Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Mediterranean Lace - Experiments

This morning in my in-box I had a comment on my Knotted Lace post from way back in 2007. Mmm... suspicious, that's why I have comment moderation on so I can check out who is leaving comments before I publish or reject them. This morning I was pleasantly surprised when I checked out Couch Crochet Crumbs. It is a blog full of Turkish Oya & the writer of this blog can actually make those gorgeous edgings. I am soooooooooooo jealous! I have admired this kind of work for many years & so want to lean how to do it.

I have two books on Knotted Lace by Elena Dickson, one of which I have had for many years, & would you believe I have never used them. Opened & looked, yes, but never used. So this morning I have pulled them out, opened, read, & played with needle & thread. Above are my efforts. OK, I could do better, but this is my first go at this kind of lace so please be patient with me. My pyramid is a little warped & my flower is a little lopsided. I just have to watch my spacing, but I am sure that will come with practice.

The EG here in Sydney is offering a one day course in Armenian Needlelace in January so I have enrolled already. Armenian, Turkish, Mediteranean, they are all from around the same area so I am sure the differences will be slight. The course is for a small doily, but I really want to make the flowers & learn how to attach them.

Watch this space!

Monday, November 21, 2011

Pulled Thread Exprimenting

I have been experimenting with some pulled thread stitching lately, wanting to find out what stitches produce what textures. It is amazing how thread choice, plus the number of threads stitched over, will change the whole look of a stitch. This is only a sample, stitched down the side of a major piece I am working on. No tidbits of the major piece though I am sorry, I am hoping to have that finished for exhibition in August next year. So if you can all be patient, I'll show it  to you all sometime after then.