Showcasing Finesse

Some weeks back I blogged about a commission I had to create some crocheted lace for display in a local store. I handed the work in a coule of weeks ago but holidays, return to college for one disorganised teenage girly and life in general has meant I've only had time to edit the pics today.

I said I was looking forward to the return to college but its oddly silent here this morning - so have dear old Homes Under the Hammer running in the background for some noise lol! Only because I'd been watching Helicopter Heroes over breakfast though - I have a real thing for the gorgeous presenter - am probably old enough to at least be his aunty though lol <blush>

Anyway enough digressing into parts of my mind best left unshared and onto some beautiful lace work:

A beautiful butterfly - was a real challenge to read the chart for this one but I was determined!

Shelf edgings, butterfly, circles for cushion covers, tablecloth edgings

Close up of the filet work for the table cloth edging - you'd need at least 20 panels to do one cloth! But would be well worth it.

Lace for trimming towels or cushions

It really makes me take my hat off to the number of Victorian and Edwardian ladies who pioneered crochet lace, often by candle or gaslight - what must their eyes have been like?

The pieces above were created on 1.0 and 1.5mm hooks, which were fine enough. I then received a commission for a bookmark - to fit the wording in, I had to go down to a 0.75mm hook - which raised some eyebrows in the yarn shop - the lady thought I'd be crocheting with human hair! But the effort was well worth it and this was the result:

 If you would like to commission your own lace pieces please email me with your requirements

Adventures with Henrietta


Before I move on to the fab intricate work offered by the September Embers over on Folksy, I'll just share a tale or two of my experiences related to "Henrietta" my polystyrene head:

Winchester
Having just finished a craft fair, I loaded up the wheelchair with all my stock but just couldn't squeeze her into a bag. Having arrived there before 9am, she's already sat on my lap en route, so not thinking that I had 3 pubs / cafe bars to pass at 4:30pm I decided to repeat the idea! As I'm trundling along the pavement avoiding running over those who seem to think wheelchairs come complete with their own Harry Potter style invisibility cloak - very common in seaside towns - I heard a comment "There's a woman in a wheelchair with 2 heads" lol! Obviously some alcohol had been taken and I couldn't help laughing!

Small children and Henrietta

I did a community fair yesterday and had Henrietta modelling a hat for me. Some friends' children came along and were fascinated by her - in fact I had to go on a hot pursuit with a walking frame to reclaim her from one child!
The main question was "Why have you got a head on your stall?" Being a bit of a wind up merchant and already suspected by the kids of being barking mad, I then told them that I used Henrietta when I had a headache - my real head could go and have a rest and Henrietta could keep working. Great discussions then ensued about how I managed to take my head off and do the swap! Fortunately I wasn't asked to demonstrate!! One little boy gave me a look that said it all! A sort of old fashioned sideways frown often reserved for maiden aunts of a certain age who are definitely becoming eccentric!



September Embers

This is the Folksy daily listings club for September - I aim to list "dailyish" depending on other demands on my time.  For those who want to see more, there's a Flickr Group with many more photo's

Here's a showcase of work that I feel, echoes the intricacies of lace making:





1. Lilac Elephant       2. Diomo Glass Gifts      3. NofKants Curios
4. Clouberry Gems     5.TheCrafty Warren       6. Pip Designs

Please click on the image to visit the makers' beautiful stores