Thank you

So.... I hear you all ask ... Just what is it that has made me smile for 2 days straight?? After all, I was just cruising along, minding my own business, checking out some of my favorite blogs when I come across my name :) Well, as there are several Laura's out there in blog land, no excitement just yet! I clicked on the name and found myself on my own site!

I did hit the back button rather quickly to see what it was all about!

Let me show you...

Ta Da!! Many, many thanks Adriana! If you visit her blog you will see why I am smiling :)

Such awesome company!!

I hope this means I get to also pass this on...

Yes or no, I am going to anyways :)

Just let me work out how to do this...

Britt - Thanks for helping me get started!

Singtatter - Such inspiring work!

Diane - Beautiful work and such fun!

Jenny - I just love your ideas!

There are soooo many great blogs out there, and I know I have only just visited a very small handful, but every time I find a new blog, I find new inspiration!

Next time I will show you my travel pillow, but for tonight, I must go do a little decreasing with a hot impliment, then settle down with DB for some R & R... a little tatting maybe ...

Warm hugs to all my blogging friends...

This and That

Salutations one and all,

First I would like to share some ATCs with you. The top 4 are made from a length of textured ribbon - hand dyed I think by Jane in the UK. Along with my ATC, Jane sent me some wonderful "scrappy bits" and here is what I did with some of them. The tatting is my work, but the 'garden gate' is a piece of machine made lace, the 'flower' hearts are sequins and such. The bottom 2 are left over from my first effort so I thought I would include them again. Hope you like them, and if you would like to trade, you know the drill - just leave a comment :) I have lots of ideas, but as you can see, I am easily distracted :D
I was not as impressed as I thought I would be by my first efforts at needle lace- see http://lauraslace.blogspot.com/2009/01/1st-lace-day-of-year.html However, I am determined not to be beaten by what could eventually be a beautiful form of lace so here is the beginnings of my needle lace scarecrow. I am still working on laying the cordonette? I will keep you posted :)

Here is the completed miniture hankerchief, made especially for my friend Frank. Frank is an antique bear who has the most exciting adventures. He was surprised at receiving such a special gift, but very quickly put it in his vest pocket in case I changed my mind. He was looking forward to school on Monday so he could show his friends his new hankie! I hope they liked it!

These books are my bedtime (and daytime) reading at present. The goal I have set myself is to

learn Bucks Point Lace this year. I am nearly ready to have a go at the basic patterns :) I am also in the process of designing a Penguin School logo using Lace R-XP...the workshop is beginning to pay off already. Porty the Penguin will be crafted by the children who are eager to make a bit of lace, but happy to not have something to take home right now. He will then be displayed along with the lace letters - if I get them all done in time that is as begun in an earlier post :) The Oliver Twist Edging is progressing swiftly...only 11 fans left in the headside! The thread has finally been ordered for my 25 motif challenge project and I have made several centres in preparation.

Enough, enough...I talk too much...thanks for stopping by, hope you found something of interest. BTW I was visiting blogs from my list at the side and found the most wonderful surprise...I will save that story for tomorrow as it is bed time :) Sweet dreams all!

A hankerchief story

Hi All,
Thanks for the suggestions for the Beds piece ... the frame is on order and for now I may just put a backing mat in behind.
This is the piece of lace I made last year to donate to our local show society for their annual raffle. I am not sure how long it actually took to make the lace, but it seemed to take forever to mount it onto the hankie! The design is from 101 Torchon Patterns by Robin S. Lewis. I messed up the second corner - found the pricking very hard to follow - so I made the forth corner the same as the second.

Here is the finished product after it had been handed around at a lace day. One of our members folded the hankie for presentation and it looked great if I may say so :)The photos are dated 2 months apart, but I had finished well before the meeting, so 2 months or so sounds about right for a full sized hankie Diane. The one I am working on at present has been going just over two weeks. I am a little over half way through making the lace. That does include several full days though, as work has been a little scarce. I generally attach my tatting edges directly to the hankie - use cheaper readymades for the purpose. Having spent a couple of days sorting my lace pictures, I have realized that I do not have a single photo of a tatted hankie OMG :( What better excuse could there be to make another! For today, I am going to do some finishing off so that little project may just have to wait a while. Have a great day and thanks for taking the time to visit and leave a comment :)

Lacey weekend

The Beds mat is finished! All ends are sewn in and it has done the rounds at State Lace Day :) Now I have until May to decide how best to display it. The 2 ideas I have are 'glueing' it to a tile with resin (but a bit worried about discolouration) or placing it in a small frame with a pic of DB and myself. It fits with our display theme of gardens for the upcoming craft fair and all members have been asked to contribute to the display so I better make a decision soon :) (The pic here is a little dark. So sorry, but I could not get a better light)

Here is the letter E all tatted and nearly ready for display. I am thinking of adding some flowers and leaves to embelish - tatted of course! Not sure if that will happen before the display at school, but I am content to put the idea on my (very long) tuit list for now. I also need to block the lace and sew in the ends. BTW...thanks for the link Tatting Chic, your GUILD letters look great...the real thing must have been wonderful to see! http://tattingchic.blogspot.com/2008/11/lace-day-in-la.html

Here is the little mat I mentioned in my last post. I did not finish the lace at the meeting, but when I got home last night. I was planning to put it in my brag book, around a photo, replacing the one I gave away. Early this morning I decided to mount it and give it to a teddy friend of mine. I am staying with his mum and dad next weekend when I attend a Lace R-XP workshop, so I thought this might be a neat gift. I have made Frank (the teddy) and his mum and dad a bookmark each in the past. This teddy sized hankie seems just the thing to tuck into his Sunday Vest Pocket. I am almost 3/4 of the way around the first row of stitching. Good practice for the next lifesized hankie :)

This is about what it will look like when complete!

We intended to spend some time playing on the hovercraft today but as we got to the beach, the (much needed) rain tumbled down in bucket fulls! It was forecast, but blue skies gave us confidence to go anyway! The good news is that we have found a better launching spot so next time should be fun...and there is no repair work to do meanwhile...yippppeeeeeee!

Hugs til next time :)

L.A.C.E.

Here is a peek at my next project. I have been thinking about this one for a little while as I was asked to do a display in the foyer at school later in the year. I intend to make each of the letters in the word lace in a different kind of lace. My aim is to make a Torchon L, a tape lace A, a Bedfordshire C and here is the beginning of a tatted E. Each letter will fit on an A4 backing card, labeled with the type of lace. I am hoping that once it is surrounded by children's photos, snakes, hearts and other bookmarks it will look stunning. I can then use the letters when I go to demonstrations too :)
Later on I may even make the letters in "handmade" - there are plenty of kinds of lace left to try :)

For more info on ATCs, have a look at my last comment in that post. Thanks for visiting and have a fun day:)

Another T model and progress

Yesterday, we had a family fun day at Steamfest. Sheffield is a small country town on the North West of Tassie. They hold this annual fun day to help raise the much needed funds to continue restoring part of our steam heritage. There is a short rail ride, tractor pulling, machinery displays, lace and spinning demonstrations and food, food and more food! Although I did not demonstrate, of course I went and cheered our rep on :) (I did have my tatting in my bag, but with 2 children in tow, there was little chance to sit and play). 'Pop' went along with this restored 1913 T model truck...the first of the collection - the blue car in my Feb post is number 3! This one is the pride of the fleet, as it is driven by a rare Smith's Chain drive mechanism.

I started this simple - at least it is this time! edging on Saturday evening. The pattern is in Rosemary Shepherd's Introduction to Lacemaking book and it is the first lesson in going around corners and joining. I made it 2 years ago, but gave it away to a scrapbooking friend as part of her christmas gift. This time I am making it in Finca 20 which seems like rope after the Beds mat! I will probably finish it at next weekend's Lace Day at Ulverstone. I don't want to take the 'other' piece to show at this point. The bobbins are all 'homemade' in myrtle, blackwood and silky oak.

This is the progress after just an hour or two, so I will save the rest for next weekend. Last time I did it, there was no way I would have tried to continue with all the chat that seems compulsory at a Lace Day...does that mean I have made some progress?

Don't forget to check out the ATCs in my last post! If one takes your fancy, please just leave a comment and we can organise a trade. May your threads never break and your pins never bend :)

Cheers

ATC's

Hi All,

It seems ages since I posted last, and there is still not much to report! I am working on several pieces of lace, but unfortunately I cannot share for 1 reason and another.

Progress report:

Tatting - 14 of 30 outside motifs complete on the doily...will share after early October!
- waiting on thread for the next lot of quanti's for the 25 motif challenge.

Bobbin lace - Beds mat...only about 20 ends to sew in...new pic when done.
- Just started - hankie edging, own design in Oliver Twists thread...coming up sooooo well, I intend to enter it in the local show in October - hence no pics, sorry :(

And the quilts are also coming along...126 dingies awaiting being turned into sailboats and hexagons forming flowers at top speed!

So, something I can share is my newfound passion for ATCs...Artist Trading Cards!

What fun! You make a 3 1/2 inch by 2 1/2 inch card using whatever artistic medium turns you on, then trade them with fellow artists! No selling - trade only! Here are my first 4 attempts...the only way to improve is make more. Besides, it is such an interesting way to use up all the false starts and scrappy bits :)

The bottom right hand corner is winging it's way to Western Australia as I type! The rest are currently residing with it's replacement in the newly labeled album, wondering where they may find a home. If you are interested, please leave a comment! If you want more info, also please leave a comment or click the stitchety-grub logo on the right! I'm just getting started and looking forward to many new ideas, to add to the ones popping into my head during all hours :)

Don't forget to smile today...someone having a bad day just might see it and feel heaps better!

Cheers:)