Withof

I posted about a fantastic weekend in Melbourne here.

Now I have attached the lace to fabric and a button so that I can wear it on Christmas Day.

The button measures 1 inch across, so you can see the piece is on the small side.

This is the last of my Christmas lace projects - happy, happy dance :)

more bead fun

I spent a solid day at the torch today, and after some basic donut beads I really had a play :)

60 beads in 1 go is a lot of beads - but there were 2 only fit for the hammer - they will make an appearance later on as frit VBG

(and I *will* remember to let the beads cool a little before diving them into the Vermiculite)

I had another go at textured beads - with some success today I think :)

I love the ladybugs and hedgehogs at the top - they will be made into divider pins.

The ladybugs at the bottom are a spangle set.

This set of Santas are now earrings and a necklace - I know they need annealing, but I intend to wear them this week, then take the findings off and put them into the batch for next week :)

I think I need to practice these, but Colin thinks the ladybugs and hedgehogs are a better use of the glass VBG

Cotton, glass and wire

Here goes 25 motif challenge number 3!!

I thought about making 25 coasters...there are some gorgeous patterns out there in blogland and beyond!

But...I was reminded of my design tat course this week, and my ambition to make a tablecloth or bedspread in tatting, so I have decided to see if I can design 25 motifs this coming year, then choose 1 of them (or maybe more) to start work on that tablecloth or bedspread!

2 days in the truck and here is the start to my new challenge...

Number 1...I do like this one :)

Number 2...not like the drawing, and the spokes need to be a touch longer to make it sit right, but passable I think?

Number 3 is no closer to the drawing, but I kinda like it too :)

Number 4 come about from a piece that I cut off, then played with. I think this one might join nicely, and allow for some more experimenting in that process to create some lighter areas to balance the dense rings...

Tomorrow, I plan on playing with the glass again! Some serious trolling of the internet has my head bursting with ideas to try out. Most of them will have to wait until I have a bit more experience, but I have a few ideas ready to go now.

Here is a necklace I have put together as a Christmas gift.The next two pics have not scanned so well, but you can get the idea!

Here are the final 10 Christmas tree decorations to go with my cards. You cannot see it very well, but I used 2 colours in each plait, and the 'real life' effect is quite pretty.

Finally, the last of the necklaces for Christmas! I love the black/silver colour combination, but I had soooo much trouble with breaking wire in this project, and there is a leaf missing - it fell out when I pulled the pins and I decided not to remake the section!

I am thinking the tension was in me, as the same wire was used in the pieces above and I didn't break a single wire then.

Sorry about the pic quality - I might take a real photo tomorrow!

That is long enough for now...thanks for reading on :)

Don't forget to let me know what you think before you go.

Christmas hugs for all in this busy final week of crazy!

Finishing off

Another 25 complete!!

Here is bookmark 25 - the same as bookmark 1 (but a bit longer)

It is made with Lizbeth HDT - shell in size 20 and the pattern belongs to Jon - I'll try to find the link later - it is no longer in my bookmarks :(

Tomorrow evening our Tuesday lace girls are going to enjoy a meal together.

Here is my Kriss Kringle parcel :)

- 2 cover cloths

- a pin pusher

- a lazy susan/pricker

- thread

- pin cushion

all in a travel bag.

Here is (one of) my current lace projects - another wire lace necklace...

Design by Britt

Made in black and smoked wire.

Finally, here are some of my handmade beads, at home on my new handmade bobbins :)

Thanks for reading. Have fun and stay safe :)

Bits and bobs

I spent the weekend in the shed...again!

This time my work was on the lathe :)

Here is my new lazy susan - this was the first bobbin I broke -

complete with a set of handmade beads. Timely, as I replaced my lazy susan with a needle pin and have been looking for a new handle! (I keep giving them away but this one will stay)

Here are the rest of the bobbins I made this weekend.

The inscription says:

Bobbin 1: Life without lace...

2010

Bobbin 2: ...I'm a frayed knot!

2010

On the right, you can see the other bobbin I broke. I intend to put it in my Kriss Kringle pack for my student's break up. The reciever can decide it they need a pricker or a lazy susan :)

I still have 2 sets to inscribe, but after 3 weeks of playing with open flames and molten glass with not so much as a singed hair, I burned my finger on the poker and had to pack up for the evening.

Now, I promised some lace in this post!

The tatting will have to wait until next time...I still have about an inch of chain to complete the final bookmark in my 25 motif challenge...

My bucks edge has stalled with Christmas drawing nearer at an alarming rate...

Tomorrow evening I will be delivering these wire lace necklaces.

They were designed by Lenka Suchanck.

I think I will have to make another for myself :)

They were so pretty I decided to use them to make my Christmas card cover for 2010.

Finally, I got to playing with some 1mm copper wire as LOML would love to see a wall decoration made in wire lace :)

More practice required but there are some possibilities here...stay tuned :)

Have fun, stay safe and please let me know what you think before you go.

Many hugs in this super busy time.

More beads

My collection of beads is growing...

Here they are in some order...
Top to bottom:
decorated with homemade frit (bits of random glass)
swirled dots
new technique - bubble dots
plain donuts
playing with stringers, 3d sculptured, millefiori, dots, more stringers
playing with homemade twisties (multi coloured stringers)
layered dots
layered dots
homemade frit decoration on transparent glass

Next post will include some lace I promise :)

And then there were 65...

...beads - I really think I am starting to get the hang of playing with fire!!

I have grouped them into spangle sets, with a couple of 'spares' in the bottom left corner.

The top 3 bunches will even spangle a pair of bobbinsVBG!

I am going to make as many as I can over the next week and a half, then take them to the tutor to get them annealed in the kiln, before they are put on bobbins.

I still have to decide what I will make for my final bookmark in this round of the 25 motif challenge, but I dare say I will sign up for round number 3 after I am done...I am looking at a collection of coaster sized motifs...Christmas gifts for next year maybe??

Short and sweet today...please enjoy!

Bobbins, shutles and flames

I really have been busy this week!

I have completed another 10 pages of FIL's Christmas scrapbook...may show you highlights later!

Work and lace classes have beeen full steam ahead (not that I have been getting much lace done there...:)

But evenings have had a little lace content...

Here is the wire lace butterfly I am making for a friend...I want 3 in total.

The design is by Lenka Suchanek.

This bobbin lace hankie is also a Christmas gift...I think I am safe to show you here :)

The design is redrawn from Rosemary Shepherd's Intro to Bobbin Lace book and completed in Perle 8 thread - feels like rope after recent efforts, but the effect is nice.

Next for the shuttles...
2 more installments of Stumpy...the left in my favorite thread for tatting - Lizbeth 20, colour shell, the right in the perle 8 again. These are 25 motif challenge number 21 and 22!

This gorgeous design comes up on Gumnuts occassionally! I finally give it a go and love it!
I can't find the link at the moment, but will wrestle this infernal machine later this evening when the daylight in the shed is not calling so strongly!
The left one is perle 8 and the right Lizbeth 20 threads and tallies 23 and 24 in the 25 motif challenge....just 1 to go!!!!

Yesterday I had my other glass making class! It seemed a looonnnggggg wait between Saturdays, but now I have to wait until May next year!!!

I made 2 beads, some twisties and lots of stringers in class, but there were a few other things demonstrated by the teacher, so I just had to come home and get my workstation organised!

Here are my beads...left to right...made with a twistie at home (love the christmas colours but the green did not do as I thought it would - like the effect anyhow, especially on this second attempt), the original first bead from last week, the first try with the twistie (made in class), the first attempt at adding dots (also made in class), my first attempt at swirling the dots (love this bead!!) and another go at dots made at home.

And the other side of the above!

Finally, I made a twistie at home with more than 2 colours. This was great fun, and I think it is the technique that sounds like it should be a drink first thing in the morning, but I will have to look up the name, and check it first.

Now all I have to do is put my boots on and I can go and play some more! today I want to try a couple of other techniques from class, and make some smaller beads so that I can begin spangling some bobbins with my new beads.

The wire lace is also on the agenda and then some scrapbooking...

Thanks for reading my loonnnggggg post...catch up soon, and don't forget to let me know what you think :)

Fabric, glass and thread

Fabric...

After completing the single sail squares for DS2's quilt, I started on the next installment...

These "fish" sets are half done now, but here is a small sample...

Glass...

Yesterday I attended a glass bead making class. The beads are made using flame fueled by a BBQ gas bottle.

We learned lots of safety points, then we each had a go at making a stringer and some frits.

Next, we each made a donut bead. Here is mine! I picked a piece of glass that was constructed of transparent and opaque sections which gives the bead some depth.

I am wearing it on a plaited cotton bracelet at the moment, but it will become a spangle in the near future.

Next week, I will learn how to decorate my beads...til then, there is a looonnngggggggg wait for supplies to arrive so I can make some more of these cool donut beads!

I will soon be able to design some wire lace to decorate my beads!!!!!!!

Finally some threads...

This hankie edge will be a baby bonnet/wedding hankie for my new grand baby due in February.

It is Bucks Point and I will be taking some pins out on Tuesday, so I will show you the design then :)

I also have some more bookmarks for my 25 motif challenge to show you in the next post.

Til then TTFN :)

A little bit of lace and...

I have now finished my Withof scroll that I started at Yvonne Scheele-Kirkhof's workshop in Melbourne several weekends ago :)

I have taken the picture of both pieces with an Australian dollar to show you the sizing...

maybe I also need to grab a measureing tape?

Let me know what you think...

Next I want to try one of the smaller pieces in her book...Dutch Bobbin Lace Patterns...

I have also been getting on with some quilting. This one is pieced onto card by hand and was introduced to you in this post.

When it is finished, I will be giving it to D.S.2 and his lady...there are 42 of each of 4 different squares. This is the first lot of boats with a single sail...stay posted to see the next batch of completed squares.

A change of pace now...

Every second Monday evening I go to a quilting/sewing/craft group. The ladies are very skilled at machine quilting, and as I can do the hand sewn ones at home, I have been trying my hand at the machine constructed variety.

My first attempt can be seen here...BTW the quilt measures 110 cm (43 inches) square.

Now it is time to get on with a new project?!?!?!???

My gorgeous little grandson turned 1 year old yesterday. Unfortunately I do not get to see him these days, but that does not mean I have forgotten him!

Although this will be very late, I am making him a quilt for his bed.

I have put together the applique pictures featuring wheels...what do you think?

Now they have to be placed on calico backgrounds, stitched and then the quilt can get going.

I will decide next week if I will hand or machine stitch the blanket stitch.

With Christmas coming fast, I had best get back to my work...so many gifts to make so little time!!

Hugs for now...

First, I have some wire lace bits.

These are designed by Britt of stitchety grub fame.

The larger design is the main pendant and the smaller is supposed to be the earrings, but I like it as a pendant too.

With the arrival of new colours in the wire today, I can't wait to play :)

Next, I have some more tatted bookmarks.

Bookmark number 18 in the 25 motif challenge is one I have been working on for some time. After starting Sharon's design class, I started experimenting and here is one of the results...I am not entirely happy with it, but there may be a pretty good basic idea hiding in here...somewhere!

Number 19 and 20 are more stumpy's.

Like Diane from lace lovin' librarian, I love this design and have been using up those little bits of thread that are not enough to make something with...I messed up with the one on the right and had to change threads half way through so will probably keep it myself, but I kinda like the effect anyhow.

I will post again over the weekend...I have a pic of my finished Withof pieces and have been busy with some quilting projects. Thanks for letting me share, hope you have found something of interest :)

Hugs for now.

My Fantastic Weekend

This beautiful book was the last gift from my greatly missed Mother-in-law.

It has been the soure of the best weekend I've had in a very long time.

Let me explain...

The Australian email ring Gumnuts called for participants to a workshop, in Melbourne, Victoria.

The workshop tutor was to be Yvonne Scheele-Kirkhof - the author of this book!

LOML knows that I love this book and suggested that I find out more about the workshop

- an invitation that was never going to be ignored!!

And so, my Christmas pressie has been attendance at the workshop in Victoria ... yaayyyyyyy!!!!

Let me show you the progress on day 1!

Not much, I hear you say???

Well no...but there was a lot of mind-bending happening and many new techniques learned...I have never made Withof lace before, you see.

Here is the result of the 2 days!

Not perfect, I know, but with practice, this type of lace will become a favorite.

I feel it in my finger bones :)

Travelling to Victoria meant 2 hours on a plane, 20 minutes on a bus, 40 minutes on a train, an evening in a motel room, and several hours hanging around in airpot lounges

- What is a girl to do?!?!?!?

TATTING of course!!!

Bookmarks 15, 16 and 17 for my 25 motif challenge!

(You thought I had forgotten, did'nt you Sharon VBG)

This is one of Lace Lovin' Librarian's favorite patterns at the moment, and I have discovered why!

It is "Stumpy"

I have made them all in perle 8 verigated thread - just odd bits left over from some bobbin lace projects.

Throw in meeting 4 Gumnuts among the 11 Victorian Lacemakers, an entertaining evening with one Gumnut and her husband and watching Yvonne throw the bobbins as she demonstrated various techniques and you may understand why this post is thus titled!!

Happy lace making to all my bloggy friends...hope you are enjoying your lace as much as I do at the moment!

Show time!

Here is a new page I put together in my scrap booking album for FIL.

I will be showing my customers how to do this surprisingly simple page at my end of month workshop...hope they enjoy!

I entered this page in the local Show and Won! such a simple page and the reward very unexpected!
Here is my tatting entry, with it's new ribbon :)

... and my wire lace entry...also with a decoration.

I entered 2 other pieces of lace, but gave 1 away before I could take a pic, and have plans for the other, which means I cannot share here for now.

Although I have been very busy with my lace, there is much I cannot share just yet.

Sending hugs to all my bloggy friends, with hopes that your lace is growing, threads never breaking and pins never bending...