Bobbin and Needlelace

 

Lace can be made with myriad techniques and variations of techniques.  It's one of the things that hooked me with bobbin lace.  You could spend the whole of your life exploring those techniques and never reach the ends.  That only expands when you begin looking at other types of lace.  I mentioned before the book, The Art of Lacemaking by Ann Collier.  That book has allowed me to try techniques I never would have even known about and this is one of those projects - my first foray into needlelace.  

Crochet is also a type of lacemaking and this is my multi-year project - a garden in crochet.  When I was living in my house, I loved working in the garden.  One day, in one of my vintage needlework magazines, I found the pattern that became the center panel of this project. It was a pattern for a tea tray but, since the thread I used was larger than the pattern called for, it was too large for a tea tray.  I got the idea of making a garden to cover my bed.  I found a variety of filet crochet patterns in an online copy of French crochet books from the 1920s, when there was a passion for filet crochet.  In my garden, I have flowers and walkways and, of course, birds and bees!  It took about 8 years to finish the crochet but I felt it needed a structure to hold it - a quilt.  Now, I'm not remotely a quilter but I've dabbled in small things like the tea cosies I'd been making.  How hard could it be?!! 

I decided I needed some way to finish off the edges of crochet so, of course, I turned to bobbin lace.  I'd been working on this edging from my practice of projects from Ulrike Voelcker's Discover Explore Master Torchon book.  With the samples (which I'll add in another post), I worked them for as long as I was enjoying them.  I really loved this pattern so I'd already worked about 60 inches.  I ended up needing about 220 inches but at least I was part of the way there.  Soooooooo,,,,on I went.  Fortunately the pattern worked up relatively quickly and before too long, I had enough to go around.  But it needed one more thing.  I found some tear drop beads with a hint of pink that matched the backing and border fabric.  With those at the tip of each peak of the lace, it was all tied together and finished.

Another project from Ann Collier's book.  Needlelace motif made with silk threads.  This took FOREVER! I made a lot of mistakes and, then, learned a lot with with project that doesn't yet have a place to live.  For now, it's displayed in my studio just waiting for the right project for display.

Ever since I first learned to work bobbin lace, I've wanted to make a fan.  It took me a long time before I felt I had the skills to work it properly.  I found this kit (pattern and fan sticks) in Holly VanSciver's online store. It's about 8 inches across and was very challenging to work but totally worth the effort.  Here it's sitting on a table covered by a doily made by my Grannie many, many years ago.  I like that juxtaposition. She would have been so interested in the lacework.

And finally, another long-term project I finished this year.  This project actually started when I found this antique frame in a little antique shop outside of Decatur, IL.  I loved the shape and the convex glass.  I had been wanting to do a pictorial bobbin lace piece so I decided to design it to fit this frame. I've been working on it from time to time over the past 5-6 years, partly because I didn't have all the skills I needed to complete the piece.  I would work a bit and then stop and practice certain techniques for the next section.  The design was meant to reflect life on the prairie.  It's another example of not being perfect but being perfect for documenting the growth of my skills in the technique.  But it was putting it on the backing of this heathered green felt and into the frame that made it come alive.

While these are not by any means all the projects I've worked on or completed over the past few years, they're representative enough of the projects that meant something to me and that I enjoyed completing.

Chaos ground

I recently saw a presentation by Kim Lieberman, a most wonderful South African artist who, while talking about her journey with lace, mentioned chaos lace, or wild lace. Her lace was so beautiful (https://www.kimlieberman.com/) and I was so intrigued that I decided to do a little research. That research was stunningly short because I found next to nothing about it. 

I did find a small mention on Jean Leader’s website (definitely worth a peruse). https://www.jeanleader.net/mylace/3x3x3.html Her website was the first place I saw a description of chaos ground and the fascinating way she’d used it.  

One other place I found information was Janis Savage’s blog post on a chaos ground scarf. http://janis.savage.org.za/2011/07/hasty-chaotic-scarf.html?m=1 

The final piece of information I found was a brief discussion on an old IOLI group discussion which mentioned that this type of work was used quite a lot at one time within the German lacemaking community. One poster mentioned a book that had a lot of chaos ground patterns called Klöppeln Am Laufenden Band. Amazingly, I was able to find it and it has dozens of variations. Now to go to sampling. While I don’t read German, I can read a chart and , who knows, maybe I’ll learn a few words along the way!!

Even though I didn’t know much about it, I ended up designing a piece using it. Actually the piece was designed before I bounced down the rabbit hole but it will be, I hope, a good place to explore the technique. So after sampling will come the doing!

An Error and a Home Run

As I continue the section called, Decorations in Half Stitch, I've hit a sample that I just couldn't figure out and could not find any additional information on. 

It's referred to as Gravenmoersche appears to be a half stitch ground that has a little different orientation than a regular half stitch ground. Honestly the variation seemed almost indistinguishable but I gave it a go. And then took it out and gave it another go. And so on. I finally admitted defeat and finished the piece with the old standard. 

 

Even if I couldn't do the proper stitch, that would have looked like this

 

It's still a lovely pattern. 

Fortunately, that miss was followed by a lesson on something I've long wanted to learn - how to start and end a piece with a border that runs all the way round. There's a fan I'm going to do one day that needs to start like this. 

On this technique the diagrams were very clear indeed and I'm so happy to have this reference point for the day I begin The Fan. 

 

This lesson had a whole array of variations for the ground sections that could so easily be substituted for basic rose ground and add a little bit of fancy to any pattern. Trails, border, grounds. This one had a bit of everything!

And what does tomorrow hold?  Perhaps the warping of a loom?  Perhaps the start of a new lace?  Time, as they say, will tell.

For now I'm happy with whatever comes. 

Sample, sample, sample

I know people are probably getting sick of me talking about it but I'm still loving the patterns in the Torchon Workbook. I'm on the 9th chapter, Decorations in half stitch. 

I've just finished a group she has labeled Escalator. The name comes from a section made up of a row of half stitches that are worked uphill. 

 

In this example, you work the section above the line all the way to the end and then use the pair at the base of the line to work half stitch to the point at the top of the line. Now you're ready to work the section below the line. And you get this one in the middle. 

 

Each of these samples uses this escalator technique, although in different ways. 

My absolute favorite of this trio is the edging at the right. It has some of my favorite techniques like the spider ground and the Scotch broom trails. I would have carried on with it but I'm anxious to get moving on. 

Appearances can be deceiving

I started a new sample this week. There was a section that even the text said was tricky so I worked to that point and left it that night. I decided I needed to wait until I was rested to attempt it. I had already worked the whole left side and then the right side. Then I completely undid the right side because I'd made a mistake at the beginning then I'd worked the whole right side again. 

 

The "complicated" section involved working a pair half-stitch through six other pair. Not so bad except that it had to go backwards through the pairs before heading into the 8-leg spider. 

When I sat for a minute to look at it the next morning, the light bulb went on and I worked it with no problems at all. 

You can never tell. 

Last night I got involved in watching a couple of fascinating shows on YouTube and actually finished the whole dang thing. 

 

I never realized working in whole stitch was so fiddly to keep the tension right. 

Everyone should see these films. I couldn't stop watching. 

Edwardians in Colour (First of 4 episodes)

How the Edwardians Spoke

Scotch Brooming

Sometimes you like something okay but you just don't LOVE it. It's all very nice and you wouldn't mind having a coffee every once in a while but it's never going to be a grand romance. 

That's what this edging does for me. It was kind of fun to work and went along very easily but I'm done with it. I still have thread on the bobbins so I may work until I start to run out of thread but it's not one I'm going to make yards of. 

 

The thing it did do is make much more sense out of the Scotch Broom stitch. There's a definite rhythm to it and once you get that logic, it's no trouble at all. 

A few more inches and then, I think, it will be time to move along. 

Too much of a good thing

I've been trying my whole life to learn that details matter and that if a little is good, it doesn't necessarily mean that more is better. 

The lastest project from the Ulrike Torchon Workbook is a case in point. 

 I really love it and think it's pretty. I also think I almost have a handle on the Scotch Broom stitch (the part that forms the diamonds). But you'll notice that it's quite a long piece for a sample. The reason?

Instead of pinning up the 2 pieces of the pattern like this…

 

Like it was supposed to be, I pinned it up like this…

 

It make a minor difference not only to the length but to how long it takes to work it. 

I kept peeking under my cover cloth thinking, "Is this some sort of magically growing pattern?"  Come to find out, no. It's me being a silly beggar and not paying attention to what I was doing. 

So, while I ended up with a lovely piece, I shall be paying much more attention from now on. Really, I will. Really. 

Too much of a good thing

I've been trying my whole life to learn that details matter and that if a little is good, it doesn't necessarily mean that more is better. 

The lastest project from the Ulrike Torchon Workbook is a case in point. 

 I really love it and think it's pretty. I also think I almost have a handle on the Scotch Broom stitch (the part that forms the diamonds). But you'll notice that it's quite a long piece for a sample. The reason?

Instead of pinning up the 2 pieces of the pattern like this…

 

Like it was supposed to be, I pinned it up like this…

 

It make a minor difference not only to the length but to how long it takes to work it. 

I kept peeking under my cover cloth thinking, "Is this some sort of magically growing pattern?"  Come to find out, no. It's me being a silly beggar and not paying attention to what I was doing. 

So, while I ended up with a lovely piece, I shall be paying much more attention from now on. Really, I will. Really. 

Peaceful breezes

Some patterns are sent to try us and some are sent to soothe us. It's not that the trying ones are bad. They challenge us and teach us and victory is oh so sweet. 

But the ones that soothe us bring a whole different level of sweetness and accomplishment as they take us by the hand to wander through fields of lavender, on to beaches with just the right amount of heat and a cool breeze, then to the mountain's clean, crisp air and clear view across the horizon. 

The thing is, when you start a pattern, you never know which it's going to be. My current project from the Voelker Torchon Workbook says that the Scotch broom stitch is challenging so I was ready to have to do and undo and redo and repeat. 

It hasn't been that at all, in the end. I felt the cool ocean breeze starting up this morning as I worked a couple of little sections to this…

 

Watching over

This post is going to be a bit of a mishmash of things going on right now. Works completed and those in progress. 

First of all, a project completed. 

 

Not perfect but I'm quite happy with this little angel. I definitely need to work on the braided/plaited diamond filling. 

I actually did a practice piece to work out where to start, how many pairs to use and how to space the pairs at different points. The pattern didn't come with any instructions and had only a few hints on the pattern. 

 

I think if I did it another time, I would use the same number of bobbins and spacing but I would focus more on the diamond filling and be a bit more careful on the picots. 

The practice piece was done in silk and the finished piece was cotton so I think I would do the next piece with silk. It's such a joy to work with. 

Speaking of bobbin lace, I've taken advantage of the warmer weather to work more on the bobbins I've been making. The project is moving along. 

 

Here are 5 pairs in process. I've got 10 pair in process right now (with 2 pair completed and in rotation) finishing up now with sanding before I finish them with oil. I think I've got another 8 pair marked out but not started yet. 

The other recent project I was involved in was not mine but came as an ask from the Choi&Shine design team.  They did a beautiful lace installation as part of the Amsterdam Light Festival and were working on an upcoming Light Festival in Singapore project. They asked for help in making crocheted motifs. The twist was that the working thread was actually marine rope. Here's a finished motif. 

 

Using a 5.5(I) crochet hook, it took me almost 10 hours per motif. I made 6 motifs in about 2.5 weeks. It was all down to the wire but hopefully they got it all put together and shipped on time. I can't show you the new project but here's a link to the Amsterdam project. Pretty amazing, right?

All in how you look at it

If I were in a "life is like…" sort of moods, I would say this hot mess is a reality for all of us. None of us gets through life with everything all put together and beautiful all the time. Life is beautiful as we embrace the messiness it takes to eventually get where we're going. 

 

But I'm not in that mood today. This hot mess is waiting for one more tiny section and then I'll be able to get it off the pillow and cleaned up. But it's been a fun one. I think I'm going to use it as a doily under my candy dish at work. 

A Heart Challenge

I've moved onto the second pattern from the Brigitte Bellon book.  I won't tell you how I know this but when you work this pattern, don't do it at one in the morning on a long weekend.  It'll catch you out sure as sure.  Not hard but tricky.

Coming Home

For quite a few months, I've been posting project photos on social media instead of here on the blog but I've decided it's time to come home.  To be perfectly honest, I was doing that because it was easier and seemed more immediate and I was being lazy) but, in the process, I've lost the recorded thread of the creative life.

So I've come home and look forward to being able to say more about what's going on along my creative path.

I have a long post about my progress and study through the Ulrike Voelker workbook on Torchon Bobbin Lace, having gone almost all the way through the first volume, but I've taken a little side road looking at Russian Tape lace.  This type of lace, typical of the lace made throughout Russian and the Eastern European countries, features tapes that undulate and move through often very complex designs as well as leaf tallies, braids, picots and discs that are used as fillers in between the loops of lace.

Here is a very simple, very beginner piece that I've just completed, taken from Brigitte Bellon's book, Gekloppelte Fruhlingsmotive.  It has many of the basic characteristics of the style.  As you can see, it's a very sweet little motif but it's definitely a beginner's effort.

Actually, it's a better effort than my first attempt, which shall remain quietly in the background.  I have a few more pieces from this book to try and then I will go back to attempting some patterns from one of the vintage books on Russian Tape lace I downloaded from the University of Arizona website.   Although some of the books are in Russian, the photos/woodcuts are distinct enough for me to learn from. 

I've also been discovering a couple of Russian lacemakers who have posted teaching videos on YouTube, such as this and this.  Even though I'm sure I'm missing out some of the details because I don't speak Russian, the videos are clear enough to be hugely helpful.  Thanks, ladies, for your generosity in sharing your art!  It's simplicity made into high art.

Delicate wee thing

Finished!  I can't tell you how pleased I am with this delicate wee thing. I will definitely be working this design again. The previous exercise prepared me for this one and I could tell that my spidering skills have improved. Never thought I'd say that and be happy…

Making progress

I've almost finished the latest bobbin lace project in my Torchon workbook. I've really enjoyed this little 4" (20cm) wide doily. Now I just have to finish it off without screwing it up!

Endings and Beginnings

I spent much of the weekend finishing (or almost finishing projects. One of the most interesting was finishing the fractal scarf. 

A few weeks ago I started an experiment with fractal spinning (http://www.knitnmore.blogspot.com/2015/11/spinning-fractally.html?m=1). I finally finished the fractal scarf and now you can see the effects of the spinning technique on the finished project. I'm loving it. 

Can you see how the frequency and patter of the stripes changes?  This photo makes it look like the scarf is fuzzy but the mats just the way the plying blended the colors. Interesting, no?

I also finished my spider-studied bobbin lace project. As expected, there are lots of errors but that's fine. 

Now that I have a feel for things, I can make it again and go for a usable piece. I had a lot of fun with it and the magic threads I used to start worked perfectly so that was a win. 

I've got the next project started but don't have all the bobbins worked in yet. More on that when I get it a little further on. 

Since I'd finished or got projects to a point that I would have to think too hard, I turned last night to a weaving project I've had in the loom since the Robin Spady workshop in the spring. I had a really long warp on the table loom and after I'd done the workshop and a couple of other projects, I decided to do a table runner using the overshot warp with a twill weft using the same thread. I don't always get these things right with weaving but I think I nailed this one. 

I only have about 8 inches more of usable warp left which will be about an hour's worth of work so I should be able to get it off the loom tonight. I love the pattern made by mixing the warp and weft styles.   

I'm not sure how long it will be but it should be at least 40-50 inches (I'm guessing since I didn't keep track). I'll have to see if some of the early part will need to be cut off. We'll know more tonight. 

Finishing off

I've been working almost non-stop trying to get some baby things done for an old friend of mine. It's more knitting than I've done for ages but I'm thrilled with how they've come out. I won't post pics until I've given them to the parents but I will show you this:

One of the items just seemed unfinished and I couldn't figure out what it needed until I remembered this little lace edging that I'd done as parting my study course and realized it was perfect for this item. It's only about 1/2 inch wide and just perfect for this item. 

While I can't show it yet, suffice to say there will be some edging and some gathering and some rosette-ing going on. Still need about another foot but it goes quite quickly so shouldn't take too long. 

Lace makes everything g better!

Rounding out the chapter

Just to round out the projects in chapter 2, these are the last 2 projects. I love the braid of the last one (the gold one) although it was a little tricky to move around the elements. 

In fact I made a booboo on the end of one of the trails but was too far down the road to go back and fix it. If it had been an actual project, I would have but it was fine for the sample. I would like to do a table runner using this edging. 

Put it in the list…

Success as a ratio, not an absolute

When the L.A.C.E. Group started their yardage club (you gain entry by working at least 2 yards of lace at the skill level you are able to work), I started a very simple, beginner lace piece because I was a beginner. There were some really basic things I was still not fluent with. After I'd worked about 2 feet of that edging, things clicked for me and I reached a new level of understanding of the craft. It was one of those moments when I realized that all of a sudden my hands were working stitches without my having to think through every movement and it was such a moment of freedom and triumph. It gave me courage to try something a little harder and a little more complicated.

That edging was, for the most part, completed back in 2012 but since the. I've continued to progress and try new things. Some of them worked and some of them didn't but I'm okay with that. I'm happy for success to be a ratio rather than an absolute. It's way more fun and exciting and fulfilling that way. 

This most recent project of working through this Torchon workbook has been just such another adventure. I'm gaining real fluency with moving from element to element and it's a freeing feeling. 

I was thinking the other day that lace is very much like snooker or pool. With each move you have to think about where each pair lands in the work so that it's in the right place to move to the next step. I'm finally starting to be able to see where the pairs need to be and why. 

That said, I have just 2 more samples to work to finish the second chapter - grounds- before I move on to spiders then Scansanavuan holes and then rose ground. One sample is ready to turn the corner and there's one more after that. 

Here are the last few samples that I completed. 

But I'm done for tonight and will be ready to work a few stitches before work tomorrow. Onwards and upwards!

What's next?

I've now finished the samples for section 1 of my workbook (clothwork). It's just my style that the book says the last sample (the one on the left) "presents more difficulties than 1.3 (the one on the right) and success may not be immediate!"  Of course the one I had difficulty with was 1.3 and I completely sailed through the last one. 

These are the last 2 samples.  The one on the right is my favorite so far and one that I will definitely go back to. The one on the left is one that I think would work great as a scarf. Just blow up the pattern and use a nice silk or cotton yarn and you've got something really interesting. 

On to the next section - Torchon Ground.