Just dropping in to say hi!

Life has certainly been very busy of late. I am trying to find a little time for catching up with friends, including my blog friends, but the clock just will not co-operate!

This weekend just gone, I was demonstrating lace at the Launceston Show, in between work. I won several awards for my lace, beads and sewing, as did a couple of my students.

I introduced this quilt top some time ago, but I have finally got to put the applique squares together. Now to add the posts, and edge panels to finish the top...have to get my stash out again!
This one has been on the go for even longer, but the top is finally sewn together. This one is paper piecing and all done by hand. Now I have to find a fabric I like for the backing and the hand sewing will start again!


I cannot share the lace I am working on at the moment...yet again, but rest assured there is plenty of it. I hope to have something to share after the weekend - workshop with Britt Fairchild but getting back to blog will be who knows when.



Thinking of my bloggy friends often, but cheers for now.

75 Motifs in less than 3 years!!

Number 22 is a little round-tuit.

Number 23 is a nice mix of open and filled spaces.

Number 24 is not quite what I was after, but could be tweeked.

Number 25 is a tatted take on a crochet granny square...maybe need the colours to see it, but that was the inspiration.

so there you have it...25 motifs of my own designs..the 3rd in less than 3 years! When I started this one, I thought I was crazy!!

I will post all 25 motifs over the weekend and find the most popular 15 of the collection to write up and publish.

BTW, I completed the last corner of my Bucks hankie today...only 7 more "hills" to go!!

Cheers for now, lace day tomorrow so watch this space come Sunday :)

Quick update...

The shadows in the pic are not great, but I am at corner number 3 of the bucks point hankie/bonnet!!

Yayyyyyyy!!!!!

Even the cover cloth is happy VBG

More next time... thanks for dropping by!

Hugs and warm wishes

Time to share a little

I have been working on Stage 1 of my Teaching Proficiency in torchon lace.

This week, I learned that I have passed :)

Here is a sneak peek at 2 of the projects in that folio.

This Thai Silk scarf was made with almost 200 bobbins. The pattern has been adapted from an oval doily centre.

Here is a close up of the pattern. I have not yet taken a pic of the finished scarf, but I will.

A couple of years ago, I participated in a secret pal exchange. This Oliver Twist thread and hankie fabric were part of my parcels. I played with Lace RX-P to come up with the design, then found that it had been published in Robin Lewis' 101 Torchon patterns.

And the pattern close up...

I really enjoyed these projects, and look forward to the next chapter :)

Have lots more to post, but need to take some pics and get organised!!

Hmmmmmm......I will get there!!
Meanwhile...thanks for dropping by. See you soon :)

Restless

As I don't seem to be able to settle to anything at the moment, I have put my big project aside for a while. One of my new students co-ordinates a craft group at her church and asked me if I would teach some ladies how to make lace. After looking in my samples book, I thought I had better make a piece of each of the projects I intend to share with this group.

Here is my bookmark - project 3. The one on the right is as I will be teaching it.
The one on the left shows some of the many variations that a little experience could come up with. The diamonds include cloth or whole stitch, half stitch, cloth and twist and a compound spider variations. The grounds include torchon (ct pin ct), simple rose (ct throughout), double torchon (ctct pin ctct), twisted torchon (ctt pin ct), honecombe and finally, dieppe ground (ct pin ctt). I originally designed the bookmark to develop the skills of one of my school students as she worked up to making a fan.

Speaking of fans, I made the lace for this one around Christmas time. It is made with Gutterman's quilting thread, which is stiff and maybe a tad thick for this pricking. I was not that happy with it. On Friday evening, I had trouble settling to anything, and after filling the coffee table with my crocheting, knitting, cross stitch, pricking book and computer, LOML finally growled at me to just sit a while! Not happy with that, I decided to mount the fan.
I am very glad I did!! I love how nice fan sticks can lift a piece of lace.

Next post I will show you the remainder of my 25 tatted motifs...now complete, but for 4 ends to sew in...

I will also show you the progress made on one of my paper piecing quilts :)

Til then, happy lacemaking,

A frog and wire.

One of my bobbin lace students collects frogs. The pattern has elluded me once again - I found it this afternoon with the frog hiding inside after searching for the past 5 weeks!!

He is made from Milford Mercer thread in size 20 - colours ombre green (the verigated and much nicer in real life) and holiday green.

Again the scan is not great but this wire lace piece is THE pattern that attracted me to wire in the first place. One of our local lace makers had a copper coloured piece mounted on black velvet as a choker and it looks stunning.

I intend to mount this on velvet too, but wore it at the Tasmanian Craft and Quilt Fair last weekend in my hair - alice band style. The pattern is from Barbara Underwood's Bedfordshire Lace in 20 Lessons book.

Short and sweet this weekend. Lots happening but not much to share yet.

Hugs til next time, til then, I look forward to hearing what you think. Stay safe and have fun :)

More of my 25 motifs

Number 17...a little celtic twist.

Number 18...
Number 19 (just a note...looks great in 2 colours, but I'm afraid you will have to wait to see that)
I like the josephine knots, but have not found a lot of patterns using them.

Number 20...not sure about this one, but it also has not worked as I had in mind...may have another go at the idea and see what happens.

And number 21. This is done in a single round and has an interesting twist.

There has been many things on the go this past few weeks. Some will be able to be shared later on, but for now, please enjoy the rare offerings I can show you. Don't forget to share your thoughts before you go...your support is always appreciated.

Happy lace making and warmest regards from cold, cold Northern Tasmania.

Just bob-bob-bobbin lacing along...

It must be a record for me, but I did have 4 pillows on the go at once!!

Here is the beginning of a possum bookmark. The pattern was published in an Australian Lace magazine...the thread is Thai hand dyed silk in Jade...lovely to work with and the bookmark is fun to make.

Next...I have put a few more pins into my Grandson's Christening bonnet lace. This one is a bucks point length that I drew up on Lace RX-P using some workshop notes as a guide. The thread is finca 100 in white. Number 3 is to help a student get on with her lovely smaller version of this turtle. The pattern is from 75 Quick and Easy Bobbin Lace Patterns by Veronica Sorenson. I have enlarged the large version by 141% and am working it in Perle 8 thread. My student is using this pattern to introduce herself to some new ground patterns. I think it is much nicer than having a book full of samplers :)

Finally, I completed the middle piece of my Bedfordshire ring pillow pattern from Barbara Underwood's Intoducing Bedfordshire Lace in 20 Lessons book today...well almost, as you can see I still have a few ends to sew in :)

Back to the turtle...Tuesday is nearly here again!!

Have a great week, and thanks for dropping by :)

There has not been a lot of lace this week :(

The reason being that my stove decided to pack it in on Monday last week. We have enjoyed a holiday from cooking, and the electrician finally made it on Thursday to tell us our faithful friend was beyond repair. What better excuse for a kitchen make over??

I have hated this orange since day dot! (please excuse the mess - a hazard of too much to do, not enough time)

Ok, the mess is still there, but the orange has moved out!!

another orange cupboard... ...looks much nicer in blue! This is where the stove used to live. There was also another cupboard underneath. Colin wanted to take a pic, but I was just happy to get started on the work. All ready for the new stove :) We tested the new stove this evening...I feel a cooking session coming on as there are a few features I look forward to playing with!! There will be a complete revamp in a few years time, but for now, I love my new kitchen :) Next post, I will share some new beads, another of my 25 motif challenge pieces and what is on my 4....yes 4 pillows :) til then, take care and be happy.

Wheels, water and a little lace

First of all, we went back to Sheffield in North West Tasmania last weekend, and I promised some Gumnuts the pics of FIL's current fleet of T-Models. This first one said goodbye today - it is moving to a new home at Westbury, there was no challenge in restoring it from this condition!It is a 1926 sedan.

Here is the fleet that went to Sheffield...a 1948 converted to 1950 5 tonne Ford, 1913 T-Model 1 tonne truck (sedan converted with Smith Chain Drive) and a 1923 T-Model 1 tonne truck.

There is a pic of the 1913 T here

The 1923 T-Model truck.

The 1950 Ford.

The blue coupe is Everyone's favorite T-Model in Pop's shed. I have posted about it before here.

This A-Model arrived as a left hand drive vehicle as you can see here. In Australia, normal is right hand, so Pop has been busy converting it. It is nearly ready for it's debut, with everything spruced up while the reconstruction was under way.

The news of our local flood waters has got out. Colin went and took some pics of the Gorge today. The swingset on the bottom right of this pic is usually well away from any water and a safe place for the children to play. And the water level has receeded considerably since Friday evening! We are all safe - several businesses and community associations like the Scouts and Naval Cadets have had some mild flood damage but the coastal areas have had more to be concerned about - for the second time in 2011!

Not easy to see, but my Bedfordshire mat is under way again - for a little while at least! The center section is just over half way and growing quickly!! You can see the completed outside edge on the side - although I still need to sew in the ends.

Finally, I made this wire lace horseshoe this week. A work friend is getting married next weekend so I hope she likes it :) The pattern is from Christine Springett's Lace for Children of All Ages.

I have a tatted motif to share, but may make it some friends this week and I have not scanned it as yet.

Enough for now, thanks for reading this far. Drop me a line in the comments, have fun and take care. Happy lace making :)

Tatting about

I cannot share my bobbin lace projects at the moment, suffice it to say there has been lots and there will be something worth waiting for soon :)

Meanwhile, I have been doing a little bit of tatting in the truck this last week or so.

Motif number 13 for the 25 motif challenge is not one of my favorites, but here it is anyhow.

Here is motif 14 - I like this one :)
Number 15 is simple, and probably my favorite from this batch.

Number 16 is kinda cute too.

All the motifs so far have been made with DMC cordonnet special 20 shade 554.

When I have finished the 25, I am planning to pick the best 15 to write up the patterns and put together in a booklet. Have you picked your favorite yet?

Finally, I have completed 4 dragon wing doilies by Anne Bruvold. You can find the pattern here.

I usually make large doilies, but these will make fantastic coasters for my SIL.

I will try to take pics of the 2 larger crotcheted blankets for the next post for Kathy and there will be some more glass to share too.

Until then, thanks for visiting, don't forget to say hi before you go and I hope your days are filled with lots of love, lace and laughter...take good care :)

Bead venture and bobbin roll

here is a sampling of my new venture.

You can find these and more at funkyglassbeads.blogspot.com
On to some sewing...I won this gorgeous fabric in a Gumlace raffle.
I have been planning to make a bobbin roll for some time, and finally got around to it last Friday evening.

This is the outside, opened out.

Here is the side that holds the bobbins. It holds 50 pair of bobbins.

It is very easy to make!

1. Cut your patterned fabric 75cm (29.5 inches) x 56cm (22.5 inches) and hem the 75cm edges.

2. Cut a plain piece of fabric AND a piece of light polar fleece fabric 74cm (29 inches) x 34cm (13.5 inches). Use quilters basting spray to adhere the polar fleece, then the plain fabric to the wrong side, center of the patterned fabric.

3. Turn the excess patterned fabric at the top and bottom over to form flaps, press and sew a seam allowance from the fold, top and bottom, making sure you catch the polar fleece and plain fabrics. (the seam under the date on the pic above)
4. Cut 2 strips of patterned fabric 75cm x 2.5cm (1 inch). Fold in half right sides together, and stitch across one narrow and the long edges. Turn right side out using a knitting needle or tie turner.

5. Pin ties (unstitched ends) 1/4 of the way across the narrow edge at one end, inside the turned down edges and sew along the seam allowance. Turn down the edges on the final end and sew down seam allowances.

6. Using a quilters guide, stitch along the flaps at 3cm (1.25 inch) intervals to form pockets for your bobbins (or pencils).


Hope these instructions are clear...if not, please let me know, and I will try to clarify any sticky bits :)