Saturday, July 11, 2009


I finally got it done last night. Since it's done in peach and white, you really don't see much contrast in the threads. I didn't trust the knots to hold so cut the threads long and then hid them with sewing. I don't think it would look too good with very fine threads as that's a LOT of thread to hide. I'll never complain about hiding ends in tatting. This seemed to take much longer and felt much more tedious than a comparable butterfly in tatting would be. Even so, I'll keep playing with bobbin lace when I can.

I blocked it the same way I do tatting - wet it down and pinned it to the board.

We had lace guild this morning - sit and stitch. Lots of conversation for a change. I ended up making 2 ornaments for our charity tree. Somehow I seem to have lost one between there and home. This is the first one I made and the second one is the same except I used beads at the joins instead of at the base of the rings. It's a pattern from Patti Duff's Minitats, tatted in size 16 finca, with silver seed beads. It comes out to about an inch square.

9 comments:

  1. Oh, man...I never thought about all the thread ends to hide in bobbin lace, LOL! You're right, that IS a LOT of thread to hide.

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  2. The butterfly looks fabulous! I guess I never thought about hiding threads in bobbin lace... haven't gotten that far! I love Patti Duff's Minitats... lots of quick and easy projects.

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  3. Well done on your bobbin lace Gina. Very cool! Oh me oh my I have no room for new hobbies...but you are sure tempting me.

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  4. Good job on the butterfly! Do you feel like an oldtimer now? ;-)

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  5. Oh! I have the mini tats book. I made one of the hearts this week and was working on that cute little cross, but then I flubbed up about halfway through. :( I've got shuttles wound to tackle another mini tonight once the kids are in bed. I like the beads you added.

    Your butterfly is very pretty! It must take an incredible amount of patience.

    Hope your other mini turns up,
    Ann

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  6. Most of the lacers I know just cut the thread close to the knot. It's so drummed in my head not to do that with tatting that I'm very uneasy about doing it with bobbinlace and in fact, that's why I'm not showing the last one I made....the knots came undone.

    No Erin - I've been doing a little bobbin lace for a few years now and still feel as green as ever. LOL!

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  7. That looks very difficult indeed! You are a brave woman to tackle bobbin lace. The butterfly is marvelous! Good for you.

    I like that wee Minitat with beads.... hmmmm : ))

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  8. Oh, that is good to know, Gina! I "inherited" an antique French Lace roller pillow (I may have already told you this) and some Danish bobbins and I intend to learn it someday. I can see that making me uncomfortable, too!

    I wanted to let you know that I'm having a giveaway! Be sure to come on over and join in!

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  9. My BL teacher and some books like Bruges Flower Lace will show you how to knot the ends in a certain way and then just clip the ends off WITHOUT sewing them in. The knots are hidden in the backside like tatting and you don't have all those ends to hide. So that is what I do most of the time. ;)

    Mark, aka Tatman

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