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 Textured White Bookmark

This little book mark was born form spotting a scrap of fabric in a bag on my coffee table. It was left over from making some Christmas decorations, but not big enough to make another one. It was big enough, however, to make a book mark.

What to do? Firstly it needed a buttonhole edge to finish it, and I had a thought I would work a needle lace edge later. I have found over the last few years that I find straight buttonhole stitch edging a little boring. It just needs a little something to add to it.

OK, so the buttonhole stitch was done, now what? I needed some inspiration so looked in a few books to see what inspired. I spotted a lovely edge of two rows of 4 sided stitch with bullions angled in a zig zag worked in between. This would do. I am so used to counting by four, I left only four threads between the two rows of 4 sided stitch. It really needed more, possibly at least six threads to make the bullions stand out, and then it may of been too wide for this little book mark. A lesson learned for next time.

So once this row was done, I was left with a blank space in the center which needed to be filled. Back to my book for some more inspiration. I spotted some bullion flowers that would work nicely, so spaced them out evenly,  then worked a row of satin in between, also decorated with bullions.

The little book mark was cut out, and I decided to only put a small amount of needle lace in the corners, rather than all the way around the edge. Then I made a tassel to finish it off.

I am quite happy with my new little book mark and do intend to use it.

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 Book Cover

Behold, my latest book cover.

It didn't start out as a book cover, it started as a project towards an Embroiderer's Guild fund raising effort some years ago. Half done, these letters got packed away for some reason, and didn't see the light of day again until earlier this year. I found them while I was looking for something else.

They were part done, and still packaged with all the threads I was using at the time. So I finished off the embroidery, then wondered what to do with them now. The only thing I could think of was to applique them onto a book cover.

The letters were stitched onto even weave linen, so I thought it might be nice to hem them first before appliqueing. Rather than machine stitching, I could then hand stitch them to a background which could them be appliqued to the cover. In hindsight, this was a fabulous idea as they can be easily removed and used for something else if need be.

The hem I used is a pulled thread hem, which gives a little picot. The letters were two separate pieces, and this hem gave me little loops at the side to join the pieces together. Once they were joined, I had this idea to do a needle lace edge around the outside. The edge just made it.

When finished, I hand stitched the piece to a scrap of navy fabric, which then got appliqued to the striped fabric, and turned into a book cover. The book cover was made to fit a spiral backed note book which I use for my Stitchers Plus group, and can be removed to adorn another when the current one is full.

So, another UFO done. I wonder which one is next to be finished?

A Counted Thread Needlecase

This needle case started life in a workshop way back in 2013. It was a fabulous workshop with a fabulous tutor. It was supposed to be a hussif, a small container to keep all my sewing goodies in, but
I decided right at the beginning that I would turn it into a needle case, I thought I would have more use of it in that form.

Like a lot of things that  do, I will get the stitching done, then they may sit there for quite some time before I finish them or make them up into something. This one has sat for five  years. So why did I pick now to finish it?

Well, I was finishing off another UFO and it needed a closure. I wanted to make a hand made toggle. I had made one  once, many years ago, and was trying to remember how to do them. What I was producing just wasn't quite right. I could still see the base fabric, ( some white cotton tape) underneath. Well, a month ago, I participated in a mini creative exercise with my Stitchers Plus friends, and  I felt sure one of the ladies there would know how to do them. One of them pointed me in the direction of a book which I had a copy of at home. When I looked, the instructions were not quite what I wanted.

So then I asked around at my local stitching group, and was pointed in three different directions. One of the ladies there helped me fix up the dodgy one I had made, and I was also pointed towards one set of workshop notes and two books, all of which I had at home.

The workshop notes were the ones attached to this piece, and they were very clear and precise. So I used those notes to make my toggles on my red needle roll, and my mauve counted thread needle case. So while I was at it I thought I may just as well finish this one off too, it just needed a lining , some needle pages and a toggle closure.

So another UFO finally finished. That's two done for the year, just another eight to go to complete my personal challenge.

Lefkara Lace Table Mat

Back in September last year I had the absolute pleasure of participating in a workshop by Christine P. Bishop. The workshop was on Lefkara lace, something that really got my toes curling and made me weak at the knees. The workshop notes stipulated fabric, fabric size, thread, and even colour. Being the good little student that I am, I complied with the tutors wishes.

Behold my finished piece! It may be similar to the tutor's, but I have changed and added a few things to make it my own.

The piece we were supposed to do only included the end border, on one end only. On the day of the workshop I had already decided that I would do it at both ends. Then as I worked the design, I thought I would put the design all the way around the edge.
So I started counting and thread lining, only to find the design wouldn't fit along the length of the piece of fabric. I was only about 20 threads short. Bugger! So disappointing! If only I hadn't cut the piece of linen to the specified size! Oh well, I just had to re-think.

So re-think I did, and I took only part of the original design and repeated it all along the longer side. Personally I think it worked out OK.

The next thing I did was to change the hem. The instructions said to buttonhole over 3 threads. Everything else in the design was over three threads, so of course the hem was too. From a counting and design point of view I could understand it, but I was thinking of strength and changed it to stitch over four threads. I did little samples on the edges of my fabric to test it out. It looked OK, and I couldn't see how it would effect the needle lace on the edge. So my hem is stitched over four threads.

Then I changed the needle lace at the edge. The original design only had the needle lace along one end, and I wanted it all the way around. I also wanted it different, and I had made up my mind to make it different on the day of the workshop. I had plans of doing something more elaborate than what I actually did, but the best laid plans can always be changed! I settled for simple loops with an added picot. It's still different than the tutor's.

The final change came as all the borders were being finished. I felt that the space in the center of the piece was too big and open, and it needed  'something' to balance it all out. I had placed a row of four sided stitch just inside the borders to 'hold' them together, so I just repeated another row of four sided stitch a little further in, which I think has worked beautifully.

So my Lefkara table mat is finished. Would I do another piece? Maybe one day. I still have the other end of the piece of linen left from this piece. Watch this space!

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.

Teneriffe Trial 3

My latest trial of Teneriffe Lace. This time I used a different set-up method using discs & pins, as well as a different thread & different pattern.

OK, my samples still need work, but in general I am getting better. This sample sits flat, which means my set-up method is stable. Yippee! It is also firm, so my thread choice is good. Yippee! What I need to work on now is pin placement & design. Precise pin placement will give a more even design, especially the picots around the edge, & design, well that is just practice isn't it?

So watch this space to see what improvements happen next.

A "What If" Leaf

When I have finished a piece of bobbin lace, the problem then exhists as to what to do with the left over thread on my bobbins. In the past I have back wound them onto something else to keep for joinings, but there is only so many of these I can keep.

So I have decided to put my left over threads into something useful. The above leaf was born from left over thread of my beds edge 4. Worked in a base of c., tw.,c., tw, giving a grid that was a little warped. Mmmmmmmmm........................grids........................................................... My mind started racing, my fingers started stitching and this little leaf came about.

More Bookmarks

I have finished off two more bookmarks over the last few days. They didn't take much as the stitching was already done & they just needed some backing. Both started off being samples for this piece, which I worked for the Stitchers Plus Group that I belong to. I just turned the samples into something usefull!

More Drawn Thread Fillers

I've finished another two of my drawn thread fillers. The first two can be found here. This one is a variation of the pink one from before, hoping I have made it a little stronger. The second one is something on the slightly creative side to find out how things would look if I changed the numbers of the threads that I cut. Mmmmm............. possibilities are going through my brain. All four designs are still not cut from fabric. They are all waiting patiently to be made into something.

Calendar Piece - "Past Horizons"

Over the last 12 months, my creative stitching group, "Stitchers Plus" , has been working hard to produce a calendar to celebrate our 10th birthday. As it is has now officially been published, and many are now hanging on walls around the world, I thought I would show my contribution.

The piece is called "Past Horizons", and is worked using my own hand dyed fabrics & threads. It was rather a challenge to produce, as the fabric was a dressmaking linen, not an even weave linen. I noticed this as soon as I started counting, and noticed that one side of counting was longer than the other. This got me thinking that it was going to elongate my design too much. So ? What did that matter? It was after all a creative piece. As soon as I started to cut & remove threads, the weft threads started to stretch, another problem that had to be solved, otherwise all my wrapping & needleweaving would be wobbly.

The design is original & has been interpreted from a sketch that I did some years ago of a beach, headland & surf club.

To check out all the calendar, visit here .

Drawn Thread Fillers

At my local lace group some months back, one of our members asked me if I could teach her how to do "that". "That" being a corner in a beautiful drawn thread tablecloth, pictured in a magazine that someone had brought for show & tell. No, not the whole piece, just the corner, as a brooch. Of couse I could. So with some thinking, we organized what had to be brought for the following meeting so that we could make a start. Come the next meeting, both of us forgot things, and of course we did not have the magazine anymore, so I rummaged in my bag & found pencil & graph paper & quickly sketched up a design. There were scraps of fabric in my bag, as was some thread, so we went to work. So the above little square is the result, really too big to be a brooch, but that really depends on taste. It is yet to be cut from fabric, & I think it will still become a brooch or bag clip or some such item. As far as a design for a corner, it really is not strong enough to be a corner design in a table cloth. Worked on even weave linen with my own hand dyed threads.

I did have plans for doing three of these little squares, all in differnt colours, but by the time I did the pink one, I wanted a different design. The problem that I had was that the border stitching had already been done on the others, so I was left with a limited space with wich to work. So I just filled in the spaces with laid threads, coral knots & woven wheels. I quite like the effect, and feel it could be a very interesting filler on something.

The third colour is yet to be worked. The ouside border is done but I have to think of something to put on the inside yet. That's tonight's plan.

A Treasure Found

I just had to share this gorgeous piece of work with you all. Recently I have been away, and as I always do, I went looking through antique & bric-a-brack stores. I never know just what I might find. I just love to go through the piles of doileys that these shops seem to have, & on one particular day I could not believe my luck to find this for a bargain. It is all buttonhole stitch & wrapping in what I believe to be the Aemilia Arys style. Just beautiful! I have no idea as to the origins of this piece, or who has made it, but it is now mine & I will treasure it while ever I walk this earth. I take it that some very talented lady has passed on, & her family have been left to sort through her things. Such a shame that they have not appreciated the time & effort that has gone into making this piece. I am such a lucky little vegimite!

A New Book

Look what I acquired! I am so excited! I have wanted to do some Teneriffe lace for some time , and even borrowed this same book from the Embroiderer's Guild library. The library book has been sitting on my coffee table, just looking at me waiting for me to start, but I have other more pressing matters at the moment. The book also has to be back at the library in a week. Then yesterday I attended my local lace group and one of the ladies had just come back from overseas with two copies of this book that she was hoping to sell. One was instantly mine, brand new, at a bargain price. So now it can reside on my coffee table, taunting me to start, and the other copy can go back to the library for someone else to enjoy.

Needle Lace Autumn Leaf

On one of my on-line groups someone commented about the use of colour in needle lace and that they would not like to see a piece in more than one colour. So I just thought I would dig out my needleace leaf that I did years ago in a workshop with Margaret Stevens, a tutor with the Australian Lace Guild.

This little leaf uses about five different colours, including a variagated one, and personally I think it looks fine. To me, the use of colour, and more than one colour, in the same needle-lace piece, just depends on the end use of the piece. Just my take one the subject.

Just A Snippet

At the end of last year, the Stitcher's Plus group that I belong to decided on a major project to celebrate our group's 10th birthday. I have been madly stitching trying to get my section ready on time. Two nights ago I finished all the stitching & now have some final decisions to make with the piece. The little piece above began here & is just a tase of what my section will be like. Yes, you will all have to wait some more to see the final product. What do they say? Patience is a virtue?

I've Been Published!

Look what I found on my doorstep this morning! A copy of the local Fairfield Advance Newspaper with this article written by Joanne Vella.

Lace Exhibition

Later this month the Fairfield City Museum & Gallery will be host to an exhibition of works by Western Sydney Lacemakers. There are ten of us in all, ( including myself) that will be exhibiting a number of our works. Techniques include Bobbin lace, Needlelace, Tennerife, Chrochet, Wire lace, Romanian Point lace, Batternberg lace & Reticella.

The exhibition will be officially opened on May 31st at 1pm, & will be open for viewing until the 28th June. So for anyone in the area, it will be a feast for the eyes,

Filet Lace

Back in November I listed my personal challenges for 2008. One of the things on my list was to have a play with some filet lace. Behold! Challenge complete! The two pieces pictured here are both worked straight from the book "Filet Lace - Stitches & Patterns" by Margaret Morgan. I must admit I was a little scared of trying as I was worried about all that under & over stuff & ending up where you start. It was not as hard as I thought. I am only up to page 40 in the book (there are 168), but I feel like I am ready to tackle a design of my own. The only problem is that the mesh has been very hard on my fingers, giving me a small dose of dermatitis, which I think has come from the dressing that has been used to stiffen the mesh. I will just have to withdraw threads from fabric & make my own mesh to avoid this problem, something that has been an aim anyway.