Bobbin lace project DONE!

Hope everyone had a happy holidays and stayed safe and warm! Ours was ok. Visiting with family, eating, sitting around, eating, kids and adults alike with their electronic toys, more eating…… I get bored with electronics and eating so much. Waste of time when we could be doing something festive. Didn’t go anywhere. So pretty much stuck in the house.
So I decided to get down one of my UFO pillows and finish one. This is what I just finished two days ago

The pattern is from Doris Southard’s book “Lessons in Bobbin Lacemaking”. It is made from raw natural linen thread that I found sometime ago on a spool. No name or size. It was tough to work on since it was raw and nubbly. But I persevered! It only needed pressing and no stiffening. Linen is very crisp. Here it is after I got it off the pillow.

I really like the pattern, not impressed with the thread and how it handled. And I forgot a few elements as I worked it. Since it had been years since I started it, I forgot a few things, like adding picots to the plait fillings and the side arches were to be joined. They flop around now. My mother in law thought it would look nice applied to a pillow. Stitching it down would solve the floppy part.

Now I am back to working on a heart motif I started earlier this year from my Bruges Bloemwerk lessons my BL teacher was giving me from the book Bruges Flower Lace by Edna Sutton.

All I want for Christmas is one more week……

Couldn’t believe my eyes when I was cleaning out the office closet! We had to clean out the office top to bottom for company to sleep in there. And we had to make room for a bed. So as I was reorganizing my closet(sure helps to do that every so often) I found the antique car that Celticdreamweaver had graciously bobbin laced for me years ago!! Been looking for it!

So excited. Isn’t it a BEAUT! She says she got the design from Lace Express magazine. Now it needs to go into my BL book of samples so it doesn’t get lost again.

……….Still not done cleaning and in two days we have to finish and get the Xmas tree and other decorations up. UUUUUGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!! OH….and baking! UUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Now that I got that out of my system…………..

This past Friday we had to make a retirement cake for the HS librarian. So this is the creation we came up with

It is always fun modelling figures out of fondant. The cake part is the laborious factor.

And here is a couple of pics of two of our cats.

Yes I like to torture my cats with stuffed animals LOL!

And this is our diabetic cat, Guy

Tatted Wintery Tree

Remember that tiny heart turned upside down that was to be part of a bigger project? It was to be the top of a tree that I am making for a Christmas card exchange. I got the tatting and the card done and am ready to mail it off!!!

This is the tree just finished.

And here is the tree decked out with a gold metallic star and little snowflakes twinkling around the tree and on the ground. It is proudly placed on the card.

Thread I used is Coron Cotton size 160. The tree itself stands 5.3cm(2 inches) tall by 4.3cm(1.75 inches) wide. And the tiny little flakes are just separate rings glued on the card. They are simple and fast to make. Just 6 picots separated by 1 double stitch. The tree pattern(which I will share sometime soon) is pearl tatted chain with rings thrown off the top side. I used Kim’s scrapbooking supplies to help me make the card. Had to hand cut the oval since we didn’t have an oval cutter(that I could find in our stash…maybe we do and didn’t find it!) and used deckled cut scissors on the outside of the white stock that is embossed with swirly designs. All on a deep navy blue card stock.

It was a joy to make!

Bobbin Lace Ornament/Card exchange

I received my ornament/card from Eleanor Suverison from the Heartland Lace Guild’s card exchange.

She states in her letter that the pattern came from “Daphne Martin 2007″ Bauble.
Thread used “Valdani Hand Dyed Varigate”
Coor used “Fuschia Garden-M 72
With Kreinik Metallic on each bobbin.

I can detach it from the card to hang on my tree

Bobbin Lace Card

I am the proud owner of this card that Lorri sent me from the Arachne Card Exchange.

This is what she says about the lace:

“Thread is 40/2 Linen. I did make a change to the bell’s clapper. I skipped the circle on the pattern and added a flattened tear-drop glass bead.

Pricking from Gekloppelter Weihnachtsschmuck by Brigitte Bellon”

I just love German lace designs!

Fancy Tatted Holiday Bells

I have been anxious to show you this for a while. Now that I know my Arachne Card Exchange partner has received it, I can show you what I made her. I made good use of Kim’s scrapbooking and stamping supplies.

It is a design of my own using the HRB(half ring braid), pearl tatted chain and other techniques. Quite involved pattern. And it is made from Coron Cotton size 160. In that size thread it measures 8cm wide by 6.5cm tall(3.25 by 2.5 inches). After finishing the bells, I wove a gold metallic DMC thread to outline the shape. IF I was to do it again, there are design elements that I would change. Minimal! I am especially happy with the bow. I may make small, less involve version and put it in my patterns page.

This is what is on the inside of the card

This was my first Arachne Card Exchange and I hope to do more in the future!!!

Holiday Stocking Tatting Pattern

I just finished and uploaded the pattern for the holiday stocking that I designed last Saturday while waiting on customers at the Hospital Bazaar. You can find the pattern HERE and click on the DOWNLOAD link.

ENJOY!!!

Creative Tatter

I received this cute card and picture in the mail yesterday from a fellow tatter I have corresponded with often. What a cute way to decorate a card by threading a tatted motif to make it look like the kitty is wearing it!

She also sent me a picture of the Crystal Angel project she finished that I taught at the 2007 Omaha Lacemakers workshop. It is so nice to see the fruitions of my students! I love how she skipped the crystal baubles that were under the skirt and put it on a decorative stand. I like that option!!! She also tells me that she entered it in the fair and got a blue ribbon. So proud of her. KUDOS!!!!

Fetish for Fine Threads

Yesterday we had our stocking booth again at the Hospital Bazaar. Of course I take my tatting with me for times when it wasn’t busy. Which was the case many times this year. We sold about half of previous year and the crowd was down. The aura of the economy looms! In between visiting with friends and family that I know(which is almost everyone in this small town) I kept my hands busy. I knew I would have time to tat toward the end of the bazaar so I grabbed red and green thread to help be in the festive mood. And to appease two tatting ladies(maybe more) that think I have flipped my noggin with my fetish for fine threads , I chose to tat with rope, aka cebelia cotton size 30 and pearl cotton size 8. And since we sell stockings, what better motif to design then a stocking!

It is a HRB(half ring braid) design, one shuttle work. Easy peasy. After finishing this and knowing that I only brought red and green thread, holly and berries seemed to be the most likely motif for my next project while I sit and wait for customers.

Another HRB design. I only had time to get the berries done before we ha to close up shop and the bazaar was over. I finished the holly last night while we crashed from a very long day. I will soon get the directions and diagrams for these made and add them to my patterns library.

Caricature Drawings

These are caricature drawings I drew for my aunt’s office staff. Loads of work over the two months, and loads of fun! It was good to get back into drawing. I should do it more often!