Well....Hello everyone!

Well, it has been a bit of a break from blogging but So much has been happening that i haven't had time for updating my blog. So my apologies to all.
First we'll start with a wee update about my sisters wedding.
I finished the lace hankie...you all do know the tradition of a hankie for a bride? She has the handmade lace for her wedding and when she has a baby, it is folded Just So and is a bonnet for the new baby...who then either uses it herself(if female) at her wedding, or if it's a boy, he gives it to his bride at theirs....sort of a built in heirloom for those who like tradition :-)
Here is a pic of the finished object...



And a pic of my sister and Father at the wedding(i did say it was a costume wedding, right?!)

I am still living in my two bedroom flat but as it stands, i will not be living alone much longer. I have started to rewrite this paragraph for the third time now, but find i don't really want to blog about this remarkable....magical relationship yet. Let it be sufficient to say, we adore and love one another, but have no need for co-dependancy...happily support one another in our outside relationships/hobbies....and are fabulous friends. I'm happy as a clam....more at a later date i'm sure, but this is my craft blog...not heavy, personal stuff blog :-)
This last pic is of some of my spinning i've been doing. (drying after being washed to set the twist and get rid of excess dye.


Sadly, the pretty light green/blues colored yarn is my first Complete failure.
I had spun up several skeins of it for my friend Sherries Birthday, but FELTED every bit of it during the washing process....it has So much dye and wouldn't stop bleeding....so i over did it and lost all of it. Better i do that than send her something that would stain her when she tried to use it. It was soysilk. Sigh. I think i'll stick to wool and normals kitty Floof for now(yep, i'm still working on a bobbin of kitty fur!!!)
Love to all...
jen

self portrait circa 1994

It's not lacey....but self piercing surely counts as craftsy right?
I have been negligent in my pursuit of my arts.....but it's simmering and stewing within me. I have such desires to create and never stop. I'm even on the verge of picking up my paintbox again :-)
First i want to finish getting my apartment into order, today, books and the bookshelves i have. It's hard to choose which books go in which room, and which will head back to storage until i buy more bookshelves.
Other people would worry about things like an entertainment center...not me. It's all about the books!
here's the pic and happy september to all
love jen

A suprise :-)

When i checked the mail today i found a lovely suprise. My friend in Seattle, Gail, sent me a letter. It was a little bit bulky for a letter, and when i opened it up i found this Gorgeous antique doily. (i'll wash it and iron it flat later on...but for now, pictures!!!)
Here is all of the doily i could fit on the scanner...

I believe it is chemical lace, but for sure, it is a manufactured lace, however, this is the finest manufactured lace i have in my collection. It looks like they were trying to imitate figural handmade lace, possibly needlelace. (i think needlelace as i have seen some Glorious figural pieces from several hundred years ago, and this reminds me of them, especially the mermaids)
My lace identification and history books are all in storage at the moment, but when we are reunited...i will try to pin down wether this is indeed chemical lace.(Or, transversly, i could bring it along to the next Lace Makers Of Puget Sound meeting....lots of experts there:-)

A closer look at the design...


To make the day even brighter, my assessment of my sample poppy was Very positive, and i've the green light to carry on with the next piece. I will start writing down the length of time i sit and work on a piece to give you all a better idea of what Honiton lace is about.

love jen

It's About Time!

Yes indeed...here i've been busy at work with the madness that is American retail around a holiday(the Fourth Of July) and i've not posted anything in a month! So here we have a finished lace sample (FINALLY!!!)

This is Honiton lace, a Poppy flower sample, sepals and stem in whole stitch, top petals are half stitch with coarse thread crossings. Leadworks fill the sepals and pin and a stitch is the filling in the center. By no means a Finished piece of Lace, but definately a finished Sample of lace :-)
I'm quite pleased to be working onward again with the Honiton lace. I've also tatted enough of the edging for two sides of my sisters hankie.
Outside of these two minor accomplishments, i've just been working and playing with my delightful kittens, who are now a year old! Time flies.... oh, yes...and Sudoku. After spending the last year or so thinking people who did it were nuts(i Really Really do not get along with numbers :-( I picked up a book of the strange little number puzzles yesterday and have finished the first 20 puzzles(i had to spend some time at the doctors today...i should have been tatting...) I find it remarkable easy and even enjoyable, it's as if you are spelling a 9 character long word, over and over. (think me a simpleton if you must, but i do have a mathmatics hang up, while in elementary school in Louisiana i had a teacher tell me that mathmatics and computers were for boys and housekeeping and childrearing were for girls when i asked why we girls got to play outside when the boys played on the few computers the school had) Lovely, eh?
Enough, i have to get ready for work in the morning!
love jen

Love is....

I recall my Mother enjoying those little comics when i was a child, and i always thought them sweet.
Nothing could define love quite like the way young Normal made me feel yesterday, he jumped onto my lap, then wanted to be cuddled close. After 20 minutes of this, i decided to see if i could photograph this display of affection (which lasted an hour)
And here we are...


And me holding him, looking a little creepy...


No lace images, but i did finish the daisy with pearl edging sample and now get to begin a Poppy sample, once that is done, i'm on to the next unit and Fillings!!! (AARRGGHHH, which means leadworks as well) I still have yet to begin a 'real' project on Maurice, (yarn that is intended for something) as i can't decide. I Have achieved a foot of edging for my sister, which is not nearly enough, i know...but i just need to sit still with the tatting shuttles long enough to add substantial length to that. Well, work comes in the middle of the night tomorrow, so i had better run, i just had to share the sweet kitty pictures.
love jen

Meet Maurice...

Here is Maurice and Normal.
Sharon from www.bubbiesfarm.com is an amazing fiber artisan, and shepard?- She has many fiber animals, sheep,goats and rabbits. She invited me over for the evening to try out all of the Kromski wheels, i tried the ones i had been thinking about purchasing, and the Sonata, which had not crossed my mind to purchase...and guess who came home with me? The Sonata, who informed me that his name is Maurice. He is stained a beautiful Walnut, and my flash washed that tone out in the next pictures, but you get the idea of the shape...which folds into a compact little travel bag so efficiently(it's kind of wierd, really)
Well, it has a poly drive band, which i was suprised to find i really like. I was getting a feel for the tension with the last of my lime green roving. Can't wait for my first big project on this, as the bobbins hold 4 ounces(the ashfords only hold 2)
Here is the other pic- i shall take more later :-), i'm beat, yet need to get things done before crashing!
Love to all...jen

Moving along...

I turned in my little Honiton flower for assessment, it is 1.5inches tall and also 1.5inches from leaf tip to tip cute little guy, but i did make mistakes in the working. I like that Judith lets me know All of the mistakes, even if they are trivial, it gives me something to strive toward, and at least lets me know how to look at the work. I think i ended up with a mild case of eye strain last night, so intent on finishing the little guy was i!
In fact, i completely forgot to tell Sherry i received the mug i purchased from her in the mail yesterday, it's Fabulous, little tatted flowers pressed into the clay all around. So, Thank You Sherry for being a wildly talented lady, i get my pottery And tatting fix all at once! (well i'll get to add to that- my favorite beverage of choice as well!)

Speaking of tatting fixes, here it the edging i began working on at the length of service awards dinner tuesday night. Becky, let me know if you like it!!! It's for your Wedding!!!!( i was thinking lace handkerchief, but if you want to edge something else that's fine as well!)

Here is my dead gerbera daisy one week after picking it.


And that is all for tonight, i'm utterly exhausted and should hit the hay, as work comes Awfully early tomorrow.
Love to all,
jen

Lace Lesson Update

Well i finished one more Honiton sample and graduated on to working some flower shaped samples! I am Sooo happy about that, the first piece is daisy like in shape and following are some pictures taken in the middle of working it, the fun part will be the leaves, as i am to fill them as i see fit!!!

Oh, first is the required picture of Normal, when he gives up on my paying enough attention to playing fetch he'll lay on the boxes of (er...my) books stacked next to the computer area for a snooze. When i'm at the pillow he's either half on my lap or right next to me under my throw.

He doesn't look relaxed at all....does he?

lace and a close up...

So here we are, it feels so lovely to be back on track without my hand giving me fits, i will simply never take the use of my hands for granted again.
I still can't decide what tatting to do for my sister....i should have enough time to get something lovely done for her, but what? Boutonnieres made of little lace roses?....Possibly a simple hankie edging, ah, but to be retired and have the time to see all of these ideas to fruition. Determination, that and dedication will see something accomplished of note(oh, i hope!)
Well, Happy Mothers day out there to all my Mother friends, be your children human or animal(or both!)
Love to all
jen

WooHoo, another new family member!

Here we have the latest addition to my handcrafts family...

and another few shots...

A TREADLE, yes, a treadle, i can sew by the power of my own feet now :-)

The wood work is in fab condition...not mint, but that's okay.

Yet another gorgeous Singer, i've the serial number, so will check on the "birth date" momentarily.

One of the selling points for me, the decals are of delightful Sphinxes, this one is in terrific shape, and i'm pleased that as i looked the machine over, it was once a workhorse for someone. The base of the machine is worn and pitted from use, and i Like that. I want to know that years past another woman (or possibly a man) used this tool(be it sewing or lace) and used it well.
Well....on the bobbin case cover ther is a list of patents for the machine, the one that tickles my fancy is sept. 22 1888 (well...i was born in '74, but that's my birthday!) and according to this site http://www.ismacs.net/Singer/singerdates.html
my machine is Definately pre-1900 as there are no letters in it's serial number.
Hmmm, shouldn't refer to it as an It now,that seems rude. We'll call her Judith. My traditional wheel is now called Madeline, and the Traveller is Myra.
So there we have it(oooh, i need to visit with the featherweight again and see what she's named?!)
I must admit, i paid relativaly little for this machine, considering the condition. The couple that sold her to me inherited it some 26 years ago and never even pushed on the treadle to see if it moved! So she comes with a one family history (having been his mothers and grandmothers)
http://www.ismacs.net/home.html
the link above is where i just spent the last 30 or so minutes, looking around at all sorts of interesting things about antique sewing machines.
I think i will be happy with the machines i have, one from the late 1800s, one from the 30s and one from either the 50s or 60s(it has a cabinet and is currently in storage, otherwise i would know the date:-) All of them are singers.
(just wait, in a few years i will decide i NEED a modern machine with bells and whistles. golly, i hope not! I'm still wanting a Kromski spinning wheel, and after that i'll be back to my looking for antique lace bobbins.
Okay, this was a super long post, so toodles
love to all,
jenn

Tat Chat heart

More lace, well...on a small scale.
Here is the Tat Chat heart i tatted to adorn the card i shall give my friend tomorrow.
The scan is wierd and the colors look strange. Hmm...

I have a lot to do before bed yet, so toodles.
love jen

Wedding Bells

Well, i completed the wedding bell ornament, designed by the delightful Terry McGuffin, a few days back. When my sister visited and checked out the bell, she informed me i'd best get cracking on making her one for her upcoming wedding. Yes, indeed. That is how my baby sister told me she plans to wed. Soon.
I'm a little annoyed, i had wanted the time to make a honiton lace handkerchief for her, at least one motif ladden corner! She'll get her bell, possibly a pair. I'll have to see what i can do for a handkerchief, i could tat one facter than work it in Honiton lace, i could do a simple torchon edging, but i promised Judith i'd only work Honiton until i'm through with the course. Sigh.

Here's Debs bell taken with a flash, poor picture i know, and i should have straightened out all of the lace and not just the front.

Here's a close up, no flash.
The pattern is a bit fiddly to work, but at the same time, a lovely progression of the rounds with hardly any 'cut and tying' I need to find more seed beads with center holes large enough to take a tiny crochet hook and thread through them.

The boys on their favorite box, look at those tails! Night and day those kittens are.
I have another post to put up at my live journal about music and then.....to my Honiton pillow. If i get enough worked, i shall do some spinning today as well as pick out a new tatting piece to work on.
love to all
jen

Spokane Tatting Workshop

The workshop was this weekend, and it was darn near a 7 hour drive in. Saw nothing of the scenery going there(we arrived at 3 am friday) but here is what i saw going home....



As you can imagine, some beautiful scenery on the way home!
I took some pictures at the Workshop of the laces on display, but shall not post them, as i have not asked the makers permission- trust me though....Beautiful work!The wonderful Shuttlebirds Tatting Guild really did an amazing job, between the teachers and classes offered,the vendors, the door prizes and the food- All was fantastic. Two days of frenetic energy as we were able to put faces to internet posts, see old friends and build new friendships. All while learning wonderful new techniques, and new ideas for uses of the standbys. Lace was everywhere, and we were given the most adorable little table decorations(i'll need to photograph mine) little flowerpots with tatted lace flowers inside! I was able to maintain a tight grip on my pocketbook, as i really do have so much already in the way of threads and shuttles...books as well. I indulged myself with a selection of threads made in Romania(i'm a sucker for something new!)Also purchased were two books for the classes i took, and a water buffalo horn shuttle. (was busy lusting after the larger engraved one, with Celtic knotwork, but decided on a smaller plain shuttle as i prefer small shuttles to tat with) Oh, and a dozen glass bell ornaments to cover in tatting and beads. I'm a thrid of the way done with the first ornament, which will be a gift for a friend who is getting married :-) I do hope she likes it!
All i can say is if you have the opportunity to attend Workshops,conferences or lace group/guild meetings- DO IT!!! and do it often. Lacemakers are the most terrific of all communities, there are no tatting police, not one person felt snubbed because they did something the 'wrong' way....it was a weekend filled with smiles and hugs.
I was able to meet my MySpace tatting friend Sherry finally, and after our year of online aquaintance we felt like long lost friends:-) I was So impressed by her work, she is definately Not daunted by large tatting projects!
So i'd best be off, we need fresh veggies and i want to get back home so i can work on that wedding present!
Love to all....
And yes, my boys were Showered with attention when i got in last night, look at the super long fur on Normal. (it explains why Jerry calls him fluffy...)

UFOs and Misc....

Here are my tatting shuttles...although,....i do have another ceramic one coming in the mail from Sherry it has a pin up girl on it and i'm stoked to add it to my collection!!! (pictures upon arrival!)

Well this truely fits the UFO description. Started it last spring, haven't worked on it since! Ack, it is meant to be a queen sized quilt,a kindof oxymoron of a quilt though, It's a pieced block 'crazy' quilt. And we have Normal modeling it and the couch for us.

Here is the big project i have on the go...that i am more or less steadily working on, i'm spinning the wool for the scarf, and have knitted up 3 skeins of my yarn, and have a 4rth on the needles. I may have enough to finish it with the 5th skein on the spinning wheel!

Butterflies...Finished butterflies! however i need to make more of them(for my momma!)the bottom right butterfly is an original design from my friend Sherry(yep, the ceramic tatting shuttle goddess!)
I need to start on my tatting homework for the Spokane Tatting Workshop in April. So, if i have enough time tonight after noodling on the net and getting ready for work tomorrow, maybe i'll have a chance to start. (the workshop is one of the reasons i have the pic of the massed group of tatting shuttles, looking at the collection to determine which will be good for the Workshop!)
Oooooh. my Honiton studies. Neglected. painfuly and dreadfully so. I need to wind my bobbins and prepare my pillow for the next lesson(whic i should have done last week :-( work has been tough on my hand- so that's my story!
love jenn

Lazy Friday

Well, i realized that i had not given proper credit here to my lace teacher, and felt i should list her website in case anyone else wished to take part in a distance course for either Honiton, or Torchon Bobbin lace. Click on the link under shopping for International Lace Resources, as that's the place to go to check it out, or enroll. I can honestly say, even though i have not yet completed the course, due to Judiths teaching skills my lace has Drastically improved. And we've never even met in person!
Two nights ago i made my first Navajo plied skein of yarn...Lots of fun!
I've also finished another sample of lace, but decided to not post every class assignment, just when i'm particularly proud of myself.
I have spent many hours today downloading CDs and individual songs from CDs into my computer(and MP3 player) It amazes me, how much room all of this music takes up. Heck, at least they're not 8 tracks....i bet that would have eaten up a Lot more room than my CD collection!
Have a lovely weekend
love jenn

Honiton Sample!!!!

I Just finished the Honiton sample. Here we have a sprig with 2 leaves worked with central divisions and swing pins in size 170 thread. I'm tickled pink, i was afraid i would be completely lost, as it's been over a month since i worked on my lace:-)
On to the next Unit!!!!

Finally- LACE!

Tonight i Finally began the Honiton Motif with swing pins(this shall be my first attempt at them!) A little sprig with two leaves with divisions and many sewings. No pics yet, but as more is done on the first leaf i'll take an in progress picture.
Oh, joy. oh joy!
I love lace!

The 'New' Spinning Wheel

Here it is, i believe it is an Ashford, possibly from the '70s.(previous owner had it 20 years, and she thought it was old when she bought it. I have placed an order to replace several missing pieces, and with this style of wheel- Traditional style(the other wheel i have is called a castle style) you need a lazy kate to hold the bobbins of single ply yarn so you can ply two or three strands together depending on the size/type of yarn you are after. (oops, got carried away there, i also had to order a lazy kate!)I'm considering buying a lace flyer for this wheel, if it performs well with the adjustments i'm making for it(the flyer set up is near 200$) So i would eventually be able to spin super fine lace weight :-)

The boys helping to model the new wheel.

here is another skein and the start of a bobbin of single wool,mohair and firestar, in a pretty lavender for the shawl i'm knitting. It will take Many skeins to complete i'm sure!
I very happily placed orders for the Denise knits knitting needle set(on recommendation of a dear, and quite talented friend) along with Elizabeth Zimmermans knitters workshop book, and two Cat Bordhi books on knitting. Hey- i'll have to do Something with all of this yarn!
Since i will be missing the Lace Guilds meeting tomorrow, i am dedicating my day to the next Honiton piece. I keep saying this and shying away from doing it. Before bed tonight, i look for a butterfly pattern for the exchange:-)
Goodnight all,
love jen

Saturdays Post...

Well, i returned to work on Monday wheich meant a cessation of crafting...and healing. By thursday my hand was so swollen i was put back on leave for another two weeks. It took until friday for the swelling to receed enough to continue spinning. And here is what i did.

It's a sweet merino, wool and firestar blend.

And the finished skein, i hae plenty more to spin, as i'm thinking a triangle(simple) shawl would be sweet with this spring coloured yarn.

Here's my hand, pre- work induced swelling(the ring has been off since monday afternoon!)
In other crafty news, the search to adapt my british Featherweight sewing machine is still on. No local sewing repair places want to mess with it. So i ordered a new plug assembly from brittain, which will hopefully fit the current converter i ordered. I found a fellow who refurbishes featherweights online, but to completely overhaul the motor from british to american electrical systems will cost about 200$.
So, i'll wait and see if the adapter will work first.(it's such a pretty machine!)
As the swelling receeds in my hand, the Dr. told me to carry on with my handcrafts as therapy. So i'll be back to my lace pillow within a few days, and plans for maille jewelry as well...and a few ideas for orifice hooks for spinning(thy're made of wire)
So, lots of plans...and not much time before i return to work- Again so,
Goodnight all
~jenn

Yet again....not lace related!

Well, if you know me all handwork stopped january 18th, for a minor hand surgery, i've finally healed enough to begin craft work again.....but not so that i wanted to jump into my Honiton course before working more of the scar tissue loose in my hand. So, here we have what i have accomplished in the last few days. Tuesday i took a 45 minute lesson on spinning, which i loved, so following are pictures of what i did when i got home(and more yarn i spun today as well.....remember, there Is a learning curve, so it's 'novelty yarn' as there are slubs in it:-)

The borrowed Ashford traveller, st, that my mom loaned to me.

The newly plied yarn, still on the bobbin.

The yarn on the niddy noddy(that i need to finish...think i'll leave that to jerry!)

and...finally, the two skeins of yarn, ready to knit into a silly scarf. I've decided to call it my doctor scarf, partly as the only reason i became interested in spinning was due to my surgery, and the fact it will be a long skinny scarf a la Dr. Who, and the colors and silliness of the yarn remind me of Dr. Suess. (i'll need to make more yarn to finish the scarf, which is good as i've plenty of different colors of green roving :-)
Oh, and my return to jewelry making- Finally!


So, tomorrow i shall be back to my lace pillow, at long last!
G'night all, love jen

A New Toy!

Nermal and Normal decide the strange new box is okay.

Normal decides to investigate deeper.

Front view of the new, very dusty featherweight.

A back view of the machine.

The singularly most beautiful aspect of this machine, the faceplate.
It's in gorgeous condition, i figure it hasn't been used since 1956, as that is the date of the journey from the UK to the US on the baggage tag(shame on me, i meant to scan a picture of that in!) The motor is original, British, so cannot be run here with out converting the amps. So it will be taking a trip to the sewing machine doctor for cleaning and maintenance, and we'll see if we can bring it back to life with a converter.(I hope it could be that simple!)
Oh, almost forgot to mention the important stuff. This is a singer Featherweight sewing machine, made from the 1920 thru the 1950s. Due to the high decoration on the faceplate, this machine dates to the twenties (give or take....i haven't had it long enough to thoroughly research it) These machines are adored by quilters, as they are workhorses. Weighing only 11 pounds makes them perfect to take to quilting bees, or today's sewing classes. Interestingly, the machines only do straight stitch, so the highly decorative stitcher will need a second machine for the free form machine embroidery, if you want width on your stitching.

This machine doesn't have a lot to do with lace......but it's beautiful and i still can't work on my lace until my hand heals a little more, so why not!
Happy Lacing,
Jencie