Hello lovelies,

It's time for a bobbin lace update - My own journey with bobbin lace started in June 2019 when I attended my first class. I fell in love with the craft right away, or at least, it was a kind of love-hate relationship as I made so many mistakes at first, but unfortunately, Covid hit in 2020 and all classes were canceled as Austria went from one lockdown to the next.

As time went by, online classes became available, but I didn't enroll - don't ask me why. Finally, in April 2022, I was able to attend my first class back. I took a break again and resumed my classes in December of the same year. Since then, I have been attending every month, and I am continually amazed at how much I am learning and improving.

My teacher, Emma de Ro, is a wonderful and kind old woman who has been making lace for 40 years. She has even published three bobbin lace books and is the inventor of the Graz lace (Grazer Spitze). 

 

https://www.buecherquelle.at/shop/kloeppeln/

Emma's expertise and passion for the craft are evident in the way she teaches, and I am grateful for her guidance and encouragement.

Attending monthly classes has been an excellent opportunity for me to practice and hone my skills. Due to only having one class a month, I hadtime in between classes to work on my lace and finish projects. Bobbin lace-making is a time-consuming craft, but the satisfaction of completing a project is well worth the effort. And even though I swear a lot or complain a lot about it, it's truly a magnificent craft that is just worth it.

If you're interested in learning this beautiful craft, I highly recommend finding a local class or an online teacher to guide you. The world of bobbin lace-making is waiting for you, and I promise it's a journey worth taking.

Check out my lace work from my post back in 2020 but without further ado, here are some pictures of my lace making journey.  

I started 2020 with the spider and left it at that. When I continued again last year, I re-did it as my teacher was not sure if I remembered it. (She was right, I did not :D)

Afterwards I jumped right into doing a small doily. It was so much work...

It started out small. I used linen stitch for the right side and plain hole on the left side. 

After I threaded this doily off, I got to know the secret of keeping the lace stiff and tidy. Spray it with huge amounts of hairspray on both sides. Mind-blown!

And that's the finished doily! Cute, isn't it?

The next lace was one with a whole stitch on the round edges and plain hole on the left edge with a linen border.

And then came another doily. To be honest, it's still a work in progress. The edges are linen and the round arches are whole stitches again and in the middle is a hole ground. (At least, that's what I think the stitches are called? Tbh, I just know the words in German)

And this half finished doily didn't deter my teacher to teach me a whole new technique and give me another doily as homework. Now I really need to finish one because I can not get a third pillow. Or can I? Insert ominous music. 

In German this new technique is called "Flechter" and I could not find a suitable translation in English. It's actually pretty easy, the complicated part is to connect it with the rest.

How do you like them? Any plans on doing bobbin lace too?

All the best,

Auris Lothol