P S

At this stage it is important to look at the design,identify the smallest and largest design elements and then decide if it is practical to work them in the thread of your choice.

You might have to try a couple of samples.

Saturday morning, April 18th in my newly tidied up workroom where I am about to make a start at the top of the stem. This is where I shall have to sew out the petals so I must make a good firm edge.

I use the ’invisible hanging on’ technique described first in Margaret Brooke’s Lace in the Making page 33. I shall be rolling the edge to make sure there is a good foundation for the later sewings and to give definition.

This is a relatively small section to be worked and it will be some time before I tackle the leaf which will have the stem sewn out into it. So, I have not overwound the bobbins with the precious thread.

What I could always do if bobbins are in short supply is to work a few inches and then take the thread off the bobbins, and  wind the attached threads on to a small piece of card and pin carefully underneath the cover cloth . Later I can rewind the thread onto bobbins in order to continue the work. 

This method was first shown to me by Sandi Woods when, in one of her classes, I had not read the instructions carefully enough and begun in the wrong place! I was so happy to be rescued that day and it is a great tip if you are doing a complex piece of work with many beginnings and endings. 

Placing the pins and edges in general.

Most people would agree with me that a piece of lace stands or falls on its edges.

It is here that the magic word ‘tension’ comes into play.

Tension should come about by a confident but not over handling of the bobbins.

Obviously the amount of pressure varies with the type and size of the thread used.

Here Pipers 90/2 Gloss is very strong yet slides easily into place.

I do not pre-prick my patterns so they adapt automatically as I work to the thread chosen.

This is the way I place a pin on the edge.

After making the edge stitch I place the new edge pair horizontally with the line of work and the new worker pair at right angles to it. this reveals the drawn line of the edge. Using a fine needle pin I make a hole on the line where I want to place the pin. The position can be adjusted depending on the curve of the line, wider apart on the outside of a curve, closer on the inside.

Then I place the pin in the hole pricked, take the workers through the next pair and then re tension.

Number of twists at the edge.

This varies, Honiton has traditionally 3 twists at the edge and Brussels has 2.

I tend to make 2 twists but often change my mind. It depends on how it looks and the thread I am using at the time.

Sunday 19th April    Off today for a couple of days to see my God-Daughters, Joy,  Jenni & Hazel in London, so will have to take a break from lace!  

My mind is buzzing with ideas for a couple of big projects. I always find doing something however small starts off something else. 

Tuesday 21st April  Back home after a trip to the bluebell woods at Kew and a spell watching  Joy, Jenni & Hazel Kayaking on the River Thames in lovely spring sunshine.

Saturday 25th April

Since I last worked on this web page I have had two lacemaking sessions.

Firstly I took a good hard look at the flower itself and decided on the order of working. Where would one petal be sewn on to another?  Which petal would be nearest the viewer. Where would I start and finish ?  What stitches would I use ?

Petal A being chosen I started to work out my picot edge to suggest the frill of the petal. the first 3 picots are ‘false’ ones the rest are made with 5 twists .

You can find instructions for this kind of start in many books. I will give a list later.

Although this did the job of providing me with a frilly edge I would have difficulty sewing into it later without pulling the picots out of position.  I went back to my books and used the classic Honiton picot edge using 2 twists on my second attempt As the petal widened I added more threads and kept the working line straight with a couple of scroll rows.

Having tried Archway braid ( Pat Read ) upside down ! I realised I would have to work with a great deal more threads to tighten up the pattern and abandoned the idea . I looked again at my tulip pictures and felt that simple twisted workers would produce the effect I wanted.

Birthday celebrations and a trip to

Whitchurch Silk Mill   http://www.whitchurchsilkmill.org.uk

A working weaving mill and very seductive.

BACK TO MY TULIP

As the petal narrowed I discarded pairs using Sandi Woods’  method TO&TB; Tie Off and Throw Back. This uses a reef knot plus a third knot tied North/South so that it will not pull against the passive  threads and will not be visible.

After throwing back I cut not too near the work as silk thread frays.

I made sure the edge pairs, the workers and most of the passives were sewn into the top of the stem.

NEXT  Using a BRUGES TIE OFF I did one row with the threads in their original position, then turned the pillow and did TWO more rows of knots.

THREE threads for rolling were kept at each end of the row and the rest cut with long ends and pinned back temporally to set in that direction so that they will lie unseen when they are finally cut off.

Next the edges were roll with the 3 threads and the ends left at the top of the petal before the picots. This keeps my options open for finishing.

Must now prepare bobbins for the next petal and do some housework !

May 6th     Here again at last !

START OF PETAL  B

As before I have begun with 3 false picots and 2 pairs of edge passives. I have tried my hand at a couple of diagrams to help you.  These are only a guide , there are many ways of doing things in lace making  and only practice will tell you what is best for you.

Pairs are then added as the work widens.

May 7th  This petal is not as straight forward as the last one. Like the first petal you can begin at a point, always a good option, but you have to work so that both the workers and the passives look as if they are part of a growing plant.The vertical lines of the petal must converge at the top of the stem and the horizontal lines of the workers must suggest the rounded shape of the flower. I have tried to achieve that by a couple of scroll rows as the picots cease and later towards the base of the petal enabling me to sew out neatly at the top of the stem. Again I have used twisted workers and a small area of half-stitch to suggest shadow which I will also work in the 3rd petal.

PETAL C

Beginning with the 3 false picot start as before, producing a picot edge . After a few rows I started a diamond of half stitch .( 3prs half stitch in the middle of a whole stitch row.)

As the petal narrowed I sewed in to the other two petals, leaving the picot pins in place. They will have to be taken out with extreme care at the finish but if I took them out now the picots would not survive the sewings!

Once again a Bruges tie-off was used along both edges of the petal.

The finished flower, with it’s reel of silk.

A finer silk perhaps Pipers 6/20 would have given a nice effect but 90/2   is a good one to start with.

Tools  left to right

Pin pusher ( upper & downer)

Needle pin

Very fine and manageable hook/needlepin for sewings.

Friday May 8th  Before housework !

Back to the drawing board and a long hard look at my pattern this time covered with tracing paper attached with magic sticky tape.

Which edges of the leaf are dominant ?

i.e. nearest to the viewer.

I traced those over in red and the others I traced in blue.

It was then obvious that the narrow leaf would be the first to be tackled. The growth line of the stem being important to keep in mind.

Which end to start?!  In theory either will do, both beginning and ending at points. I chose the tip of the leaf to begin as this will be where the viewer will look most and it is important that it is as neat as possible. I might even incorporate the base of the leaf threads into the stem. I will make that decision at a later stage.

My bobbins are prepared so I am going to begin now but will leave most of it to be done tomorrow when I attend Martlets Lacemakers at Horsham. I’m looking forward to seeing my friends and meeting Rosemary Naish who is going to talk about The Lace Society. I am a member and another friend, Angela Brown has just taken over the chair. I am taking our Chairperson, Rosemary Brown so I am moving in High Circles !!!!!!

Today, May 8th is a damp morning but it brings out the colours of my newly planted garden bed which I can see as I make lace or work at my computer.

The bamboo in the centre is fargeseii murieleii simba  ( not sure I’ve got the spelling right )

which is clump forming and non invasive.

The inner circle is Heuchera ‘Marmalade’

Then 4 Polystichum polyblepharum Evergreen Fern

and    4 Polypody vulgare    Evergreen Fern

In the corners are Black-leaved Bugle with a deep blue flower  , they look great but difficult to see on the photo.

3pm Tidy-up  accomplished

Washing machine on

Kitchen cleared & sandwiches made for tomorrow

Sun has come out,  cup of tea made!   Classic FM   radio on !

I have decided to begin the narrow leaf at the tip with a ten-stick start, inserting a magic thread for the rolling 2 pairs which I shall soon need.( 5 pairs at the beginning with 2 extra pairs added but very soon taken out again.) Be very careful not to let the new threads catch on the pins as you pull them into place.

The red line , the dominant edge will have the footside with two twists. The blue line the plain edge.

To make this less dominant edge as plain as possible I have decided to place holding pins but limit the normal footside.

Although colour is not an issue here, I am using Sandi Woods own method of working a plain edge.

This technique is described on page 9 of her Special Effects in Bobbin Lace and as far as I know is unique to her.   So far with my 90/2 gloss it is falling nicely into place.   As I re-read her directions again I am delighted to see that she also advocates placing the edge pair at 90° before you place the support pin. I love reading and re-reading other lacemakers hints and working notes. The trouble is when you are actually trying out one of their patterns there is so much to take in that the most obvious points can be lost.

The rolled edge has to be started as soon as the first tiny portion of the leaf has been worked as it needs to cross behind the passives when the footside changes sides.

It is too late for a picture today.   I am doing my best, it is quite a discipline to write as I work. There will have to be lots of editing later but I hope this is giving you an idea of how I work. This is not a big project so if something does not work well we can start all over again!!!!!!!

Sunday May 10th afternoon

A good day yesterday, with lots of lacemaking friends. Managed to progress a little and am now ready to begin the second leaf.

It is at this stage that you get a little anxious.   You know some parts will work but you are not sure about the rest. You just have to plod on.

Daisies in my grass they look lovely but will all be gone when the gardener comes on Tuesday.

26th May ,Today is another wet Tuesday the daisies are here again for this morning at least!

I just cannot believe that it is 26th May already !   Anyway here I  am taking another look at the tulip and beginning the 2nd leaf.................See you soon      Jean

Afternoon , the sun has come out on my daisy free grass and newly tidied patio area. A good view of the garage window!

At last back to lace, all quiet on the home front, gardener finished until next time.

I managed to begin the 2nd leaf this am with 5 pairs increasing to 7 for the first portion of the leaf and the beginning the rolled edge as before.

Roger Rabbit is making sure I get down to work.What a mess of threads! but they are all in order on knitting pins and two pairs are ready to incorporate as the leaf widens.

There has been a lot of discussion on Arachne  this week about bobbins. This set I like using very much they are cool to the touch and mainly smooth ( I am not so fond of using ones with ridges ) They are mainly made by Margaret Wall,

Geoff Mudge & Acorn Bobbins.

As before it is important keep the lines of the threads in line with the lines of growth on the leaf. The pinholes are placed closer together on the inner edge of the curve and wider apart on the outer edge.

In a few places I have reinforced this with exchanging workers and missing a pinhole on the inner edge.The curve has not been sufficient to warrant scrolling as yet.

!   Wednesday 27th May another very dull wet day and too dark for me. 

Looking back at yesterday’s small achievement I realise that I have not added enough threads as the leaf widens. Nothing for it but to undo a bit     !!!!!!

June 3rd I do seem to be neglecting you. But I have been busy getting the pomegranate booklets in order. Also the longer days have meant that I have been away from home quite a lot. It is Mid- Downs Lace Day on Saturday so I shall take the pillow there.

June 9th 10pm    I have worked most of the day and have finally finished the main tulip !!!!!!!!!!!!   The write up and the rest will have to come later, events are catching up on me at the moment

but I will keep in touch.

A Few more points to notice. As you work down to the place where the stem and leaves converge it is important to work out which edges will be uppermost when you finally take the pins out and turn the lace over.

Make sure that the edges are rolled by the right pairs!

I have even rolled the plain edge of the leaves to make sure of a smooth finish.                               I HOPE ROS LIKES IT !!!