A Reticella Pincushion

 My new little pincushion was born out of a major piece. It began a a sample to see what the reticella motif would look like at the bottom of the major piece. Once done, I felt it was too heavy and opted for something else. 

The sample then sat there for quite some time before turning it into this pincushion. 

Will I use it? At the moment it is sitting decorating my china cupboard.

A Bedfordshire Book Mark

Over the last ten years I have been working on and off through one of my Bedfordshire lace making books. This is design number 6B in the book, a little book mark featuring  flowers made of six tallies, and six pair crossings.

Note that this is design 6B. Two years ago I finished this handkerchief which was design 5 in the book. Personally I think these two designs should have been swapped. The book mark should have been Design 5, and the handkerchief edge should have been design 6. Surely it would be better to practice those flowers in something small like a book mark before tackling an edge. Just my opinion.

Anyway, my little book mark is finally finished. I have practiced those little flowers again, and I still need more practice! This time though I played with some different thread. The cloth stitch border is a King Tut variegated quilting thread, while the flowers are a combination of the king Tut thread and a Mettler Silk finish 100% cotton No 50. I thought the two together may have been too thick, and it is a bit, but its a book mark, so its OK. It was an experiment, so now I know what will happen when I go to do something like this again. It will be a useful tip to know to bring in some creativity into my lace.

Now onto design number seven, a little simpler I think, but time will tell. Watch this space!

A Tenneriffe Handkerchief

Another handkerchief to add to my collection.

This project began some time ago, how far back I am not sure, possibly a few years. I was looking for something else and found this small snap-lock bag containing thread, some tenneriffe wheels, and one of my own hand made tenneriffe pads with a circle part worked  .

I actually found it with less work on it than it has here, as there was only one of those center petals worked. I had obviously worked out the maths, because as I continued to work the other four, the petals all fitted beautifully. I just had to make up my mind as to what to fill the spaces in with.

As I was working it, I was thinking "now what am I going to do with it?" I played with the idea of making another five and working them into a doily. Mmmmmm........... that would require too much extra work. I had two other suggestions, one was to put it on a facinator, one of those  hair accessories that are worn to the races. Considering I have never been to the races, and never likely to go, I ruled that idea out. The second suggestion was to put it in a ring and hang it as a Christmas decoration. This idea worked for me, but at this stage I had already decided and half put it into the corner of a handkerchief.

As I mounted the circle into the corner, I realised that I would have to put an edge all the way around to totally finish it. I had just finished doing buttonhole loops with bullion picots on my book cover, so  I worked the same finish around this handkerchief.

So this is number four UFO finished for the year. There are a few more yet that I want to complete, so watch this space to see which one is next.

A Bobbin Lace Book Mark

Slowly but surely I have been working through a bobbin lace book I have on Bedfordshire Lace.

This is pattern 6a in the book, and it took me a total of fourteen hours to work, not all at once I might add.

I have been working through this book for some time now, and another lace maker that I know has advised me not to use it because of the shoddy work shown in the book. Well, I love the patterns and designs in this book, and I was not going to be put off. I have not had a problem with the book, until now.

I started this book mark back in November 2017 at my local lace group. I had spent the afternoon winding bobbins, then was just beginning to set up to start when it was time to come home. I packed everything up well, or so I thought, came home and put my lace pillow away. I was about to go on holidays and would not have time to touch it for a while.

It was not until after New Year that I got time to pull it out again, and this is what I found!

Obviously I had not secured everything well enough for the short distance I had to travel home. No, my Fluffball of a Sasha Cat did not get into it and have a play. It was packed away where she could not get to it. In my years of making bobbin lace, I have never had a pillow in such a mess! It took me some time to sort it out and make it neat again so I could work.

OK, so I was all set up to start my book mark. I started reading the instructions in the book, and it was like reading double dutch. I was so confused! I had started two other bookmarks similar to this before, so I ditched the book instructions, pulled out the notes on those other book marks, and figured the start of this one by myself. Once I got the start sorted, I was off and running.

The pricking was drawn up on a 5mm grid, and I used DMC Special Dentelles thread to work the lace. The thread was possibly a little too fine for the 5mm grid, but I am happy with the result. Next time i might try a Perle 12.

A Lace Book Mark

I have a few lace book marks now, this is the first one that I have used variegated thread in. I had picked up the thread in Spotlight one day , wondering how it would be for my lace making. In reality, it is a bit flimsy for a bookmark, I think I would like it with a bit more oomph. Still it's pretty.

So how did this book mark come about? I was searching through my patterns one day looking for another handkerchief edge to work. I found one, and beside it was this book mark. They both looked easy, mmmmmmm......... yeah right!

I drew up the pricking for the edge, and was so grateful I started on a sample first. No matter how hard I tried, or how many times I tried, I just could not work it out. In the end I asked the on-line community of lace makers that I know who gave me all kinds of help. The main piece of advice I got was that it was 'triangular ground', so the research began. It took a while, but thanks to You-Tube, I now know how to work triangular ground.

OK, so I got my edge started, but I needed something to take to my lace meeting. The edge was being worked on my block pillow, and it is a bit bulky to take to our limited space. So I drew up the pricking for the book mark. It could be worked on my cookie pillow and there was room for that at our lace meetings.

I wanted to have it started at least before the meeting, so that I wouldn't get stuck and have nothing to do for three hours. So a week before I wound bobbins and tried to start it. I got so far then got stuck. The pattern had something called a double eyed spider, something I have not done. It's in one of my books, but no matter how hard I tried I just could not work it out. I think I was just in a hurry.

In the end I changed my pricking, and put in a whole stitch ground diamond instead of the double eyed spider. It looks OK, not as pretty as the spider, but still pretty.

Ok, so this one is finished. What's next? You will all just have to come back for another visit to find out.

A Little Christmas Stocking - Bobbin Lace Style

I've finished another little bobbin lace Christmas decoration. It's from the same series as the little bell I made back earlier in the year. This is also  made in  DMC Cordonnet Special No 50 thread. 

When I made my bell, I was happy with the thread choice, but this time around it's a different story. I like it for the cloth stitch, but not for the plaits. The plaits are a little but cumbersome. Maybe next time I will change the inside decoration to something else. Time will tell.

In the meantime, I have started number three in the series of six. So watch this space to see what it is. It may be a while, there are quite a few other projects happening that are priority.

A Bobbin Lace Edging

I've been making some very slow progress on my lace edging. It's an edging from the Pamela Nottingham book of Bedfordshire Lace making.

Started quite some time ago with the drawing up of the pricking and planning on how it was actually going to be worked. It took even more time to get started on the actual piece, and even more time to work!

I'm on side three at the moment and coming up my third corner, ready for the last leg to the finish. The join is scaring me a little, but I have had some help from an on-line group of lace makers who are very free with advice and help. As a result, the last corner and final join are not so scary any more.

So watch this space to see the final product. it may still be a while yet though.

A Little Christmas Bell - Bobbin Lace Style

This little Christmas bell was born from cleaning up my sewing table. In my clean-up I found some old magazines that I had picked up at one of my stitching groups.  I had picked them up for a reason, and  when I looked through one of them I found the pattern for this little bell. So I put it aside to have a good look at later.

When I picked it up again, there were actually six different decorations, and I believed I could do them all by myself, without any help. When I started reading, they were worked in a thread that I didn't know. Mmmm......... So I gathered together threads that  I had that I thought may be suitable, and tottered off to my lace group, complete with the pricking I had made, my lace pillow, pins and other lace making paraphernalia.

I asked my lace teacher which thread would be best, and we settled on  DMC Cordonnet Special No50. To me this is a crochet thread, and when I first started making bobbin lace, I was told not to use crochet thread. Mmmmmm...........

So I wound my bobbins and started off. The thread was actually a dream to use, and I would certainly use it again. The bell was actually quick to do, four hours of work including winding my bobbins.

I am actually very proud of my little effort. I have always wanted to make a bobbin lace Christmas decoration and now I have. There will be many more in the future.

A Bedfordshire Lace Bookmark

This little bookmark is a Bedfordshire lace one. It started as something to take to my lace meeting. I had ( and still do) a handkerchief edge on a pillow that I really wanted to do, but the pillow is a little cumbersome and uncomfortable  to use at lace meetings. Something about the height, it is a block pillow, and high at the front. My other pillow is a cookie pillow, and nicer to work on, so I dug out the pricking for this bookmark and thought I would make another one. The pattern came from an Australian Lace magazine, summer 2005, and is by Olwyn Scott and Robyn Hueppauff..

I had made this bookmark before, about three years ago, and thought there would not be an issue. So I quickly gathered my supplies and off I went to lace. As I started to set up my pricking and sort out bobbins, I thought I had bobbins with thread left from a previous project, and thought I would use them. The thread in the container with the bobbins was a cotton one, so I assumed all the bobbins in with the thread would have that thread wound on them. As I started to set them up and begin to work the lace, I could see that there were two different threads. One was a linen, complete with slubs, and the other was a cotton. Would it matter if the bookmark was worked in two different threads? One way to find out!

So I continued on my merry way. It got started, worked a bit, then left for some time while life got in the way. Next time I picked it up I snapped a thread. Mmm........ I could cope with that. Just add in another one and knot later. Famous last words! If I snapped one thread, I snapped a hundred! I know that linen thread has problems in dry air, and I have been told to lay a damp cloth over my work to create humidity. So that's what I did. Most of this bookmark was worked in high summer in air-conditioning, so every afternoon when I packed it away for the day, I would lay a cover cloth, a damp tea towel, then another cover cloth, so creating a layer of humidity.

Although I had made this bookmark before, I still had to remember lots of things. It's been good practice for my tallies, and I had to remember how to make picots, ( thank goodness for reference books!) . Then there were issues with colours of thread to colours on the pricking, as well as issues with pins. I have also learnt how unforgiving half stitch is. Never mind, it is finished now, and the only person I have to please is myself.

Now watch this space for my handkerchief edge that will be coming soon, sometime hopefully this year.

Two Inch Squares

Hello there! Yes I am back. It may have been a while since I have been here, but there has certainly been some creating going on the background. I just couldn't show some of it until today.

These are my version of a two inch square. Nine of them in all. Two inch squares was the theme this year of one of my stitching groups. We could stitch what and how we liked, the only stipulation was the finished size had to be two inches square.

At first I took a while to think what I would do, then it dawned on me that I always wanted to try square Teneriffe Lace, so I did.

It was easy to make up my little square pad, then I collected together some scraps of Perle 8 thread from my stash and started to play. The first attempts are the pink, blue and cream squares. The last of these was the square on the top left, and I just loved the pattern that it created. So all my squares after that were in the same pattern, just different colour combinations.

I want to make a few more of these squares using the same pattern, and mixing the colours up. I have a project in mind that I want to use them on and I will need fifteen of them in all, so I have a few more to do still.

For the moment, these little squares, along with others that my stitching friends have done, are all on exhibition until this Sunday. The exhibition is being held at The Masonic Hall, 315 Concord Rd, Concord West, here in Sydney. It is open from 10am - 3pm today, tomorrow ( Saturday) and Sunday. So be quick if you want to see them.

I have other things to show you all too, but not just yet. I am waiting for a few things to happen first.

Pretty In Pink

This pretty pink scarf came about from scraps. One of the ladies in my local sewing group was having a de-stash, and I found this lovely piece of pink embroidered cotton voile. It was long and narrow, perfect for making a scarf, so I tucked it away in my stash with a little note as to what was to be done with it. That was way back in the beginning of last year.

Then a while back, I needed a quick project to do one group day, so pulled this pink fabric out, found some matching thread, took it to group day and proceeded to hem it.

The hem is a very fine turned zigzag, to me it is much quicker and easier to do than threading the over locker to do a rolled hem. As I was hemming it, I was thinking of what to decorate the ends with. It did come to mind that I could add some free standing digitized lace flowers, to match the flowers in the embroidery. More work, but hey, I could handle that, and it would be a good challenge.

When I got home, I searched through my stash and found a ball of crocheting cotton, that was the perfect pink. So rather than going to all the time and effort of digitizing some free standing lace, I decided to crochet some flowers instead.

The flowers add another dimension and some weight to the scarf, even if they do get tangled. I crocheted the flowers first, then added a chain length to add them to the ends of the scarf. I had previously added a little edge in crochet all the way around to help give it more strength and weight, and this is what I attached the flowers to.

Pink is not a colour I normally wear, but it may jazz up a navy or white top in spring or even jazz up a hat in summer. Whatever it goes with, it is finished, and I have something off my to-do list.

A Lace Bookmark

Behold, my latest finish! A Bedfordshire Lace bookmark.

This little book mark started as a filler. I really wanted to continue my lessons from Pamella Nottingham's " Bedforshire Lacemaking" book. I am up to lesson 5, and rather than just doing a sample like I had done with the other four, I wanted to make a finished piece. So I decided to continue the edge around in a square, and when finished, I would mount it on some handkerchief linen. So I made my pricking, and  tried in on for size on my lace pillow. Immediately I could foresee problems. Yes, the pricking did fit, but it was flat, and my pillow is dome shaped. I could cut the center out to make it fit better, and as the edge has a scalloped footside as well as a scalloped head side, the finished  lace could be moulded flat when I mounted it to linen. Mmmmm...........  But the edge of the pricking came very close to the edge of my pillow, and I knew this would drive me crazy when working it. So I invested in another pillow, a bigger  square one with 9 blocks that I can swap around as needed. This would take time to arrive, and I wanted to do some more lace now!

So while waiting for my new pillow to arrive, I looked through and found this book mark pattern. Could I do it? I thought I could, it was plaits and tallies, and I knew how to do those, so I went about making my pricking.

Step 1. Make pricking - note to self - to consider the colour of thread to be used up against the colour of the pricking when choosing the colour of the contact. Remember to use a contrasting colour !

Step 2. Wind bobbins - how many do I wind? Oooops - not mentioned on the pattern, I would have to work it out!

Step 3. Work out the working order and how to start so I can calculate how many bobbins to wind Mmmmm........... next question - this wasn't on the pattern either and I had no idea how to start!

Luckily I am a member of a few on-line lace groups, so I put the question out there. One of the ladies on this group very kindly sent me a diagram and some notes to help get me started. My thanks go out the her ( she knows who she is). As a result, I could work my book mark above.

It is far from perfect, but I am proud of it. My tallies are different sizes, but they did get better as I progressed. My picots are all wrong, but hey, they are there. I was having problems with them and could not get the tension right. Then when I showed it to some real lace-makers, some comments I received had me going back to refresh how to do them. It was only then that  I realized that I had done them wrong. No winder they didn't tension right!

Oh well, it is finished and very usable. It has served me well in being a filler while waiting for my new pillow, as well as giving me some good practice and revision lessons. Now this one is finished, and my new pillow has arrived. So my handkerchief edging is happening as I write. Watch this space!

Lace Fish Finally Finished!

Yeh! He's finally finished! My bobbin lace fish that has been on my lace pillow for such a loooooooong time! I won't say how long, but all my lace friends know exactly how long he has been on there.

He was supposed to go on a lovely trip overseas quite some time ago, but was not finished in time. There was even supposed to be a second one,  mirrored, so that I could join them together to make a 3D fish with padding in the middle. Mmmmm............. yeah right.................

He is made with Guttermann 100% cotton sewing thread, a  Guttermann metallic thread, and a DMC variegated Special Dentelles 80 thread. Consequently lots of joining in, leaving out, sewings, & ends to finish off. His eye is a tally, which is cringe worthy in the lace world, but I am happy with mine. The orange half stitch 'scales' leave a bit to be desired though. I personally think half stitch is cringe worthy, but then again this is the first time I have done half stitch in 15 years. Maybe I just need more practice.

It was such a learning experience, and there are mistakes everywhere, but he is finished & I am proud to say I have made him.

So now that my lace pillow is free, what's next? Hopefully a  beautiful Bedfordshire handkerchief edging. I have thread & fabric ready to go, my pricking is nearly ready, then I have to wind some bobbins & I will be in business!Watch this space.

A Teneriffe Doiley

Behold! My latest finish! A Teneriffe lace doiley just for me!

This little doily was started because I wanted something to take to a lace meeting one day. I had already done one similar a few years back, but it had been made especially for a friend and had been given away. At the time it was the first time I had joined the circular motifs into a bigger piece, and I promised myself I would do another one for me.

So here it is, finished and complete! Made using DMC Cordonnet Special thread No 80, I have used the same sized wheel & base pattern as the previous one, just changing the weaving pattern within the wheels themselves. I have also worked scallops in detached buttonhole stitch around the edge to finish it off, where the last one I used a crocheted edge.

It has taken me some time, each little wheel takes about a week if I do nothing else. We all know I have been knitting.......... and stitching...........and knitting...........and stitching, so this little doily has taken over 12 months to complete.

Now I want to go bigger, something oval I think, just to be different. Watch this space!

Byzantine Lefkara Lace

Just over a week ago, I had the absolute pleasure of participating in a two day workshop in Byzantine Lefkara lace with Christine P. Bishop. The workshop was a private one, organised by a lovely group of ladies, and participants were by invitation only. I felt so stoked that I was on the invitation list! The two days were full on, and my eyes were complaining by the end of day one, even though there were plenty of rest breaks with copious amounts of tea & food, especially on the sweet side. On the morning of day two  I thought my eyes had recovered enough to start stitching again, but even my brain had frazzled a little, and I couldn't count as well as I had in the past. Consequently, there was much reverse stitching and not as much progression as I would have liked. However, I still learnt plenty, and now have enough knowledge to finish the piece.

By the end of day two I only had two of the nine squares above filled with the appropriate fillings, the other six fillings have been worked over the last week. There are many more squares of fillings yet to go. When completed ( yes it will be completed!) it may not be exactly the same as the teacher's, as I plan to work a different edge than the one on her sample. I think that is called "individuality". Watch this space to see how it turns out.

I must add here that I have possessed a book on this type of work for a number of years and am glad that it is finally getting some use.

I had a fabulous time at this workshop, and it was the first time I had participated in one run by this tutor. Christine was an excellent tutor and I would love to do more of her classes.

Mediterranean Lace - Experiments

This morning in my in-box I had a comment on my Knotted Lace post from way back in 2007. Mmm... suspicious, that's why I have comment moderation on so I can check out who is leaving comments before I publish or reject them. This morning I was pleasantly surprised when I checked out Couch Crochet Crumbs. It is a blog full of Turkish Oya & the writer of this blog can actually make those gorgeous edgings. I am soooooooooooo jealous! I have admired this kind of work for many years & so want to lean how to do it.

I have two books on Knotted Lace by Elena Dickson, one of which I have had for many years, & would you believe I have never used them. Opened & looked, yes, but never used. So this morning I have pulled them out, opened, read, & played with needle & thread. Above are my efforts. OK, I could do better, but this is my first go at this kind of lace so please be patient with me. My pyramid is a little warped & my flower is a little lopsided. I just have to watch my spacing, but I am sure that will come with practice.

The EG here in Sydney is offering a one day course in Armenian Needlelace in January so I have enrolled already. Armenian, Turkish, Mediteranean, they are all from around the same area so I am sure the differences will be slight. The course is for a small doily, but I really want to make the flowers & learn how to attach them.

Watch this space!

Weddings

With all the attention on the Royal Wedding this past week, the talk for the last few days has been about "The Dress", who designed it, what it was made from, etc etc. As a dressmaker, embroiderer, & lace-maker, I want to be able to touch, feel, turn it inside out, & really look at how it was made. ( especially the bustle detail) . I want to talk with the people who were involved in its making to find out every little detail. Television footage, internet pics ( even with magnifiers) & even press releases from the Royal School of Needlework are not enough to satisfy my hunger. This video makes me even more hungry.

We all know by now that "The Dress" was made of lace, & motifs were hand stitched to the dress by skilled embroiderers. So now I would like to show you all a wedding dress that I made back in 2008 using the same process. The bride wanted a wide lace border around the bottom of her dress, but fabrics that included this were out of the price range. So I created the border for her.

I cut the border from the purchased lace fabric, then very carefully trimmed all the excess tulle away. This border was then hand stitched every few mm onto another piece of tulle that became the over skirt of her dress.

The lace fabric had different sized motifs scattered all over it, so from the scraps left from cutting the bodice, I very carefully cut lots of little lace motifs and appliquéd them onto the tulle above the border into a different pattern.It was 7.5 meters around the hem of this layer, so with hand stitching the border both top & bottom, and hundreds of little motifs being appliquéd in place, I think you can all imagine the work involved. I may not have had the Royal School of Needlework to help but I did have help. The bride, her bridesmaids, and my dear friend R.... helped to cut out motifs & to appliqué them in place. My friend & I are both members of The Embroiderers Guild here in Sydney.

When the lace was purchased for this dress, we found out that we could have lace especially made into any design we wanted. It was a little late for that, but still interesting to know, though the extra cost involved still may not have been in the budget

This dress may not have had the amount of lace or work that "The Dress" had, but it sure had a lot of love with every stitch. I think it is one of my greatest creations.

Lace For a Friend

Well, it's been a while since I have posted any new work here, so I thought I would show you all what I have been working on the last few months.

I have been obsessed lately with teneriffe lace, and as well have a friend with an "0" birthday. I wanted to make her something special, & thought of a few different things, and settled on this. At first I just stared making the motifs in a thread that I had been using, as I had plenty of it & I didn't know how much I would need. I was also using the same sized wheel as before, but soon scrapped both the thread size & wheel size as the whole project was going to take me way too long and be way too big. So back to the drawing board I went.

I knew roughly what design I wanted, & approximate size, but had to work out the individual circle size. I also wanted the circles to touch, but how to physically work out a pattern? I knew it was a geometry thing but it took me a while to get my head around it and even then I needed some help.

Once the maths was worked out, I knew my circle size & could try another thread, which in the end was better as one motif only took me two days to do. So with six motifs complete, I then had to think about how I was going to join them. I did some reading, & drew on my needle-lace experience to join them together & create the filling in the center.

I am not sure if there is a right or wrong way of doing this, but it was my very first attempt and for the next one it may happen differently. Just for the record my friend has had her birthday & this piece of lace is now in her possession.

An Exhibition

Those people who know me well know that I belong to a few different textile inspired groups, one of which is called "Stitcher's Plus". We are a group of creative minded stitchers, and have been meeting & stitching together for over ten years now. Recently, we put together a collection of our works into an exhibition. Below are the pieces that I had in this exhibition.

First up is a book cover. This was the piece of Reticella that I worked for our tenth anniversary calendar. The piece has been sitting for quite some time waiting to be made up into a finished piece. I needed a book cover, so a book cover it has become, & how fitting that it should be a cover for my lace journal.
Next is a piece of Teneriffe Lace that I inserted into a handkerchief. Inspired by pictures of teneriffe lace that I have seen on the internet, I have been playing with different designs using the technique. This was one design that I found, & had to work out the method by myself as there were no instructions. Not my design, but definately my stitching, and was great fun using the brain to work it all out. It was relativley easy once I thought about for a few minutes.

Piece three is my first piece of Reticella which I showed you all here. This piece has been in two other exhibitions, and will probably go in at least another one or two. I am extremely proud of this piece.

Piece four,"A Summer Sanctuary", has also been exhibited twice before. The challenge proceses involved can be read here.
Next is a bag that I made from a challenge we were handed invoving faces. The face has been created using applique & FME, then pieced into the front of the bag.

The back of the bag has been pieced using the Flying Geese pattern & the whole bag has been machine quilted. This face has become my internet face & anyone who knows me personally will tell you I look nothing like this. A bag I use a lot.


Then there was my scarf. Made with a daisy wheel using a fancy knitting yarn, then crocheted together. Very slinky & warm.

Finally, my "Bugs In Boxes". These were another challenge & both consist of a painted canvas backgrounds which have been threaded with various yarns . Both also consist of couched yarns for the tree branches & leaves made from hand dyed fabric that has been FME'd with a metalic thread. The caterpillars in the top one are stuffed rouleau tubes featuring surface stitching, while the butterfly on the second one has been digitized & stitched onto water soluble fabric.



The exhibition is now closed, but for some more pics please visit our Stitchers Plus pages.

Loopy Lace Page 13

Made by Dale Rollerson, a background has been created using black felt gilded with gold foil. The letters were digitized, then stitched onto black felt, burnt out, then applied to the background. Other small digitized lace motifs were stitched & applied, then all were covered with a layer of "lace". This lace layer was made by using a fancy machine stitch on Water Soluble Fabric.

This was the last page that I received for my "Loopy Lace " book. It's been nice to go back over them all again after so long. Now stay tuned to see the pages that I made during this Round Robin. There were 16 in all, counting this first page of my own book.