when you cross Mapquest with Pittsburgh?? Hello All! Well--you get "lost" of course! The Pittsburgh Lace Group sponsored a rosa libra workshop with Robin over the weekend & getting there was a challenge. I left Erie just after 2pm on Friday during a monsoon--driving rain, gusty winds & a large fiberglass boat lying on its side in one of the southbound lanes of I-79 (no kidding!!). I don't think that anyone from Mapquest has ever been to Pittsburgh! Dazed & confused, I ended up stopping at a Sunoco & 2 different pizza shops to get directions at various point along the way. I finally arrived at my hostess' house at 5:45 & she became the co-pilot, directing me to the class venue for our welcoming pizza party. Later that evening, I got to spend time with Dorothy, looking over her lovely lace collection, mostly Idrija (sp?). Saturday morning, there was a package of 2 pair of hand crafted Slovenian bobbins on my placemat! I can hardly wait to "test drive" them & I plan to take them to the Slovak Store in Grove City next time I do a demo there. I turns out that Dorothy's mother emigrated from eastern Europe (with her husband & 2 children!) & brought her pillow & bobbins with her. She remembers watching her mother make various pieces with only the barest of circular or oval shapes drawn on paper. Dorothy didn't learn lace as a child per se, but recognized some elements when she took lace lessons after she retired. BTW--Dorothy is a couple weeks shy of 92!! She has a very interesting roller pillow, modeled after a Swedish design (her 1st teacher was Swedish). It is a huge oval, with a little apron that sticks out in front & the roller is at least 12" wide if not more. For her daughter's wedding, she made a lace crown (6-8" tall) & 4 yards of narrower lace for the satin dress that she sewed. It's no wonder the PLG members call her their "treasure"! The rosa libra class was an eye opener for me. I had never worked with "bundles" before! Nor had I worked with "magic thread"! I made a clever lit! tle drag onfly with tatting cotton & Madeira astro (I love this metallic!) while the more experienced gals worked on daffodils & orchids. I liked the 3-dimensional aspect of this lace & the open/airy feeling of half stitch really stands out. Robin gave me some good tips on working the sewings & showed me how to attach seed beads without gnashing my teeth! I plan to applique the little guy on a crazy quilt & make an extra one for a friend. While I was playing with lace in Pittsburgh, the Stitchery Showcase was on exhibit in Akron at Stan Hywet, during Ohio Mart. A friend in Erie very kindly carried my two entries to Akron the previous weekend when I helped at the quilt guild booth at Chautauqua. I'm pleased to report that I received a 2nd place ribbon on each piece! I used a family hankie collection (4 generations) to make a jacket. My English fireside footstool was pieced in silk dupioni using an online Dresden plate pattern & topped with a bias-cut silk charmeuse rose. Both pieces had lace--but none that I made. This will be corrected in future efforts!! Several friends in my old guild (Canton, OH EGA) received 1st place, Judge's Choice, 3rd place & honorable mention ribbons as well. Needless to say, there was lots of hooting & hollering! Sincerely, Susan, still over the moon in Erie PA
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