Happy Birthday 4 year old :)

My 4 on Monday Grandson requested a Gingerbread House Cake with a fence and some flowers for his party tomorrow.

 

I had to add a touch or 2 of my own, so look for the monsters and gingerbread trucks!

 

Happy Birthday Gorgeous Boy...love you heaps :)

Some lace at last!

But first, let's take a peek at what is happening in the shed! 

 

This is what Colin has been playing with over the past few months :)

 

This machine does not like straight driving and I must admit, it is a lot of fun...

 I have finally sorted my new 4 jaw chuck, upped the revs on my lathe (although still a ways to go according to the bobbin experts) and had a play today.

 

I think the wood is Blackwood...lovely and dark!  The smallish blanks were given to me a couple of years ago, but the first piece just turned away to nothing, so I put the rest away.

 

These are traveller sized bobbins and will look great on my travel pillow...another pair to make, then I can get on with some requests!

And I have also been busy with the beads!

 

Some of these ones are spoken for, and I still have 1 more request to play with...it is in the too hard basket at the moment, but over the weekend, I will give it 1 more try!

Once they are fired, some of these beads will become divider pins, some will adorn key rings and a few may even wind up as spangles!

 

 Ok, ok....here is the promised lace :)

 

The pattern was published a few years ago in Australian Lace...

 

The yarn is Misty Alpaca...

 

The lace was started by a retired lace maker, and I "inherited" it at the weekend...it is making some good progress, but I really need to get back to the 'other' piece!

 Thanks for stopping by, warm hugs :)

Catching up

First things first!  This spider has made her home at my daughter's front door...now she wants to know what kind if spider and is it a nasty?  We live in Northern Tasmania, and she is near the bush.

 Doll number 4 is making progress.  All I need to do is add some lace to tidy up the shoulder then she will be ready to fire :)  Working in the heat yesterday was not much fun, so I hope she fires ok.  I did not make the lace for this one...but I am working on the lace for 1 down the track...

 I found this style of sleeve a real challenge, but the rest has been a lot of fun...I just hope the fabric sections work better this time!

 My gorgeous grandson starts big school this week.  Last week, we went shopping for his little brother's birthday and discovered that drink spiders are very yummy, and he is the perfect gentleman (only when he goes out with grandma though!  This pirate is his home id LOL).

 

His mum asked about a library bag, and when I told her I had bought some fabric ages ago, I was asked to make a library bag :)  The back is the same as the edge fabric! Hope he likes it LOL

 Finally, we have been discussing bobbins on the Australian Email ring I am a member of.

I promise some pics, so here they are...

 

These are all my own bobbins, spangled with my own beads.  There is Huon pine, Blackwood, Jarrah, Tas Hardwood and Silky oak.  My first bobbin (and bead) is the Huon pine bobbin 7th from the right on the bottom row...the yellow bead was the first bead I made.

 Here are some more of my own bobbins, but they do not have my beads on them as yet.

Colin made me the very top left bobbin...it is the only bobbin he has made, and calls it a cricket bat.  I made the one on the right to go with it and the pair make the best ever gimp bobbins.

These are my bead tile bobbins.  The top 4 bobbins were made by David Potter, a Tasmanian bobbin maker.  I made the bottom 4 bobbins.  The very top pair have the first tiles I made with the teacher.

I designed the other sets of tiles.

 Here are the other tiles, ready for the bobbins...when I get around to making/purchasing them...

The teacher provided the patterns for the top row and the pair on the right of the 2nd row. 

The rest are my designs...including the special ones to celebrate my engagement in February last year :)

 And here is a size comparison for you :)

 

If you have made it this far, thank you for stopping by.  I hope your neck of the woods is fair weather (or lots of lovely lace time) and good health...please drop a comment in the box before you go as I love to see what you think too.

 

Hugs til next time...may your threads never break and your pins never bend...

Our Wedding Day

Just thought I would share a few images from our Wedding Day on the 22nd September...not sure what was going on with the camera date thingy...we figure it is Colin's mum saying hi (the date shown was her birthday after all)

 The lace is made from the handspun I showed in an earlier post.
The little Honiton bee was made by Jacqui of Larkholme Lace in the U.K.

The necklace was made by a friend from our local craft group.

 The garter was made by around 15 different local lace makers from a Louise Colgan design.

 The Wedding Party with Dear Son (behind) showering us with bubbles.

 The wedding cake decoration...

A local resident of Tranquillity Gardens, popping in to add his congratulations...

 Colin's Grand daughter enjoying the balloons...

 The Bride and Groom...

 The signing table flowers.

 Looking North over the Tamar Valley 

and South towards Launceston (my Grandson thinks this is a view of "the whole world" lol)

The T Model that transported the bridal party.

A wonderful day was had by all, and we followed up with the most awesome 8 days on the big island.  May share some pics when I download the 3 cameras.

Now back to some lace for me :)

Hugs to all, thanks for visiting...don't forget to drop a line in the comments...

Updating News, Lace, Spinning

the BIG news is that Colin has come through his operation, and although the recovery process is long and not that easy, he is now through the danger period and adjusting at home ... BIG HAPPY DANCE!!!

The doll lace attracted some admiration once Colin was moved onto a general ward and I could spend some time playing...it now measures just over 1.5 meters...just over half way....Yayyyyyy!!!!

The past couple of days, I have turned my focus to the Beds mat in my spare time.

This morning at breakfast time and 2 flowers down, I was here...now there are only 2 flowers to go :)

 From a little further away, you can see my own handmade bobbins and beads...maybe that is why this piece is taking soooooooooooo long to finish.

 Colin and I escaped to the West Coast for a couple of days just prior to the hospital stay.  In Zeehan,we encounted a couple enjoying the beautiful day outside a local cafe with their spinning wheels.  My interest was sparked (again) when the lady showed me a skein of fibre...1 ply was spun wool and the 2nd ply was Guttermans sewing silk.  I really liked this idea...it makes the possibility of using the fibre for lace making much closer.  Once we came home I dug out my lovely Ashford spinning wheel and discovered that the flyer has flown.  I promptly ordered a new one, but was eagerr to get going.  I found a local contact and obtained some Corridale fleece, asked the 'Oracle' (Gumlace) for advice and found a link to a homemade drop spindle with lessons on how to use it on Interweave. 

With the need of a distraction, I dived in!

The spindle is made from a foot long length of dowel, a brass eyelet, slightly opened, a rubber grommet and 2 old CDs...easy peasy!!

My arm aches so progress is slow.  The flyer (and an Ashford beginners spindle) have arrived so I plan on making more progress in the coming weeks so stay tuned :)

many hugs to all my friends in the lace and bloggy world for your wonderful support...

God bless.

hello Gracie

Colin's 1st granddaughter finally arrived at a touch after 9am on Friday the 26th October.

Hello Gracie Lillian Jean pictured with Mum (Skye) and Dad (Zak)

 Here she is meeting Poppy and Laura.

 Here is the quilt...also finally completed...

A close up of 1/4...

...the back...

...and the tag :)

I really enjoyed making this quilt...my first 'quilt asyou go'.

A rare Sunday off!

First of all, I would like to share the work of one of the ladies who comes to my home a couple of times a week.

Our local Lace Guild group had a workshop recently with a tutor from Hobart.  Each student had to pick a pattern they wanted help with.  Several girls picked patterns from Jenny Ree's Lace from the Australian Bush.  I didn't make the workshop because there was just not enough time!

This is Sue's completed bookmark!

 I had the pleasure of a visit from my grandsons today.  They came for a roast lunch.  2 1/2 year old Travis helped me make a self saucing chocolate pudding. 

Then he helped me decorate these cupcakes. 

The silicon cups come from Avon and are shaped like bugs and flowers.  Although the cook in me said only fill them 3/4 of the way up with batter, the packet suggested they get filled.  Should have stuck to the cook's advice!!  And bought some more cups!!

However, the cakes are yummy, and the boys are looking forward to a feast when they get home!

 Finally, I completed the butterfly for my shirt :)

I have not stitched it completely, and will maybe add a couple of tatted butterflies to complete the picture...depends on time :)

The doll lace is around 55 cms now, the beds ring pillow is almost at the next corner and the 3rd pillow made lots of progress yesterday too.  I think I should make myself a wire butterfly too...

Until next time, I look forward to hearing from you :)

Happy lacemaking....

I do not do sewing!!!

...but I put this quilt top together in less than 7 hours, and I love it!!  It will be for my 2nd grandson when he moves into a "big bed" around Christmas time :)

I also made this cute little bag at craft last night.  It has ducky little pockets under the flap, so it will be ideal for bobbins, thread and bits and pieces for lace making :)

 Now for some lace...

How about...

this gorgeous gift box that I found in a local el cheapo shop this morning...this is a small one and they come in 7 or 8 different sizes and 2 different colours...I liked this colour as it would show up better in a picture :)

Now I just need an excuse to use it...

 Not real lace?  How about these...

Gumlace had a tatted bookmark exchange.  Here is the lovely bookmark I received...I will share the "surprise" component of this gift in my next post...(I didn't take any pics of it before the camera decided to call it a day...)

 This bookmark was my gift from England as part of the Arachne bookmark exchange. See my  contributions 2 posts down :)

I just love morning glories!!! 

 What about my lace, I hear you ask?!?

Well, yes, I have been crossing and twisting in between tatting and teaching :)

The bookmark on the left is almost the same as the exchange bookmark mentioned above...this time in Brok 100/3 and with a compound spider variation. 

The bookmark on the right is made from leftover pipers silk 140/2.  The pattern is from 'Tradition Into Creation' by Jacqui Barber.

I will share the tatting soon, when I block it out...I hate blocking!! 

Finally, from my little fisher friend and I, happy lace making :)

We look forward to hearing from you until I post again soon :)

As promised, some pics of my garden!

There used to be a dead pine tree here...the vines from next door strangled it several years ago. The holes in the fence remain, but we plan to fix that soon...

This is my favorite place to make lace these days, especially in the summer time.
These plants were only inches high when I planted them a couple of months ago.
Before that, this area was overgrown, full of blackberries and weeds.

This cute butterfly flutters when the sun hits the solar panel...in some light, the wire is impossible to see and it looks sooooo real!!

This window box was planted with faded fabric roses when I moved in. I have planted pansies, impatience and petuniias in here over the past 3 years.

Now I have other plans for it :)

I have started experimenting with Bonsai!

This will be my Japanese garden!

My fisherman is perfectly happy already!
There has been a little more progress here already, but no pics yet.

Now, for Tavis' quilt!

I made a mistake when cutting the squares for the border, so I made this cute cushion to go with the quilt.

Here is the quilt name plate...I LOVE my new sewing machine VBG

Some of the blocks up close...

And the big picture :)

Travis thinks it is just great!!!

And now for some bobbin lace...do you remeber this project??

I finally took a 'finished picture'!

Enough for now!

Thank you for dropping by :)

Til next time, may your pins never bend and your threads never break :)

Happy lacemaking