I made a Beds fan in color....in fact, it has 13 different shades of color. I did a lot of planning before making the fan to decide where and how I used each color.
The one thing that was different from normal Beds work was the trail intersections. I had trails with different colors so they could not combine and redivide the way Beds trails usually do because I had to keep the colors separated. I had some intersections where I had to just work one trail across it, then work the other trail over the top of the first one and make a couple sewings to connect them. Not true Beds tradition but necessary to the color line. Also, I have to admit to mixing silk and cotton in this fan in order to get the color shades I wanted. Most of it is Guiterman's silk but a shade or two were cotton plus there are a few leaves made with DMC embroidery thread. I couldn't find the right colors in anything else. Since I never expect this fan to be washed, at least in my life time, I'm not worried about the mixing of threads. It was made for fun, for the challenge, and satisfaction of a unique project completed. Since I don't have a picture to show you, and don't have the computer expertise to generate one, I'll give a description. It's the Beds fan from Louise Colgan's Fan Book. The fan was made in shades of tan/brown with very dark brown on the lower edge of the curve and gradually changing to ecru on the top edge of the curve (nine color shades). The middle part of the pattern has three trails that snake their way back and forth across the width, constantly intersecting. Two trails started in the bottom corner and were done in medium brown. The third trail started in the top corner and was done in ecru. Where the two brown trails intersected, I could use the traditional Beds crossing, but the ecru trail had to go over or under the brown. It was varied so that it looks like the trails weave in and out of each other. The very center of the pattern has a detail made with nine leaves. For a color spot, these leaves were made with four shades of gold/rust/peach. These were the bits made with embroidery thread. The fan sticks were made by Aebi. The outside sticks were from a wood burl with shades of brown/tan. It was the sticks that started the whole thing in those colors. I still remember that, with all the color changes, I had to wind 165 pairs of bobbins. To separate the shades since many of them were very close in color, I sorted my midlands bobbins in identifyable piles by color, maker, design, or style. There were black bobbins, flower bobbins, Margaret Wall painted bobbins, plain white bobbins, spiral bobbins, animal bobbins, etc. Each set was kept in a separate plastic baggie with a code number for the color and notation of the type of bobbin. It would have been much simpler to have made the whole thing in one color, as the pattern intended. I spent as much time planning and preparing as I did in actual execution of the lace. As you can tell, I'm not a strict traditionalist. If the lace item is not intended to be worn and washed, I use whatever thread available that fits my color and size requirements. Alice in Oregon .. with two days of warm and sun before the next storm front. - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]
