Very Short Update!

For some time now ..... well, really more than 10 years .... I have wanted to learn Bobbin Lace and so on a post a few months back I posted a "put together kit" to help me get started. I still haven't started because I was uncomfortable with the "set up" using a cardboard easel/pillow. A pillow is the correct term for the base on which the bobbin lace is worked. So I put out an appeal for help on the HBT (Here-Be-Tatters) group. One of the members, Mark, aka Tatman pointed me to his site, www.tat-man.net, for instructions on making a cookie pillow. Here is my cookie pillow. Mark suggested a 24 inch circle of plywood or masonite board ...... a dear friend of mine who used to cater weddings gave me a piece of masonite that measures 22.5" ..... I figured this was a perfect size for me. The padding is made up of circles cut from a 100% wool blanket ... I followed Mark's instructions very carefully and I am most pleased with my "cookie". He also had info to make bobbins but for the time being I'm using the bobbins that came with "the kit". Since purchasing "the kit" I've learn it is far from the best but I'm able to salvage the bobbins at least for the time being and "the kit" was on sale for half price so I'm not out a huge amount.

Here is a close-up of the bobbins. Now, retiring list mom, Sue, of HBT also had a good bit of advice for me. She suggested I use only four bobbins (my book tells me to use quite a few more which was causing some confusion) and to use two different color threads of a larger size than what is usually used for bobbin lace. This made perfectly good sense to me as I prefer using two different colors of thread in a larger size when I teach begging tatters. So here I've wrapped my bobbins with two shades of green in a #12 perle cotton. If that doesn't work too well then I'll try two different colors of #30 crochet thread. So, I think now I'm actually ready to start my first lesson .... wish me luck!

One of the members of the HBT group posted a photo where she had added tatting motifs to a pair of gloves and brought back a memory of one of the meeting workshops of EGA when I was a member eons ago. We took a garden glove and embellished it with one of our favorite techniques - and as you can see, tatting is what I used - then filled it with gravel or sand .... I chose gravel from my driveway and after sewing the cuff I now had a weight for my needlepoint frame. I could lean my frame against a table, drape the "weight" across the top and work to my heart's content. This made an excellent substitute for a standing frame and left both hands free for stitching.

Tomorrow I will (hopefully) actually begin my first attempt at Bobbin Lace. See ya when I make something!