Tag: needle lace
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Aintab Embroidery in Review
On May 11th, I finished my first Aintab embroidery piece. I worked on this project nearly daily for almost exactly six months, and had spent much longer than that planning and picking up the skills I would need to execute it successfully. To say this has been a long time coming is a massive understatement.…
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Very Belated 2024 Plans
This post is well overdue. I’ve been so busy working on projects that I haven’t set any time aside to write and several of my 2024 plans have already come to pass. I’m slowly whittling down my WIP list and my top priority for the past few months has been my Aintab embroidery piece. I’m…
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Things Go Wrong
When I talk about lace with people who aren’t crafters, one of the most common comments I get is that it looks difficult and that I must be talented. I understand this is supposed to be a compliment, but I fundamentally disagree with the premise on both fronts. First, Armenian needlelace is quite forgiving as…
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A Burst of Creativity
A CRLG member recently explained to me that state fair categories are use it or lose it – if a certain category has no entries for three consecutive years, it gets removed. She encouraged me to enter multiple items next year, and to expand into categories for items I haven’t tried before. This makes sense…
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Musings on Netmaking
I recently joined the Chesapeake Region Lace Guild, just in time to attend the fall Lace Day. The vast majority of guild members make bobbin lace, but there is a small and growing contingency of needle lace makers in the group. The Lace Day consisted of a keynote lecture about the history and development of…
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2023 State Fair Recap
Once again, it has been awhile since the state fair happened. I’m doing a little better than last year considering it’s only been weeks rather than months. Like last year, I submitted an Armenian needlelace doily and a cross stitch sampler. My doily won its category and I got a special award from the Chesapeake…
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Summer Finishes
I finished both of my state fair pieces last week, quite a bit earlier than I originally planned. I’m half considering entering a third piece, but with less than twelve weeks left it’s probably not a great idea. Pomegranate Quaker Pomegranate Quaker by Owl Forest Embroidery was almost two years in the making. I worked…
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A Belated State Fair Recap + 2023 Fair Plans
The Maryland State Fair was several months ago now and I realized I never properly recapped it, other than a few pictures on Instagram. The Home Arts exhibits were impressive, and I wish I had taken more pictures. I easily spent two hours in the exhibition hall looking at all of the stitching, lace, and…
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Thread Comparison + Recommendations for Armenian Needlelace
Perle Cotton Perle cotton, also written as pearl cotton, is a low-twist embroidery thread made of two non-separable strands. Because the twist is loose, it feels very soft and often appears fuzzy. It comes in several sizes and many colors, and is readily available at craft stores. Crochet Thread Crochet thread is usually made of…
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The Sampler Before The Sampler
It’s the practice sampler, if you will. I have about a dozen unfinished projects right now, but after (finally!) completing the reticello needle book, I couldn’t wait to explore more reticello motifs. I have three of Guiliana Buonpadre’s incredible embroidery books: Il Reticello, Punti a Giorno, and Fior di Reticello. They are certainly not cheap,…
Digin Haiganoush 