Monday, June 7, 2010

Weekend class - great class, little to show

This weekend I took a 2-day class in needlelace presented by Doreen Holmes and sponsored by the Queen City Sampler Guild.  The project is a really pretty little needlelace pinkeep, with a different selection of patterns on each side.  Here's a photo of one side of the finished project:


And here's what I have completed at the end of two days of class. Not too impressive to look at given the number of hours spent on it!  Given the big reticello project I completed last year, I was quite comfortable with the Aemilia Ars square in the lower left hand corner, which uses exactly the same techniques.  And I'm happy with that part of the work completed so far.


But the reason I was really excited to take the course was to learn how to stitch stitches similar to the "combination stitch" lace in in the upper left hand corner. That I'm not too happy with yet.
Doreen was most helpful, and shared several technique hints that I'm sure will be useful. . . but as you can guess, the real trick is practice, pratice, and more practice.   So that's the next step.  Cut out the current stitching and start  again (on try number 5 on this stitch).  It is getting closer to how it's supposed to look, so I'm hopeful that by try 6 or 7, I may have a "keeper."

4 comments:

  1. This is fascinating because I'm dealing with the same kind of problem. The top left square that you refer to has what Tricia Wilson describes in her pdf file on DBH as a 'widening net' idea going on. Personally, I understand it as a diagonal 'bias' and it seems to me that it applies to all needlelace stitches and, as with Torchon lace, (which is not what we're looking at but), the stitches lean to one side. The way I understand it is, if you are working a square then you work 'odd and even rows' and that should correct the 'expanding net' problem. I'm on exactly the same problem, but with circles (ew!)

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  3. I know what you mean. . .but I think this pattern is a little different. I don't have a good photo of what it's supposed to look like, but one problem I'm having in this picture is that it's too stretched and "net" looking (a little like loosely worked trellis stitch). The pattern is for 1, 2, then 3 stitches per loop. . .then repeat. And it looks more horizontal than diamond-like. I'm trying to come conceptualize what to do to get it right. . . with the hope that after that further practice will get the right result. I'll post more when this happens.

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  4. I am learning lacework too. All kinds. What has worked for me is to draw horizontal lines across the pattern. It helped me a lot to keep my tension even so that my stitches lined up both vertically and horizontally. Just draw some lines on your pattern before you apply the laminate. Still a neophyte, Dawn.

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