It's A Leprechaun's Life

Hello and Happy Christmas Eve!!

2011-12-24T09:03:00.000-06:00

...the surprise I received a little early this year???

A visit from the world traveller, Feargal! Yep, the little lep has come to visit Conor and Rori for the holidays! I can already imagine some of the fun he will have, but as you can see, he has already taken to Rebel, and vise versa! Rebel even gave him and the other boys a ride! Stay tuned to see what other adventures, and Christmas surprises, he has in store!

Blathnaid get mail

2011-03-25T09:33:00.001-05:00

Blathnaid received a lovely card from Ciarran and although I don't think she likes to admit it, it made her heart flutter just a bit. She and I have been so busy designing new shuttles that we nearly let St. Patty's day come and go without notice. Well at least I did (I am deeply ashamed to admit), and she is too well mannered to make a fuss about it. Had it been her brother Brendan, well...., he would have given me a proper and well deserved "what for"! So it's a good thing he is still gallivanting across the globe. Whew!
Thank you Ciarran!

Blathnaid gets a makeover

2011-01-11T18:20:00.002-06:00

Since my little lep was such a help to me throughout my difficult pregnancy I decided to give her a little makeover.
Blathnaid aka Brenda, sister of Brendan the Navigator (who is off on his own adventures)has a new hairdo.
What do you think? It's a very modern asymmetrical bob. She wanted something stylish yet easy to maintain. Also, for her one year anniversary as a member of the Pence clan, I gave her a pearl necklace to match her pearl earrings. And for Christmas I decorated her leprechaun hat.

Blathnaid loves Piccadilly (naturally) and she likes to watch over baby to make sure I am doing a proper job as mum!
Just thought I would share. Since Blathnaid has been so quiet these past few months we don't want her leprechaun cousins to think she went off on her own adventures (like her brother) or, heaven forbid, become an uppity snob. Quite the contrary, she has been busy helping me with this and that.
She wants to make sure I tell all her lep cousins, "Happy New Year"! So lep moms across blogland please let your leps know that Blathnaid says "Hi".

Merry Christmas from Danny

2010-12-24T23:10:00.002-06:00

Danny wishes everyone a very Mickey Christmas!

Leps at Palmetto

2010-09-13T22:53:00.006-05:00

Danny, Feargal, and Miss Scarlette all came with me to the Palmetto Tatting conference. Friday morning, Danny wanted to tell me something, but seemed to be having trouble getting started. Finally, as tactfully as he could, he said, "We've already seen all of your class projects. Instead of coming to class with you, could we explore on our own? We promise not to get into any trouble." Leps not get into trouble? Especially with their history of diving into the thread bins in the vendor room? Needless to say, I was dubious until Scarlett promised to keep an eye on them. Sure enough, I did not hear any reports of misbehavior. Well, there was a rumor of leps swinging from the flower arrangements, but Danny said, "Not me!" and Feargal said, "Not me!" and even Scarlett said, "No, ma'am," so I had to believe them.

At the banquet, if the boys started to get too rambunctious, Miss Scarlett had only to raise her eyebrow or shake her head, and they would settle down immediately. Amazing. So I had to believe they had been good boys.

It was just the three of them at first. Fergus was feeling under the weather and had to stay home. Ciarran was there, but was staying off campus and they kept missing each other. Finally they were all together at the same time and place.

What a sweet reunion!

Danny knew all along that it would be time for Feargal and Scarlett to move on to their next visit. As they went away with Ciarran, he smiled and waved goodbye, and I pretended not to notice that his chin was starting to quiver a bit.

Danny's Visitors

2010-09-11T13:47:00.001-05:00

(copied here from Martha's blog entry 8/12/2010)

Danny was surprised by a visit from Feargal and Miss Scarlett. They had timed their visit so they could travel with Danny to Palmetto TatDays. "You are going to have so much fun!" he said. Since they were tired from the journey, at first they just sat and talked. Danny enjoyed hearing all about their Grand Tour and getting news of his cousins. (Miss Scarlett noticed how he especially perked up when they were talking of Maebh, but she didn't say anything.)

Then Feargal was ready to unpack and show off his skateboard. Danny tried hard not to look envious. Then he showed them around the apartment, and suddenly Feargal stopped and said, "What is That?"

"That's the book stapler," said Danny. "You have to jump on it real hard to staple a book. I can do it, but it may be too difficult for you." (Leprechauns are naturally competitive, if you hadn't noticed.)

But Feargal's eyes took on a strange gleam. "That's not a stapler, that's a skateboard ramp! I can skate down that, turn a flip in the air, and land."

"Oh wow! I've got to see that," said Danny, now obviously awed by his elder cousin.

"You musn't," said Miss Scarlett. "It's too dangerous!"

"It will be great!" said Danny.

"I can't look," said Miss Scarlett.

"Here goes!" said Feargal.

Feargal skated down the ramp at great speed, but what came next wasn't exactly a flip in the air. In fact, it was nothing like a flip. Suffice it to say, it's a good thing he is a magical being, so he was not injured in the fall.

Danny said, "That was awesome! Can you teach me how?"

Boys will be boys....

Cupid's In Town

2010-08-13T10:40:00.000-05:00

The Cat alerted me to a disturbing event this morning.

Disturbing only to The Cat, that is. Maebh had been up very early and had been bored, so she turned on the computer to check out some sites on the diseases of bats - her current interest being chiropterology.

For some reason she had opened my blog by mistake, and that is when The Cat saw that she was fixated on a photo of ... who's that, but Feargal, Miss Scarlet and Danny!

The cat tried to get her attention as she was rivelted in front of the screen for a LONG time. She paid him no heed. He just shook his head and came to get me.

I could not grab her attention either, and I noticed

she had an odd, dreamy look on her face.

The cat gave up and went back to sleep and missed Maebh's happy mood when she finally relinquished the computer. I had to check the weather I informed her so she handed over the controls. Finally.

She was in such a good mood, she even checked my cluny tatting and told me I was doing "brilliantly!" Nice words from Maebh.

Palmetto Tat Days

2010-08-07T22:02:00.009-05:00

Leprechaun Edition

TAT DAYS 2010
"Fall Into Tatting"

August 27-28
GA Baptist Conference Center
Toccoa, GA

JOIN THE FUN!
Look who is already signed up!

Ciarran	VA, USA
Danny	NC, USA
Feargal	CORK, IRELAND
Fergus Og	NY, USA
Miss Scarlett	CORK, IRELAND

5 registered for Tat Days 2010!

Feargal, Miss Scarlett, Oisin and Isaac

2010-07-22T11:19:00.002-05:00

With cameo appearances by 5 of the 7 dwarves.

The first collage shows Oisin and me swapping rides. I like his car pretty well and he loves my skateboard. Hey, Mum. Do you see me in your thread? I thought you were here. In fact, I insisted you were. Oisin's mum finally figured out that I was detecting your presence from your thread. She let me play in it for a while. I miss you Mum!

This one is when we first met Isaac after his nap. He is a very busy little boy! Oisin's mom made sure he was ever so kind to us and no damage was done. He likes to help Oisin with the skateboard. He tried to help me, but I don't need any help! He loves Miss Scarlett. I think in the picture he is saying, "My Miss Scarlett." Oisin's mum promises she will be continuing to travel with me even though she likes her very much too.

These are some of my new "peeps." There are two more but they are camera shy. Isaac likes to stand them up and knock them down. They don't seem to mind at all. NOT ME. We Leps didn't take part in that!

I hope you enjoyed these pictures. There will be more, I am sure.

TWAS THE DAY BEFORE FEARGAL!

2010-07-18T09:57:00.001-05:00

One day this week I walked down the drive to see if the post had per chance arrived.
I was checking the traffic with not a little fear when two wee voices reached my ear.
I looked in the mailbox and what should appear but an envelope screaming, “We’re in here, we’re in here!
We can hardly breathe and it’s terribly hot. Wherever we were headed, this can’t be the spot.”
I’d heard a rumor of a Leprechaun traveling ‘round so I suspected the source of this indignant sound.
I tore open the envelope with excitement and trepidation. Would it bring happiness or cause a sensation?
Inside was a box that said “open here” on the end. I did so and out popped dear Feargal and his friend!
Gasping for breath and bent at the knees he said, “This is Miss Scarlett. She is traveling with me.
My name is Feargal, my mum sent me on tour. She said I’d find Oisin, my cousin, behind your door.”
“We are most glad to see you”, he said wiping his brow, “but I just can’t talk anymore right now.
Could you bring us a cold one and let us sit a spell? We have lots and lots of stories to tell.”
I brought them inside with their traveling gear and whispered, “Be quiet”, in Feargal’s ear.
“Our Isaac is asleep and you’ll have no cooling down if he finds another Lep has come to town.
He’ll be up soon, as will Oisin. Let’s get you both cooled off and you’ll be ready for them.”
I didn’t give him a cold one which might seem mean, but a Lep drinking alcohol isn’t a good thing.
We had some ice tea with lemon and a sprig. I thought Miss Scarlett was going to dance a jig.
We got them settled and went through their treasures. So many things of beauty it was hard to give measure.
Treasures from his mum and souvenirs to take back, the box is getting heavy. It is packed, packed, packed!
By this time my boys were coming awake and I wondered how long the discovery would take.
Not long at all, as luck would have it. The Leps danced with glee and Isaac had a fit!
Oisin introduced Isaac to his visitors with glee. They were all so intrigued no one even noticed me.
Isaac is having some trouble with Feargal’s name but he’ll get it just the same.
“Miss Scarlett” rolls off his tongue and sends me to giggles. (I don’t think he learned that accent from watching “The Wiggles.”
I settled them down with some cookies and cold milk. Miss Scarlett said it tasted like silk.
Then up from the table for fun and games. My living room will never be the same.
I’m not sure who is busier, 2 Leps or a boy, but they rode every car and played with each toy.
They told stories and laughed until Isaac’s mum arrived and then the trouble started like a working beehive.
You see, Isaac was “reluctant” to leave the celebration but knew his mum would hear no protestation.
He tried with his granddaddy and he tried with me, but we never interfere with mum, no indeed!
Isaac went home and Miss Scarlett said “goodnight.” The Leps stayed up talking until first light.
They had lots to catch up on and questions to ask. Granddaddy finally had to take them to task.
“Now you have stayed up all night and a new day is here. Isaac will be back and you are not ready – it is clear.
You’d better nap quickly and catch a few winks. Our boy will be ready to work out the kinks.”
They had barely dropped off when what did appear, but Isaac and his mum. “I’m here, I’m here. Where are my Lep friends and where is Miss Scarlett? I want to play. Let’s get started!”
Thus the first day of Feargal and Scarlett’s visit, but it’s not over yet, now is it?

Laura Blanton
July 17, 2010

(Pictures to follow)

Feargal and Scarlett's Memory Board New Mexico/Arizona!

2010-06-11T15:48:00.000-05:00

Feargal and Scarlett landed in Silver City New Mexico around about April 23rd.....they had so much to do...including going to Tucson, Arizona on a mercy mission that they only just left on May 28th...bound for who knows where.....all I can tell you is that it's north!!

Oh my the pair of them had such a good time...from the very first hug with Donnacha.

Feargal and Donnacha had set off south down Broadway in Silver City. They admired the old-fashioned Victorian Era street lamps, and laughed about the very uneven sidewalks and the very high curbs. They were glad for the ramps that someone had made just for their visit!

Miss Scarlet, however, had a surprise spa day as a treat (and a retreat from playful Leps) and Feargal and Donnacha headed downtown. . . .South on Broadway at a brisk pace towards Silver City's Authentic 1800's Buffalo Bar! Which of course, is no place for a lady; even one in a red dress.

Oh my, there was so much to be seen as they darted in and out of each Gallery on Broadway and they ended up on Texas Street. Their feet were beginning to be a bit weary, so they stopped in at the next Gallery.

Oh boy the stuff they saw in ANIMAS was an eye opener for Feargal...I am surprised that he didn't have nightmares.

All too soon they headed off to Tucson Arizona, where they were much needed when Donnacha's 'Dad' had an 'op'.

They made themselves useful looking after Mom between hospital visits and making her laugh!

Feargal was gobsmacked when Donnacha got a present of a skateboard. Both boys had been green with envy when they had seen Blathnaid on her snowboard.

Feargal was insistent that he might have some sort of a board and could do as well as his Idaho cousin's snowboard! Leprechaun's apparently are rather jealous and want to 'keep up' with one another.

The good news is that Donnacha decided to give him the skateboard....aren't Leps wonderful!

When 'Dad' was well enough to go home, they all went back to Silver City and life on the ridge.

I wonder where they are headed, and wish them a safe landing.

Danny's Vacation, Part 2

2010-05-24T20:48:00.002-05:00

Danny has turned out to be a real lover of the outdoors.

At Magnolia Plantation, he enjoyed the Nature Boat ride...

....where he saw birds....

....and alligators.

The next day we stopped at Edisto Memorial Gardens...

...and the adjoining wetlands park.

Danny's Vacation-Part 1

2010-05-22T23:46:00.004-05:00

Danny really enjoyed our recent vacation in South Carolina, even though being from Ireland, he was a bit less interested in the historic parts than the rest of us.

His favorite part was lunch at an Irish pub.

Being a little shorter that the rest of us, he was the first to notice this beautiful little drinking fountain in White Point Gardens....

...and this lovely lady in front of an antique shop.

Here he is on the Fort Sumter ferry, with another ferry boat in the background.

Like many native Charlestonians, he enjoyed walking on the Ravenal bridge over the Cooper river.

Here he is on the bridge with downtown Charleston behind him.

Feargal sends more stuff home!

2010-05-21T08:44:00.003-05:00

Recap:

Feargal's first stop was in Zurich,Switzerland to visit Finnbarr, they both moved on to Toronto where they left Maebh behind and were joined by Scarlett.

Feargal and Scarlett traveled on to visit Donnacha in Silver City, New Mexico, also going for a stay in Tucson, Arizona and are now back in New Mexico. That's Ok with me, he can stay as long as he is needed.

Postie recently brought a parcel of Feargal's 'stuff' from his time with Finnbarr PLUS some other lovely goodies obtained for me....unobtainable in my neck of the woods.

You already saw the Myra Piper book in my last post.

Here we have .....Feargal's Swiss suitcase, and his cowbell.

Gorgeous new Teal colour SewMate shuttles...my all time favourite shuttles, lots of floss threaders for loading beads onto my thread...now why don't we have them here???

Wonderful samples of Turkish metallic threads, Altin Basak Nakis Simi....I am using them in my current project! and they work really well.

Isn't the shamrock that Finnbarr's mom tatted pretty?

Tadgh wanted to show off Feargal's stuff.

He thinks that the suitcase is perfect for sitting on at the airport waiting to check in.

He reckons that if a chap didn't mind getting his hat squished...he could travel in it....and not need a seat!

Tadgh was horrified when I asked him to sit on a pile of moose droppings, a bit slippery but taste delicious was his verdict.

Tadgh is enjoying Feargal's time away!!

Feargal's Surprise

2010-05-05T16:11:00.006-05:00

Feargal and Donnacha flipped a coin to see who would get to ride the skate board first and surprise Loyal during their visit. They entertained him by riding up and down the nice counter by the window. Feargal was insistent that he might have some sort of a board and could do as well as his Idaho cousin's snowboard! Leprechaun's apparently are rather jealous and want to 'keep up' with one another. Arizona is a little short on snow but long on sidewalks!

Feargal was the first to go and Donnacha followed. Scarlett says she may give the skate board a try when no one is looking. She also wants to try out the BMX Bike that was added to Donnacha's toys.

Of course, if there is food to be chosen, the boys are bound to become involved. They both voted for the Chocolate cake for dessert. They helped DH choose his menu for the next meal.

EATS! The Day before the trip to the hospital, everyone enjoyed a healthy, breakfast at "The Good Egg". This is BJ's favorite place to have breakfast! The food is good and the service is terrific.
Although everyone was tired on Sunday, when we arrived, the kids wanted to go to Applebee's to eat dinner. Of course, it wasn't Wed. night and Feargal was insistent that he and his "peeps" were definitely not children! But they enjoyed their rack of ribs with spicy, chipolte bar b cue sauce. Feargal decided in New Mexico that he was a big fan of RED Chlies; but, Donnacha fancies GREEN…Ms Scarlett declined the hot offerings but enjoyed a mild, carnitas enchilada without chilies of any color!

Although the visitors are having a really good time, they are making plans where to travel next. However, Tucson will be their home for a bit longer and then on to

----------------------oops! They won't TELL but all cousins should be alert because they might arrive at your doorstep in a week or so…BJ doesn't want to slow up their progress and they are so FULL of energy!

Note to Maebh ~ Feargal says, "Please, do not worry"

2010-05-01T15:37:00.002-05:00

Maebh is a 'bit concerned' about Feargal's checking out nail polishes~

NOT TO WORRY, says Fergal...I was merely helping BJ choose THIS BRIGHT RED, called "It's Raining Men" ~ she says that it is also a song! The beautiful pendant on BJ's hand was done by Judith Conners of Australia...

Continued: Feargal and Donnacha find the Day of the Dead

2010-04-30T18:14:00.003-05:00

The boys had intended to check out the Buffalo Bar, a place of renown (some good, some not as good) and local hangout for Bikers, Hippies and Cowboys. But they were just a few steps away from Curl Up and Dye when they began to be intrigued by the art in the windows of the galleries. Oh my, there was so much to be seen as they darted in and out of each Gallery on Broadway and they ended up on Texas Street. Their feet were beginning to be a bit weary, so they stopped in at the next Gallery.

ANIMAS!!!!! The boys discovered a plethora of Mexican Art, most of which honored the holiday, The Day of the Dead. But they rested by familiar figures of Saints. It was carved wood and gilded. Some was made with tin, all were brightly colored.

Donnacha always has an eye for the girls, but Feargal was still thinking of the Lady Lep in Toronto. They did think the ladies could have eaten a bit more food for they seemed to be quite thin!
Donnacha and Feargal sat down with one of the 'older' dead ladies and she told them the significance of the celebration of the Day of the Dead in Mexico; and indeed, in most of New Mexico. Donnach bought a little treat for Feargal's Mom; he tried to choose one that wasn't so 'spooky' and well...bony!

This is where Bj, Miss Scarlett and Rebekah found the Leprechauns... spread out and being told the history of the area and about the Day of the Dead....

2010-04-30T17:04:00.012-05:00

Donnacha, hid behind Feargal as they perched on Kelly's shoulder, while Miss Scarlett rested below. Kelly is the proud owner of Curl up and Dye..THE place to be pampered in Silver City, New Mexico! Kelly's ear rings aren't bad either! She LOVES ear rings...the longer the better! She is Donnacha's Mum's stylist and good pal.

Miss Scarlett gave some thought to hair color; but, decided just to have a good wash and her hair pinned up in it's accustomed style.

AT CURL UP AND DYE Kris greeted Feargal and Ms Scarlett with a big smile. Feargal was very interested in seeing what was to be had; but, discovered he didn't need a haircut! Miss Scarlett chose a massage, a rest in the sauna and a pedicure; but, before the boys left, Fergal had to check out the many colors of nail polish available. Donnacha was happily looking magazines.

Miss Scarlet, however, had a surprise spa day as a treat (and a retreat from playful Leps) and Fergal and Donnacha headed downtown. . . .South on Broadway at a brisk pace towards Silver City's Authentic 1800's Buffalo Bar! Which of course, is no place for a lady; even one in a red dress.

First a pore-cleansing, relaxing dry heat Sauna...
One quick look, and the door was closed! Of course, privacy is required for the undressing.

Next a trip to the massage room, where Miss Scarlet was rather plaintive about having to strip down; .after, learning she could not just cover up with the towel.
Feeling quite refreshed and back into her proper clothing...she settled down to have a pedicure. Her feet were so sore from chasing around after the busy, busy leps. Ahhhh...the foot bath
Oh my, how good the warm bubbles felt on her feet and toes. And a nice creamy massage followed...Miss Scarlet has found heaven! No polish please, I'm a very natural person.

The time had passed so quickly and Miss Scarlett and BJ had begun to worry about what sort of mischief the two Leps from Ireland may have found! Rebekah, Bj and Miss Scarlett hopped into the car and headed downtown. Much to their dismay the boy's were not at the Buffalo bar, nor had the been seen there. Oh my! Where could they be????

Rebekah reasoned that since Silver is a town of Art Galleries of all sorts, that they'd better start checking out each one. Since Rebekah is the person who mats and frames at Las Animas, she suggested they start there...and so they did!

Another day, another postcard!

2010-04-29T12:46:00.002-05:00

You just can't imagine the excitement at Lep HQ when the postman brings another postcard from Feargal or his cronies. This was meant to bring a little light enjoyment into some lives, but we didn't realise how much enjoyment it would bring to Lep HQ's life.

This time it was a postcard from Feargal while he was in Toronto, massively delayed by volcanic ash!

This is what he wrote.....can still see Maebh's input here..especially with the little tatted flowers again...what a joy that Lep is!

I wonder what is happening now that he is away from her ~~clutches~~ influence.

Maebh sends a card, Feargal sends his souvenir home!

2010-04-26T17:02:00.000-05:00

Great excitement here at Lep HQ....as the vocanic ash crisis settles down (fingers crossed)....we got post!! Yup that's right real snail mail post!

Maebh sent a postcard from her time in New York with Mini Boss.

Here is what she wrote.....

She is a good lass is Maebh. She may look ferocious at times,

but underneath that attitude beats a heart of gold.

I am sure that ~~stealing~~ wanting that Spiderman Cookie held by an innocent child was hugely exaggerated!!

For instance when she saw the picture of my best ever Cherry Blossom...she says that she sang to the tree to make it do it's best!

You may well be wondering why Maebh seems so ~~fierce~~ gifted..she turned the cats paw into a radish, threatened me with warts on my nose and an evil troll in my roof!!

Well this is what I have been told .....

"Maebh says that although she attended the Lep Academy she befriended a wizard when visiting a magic shop to find some blown glass shamrocks..... She apparently learned a bit of the other stuff...."

Maebh told Feargal that he should send his souvenir home......

....so like a good and obedient Lep (did he have any choice!!) he did.

I think that this was bit of an excuse so that she could send 'stuff' to me!!!

Seem that she had been ~~rifling~~ sorting through her mom's thread stash to see what was new and interesting.....with her mom's permission of course!

She loaded up some cards with Lizbeth 20 (she knew that I only have one ball of it) in 4 great toning colours of solids and varigs. Thanks a million Maebh...you are doing great work.

She crammed as much thread on as she could get away with!

Hey! did you see the little tatted flowers on the postcard she sent..more on the envelope with the goodies in....her tatting is improving.

Oh! you want to see Feargal's Canadian souvenir???

Cute isn't it??

Tadgh and Nollaig went ballistic...get it ball-istic!

I told them they should leave it alone as it's Feargal's......would they listen.....nope .....they ran off to play with it in the garden.

Yesterday the weather was wicked, fog, sheeting rain and wind....and now the petals are falling down off the Cherry Tree like snow.

Tadgh decided to play in this snow.

He wasn't really too sure what to do with it.....Nolláig didn't have a clue either!

He tried to kick it but he kept falling over....... he tried to stand on it........

.......sit on it.

Exhausted he fell off and it flattened him.......

........he decided to sit on the wall and hold it while he thought...

...this was a fraction of a second before he fell off in a puff of wind!!

Finally in desperation he climbed a tree to show it off.......a Maple tree!!

very funny Tadgh!

He says to tell Feargal that he will keep it safe and BTW, what IS IT FOR???

Feargal's 3rd stop!

2010-04-25T16:43:00.000-05:00

I was out last evening and came home to an absolute plethora of good news in my in box........my lips have to remain zipped on some of it.....but I can reveal that Feargal and Scarlett landed safely in

NEW MEXICO!

Oh my goodness

I have been watching the relevant blogs since he set off 9 days ago...wondering where he was heading.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw where he was/is! He couldn't be staying with a nicer Lep.

Feargal looks so happy to see his bro' again.......and is up for the adventures to be had in Silver City...even the name sounds exciting.

You can read all about his arrival here and follow his further adventures as they unfold on this blog and also on this blog.

There are still a few leprechauns out there who may be going to miss out on a visit.....your names and addresses ARE in Scarlett's little green bag but they wont be activated unless you leave a comment with a request....no pressure!

Meanwhile while Feargal was in the air, not worried in the slightest by volcanic ash, Maebh had other fish to fry.

She was watching over the safe delivery of Mini Boss and causing quite a stir with her all important presence. Here she is guarding the baby carriage.

I can't begin to imagine how proud she is feeling.............
she looks awfully smug!

Toronto memories!

2010-04-23T07:08:00.001-05:00

It's all down to memories now!

Feargal and Scarlett reluctantly left Toronto yesterday...bound for who knows where!!!

No sooner had she arrived when the fair Scarlett had to inform the two ~~sweethearts~~ leps that they

had to part....~~she is such a spoilsport~~

The only ones who know his destination are Scarlett.....probably Maebh and Maebh's mom who had to put them on the plane.

Feargal had such a fabulous time ...poor Scarlett the organiser didn't get to see much at all!

You can read ALL about their antics in Tat-ology here, here and here and also in It's a Leprechaun's Life.

I will just recap a little and show you the photos that are going onto Feargal's Memory Boards.

They met so many people, Meabh just seems to go up and talk to them ...like the man on the beach who she thought looked Irish.......... and he was.

The adventures that these two had ...they should write a book!!

All we can do now is to wait and see where they land and hope that they have as happy a time and new adventures.

Feargal's Memory Board 1

2010-04-14T14:01:00.000-05:00

Tadgh and Nollaig are following our intrepid adventurer's exploits with a mixture of envy and fear.

They decided to set up some Memory Boards for Feargal's return so that he will never forget his

World Tour.

Finnbar had thrown the mother of a hooley to celebrate Maebh meeting Fox (a partnership to end all partnerships!!).

Feargal swears that Finnbarr tripped over that bottle as he has never touched a drop in his life...before.

Secretly I think he was still intoxicated with Maebh (she who intoxicates).

Finnbarr surely was.......he was INSISTING that Maebh stay with him!!

as if that would do any good...

Maebh just sat and watched the two lads make fools of themselves!

Finnbarr reckoned that he would win her heart

because

he is taller that Feargal,

has more hair,

and is younger!!

Dream on Finnbarr... Maebh has other fish to fry!

Eventually Maebh moved into her new home....which she shares with THE CAT.....apparently she refuses to use his name.

You can read ALL about it on Fox's blog here.

You really should.....she has a way with words.....

more anon...

Feargal in Toronto and the story of Maebh!

2010-04-14T13:58:00.002-05:00

Feargal landed safely in Toronto along with Finnbarr and Maebh!

Now you didn't know that Maebh was traveling with him.....so this is the story of Maebh.

Maebh came along in a bit of a hurry...she never wants to wait....when we heard that a Leprechaun was urgently needed in Toronto...something to do with a boss and a mini boss...oh and a cat....and the need for a boss to boss them all...

....that job just suited Maebh.

Maebh (pronounced Mayv-e)is named after the the great warrior Queen of Connaught. the name means

the cause of great joy or she who intoxicates....

I think I will go for the first option!! and hope that she brings great joy to Fox.

Maebh was obstinate right from the start....she wanted to wear a skirt, not the normal leprechaun shorts. We had to get a special dispensation from Lep HQ to let this happen...yes I know that this IS Lep HQ...but she didn't know that.

So she is the first Lep to sport a skirt....I think this does restrict her activities a little! especially with other leps around!

She likes pink!

She wanted a pink skirt

but

standards have to be maintained.

A leprechaun's uniform is red, green and gold...and that's final!!

So she insisted on a pink belt...Maebh insists on a lot of things.

So here she is....

She wears her hair in plaits with pink bows, has white stockings and carries her lucky money in her left hand and she says that she is right handed and can't do anything much with that coin in her right hand!!

She hopped straight up on to my mug rack, crossed her legs, and refused to come down.

Feargal was taken aback and begged her to come down.....

...but she wouldn't so he hopped up and sat beside her....

hoping to ~~chat her up~~...get to know her....

Finally she agreed to pose for a family photo, for the album.

When Feargal and Meabh landed in Zurich, she was supposed to stay under wraps and not be seen gadding around with the lads.

She kept a very low profile and was allowed to pose for another family photo.

Notice how demurely she keeps her legs crossed, showing only a hint of petticoat...

.....that's Lep Academy training for you!

She is hinting that she would like a tatted trim on her stockings and on her skirt....I hope it keeps fine for her.

Stop press...just heard that Scarlett has landed in Toronto....with her Mary Poppins bag of lep addresses.

Will keep you updated!

His Bag is Packed

2010-04-12T23:08:00.009-05:00

Yes, Scarlett has arrived and plans are in motion.

After arriving in Canada, with the assistance of many friends, Scarlett was quick to hook up with Feargal and Maebe, and was seen by several observant types at 'The Hair of the Dog', a pub that Maebe has come to enjoy.

A good meal and great conversation put the Leps in a fine mood, which was what Scarlett had planned, as she had yet to inform Feargal and Maebh about their imminent separation.

When they returned to La Maison de Meabh, Scarlett sat them down and announced the she and Feargal were to leave very early in the morning for ..........

Feargal had to pack and Maebh sulked in a corner, ranting her displeasure at The Cat, who is still nursing a sore paw from his last encounter with one of Maebh's a fickle manouevers.

They are now fast asleep, turning in early, in preparation for the journey ahead.

Who knows what will happen next ... and where!

Anon,

Ciarrán Goes Courtin'

2010-04-12T17:48:00.013-05:00

Ciarrán stood on the table, examining my threads and lace tools with a critical eye. "Ah now! Are ye not finished yet?"

"You only asked me 15 minutes ago," was my reply. "What's the rush?"

"I have a plane to catch."

Wondering what the devil the leprechaun was up to, I made a mental note to check the bank balance and went back to the work at hand — tatting a tiny Shamrock bouquet.

Tiny shamrock bouquet - in progress

"And where do you think you are going?" I asked.

"To win the heart of me lady fair!" said Ciarrán.

Thoughts of Finian's Rainbow danced in my head as my shuttle zipped deftly in and out, under and over, making fine, green half-hitches in a regular pattern.

"And who is this lady fair?" I asked.

Ciarrán pointing out his love interest.

"That darlin' girl Blathnaid," said Ciarrán, "She's a fair fine lass, so she is."

Since Blathnaid was the only girl in his class at the training academy, I wasn't surprised. But surely he wasn't the only lad to take a shine to the independent Irish filly?

"So you aim to woo her then?"

Tapping his toe impatiently, Ciarrán said, "Aye, if ye be after finishing me 'trothe bouquet."

Will Ciarrán get on a plane?

Stay tuned for more adventures!

Toronto Update

2010-04-11T21:29:00.007-05:00

Leprechaun Update

Feargal and Maebh took themselves to a pet store to get a treat for THE CAT.

Meabe wanted to make amends for turning one of THE CAT'S paws into a radish last night.

They were so excited by the wonderful things available in the store that they forgot to ask the name of the lovely woman who served them.

Feargal kept looking down her dress... Maebh called him lewd.

Interested in visiting The Beach, a wonderful part of East Toronto, right on Lake Ontario they found a an old neighbourhood landmark: the Leuty Lifeguard Station.

While digging in the sand for buried treasure, Maebh noticed a gentleman she thought looked Irish and accosted him - just like that.

He was besotted with the Leps and told them that yes, indeed, he was part Irish. His grandmother lived in -

- a small town in Northern Ireland. Way to go, Maebh!

Anon.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall...

2010-04-09T19:31:00.000-05:00

Maebh demanded a pink trim for her skirt.
And green beads. No discussion followed.

Anon,

Leprechauns at Canada Post

2010-04-09T19:27:00.002-05:00

I was planning to shower, leave for work, and then mail the package to Gina at lunchtime. When I was ready to leave home, the package was GONE! I was quick to see ( I am NEW at this, after all) that the Leps were missing as well. Not a good sign, I deduced.

Not to worry. They seem to have made out all right. Feargal hailed a cab outside my apartment - apparently his "TAXI" whistle caused a commotion with the crossing guard; he was nearly arrested for disorderly conduct, but Maebh sweet talked the officials on the scene...

They made it to the Post Office and Esmeralda was kind enough to give them a hand and make sure that Gina's package was properly stamped. Thanks to Feargal and Maebh, the book is on its way to Gina!

Anon,

Touring Toronto with Feargal and Maebh

2010-04-09T19:23:00.003-05:00

After an early morning conference with The Cat,

Feargal and Maebh were ready to head out to see the sights of Toronto. (Notice Maebh's money in her LEFT hand, true to her non-conformist nature. She is well named for a great, warrior queen!)

The car they rode in was well-appointed; they were pleased to see a bit of glitter and green hanging appropriately from the rear-view mirror.

"Canadians do not appear to be overly ignorant," Maebh was heard to mutter under her breath as she admired the motif.

The driver insisted they experience a true, Canadian custom - hot, brewed "Timmies" coffee.

They loved it and had two cups each. Feargal swiped a maple doughnut from a small child whose parents chastised the sniffling boy for eating his treat too fast.

Marbh observantly noticed the InTatters emblem attached to the driver's key-chain. "Tatters," she crowed. "We're everywhere!"

Canada has only one castle in the entire country - CASA LOMA - and it is in Toronto. Maebh wanted to move in, and was almost inconsolable when informed that the castle was just for show - no one actually lived there. In fact, no one has ever lived there - but that is another story for another day.

Maebh's disappointment turned almost immediately to rage. Feargal was forced to extricate her from the fallen gate that she tumbled into during her tantrum. A few tourists looked on in horror as she hollered her displeasure.

When calm reigned once more, the two leprechauns befriended Kim and Camilla, who enjoyed the view of the castle with them.

Maebh was taken with Camilla's beautiful black hair and made an appointment with a a local stylist. Discreetly, Feargal phoned a while later and cancelled.

Next stop: the CN Tower. This edifice makes Toronto recognizable to the average globetrotter.

Right in front of the tower, the Leps had a dreadful argument, with a lot of arm waving and unspeakably foul language, in Gaelic, so luckily no one could understand.

Maebh was determined to take the trip to the top of the building, but had forgotten her mate's fear of heights. Feargal maintained unfalteringly that he was merely very hungry and that they must eat before taking on that particular adventure.

As it was getting close to lunchtime, Maebh was hungry herself. She gave in and huffed off down the street in search of a good pub.

After they ate, the Leps wanted to sit quietly in the park for a while, where Maebh did some tatting and Feargal waited for the train to pass by on the nearby tracks.

When it roared through, he was overjoyed, racing to wave at the conductor.

Feargal was enamoured with the griffin-like plasterwork in the lobby of the apartment where they are staying. He wants to go to Paris sometime to see some really big ones.

He told Maebh, "I love the scary nostrils they all have."
Anon,

GUESS WHO CAME TO DINNER? MAGICAL NEWS!

2010-04-09T19:17:00.001-05:00

It is so very late, but I have been instructed to tell Tat-land about the fantastic thing that just happened!
I was invited to dinner with Feargal, visiting Toronto on his world tour and dining with Finnbarr, his brother from Zurich. Imagine my surprise, when I realized what these two Leprechauns were up to after dinner, which was, by the way, out of this world - superb!

Finnbarr was out of control

These two were really overdoing it, not impressing their friend, who gazed on with a bit of disdain, sitting with her legs crossed and shaking her head as she watched their antics. She is a Leprechaun named MAEBH, who has shown up most unexpectedly.

SHE IS MY LEPRECHAUN!

Yes, I can hardly believe it myself! I must use Jane's word: gobsmacked! That' s me!

To be honest, I knew I was to meet Feargal and Finnbarr, but in my wildest dreams I never expected to be owned by a Leprechaun. And now, I realize that it will not be all easy - especially with one that has such a fierce personality! She has insisted I inform Tat-land of her arrival before I sleep and it is 2:00a.m.! Maebh does not care. ' Type,' she insists. Ah, what can I do, but her bidding?

Feargal has gone to sleep.He got sleepy after planning what he wants to see, while he is in Toronto. It is quite a list. He snores loudly, by the way. Could wake the neighbours. Don't know how I will ever sleep tonight.

He checked out right after he finished his list, but Maebh wanted to see her new digs and was insistent on meeting her new sibling , THE CAT.

She will not call him, by his given name. 'Maybe another time', she said.

It went well. Actually, Maebh and THE CAT spent several hours getting acquainted, and seem to have a lot in common. Maebe will not tell me what they discussed in such low whispers, yet, in spite of their growing rapport, she still will not utter his name.

Meabh is a wonderful. She is the first leprechaun to be allowed to wear a skirt! A bit of a rebel, headstrong, and named after ....... I'll tell you all this later. Stay tuned.

Good night, or rather, good morning, from Feargal, me
and

MAEBH

Isn't she the sweetest thing?

Anon,

Feargal's 2nd stop....Toronto!

2010-04-09T04:16:00.001-05:00

April 3rd 2010
Feargal and Finnbarr landed safely in Toronto on tuesday.

They spent International Tatting day in Canada.....this is what happened.....

mmmm! in the company of a lot of Swiss bunnies...they seem to have pigged out on chocolate......pretending they did some tatting!!!

This is what Nollaig did on International Tatting Day....

absolutely nothing........Tadgh says that he has to do everything now that Feargal has gone.

Meanwhile in Indiana...a miracle has happened.

Conor and Ruari (Rory) have found a baby leprechaun hiding in some Easter decorations.

Be sure to pop over to Battatter's blog to read ALL about it.

We are all waiting for more news from Toronto with baited breath!

Feargal writes from Zurich!

2010-04-09T04:13:00.000-05:00

April 2nd
Feargal sent his first postcard home! Postie just dropped it into my letter box.

Before I got the card, I had been sent lots of reports and photos.

the first message that I got said

" Finnbarr and Feargal have disappeared. They said something about mates in Zurich and not waiting up ... At least the rain has stopped so they won't get wet!"

"The photo of them on the terrace was taken after 1pm - the first I saw either of them all morning. I have no idea what time they staggered in last night!" she said.

That's Finnbarr on the left...I don't think that you have seen him before.

He is reported to be taller than Feargal and with a lot more hair!! They thought that maybe he was Feargal's older brother...but no it's just that kids are getting taller and taller aren't they....he must have eaten better!!

It rained a lot during Feargal's stay so they didn't get to go out much.

Finnbarr made Feargal feel at home and offered to give him a suitcase.....he says that it opens on both sides so can hold tatting!! (he should be so lucky!!)and has a game inside. Feargal was delighted as he had only taken a small bag with him.

Is that cute or what!

Finnbarr is also insisting that Feargal take a Swiss Cowbell with him.....Finnbarr can hardly lift it!

Cute isn't it?

Finnbarr is also reported to be insisting on something else but i think not!

More about that later!

They went out on the town several nights and were pretty miffed when the clocks went forward and they lost an hour.

Here Scarlett has been hearing all about it and came to a decision to fly out and supervise/chaperone Feargal's activities....Feargal is NOT pleased.

The excuse that she gave was that she had forgotten to give Feargal the addresses of his hosts.....so being the good NPDA that she is she put each one in a sealed envelope and like Mary Poppins put them into her bag...and flew off!!

Feargal left Zurich on tuedsay for his next stop...this time he was accompanied by his hosts and Finnbarr so the two of them shared a seat on the flight.

Finnbarr and Feargal should have a ball in********* as neither have been there before. Scarlett hopes to meet them there.

"Finnbarr told Feargal about Scarlett meeting them in ******** and Feargal is now pouting. Much as he'd love for her to join him on his travels his intention was to sow some wild oats. He's not sure he can with Scarlett along for the ride! If you ask me, this sounds more like something Finnbarr would say, not Feargal. The corrupting influence has begun". She told me.

Oh My Gosh, Oh My Golly!!

2010-04-09T04:08:00.001-05:00

March 22nd
Just before we went on our short holiday......the postman brought me a little box.....it turned out to be the surprise of my life!!

If you haven't seen the latest post on Lady ShuttleMaker's blog then you are missing a treat. Her skills never cease to amaze me. Now she is embedding tatting into her clay and making wonderful stuff....not just shuttles.

When I sent Blathnaid the lady leprechaun to her for Christmas, I also sent her a few extra individual little shamrocks...like I put on the leprechauns belts.....and commissioned her to make a shuttle for me...ceramic...as that is what she did!

Little did I know that she was going to begin adventures with precious metal clay and make me droll over the fabulous shuttles that she would produce.

So inside the little box I expected to find a ceramic shuttle with shamrocks...even tho she hadn't told me that it was ready.....but she had told me that Blathnaid was planning a surprise for St Patrick's day. I expected High Jinks and photos on the web.

Can you imagine my utter surprise to open the box and find that she had sent me a gift of a shuttle, but no ordinary shuttle was this.....it was a silver shuttle.....and no ordinary silver shuttle (if there is such a thing!)....but a silver shuttle with the impression of my very own tatting!

Now how cool is that!!

Here is Blathnaid holding MY shuttle. She looks pretty pleased but not as pleased as I was to receive it.

No that's not tarnish, just the way the light was catching it.

It's unbelievable how you can see all the detail of my tatting.

Wow this is indeed a treasure.

Thank you so much my dear friend.

feargal touches down!

2010-04-09T04:06:00.000-05:00

March 26th 2010
Feargal landed yesterday at the first stop on his Grand Tour!!!

It was such a relief to know that he is safe.

Where is he????

Visiting his bro' Finnbarr,

in Zurich, Switzerland.

Finnbarr used to live in Dublin with his new mum Suneeti.....but.....

they have moved to Switzerland.

Wow what will he get up to among the Gnomes of Zurich!!

Tadgh and Nollaig have just got home form a visit to Northern Ireland....we will show you if we have time.

I asked them if they missed Feargal.......

What do you think?

they both said, in unison,

this is the first time we have ever got to go on a trip!!!

mmmmmmmmmm!

.....and he is off

2010-04-09T04:04:00.000-05:00

March 22nd
Fergeal set off on his grand tour this afternoon,

I guess his flight will be tomorrow.

He has NO IDEA where he is going....but then neither have you!

Safe landing Fergeal!

Keep in touch....please...

I worry about you.

Happy International Tat Day!

2010-04-01T17:30:00.000-05:00

Today, April 1, is not only April Fool's day, it is more importantly International Tat Day! A day for tatting, and eating chocolate! Well, today, I have done both. I got up this morning and had a thought, then the thought turned into a vision in my mind.. then it had to come out in tatting.. and here it is.

The newest member of the leprechaun family... Baby Talun! As you can see, Conor found him in the Easter decorations! What a surprise! Rory was so happy, just look at his face! Talun is in his pastel green swaddling blankie, with a shamrock on it. The lads were so happy to see him, they took turns holding him..

Then, finally they decided to pose for a family photo. Such a wonderful Tat day gift!

Feargal touches down!

2010-03-26T16:47:00.002-05:00

Feargal landed yesterday at the first stop on his Grand Tour!!!

It was such a relief to know that he is safe.

Where is he????

Visiting his bro' Finnbarr,

in Zurich, Switzerland.

Finnbarr used to live in Dublin with his new mum Suneeti.....but.....

they have moved to Switzerland.

Wow what will he get up to among the Gnomes of Zurich!!

Tadgh and Nollaig have just got home form a visit to Northern Ireland....we will show you if we have time.

I asked them if they missed Feargal.......

What do you think?

they both said, in unison,

this is the first time we have ever got to go on a trip!!!

mmmmmmmmmm!

...and he is off!!

2010-03-22T13:41:00.002-05:00

Fergeal set off on his grand tour this afternoon,

I guess his flight will be tomorrow.

He has NO IDEA where he is going....but then neither have you!

Safe landing Fergeal!

Keep in touch....please...

I worry about you.

Feargal drops a bombshell!

2010-03-21T11:39:00.002-05:00

I KNEW HE WAS UP TO SOMETHING!!

First things first tho'.

I know you are dying to know which of the ladies got the job.

Maureen was the only one to take a guess...and she was right!!

It WAS the lady in Red... I had a hunch it would either be her or one of the ladies in Green, knowing his penchant for those colours.

Here he is offering her the job...

Of course the first thing we all want to know is...why did he pick her...was it for..

her typing skills,

proficiency at shorthand,

or even her neat handwriting??

NOPE none of these.

Apparently it was her ability to sit in his chair, get her feet under his desk and be able to work at his desk!!

He reckoned some of those skirts and petticoats were so stiff that the ladies could never sit down...let alone work!

Apparently he asked her what he name was and she replied that she didn't have a name...aw shucks how awful! so he decided to call, her Scarlett....how sweet...or is it!!

Now you want to know what the job is...so do I,

making lists to start with he says....

......he showed her what he wanted her to do.

But her book looks awfully empty to me....

Nothing to write in it yet!!

So her gave her a tea break...and it wasn't even Tuesday!!

and with cake too!!

He doesn't bake cakes for me!

So what is the list???

We need to know Feargal.

Ok so he breaks down....

.......he has been feeling awfully lonely because every time he gets some more siblings or cousins they emmigrate....typical Irish!

That's why he wanted to keep Tadgh as his apprentice (just an excuse)!

But wouldn't you think that now he has Tadgh and Nollaig that he would be contented....

but nope they have jsut given him an excuse. He says that he wouldn't be leaving me on my own..with no help!

I feel like saying...help! what help! but he is getting a bit weepy and he knows that he can twist me

AND SO

WHAT IS HE UP TO!!

Here is the bombshell..

He has decided to go on a world tour...a grand tour to visit as many of his cousins/siblings whose mums will give him a bed for a week....take him out and show him the sights...and he says...give him a good time.

He wants to travel while he is still young......

(he wants to see Blathnaid again!!)

I warned him of the dangers of travel...he is going by air..can't take a long voyage!

He says that he will take the risk! Fingers will be crossed...for a long time.

So he wants names to go on his list, but he isn't going to plan an itinerary he says...so that he will never know where is is going to be landing next.

He needs Scarlett to manage things and tick off where he has been and has still to go to.

Sorry but he is restricting this tour to visit only other leprechauns....I know so many of you would like to be his host. Maybe next time.

Wow! how long will it take???

For St Patrick's Day, he gave me this...forgot to show you/forgot to wear it!

Can you read it????

How true it is!

So get in those names ASAP.

He says that he intended to leave on January the first, but it was toooo cold! so he postponed to St Patrick's Day...now he is determined to leave before International Tatting Day...

Happy St Patrick's Day from Feargal, Tadgh and Nolliag.

2010-03-17T07:52:00.000-05:00

Leprechauns were spotted cavorting in the Shamrock.

Tadgh managed to locate the only snake left in Ireland after St Patrick banished them and cavorted all round the house on him while Shamrock's fell all around.

Feargal went to Brownies for the very first time last Friday.

Mostly he just sat on the toadstool and watched.

He sat and watched the fun....

....this is my favourite meeting of the year....I loaded up 4 bags from my collection, from my friend in Mississsippi, of all things green. Mostly necklaces but also dubloons, snakes, tankards, pipes and all sorts of novelties thrown from the floats.

They HAVE to jump up and down and shout

'throw me something Mister!' while we hurl them up into the air. I particularly like the sound of the dubloons tinking as they hit the ground.

I used to think that all American parades were like this! are they???

My daughter is in Canada at this very moment so I am dying to know what happens there.

Can you feel the excitement??

No prizes for guessing that the one in the big hat at the back is me! When I arrived with my hat and my neck festooned with necklaces and my green and orange earrings made by my daughter,,,,the other leaders remarked....'understated as usual!!'

Then we have our parade, they begged to let Feargal join in...

...he was in his element.

At the end of the day they have to give it all back so that Brownies next year can enjoy it all over again. But I do give them each a necklace, I have given hundreds away over the last few years. If I stay in Brownies much longer I will need to restock!!

It's a National Holiday today, we were promised the warmest day of the year so far but it's actually overcast and quite chilly with out the record breaking sunshine we have been getting. We will watch the parades all over the world on TV.

Hope you all have a happy happy day. The lads wish all their cousins and siblings a happy day and lots of mischief! He needs to know what you all did! Nollaig is a bit stunned by it all so far.

PS. Feargal has yet to tell me who he appointed as his NPDA!

Fergeal is interviewing again!

2010-03-15T12:46:00.001-05:00

Long post..you might need a cup of tea.

Anyone who is living with a leprechaun will by now know just how nosy they are! They just can't be happy where they are, they just have to go snooping around.

BUT

If you live with 3 leprechauns, then you are really in for it.

They are trouble on 2 legs..or 6 in this case!

No where in my house is sacred, not a box nor a cubby hole.....and so this is how they came across my 'ladies'.

Mostly they live in shoebox except for a few that live in my display cabinet amongst the china. I suppose that's a shame!

The first thing that I knew about this was when I came into my study and there was Fergeal on top of my piano in his 'area' doing interviews again!

Looks like there was only one applicant for the job doesn't it??

But don't be fooled....

.......he had them all lined up!

He took sooooh long and asked so many questions, with Tadgh and Nollaig chipping in all the time, that pretty soon the ladies at the back of the queue were chatting amongst themselves...as ladies do!

I knew that would like to have a closer look at them so I asked them if they would mind posing for some photos....

...and...

......it would be good if you turned round to face the camera, I said....

.....so they did...

......she even out her hat back on....

....they are so elegant...

.....it's hard to believe that I actually made them......seems like a hundred years ago.

The framework is pipe-cleaners encased in cotton finger bandage, that you can buy on a roll.

The heads are wooden beads. Getting a nice looking face is the most difficult bit, you need a very steady hand.

The hair is made from embroidery thread twisted into a coil or plaited and then coiled round the head.
Those were the days of fiddle faddle! Now wouldn't they be lovely with tatted trims.

Fergeal tells me that they are 12th Scale dolls dressed in the Edwardian style.....now how would he know!!

He says that he studied the History of fashion in the Lep Academy!...the stuff that he learned and he was only there for a week...well in our time that is!!

I know that you are dying to know what the are wearing under their dresses!!

One of them agreed to lift up her skirt to show you... but she wasn't all that keen when I lifted up her petticoat to show you her pantaloons. they never bother with shoes round the house, nobody sees!

The little hats are made from plaited plasticy twine stuff from Fiji...they make mock grass skirts out of it...but that's another story!

Of course I have digressed away from the most important thing......and that is....
Why is Fergeal interviewing them and what is the job he is offering !!!

He says that since the other two arrived his job has got so much harder, not only does he have to look after me and the house and the tatting supplies...but he has to look after them as well and keep them out of trouble....and then he says there are the lists.....he just can't keep up with it all.

So he says that he needs a NDPDA!!!

What's that I ask innocently....he gives me that withering look...
a Non Digital Personal Assistant of course he says.
he insists that he doesn't want a computer (phew!) and tells me to get real!
He reckons that I live in a virtual world and that's not good, i should get back to reality and the simple things (like him!!)

He reckons that these Edwardian ladies should be well used to making lists....and he likes them because they are just his height......mmmmm and I have to ask my self why they are so gullible!

I can't help thinking that he is up to something!!!

So the thing is which one of them got the job...any ideas? I don't even know their names. Just hoping that they don't need a NDPDA each!

If you enjoyed this post do leave a comment.....it took ages to write.

Fergeal gets a present.

2010-03-14T09:30:00.000-05:00

There was something extra in the giveaway package that I received from TypsTatting.

Well

It was a little square package wrapped in tissue with a letter attached,
I was just reading the letter when up popped Fergeal by my side.....I swear these leprechauns are psychic.
He read the letter over my shoulder and then hopped down to examine the package.

The letter read...

This little quilt is for the leprechaun in your life.

For the cold nights and sitting watching the television.

To share if he wants or just to enjoy!

He had it opened in an instant, he laid it out on the floor and popped under it.

Isn't it just gorgeous. he wants to say a big thanks to TypsTatting.

A couple of little voices were heard to say.....

did we hear that something was to share...

And before you could say leprechauns knees, they were under the quilt too.

talk about cozy!
And then....
He had another idea....
Lets try it over our knees sitting on the sofa..like Typs Tatting meant.

And then he had an even better idea....
Instead of getting under it, let's get on top of it..
it would make a wonderful carpet! and make my little space so cosy.

Just look how the colours match my sofa, he said, she must have seen my sofa before!

And so that was his decision, he called the lads to bring some more chairs and a tea table and some tea,

and they did. They all sat down to enjoy Tatting Tea Tuesday, Tadgh was all ready to pour the tea from Fergeal's BEST teapot.

lets take a birds eye view

isn't that just perfect for a leprechaun party.

But

along came my friend Jackie

with her tea service!!

Isn't that just something. It's from Martha Ess's Teapot book, she is just such a clever designer...and Jackie is such a clever tatter.

The set is sitting on the top of my coffee cup.

Well the lads heard about it and in an instant they had cleared Fergeal's tea set off the table onto the floor and demanded to have Jackie's one instead!

The lads were over the moon....but it is tatted in my Coral Reef HDT and Fergeal says that it just doesn't go with his decor!!
Now he wants me to make one to suit his colour scheme....any ideas....not that he is going to get one anytime soon!
The three lads think that their life is going very smoothly at the moment and wish to continue to be kept in the manner that they have become accustomed to!
He says thanks Typs...it's very cool!

Special Alert! Lep Attacked!

2010-03-10T19:58:00.004-06:00

I have a horrid tale to tell! I was mortified the other night when I came home...it has taken me TWO days to recover! Well, let me start at the beginning.

You may remember I brought Cormac home from my office where he had been visiting and getting to know my coworkers, guarding my microwave and teapots. It was Christmas, after all, so I brought him home and he found a favorite spot nestled in my tabletop chimes, a gift from a dear friend. It was a good partnership - Cormac and the chimes both being gifts from special friends, and he could see almost EVERYTHING from this vantage point. Once I took all the Christmas stuff down, he had all kinds of room to move around.

This weekend it was so very nice and I decided it was safe to open up the drapes and let some sunshine in! They are nice thermal drapes and keep the cold out but we were all badly needing some sunlight so I opened them up and left them that way. I came home the other night, Monday night, and was admiring the open feeling in the living room when I happened to glance down at the carpet.

HORRORS!

There was poor Cormac! His hat was nearly torn off and he was crouched down in a fetal position. Oh, who could have done this dastardly deed? Was he all right? I knelt down beside him and gently turned him over.

Ah, I should have known! He's a hardy lad! He was all smiles and I picked him up and set his cap back upon his head. No scratches or torn clothing. I must have just gotten home in the nick of time!

Oh, but what is this???? It's his coin! And his tatted shamrocks! Someone tried to rob him!

Ah, thanks be to the Irish spirit in him! He told me he never saw them coming but they were huge and pushed him off the chimes and batted him around. He thought he was a goner and kept his eyes tightly shut - and then....he heard me open the door!

Well...I have an idea who his attacker was. There are FOUR suspects so we'll just try to narrow it down.

This is Skunk, the leader of the pack. He is the oldest and claims his territory regularly, but he's lazy and once he claims a spot, he hardly moves from it for weeks at a time. Besides, he is missing some crucial teeth and likes to only chew on soft stuff.

Next in line is Chewie, named after the famous Star Wars wookie because of her coloring. She is the smallest but only a year younger than Skunk and she is his half sister, born the following year. She likes to groom him from time to time and she certainly claims her territory right next to him. Sometimes I think she actually has the upper hand even if she is tiny and can't meow very loud. She's got a whale of a HISSSSS though. She's not too playful either and likes to tell everyone what to do without too much action herself.

Now this fellow, Dillon, is sneaky. When he first came here and Skunk and Chewie were still outside, HE claimed the house for himself. When the others came in, he got knocked down a notch or two but he likes to sneak up on everyone, cat and human alike, and rub on them. He's very inquisitive and sometimes agitates the others on purpose. He's certainly a more likely culprit than the first two.

And now we have Diogi...low kitty on the Cat pole. For that reason alone, I think she may be harboring a grudge and takes it out on anyone she can. I've also caught her on top of the entertainment center. She certainly has had me fooled with the way she always acquiesces to the others. I think she's just been biding her time.

Unfortunately, I cannot prove it so everyone is free for now. In the meantime, I brought Cormac into my computer/craft studio where he will remain safe as I keep the door closed.

Thank goodness he lives to celebrate another St. Paddy's Day!!!!!

Begorrah! It's a Leprechaun

2010-01-30T15:01:00.010-06:00

It’s not every day that a leprechaun comes to live with you.
This one landed shortly before the Christmas holidays.

Introducing Ciarrán!

His name is Ciarrán (pronounced /key-ran’/) and he’s no trifling sprite.

One of a series of emissaries from the Emerald Isle, this pint-sized ambassador was hand-picked out of seven applicants to supervise the lace making endeavors of IsDihara.

“Receiving one is like hitting the jack pot o’ gold,” she said.

Ciarrán at teatime with new pals.

Seven leprechauns were dispatched around the globe in 2009. Each one arrived with a tatted sash, a skein of hand-dyed thread draped over his shoulder and an Irish coin in his grasp.

Judging from the twinkle in Ciarrán’s eye, the clever leprechaun no doubt has a few roguish pranks up his sleeve and has wasted no time shaking things up around his new household.

Ciarrán riding bareback

After spying a Christmas crèche, he leaped onto the back of a wise man's camel with an exuberant, "Chugainn, ar aghaidh linn," (Gaelic for Let's go!) and rode it around the house.

Ciarrán keeps mum about his crock of gold but waxes lyrical about the superiority of all things Irish. And make no mistake, he loves the attention he has received since his arrival.

When asked how Ciarrán came to live with her, IsDihara replied, “At the end of December a package arrived in the mail. I opened it to find a tantalizing, silver-wrapped gift that gave off a barely perceptible hiccup.”

Startled, she tore open the wrapping. Out sprang an antsy little elf, saying, “Where’s the loo?”

Lorcan

2010-01-14T06:35:00.001-06:00

Hello, My name is Lorcan and I have been sent to live with Wendy in England. Here in Kent at the moment it is very cold and snowy. I tried sitting in the garden to get some sun, but as you can imagine I didn't stay long!

Here I am in the study, sitting on Wendy's desk. I am going to help her with her designing and tatting and will post again soon. I am very happy here and am well looked after. It is nice to see Oisin and Fergal again and keep in touch with my roots.

Leprechaun Lightening strikes twice

2010-01-08T20:21:00.001-06:00

LOOK!!!! Our eyes match!!!

Oh my goodness....OH MY GOODNESS, I cannot contain my excitement! A very unexpected but well received surprise arrived in my mailbox today courtesy of my friend and fellow tatter Tatskool -"Grande Dame" of all tatting leprechauns around the world!!!

...Let's back up a little: about this time last year my beloved "Brendan the Navigator" came to live with me. But his adventurous nature got the best of him and after a few months he decided to up and travel the world on his own...independent little chap that he is; we parted ways in Vietnam. I have missed him quite a bit but I have heard news here and there "through the grapevine" of his travels.

Well.....today Brendan's sister Blathnaid (or Brenda for short) has come to stay! I am ever so excited. ...and boy oh boy is she a pretty lass! You lot out there who have boy Leps better keep an eye on them once they get a look at her!
She is settling in quite nicely, after all Brendan has already filled her in on what to expect with the motley crew that I call my family.

Just look at how ladylike she is with her pretty earrings, flowered belt and little gems on her shoes! By the way; Blathnaid means "flowers". Isn't that lovely??

I also got a skein of "Vanilla Sky" which is one of Tatskool's HDT's that I was secretly drooling over the first time I saw it....so Brenda "the stay at home" and I are off to tat with it right now!

...Oh and thank you for letting me open my Christmas present early! You have made my day!

Now that I have the luck of the irish on my side again, I am hoping that 2010 will be a fantastic year!

And then there were THREE!

2010-01-08T15:41:00.003-06:00

What should the postman bring to my house when things got back to normal...but a little packet. Inside was a very, very cold little Leprechaun who had been on his way since the 14th of December...thats 3 whole weeks.

Yes folks! he had missed Christmas!!

Aw!

He was so cold that he just lay there in the pretty green tissue paper...looking up at me with his big blue eyes.

Finally

He hopped out of the wrapping and demanded to talk to Fergeal...without so much as a by-your-leave.

Now Fergeal and Tadgh were still trying to get a glimpse of Blathnaid and had been on ~~duty~~ watch by my computer ever since!!
They were taken aback when the newcomer rushed in and announced that he was moving in!!

'I'm HERE' he said,

Tadgh hopped down from Fergeal's shoulders and they were soon deep in conversation, plotting heaven knows what!!

My goodness he is one determined little Leprechaun, just look at the three of them. Poor little Tadgh had never seen anything like him. ' Look at his chin' he squealed, 'look at his big eyes!!' Fergeal took it all in his stride.

Finally I got a chance to read the long letter sent with him and found that his name is Nollaig....that's Irish for Christmas...cool name! Ironic as he had just missed Christmas.

Now we need a bit of history here I think.

Last Christmas if you will cast your minds back, several little leprechauns set off for foreign parts.

Well unbeknown to us here at Tatskool Leprechaun Lodge....there was someone out there who was sooooh desperate to have a Leprechaun that she went and TATTED one....yes you did read that correctly.......she tatted her own from scratch...having only seen photos of them.

Now that I see one in real life...so to speak...I am amazed at how she got the height right...and the colours and the shoes...and Oh My Gosh the ears are just wonderful. And of course she could give him that wonderful pointy chin that is so leprechaunish. Of course he is a lot older (in more ways that one) than my fresh faced little scallywags!

That's why we will have to keep an eye on him!!

Now we have learned later that it seems that his ~~maker~~ mum was busy attending to him at the very same time that here Fergeal was doing his interviews....now isn't that amazing....and neither knew what the other was planning.

I fact we have learned that when battatter...who is in fact his mum....went to the post to send him on his way to Ireland....(let's face it where he really belongs!!)........she was amazed to find on her return home that very moment...that in her letterbox was a packet for her with Ruari/Rory inside.

I just bet she was staggered!

At this point in time when Nollaig left home, don't forget Conor (the tatted lep) had not seen Rory (~~a real lep)~~, Tadgh had not seen Conor (a tatted lep), Fergeal had not decided to take on an apprentice.....and none of them had ever seen a purple cow..oh no that's another story altogether! sorrry.

Are you still with me????

So they all clambered up to get a look at the photo that I showed them on my screen from battatter of Conor and Rory. Conor trying his best to take the Rainbow Bright from the userper (or so he thought)!

You can all imagine the thoughts that are going through my mind now that there are THREE of them!

Oh by the way, I hope that all the other lep mums will copy and paste their stories into this blog so that these wonderful stories can lie one after another for all the leps to be able to read for eternity what their siblings/cousins have been getting up to!!

BTW Nollaig is carrying a lucky Escudo...where did he find that, the boys are curious.

The Leprechaun Has Landed!

2009-12-16T14:25:00.003-06:00

Ever since I saw this post on the blog called It's A Leprechaun's Life I had been secretly hoping for something to arrive in my mailbox. You see, Tatskool of the Tats A Kool Challenge tatting blog has been making and giving hand stitched leprechauns to a few lucky recipients each year! The previous recipients have had the most delightful adventures with their leprechauns and then they post about them on the leprechaun blog! Sometimes when two or more tatters who own a leprechaun are going to be at the same tatting event they will bring their leprechauns to the event so that the leprechauns can "meet" each other! The meeting isn't complete until there are photos taken and a blog post about it! It's quite fun to read about it in the leprechaun blog! Apparently the most recent batch of leprechauns had to undergo some grueling interview questions. The questions were asked in order to find those most capable of going out into the world to spread cheer, joy and mischief to whomever they were assigned to! This was quite an ordeal according to Tatskool! So, it may not surprise you that deep down inside I was quietly hoping that my name was on the list of this year's recipients!

You can imagine what I was thinking when I recieved a package in the mail last Friday, December 11th that had these stamps on the top of the padded envelope!
These beautiful irish stamps that say "ÉIRE"!

My heart skipped a beat when I saw that the return address said "Ireland"!

Further investigation revealed a brightly wrapped Christmas package!!!Something was just a little odd about this package! You see, it was squirming! Yes! The package was wriggling around and then I heard mumbling as the paper began to tear open by itself...or so it seemed!

To my delighted surprise a cheerily dressed leprechaun emerged from the gold and red wrapping paper!

Stiofán had arrived!He held in his arms one of Tatskool's most popular HDT's (Hand Dyed Thread) called "Rainbow Bright". He offered it to me rather ceremoniously, telling me that this was mine and I could tat a lovely bit of tatting of whatever I chose. I thanked him graciously, of course!

He was kind enough to pose for some pictures. When I mentioned to him that he is quite photogenic he surreptitiously agreed. He then went on to explain that he had done some modeling in Ireland for an exclusive magazine for leprechauns called "Leprechaun's Quarterly". He said he even made the cover once! I asked him why he was acting so timid about it. He admitted that he didn't mention it during the interview with Tatskool's lep, named Fergeal, for fear he might be taken as a shallow leprechaun and that it might hurt his chances for traveling abroad. After this was revealed he did seem more at ease when he saw that I was not the least bit phased by his confession. In fact, he agreed to pose for more photos! He even did some close ups!

He said this one looked a lot like the photo that made the cover for "Leprechaun's Quarterly".

In his right hand he holds an Irish penny that says "éire 2003".

His festive red belt is festooned with a chain of lucky green tatted clovers and beautiful green glass beads!

What I really wanted to show you was the painstaking detail that has gone into Stiofán's creation!

Note the tiny hand stitched threads that make the detail of his face!

He even has a twinkle in his eye!

One of the first things that Stiofán did was teach me how to pronounce his name properly. He says it is a name from the Old Irish tongue and is pronounced thusly:

"Shtee-oh-fawn"

He even showed me a website that has the pronunciation key for Ancient Irish pronunciations! What a clever fellow...er...leprechaun!
Stiofán is the Old Irish equivalent for the modern English name of Stephan (Steven).

When he looked around my living room he asked me what all the stacks of books were for. You see, currently I am in the process of creating an alphabetical index of my personal tatting library. I have all of my tatting books in stacks according to the letter of the alphabet the title begins with.

He marched over to the tallest stack...the "T's" [of course (T is for Tatting)]...and began his climb to the top of the stack. This was quite a feat for the little guy seeing as the stack was well over a foot high! Well, of course I had to take a picture of him once he made it to the top!Can you see that mischievous look in his eye? Doesn't it look like he's going to hurl that penny at me? He swears he was just waving, but he has that gleam in his eye! LOL!

Well, before Stiofán and I bid you farewell for the evening I'd like to invite you to be sure to say hello! I know it's been a while since I posted, but I have not disappeared from bloggerlandia completely! I promise that! I have lots to blog about so stay tuned!
♥

and Stiofán, too!

XOXO

Rory Arrives!!!

2009-12-15T10:21:00.002-06:00

The mystery gift has been opened! Conor just couldn't wait and ripped into the package like a monkey on a banana!! And, lo and behold... there was a leprechaun inside bearing a gift! Conor was so excited he didn't know what to do first! (He has been a little sad lately, having gone thru a little upset of his own, but we will blog about that later.) He grabbed the thread to get a closer look... ooh such lovely colors. He wants me to use it very soon to make something lovely.

Well, then, being mischievious leps, they got into a tug o' war! But, it was all in fun, and soon were hugging it out!

Then, Rory showed us the letter from his Mum, explaining his real name is Ruari, but that we could call him Rory. And how he has come to live with Conor and me to be Conor's BFF!

Well now, Conor is so happy! He got out his new toys he got for Christmas (of course, Mom let him open early because of the special circumstances) and he and Rory had a great old time playing on the Christmas rubber duckies!

I can see this is going to be a wonderful friendship. Conor and I are also very curious to see who else was on Fergeal's list of leprechaun recipients!
Conor and I want to thank Tatskool and Fergeal for thinking of us, and sending us such a great little friend for Christmas.

Hurray!

Leprechauns spread even further round the world.

2009-12-10T04:29:00.002-06:00

Now..you all know my Leprechaun Fergeal and his siblings.

You can catch up on my blog by either searching for Leprechaun in my side bar labels..I see there are 10 posts OR in the search engine at the top of the blog. This helps me enormously when I can't remember if I posted some tatting or not! It might help you if you want to know how much thread to use for a project and I might have made it!
Also you can read ALL the posts in this blog.

sitting........................waiting for you to catch up.........................twiddling my thumbs.......................my hubby actually does this................while he is waiting at traffic lights.................who else does....................?

OK welcome back now I don't have to explain any more!

So lets start again.....

Fergeal has a list...(just like Santa Claus...only Fergeal checks his list every day). His list is all the tatters that he would like to have a Leprechaun.....

The problem is that he is such a gregarious little soul that his list gets longer and longer ...every day!!

I keep telling him "Fergeal, how do you think I can make all those Leprechauns, have you any idea how long it takes just to make one???"

Obviously he hasn't!

So I finally put my foot down and told him that I couldn't possibly make any this year.

He was not happy!

"If you stop that silly tatting you would have plenty of time!"

mmm I think I have heard that before!!

Well anyway, Fergeal decided that there was no option but to take matters into his own hands, handicapped as he is by his lucky Irish cent.

Nope, it's not what you think...he didn't borrow my felt, scissors, needles and thread.... he took the easy way out and he advertised in the Leprechaun Times....for Leprechauns willing to travel.... outside their homeland.....not afraid to learn new things...ambassadors for their country...and so on.

I didn't think that even one would apply..they are all so cosy at home....

But they must have been intrigued and so was I when he came and told me that he had seven applicants...seven!! (good job it wasn't the seven dwarves!!)

You might think that this was the end of the story...Oh no!

Fergeal decided that he had to interview them...to make sure that they were of good character and wouldn't let us down!!

There's more....

He said that he couldn't possibly interview them..where he normally lives...on top of the piano...watching me......Oh no!! he wanted his own office!!

I hope it keeps fine for him I thought!

Well it did..you may have noticed how the Leprechauns seem to get their own way...a lot. William has his own van and sets off whenever he feels the need....Oisin goes to college and let us not forget Brendan (the naviagator!) who was determined to see the world that he left his post and went AWOL! No we could never forget Brendan.

Fergeal didn't want a repeat of that.................and so I found myself in Leprechaun Office Supplies....with my credit card...bad move......

It seemed that not only did he want a desk and chair...but he wanted to upgrade his entire lifestyle!! He told me he wanted antique Irish furniture....solid mahogany circa 1850 ( he has been watching too many Antique Roadshows!

In yer dreams Fergeal!

Well to cut a long story short, he got ready for the interviews... I looked up and there was a line of Leprechauns waiting for their turn....pushing and shoving and nearly falling over each other, so eager were they.

A motley lot they look too!

Now there are no prizes...(but you can guess anyway)....for guessing which day Fergeal chose for his interviews???...think now think!.....or what he was going to ask them. All answers on a blank cheque please!

One by one they answered his gruelling questions, he even let them sit on his brand new rocking chair..... did they know what that mysterious object on his desk was?....

... the others relaxed on his new three piece suite!...and chatted amongst themselves...wonder what they were thinking...were they a teeny bit afraid of what they were letting themselves in for.

What was Fergeal holding in his hand and what was he going to use those books for that he had on his desk.....was he going to make them swear an oath....so many questions I was dying to ask...but i was going to have to wait...you can't afford to interrupt a Leprechaun doing his job.....remember that!

Every now and again he would get up and go over to his antique globe (note that it's an antique...well he thinks it is anyway!), give it twirl and peer into it and scratch his head.

Finally, finally the were all sent home, and I got to quiz him.

He was chuntering away to himself.

"What's up lad?" I dared to ask.

"One of them's a girl!!" was his reply.
"A girl, I ask you who has ever heard of girl leprechauns...no such thing!"

"mmmm!"I dared to reply, "if there are no girl leprechauns, where do you think you came from???"

Well if looks could kill!!

Looks to me like my brave little fellow fancies her, though he would never admit it.

I asked him how he knew it was a girl!!! He tapped the side of his nose knowingly and said that he knew all right, she may have been dressed like leprechaun but it was the little things that gave her away!!!

She was the first one that he called back and I did do a photo shoot while he wasn't looking.....but that's for another day.

As for the others he said they knew sod all about tatting, some of them had never heard of it.....but they were all keen....well wouldn't you be he said if you were offered the opportunity to travel the world.

I think he is jealous...he keeps on at me that I promised him a world tour!!

So anyway back to the job in hand....he has sent them away to the Lep Academy for their tatting/spy training and they just arrived back the other day.

I wonder where he has decided to send them.

I guess I will soon know.

Leprechaun Reunion at Palmetto

2009-09-14T23:50:00.005-05:00

Danny was really looking forward to going to Palmetto. Any trip away from home is good, but this one was special since he could visit with some of his cousins. Fergus arrived on Thursday as well, and they had a great time.

They quickly located the chocolate in the hospitality area.

They found some nice greeting cards.

They thoroughly explored the vending room, starting with the silent auction table.

Remember how Danny liked to play in the ball (of thread) pool at Hector? He taught the game to Fergus. Tracy Jackson of the Lacemaker of Cortland OH came over to see what the maniacal laughter was all about, but she let them keep playing.

More fun climbing the display rack on Georgia's table.

Finian arrived later. They had a fine party Saturday night.

They got to meet Georgia!

They stayed up very, very late since they didn't want it all to end and go home the next day. They promised to meet again next year.

I won at the fair!!! by Conor

2009-07-13T14:54:00.003-05:00

Oh Joy! I have had a great time this weekend! My mom was going to put my best friend, pd the dragon, in the fair, and since I couldn't live without him for a whole week, I begged her to let me go, too! Well, she did and guess what? We BOTH won 1st prize blue ribbons! We are so proud. And, it is a good thing we both won, too, that way there will be no teasing by the winner to the loser. Mom said she will take better photos of us when she picks us up on Sunday. In this picture, I was so exhausted from the excitement I had to lay down. It is very cool, people coming by constantly to visit us and smile! I miss Mom, as I have to be away for a whole week, but I will see her on her visits to the fair. If you want to see more of the stuff she won ribbons on, check out her blog!

http://www.battatter.blogspot.com/

Bye for now... Conor

115 Degrees in AZ...get the point?

2009-07-07T01:59:00.004-05:00

Donnacha perches upon needles for this photo taken between Wickenburg and Phoenix, AZ

This is a "still" from a hilarious video taken by DH (an accident) and viewed by very, very few!
If it were longer, I'd send it to America's Funniest Videos.... Oh! That's Bev, Donnacha's human. There is also a short video of Donnacha waving at the Cacti because HE thought they were waving their arms at him! If he can figure out how to share it, he will.

Donnacha Searches for a friend. . .

2009-07-03T00:35:00.008-05:00

Donnacha went looking for a friend; at first, he rode around on the tractor...but soon he thought going on foot would be better because the "pop" "pop" of the tractor was frightening all the wood critters.

This is really the end of Dom's search for a friend. It all began when. . .

"Dom" found a friend, but it was not easy! He found a friend dressed in the same colors as himself; and, yes the new friend is a gnome and not a Lep ~ but they are distant cousins ~ I think! Mom and DH had been visiting with relatives, making new friends; and, while Dom enjoyed all the photo sessions ~ he, too, wanted to meet a Lep, a gnome or even an elf! He visited Bear, but the bear was looking at his ladybug friend which had landed on his nose. This made Bear cross eyed ~ and cross indeed!

Dom climbed as high as he could to reach a duck in a pond ~ but Duck was not talking.

He searched through the many flowers Cousin Trudy has growing in her yard. She is a Master Gardner and there were A LOT of flowers and critters...He even asked squirrels because they are busy and in every part of the flower and vegetable gardens, but he found the squirrels were really quite ignorant of friends for a Lep.

Dom tried befriending the geese, but the Momma Goose came after him ~ hissing, "get away from my goslings"

Then he came to pigs drinking at the pond...but being pigs they slurped and slurped and did not talk at all! They oinked in his general direction. Sadly, he pressed on. . . would he never find a friend of his own?

Dom saw Owl and climbed up and up...Owl was wise. Owl would know where he could find a friend. "Go past the potted pansies" and turn left and there you will find a Gnome who is dressed in gold and green, wearing a red hat and red shoes ~ just like yours. He will be your friend".

And so, Dom followed Owl's wise counsel. He traveled past the potted pansies, turned left and there he was ~ the Gnome! Sitting by the mushrooms. Gnome and Dom spent the afternoon chatting and Dom learned all about Big Bear. And he learned that he was going to get to go to fireworks, right at the lakeside on the Fourth of July! Gnome could not go, he had to tend to the mushrooms, but Dom's person would take him to the big party on the deck. Donnacha was tired from all that climbing and trekking; he and Gnome had a nice nap under the mushrooms in the afternoon sunshine. Dom dreamt of a hissing goose and FIREWORKS over Big Bear lake.

. . .whereupon the mischeiveous Donnacha escapes!

2009-06-01T22:10:00.006-05:00

Where's Donnacha? That's DH on the right! What a guy, lifted me right up on the counter at Big Bear California's, Big Juan's eatery.
We love chocolate ~ Right?

Really, I wanted Carmel Apple Crisp

"On the road again. . "

This is me ~ right next to her favorite Tatting bag!

My name is Donnacha (my Human calls me Dom; because she has a very short memory and can't remember Donnacha...I TELL her..."It's like Don likes nacha's ~nachos? " She says, "it's tradition; you come from over the sea and someone in the USA gives you a new name...like they did on Ellis Island in the 1800's""

Leps love travel...I enjoy looking at the exotic places my cousins have gone! Sometimes Mom goes to Wal-Mart; but really, how exciting can that be when it's the only clothes store within two hours? I don't mean to insult where my human lives...but it really isn't anything like the end of the rainbow! She keeps asking herself "Why?"

Then, her paisley Roly Poly tatting bag went into the purse with many zippers....and she huffed and puffed for a whole week! Filling two suitcases, a bigger tatting bag; and, I hopped inside! Right beside the tatting bag. I knew she'd be getting that out and would find me and.....maybe, just maybe she'd take some pictures of me! We might go someplace exciting and then I could share with my cousins.

We left New Mexico and drove through Phoenix and got to Wickenburg, Arizona ~ and ate!

I really, really hinted about getting a Carmel Apple Crisp. Later, she gave me a Snickers candy bar which I did not have to share with that little beastie, Sara. The next morning we got up very early and I saw cotton tail bunnies hopping across a parking lot!

We drove all day long, eight hours! And came to Big Bear, California ~ where we ate! The food was just too spicy for me but I did enjoy the fountain and having my picture taken. I wonder why the people looked at Mom's DH so much when he moved me around the fountain for pictures. I mean, haven't they ever seen a leprechaun?

I don't know where we will be next. I want to see the lake, I want to meet Mom's cousin...I want to eat out again and get some dessert. I can't wait for tomorrow...I'll let you know what happens ~ I'm so excited....hummm, do I smell chocolate?

2009-05-13T12:57:00.000-05:00

Cormac has been hanging out in my office ever since St. Paddy's Day. The pics didn't turn out very well and he thought I'd try for another photo opportunity or at least that's what he told me. I think he just liked eavesdropping on the gossip! He's nestled in the honey sticks and mint chocolate stir sticks that I keep for my tea.

He thought he was in American Heaven - a pot of silver! (minus the rainbow) Truly it was only a bowl of Hershey's Kisses, but chocolate is as good as any pot of gold or silver, isn't it?

Fergeal's additions!

2009-05-03T10:30:00.009-05:00

Just gotta get a few things straightened out. My mom just got a CD full of photos...only another 286..that's all. She got a fab photo of them there Giants at the causeway.

Just look at those lips!!

I sneeked a look and found a photo of my mom. She hates photos of her but serves her right. You can see how tight she is holding on to me!!

Do I look like I am going to do a runner!!

Some of you have been asking about Toastie...well he is one special little bear. He came free in a winter survival pack from a well know tissue manufacturer. he came in a padded bag inn the post and all over the outside in big letters was written...

I'm here let me out!!

So we have always had to be real careful not to suffocate him.

He is a Hug me better bear

He has a hole in his back and inside him is a bag of wheat seeds that can be heated in the microwave and then when they are put back he is is Toastie warm inside.

Well the other advantage of the bag of seeds is that when he is going on holiday he can be eviscerated...ouch!! so he is very light. When he gets where he is going he usually gets a sock stuffed inside him to make him feel more human!

Here is a sketch she did of him in a jumper that he borrowed...

Here he is in real life on one of his holidays..crossing the Irish sea....

and on a coach. You should never travel without a stuffie!

Fergeal's Wonderful Weekend! Part 3.

2009-05-02T10:52:00.013-05:00

The lady who had the Antique Lace brought in some more..this time bobbin lace. I had a good look. She said that it was ok to show these pictures. I wanted top learn as much as possible.

This one is Honiton Lace...gosh what eyesight they must have had.

There was a lady making bobbin lace

Good heavens all those bobbins!!

My mom was given a job...they told her to untangle all these threads!!! she didn't do it tho!!

The most fun that I had was when we went into a shop! and i found a lot of books that were soooh interesting.

Oh my he looks ugly!!, I never did find out what the truth was as she wouldn't buy it for me!

This one isn't quite so scary but doesn't look much like me.

But can ya see what it says on the back.. I am learning stuff here that I never knew !!!

Just in case ya can't read!! this is what it says.....

Leprechauns are supposed to know where pots of gold are buried and they guard this sectet very well. They are very hard to ensnare, and if you manage to catch one then you must hold him very firmly and never, even for a second, take your eyes off him, because in the blink of an eye he can dissapear and will use every trick he knows to escape..so be warned!!

Ooops! Brendan must have know this!! No wonder she held on to my feet at the Giants Causeway...as if I would!! Some of us know when we have a good thing going!!

One more book to read and this one looks like fun!

My mom showed me to the man behind the counter and he said that I was too tall to be a leprechaun...now how does he know that????
She told him tho', she said "He is a Cork Leprechaun, we breed them tall there!!"

See!!

Well she caught me trying to run off with this...so she bought it for me!!

I soon got rid of those chocolate imposters!.....

and now its MINE..all mine.

I'll be seeing ya!!

Gotta tell ya about Toastie tomorow...by request!

Fergeal's Wonderful Weekend! Part 2

2009-04-29T08:21:00.007-05:00

I just found out while we were in the Bushmill's distillery that my name should be spelled Feargal and that it means Golden One....very appropriate I think. I found out also that i like a drop of whiskey...and a drop was all I got!!

We went on to the Giant's Causeway, somewhere I have always wanted to go...and we weren't disappointed. Here is proof!! I wuz there!!

They held on to me really tightly...I found out why later!!!

I think we saw some signs of the Giants.

Pretty scary!! I was really interested in the story of the Giants...this is what Wikepedia says..... remember Fionn is our grandson..this is another story about his namesake.

Legend has it that the Irish warrior Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn McCool) built the causeway to walk to Scotland to fight his Scottish counterpart Benandonner. One version of the legend tells that Fionn fell asleep before he got to Scotland. When he did not arrive, the much larger Benandonner crossed the bridge looking for him. To protect Fionn, his wife Oonagh laid a blanket over him so he could pretend that he was actually their baby son. In a variation, Fionn fled after seeing Benandonner's great bulk, and asked his wife to disguise him as the baby. In both versions, when Benandonner saw the size of the 'infant', he assumed the alleged father, Fionn, must be gigantic indeed. Therefore, Benandonner fled home in terror, ripping up the Causeway in case he was followed by Fionn.

Another variation is that Oonagh painted a rock shaped like a steak and gave it to Benandonner, whilst giving the baby (Fionn) a normal steak. When Benandonner saw that the baby was able to eat it so easily, he ran away, tearing up the causeway.

The "causeway" legend corresponds with geological history in as much as there are similar basalt formations (a part of the same ancient lava flow) at the site of Fingal's Cave on the isle of Staffa in Scotland.

Oh man! we just couldn't stop taking photos. It was so funny when we heard a voice behind us say...."would you mind doing that again...I have never seen anything like that!!" So I was held up again in front of that wonderful view and he took my photo. I couldn't believe that he had never seen a leprechaun before. We are all over the place but you got to know where to look.

The bus driver told us a leprechaun story.... a woman went into a garden centre and asked for a leprechaun ( she really meant a garden gnome I think!) well the man behind the counter dashed to the door and ran outside. He came back a few minutes later and said "darn it they have all gone, there were 5 of them out there last time I looked!!"

We sure are slippery customers!

Isn't this amazing, I bet Brendan would enjoy coming here.

Fergal's wonderful weekend, part 1.

2009-04-28T12:00:00.007-05:00

Oh my! I had SUCH a good time in Northern Ireland. I just never knew anything about the North of my Ireland. I expected it to be cold, being in the north and all...but in fact we had better weather than they did down south. It didn't rain at all the important times.

So what should I tell you about...
well firstly the food was delicious, just like me. Just look at the colours!

The room was plenty big enough for the three of us, 'her' and Toastie and me. You can just see Toastie peeping out of 'her' rucksack, 'she' always gives him plenty of air.

Well as you know i am a tatter but I decided to broaden my horizons and learn something new. First I tried to join the Guild, they asked if I was a good luck charm...huh!!

After that I laid low for a bit and just watched.

'Her' friend Carmel was doing something really interesting on a sort of roller. It looked fun so she let me take a peek.

Ok! I have gotta explain this one to you. First of all how to pronounce Youghal, it's Yawl. It's a seaside town in East Cork. This is what Lacefairy has to say about the lace:-

Of all the varieties of Irish lace that are known, Youghal lace is justly regarded as the most beautiful. It is at the same time the most difficult to make as it is worked stitch by stitch without any foundation. The Youghal lace industry had its birth in 1847, the Irish famine year. Mother Margret Smyth, a nun in the presentation, convent of County Cork, horror stricken at the sight of starting women and children around her, conceived the idea of starting some employment which might provide them with bread. But of what that employment should consist of perplexed mother Smyth. It so happens that one day, searching in out of the way nooks and corners, she chanced to light upon a scrap of rare old Italian lace. The moment of inspiration had come. Here was work which might yield bread for the poor hungry girls and children. That lovely scrap should be made to give up the secret of its construction. Setting to work, she picked the lace to pieces, unraveling it unraveling the thread, until at last she fully grasped all the details of the delicate and intricate pattern. Mother Smiths difficulties were however, by no means at an end. Her self imposed task was an arduous one; but at last, after many attempts and repeated disappointments she succeeded in establishing a school for lace which is now of European reputation.

It's a very difficult lace to make...I think as it has no foundation material to work on. That green stuff that you see does not become part of the lace. the stitches are worked on top of it.

Next I went to see what Jackie was working on....they were all doing a butterfly...'she' was doing a Carrickmacross mat...but she is so slow!!

Jackie was doing Tambour Lace and she let me have a go! She uses a hook and very fine thread. Can you see the Swallowtail Butterfly that she is copying. The net is stretched over a frame the Tambour like a drum and the hook draws the thread through the net to make a chain stitch.

See!!! aren't I the educated Leprechaun!!

Danny at Hector

2009-04-28T01:42:00.004-05:00

Danny had a fine time at Hector though he was a little naughty. We realized he was missing from the table and finally found him in the vending area. I guess the bins of thread looked a lot like a playground ball pit.

Here he is checking out some of the silent auctions.

Brendan stopped in for a visit! Whoo hoo!

2009-04-23T18:06:00.003-05:00

I forgot to share that Brendan made a brief appearance at Shuttlebirds. I was so relieved to see him. My heart was absolutely broken when I thought I had lost him forever. I apologized for the mix up in Vietnam, he said it was quite alright as he was thinking of going off to explore on his own anyway. I asked "B" if he was ready to come home, but when he heard that I was homeless and wandering around for the summer, he decided to continue his explorations. Well, that IS what navigators/voyagers do best. As a leprechaun mother I am sad not to have him for the summer. But I cannot begrudge him his heart's desire. I am hoping that he will decide to join us in Alaska. I am even prepared to make him mittens and a nice warm jacket.
He was hopping around my Shuttlebirds slide show 2 posts back. If you would like to see Brendan for yourself, go see if you can find him.

If any of you see Brendan out there on one of his journeys do please let me know! I think he is off to visit his Lep cousins but who knows? He is extremely resourceful and moves around rather quickly. My guess is he will be haunting tatting events and the like. He is a tatting leprechaun after all.

B gave me this photo of himself while we visited together at Shuttlebirds:

Getting Ready to Travel

2009-04-16T01:40:00.001-05:00

Danny is excited about his upcoming trip to New York. He wonders if any of his cousins will be there.

William Found What He Was Looking For

2009-04-07T17:59:00.014-05:00

William is back from his trip. He was away for a few days. He realized it was almost St. Patrick's Day and he couldn't find his pot of gold. He looked everywhere for it and it was no where to be found. So he took off and was chasing down all the rainbows he could find. We had one over our garage ......

He ran outside and went to the end of the rainbow, but there was no pot of gold.

So he went to the other end of the rainbow. Still no pot of gold :(

But he was not going to give up. He found another rainbow and went to the end of this rainbow and he found what he was looking for, his pot of gold.......

Here is a closer view of William's Pot of Gold.

William hopes everyone had a great St. Patrick's Day!!

(For the pot I used Jane Eborall's Basket pattern, minus the handle. I love this little tatted basket.)

I also wanted to share a picture of William laying around in a field of Shamrocks. William got into my tatting again and took all my tatted Shamrocks and layed down in the middle of them all. LOL!

Lace Day in Lafayette is LOVELY

2009-03-29T13:27:00.020-05:00

Sorry for the long post, but whew! Where to begin. I had such a great time, I guess I will start there.

I took Conor with me to his first Lace Day..(here he is held by his newest friend..Laura.)

I arrived around 10, and was met in the parking lot by Mary Harris, asking if I needed help. Such a nice lady. I didn't but it was sweet of her to ask. Then, I went inside, and was quickly greeted by Laura Bobay, Ladytatterly, and Gina Brummett, Tattinggoddess! They are great ladies, and always a lot of fun to be with. Laura intoduced me to her "newbie" tatters, or her Tatter Tots, as she calls them. Kaye, Chris, and Dee.(I think her name is Chris, if not, Laura, please correct me!). Laura gave me the coolest gourds she had brought, and had made the cutest hedgehog out of one. His name is Hector! Isn't he precious?

Well, to make an incredibly long and lovely story short, we mingled, met new friends, and older ones. Diane, the Lace Lovin Librarian was there. She is such a sweet lady. I met her at the last Lace Day, two years ago. Great to see her again. She told me that she had made one of the raffle prizes that I won.

Did I say raffle PRIZES? Oh, yes. I won 5 of the raffle items! Wow! I couldn't believe it! Having brought Conor with me is the only reason I can think of that I got so lucky. My little Leprechaun brought his mommy the luck of the Irish! Here he is with Mary Harris, one of his new friends.

Here is also Gina, tatting away, in her oh- so- scarce spare time.

Here is a photo of all the items I won. I won a stack of Sewing and Threads magazines, in the first set of raffles. I don't sew, but my Mom and Sister will have a lot of fun reading them.

Then came the second round of raffles... omg! I won the beautiful beaded amulet bag that Gina made. So pretty! I thought, cool, I can go home very happy to have won something so great. But then, I won the bag from Diane, too! A lovely bag, it was woven on her Weavette loom and the handle is Romanian point lace braid, a very pretty pattern on it, and it had the green snowflake like motif and bookmark she tatted inside! PLUS, a gorgeous hankie. I was feeling REALLY lucky now. A couple of other ladies won the next two raffles, and then, I won the Cattern Cakes and Lace book raffle and the Honiton Lace book, spool holder, and thread raffle. WOW, again, I was in shock at my luck. I know I had only put one ticket in for the Honiton book..

I had brought this for show and tell. I was showered with such compliments, I am STILL blushing! Everyone was asking how I made them, and how long it took and such, I felt like a celebrity! heehee.

Here are a few other photos I took. This is the showroom..I made a panoramic picture of it so you could see the whole thing at one glance!

Another panorama of the meeting room... The Lace display, Things to put things in...oh such lovely stuff here!
Someone, I think it was Charlotte?, brought in this sweeter than sweet Greyhound. I HAD to pet him..Laura reminded me I couldn't have him.. thanks Laura..

But, being the dog lover I am, I was so happy to see him. This is Charlotte with him. Betty is behind him giving him a hug.

I think I will stop here. I may have some other photos in my other camera, I will check later, but, you can tell by the LONG post, Conor and I had a fabulous time. I hope you enjoyed my blog about the day!

Conor in the clover

2009-03-17T17:03:00.004-05:00

Conor had fun on his first St Patrick's day... as you can see, he found some clover to roll in! He thinks they are shamrocks, well, it is pretty close for him! He hopes all his Leprechaun cousins, and everyone else too, has a wonderful Saint Patrick's Day!!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day from Danny

2009-03-17T13:15:00.004-05:00

It's going to be a quiet St. Patrick's Day at Danny's house since Mom's post-op meds don't mix with alcohol. A mug or two of brew would have been nice....

Danny, being a good natured sort, resigns himself to another day of drinking tea.

Oisin's first American St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T08:41:00.001-05:00

Birmingham has a well respected St. Patrick's Day Parade and Oisin was very set on being the Grand Marshall. However, Lala just wasn't able to take him. When I explained how bad I felt, he capitulated. Or maybe it was because he is so small and I told him he would probably be trampled!

As you can see, we had our own little parade. My collection of St. Patrick's Day bears were enough parade for him to lead and as usual he has Isaac wrapped around his little finger.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all!

Bendan gets in touch!

2009-03-17T05:42:00.005-05:00

Whoooooohoooooo!!!
Fergal got news from Brendan today....they seem to have been in touch by leprechaun telepathy for a while!! Fergal had kept telling me not to worry and I have tried to say the same to his mum.

Anyway today Brendan managed to send some photos to Fergal through his lep-phone which fortunately he says he held on to tightly when he took his tumble from his mum's bike.

He says to tell her that he didn't mean to run away...honest..it was an accident.
He set off to walk back to Korea but he got lost and was picked up by some nice people who were on holiday and he has been traveling with them ever since. He hopes that he is getting nearer home...but geography was never his strong point...but he is sure that he can make it back some day.

At the moment he is staying in a posh hotel overlooking the sea and is happy to be seeing so many places...but he does miss his mum. He can't get in touch with her directly as his lep-phone only works to other leps.

He says to tell her not to worry..he thinks she will be going somewhere nice soon and wishes her a happy St Patrick's day and the same to all his other lep siblings and cousin.

If anyone can tell Fergal where they think Brendan is Fergal would feel happier.

Its on it's way!

2009-03-03T15:06:00.006-06:00

Rebel and Conor decided to take a couple of St. Patrick's Day photos to share with everyone! In the first one, Rebel was a bit upset when he misunderstood Conor saying a pot of gold. Poor pup.

In the second one though, he was much happer and wanting to give kisses.

In this one, they were at the top of their voices singing.. When Irish Eyes are Smilin'! A good time had by all until they were too tired to sing and dance anymore!

(((Oh Bring back my Brendan to me, to me)))

2009-02-25T00:05:00.002-06:00

Brendan "The Voyager" and infamous tatting leprechaun was last seen in Phu Quoc (an island off of Vietnam). Any information leading to his whereabouts will be greatly rewarded. Although we think he may be exploring Asia he is clever and resourceful enough to be anywhere in the world by now. He mentioned something about New Zealand a few days before his mysterious disappearance.

I miss him desperately.....

2009-02-15T11:19:00.002-06:00

Cormac has been pestering me to share our visit with Carol and Conor last weekend so here we are finally!

We met at Pepé's in Frankfort,IN for lunch. Introductions were made all around and we're all sitting here chatting, with the boys getting to know one another. Well, both Cormac and Conor were excited about the Salsa. They'd only heard about salsa in Ireland, a more meat and potatoes place, and the saucy enticement of salsa (and salsa dancing!) consumed their chatter far longer than I would have expected. C'mon...it's only salsa! LOL!

They also compared outfits. Conor's Americanized version was amazingly accurate compared to Cormac's traditional Irish garb. Cormac told me later that he thought I should make him something like that....just for a change of clothes now and then.

Oooooh....who is that lurking in the background? Cormac and Conor were getting really chummy here. I think they were trying to figure out a way to get us to buy them Margarita's, but given it was barely noon, I think they knew better than to try too hard. But WHO is that back there????

Ha! The Johnny Depp Pirate! He joined us briefly, just to show off his ruffles and jewels and the monkey on his back. What a loveable pair! Wish I'd gotten a good photo of them but you can always see them on Carol's blog.

And before we left, the wonderful waitress took our photo. Who knows what she thought of us going on and on about our little friends there? LOL!

Leprechaun's Lunch!!

2009-02-07T13:39:00.007-06:00

Leprechaun's Lunch

(transposed post from Battatter's Blogger)
Hello All!
Today there was a Leprechaun's Lunch at Pepe's, a local Mexican restaurant. Gina had an art class in town today, so we decided our little Leps should have a playdate. They were so pleased to meet each other! They were quite happy that they looked so similar, too. Cormac was a little cutie, and Conor told me later, that he loved hanging out with his little Irish cousin.

As you can see, they did some "salsa" dancing together, and then hang out and had some nachos. The Leps had their fun, and so did Gina and I. We talked about tatting, I did let her in on what my secret Project X is, (dun dun duuuun). We also talked about other things and had a very nice lunch!

Here is a picture of Gina and myself, with the Leps in the center... see them?, and, as usual, I have my eyes closed! Thanks for the nice little getaway, Gina and Cormac, we will have to do it again soon.

Playdate!

2009-02-06T21:50:00.002-06:00

I hope this doesn't make all the other leprechauns green with envy but Cormac and Conor have a playdate on Saturday!!!

Hope he likes Mexican food.

2009-02-03T16:33:00.000-06:00

As told to Cormac, Beloved Friend and Advisor....(loud clearing of throat)

It all began when I was sent on a mission across the Big Pond to befriend the dear Tatting Goddess (whom I've come to think of as The Royal Klutz lately). I was warmly welcomed and had the greatest fun poking around in her thread and bead stash and pouring through her books and albums. She showered me with affection and of course, we grew closer and closer, sharing tea on a regular basis and the occasional sip of wine. She shared with me the joy of her first split ring and then the triumph of her first split chain, then double picots and self-closing mock rings. She mourned the loss of discontinued favorite threads and the loss of patterns that disappeared into the mysterious black hole of a "safe place." We laughed and we cried together, hugging, giggling, trusting.

And then she told me...

She was an undercover tatter. She tatted in secret. Sometimes for weeks and months on end. I could tell she was beginning to crack under the pressure.

"How did this happen?" I asked.

"I don't know!" she sobbed. "At first, it was just a small surprise. A little tatting every month for a special reader of my blog."

"Yes? and then what?" I prodded.

"And then I added a mystery motif every month...you know, just to jazz the atmosphere up a little. It was fun teasing everyone...."

"Yes! Go on!" I pleaded.

"And then there was this "Secret Santa" thing that I do every year - it should not have been too much to do. I got to be extra sneaky and throw out hints and tease even more. " she said.

"Yes, Yes!" I knew she was very close to revealing something.

"Oh, but I shouldn't bother you, dear Cormac! You've been such a kind friend to me. Let's go have some ice cream!"

Oh, let me tell you, I was soooooo tempted...ice cream...whooah yummy yummy whoo-hoo! But I was so close to knowing her secret!

"ummm....I'm not in the mood for ...ice (gulp) cream just now..tell me more about your ...undercover activities. Please...it will do you good, make you feel better. I want you to feel better." I was practically begging her now.

"mmmm..oh, all right...well, then there was this special project for someone. Hush-hush, you know. It'll all come out before long."

"Really? Please please please let me see!!" Now I was groveling.

"No, I couldn't!" she cried.

...silence...

I knew she wanted to tell me. I waited. Suspense was building.

"Promise you won't tell?" she asked me.

"Oh no, not me, never! My lips are sealed." I said.

"Well, you know there's this Secret Valentine thingie going on now, and I have the special thing I'm tatting for the latest monthly winner, and well...I finished the special project!" she whispered...smiling slyly.

"Um Hum." I pretended disinterest but my tummy was screaming for ice cream. COME ON LADY! SPILL THE BEANS!!!!

"Okay, I'm going to just show you a tiny bit...and I'm not telling you which is what...so don't you even ask!" she scolded sternly. "Look the other way a minute, I have to disguise them a little bit. Not that I don't trust you," she added lightly.

"Okay, you can look now!".

I held my breath as I slowly turned around. Oh my! What can these be?

"Who is this for?" I asked.

She shook her head from side to side furiously. "Cormac! I can't tell you!"

"Hmmm...well, WHAT is this?" I asked, as if I didn't hear her scolding me.

"harummph!"

Obviously I wasn't making any brownie points with my innocent questioning.

"OH come ON! You gotta tell me about THIS one!" I exclaimed.

(BIG SIGH) "I think I'm going to have some ice cream anyway...how about you?"

Wham...I'm outta here!

2009-01-29T21:27:00.002-06:00

So....how is everyone's Lep coming along? Mine has just become the bestest friend! Although he was acting a little "off" tonight. He loves ice cream and he tried to pretend he didn't want any. I wonder what that was all about???

http://threadsofatattinggoddess.blogspot.com/2009/01/confessions-of-undercover-tatter.html

The Legend of Oisin in Irish Mythology

2009-01-28T20:08:00.001-06:00

Tatskool aka Mother of all Tatting Leprechauns, asked me to tell you about the legend of Oisin. Remember her Leprechaun's name was Fionn before her daughter decided to name the grandson Fionn. So Fionn had to change his name to Fergal. Thus, before he had to change his name, Fergal was Fionn and therefore the father of my Oisin. Below is one rendition of the story. I hope you will enjoy it.

Niamh crossed the Western Sea on a magical horse, Embarr, and asked Fionn mac Cumhail if his son Oisín would come with her to Tir na nÓg (the Land of Youth). Oisín agreed and went with her, promising his father he would return to visit soon. In Irish mythology, Embarr (imagination) is Niamhs horse. ... Fionn mac Cumhail (earlier Finn or Find mac Cumail or mac Umaill, pronounced roughly Finn mac Cool) was a legendary hunter-warrior of Irish mythology, also known in Scotland and the Isle of Man. ... Ossian, by FranÃ§ois Pascal Simon GÃ©rard Ossians dream, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, 1813 OisÃn (Old Irish, pronounced , or roughly uh-sheen), son of Fionn mac Cumhail, is a poet and warrior of the fianna in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. ... TÃr na nÃ“g, called in English the Land of Eternal Young, was the most popular of the Otherworlds in Irish mythology, perhaps best known from the myth of OisÃn and Niamh of the Golden Hair. ...

Oisín was a member of the Fianna and, though he fell in love with Niamh during their time together in Tir na nÓg, he became homesick after what he thought was three years. Niamh let him borrow Embarr, who could run above ground, and made him promise not to get off of the horse or touch Irish soil. In Irish mythology, the Fianna were Irish warrior-hunters who served the High King of Ireland in the 3rd century AD. Their adventures were recorded in the Fenian Cycle. ...

The three years he spent in Tir na nÓg turned out to be 300 Irish years. When Oisín returned to Ireland, he asked where he could find Fionn mac Cumhail and the Fianna, only to find that they had been dead for hundreds of years and were now only remembered as legends. Whilst travelling through Ireland, Oisín was asked by some men to help them move a standing stone. He reached down to help them, but fell off his horse. Upon touching the ground he instantly became an old man. He is then said to have dictated his story to Saint Patrick, who cared for and nursed him until he died. Meanwhile, Niamh had given birth to his daughter, Plor na mBan. Niamh returned to Ireland to search for him, but he had died.

Now you have had a lesson in Irish Mythology!

Brendan's first snow

2009-01-26T20:39:00.000-06:00

2009-01-25T14:14:00.003-06:00

William, My Leprechaun
I was catching up on reading the tatting blogs and came across Pamela's Tats a Kool Challenge Blog. I learned about the Leprechaun's she is making for her tatting friends. I was lucky enough to receive William from Pamela last year in a Secret Santa Exchange, and William was sitting with me, talking on his cell phone and having a cup of tea and cake reading all the tatting blogs too. Well.... he got so excited when he read that some of his relatives would be coming over to the states that he jumped up so fast and ran to the next room.......

and headed for the closet and pulled out his suitcase and informed me he was going on a road trip.

I asked him how he was traveling on this road trip and he ran back to the closet and pulled out his bike and was ready to go!

William also wanted to take along my new HDT that I got from Heather - The Tarnished Tatter.
I told him it was too far to travel on his bike, so he jumped off his bike and came back in his mini van.

William had it packed so full that it was overflowing with tatting supplies, shuttles and lots of thread.
I hope he has a good time visiting with all his relatives, so far he knows of Oisin, he is with Laura at Laura's Tatting Muse Blog, then there is Killian, he is with Diane at Lace Lovin Librarian Blog & Cormac is with Gina at Tatting Goddess Blog and Danny is with Martha at Martha's Tatting Blog. William needs to locate one more Leprechaun so he can finish planning his trip. He hopes he checks in and blogs about his where abouts.

L.A.U.G.H.

2009-01-25T10:30:00.005-06:00

I just thought of a name for a new Leprechaun lovers club! L.A.U.G.H!

It stands for ...Leprechauns Allow Us to Giggle Hysterically!!!!

No dues, no hassles, just fun. All are invited to join! heehee!

2009-01-25T10:21:00.005-06:00

...sincerest form of flattery part 2
Conor wanted to thank everyone for welcoming him in such a big way. He has had comments from cousins and their Moms, and was really excited to hear from his creator, Tatskool! Yes, his stone in his neckerchief is sparkly, but I didn't have an Irish coin (I think that is what his cousins have) so he has a little gold piece I was given as a gift.
He wanted me to make sure everyone knew he was tatted. Some people thought he was just like his cousins, but he is a little different. So, here is a closeup of him, just in case anyone wants to see.
He has been running all over the house making friends. First, he ran into Boudica, at first he was a little scared, but she is friendly, and soon they were playing trampoline on her web. Next, he met Hoggle. He really loved her from the beginning. She even let him move into her house with her. Here he is with her and giving a big thumbs up on top of his new house. I have been asked about a pattern. I just wouldn't have a clue how to write one out. It is very much like sculpting when I 3D tat like this. I just try to make things come out like they look in my head.

"You Can't Catch My Lucky Charms!"

2009-01-24T17:10:00.001-06:00

Want to bet?

Never, ever take a Leprechaun to the grocery store. If you absolutely must, at least avoid the cereal aisle. Oisin went bonkers when he saw the Lucky Charms Cereal. He wasn't that flattered by the cereal company's depiction of a Leprechaun, but you can't win them all. I told him they had too much sugar in them, but he would have taken them out of the store without paying and I'm in no mood to go to jail!

As you can see, once we got them home he wasted no time opening and climbing into the box. It's evident he is plenty proud of himself.

"Mine, all mine indeed!" He tried to eat the whole box. Can you imagine how hyper he would have been then? He's hard enough to keep up with as it is. I think we will lock up the Lucky Charms and ration them out a few at a time!

2009-01-24T11:04:00.002-06:00

Conor says Hello!

First of all, I want to say a big THANK YOU to Pamela for making us all a little happier with her Leprechaun creations! And also for the glowing compliments she has given me. I am blushing!!! Conor is proud to be an honorary Irish Leprechaun. As you can see here, and more pictures on my blogger, he is settling in quite nicely here. He has made new friends, and I am sure he will get into more adventures soon.

Conor!

2009-01-23T11:25:00.006-06:00

Well woweeee!! Would ya believe it!! We welcome a new leprechaun into the family.....and he is really special.

Little did I know that out there in tatland there are people who want a leprechaun so much that that they will go to any length to get one!!

Even to TAT one!!

Isn't he the cutest thing you have ever seen?? He is complete in every detail from his pointy shoes to his belt and his lucky shamrocks. He even has a sparkly stone on his neckerchief..well it looks sparkly to me. His face is sooh, soooh good.

Fergal is absolutely gobsmacked at his new cousin's appearance. He keeps asking me if she had my pattern, if she had met one and so on and the answer to all these questions is NO, she has only seen them on her computer screen.

Oh! I haven't told you who she is, have I!!!

She is of course Carol Amich otherwise known as Battatter, if you have seen her other creations you probably could have guessed. She is a genius..no other word for her.

Here were we....Fergal and I...having no idea that she even liked them let alone wanted one. Fergal has deemed him to be an honorary Irish Leprechaun even tho' he wasn't born in Ireland...and says that he is putting her on his list for a Real Irish one ...for whenever I get my finger out and make some more!! He also says that he would love a tatted leprechaun to come and live with us!! me too! I wonder if she is going to share the pattern...oh the mind boggles at a world full of tatted leprechauns up to mischief.

Now let me show you what she wrote

"Where to start. Well, I had seen these little leprechauns that were being sent to lucky tatters. They were made by Pamela, and were just so cute! They would just show up out of the blue, and get into all kinds of mischief in their new homes. I wanted one very badly, and so, I tatted myself one. (though the real ones aren't tatted). Though, I only had a few pictures as references, and I don't know what kind of coin the others are holding I tried to make them look like their cousins. I named him Conor, as that means "lover of hounds" and if you know anything about me, you know I love my dog! Conor is getting along great here, first thing he did was make friends with my tatted dragons. Here he is riding my big dragon (pattern by Sherry Townsend), as my little 3d dragon, PD, watches. I hope Pamela doesn't get mad that I copied my tatted one to look like hers, but I thought hers were so cute, and wanted Conor to fit in with his cousins.

Here is a photo of Conor consoling Rebel. He went to the vet today, and got shots and bloodwork (yearly thing) and look at the bruise on his arm! Ouch."

I can tell you we are so flattered, in our book copying really is the sincerest form of flattery. Thank you Carol, you made our day.

2009-01-10T16:49:00.002-06:00

I had to leave fairly early this morning to get to my lace meeting and then I met up with my Russian friend, Elena, to give her and her daughter my Christmas gifts. She fed me, way too much as usual, and invited me to the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra tonight so I have come home to clean up and change clothes.

Much to my chagrin, I found Cormac lurking in the wine cellar (so to speak) and I just know he is up to mischief! Watch out Lady Shuttlemaker - get well quick or Brendan will be up to no good too! These leprechans seem to require close supervision.

So I've poked Cormac into the hanging pouch I was making and stuck him on the peg to sit all night in safekeeping - or at least until I come home again. From the grin on his face, I have a feeling my efforts to keep him out of trouble will be in vain.

What do you think????

Brendan got the short end of the stick.

2009-01-10T03:14:00.002-06:00

Here is Brendan making fun of me. See ...he is lying there moaning with hand on his forehead.

He told me that I am a boring mom and he wishes that he was sent to someone else. I had to reassure him that I can be a lot of fun when I am feeling well and that he has a lot of adventures and travels ahead of him. That seemed to quiet him for the time being. Silly little tyke.

Fergal's Snow!

2009-01-09T11:55:00.003-06:00

Fergal was of course jealous of Oisin being able to play in the snow.
We haven't had decent snow in years here.

First of all he trued the rainbow snow but that was no where near deep enough!

AND he wanted the white stuff so I had to heap it on him to see if he would disappear!

Nope he is still there, nowhere near enough snowflakes, but it nearly blinded him...he couldn't believe how white they were...I think he thought all snowflakes were rainbow coloured...well he would wouldn't he!!

My little helper!

2009-01-03T17:37:00.002-06:00

As you can see, Oisin had quite the good time playing in the "snow" after I took my tree down. You'd think he had never seen snow before!

I hope all of you are having as much fun with your Leps as I am with mine.

style='clear:both; text-align:CENTER'>