Making the Lace sample

I had no instructions for doing this, so I just reversed the method I used for the stitching on the bee box, working from the outside in, rather than from the centre outwards and using detached buttonhole stitch.

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I started by buttonholing all around the outside foundation thread in cotton perle. Then I laid in a metallic thread with detached buttonhole stitch along the first row. I made two or three rows like this, then buttonholed the last row to the second line of foundation thread to make a border.

Then I started to fill in an enclosed area of the pattern in the same way, laying down a metallic thread with detached buttonhole stitch worked all around the foundation thread.

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This is time consuming. You need to use a blunt tapestry needle and make sure that you don't stitch the detached buttonhole stitch to the fabric of the pattern. Using a closely woven cotton helps.

Continuing inspiration from Ottoman Art

The article I found was by Virginia Churchill Bath. I have been an admirer of her lace work for a long time. A picture of a piece of her work from "Stitchery and Needle Lace from Threads Magazine" formed part of the inspiration for a box I made based on the cells in a bee hive:

Here, the buttonhole stitch was worked into the fabric on the box, but now I wanted to make a piece of free standing lace. I made a pattern for the design:

The design is drawn on closely woven, fine cotton. This is backed with a piece of craft vilene (pellon) and another piece of cotton on the bottom. This is all machine stitched together around the edges. This method of making needle lace was published in the same book and was written by Eunice Kaiser. I adapted it slightly to make my piece and I used a permanent laundry marker for the outline, so that I can use the pattern again, and wash it if necessary. It remains to be seen if it works!

Foundation threads are stitched along the pattern lines. These tacking stitches are taken out when the work is finished and the lace is lifted from the backing.

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This proved to be more time consuming than I had thought and some careful planning is needed in laying these threads to ensure that there is always a support for the filling stitches. By the time I'd laid half the foundation threads I was wishing that I had chosen a smaller and simpler pattern for my first attempt!

Inspired by Ottoman Art

I saw an item featuring pieces of Ottoman art and it reminded me of an article I had seen in this book:

I've had this book for a good ten years and it's still a favourite.
The article I remembered was by Virginia Churchill Bath. The author looked at various pieces of Ottoman art and interpreted them in contemporary embroidery using different techniques.

I decided this would be a good project for me right now. I'm not fit enough yet to spend long hours in the workshop, but I can easily sit and stitch quietly in the conservatory! I got out my Grammar of Ornament and selected this motif to start with.

I simplified it like this:

Next, I need to decide how to interpret it.

Another UFO comes out.............................

Back home from hospital and slowly recovering. I can potter around a bit and I came across this UFO in the workshop. I started it a while ago back here:

Today, I made some legs:

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Those felt balls are the pollen baskets.
Here's how it will fit together:

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And here's a side view:

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