I’m so excited to say I finally managed to find a copy of the beautiful Furness Tatting Designs number 2 booklet from New Zealand to Share with you! This booklet contains many stunning designs including the bride’s halo shown on the cover, and a really nice baby bonnet that would be a very nice piece for a doll collector or christening outfit.
Check out the full list of tatting booklets available for Furness Tatting Designs numbers 1 and 3.
Now if I could just find number 4…
I’m a bit allover the place with my needlework projects at the moment so I thought I’d give a quick pictorial update as to what I’ve been up to. My keyboard is also dying, which is beginning to make typing difficult (half the top row of keys won’t work and the shift and control keys seem to have a life of their own!)
I received this in the mail this week (I love the ring-only edging on the cover):
and have decided to use this motif out of it for the doily I wanted to make, instead of the one from Modern Priscilla which I had decided on before. I prefer this one because it’s a bit more complex than the one I was originally going to use, which will make it a bit more challenging.
I’ve been working hairpin lace samples for a couple of articles, plus about half of the first strip for my shawl (the white thing at the top)
I’ve been learning to use the Singercraft tool to make pile fabrics
and finally, I started a piece of teneriffe lace on my Koppo cushion
The cream thread is size 40 and the “random kingfisher” is size 20. If anyone knows where I can find more random kingfisher in any size thread please let me know! I bought one ball at an op shop so it’s probably vintage but it’s my favourite colour and I’d like to stock up on some more.
No, I’m not trying to trick you! I couldn’t resist the shiny pretty sparkly photos on the online tatting class website so I bought some birch creative button forms when I went to Spotlight yesterday and I made one. Since I would never wear anything this outrageous I thought it would make a nice decoration for the top of the box when I wrap up the coverlet*.
Oh, and that thing that it’s sewn to? A suffolk puff. You can’t get away from them around here lately!
*Speaking of which, I had better get back to sewing it together.
I’m still sewing the suffolk puff/yoyo coverlet together, enjoying my Farscape marathon and taking breaks with a little hairpin lace experimentation 🙂
After seeing pictures of hairpin lace fringe forks in The Young Ladies Journal (downloadable from Google.com) I thought I’d have a go and see if I could find the best way to make fringe and I think I came up with a nice technique. Here’s what a traditional fringe and fork would have looked like (from the Young Ladies Journal):
so I set my Clover loom up like this to imitate the traditional fork:
Here are the fringes I came up with.
Top: 1 double crochet (US single crochet) worked in the regular way (through the stitch) and then the short loops were chained together as a cable edge. I tied some loops in a knot, then snipped the ends and fluffed out the fringe for another look. I don’t like this fringe as I find the header to be all floppy and unattractive.
Middle: This is the technique I like for a plain fringe. I worked one double crochet per row again, but instead of working through the middle of the loop, I worked under both threads, trapping the whole loop within the stitch. You do have to put a thread through the small loops when you take it off the loom or they will threaten to undo. I threaded the small loops like a cable edge on this sample again. This made a nice tidy and firm header.
Bottom: The same as the middle sample but worked with two novelty yarns held together and a larger crochet hook. The purple yarn shrank when I soaked it overnight. I would have preferred if they had remained the same length. Now I guess I should try some fancier fringes like the ones in the Victorian needlework books! I will be documenting these techniques properly by adding a new section on hairpin lace to the website. Eventually…
I’ve also decided on a motif for my next tatting project!
It’s from the Priscilla Tatting Book #1 and I think I’ll make it in size 20, blue thread. I don’t have much blue size 20 thread left so I’m going to see what they have at the needlework store on Thursday. Now, back to sewing all those suffolk puffs together!
