Sample, sample, sample

As I've been putting samples together, I had a brainwave that I thought would help in the planning.  I got a couple of cork boards and hung them on the wall so I could have samples right in view.  It's kind of fun to see everything all together.  Here's a sample of what we're going to do:

Always ready to learn

I tried something new this week, something I've never done before.  I've seen it but never tried it and now I'm enamored. 

This is a tape lace that is laid out in the shape of a pear.  With just 5 pairs of bobbins (9 for the leaf), you work around the shape using a cloth stitch.  Many of the patterns have filler patterns for the middle but since I'd never done this type of work before, I just made the shape with the leaf.  While you're working, what you see is the back of the work.  Once it's done, you take out all the pins, trim all the ends and turn it over.  You get this:

The finish picture isn't very clear but you get the idea.  The thread I used was really too big for this pattern.  I used a 10/2 cotton, which is basically bedspread weight crochet cotton, but even a 20/2 or a 30/2 would have been a little better.  I'm going to try another shape with the 20/2 cotton.

I'm going to do a simple circle with a tally leaf in the middle for the class.  Shouldn't take too much time for them to do it and you end up with a fun little project.  I'm having so much fun with this!

I think we have 5 people for the class, which will be a nice size.  There is a limit of 8 people so if you're in the area, you'll need to get your registration in pretty quick here.