Bobbin Lace Update

Doing a happy dance! Yippee! A finished piece of actual bobbin lace! Made by me!!!! This "sample" goes into my special notebook for bobbin lace. The four bobbins in the center were made by my teacher's husband and were a Christmas gift. The first ones ever I spangled and since they were my first bobbins I took apart an old necklace and spangled them all alike. I'm very pleased with my first piece and so is my teacher! Oh, there are mistakes but after all this is a learning piece and unless you are a lacer you probably wouldn't pick up on them.

Some more bobbins to be spangled ..... I think I have about two dozen more to do and I'll need most of them along with the ones I've completed to work my next project. I've purchased four dozen wooden bobbins which with the four specially made for me and the dozen plastic ones gives me a total of 32 pair of bobbins. A far cry from the sometimes hundreds of pairs needed for some patterns. I won't need to worry about having to use that many bobbins LOL

The bobbins I've finished. The dozen brown ones are plastic bobbins. The bobbins I've worked with were plastic so thought I'd order some for myself. The two pairs on the upper right were the original wood ones that came with the kit I purchased. My teacher's husband cut them off to the proper size and drilled holes for spangling. These bobbins will be used when I add gimp to my work. Gimp - heavier thread than the lacing thread and is used for accent .... I'm already beginning to learn and understand some of the "language" associated with bobbin laceing.

You may not be able to see the pattern pinned to this roll pillow ... another item borrowed from my teacher. She is making sure that I am familiar with all types of pillows so that when the time comes for me to branch out and lace on my own I'll have a good working knowledge of a variety of tools.

Here is an uncovered roll pillow that originally belonged to "Becky" a friend of mine when we were EGA members together many years ago. Becky is deceased and this pillow was given to Sandy one of the lacers in my class of three. She is of course much more advanced than I am. Sandy purchased a roll pillow and gave this one to me. I am so fortunate to have such wonderful friends that share out of their abundance. Now I just need to cover this and I'll have my own. I have to finish spangling my bobbins and fill them with thread before I can even think about covering this pillow.

As a beginner, my teacher suggested that I purchase a "One and Only" pillow. This pillow is made up of several different components so that if the squares are inserted it becomes a "cookie" pillow. The two rectangles may be substituted for one of the squares .... also making it a "cookie" pillow. A "cookie" pillow is the one most often used for bobbin lace. The cylinder makes this a roll pillow. The idea of the removeable squares/rectangles means that I can move portions of my lace very easily. These parts must also be covered before using and I've already purchased the fabric to cover both of my pillows. BUT the bobbins come first! I must be ready to begin my next piece when I go to class on Friday the 13th. Good thing I'm not superstitious!