a character doll, made of felt with a moulded face...and it had to be able to stand. So this was my character doll. The uniform is authentic even to the actual material.

She has all her badges and the scratchy wool hat that the brownies used to hate. She stands courtesy of copper rivets in her shoes!!

Now they wear a yellow sweatshirt, navy trackpants, navy neckerchief and navy badge sash and NO hat. Much more child friendly but no where near as smart.

The nearest I can do to show you is my Brownie TatBead from Jane Eb's TatBead family, look under TatBead family and friends in her people section.

OK! well that's the the required tatting element .

So now you are wondering why I said that you might be able to help.

Well I showed my Book Of Peace with all this in it and more, to the latest leaders of the pack and they were so taken by it that they want to repeat it for Thinking Day February 22nd, this year. For those who don't know Thinking day is a special day for all members of the Guide and Scout Associations all over the World.

21 years later now I have so many internet friends, and folks who have email, and so do the other leaders. The Brownies have cousins all over the world...and their mums have email.

Some of you must have girls of Brownie age, others must be able to find out about a Brownie Guide/Girl Scout/ etc group near you.

Please go out there and find names and addresses that I can send my packs to and lets make the 2010 project a humdinger!!

If you send me your contact info in a comment, I will not publish it......but you will have to send a second comment that I can publish! Do please leave a comment if you think this is a good idea and may be able to help,

A tranquil place to visit.

2009-10-27T17:05:00.001Z

Over on my other blog..which now has all the Kool Tatting stuff...I told you about Grandbaby's first birthday and his Birthday outing.

Lots of you wanted to know more about the garden.
While you can read all about the garden here I decided to share with you some more pictures of my visits there....last year in September for my 65th Birthday and this October for Grandbaby's first birthday.

The garden is a not-for-profit organisation and is a registered charity. Entry fees go purely to maintain the garden.

This is what the garden's founder says...
'Developing Brigit's Garden has been a wonderful process of seeing a dream come into reality. I hope many people will come here and enjoy the beauty of the place and the sense of closeness to nature. I feel that if we are going to sort out our relationship with the planet then we have to engage our hearts and spirits as well as our minds, and I hope Brigit's Garden will play its own small part in this process. We look forward to welcoming you to the garden.'
Jenny Beale

This is a map of the garden....

....let's take a closer look at the area at the bottom of the map...

These four gardens represent the Celtic festivals.
This is Samhain (pronounced Sow-en)The Winter Garden, probably my favourite.

If you click on the picture you should be able to read the sign.

The bronze figure is so tranquil.

Next comes Imbolc Spring Garden (pronounced Im-ulk).

The carved spiral represents the 3 faces of Brigit.

This leads on to a glade with basketwork swings.

Bealtaine Summer Garden (pronounced Belt-an-a) must look stunning inn the summer. The theme is of the mythical lovers Diarmuid and Grainne. We see their grassy bed surrounded by wildflowers in the summer.

A processional way leads between tall stones to a fire circle and a throne of bog oak and yew. It is a must to sit on the throne and claim your personal power and sit as King or Queen.

and the Bealtaine garden features Diarmuid and Grainne's bed, a grassy hollow facing the sun and surrounded by simple wildflowers. The lovers theme is carried through to the Flame Figures sculpture. A processional way between tall stones has copper flames set into the path and leads to a fire circle, backed by a throne in bog oak and yew. Here, the young adult can claim their personal power and sit as King or Queen in their own life.

Of course our little Prince was crowned King..

Finally there is Lughnasa Autumn Garden (pronounced Loo-na-sa).

This is laid out as a place for feasting and dancing.

That's just one area of the garden, the rest is very extensive with woodland walks etc.
The roundhouse in the center of the celtic gardens is where the Halloween storytelling will take place. It has windows looking out to each of the 4 gardens. It is used for art and music, meditation, meetings or just relaxing, and often for most interesting classes.

Here is the Crannog that you asked about...

No garden visit would be complete with out some plants!!

One little boy thought these were the best treat ever..

Lots more to see but you will have to go there yourself!!!

Another year another Queen!

2009-10-21T12:55:00.000Z

I can't believe that it has been over a year since the old Queen left us to go to another life...and now a new Queen came to town today.

You can't believe my excitement at waiting to see this new boat...I think I must be addicted to liners!

I wanted to see how much she would differ from the previous flagship. She is described as being a liner rather than a cruise ship! She was to be an Ocean Liner for the 21st century, and she went into service on Oct 20th 2004.

Yesterday was her fifth birthday. You can read more about her here.

This time we went to see if we could spot her before she entered the harbour.

Finally she emerged from the mist. It is a wild and windy day.

Then we had to race round to our favourite vantage point to see her enter the harbour. I wanted to take the same views as last time to compare her.

Here she comes, no blue sky today!

Look at last years picture of the old Queen.

The new one was built to have speed and stabilty..a difficult thing to achieve in modern Cruise liners with so much super structure. She certainly has more of the look of a modern cruise liner with large cabin windows.

compare... she is bigger and broader and was the largest ocean going passenger liner in the world at the time of her launch.
The original two Queens were 65,000tons, the retiring Queen was 80,000tons and this current one is 148,000tons.

Does she still have the old fashioned elegance tho'!

She looks so small again within the large harbour.

We were back down in the village with the oldest yacht club in the world in time to see her sail deeper into the harbour.

We didn't go to see her in dock this time, believe that she is going to get a great Irish birthday party send off with band and all when she leaves at 6pm this evening.

The sun has finally come out and the sky is blue, I hope that the passengers have wonderful afternoon.

Hope that she comes again.

The day the Queen came to town to say 'Goodbye'.

2008-10-03T10:09:00.036Z

Yesterday was the kind of day that I wished that I could bottle!

So that sometime in the future when I couldn't quite remember it, I could slip into the bottle and I would be there again. Maybe that is what cameras and blogs are all about.

It didn't actually start yesterday, but a long time ago...the excitement.

Sit back with a cup of tea and travel with me.

She holds a special fondness for us as way back in 1949/50 hubby and his family went to America and back on her predecessor. Years later having made so many good friends in the States his parents traveled to America again on this current Queen E.

I first saw her in 1989, I think that was when she first came to town, maybe earlier. But she couldn't get into the port to dock. Like every other liner she had to wait outside the harbour and her passengers had to be ferried to and fro by tender because we didn't have a channel deep enough.

I remember the excitement of getting up at dawn with the children to drive to see her, she was surrounded by crafts of all sizes out to see her too.

We have a long long tradition of visiting liners but not for pleasure cruising. Way back in the nineteenth century in the hey day of steam they were regular visitors

They carried so many of our people to the other side of the world. The wealthy traveled first or second or even third class but the bulk of the passengers were crowded into steerage.
We were the last port of call for the Titanic on her fateful maiden voyage and I was later to see the preserved wharf where they all bordered the tender that carried them out of the harbour to the waiting ship.

Queen E the second came to visit quite a few more times and by this time a deep water channel had been dredged so that she could come right into the harbour to dock. We have one of the most beautiful natural harbours in the world.

Then she stopped coming maybe 15 years ago and her place was finally taken by a multitude of modern cruise liners getting bigger and bigger as cruising becomes more popular, built like skyscrapers they are with a balcony to every cabin.

A few weeks ago we read that our her majesty now an old lady of over 40 years was to go into retirement. She had three more cruises to do and one was a round tour of the British Isles calling at..yes you guessed it. Her final voyage in November is to Dubai where she will become a floating Hotel.

We could hardly let this pass and so once again we drove to see her come in, on wednesday lunchtime ( amuch more civilised hour!)hoping for clement weather. As we parked at the headland at the mouth of the harbour...the open sea to our right obstructed by an old British Garrison Fort...the sky went a black as night and the rain came sheeting down.

When it stopped we waited in the cold wind until she appeared.

Funnily enough our first though was...isn't she small!!

She was accompanied by Pilot boats guiding her through the channel, and lots of small craft.

This is just a peek at the dimensions of the harbour, photos can never do it justice.

As she turned to go behind the Island the sun lit her up and oh she was beautiful.

She finally docked in the little town that used to be called Queenstown in honour of a visit by Queen Victoria but when we got out independence it reverted to it's original name of cove but now with an Irish spelling.

Can you see the cathedral dominating the town from high on a hill. Remember that!

Now that takes me to where I began... yesterday.

She was in town all day due to sail at 6pm and we decided to go and see her close up.

Did I say she was small!!!

She may be old fashioned by boy has she got class!!

I can't remember the last time I was in this town and the sun was shining, my what a difference it makes.

See the Cathedral, well you could hardly miss it!

The town was in party mood as it is for all the visiting liners but this time was special, we were told to give her a good send off in the traditional way..waving handkerchiefs, I wonder will any other port of call treat her in such a special way or is it just the Irish with their tradition of emmigration and hospitality.

We have such a great love of statuary nowadays, and here in the town park named after an illustrious President of the United States who came to visit we have 'The Navigator' holding a little paper boat, isn't he brilliant?

It's a huge pull up the hill and a lot of steps top the cathedral, but it's worth it for the magnificent views of the harbour.
But look at the gathering rain clouds!!

Can you see the Victorian Bandstand in the park below??

Can you see the arrow on the opposite side showing where we stood the day before to watch her come in??

Down below entertainment was provided in the bandstand, firstly by a Pipe band and then by the Army band. A cup of good coffee and a chocolate brownie from the market stalls and we settled into listen. It was the sort of atmosphere that I wished could last for ever.

At one time the leader of the brass band decide to play a remix of 'Singing in the rain' and hoped that it would not be a bad omen. the sky was already darkening yet again and no sooner had the struck the first chord when the heavens opened and we had to run for shelter again.

They played for an hour by which time it was after 4pm and getting cold.
Climbed another hill to get another view...sorry if you think this is a lot of photos, think yourselves lucky you are not getting the whole 93 that I took!!!..including 9 movies that I do wish I could show, but the best ones were way too big, am still a learner.

and I said she wasn't BIG. She is docked next to the old railway station not a Heritage Center showing emmigration, Titanic and Lusitania.

We managed to move our car up to just in front of the bows of the ship and waited for her to sail. Everyone was taking photos of others in the spirit of camaraderie. Some had sqaures of cotton mounted on sticks to wave.

It took two huge tugs a long long time to pull her out.

Drag her to a wider part of the harbour

a lot of waving by us and the passengers all out to see us too.

and turn her round.

She soon gathered speed...

and steaming off into the gathering dusk

so it was God speed old girl, safe home.......slán abhaile

May your retirement be long and happy.

Academia

2008-05-17T15:38:00.022Z

I thought that I would show you a glimpse of the place that I am working....University College Cork.
I work as an examinations invigilator...well someone has to do it!!

The photos were all taken with my camera phone so don't expect too much.
the University was founded in 1845 and was called Queens University part of Queens University Ireland until 1908. It is now a constituent College of The National University of Ireland.
The campus with its Tudor Gothic Quadrangle has to be on of the most beautiful places to learn that I have ever seen.

The lawn is cut into 4 sections by paths but rarely do you see anybody walking along the. To do so is said to be bad luck...as in failing ones exams!! The one time that they are used is on graduation day when the graduands walk along them in their gowns to the ceremony.

Lots more buildings joined the quad as the university expanded, some architecturally uninspiring but more recent ones compliment the quad and are architectually stunning I think.

This is the new students union building. I often supervise in the De Vere Hall at the top of the building used also nowadays for graduation ceremonies as the Aula Maxima can no longer cope with the numbers.

There are two cafes on the ground and first floors and looking out from the upper one you can see the new building the O'Rahilly Building housing the language departments.

This new area with it's circular amphitheatre incorporates another old building the Honan Chapel

Built in 1916 and named after the Honan family it has the most stunning mosaic floor

and stained glass windows by Harry Clarke.

There is frequently a wedding to be seen from the cafe on a well earned coffee break. Nowadays both bride and groom have to be graduates of UCC. I had thought my daughter might get married here but they opted for the College Chapel at University College Galway...see the very beginning of this blog!

This week I was suprised to see crocodile files of primary school children walking round the campus. Nothing suprising in that except that they were all wearing gowns, an academic experience very reminiscent of Hogwarts. I am sure the kids loved it.

Strange because this academic experience is not as true as it used to be as gradualtes don't see a gown until the day that they graduate and rarely own one.

In my day..in another life in another University we had to buy an undergraduate gown, very plain..hard wearing material and not at all fancy.
Those in halls of residence had to wear the gown for meals but for me the only time I wore it was for the lectures of a certain Professor who insisted on this...it was rather nice really except when you forgot to bring it and were turfed out of the lecture!!

My gown has come in handy on several occasions tho'. I used to have a flair for dressing my children up for the local fancy dress competition and this is what I dressed my daughter in when she was tiny. Shortened the gown to fit and made pipe cleaner spectacles and a papier mache mortar board. Complete with degree certificate and a copy of one of her dad's books .. she was following in father's footsteps!

Little did I know she would almost equal her dad (still one degree behind him!) and finally graduate with a PhD leaving her black gowns behind.

This is her dad at his D.Sc conferring in his glitzy gown,

'twas the only one of his conferrings that he ever attended and he did that only to please his mum and dad who were so proud of him ( we were too!!)
Now isn't he just something!!

Oh, and I did dress my son up once as a smurf..his favorite..good job that wasn't prophetic and he didn't turn blue and end up as one!

The Aran Islands

2007-06-30T20:56:00.000Z

Not much tatting done this weekend!
We celebrated our 40th Wedding Anniversary on Sunday last 24th June. Daughter and son in law (of the wedding at the start of this blog) took us away for the weekend to the Aran Islands. The islands are just a stones throw from their house, well a long stones throw as it takes about an hour by ferry. This is Inis Mor from Spiddal, Galway where they live.

The islands lie in the outermost part of Galway Bay and are of course the home of the famous Aran Sweater. If you want to see where they are located go to http://www.aranislands.ie/ for maps and more info.

Of the three islands we went to Inis Meain (Inishmaan) meaning middle island. Although bigger than Inis Oirr (Inisheer, east island) and way smaller than Inis Mor (Inishmore, big island) it is the least populated. There are now only 170 permanent residents on Inis Meain. Repopulation is being encouraged by the government.

There are a couple of small hotels with restaurants a pub, and a sprinkling of Bed and Breakfast establishments to stay at. The one we stayed at was excellent, lovely room with panoramic views of the island, the best full Irish breakfast you could wish for and a very good evening meal if desired, highly recommended.

This is the view from our bedroom window at the top of the house.

Each family on the islands had their own distinct pattern of cables and diamonds etc. on their sweaters. As most families were fishing folk should anything bad happen to them they could be identified by their sweaters.
The island has a modern Aran knitwear factory producing stunning pieces.

On arrival at the island it was 'shank's pony' for the walk of over a mile to the B&B reinforcing the old adage 'never take more than you can carry!! I'm sure that we could have been met at the ferry terminal if we had wished, but as it wasn't actually raining (well not all the time!! )we were OK.

The island is three and a half miles long and two miles wide and we were centrally located with shortish!! walks going in all directions. Our first walk was to the west to the most inhospitable part of the island taking the brunt of the Atlantic weather.

The Aran Islands are a continuation of the limestone pavement found in the Burren Region of County Clare cut off from the mainland at the end of the last ice age by rising water levels.

The fields in this exposed area are just a thin covering of soil on the limestone.
We had taken our own picnic fodder including the bubbly for the occasion as shopping is limited to a couple of small shops selling basics and snacks for tourists. We ate our picnic in the shelter from the wind given by a dry stone wall, just before the rain came down again.

Another walk led to a pre Christian ring fort. Within the tiered stone walls would have been a group of dwellings, with lookouts posted on the walls prepared for invasion.

Contrasting sharply with this was a modern church with beautiful stained glass windows by Harry Clarke great shelter from another rain shower.

A mix of old and new, in general it was like going back in time a hundred years. This house was almost next door to our B&B. It's garden wall covered in sweet smelling honeysuckle.

An after dinner game of Mahjong while watching the many bonfires on the island and mainland,(it was midsummer bonfire night when traditionally one is allowed to burn freely). Next day we were greeted by morning sunshine so headed down to the beach.

This relatively unspoilt island is like Ireland used to be and how many tourists still think of Ireland.Heading east this part of the island is much more sheltered and hospitable. We heard many birds including a cuckoo, the wild flower meadows were a delight with wild orchids in abundance. Cinnabar moths were everywhere and a field of Pearl Bordered Frittillary butterflies found only in the Burren and parts of Britain was a rare treat. We had never seen this butterfly before.

The long black sandy beach was a magnificent foreground to the ever changing sea and sky. The weather changed every few minutes, we got soaked and sunburnt in the same day!

Overhead the Terns were divebombing us indicating that there were nests nearby.

There in a small depression in the middle of the beach totally exposed was a nest with two eggs.

Alan was sitting on the edge of the dunes also being mobbed and when he got up not more than a foot away was a small chick! I suppose that exposure of the nests like this allows the parents to see when predators approach and they certainly did their best to see us off zooming within inches of our heads.

All too soon out time in this haven of peace was over and it was time to roll the suitcases back downhill this time to the ferry.

Was the rain approaching faster than the ferry? We just made is before another downpour.
Sad to say goodbye to this beautiful island, a harsh life in the winter months,we were not tempted to move there. An experience to be remembered for a long long time.

I hope you have enjoyed this little glimpse, so many photos had to be reduced to just a few.

Honour amongst geckos!

2007-06-30T15:08:00.000Z

OK the last of the silly gecko photos. Glad to see that the little one finally got a lift!!

Jane Eborall has designed a gecko tatting pattern for me. Go look at my 25 motif challenge blog to see my first tatted geckos and read a bit more about geckos.

Geckos coming home!

2007-06-19T15:15:00.000Z

Well it's dusk and the geckos are wending their weary way home after going to see Jane's gecko (no they didn't call at the pub on their way Jane!). They seem very tired and don't seem to have much consideration for the poor little chap at the back.
They seem to have encouraged Jane to keep tatting the gecko.

One more piece of gecko memorabilia was staring me in the face all the time, our wall mirror, made in Indonesia was a gift from a friend who came to stay.

Geckos on the move!

2007-06-16T13:04:00.001Z

I was sitting having my lunch today when I suddenly noticed that the geckos that I had casually put down on the sideboard after I had photographed them had suddenly become organised and were on the move!

This really gives a feeling of their size and variety. I wonder where they are heading so purposefully. Perhaps they heard that Jane has nearly finished the tatted gecko and are off for a peak!

A Celebration of 'Gecko-ness'

2007-06-12T10:27:00.000Z

I am sure you know by now that hubby and I are nuts about geckos.
My friend Jane Eborall is designing a gecko in tatting for me and was asking me should her design have skinnier legs, longer legs or what.
Well geckos come in the most extraordinary shapes and sizes so hers is going to be a sort of generic gecko that can be tweaked in to a number of different specific geckos.

When you are gecko mad you begin to see geckos everywhere you go and I don't mean living ones. It seems that the whole world has a love affair with the cuteness of the gecko and so it is easy to find a gecko momento wherever you go.

Not that we actively go out looking for them they seem to find us!! as well as family and friends finding them the perfect gift.

So this article is a celebration of some of our Gecko collection.

The smallest is a tiny beaded gecko I made, just under 4cm he would make a lovely earring. the pattern is in 'Beadlings How to Make Beaded Creatures and Creations' a Klutz book.

Another beaded gecko is a key ring that I came across in Germany, here he is together with the little one to show the size (about 10cm). A very clever design of beads and wire.

The largest ones I have are a pair of cast iron geckos at 30cm which looked great in the garden until they showed signs of rust and had to take up residence on a windowsill.

They came from the gecko meeting in Germany that we go to every year along with is my latest aquisition, another large metal one with an eyelet underneath so he can be hung on a wall.

Almost every market stall wherever we go has paperweight geckos, brightly coloured materials filled with sand. We have these too but they seem to have gone walkabout.
A variation on this theme was given to me by a friend and is a stuffed gecko sewn onto a zipped purse.

Of course I know you all will want to know what is so special about geckos apart from their cuteness. The answer lies in their feet.
A gecko can run up a vertical sheet of glass holding on by means of it's 'sticky' foot pads. But they aren't really sticky at all, the underside is covered in millions of tiny hairs, down to molecular level and they interact with the walking surface, kind of like 'velcro' except that they can release a lot easier.
There is a lot of research ongoing to try to find out exactly how this works and if it can be of use to mankind.

Geckos are the only vertebrates that can bend their toes upwards as well as downwards.
This is a great advantage if they are walking over a dusty surface and don't want to get dust between the tiny hairs they can curl their toes upwards as they walk to keep the pads of the ground.

The ability to walk up a shiny surface enables them to walk along shiny leaves or up a tree with very smooth bark. A great help in running away from predators.

For realism it's hard to beat the rubberised gecko here, you can almost see those toes curling up.

Now for something unique, this is a handpainted gecko mug commissioned in England by my son for his dad, geckos solve a lot of birthday problems.

Here is my gecko plate that I painted at my daughters hen party last year, it looked wonderful until it had an accident in the firing, still you can't win them all!

Cute! yes we do cute too. Here is my favorite fridge magnet, a little gecko with magnets in his feet, he is a real poser and lives on the cooker hood at the moment, tho we never know where he will turn up next.

This tiny little resin gecko is sitting on a real nut and I think was made in South America.

Finally some more unusual hand made geckos, staring with a hand carved painted gecko from Mauritius This is characteristic of the brightly coloured 'day geckos' found on the island.

A beautifully carved specimen, 21 cm long, look at his lovely eyes.

Saving the best 'til last, here is a recent gift from an Australian friend.

12 cm long and made from 'Fimo'clay isn't he exquisite. he is the work of Jon Anderson of Fimocreations, go and have a look at his work.

Hope you enjoyed seeing these, you should see the T-shirt collection!!!!!!!!!!

Festival of Lace

2007-04-08T16:27:00.000Z

This Easter weekend my lace guild 'The Traditional Lacemakers of Ireland' are having an exhibition of lace made by the guild members and also some antique lace.
Guild members were asked to put two pieces each into the exhibition.
Although I am learning Carrickmacross, Bandon and Bobbin lace I wanted to exhibit some tatting.
My first piece was a framed bonsai tree from a pattern by Lindsay Rodgers in 'Tatting Collage'.

The second piece I have been working on this year is a collage of tatted animals.

I think I will have to explain the reason for this one.
The exhibition is being held in Fota House a beautiful Regency style 18th century house, restored and reopened to the public in 2002. A perfect setting for a lace exhibition.

Fota is a small island in Cork harbour connected to the mainland by a causeway. The estate, former home of the Smith-Barry family is also the home not only of a beautiful arboretum but also Fota Wildlife Park, and this is the reason for my tatted animal display. All of the animals with the exception of the Meerkat are to be found in the park. They do have Meerkats in the Dublin Zoo though.
We have two black swans in the park that swim in their own pond together with a rescued seal so they had to have their own little pond in my display.

The lace exhibition was superb. What a talented lot!

Unfortunately Easter Saturday the day that I went to work at the exhibition, was so sunny that few visitors to the estate came indoors to look around the house. They don't know what they missed. We did also have to compete with the Easter Bunny who was having an egg hunt outside the window of the room we were working in!

During the afternoon we had a lecture on The History of The Limerick Lace School given by Veronica Rowe a lace historian. Her Grandmother started the Limerick Lace School in the 1890's. At the time there were many lace schools throughout the country as lace was very much in demand. The Limerick School continued until 1923 when hand made lace was no longer in great demand.
Her slides and display of antique Limerick lace was superb.

Happy St Patrick's Day

2007-03-17T10:21:00.000Z

Sending St Patrick's Day greetings to you all here I am with my Brownie Guide Pack.

We had a manic meeting yesterday,had a mock parade Mississippi style with the leaders throwing necklaces, dubbloons and all things green at them which they then wore and paraded around in.
We managed to get through the whole of the syllabus for the Gaelic badge, here they are singing 'The Fields of Athenry'.

Sprigging School

2007-03-16T13:08:00.000Z

I had such a lovely day yesterday that I have to share it with you.
By way of an introduction, my lace guild 'The Traditional Lacemakers of Ireland' led by Veronica Stuart won a Gold Medal in Italy last year for their research into the history of lacemaking.

This work resulted in the West Cork Lace Trail brochure published by the West Cork Leader Co-op Society.

Excerpt from the intro in the book:- 'Through the late 1800's to the early 1900's, lacemaking provided famine relief in almost every town in Cork. It was mostly taught through the convents and when a nun was moved from one convent to another she took and taught the lace in the next area. Each area adapted and made their own changes to the patterns and stitches. In West Cork countless pieces were sold to the passing liners.
Many orders were also received from royal families. No order was too big or too small as many families relied on their lace being sold to provide for their next meal.'

I haven't visited many places on the lace trail and yesterday was delighted to join guild members on an outing to the Rathbarry Sprigging school

I spent the morning visiting a lace class in Clonakilty where I continued with my Carrickmacross lace project. No tatting done today! I think I must dedicate a blog session to explaining how Carrickmacross lace is made. That's for another day.

West Cork I think has some of the most beautiful scenery in the world and the area around the pretty coastal village of Rathbarry is lovely. The research for this part of the lace trail was mostly already completed as the Sprigging school which was in ruins had been reconstructed as a millenium project.

Sprigging is white embroidery usually worked on fine white linen and shaped like a sprig or spray.

The school was opened on 1825 by Lady Carbery who resided in the nearby Castefreke Castle. She employed a teacher who lived in the school. The building had two rooms, the kitchen and the school.

The teacher slept in the kitchen on a settle bed and laid green ferns on the floor.
She kept hens in a coup in the kitchen and ducks outside and at night after the pupils had gone home she brought the ducks into the school room.
On a visit to the school Lady Carbery decided that the school was not clean enough and had a summons served on the teacher by the local magistrate. When she was brought before the the judge she recited this verse in her defence.

"Your Honour, I have made lace for Lord Donoughmore, for ladies and gentlemen over a score. Then and never before was the charge of uncleanliness laid at my door"

The judge dismissed the case and she walked out like a lady.

The school was private and the students paid five shillings a term. On completion of their course they would then teach their skills to others.

Here we all are outside the school.

The school lies beside a fast flowing stream. the bridge over the stream is only newly constructed.

In 1825 access to the school was down these steps, lift up your skirt and cross the stream by stepping stones and up the steps at the other side.

The sprigging school is open every day of the year and is well worth a visit I certainly enjoyed mine.

Carnevale

2007-02-18T15:09:00.000Z

Venetian Carnevale came to Galway, Ireland last Thursday night Feb 15th.

Carnevale meaning 'farewell to meat' is traditionally celebrated before the beginning of the Lenten season culminating on Shrove Tuesday and dates back to the middle ages.

Mardi Gras...french for Fat Tuesday is celebrated in the America's coming up to fever pitch on the last tuesday before lent begins.

Venetian Carnevale began to be popular in the eighteenth century. It began the day after Christmas and lasted for six weeks. Everyone wore brightly coloured costumes and masks and because they were disguised the social class system was turned upside down during Carnivale time. Nobility could mingle with the lower social classes undetected and vice versa... they had a ball!!

The festival would begin with a series of balls and was be followed by many smaller parties. Partying went on until midnight on Shrove Tuesday, when the bells of San Francesco dell Vigna tolled to announce the beginning of Lent, the end of Carnevale, and a return to the rigid socal restrictions.

The Venetian government encouraged the street theatre, juggling, acrobatics and organised games.

Lindsay and Dermot, together with The Italian Society at The National University of Ireland, Galway (NUI Galway) decided to organise a Masked Venetian Carnevale Ball to benefit the Hospice Foundation and twisted our arms into going!

My Carnivale mask began it's life several years ago in 2002 when an art teacher helping with our Brownie Pack made masks with the Brownies using plaster bandage.

The results were so good and the technique so fascinating that when my children were both at home we decide we would have a go.

Three of us volunteered to have our faces smeared with Vaseline and trust our greasy faces to the skills of another. Their dad was non so keen!

The technique was to apply small pieces of plaster bandage that had been soaked in warm water, over the Vaseline. I really can't remember if we put cling film on top of the Vaseline. Plaster bandage used to make plaster casts on broken legs etc was readily available in our art shop.

Layers are built up evenly until the mask is about three layers thick, making sure not to go too close to the eyes and leaving spaces for the nose and mouth.
The plaster quickly begins to harden and the mask can be removed from the face. All in all a very strange experience especially releasing the suction hold to the face.
Then leave the plaster to dry completely.

The results were excellent if a little grim. This is Criss's mask.

The really funny thing about the three masks we made was...if she put on his mask it was like she was wearing his face!!! Even now as I still have them it is easy to recognise the owner!

They were decidedly ghoulish so we decided to have another go and make Venetian style half masks as we had done with the Brownies.

She styled my mask with a longer more pert nose more like a Carnivale mask, much nicer that my nose!!

Twas only when the masked ball come up that I remembered out efforts.

First job was to cut them to a more refined shape, tidy up all the rough edges and add more ordinary plaster of Paris to make them smooth.
Here is my mask ready for decoration.

Then I painted it with two coats of gold paint, real gold I think. Judson's Gold Paint consists of gold dust which is mixed in with a kind of varnish. The results are always stunning, it looked like something from King Tut's tomb!!

Since feathers are a part of many masks, it was suggested that my tatting and feather headdress that I made for her wedding (see my posts of Aug 2006) would go well with the mask, I chose to decorate it in gold and aubergine. The outfit that I wore for her wedding could have another airing too. I always thought that it was more suited to a fancy dress occasion, but I guess thats what a wedding is anyway!

Traditional masks often have rick rack round the edges and sequins surrounding the eyes.

Decided that it was to have a row of tatted split rings round the eyes finished off with an amethyst swarovski crystal.

The thread I used is Kreinik's very fine braid in light gold. This is a lovely thread to work with and really looks like spun gold.

Along the top edge I used the same thread to make arched chains with long aubergine (Flora 20)trefoils falling from them studded with beads and AB swarovskis to give a bit of sparkle.

I think it looks pretty good with the tatted orchids and feathers.

So you want to know about the ball.

Lindsay and Dermot are masters of fancy dress, look at my Halloween post Oct 2006 to see that.
They looked stunning!

Dermot had made his traditional mask in papier mache. It was such a good fit to his face that he didn't need to tie it on at all. The tricorn hat did give him a better sense of security tho.

Masks made on your face are so comfortable as it is like wearing a second face!

Lindsay didn't have time to finish her hand made mask and fell for this beautiful genuine traditional mask from Venice. It was stunning and even looked good on me.

Better than my own I thought but it was a lot of fun as always making one and I think it turned out well and quite authentic.

Hubby looked pretty cool too in his mask and evening outfit even tho he did get covered in silver sparkle.

The NUI Galway Juggling Society brought a real touch of carnivale to the event. At the beginning of the evening the juggled outside the hotel with flaming brands, and dabolo's. Later inside it was with streamers, and clubs added. The carnivale costumes and masks were super.

About 165 revellers attended the event and most were masked and made it a great success. The meal, dancing and spot prizes with a carnivale twist were all great.
I really should have taken more photos, but there is always next year...
Oooo I shall have to think up another mask!

Here are just a few photos to give you a taste of the atmosphere.

Brownie Tatbead and more

2007-02-12T13:13:00.000Z

If you haven't seen Jane Eborall's Tatbead family, then you must. They are delight, she constantly comes up with something new and these are a wow.
Jane designed Brownie Tatbead especially for me, and she is so cool that I just had to stop everything I was doing and make her. She is very fiddly bit of tatting but then I love fiddly things and she was well worth the effort.

It's the detail on her that makes her so cool. I wish all of my Brownie Guides turned up dressed so smartly in their full uniform every week!! there are always missing/lost neckerchiefs,woggles and sashes.

I have been a Brownie Guide leader for 26 years and still love the kids.They really keep me young and there is nothing better to boost my ego than 24 adoring!!! little girls who notice when I have had my hair done, got new spectacles, jewellery etc.

This is me being presented with my silver 25 year service badge, that's the highest accolade. They mustn't expect us to last much longer that that!!

Not that it's always complimentary of course. I recently told them that I was too old to join in a raucous game. Later when we were in our Brownie ring, a little lassie holding may hand asked if I was a grandma. "No" I replied, "Phew!!!" she said in relief. Must be very uncool to have a grandma as your Brownie leader!!!

The uniform that Brownie Tatbead is wearing is relatively new and much more child friendly... sweatshirt top and tracksuit bottoms, scarf and sash to hold all the badges so they don't have to be washed regularly as on the old uniforms. How the kids used to hate those scratchy woollie hats!

When I first became a leader we had just got a new uniform which looked so smart.
I made this doll as part of a test for a Dollmakers craft badge. The brief was for a standing character doll with a moulded face. the face is felt stretched over stuffed balls of felt and she stands with the help of copper rivets in her shoes.

She was so much fun to make to get all the details right. From the side views you can see that she has earned a few badges. Two stripes above the wrist mean that she is a sixer in charge of her six.

People always ask why she is dressed in blue if she is a Brownie. The origin of the name comes from a story about the little fairy people, the brownies who helped out with chores round the house when no one was looking, just like our little lassies should be doing today.
When the little sisters of the first Girl Guides wanted to join in they were given the name 'Rosebuds'!! not very apt for these mischievous little imps.

More about my little Tatting Tree

2006-12-22T23:24:00.000Z

Thank you so much for all the nice things said about my little tree.

Would you believe that I was just watching Gardener's World on the BBC tonight, and they were talking about the history of the Christmas tree, real and artificial.

What did I see but my tree! It was one of the early artificial trees, made in the 1930's from dyed Goose feathers. I always thought they were Chicken feathers. So now I know.

Confirmation of it's age makes me feel even worse as it loses more of it's feathers and becomes even more 'tatty'!

Christmas Wishes

2006-12-21T16:04:00.000Z

November and December have gone by so quickly, filled up with Christmas preparations.
One of the things I like to do is to make my own Christmas cards (I love rubber stamping! This one has layered Christmas trees in silver and gold). It's my way of saying to each person on our Christmas list, that maybe we are only in contact with just once a year that they are special to us.
This year I manage to make 65 before energy and enthusiasm really did run out.

I would have liked to have made a card for each and every friend but that's just not possible. So here is my Christmas Card to all of you to wish you a Happy and Peaceful Christmas.

Every year on Christmas day morning we head to the sea to watch the sponsored Christmas swim. It is always a delight to watch all those hardy people plunge into the icy cold sea and be thankful that we dont have to!!
My idea of a Christmas plunge is a few lengths of the swimming pool followed by an extended soak in a hot jacuzzi!
Last year was such a lovely bright day, the year before it snowed on Christmas day the first time that I can remember...this year the forecast is for very chilly fog, hope they are wrong. After all the rain and gales we have had, dry and calm would be good.

A teeny little tatted snowflake snuck into the Christmas card but here is my Totally Tatting Heirloom tree, it gets better each year.

All the tatting will hopefully end up as heirlooms and the tree already is, all the way up to the glass spire on the top.
This tree has been around for as long as I can remember, it may go back as far as the 1930's when my parents got married. It is certainly pre-christmas tree lights 'cos can remember it having little metal candle holders at the tip of each branch with pretty spiral red candles. Not sure if they were ever lit in my time or when they were removed to make way for electric lighting.
When it came to me it was in a pretty bad way, and had to be carefully reformed. The foliage is made of dyed feathers now rather brittle and getting thinner each year. Each little shard of broken feather falling off it at the end of the holiday season reduces it's time left to shine...
Click on it to see the tatting, maybe you will see something you designed, treasured by me. To all tatting designers, I owe you a big thank you.

Halloween fun

2006-11-01T15:21:00.000Z

Happy Halloween every one.

I think that Ireland is the home of the Halloween tradition and it's celebration is getting bigger and more commercial each year. Not many people decorate their gardens yet but I am sure this will come. I saw some super ones in America, loved the sheaves of corn with cobs wrapped round the lamposts, a real squirrel treat.Not many kids come round trick or treating round here, they've all grown up, pity cos I love it.

We always carve a pumpkin, make pumpkin soup and pumpkin pie..yummy!

This year we had our first adult Halloween party as Lindsay and Dermot were home for the weekend.

It was horrific to see what a coupla months of marriage had done to them!!!

As for me, it was time to dust off the old broomstick and see if it still worked.

We played jengo and mahjong and ate monster cakes!

All this autumnal stuff spawned this birthday card for my sister in law. Card making keeps trying to be my number one craft and I keep resisting. It is such a different absorbing craft that it's hard to stop once the ideas start to flow.

I didn't tat anything for halloween this year but here is a witch I tatted last year, she is Pointy Hat Prue by Carol Amich, a super pattern.

Chicago! Been there, done that, got the t-shirt!

2006-10-23T15:59:00.000Z

As soon as life began to get back to normal the next event took us away to America.

Alan was to give a talk at a symposium in Chicago on New Caledonian Geckos...his talk was first so that enabled him to sit back and enjoy the rest of the talks.

This is a map of the pacific island of New Caledonia only home of the Rhacodactylus geckos

One of his babies!
It was a great event, there are so many enthusiasts in the States that we had not met before, but we greatly missed a good friend from Germany and instigator of the symposium who died earlier this year.
The t-shirt is a beauty very wearable,showing two of the geckos that Alan keeps.

Rhacodactylus ciliatus..the crested gecko

and on the back...

Rhacodactylus leachianus...the giant gecko, the biggest gecko of all, grows to 12 inches.

The meeting was timed to coincide with a huge reptile show. I wanted to tat a gecko but didn't have a pattern that was do-able so tatted a snake instead. We are not snake people but there were some beauties at the show as well as geckos, and our favorite chamaeleons.

I was delighted with the way the stripes worked out with this Altin basak thread. the pattern is Dianna Stevens Snake Bookmark.
This Chamaeleon would have been a real challege for my variagated thread!

My second snake in variagated Flora thread looked more like this chamaeleon in his party colours!!

This little gecko was a wow!!

After the show we had a couple of days to explore Chicago an achitecturally stunning city

and then it was off to see some more of the States.
First stop was Lafayette, Indiana, where I was to meet with tatters Gina and Bette.

Living proof that tatting it alive and well all over the world. That was such a treat, virtual friends from the internet becoming 'real' friends. In almost 50 years of tatting I could count the number of tatters that I have met on one hand, I am doing my best to create as many as I can to help this beautiful craft to survive.

That was where the shopping began....for anything tatting related. Michaels and Hobby Lobby I had never been to before and together with Vons beads and others my luggage was going to burst with beads,now I just need to live long enough to use them all!

If it hadn't been for tatting friends we would never have wandered round Indiana and would have missed Purdue University campus, another Indianan treat.

During our time in Chicago the weather had been glorious, almost t-shirt weather but now it began to change exactly as forecast. After we left Lafayette it gradually deteriorated first to rain on our day in the delightful Shipshewana (handcraft heaven), and then to flurries of snow in AnnArbor Michigan.

As we drove north up as far as Grand Haven the weather went from blizzards of snow and leaves to scenes of blue sky and snow inches deep. Never have I seen tree covered in snow and leaves at the same time, it was stunning.

I couldn't believe how much Lake Michigan looked like the sea, huge waves and lots of sand and even dunes. Boy it was windy!!

Driving back down to Chicago the warm weather gradually returned and we ended our stay with a visit to the son of my best buddy, another treat.

One of the highlights of the trip was to go to Ann Arbor. That has been a name in my life ever since I met Alan some 40 years ago. he had lived there for a year in 1949 when he was 7. His parents had been part of one of the first Anglo/American teacher exchanges. It had such an big influence on their lives, they even gave it's name to their retirement house.
In the school holidays they bought a Buick and drove from Michigan to California and back taking hundreds of colour slides. On their return to England his dad was for ever in demand to show his slides, a rarity in those days. Alan always had difficulty distinguishing what he actually remembered and what he rembered from seeing the slides.
We found the street where they lived and wondered if he would recognise the house that he lived in as a seven year old. A bit of a long shot but he finally fixed on one that 'looked right', the right size with the right porch and a shed in the back garden where he remembered his host doing wood turning.

We also found his school but that sparked no memories at all, obviously tobogganing down his street was much more memorable than school!!

When we got home I looked up the number in his dad's book and whoo hoo he was right. Cool!! Quite a feat as it was a very long street, a real trip down memory lane.

The session!

2006-09-30T11:20:00.001Z

So was that the end!!!

Not at all, this was an Irish Wedding and they sure know how to party!!
In true style it continued for most of the next day.

All the guests who were still around were invited to 'a session' in the hotel on Sunday hosted by The Canniffe Family. Our new extended family members sure are talented, Tony, Mary,Tim and Dermot have two CD's under their belt already. They play a plethora of instruments and all sing.

They started off singing in the car on long journeys. What do the sing ..well this is a quote from their website :-

"The Canniffe Family sing and play songs and tunes from the Irish music tradition. This has not stopped them from also playing Scottish, Cajun or Bluegrass music however. People have been trying to put a label on them for years - "Fun" seems to be the most appropriate word."

They certainly had Lindsay and friend Jenny in tears of laughter....so that's what wedding hankies are really for!!

We had such a good time and didn't want the weekend ever to end. The session started at noon and by 6pm there were still 35 people singing their hearts out.
Guest singers and musicians from all over Great Britain, Germany, Canada, New York.

We ended with Auld Lang Syne sung like I have never heard it before.

And that really was it!!!

Their latest CD 'Rise Again' is highly recommended. Click on the link at the side of this blog to visit the Canniffe Family website. or go straight to www.thecanniffefamily.com

What a difficult task this has been...there were so many more photos I wanted to show ....I have at least 700 from family and friends and we haven't even seen the official photos yet nor the videos. Treats still to come. I hope I have not bored you all.

Wedding dance

2006-09-29T08:50:00.001Z

Traditionally the happy couple dance the first dance at the evening reception and Dermot and Lindsay had been practising a salsa routine. The dress had to undergo serious structural engineering to produce a shorter dress that she wouldn't trip over..This had been a major challenge in the choice of the dress and it didn't let us down and neither did they. They were magnificent!!

Reception and cake decorations

2006-09-28T16:20:00.001Z

Lindsay looked like a Princess as she stepped out of the wedding car at the hotel.

The Hotel was the Connemara Coast Hotel and was spectacular. On the edge of Galway bay overlooking the Aran islands with it's own private foreshore and viewing area with a japanese bridge it was a photographers heaven.

Jackie,had given her a bobbin lace horseshoe and this caused quite a commotion when it dropped from her wrist and slipped thro the bars of the japanese bridge in to the lily pond. Attempts to retrieve it finally succeeded with her dad hanging over the edge at full stretch. Was that an added bit of luck!!

The speeches were so funny that the only the only tears shed that day were of laughter. Alan got off to a good start and had everyone laughing to be followed by the Bride and Groom and grooms father before the best man got a look in. We were all amused that the two lads used their PDA's to hold their notes, technology gets everywhere!!

All I had to do was sit back and enjoy it all!

Horseshoe looks as good as new and the Wedding Bears and Micro the mouse in his wedding outfit enjoy the occasion!

Time for the cake, those fuchsias round it's sides thanks to Ellen. the ring and the horseshoe on the top came from our wedding cake and the Wedding Mice are an original creation of my talented daughter. Here she is putting the finishing touches to them.

Wedding Ceremony

2006-09-24T15:21:00.001Z

The Wedding Ceremony was just lovely. It was held in the Chapel of Saint Columbanus, a newish Catholic Chapel on the University of Galway Campus. Very simple but with lots of stained glass windows. Apart from a few chairs with backs the seating comprised square, padded stools on castors that could be arranged in many different ways.

One thing that stood out about the service is the music, so much music and nary a hymn in sight, twas all traditional style music.
Dermot composed a Canticle for his bride which was sung in Irish by her canadian friend Ellen a fabulous soprano, one of these days I may get to find out what it all meant!

His father also composed the Epithalamium (a traditional nuptual song for the morning of the wedding - typically when the bride is leaving her father's house). His father played the guitar one instrument out of his repertoire and both mother and father sang. What a talented family she is marrying into, nice too!! More friends played violin and others sang.

The ceremony contained some of my favorite bits, like the lighting of the candles. Bride and groom each light a candle before the marriage vows and later they take a light from their own candle and light a single unity candle.

That ring pillow gave up it's load...eventually.

This was the moment as he left the church when Dermot suddenly realised what he had done!!!

Confetti flew like snow as they left for the reception!

Fuchsia jewellery

2006-09-16T15:11:00.001Z

The Bridesmaids wore vibrant plum colour and for them the fuchsia earrings or pendant were in true fuchsia colours.

Fuchsia magellanica is one of the most common hedgerow plants in Cork and right now it's flowering it's socks off.

Estelle did such a marvellous job. The sepals can even be bent up or down, depending on how one likes to wear them....and.. I was lucky enough to be given a pair too.

Those fuchsias got everywhere, they are even in the bouquet.

My outfit

2006-09-15T13:57:00.001Z

Yes I know I haven't shown you her dress yet...wait for it!

What did I wear...very important!!
Well 'twas a beaded top and chiffon trousers with lots of input from me on the accessories... that was the fun bit. I dyed the silk chiffon scarf to match.. yes it was amazing that I got it right, but what a messy job it was, had to make a huge frame to pin it to....then beaded it to match. Also beaded the handbag to match and made a bracelet and earrings to match the murano glass necklace she gave me.

But the best bit was making a feather headpiece a 'fascinator'. This was my second attempt at making one (show you the other one later) and was a challenge. It was designed round three tatted Epidendrum Orchids in Burgundy Flora 20 and Light Gold Kreinick very fine braid.
The pattern is from Toni Storer's 'A Tatted Bouquet of Orchids', what a fab designer she is.
Lots of feathers and crystals and I felt like a film star!!!

WEdding hair and decorations

2006-09-15T11:34:00.001Z

Wow, I can't believe that the wedding was a month ago. Life has only just settled back into 'normality' whatever that is.
So a few posts about the wedding are needed. First things first.... what did we wear.
Lindsay looked absolutely stunning, well I would say that wouldn't I ? Aren't all brides beautiful, yes but this was MY bride!
Her hair looked so amazing even the hairdresser wanted a photographic record! Trimmed with little bits of ivy and tatted dimpled ring flowers and the addition of two beaded fuchsias.
What would you give to have hair like that!

Remember the wedding theme was fuchsias ? well a great friend Estelle who lives in Virginia designed and made beaded fuchsias, what a talent. Lindsay had fuchsia earrings and a necklace in ivory with opal swarovskis, really something.

The dress was very simple and elegant, a beaded corset type top, laced at the back and a slim fishtail skirt with box pleats at sides and back trimmed with beaded panels.

Wedding bears

2006-08-15T09:50:00.001Z

Got back last night after four days of the most amazing wedding 'performance' that I have ever been to. We had little to do with the actual organisation of the event and so it was a pleasurable and anxiety free experience that just flowed over and around us.
I am still suffering from an 'excitement hangover', very tired! and so you will have to bear with me as it will take a while to bring out some little snippets of my memories.
And talking about 'Bears' I must show you the 'Forever Friends' wedding bears that I customised in the wedding colours. The little bride bear had her veil trimmed with diamante picot rings like Lindsay's, tatted motif of dimpled rings on her bodice, those dimpled rings get everywhere!! Headdress and bouquet match the theme. The groom was given swarovski buttons, hat band and feather, and roses to match his bride. They got to sit on the top table with Lindsay and Dermot. Just click on them if you want a closer look.

Wedding veil trim

2006-08-11T08:45:00.001Z

Marj also made the veil for me, it all had to be simple so this is my simple tatted trim. Emma Crew was the inspiration for this again. It's just a row of individual 5 petalled dimple ring flowers with pearls. The large hex pearls were sewn on afterwards. The veil is scattered with tiny tatted flowers, just picot rings with diamante glued on, sorry they are not showing in the photo. It looks a million dollars! well that what she says, and that's all that matters.

Ring Pillow

2006-08-11T08:18:00.001Z

One day and 4 hours to go, this computer insists on counting!!
Better show you my ring pillow, this is my something old made into sonething new.
Lindsay wanted to include a little bit of each grandparent, so this is made from a pretty blouse of my mothers. The ivory satin was a perfect match and we even used the buttons and appliqued on a motif from the blouse and decorated it with pearls. My friend Marj did all this and the computerised machine embroidery too.

My part was the tatted edging and motif to hold the ribbon, based on Emma Crew's 34 Hearts pattern.

Pity we don't have a ring bearer but I couldn't resist making a pillow. perhaps the best man will carry it...mm maybe not. There are two bridesmaids, one of them is Kat our Katrined friend from Biloxi Mississsippi. She just moved into a temporary real space to call her own in late June. Her neighbour owned a duplex that she rented out and it wasnt completey destroyed and is now habitable. Kat can see her empty very bare plot from her window, waiting for her to decide what to do on it.

Blog beginning

2006-08-11T00:35:00.001Z

Why start a blog! Well my daughter is getting married in two days time ( one day and nineteen hours to be exact but heck who's counting!!) and this has to be one of the most exciting periods of my life. I used to wonder why people made such a fuss about a wedding...now I know. The preparations have been going on all year and have been such a lot of fun that I guess it would be nice to share some of the things I have made.
I am a craftaholic and just love the satisfaction of making something beautiful from a few bits and pieces.
One of my favorite crafts is tatting and so tatting will feature a lot in this blog and also in the wedding. Lots of my friends have asked to see some of the things I have been making so bear with me as I learn how to use this blog and put up some photos.

Wedding favour, tatted heart bookmarks

2006-08-10T22:11:00.001Z

This was my biggest challenge to make a favour for each guest. The linked hearts were suggested by dear friend Jane Eborall, 'tis her pattern and she helped me out when making 260 hearts hearts seemed endless. I am delighted with the result, the wedding colours are ivory and burgundy and the flower theme is fucshia a famous flower in the hedgerows of West Cork and her grandad's favorite. On the reverse side is the guests name so it doubles as place card then souvenir bookmark, protected in a plastic sleeve from Roseground (www.roseground,com).

Tatted weddding hankie

2006-08-10T21:21:00.001Z

I promised you some tatting so here is the second hankie I made for her, this to be her 'something blue'. I haven't made an edging for a hankie for at least 20 years, they were the things that you made when I learned to tat, that and doileys and collars and I never wanted to see another one! But what a difference the use of colour makes, I am addicted to colour too and so this one was a doddle.

The pattern is from Judith Connors new book, Contemporary Tatting, she used it on a garter. The thread is Altin Basak 50 and Coates 30 and the hand embroidered hankie is from Madeira, one of a pile of gorgeous ones I bought there in a fit of tatting optimism. Watch this spot for more edged hankies...just dont hold your breath!!

Wedding hankie

2006-08-10T17:46:00.002Z

I got to work at the start of the year to make a wedding hankie for her. Encouraged by my lace guild I made it in Bandon Lace.
Yeah I know I said tatting but this is a bit of the 'More'. This a tape based lace named after the West Cork Village of Bandon where it was made up 'til 1931 when the lace industry failed. I guess I should tell you that I live in the South of Ireland.
This was only my second Bandon lace project. The cotton tapes are appliqued on to cotton net.
I dont know who designed the hankie but it will now be an heirloom in my family(I hope!)

This is the expanation of the symbolism,

Wedding Hankie

The Hankie is made in Bandon lace, it is for the Bride's Happy Tears. You must mop up the tears and frame the hankie, making sure not to wash away the happiness contained in it.

The outside edging of the hankie represents the 'Path of Life' which is mostly straight, but every now and then will hit a bump. You must work your way round the problem and carry on.

The Horseshoes are for fertility.

The Roses are your children, one for the mother, one for the father and one for your country. They are all part of the Circle of Life.

The Love Knot represents your love that will always keep you together, it binds a spray of leaves, a symbol of growth and blossoming in your new life together.

The little Shamrocks scattered about are for a little bit of luck.