New Year and new project

2010 and a new challenge.
Plans are afoot for a solo exhibition next year - 2011 and while I have enough work for it now, need to keep busy!!

I recently came across this wonderful Bedfordshire collar and decided this would be my next big piece. I have drafted the pattern, just need to prick the actual pattern and wind the bobbins now to start it.
I was told this one came from around 1890, and it is a beautiful flowing design, with some interesting features for lacemakers.

I enjoy working these large collars, this will be number 3, they usually take around 12 months to actually make. It may be some time before you see the finished item!

Second Large Bedfordshire Collar

The starting point for this piece of lace was a photocopy of an antique piece from around 1910, in the collection of a friend. It is a large piece of Bedfordshire lace .




















I drafted the pattern from the photocopy and then started the work on it, on 25th December 2007. It was put away for sometime while I completed my BA (for the final year of it) but I finally finished it on 29th December 2009. Just in time for a new year and new project!
I changed the traditional nine pin edge of the original design and tidied up some of the areas, and omitted the gimped areas in the leaves. It was a much more challenging piece of lace than the first big collar I drafted and worked, with overlaid leaves on the half stitch areas - quite tricky in places to keep the number of pairs to fill the space but not to overfill them.
An enjoyable piece, taking around 5 reels of thread. (900 metres on each so a lot of bobbin winding!)