Largesse from the Queen of Bling

Several weeks ago (just how many I am ashamed to say) I got a package in the mail. I ripped it open right away and look at what was inside. A glittery Mardi Gras bag! If you are saying right now, "Oh, that is not the best part," you are very right. Inside there were three balls of thread and the star of the show, a shuttle blinged by the Queen of Bling herself! This is LaceLovin' Librarian's Spring giveaway. Because, of course, there are only so many blinged shuttles one person can have, so she has to give some away. .... Just kidding. Every tatter knows there is no such thing as too many shuttles! However, I don't think any of us would vote that Diane stop giving them away.
Look at that pretty dotted pattern on top of the formerly plain green Clover shuttle. She even put glitter on it, for that true bling-y sparkle. The balls of thread and the pretty bag are just the right complement for this shuttle. The threads are vintage size 70, which makes me happy, because I like that size and enjoy tatting with bits of history. It really tickles me that the thread colors match the shuttle colors! How sneaky. I am really loving the color changes on the variegated green. I can't pick my favorite between the dark winter green or the bright springy green or the fresh kelly green. When St. Patrick's Day came around and I wanted to tat shamrocks, I knew just where to go! Here is the shuttle and the green thread in action producing dimpled-ring shamrocks.

If any of you are jealous of my awesome new shuttle, don't stick around here -- go straight to Diane's site and enter her new giveaway.

Everybody's Irish Today!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

My family and I love this holiday. I am cooking corned beef and cabbage and potatoes for our dinner, my mother made soda bread, and my sister has baked a pale green cake with a darker green four-leaf clover shape baked into it for dessert. We are all wearing green, on pain of pinching. Mine is a kelly green sweater. My brother's is a shirt he swears is green but that we all think is brown. We can't pinch him, though, because he is convinced of his right to slap us back. (That is what you do when you are wrongly pinched on St. Patrick's Day, because you really are wearing green.)

Like a large number of tatters, I've made some of Gina's Lucky Seven shamrocks and one of Sharren's Irish for a Day shamrocks to celebrate the day. Sharren's name is so apt! I love how everyone wants to be Irish, whether they are by heritage or not. Ireland is just so loveable. I've got a little Irish way back in my family tree, but it is so far back it doesn't even have anything to do with my sister's Irish name. My parents just named her Bridget because they liked the name. And we just celebrate St. Patrick's Day because we like all the "Irish" things associated with it. So Irish for a Day describes American people very well, and it is also a great shamrock pattern. I loved the Lucky Seven shamrocks too. They are so simple and work up so quickly.

Next up: I'll tell you what's special about the shuttle and thread I used for the shamrocks. For now, I'll leave you with the Doxology from one of my favorite hymns, St. Patrick's Breastplate.

I bind unto myself the name

The strong name of the Trinity,

By invocation of the same,

The Three in One,

and One in Three.

Of whom all nature hath creation;

Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:

Praise to the Lord of my salvation,

Salvation is of Christ the Lord.