Winter is coming... So I started to produce snowflakes. Snowflakes are needed for winter to become. So... There are snowflakes for sale.
Who wants can ask me for one or two or more ;)
handicraft lace and more
piątek, 23 listopada 2018
niedziela, 15 czerwca 2014
Hexagonal tablets weaving
My first
meeting with weaving was tablet weaving. I like making trims. Although in the beginning
I didn't understand how it works at all. I couldn't understand the way patterns
appear. Now I know much more, but I'm pretty sure it can surprise me.
Just before
going to Czersk Rosamar asked me to do two trims: one for her and one for her
husband. The trim for Blondi wasn’t very complicated but Rosamar chose the
pattern which has to be done with hexagonal tablets.
First
problem: I don't have hexagonal tablets. I thought about it almost whole night
and just before falling asleep I realized I had my niece's old books made of
hard lacquered cardboard as children books are usually made of.
piątek, 23 maja 2014
The Amber Tablecloth
Several
years ago I got a beautiful gift: a little coffee table made especially for me
from pine. I decided that as wonderful table deserves as charming tablecloth. So
I started to create it.
I decided to
use not white linen but ecru to harmonize with warm colour of the table. The
design of embroidery was inspirited by some pattern from a magazine.
May I
introduce one of my favourite tablecloth which I have made. Here there is The
Amber Tablecloth. The name comes from real amber stones I used to make a lace
around it.
The middle
of this work is some piece of embroidery: a sprig of wild roses with mayweed.
Around the
sprig there are five posies of small roses. All embroidered with écru silk. And
it was the easy part of may work. It takes may be two or three hours. Then I
started tatting…
The trim is
a tatting lace made of ecru cotton and sixty little amber stones. It took me so
much time to finish it that I can hardly say how much.
The lace with amber |
Many times I was close to give up. I was tired, bored and full of
doubts. But fortunately I made it and saying immodestly: I am very proud of
myself.
czwartek, 15 maja 2014
The Medieval Merchants
So, the new
season is opened! The long May weekend we spent with our friends in an
educational farm in Osice near Pruszcz Gdański. Nights were cold but fortunately
we had enough wool blankets to be warm. There were quite many guests visiting
the farm and press, TV, radio...
Our stall (photo made by Klaryssa) |
Of course
we took all our stuff to show. My laces, yarns and naalbinding goods,
Klaryssa's beautiful pincushions, weaved textiles by Rosamar...
On Saturday
Rosamar presented old techniques of spinning and weaving with short
introduction about historical sheep, wool and preparing fleece.
The presentation of wool and spinning (photo made by Klaryssa) |
Weaving (photo made by Klaryssa) |
We also
showed our medieval clothes from the end of 14 and the beginning of 15 century. I could appear myself in my new apron.
In the
evening we treated our guests to some medieval dishes.
Medieval dishes (photo made by Klaryssa) |
The most
funny incident were when some lady was absolutely surprised that we are
educated. She expected simply peasants taken off from a plough.
The beginning of the tournament (photo made by Klaryssa) |
Next
weekend we went to the court of Konrad Mazowiecki where a tournament were given
in the castle of Czersk
near Warsaw.
This time we were members of some nomadic tribe called Kipchak, Kuman or
Połowcy.
Our castle stall (photo made by Rosamar) |
Klaryssa could wear her beautiful caftan first time. We had also our
stall with woolen stuff.
Wool, wool and once again wool (photo made by Klaryssa) |
And I were asked to give a short interview for television aobut our reenactment.
Me and TV camera (photo made by Klaryssa) |
All in all the event were very nice although there could be more customers in our stall.
środa, 30 kwietnia 2014
The smocked apron for a medieval innkeeper
I wanted to begin new medieval season by a quiet and nice picnic. May be two days picnic. So I persuaded my friend Klaryssa to call our friendly farm if it was possible to pick up our tents there. The landlady was so excited that instead of calm picnic it will be a real fest with invited very important persons, press and gods know who else. I want to serve some medieval dishes and that means spending some time in the kitchen. As an innkeeper I need some apron.
Watching The Luttrell Psalter (an English illuminated psalter written and illustrated c. 1320–1340 by anonymous scribes and artists) I found several smocked aprons I liked.
I used white linen to create my apron. Firstly I drew lines for chosen pattern, then I made so called honey comb.
When the honey comb was ready I hemmed it by pale pink Egyptian cotton.
The second line of my pattern it is made of trellis stitch which let me achieve half diamond shape.
Under this part I made a chain using the same pink cotton.
In the end of the pattern I made a honey comb once again.
Then I added a belt, hemmed the whole apron and there it is, my apron for medieval innkeeper.
The aprons in The Lutterell Psalter are more decorative. It was black thread used to make the patterns. But I think that one apron it is not enough for me, so next time I will create a black ornament.In the pictures you can also see a wonderful pincushion gifted me by Klaryssa who made it by herself using the pattern of a cushion from XIV century (Victoria & Albert Museum).
Watching The Luttrell Psalter (an English illuminated psalter written and illustrated c. 1320–1340 by anonymous scribes and artists) I found several smocked aprons I liked.
A poor woman cultivating her field |
Some peasant working with sheeps |
A woman feeding chickens |
A spinner |
Harvesting women |
I used white linen to create my apron. Firstly I drew lines for chosen pattern, then I made so called honey comb.
The begining of a honey comb |
When the honey comb was ready I hemmed it by pale pink Egyptian cotton.
The honey comb is ready |
A half of diamond shape under the honey comb |
In the end of the pattern I made a honey comb once again.
The whole pattern |
My apron in its magnificence |
piątek, 4 kwietnia 2014
Easter is coming - time for eggs!
Easter is coming... (How dificult it is to free from this quoting) It is an old Polish tradition to paint and decorate eggs for this joyfull festival. Sometimes eggs become a real work of art. But after eating all these delicate and beautiful decorates vanishes. My recipe is... a lace ornament! Ornaments made of threads.
I have made a lot of different patterns, but it is immpossible to show them all. Tere are some of the most beautiful (in my absolutely not objective opinion).
And the best thing is you have to cut one thread to take the egg out of lace and eat. But lace can be retained for next year.
The Easter impression |
I have made a lot of different patterns, but it is immpossible to show them all. Tere are some of the most beautiful (in my absolutely not objective opinion).
The Rapsody in Blue |
Pinky |
The Snowdrop |
The Pink Clover |
Daisy |
The Spring Meadow |
And the best thing is you have to cut one thread to take the egg out of lace and eat. But lace can be retained for next year.
sobota, 1 marca 2014
Pearls made of thread
Needle lace
also known as Armenian lace, Nazareth
lace or Arabian lace. All I need to make it is a needle, thread and scissors of
course.
Some archaeological
evidences prove that this kind of lace was known in prehistoric Armenia where
almost everything possible was decorated by this kind of ornament. Many women
prepared their dowry making lots of laces. In XIX century Greek girls and women
treated it as a source of incomes. Sometimes the only one. They started their
work in five o'clock in the morning and finished when the sun went down making
delicate beauties.
As many
handicraft I also learned it from books. The names of individual parts of this
lace are wonderful: pearls, bows, crowns, pine-apples, hives, bells, roses and
many others.
My first
work was a set of small tablecloths made for my mother. I used white linen and
pink pearl Egyptian cotton. The base stitch is called pearls.
My first work, not perfect but quite nice |
Then I
decided to make a gift for my friend Klaryssa. There were also a set of tablecloths
made of gray linen embroidered in an English style with a lace trim.
White embroidery and needle lace with gray linen |
It was 2007
year and I was invited to visit my sister in far far far-away country in the
end of the world. The second end. So I wanted to give her something special. It
was a much bigger tablecloth made of lilac thread.
The edge of the work |
Being there
I had a lot of time so I made also several smaller and bigger works. A set for
a dressing table, embroidered in blue and finished with white silk lace.
A small tablecloth with silk |
A tablecloth for a dressing table with parts connected by a lace |
Lace roses |
Long time ago somebody said: Lace - an invention of a godess, a work for a queen. I can agree with that.
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