Torchon practice

Finished exercise #3 and, sure enough, the first section looks pretty bad but once you get past that, it's not so bad. The edges are pretty good and the centers are good. 

I thought that using the 2 colors was a mistake but it's actually not too bad with the colors that I used. It gives a little bit of interest. 

I think if I was using this as an insert in a garment (as opposed to something that was going to be framed), I think I would do something like this with close colors to make it seem less flat. 

It's been fun playing with the colors. 

This makes me happy

I finished my #roserootmkal shawlette made with handspun Merino/cashmere yarn. 

There were a few adventures with it. I ran out of yarn 1/2 way thru the edging (which I expected).  I had spun the main yarn knowing that I didn't quite have the yardage I would need. That was one reason I decided to make the full shawl with the red (of which I had plenty) and the smaller version with this. I'm glad I did because I wouldn't have had enough fiber to spin for the whole shawl. 

What I didn't expect was to run out again about 2 inches from the end. I can't say how many times I've eked out a project, sometimes with just inches of yarn left. No such luck this time. Guess this is the evening up of all those close wins!

But I made the mistake of trying to spin the last bit of yarn while watching the #Hobbit Battle of the 5 Armies. I may have gotten a wee bit too much twist in as I treadled to the battle and washed the yarn in my tears at the end.  But I got it done and am thrilled with it. It's just the right length you would want for a shawlette but I still need to block it. 

But since we're supposed to have a high today of 68 degrees (in the middle of July - what?!?) I was able to wear it and bask in its coziness and softiness. 

Want one of your own?  You can find the pattern here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/roseroot-2. Thanks for the beautiful pattern, Rohn!

Only one thing

Yesterday I was off and did absolutely nothing except one thing. 

This. 

Before yesterday I was on the 3rd diamond of this Torchon and rose ground sampler. Yesterday I entered the zone. Other than fixing one meal and bathroom breaks, I worked from 9am to 11pm on it. 

People sometimes ask me how long a project took me to finish and I can rarely answer vet definitively. This time I have a better idea. I would say this one took approximately 24 hours of work.  

Now onto everything else left on my "to do" list. 

Hello. My name is…

And I think I may have a problem. 

In my small living room I have this…

And this…

And this…

All projects started and advancing. 

The first is the restart of the sampler that I  just spent quite a time practicing on. Gold thread this time to match a knitted doily made out of the same thread

They'll look nice hanging together. 

The second is the edging started on my new pillow and getting along nicely. It's a simple pattern that provides a little rest to the mind while still feeding the soul. 

And the third is a pattern I designed myself to fit into a special antique frame. I thought I might do it in colored threads but after a little testing last night, I've decided to do it all in a white linen thread.   Just need to wind the bobbins and get started on the outside edge tonight while I'm watching the Hobbit: the Desolation of Smaug. 

And now I've used the whole morning with these projects which leaves me this afternoon to mow the yards and clean the shed. Somehow I think I've made an error in tactic. I'm off to sweat for the good of my soul. 

Failure has to be an option

If we're ever to learn anything new, we have to be willing to try and fail and then try again and fail but maybe not suck quite as much as the first time. Rinse. Repeat. 

One of the biggest thing I see when I teach classes is how uptight people get when they're trying to learn a new skill or a new technique. They often get so bogged down in the mistakes that they actually lose the ability to make progress. 

I know where this comes from but I'm still going to ask the question. Why do we have to be perfect with everything all the time?  

Learning is at the heart of it about experimentation and exploration. Creativity is about the big "What If."

I'm sharing this post about my latest finished lace project simply for the reason that it's riddled with mistakes. Sharing it is part of living what I preach to my students. Mistakes don't matter nearly as much as what you learn in the process. 

My last few projects have been chosen for the simple reason that there are techniques I want to learn to do well. For that to happen, I have to commit to failure being an option. At least for a while. With the right mindset, allowing myself to not be perfect gives me another tool in my belt. I can enjoy the process without the pressure. Out of that I get 2 things:

1.  I get to enjoy the process. 

2.  I learn new skills that I can put to use. 

Win/win!

Looks okay from a distance on a small screen but believe me, there are a ton of errors. I'm going to keep this piece and give it pride of place so it can remind me to take time to do things that are beyond my skill level or that I don't know how to do. 

Time to get the bobbins wound to do it again.  

So grateful

 Sometimes I forget to slow down enough to realize how blessed I am to have the ability to follow my passion with textile arts.  I've had amazing people in my life to open doors of knowledge and experience and those to share the journey and I've had the means to obtain the tools and supplies to do such a wide variety of things.

With that I've tried to be as generous as I can with others; certainly so many others have been generous with me. And there's no group I know as generous as textile artists. 

I had a great time with the L.A.C.E. Group in Chicago yesterday for their Lace Day. I did more than my fair share to support the vendors and got to spend some time with 3 ladies who were in the middle of learning to needle tat when the person working with them had to go take care of something.  Hopefully they'll also be able to take a road trip to join us in Springfield for the Needle In a Haystack event.

My best purchase was a new pillow. Two years ago at the last Lace Day, there was a vendor with beautiful hand made roller pillows. I was so hoping they would be there yesterday and sure enough they were!  Here's my new baby - an Alan Frederickson bobbin lace roller pillow. 

 

It even has a nice little spring loaded catch on the drawer in the front.

 

And I've even got a new project on it. 

And today I got to spend some time with my old knitting buddies to share a little bit about bobbin lace. Such a good group and it was nice to be back with them. 

#iamblessed

How does your garden grow?

Last year I planted a bunch of different varieties of herbs just to see if I could get them to grow. I knew I would use them in cooking, etc. but I wasn't prepared for how lavish they smell as they grow. 

Look at this gorgeous second year thyme. 

After last year, I picked the ones I like the most to cook with but also the ones I liked the scent of - thyme, several types of basil, dill, coriander, chives and flat parsley. 

I also added several lavender plants to the one that revived from last year. They seem to love this soil. Here's one of them. 

The cilantro is ready for the first batch of salsa. 

And the first tomatoes have started. 

Good times.