sparklingspangles
Lace inspiration
Lots of lace and a little knitting
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i've been working on a depiction of a bufflehead in bobbin lace lately. i had some ambitious ideas about what sort of effects i would be able to create. like i'm still proud of what i've done but it doesn't look as cool as i had hoped
this is the reference image:
Picture credit: Mick Thompson
and this is what i have made so far:
i chose rose ground for the wings bc it's a cool looking stitch. problem is, it makes the wings appear spotted, like a loon. i know what stitch to use to make a loon body now though, so that's a positive. originally, i intended to just do cloth stitch all in black to create a solid mass and rose ground for the white body. i changed my mind bc i thought it was too simple and boring. should have followed the plan. oh well
the reflection of the duck in the water i did using cloth stitch; the workers (running vertically) are blue and the passives (horizontally) white. i did this to try to mimic how the rings of tiny waves kind of break up the reflection and create lateral lines in the photo. this might have worked better if i did a far closer weave (idk if there's a proper term for that). this part was supposed to go farther down the duck's body, but the workers broke :( and i had to undo a couple rows to get enough slack to make a knot :(. overall, i'm okay with how this looks, though
and the head. one of the most striking elements of the duck in the photo is its iridescent head. i'm using black workers and colorful passives to try to recreate this. the issue i have with it so far is how solid it is compared to the rose ground of the back. it makes the back seem even more spotty. i'm trying to reserve judgement on how the head looks until i've finished it. hopefully the white patch on the head will make it look more bufflehead-y than loon-y. also, i think i'll try a tally to depict the eye, which i've never done before. i've heard tallies can be difficult to tension, so it's so good i'm doing one for the first time as part of a large project lmao
another problem i've created for myself is that i'm using polyester thread. i heard i can block it by steaming it. hopefully that will hold the shape. i've added an element of danger to this project by not testing this on a smaller piece first
i still have to finish the head, do the body (idk why i left the middle piece until last), and decide if i should fill in the water or leave it empty. i'm treating this an as experiment and a learning experience. my goal is to create a bunch of imperfect bobbin lace, rather than getting stuck on one piece
i think i might make a loon next, since the rose ground seems to work so well. my lace society encourages members to enter at least one lace piece in a state or county fair each year, and i think a loon might be popular among potential judges. since it's for competition, i'll actually have to plan that one out impeccably
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Actually so pleased with this you can see how I got better throughout the piece but I think it turned out pretty well
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✨It is done✨
(well, almost)
Now I need to find the best fabric and composition to sew them on because as fun as it is to play with them as if they were dolls, they are a bit fragile for that
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#bobbin lace#torchon#this is a really smart way to use edgings#i need to do this more#love the use of colours
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Forcing myself to finish some of my UFOs. Here's the finished products from a lace making class I took 2 years ago! 🫣 I hope you don't see the glaring errors!
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Playing the game of will my brain let me fixate on one thing for long enough to finish that said thing in time or not. (Don't look at it too close. There are definitely mistakes there)
#bobbin lace#i have seen people talk about background colour before and thought nothing of it#but the white on white here!#i did not even see the lace at first#good luck op
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Long time no see! Still doing this hell thing that consists mostly just almonds/leaves...
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I still have to deal with the ends, but this piece came out much better than the first one did.
Torchon ground with scallop headside, which I'm going to use to trim the cuffs on my 18th c shift.
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my first bobbin lace class was today!!!!
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If you were by any chance wondering how was my bobbining and lacing going, let me tell you, I was suffering.
In my classes, we started making leaves (not sure of the correct English terminology) and let me tell you, just as in the nature not a single two leaves are identical.
This heart we made screams: It's 2003, I am 12, listening to Avril Lavigne and feeling absolutely badass
(all mistakes were therefore intentional and a design choice. Also I forgot to take a pic of the heart unpinned)
Aditionally, as out goverment decided to be a little bit silly (read: it's a nightmare) and claiming the stuff like our culture is being destroyed by the evil western influences, my only reaction was of course deciding I need to make the absolutely most depraved filthiest thing with our beloved traditional craft
(I didn't draw them myself as I am not that good, i digged from archives on lacedesign.cz some pictures, smashed them together, replaced one head and edited the colours of the original pictures so it is useable as a template. I did it in MS Word, don't ask)
I am far unskilled for this. I am guessing how to proceed and I am afraid there will be a monstrosity when I unpin it. Truly desecrating the culture I guess. (I know the og designer was Czech not Slovak, just to add an extra layer of fun)
Anyway, this is the first lady in progress
(actually I have already made a little bit of the skirt now but also forgot to take a picture and I don't want to wait until I come back home)
Maybe I don't know what I am doing but it allows me to be spiteful, so it's fun
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first russian lace piece off the pillow!
tbh i thought the filling would never end but i definitely improved as i went
lil ace black sheep seems scared though, could use some comfort.... and perhaps a 4th leg
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latest piece! I haven't posted in a while because I honestly found this super boring to make and let it sit on the pins for months while I tried to decide whether to make more or just cut it short. now I've given up I'm gonna go work on some new skills instead
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There are a couple mistakes in this, but I'm still happy with it
Generally with torchon I'm used to working on a diagonal, but with this one I'm more working left to right across the motifs - trails outside the left spider, middle trails, outside right spider, then do the spiders, finish the trails, then get set up for the outside trails and middle spider.
It doesn't look like much, but I'm ready for my third middle spider now. Working with finer thread takes a lot longer. There are 9 middle spiders in total
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Bookmark in cloth stitch
For my first attempt at bobbin lace in years, I'm actually quite happy.
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Doing a very loose cloth stitch to get myself back into the swing of bobbin lace, although the pegs are much harder to work than actual bobbins. Good thing I have new (old) bobbins coming next week!
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!!! I'm so pleased with it, mistakes and all. I still have to take care of all the loose ends, then make the second piece, and then I will finally have a period-appropriate lace trim for my shift cuffs!
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I'm struggling a bit with this pattern, but I'm making fewer errors with each repeat. Not sure if this piece will be usable in the end, but i sure am learning!
Also, I'm really enjoying my new pincushion. It's way easier to work with my pins attached to the pillow, instead of loose in a tupper on the desk.
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