Yes, we're moving again! But a little back story:
When we originally moved in, our landlord informed us that his intention for the property was to eventually tear down the house and build a commercial building, but as he had no takers on the prospect, he would rent us the house. So, we settled in, thinking we'd have maybe a year or so before we'd have to think about moving again.
However, in February, workers began showing up with earth-moving equipment, digging up the yard to assess soil conditions. A week or so later, surveyors came and we knew our happy little home would not be long ours. An email from our landlord confirmed that we had till the end of April to move out.
So began the search for new digs, but most places in the area were either too expensive, too small or didn't allow pets (which posed a problem for our cat). We were beginning to panic when a knitting friend of mine reminded me about a house she had told me about the month before. She had recently spoken to the owners and found that the place was still available. My Beloved called and made arrangements to go see the place.
It's a cute 3 bedroom ranch in Delaware Water Gap, PA, with a living room, a kitchen with adjacent dining area, a cellar built into the bedrock and about an acre of property.
Let the packing commence...sigh
*[Shamelessly backdated]
Friday, February 26, 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Lace Day 2010
A knitting friend of mine, who is also a bobbin lacemaker, told me about The Lost Art Lacers Annual Lace Day, which is actually a 2 day event: Saturday is mainly a shopping day, with a few vendors, a raffle and some demonstrations. Sunday is the class day and this year they were offering 4 classes: bobbin lace making, tatting, knitting and Tønder (which is a variety of bobbin lace making). I signed up for the bobbin lace making class, as it is something I have wanted to learn for a while now.
I was overwhelmed by the variety of bobbins and threads available. I'm familiar with tatting thread and I generally use the type (cotton) and size (80) that I can get in the local craft store. The vendors provided a peek into a world I didn't know existed: threads of linen, silk, wire and cotton in a variety of gauges; books in French, German, Italian and a few languages I did not recognize; lace making pillows in delicious fabrics; tools ranging from the practical to the sublime (some of which reminded me of some fly tying tools I own) and even some lace making jewelry (miniature bobbin earrings and small pendants that resemble small picture frames in which one may insert a tiny motif).
The displays were absolutely stunning:
Here's an unfortunately blurry close-up of the corner:
Here's the basic set up for bobbin lace making, albeit with a complicated lace pattern:
In comparison, here's the set-up I was working on the following day:
And here's the finished product:
After we had been working on that pattern for a while, we broke for lunch and started a small sampler:
After the sampler, our teacher asked us to return to our initial project...which I stared at blankly for a few minutes until she came over and got me restarted. Happily, the following day, I was able to more or less pick up where I left off...with the help of one of the many handouts she provided.
I'm not entirely sure how I will use my newly acquired skill, but I did see a book that inspired me to consider using bobbin lace in jewelry:
...and possibly learning to do bobbin lace in wire...but those are challenges for another day.
P.S. I nearly forgot! I briefly mentioned a raffle on Saturday. The raffle had a variety of finished lace products, lace making supplies and books. My knitting/lace-making friend pointed out a good reference book on bobbin lace making and said if I wanted to risk a dollar, that was a good book to chance it on. I dug through my change purse and pulled out two quarters and five dimes and purchased one ticket. I filled out the back with my contact information, mentally kissed it for luck and dropped it in the drawing bag.
On the way back to New Jersey Sunday for our lace classes, we asked one another if anyone had won a prize. The three of us denied having been contacted about any raffle prizes, so we all presumed losses.
Shortly after our arrival, but before classes began, I wandered over to the raffle table, where several unclaimed prizes lay. The book I had taken a chance on was there and a bit of the ticket was peeking out of the cover. I looked a little closer and saw that it looked a bit like my handwriting...so I peeked. I had won! Not wanting to snatch the book from the table, I moseyed over to my knitting/lace-making friend and said "I think I won that book from yesterday's raffle." She accompanied me back to the table and looked at the ticket. It was mine! Triumph!
I was overwhelmed by the variety of bobbins and threads available. I'm familiar with tatting thread and I generally use the type (cotton) and size (80) that I can get in the local craft store. The vendors provided a peek into a world I didn't know existed: threads of linen, silk, wire and cotton in a variety of gauges; books in French, German, Italian and a few languages I did not recognize; lace making pillows in delicious fabrics; tools ranging from the practical to the sublime (some of which reminded me of some fly tying tools I own) and even some lace making jewelry (miniature bobbin earrings and small pendants that resemble small picture frames in which one may insert a tiny motif).
The displays were absolutely stunning:
Here's an unfortunately blurry close-up of the corner:
Here's the basic set up for bobbin lace making, albeit with a complicated lace pattern:
In comparison, here's the set-up I was working on the following day:
And here's the finished product:
After we had been working on that pattern for a while, we broke for lunch and started a small sampler:
After the sampler, our teacher asked us to return to our initial project...which I stared at blankly for a few minutes until she came over and got me restarted. Happily, the following day, I was able to more or less pick up where I left off...with the help of one of the many handouts she provided.
I'm not entirely sure how I will use my newly acquired skill, but I did see a book that inspired me to consider using bobbin lace in jewelry:
...and possibly learning to do bobbin lace in wire...but those are challenges for another day.
P.S. I nearly forgot! I briefly mentioned a raffle on Saturday. The raffle had a variety of finished lace products, lace making supplies and books. My knitting/lace-making friend pointed out a good reference book on bobbin lace making and said if I wanted to risk a dollar, that was a good book to chance it on. I dug through my change purse and pulled out two quarters and five dimes and purchased one ticket. I filled out the back with my contact information, mentally kissed it for luck and dropped it in the drawing bag.
On the way back to New Jersey Sunday for our lace classes, we asked one another if anyone had won a prize. The three of us denied having been contacted about any raffle prizes, so we all presumed losses.
Shortly after our arrival, but before classes began, I wandered over to the raffle table, where several unclaimed prizes lay. The book I had taken a chance on was there and a bit of the ticket was peeking out of the cover. I looked a little closer and saw that it looked a bit like my handwriting...so I peeked. I had won! Not wanting to snatch the book from the table, I moseyed over to my knitting/lace-making friend and said "I think I won that book from yesterday's raffle." She accompanied me back to the table and looked at the ticket. It was mine! Triumph!
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