On To Palmetto Tat Day!

DISPLAY ROOM

Ohhh...where to begin?

I took off Thursday after work - went home and showered quickly, loaded everything into the car and off I went. First to Carmel,IN where I met my son at his new apartment and he & I & Libby, his lovely girlfriend, all went to Don Pablos for his birthday dinner. He helped me set up and program Tom-Tom and I was off again. I made it to Harrison, OH before calling it a night and finding a hotel.

I was off by 8:30 a.m. and noticed (in aghast!) that Tom-Tom said I had about 10 hours still ahead of me! Mapquest had said less than 11 hours from home and I had at least 2 hours, closer to 3 hours already done. Do I trust this mini-TV screen or not? I actually did pretty good until the last 2 1/2 hours. It had me going off the Interstate onto regular highways and biways and it seemed like the long way around but since I'd neglected to bring the Atlas in my hurry, I had to trust it.

Donna Thompson called when I was about 90 miles away to make sure I was coming. I got there about 15 minutes before the banquet was to start. Now...I hadn't planned on eating at the banquet to begin with for the simple reason that I wasn't sure I'd make it in time AND I figured I could just stop somewhere close and eat but this place is out in the middle of nowhere. They insisted I eat at the banquet and they would take care of it, but I'll send them a check as soon as I track down how much the banquet was. I pretty much threw my stuff into my room and walked into the banquet room while the introductions were still in progress. I was trying to slip in quietly but there were no seats and next thing I knew it was public that I was looking for a seat. LOL!

I did not have my camera with me so I missed some really good shots. The ladies talked about the change in venue and how hard everyone worked, the donations of butterflies that totaled over 4,000, various awards were given out and then Georgia was introduced as the banquet speaker. Georgia gave us some history about the early developments in tatting and offered a one-of-a-kind fairy shuttle for auction to start off a scholarship fund. I hope we get to see a photo of the shuttle because I never did get to see it up close. It brought over $100...I think $125 but I lost track and it was matched by another tatter if Georgia would make a 2nd one for the matched funds.

After that, Karey Solomon came up to the podium and showed us all of Jane Eborall's Tat Bead Family that she was returning to Jane after their visit in Hector,along with some additional Tat Bead Friends, made by the Finger Lakes Tatting Guild. You can see them in the slide show. After that, Erin Holloway and Sherry Townsend approached the podium. Now if you've ever seen these 2 together, you know they are up to mischief, no matter how straight-faced they look. Be careful. (consider yourself forewarned now) Erin started talking about Mattel's toys and how they had stepped up production lately...creating the Tatman Action Figure..which she held up for us to see, along with a Tatman wastebasket and a package of Tatman...ummm...I missed what they were but they were round. LOL! Anyway...they were for Mark Myers, aka Tatman. We all got a great kick out of it.

THEN...don't you dare think they were satisfied with only one target....then, they asked Riet, our Netherlands tatter, to come up. Riet has caused quite a ruckus in the past with naughty Mr. Monkey, a little sock-monkey look-alike that I crocheted for her one Christmas exchange a few years ago. They talked about how they were monkeying around and next thing you know, there's another monkey, and they slide a regular sized Red Heel Work-Sock Monkey across the podium...followed by another ...and then 2 more smaller ones. All for Riet. Along with special airline tickets home. LOL! I hope someone got pictures of that too!

I don't remember who all the ribbons went to but I think I got them in my photos of tatting in the display room. I believe they all got a commemorative shuttle too, but not the same as the fairy shuttle. There was a nightowl event after the banquet and they tatted....owls...but I was so tired, I just went to my room, unpacked and went to bed. I didn't realize until the next morning that I hadn't even brushed my teeth!

Next morning I went to the vendor room before my 1st class. Kaye Judt was the main vendor and since I see her on a regular basis, I didn't think there would be anything new for me to be tempted with.............quit snickering....

I ended up buying a Japanese book, Tatting Lace, that I do not have although I think I have one with a similar title...maybe Tatted Lace. I also got Chiacchierino #12. Martha Ess gave me my copy of Tat's Amore and I also purchased the Palmetto Disk of Patterns from Tat Day so I have all kinds of inspiration now! I went back later and got a ball of thread. Had to buy at least one!

...to be continued......