Connecticut Lace Day - At Barbara's!

This past weekend was our group's Christmas gathering.  Held at the home of Barbara, it was decorated for the season.  In the dining area, the big old wooden beams were hung with a hundred crochet snowflakes - each one different.  The table was set in Christmas Spode, enough for our very large gathering.  Off to the other room, was Fine Threads from Vermont with lots of wares for you to choose from.  I did make myself available for another book of patterns and some fancy thread.  Lunch was just lovely, great breads from this bakery near Winann's and a condon blue cassarole, salad, carrots and beets from Boo's garden.

Of course there was dessert - and dessert is more serious than the meal.  Besides lovely chocolates that were passed around, Boo made two hedgehog cakes.  Yum Yum and a white cake with raspberry and white chocolate frosting. 

What an amazing day.  Barbara is quite the creative one.  Throughout her home was many samples of her lace making and other fiber projects to admire.  There was a plastic beach bag she crocheted, that got my interest and I'm going to give it a try.   I took a fancy to the snowflakes and became reinspired once again in my thread work.

Before and after lunch we enjoyed each others company, worked on our projects that we brought along and visited the "shop" for those extra goodies a lace maker could not be without. 

On this occassion, there is a gift swap.  Your gift goes in the pile and you can then take a number.  So a basket with numbered slips of paper was passed around the table.  As it went by me, I put my hand in and whispered on the louder side...".... ah Christina...." and pulled out my slip.  Wouldn't you know, I got the slip with the #1 on it.  Oh no! and lots of laughter was heard.  I asked if we could reverse the order so I would go last.  No problem.  Phew!  See I won the lace lessons, the Christina pillow, and a couple of other items( gave them back) at the 25th Anniversary.  That was my first meeting and this was my first attendance at the Christmas luncheon.  I ended up with a piece of lace and a frame to put it into.  One thing that surprised me is that the gift swap was no where near the " oh $10 - $20 range" for the gift.  IMO my gift didn't measure up - note for future - find a better gift!

Before we left, Barbara had one more surprise for each of us.  She handmade two dozen ornaments, each different, all with some kind of lace on them.  Each one was even better than the last.  We all gasped and awed at her creativity and originality to each ornament.  It was a lovely day - so many creative people to be with. 

PS - another 25 Round 4 mofits are complete!

Round 4

Yes, round 4 has begun!  One batch of 25 is completed and it is off to the next batch. 

My home has been a flurry of activity, with mechanics installing all new mechanicals, enjoying my new gas fireplace logs, and getting lots of paperwork in order for the "season".

I'm off to retire in a few minutes as my furry assistant has made it clear that I should retire NOW MEOW.

Pictures to come!

Pretty Fabrics bring back the days of Sewing

This time of year I get inspired.  The craft stores are filled with lots of pretty christmassy type fabrics and yarns.  I begin to think about the time I used to sew.  Today I needed to get another couple of skeins of yarn for a project so I was chasing them down in Michaels and JoAnns.  There was the fabric, all glittery and the colors and textures are just spectacular. 

When I went off to sixth grade, my mom made me a acqu blue dress for the first day of school.  I remember the dress well.  It was pretty special with ruffles on the sleeves.  Sometime after having that dress, my mom began to let me assist her in picking out the fabrics, patterns, pinning and cutting, and eventually the use of the machine. 

From that point on, I was sewing.  As time went along, my talents improved.  Mrs. Burnas, she lived behind us, and worked in a sewing room at Warners would come over and give me a few hints.  My NatNat (grandmother) and Mrs. Palasky (across the street) worked at American Fabrics triming lace off the big machines.  I guess you could say that fiber has been at my fingertips for most of my life.

As with much of my life, I need to improve it so I took to designing patterns myself.  I'd mix and match different pieces to really come up with an original.  I can say that I never went to a school dance and found myself looking at a classmate with my dress on.   

A few funnies:

I'd forget a few pins in the living room carpet - i.e. the cutting room.  Dad would invariably find them at 6am in bare feet with a very loud (&#(*&#(# ouch.

The hem was never finished until the last hour before I was running out the door.

I would ask "Hey Mom - does this look okay as I held up a half finished portion?"  Mom would say " of course it does",  Dad would say "  I guess so" .

Iron the seams - but remember to turn off the iron - oh my goodness such details!

Anyway, it was nice to walk the aisles of many fabrics and notions.  Now I need to invent some real time to be able to continue my crocheting, lace making, and sewing.

NELG Meeting

This past NELG meeting was really fun.  Our business meeting delt with some of the general items we always talk about.  We will be demonstrating during the Allure of Lace exhibit at the Wadsworth Museum in Hartford.  We will be there the day after Christmas!  Stop by and see us - it's a free admission day at the Museum.  We will be hosting an upcoming seminar (mixed Beds & Bucks) late July/early August with Jean Leeder.  While it will be limited seating, it should be a good session to learn lots.

After the business, we turn to painting bobbins, this month's activity.  It was fun and everyone's design was truly as unique as each of us are.  I know it would be nice if I had pictures.  I need to be better about taking my camera with me and taking it out to take a few pictures!

Thanks to the members that sat with me for their survey interview!  Really good thoughts and suggestions were obtained. 

PS if you have the items from the Archive - please bring them to the December meeting and I'll coordinate bringing them back to Doris.

Round 3 Completed

Last week and this past Saturday proved to be a great period of time and I was able to complete the last of round 3 of Shelby's blanket.  It felt pretty good to get this far.  I may be able to get on track with my schedule.

So it is now on to round 4.  This round seems to be less complicated and when completed it should be considererd a little less than one-half done.   I've done about four of them to get the feeling of the pattern.  By completing one round at a time, it is much easier to remember the pattern and keep my tension to the same for the entire group of them.

OnWard I go!

Fun Yarn Accessory

This is it - a great plastic ball that opens and allows you to place your skein of yarn in it.  Close it up and the yarn stays clean, pulls out easily and just think of what your cat will think of it!

They come in clear and pink - check out the site and find the stop near you that has these fiber spheres!

http://www.thefibersphere.com/index.shtml

Great Yarns

This past weekend I found myself in the craft store - either for the supplies for the seminar I was giving or for the charity event I was co-hosting or for supplies for my weekend house guest.

It is a great place for some inspiration, and also to take a walk inside and put some steps on my pedometer.

I like to pick up those 'freebee' flyers with crochet patterns on them.  You never know when you will need one of those patterns for a quicky project.  Next to the tear-off pattern pad was these great skeins of Homespun yarn in Christmas colors  and with a little effort and at least 8 skeins and an extra large hook, I may have a homemade Christmas present for a special relative.

Check back before the holiday - I'll have a picture of it and maybe with it's intended!


PS - I have only 25 round threes to go on Shelby's blanket! 

More motifs ! 100 Done!

At lace day, many of us work on lace and then some of use work on our other projects. So this month, I took Shelby's mofits with me. I was hoping to complete another 25 of them.

My original schedule was to complete a "round" per month. That breaks down to about 5 / day. Not all days are equal in a month nor are the rounds the same when it comes to doing the crochet. So from August through October it was the plan to get through the third round. I can report to those listening, yesterday worked out lovely and I finished up another group. Now only 50 more to go on round three.

Now it is November and I am planning by mid December the balance of round three and about 1/2 of round four completed. Keep Tuned!

A Day at Winann's

What a lovely day for Connecticut Lace Day. Winann was our hostess for this month's gathering. We had great stories, news about the exhibit at the Wadsworth, discussion about the trip to RISD, and a little news regarding THE JACKET!

The Jacket will be 'unveiled on December 10th - tickets are not yet available. Soon to be announced. This is the Jacket that was begun at Plimoth - a recreation of a 17century jacket . This blog will give you a bit of the end of the story of several years of making this jacket. We at NELG had the opportunity to have a representative from Plimoth speak to us at one of monthly meetings. Some of our members have worked on making the lace and did some of the embroidery. Here's the list to those individuals that help create this jacket

I'm looking forward to seeing the jacket!

Update on Shelby's Blanket

With all my work and speaking schedule, sometimes it is a long day.

I do enjoy, even if it is only for a few minutes, is picking up one of my projects and completing a row or two.

This past week, I did just that - I completed the next 25 squares with round 3, for a total of 79 completed - 75 to go! I hope that this month will give me a few more minutes here and there to complete round 3 and begin round 4.

Time will tell. One thing, while I make them, I get to think about my niece. She is an amazing young lady. In about two months she will be visiting here. Look forward to seeing her and showing her the progress at that time. I'll get a couple of pictures of her and me!

Update on blanket

It's been a busy month to say the least. Though on some evenings I've had the chance to get back to working on Shelby's blanket.

Round 3 - Add the 'dark pink' over the burgandy round. There are 50 completed with about 104 left to go on this round.

I must say - it is looking pretty good so far!

Ravelry

Ravelry - is a comunnity of knitters and crocheters.

My goodness - this is very much a place I am looking for. It's community - places to share information, record and share progress about your projects, get corrections on others, all in all it is pretty cool.

If you are interested - take a look - you'll need to sign up with an account - it's free and why not.

Passing down your Craft / Art supplies - Estate Planning

At a lace day some time ago, we were discussing what happens with your lace stuff when you are now on earth any longer?

Interesting thought? What does happen to your hobby, supplies, collections, etc.? Is there a favorite child or relative that is going to get them? Actually does the favorite child or relative actually understand what this passion you enjoy is all about?

About a week ago I was attending an award ceremony for a friend and another person I hadn't seen in awhile said - "oh we came across the bag of stuff - like yarn, needles and stuff and that reminded me of you". While not overly complimentary, we all laughed and the point was made. Mind you, the "stuff" belonged to her mother. Do you get my point?

I've lots of bobbins, pillows, and books related to lace. Then the crochet collection of books, hooks, etc. The OTT lights, and tables and chairs that I use for this. It does make an interesting question in planning your Estate.

Having recent experience with cleaning out a friend's home, at the end, whatever was left after the sale was thrown out. Since I like textiles, I purchased some great crochet pieces from the sale. Had I not, it would have been tossed out to the land fill.

So what are you to do? Get out a piece of paper, or if you are more techy a camera or video and write and or take pictures or both, of it all. Tell the individual you selected to be your executor/trustee about the collections. Would it be best that they are given to a musuem, craft guild, or to a specific person? If you are amending your will, you may very well make mention of these type of items so it is not lost.

Keeping or passing the passion of your hobby, craft, collection to someone who will appreicate it is priceless.

Update on the blanket

It's been several weeks since the update on Shelby's blanket. In that time I've demonstrated at the Big E and the Milford Historical Society. We have had an NELG meeting and a CT Lace day. Oh yeah - I have been working many hours at my business.

An observation of myself - having a new project, and new projects coming into the pipe line is good for my creative side. Even if it only a half hour a day, it is rewarding to see a project continue to grow.

The second round of the burgandy color is now complete, yes all 154 squares. Round 3 is a dark pink. This round adds some texture with front post double crochet (FPDC)around. It does cover up lots of the burgandy of the 2nd round. That's okay as the hints of the burgandy will become more apparant as the rounds get completed.

Each square doesn't take too long - the first pink was about 1 minute, the 2nd round about 2.5 minutes, and the third round about 2-3 minutes. I hope that in another month from now the 3rd round will be completed and beginning round 4! Stay Tuned.

Gossamer Silk, From Spiders Spun

This is just amazing. Silk made from spider webs - mind you 11 feet long! This article from the NYT today shows a picture and give the account of how this silk cloth got here.

The American Museum of Natural History is the proud sponsor of this amazing Exhibit - click it and see the video about this amazing feat of man and beast.

This pic is from New Guinea. Thank you Tumaren for this picture.

Welcome to You

This blog is set aside for my thoughts and pictures about lace, crochet and those things fiber.

As I organize the information from my original blog, you may come across some duplicate entries and of course other blog keeping chores that will need to be taken care of.

The bobbins pictured here are continental bobbins as they are from the "continent" (Europe). Bobbins are specifically related to where you lived. Since travel was not an option (back in the 1600s and before) each village evolved into their speciality of lace and the tools, like these bobbins.

Stop back again as I get my "english" ready for a picture.

So Welcome to You - I hope you enjoy and learn about these art forms.

Lace Making in Milford

Yesterday was spent demonstrating bobbin lace making at the Milford Historic Society. Barbara, and her daughter Barbara join in for the morning, and Winann and I spent the day there. It was a bit cloudy all day, yet cool, the day was really quite nice. Sitting only a half block off the harbor, it is a good day.

We invited those in to see our wares, (not for sale ) and how to make lace and even sit down and make some lace. Cross, Twist, Cross as we gave instructions to adults and children and we continue to make our snake bookmarks. It is truly wonderful when the visitor looks at the pillows with lots of bobbins on them and finds that it is only two pairs that it begins with. I had a set of twins, a three-some of little brothers, and a group of assorted kids accompanied by with their parents and grandparents.

Of course there were the questions of 'how much can you make' and 'how long' , it's the making of the lace, the process, that is the pleasure. Listening to the clinking of the bobbins as they move across the pillow and the lace unfold as each Cross, Twist, Pin is made is a special music to a lace makers' ears.
It was a great day for lace and a great day to teach lace.

If you are out an about - us Lace Makers will be staffing the Craft Building at the Big E. Yours truly will be there for the morning shift on the 23rd of September.

Bobbin Lace Making this weekend!

If you are looking for us lace makers this weekend - check out the Milford Historical Society . Unfortunately this site is not updated for this Saturday's event. From 10 to 4pm, on their grounds at 34 High Street, Milford, CT, they are having their annual event. There will be tours, bake sale, us Lace Makers!, geneology folks, and lots of other things to do. It's a rain or shine event. Stop by and say hello - try your hand at a cross and a twist!

Shelby's Blanket

If you saw my blog a week or so ago, you saw the blankets for Shelby's older sisters. It's become tradition - and now it is Shelby's time. She picked out her blanket, colors were approved and I'm on my way!

The basics is that the blanket is comprised of 154 squares with 7 rounds each - the 8th round is the joining round. So far this is where we are:

The first round - lite pink is complete! All 154 of them! The second round - adding a burgandy like color is on about 130 of them so far. Progress!