My very long term project is a quilting pattern from the 1930's of Ann Orr's - a basket of flowers - which I'm working in Honiton lace - I found a while back that the old quilting patterns that were produced as prick & pounce iron-on patterns have the dot spacings exactly right for Honiton. I haven't a clue how many years it will take - mostly it is the ongoing project for Christine Hawken's weekend classes with the Bradwell Abbey Lacemakers in Milton Keynes (UK) in May and October each year.
On my travel pillow - bought at OIDFA last year, one of the Finnish ones from the stand next to us (I was on The Lace Guild's stand for the whole weekend) - definitely my favourite roller pillow, even if it did cost more than I would have paid in a non-captive environment! - is the torchon type edging for the lower edge of a full length petticoat I have cut out ready to make up once the lace is done. The pattern requires 1.5 yards of lace half an inch wide to go round the top edge, and 2.5 yards of 1 inch wide (or so) to go round the bottom. I couldn't find any commercial lace of similar pattern in the two widths, so I decided to make it instead. I used one of the first set of the Retournac patterns (it is the edging with the zig-zag trail of half and cloth stitch, spiders and a wavy half stitch headside) - adapted it to two different widths, and having got the narrow edging (the wavy edge, ground and foot) finished very quickly, am now about a yard into the wider edging (having taken one zig-zag trail, Dieppe ground on either side, and wavy edge) - one and a half yards to go, then its back to the sewing machine. As I will be demonstrating in a week's time, I decided to have something different to work on. Remember my Hearts and Flowers Snowflake in Lace (? two years ago) - this is a bookmark, similar shaped flowers but a 52 degree grid, with just as many loopy gimps - I must be mad! Flowers, leaf shaped leaves and stems (worked with gimps) possibly a little bit like the red bookmark at the back of the Australian Point Ground book I have (haven't looked at it to check, but it is at the back of my mind) - seems to be working OK so far. Then I look at the back of the renewal slip for the Canadian Lacemaker Gazette - eeks! Bev wants to know how many pillows I have - I'm sure to find something else... like the beginner strip of cloth stitch on one (for demos and exhibition purposes), the length of half stitch worked by a student who could only make it to one lesson (pity, she was doing very well).. and I will need to add up how many pillows are out on loan at the moment....! Add to that the thick book of crosswords, the quilted cushion panel, the petticoat (when the lace is done) and the fact that I am working (secretarial temping) on a part time basis again, besides my one day a week teaching... well, the housework will have to wait! -- Jane Partridge - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED]
