embellisher practise

Finally, between broken needles and visitors (very welcome friends) I managed to play with the embellisher to create some backgrounds and a small bowl. The downside was that I also broke two more needles:-( maybe I need more practise!!

Frustration

Just spent 15 mins trying to replace a needle in my embellisher only to find that it has a thinner shank than the rest of the pack and will not stay in place aaaahhhggg these things are expensive enough without this problem!!!

What If? lace experiment continues

Its cold outside and I don't fancy getting wrapped up to go out so I will be clearing the decks and getting the embellisher out again especially as I have found some bags of fibre previously buried at the back of the cupboard.

I foolishly left my credit card by the computer for the last two weeks and for some strange reason I felt compelled to use it.LOL So much for the credit crunch!! Anyway, I have a strict maximum bid limit on e-bay and really fancied buying some old bobbins to go with my small vintage sewing tools collection.

Now I have the bobbins which are well used and worn but feel good in the hand, I needed a challenge to try them out so I drew an ATC size, shape, closed my eyes and drew lines down through it, grabbed a bag of threads from the drawer (eyes closed) and allowed myself a thicker thread to match. Freeform lace here I come....what do you think, will it work?



I quite like working with the old bobbins, they are comfortable in spite of the imperfection.

I'm off to dig out the embellisher, enjoy the remainder of the weekend!!

What If? lace experiment continues

What if I try and intergrate bobbin lace with oddments of threads using the embellisher? First tentative results here:




seem to be making some sort of progress here :-)

Help, I've lost it!!

My creativity that is! I had the whole day to play, a good stock of paints, fabrics etc and not a single ounce if inspiration!!! So all I have to show is an update on the lace edging.

TAST revisited, week fifteen

Oyster Stitch, stitched onto wool silk background.


Size ATC

traditional narrow lace edging

"narrow bucks point edging. bobbin lace" "bobbin lacemaking"
Originally uploaded by guzzisue
Design Sheeps Head taken from A Visual Introduction to Bucks Point Lace by Geraldine Stott

Mulling it over

The bobbin lace in wire needs more thought so I'm making a narrow traditional edging just to keep my fingers moving whilst I think about the studio journal idea.
I have always fancied using fairgrounds a source of inspiration so hopefully I will be at the Chestnut Fair next weekend with camera in hand. Watch this space!!
No photo of lace at the moment as too narrow with too many pins for anything to show.


Nearly forgot, have you all noticed SharonB's new blog Pin Tangle? All the favourite archives have been moved to this site as well.

Wire in Bobbin Lace

pic 492
Originally uploaded by guzzisue

using just wire to make lace is difficult and results in torn finger nails, so next experiment will be to use wire for the edge and the gimp/outline stitch and to increase the scale. Also cloth stitch does not seem to work, think I will need big open stitches with this.

Interesting find in my stash.

Some time ago my mum gave me a bag of silk scarves to work with or pass on to the charity shop. As usual the bag was put away with the rest of my stash and forgotten about until today. Amongst the usual flowery selection I found this...........
It is the usual headscarf size, no label though but I just cannot cut this up or get rid of it. I would love to find out more about the print but I have no idea where to start.

Down on the Farm

I made a slight detour on my way to town this morning and dropped into the Stonebridge Inner City Farm which houses sheep, goats, pigs, very small cows, a small pony and an assortment of ducks and hens. Today my attention was taken by this little piggy, I was told that his name is Freddy and if I have got that wrong please let me know.

Freddy Junior

Freddy Senior

I also grabbed the chance to photo some dried flower heads before the rain started.

But it was young Freddy that grabbed my heart

View from my window

Just getting ready for work. looked out and saw this:



Red sky in the morning, will be raining by tonight I suspect.

In disguise

I seem to be between projects and not sure what direction to head in next, definitely need to sort out and thin out my fabric stash. I don't keep an art/studio journal so maybe thats something I need to think about so I can keep a stock of design inspirations. Any advice on this would be appreciated.

Something I do want to follow up is my lace work as I took the plunge and rejoined the local bobbin lace society at the weekend and acquired 17 back issued of Lace magazine so I officially have more patterns than I will ever have time to make.

Anyway, here is a photo I found on Ians computer, taken on our lindisfane trip, I think I need to add some colour to this outfit!!

Take it Further Challenge (November)

Interesting result, not quite what I had in mind.

Take it Further Challenge (November)

3D possibilities, maybe add some beads? to fill the spaces

Take it Further Challenge (November)

Sharon said:-
This month the challenge is to use typography as inspiration for a piece. Many designers are inspired by letter forms in other words it is the forms of the letters and words themselves that they find visually stimulating. It is not using text, as in using a quote or a sentence that they find stimulating but the look of the letters as a design element.

scibbles and a piece of computer aided design
design based on 's's

a bit of machine stitch on organza and soluble paperpaper dissolvedorganza melted..............................still thinking about where to go next. Thought about 3d but not rigid enough even with starch, may apply to quilted background...........just need to mull it over for a few days.

jdufjosjfinvklfgui

hiupoweuoihrftgf hfvipf[dijghpogiojhghlgjp ga..............normal service will resume as soon as I remove the contents of my lace pin box from the keyboard!!! UUURRRHHHH Ouch!

What If? lace experiment continues

I searched high and low yesterday for my copper wire without sucess but I did find some childrens tinsel pipecleaners. What if............................

pattern adapted from bookmark in Beginning Bobbin Lace by Gillian Dye, I've reduced the munber of bobbins and simplified things slightly.


result................bendy bobbin lace

Round Britain Rally Landmarks 2008

Now the Round Britain Rally has ended, I can post photos of a couple of the Landmarks visited during our trip to Lindisfarne

The Memorial to the Gypsy Tribe is at Yetholm and has this inscription.

THIS MEMORIAL REMINDS US OF THE GYPSY TRIBE
WHO INHABITED THIS VILLAGE FROM
THE 17th CENTURY ONWARDS. THEIR
CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS INFLUENCED
MANY ASPECTS OF VILLAGE LIFE.
THE LATE VIC TOKELY WHO RESEARCHED
AND RELATED THEIR HISTORY THROUGHOUT
THE BORDERS INSPIRED THIS PERMANENT
REMINDER OF THEIR LEGACY.
2003

and further information about Yetholm Gypsies can be found here

At Spott, we found the memorial to the burning of the last witch in Scotland Marion Lillie.

More information can be found here and here

What If? lace experiment continues

The distorted grid worked until the space between the pins became too great. There is obviously potential here and I will have another go soon.