A few little bits

Ok ... yes I have been making some lace!

First, my tat design homework! I posted the motif on the right, but with some tweaking, I also like the motif on the left. Now I have to write out the pattern (and do some blocking)!

Next, Porty is ready to play!

Ok, ok, so I had some help here, but it has been a wonderful team effort!

Next stop, a frame.

The Lisbeth doily is moving along! I promise that there is only 3 1/2 rounds left here Diane ... but I am thinking there may be enough thread left to make a couple of matching mats :)

The Bucks length for Grandbaby is growing. The pic is lousy, but the lace is over 50 cms now.

I spent some time sorting through my samples books, and found I needed to replace several things ...

The book that spends lots of time at school has some items adapted from Christine Springett's Lace for Children. The half stitch heart, hairband length and flower (without the bracelet) are popular projects.

This key ring was designed as a starter project ... Ebonee made it to see if it worked for me, and this is my sample ... finally.

The ever popular snakes now reside in my book ... until I give this pair away too...

And finaly, I have remade this little edge from Rosemary Shepherd's Bobbin Lace for Beginners Book (for the 3rd time :)

Nothing exciting, but lots of little projects are in order for this holidays. Keep watching for the next batch!

If you are interested in Scrapbooking ... keep watching this space :)

Cheers for now, but before you go, please don't forget to share a thought or 2 :)

Soooo Civilized

Lots of lace as promised!!

This possum/mouse is the work of one of my Juniors...only the tail to go!!

The other (at school today) has almost finished this angel!
Another senior decided to take the plunge and was impressed by her progress today!

The key ring was completed by a young lass, embarking on a new and exciting time with job prospects on the horizon.

I will be in trouble,for the "rose garden"is upside down, but the end of term marked the end of the length. Now the lass must decide what to do with this piece! Next term, she is going to start this fan!

I will post some of my work next time LOL

Warm regards

Bobbins, shuttles, ATCs and more

A warm welcome to all Mums, and everyone else too :)

The letter C progresses slowly! I had intended to add a few more pins today, but everything is in go slow mode. The top of the arc is complete, so it is a bit downhill from here, before the last sweeping curve :)
Lisbeth moves forward slowly also. I have achieved a few rings each night since my last post. I *love* using this beautiful thread for tatting- it is so crisp and clean and tensions well!

This little bookworm - inspired by Diane's efforts at bobbin lace has been adapted from a Rosemary Shepherd braid from one of the early chapters in her beginners book. It was a second project for this lass at school, and she was heartily thrilled with it - half stitch is SOOOOOO confusing for the 8 year olds! She cut it off here so that her sister could have a try!

These ATCs have landed in my mailbox over the past weeks! The one on the left came from Guzziesue in Nottingham, England. Also included was a gorgeous embroidered Archer and a bobbin. The bobbin is in use on my letter C, and works beautifully. I will post a pic next time. Thank you Guzziesue!

The middle set came from Ellen at Singtatter! Make the time to stroll through this blog - there are some simply wonderful designs here! I add to the chorus - please publish Ellen! Your book would be at the very top of my must have list. The bookmark is about to make its way into my work book - simply stunning! Thank you so much Ellen.

The final 3 are the result of the ATC exchange I am doing. There is embroidery, needlelace and scrapbooking here. Such a varied and wonderful collection of ideas, and this is just the beginning :) If you would like to be a part of this, please leave a comment, as I am still seeking participants!

Finally, here in Australia, yesterday was Mother's Day - a celebration of mums! For the first time in a few years, I got to see all of my children throughout the day! Yipeeeee!!! DS1 came and polished my car for me :) This was huge as he only ever has time for his own - my Maggie is not usually worth the effort. DD was bright and chirpy and happily wished me a beautiful day! DS2 - the wood working crafty one - presented my with this gorgeous tray that he made at school. The corner timbers are Huon Pine and Tasmanian Oak. The centre is made from Myrtle and the rest is "something that was laying around the workshop" :) He claims the job was a little rushed and instructed me not to look too closely, but I love it!

As always, thank you for dropping by and your comments are most welcome. Life is hectic at present, and I must catch up with friends from my last few posts, but I do read regularly and your warmth and friendliness always make the cold days cheery :)

Warmest of hugs,

Tagged, Torchon and Tatting

I've been tagged! Hi Tatting Chic, I am happy to take your challenge.

So....folder 5, photo 5 is...

This fountain, which is situated in Launceston's Civic Square and often a target for pranksters. A little detergent gives the fountain an "icy feel". While it looks rather fantastic in real life, the detergent does damage the pumps. I took this pic 18 months ago, so it is probably about due to 'happen' again :)

Now, to choose 5 Bloggy friends to tag :)

1. http://tatsakoolchallenge.blogspot.com/

2. http://stitchety-grub.blogspot.com/

3. http://randa-handmadelace.blogspot.com/

4. http://trayna.blogspot.com/

5. http://normasneedlez.blogspot.com/

Here is your mission should you choose to accept it:
The rules are:

1. go to your documents/pictures.

2. go to your 5th file.

3. go to your 5th picture.

4. blog about it.

5. tag 5 people.

If you choose to do it, have fun ladies! :)

Now, to the Torchon :)
Here is my completed Letter L, taken off the pillow this morning. The pricking was my first attempt at designing - at least I adapted a design from Rosemary Shepherd.
Here are the 3 completed letters together...only the C to go!
The pricking is made so I just need to decide on a colour and get into it :) I have also made a pricking for the Porty Penguin - school logo - to go with the letters in the school display, which will happen sometime in second term (June - September) probably. I am hoping to let the children have a go at helping me complete Porty, then I will present it in a frame for the school to keep.

Ebonee's hairband is growing slowly :)

Right now she is peeling the vegies for tea, and then she wants to make an apple crumble for dessert:)

Lamb Roast with homemade gravy, fresh vegies and crispy roast potatoes, followed by homemade apple crumble
MMMMM mmmmmmm
And finally, some tatting - Lisbeth is progressing slowly!

Another long post - making up for the once a week opportunity, so if you have made it to here, thanks for reading! Please leave a comment, Ebonee and I appreciate the thoughts of like minded crafty people and encouragement is a tip top compliment :)


Have a wonderful day and keep smiling ... it is most catching :)

Progress

Welcome Friends,

I have finally finished my show doily, but cannot post a pic here just yet :)

This Lisbeth doily is also moving along well. The next round or 2 are quick ones so progress will seem fast. I took this pic on a yellow background so you can see the colour better. I love the shuttle too...feels great in the hand and is weighted perfectly :)
And it was a great week at school too. Here are the 2 bookmarks, completed by my senior students. They are delighted with the results of their hard work over the past few weeks and now looking forward to their next project. One of the juniors also finished his snake bookmark, but the pic I have includes the student and cannot be shared here.

All of this means I have more bobbins to wind and the list of students will get shorter for all of 3 minutes, until word gets around that there was an empty pillow!

Enjoy your week, hug someone close and stay safe :)

Hairbands, stands and L's

Greetings All,

Yesterday was the April Lace Day meeting for our little group. Unfortunately, I confess to not making 1 twist, crossing or knot :( I did enjoy looking at what other members were up to for a change. Besides, we had a couple of visitors from interstate - DH had some beautiful bobbins and both Ebonee and I helped to lighten the load for the homeward journey - and another visitor from the North West Tassie lace group. As well as helping Ebonee on with her little piece, the chat and friendship was, as usual, full of fun and laughter. Here is the work that Ebonee accomplished.

And up close, you can see the lovely candlelight white glittery thread teamed with a perle 8 verigated pink.

These are her decorated beginner bobbins. The 3 pair on the left are painted, then coated with a clear varnish. The next pair are simply coated with the clear varnish. 2nd from the right have small, torn tissue pieces glued on with the varnish, then a final coat over the top when dry. The right hand pair have the same pink verigated thread as her work wound around the smooth part of the handle, then also finished with a coat of varnish. The pillow, cover cloth, bobbins and spangle beads were part of her birthday present last year.

When she got up this morning, she put in another 6 pins or so. When she is finished, we are going to add a ribbon, a piece of elastic and she will have a pretty hairband to impress her friends with :)Here is the adjustable table DS made for me to make lace on. Well.... actually he made me a cross stitch stand, but when I began making lace, he made a new piece to put in the top so I could put my pillow on. When I want to cross stitch, I can take the table piece out, and put the old cross stitch frame holder back, using the 2 lengths that are folded down here. He even added some stenciled silver roses, coz he knows his mum loves them :) Isn't he a clever lad?!
This is what it looks like with the pillow on top. Everything is adjustable so you can fit it to (almost) any chair/working height and angle. Ok, ok! Yes I have also done a little :) Here is the beginnings of my L.A.C.E. letter L. I am using the leftover Oliver Twist thread from my hankie (isn't it a gorgeous colour) and the pattern is my first ever attempt at design. It is an adaption of a Rosemary Shepherd design from her Introduction to Bobbin Lace book. I needed to widen the insertion, add corners and cut and shut to fit a bubble frame. I added a cross stitch of LOML's 3 children and presented it to their Nanna for her birthday a couple of years ago. This time, I will just make a long and short leg and....bingo - my L!

If you made it this far, thanks for reading :) I really do hope you enjoyed. Don't forget to have your say in the comments section - Ebonee read every single comment earlier - wow there have been lots of new friends made here :)

Have a wonderful 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

1st Lace Day of the year

I would like to send a warm welcome to all the visitors to this blog...I hope you are finding something of interest here.

A Lace Day with some work done!! Yes it does happen occasionally. 10 year old Ebonee started and completed her project number 4... a keyring leaf made in perle 8 cotton thread using cloth and twist and cloth stitches. She completed this project with very little input from me at her first visit to my lace meetings. She is eager to go back again and almost ready to start on her next project...a half stitch flower that one of our juniors was making today.

And I also made some progress! I was very keen to have a go at needle lace before Christmas and participated in a workshop held by a couple of our members. At the next meeting, I proudly showed my flower, only to be told it was not complete :( Not to be put off in any way, I tried again...with full instructions on how to finish off my flower. I have made several attempts, but have not been happy with the result of the final cover stitches. I have to admit that I was almost ready to give up and stick to bobbin lace and tatting. I know there is much practice required, but these are the first time:) I think I might try a butterfly next! And finer thread. And some bobbin lace too. Here is the final lead up lesson for my school students. This bookmark features spiders, trails and ground. Now all I have to do is the lesson notes! One of the juniors in our lace group wishes to have a go at the fan when the notes are complete. She will soon let me know if she thinks something is not right.

Today's 6 pins :)

A busy morning, doing some of that dreaded h********k stuff...not too much mind :), then a little paint splashed onto the hovercraft...the upside being I will be lucky to be allowed to splash some on the house any time soon :D, then joy of joys - my 6 pins (and then some).

Lace is a passion I wear on my sleeve (well around my neck as collars and in my ears as earrings really). My job as a relief teacher enables me to 'play' with many children, and occassionally I even get invited back...such has happened at a school in the north of our beautiful state. The students know of my lace making (I have been invited back often for a little over a year) and when I recently spent 4 weeks on the same class, the request was "Can we make some lace please Miss?"

36 children experienced what a joy lace is to make :)

Now I find myself planning lessons to teach some more...well for some of the older students anyhow. This bookmark has (known) cloth stitch diamonds with introduced ground, and puts the 2 elements together...the first step toward the fan on my first post!

There are several great teaching books out there, and I do not aim to replace them, but my audience are 7 to 14 year old students who have taken to lace with (almost) as much passion as I have :) My goal was to provide an experience in which they would encounter some success...I believe I have acheived this beyond my wildest imagination!