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

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.....

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!!

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!

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.

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!

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

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 François Pascal Simon Gérard Ossians dream, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, 1813 Oisín (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. ... Tír na nÓg, 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 Oisín 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

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.

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!

...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!"

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!

 

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!

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.

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.

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!

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!

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.

 

 

 

 

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Oisin's 1st American Christmas

I hope these pictures speak for themselves. Oisin had so much fun on his 1st Christmas with his new mum and dad. Mum and Dad had a lot of fun as well.

He went to the boat first. When we took him to Gulf Shores for his 1st trip to the beach, he wanted this boat and I told him no. I'm trying ever so hard not to spoil the little chap. Then, I accomplished a major feat. I managed to buy it without him knowing and keep it hidden until Christmas morning! That was very difficult. You know how inquisitive Leps are.

He really liked the Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans bag. He said it wasn't exactly a pot of gold, but you can't eat gold anyway!

As you can see, I think the train is his favorite. He has had so much fun playing with it. Isaac has his trains on the floor and Oisin's stay on the table. It didn't take Oisin long to see that an almost 3 year old boy can be a dangerous thing, no matter how cute and sweet they are!

Tomorrow I have to get back to tatting my Coral Reef doily. I'm half way around the last row. Oisin has promised to help. We'll see how that goes.