Learning Curve

For the 1995 ANWG conference here, one of the people on the conference committee had really wanted a workshop on bobbin lace.  When it came time to confirm or cancel the lace workshop, we needed one more person to make it 'go', while the workshop I was supposed to be teaching was lacking 5 or 7 (I forget the cut off). 

Looking at the numbers I told everyone to cancel my workshop and I would sign up to take the lace workshop because I wasn't all that interested in learning, but I was willing to provide a warm body.

At the end of the two days I walked out with $150 worth of lace supplies.

Bobbin lace is just another kind of weaving, one where you build your loom as you weave, where warps can turn into wefts, and vice versa.

I made quite a bit of lace, mostly Torchon, and even taught a few people enough to get them started.  Three of us have kept up a friendship but all three have had significant health issues over the past few years and it had been a rather long time since any of us had felt up to making lace.

Which means, we'd pretty much forgotten everything we knew.

Last year I had to make a decision:  either make lace or get rid of my supplies.

Well, lace supplies are pretty hard to come by these days and I had some really good quality things - pillows, bobbins, loads of thread, books.

So I talked to my friends and we decided that we would like to get started again.  I did manage to make a couple of small items last year, but it was just here and there.  Today the three of us got together and started making a tiny star.

As part of my studio destashing, I found some die cut cards and this tiny star just fits into the 'window' of the card so the intent is to make some stars with hanging loops and put them into Christmas cards for this Christmas giving.  Recipients can use them as window dangles or Christmas tree ornaments.

However, my supplies are mostly put 'away' and I've lost track of some of my things so I'm going to have to make do until I have time to rummage and find my pin pusher and sew in tool.  The sew in tool is fairly easy to work around but the pin pusher is sorely missed.  My fingers don't like the pressure of pushing the pins down into the pillow but I have to or else the threads will get tangled up in the pins standing proud above the pillow.

I have worked the points on the star three different ways because I don't remember the 'correct' way to do it.  I will check in some of my books what I ought to be doing and see if anything I've done so far is even close to correct!

But the star is tiny and no one is going to be able to tell I've not done it 'properly'. 

This little star is pretty simple, but it has a few things that are causing me to scratch my head to see if I can figure it out.  And it's something that I think I will enjoy once I get it figured out.

Last year I mailed out just 9 cards.  Surely I can make 9 stars this year?