Craft with Jenny Brandis

August, September and October I have been working in the Kununurra Visitors Centre as a Tourist Officer in training. It has been great fun as I have always loved being able to rave about the beauty of the Kimberley region of Western Australia. (see some photos of the Bungle Bungles here) It does however, limit the time I have to do the other things I love - such as lace making.

In July I had started a wide edging with the intentions of it going across the King size sheet on my bed. Well, you know the old adage about good intentions? I stopped at two repeats.

My lace efforts have been sporatic at best but I have enjoyed it.

September 2006

This little edging is my version of Jo Edkins grey piece at http://www.gwydir.demon.co.uk/jo/lace/zigzag.htm I have found Jo's Lace School website draws me back over and over again.

Stitches I used are spider, cloth stitch and single twisted footside using just 15 pairs of bobbins. The threads are Gutermann Quilting thread and some silk thread I wont buy again. I was very disapointed to find that the small hanks I bought had been dyed in the hank - thus leaving a white section where the thread was tied off.

Here is my very first successful effort at designing torchon lace. I used Lace 2000 as my 'graph paper'. This sample was made with Presencia Finca size 30 thread on a 10:1 inch grid. The stitches used are small crown fan, hollow block, spider and torchon ground.

October 2006

On a roll here, the next one I designed using Lace 2000 is a woven heart based on the paper folded decorations of Europe. This sample is done in Gutermann Quiliting Cotton. Stitches used are torchon ground, spiders and a cloth stitch and twist fan.

I can see I need to improve in it as the slit is too short and causes a bit of a gather. This is corrected on the pattern now but I have not as yet found time to test that version.