Bobbins

Well I was at the bobbins again all day yesterday. I just want to get competent with them and as I'm always telling people regarding tatting, there's no other way to do that than practice. This is the fan
headside pattern again, but much better this time. Though I'm still working it with the pattern blown up a bit, so the lace is generally too loose. Clearly I've still got some work to do, but it's definitely better than my first go, so I'm calling it a win.

After I finished one, I wound up all the bobbins again to try this more complicated one again. I completely failed the first time around, not understanding where I hadn't joined the thread properly. It was a complete mess. I'm still not completely sure of myself, but it already looks much better. All the threads are hanging where they ought to and that's already a vast improvement.

I'm going to try to step away from the bobbins at least a little today and get back to some tatting. I don't want learning a new skill to atrophy another one. Of course I did let tatting replace knitting, crochet, cross stitching, and everything else, but that's not going to happen this time. I am far too investing in my tatting. I'm crossing my fingers for some inspiration to float my way today.

Backing Up

I had an interesting arc of events yesterday. I was lucky enough to get a sale in my shop while I was schooling, so I had a kitty ear headband to get made once we were done. Unfortunately the youngest child had her mind set on playing chess and the oldest child didn't want to, leaving me to play. No, this was not unfortunate right off the bat, it got there as we all realized two things. I cannot play a game badly enough to let someone, even my child win, and the she is not emotionally stable enough to play a game she will lose. Let's just say that afternoon was filled with tears, laundry, reminders of our personality flaws, and promises to try again tomorrow.

After all that I still did get those ears made up and I followed that with winding all my bobbins for another go at some bobbin lace. I went back in the book to the first point where I had problems understanding the reason for the movements of the bobbins. I read more carefully and a few more things clicked into place for me. So I managed to get this practice piece for footsides all made up and off the pins. I had misinterpreted some instructions last time, not that the book is written badly, I guess I'm just carrying in my own preconceptions that cause me to read what I think I should be reading, no what is actually written.

After this I got the bobbins wound again in preparation for whatever I take on today. I think I might try the headside again so I get grasp where to leave the bobbins after finishing an element as that seems to be an issue for me. Other than that I'll probably make yet another pair of cat ears so I can have a backup pair on hand. Oh, and at least one game of chess, I can't forget that.

Pinhead

The first thing I did after schooling was to stare at the bobbin lace I had pinned up and then I proceeded to cut it down and start all over. I'm beginning to realize that until I truly understand what each maneuver is accomplishing, I won't get proficient at this skill. Sure, I can follow directions with the best of them, but as always I need to know why each thing is done not just how to do it. This means that I am starting over at the beginning to focus on the actual structure I'm creating.

Of course I didn't have this revelation until after I tried the next piece of lace in the book. That's what this nest of pins is all about. I was actually getting pretty good at the piece, but as I was removing pins for use further down the lace I spotted a glaring error. It was that error that led me to that earlier epiphany. There was no specific instruction to prevent what was clearly a mistake. Obviously, I hadn't yet fully grasped something fundamental. So I cut this one down as well and resigned myself to slowing down a bit, practicing what I've gotten so far and then moving on only when I understand. I have gotten my tatting to such an incredibly speed that it's hard to remind myself that I can't be that good at everything straight away. It took years to get this proficient with my needle and thread, so I shouldn't think that a week with the bobbins would get me there.

The shop is still slow and I'm still not feeling particularly creative, so I imagine I'll devote more time to the bobbin lace today. I'm pretty determined right now to get this down. Though I do need to be careful not to let myself get too focused and frustrated with it. When that I happens I'm likely to rage-quit and never pick it up again. It's a careful balancing act, but it's usually worth it.

Weekend Recap

Well, I had another lazy weekend. It wasn't really lazy, I just didn't carve out much time for lace making, so I don't have nay proof that I finished much. I did made up this bracelet on Friday. This is one of the few pieces I actually have listed as available in different lengths because the repeat of the design is small enough to do so. I sold one in the six inch length, so that's what I remade for the shop. Other than that, there was no shop activity over the weekend.

There was of course some cleaning in preparation for having the Mother's over on Sunday. That and some shopping as well. I didn't pull out the bobbins at all over the weekend and I'm afraid I'm going to have to start the headside piece all over again  because I took too long a break and lost the plot. I did finish reading another book that I found on clearance at the book store with the quiet time i was afforded on Sunday before our family get together. It was quite odd to read a big, physical book after so many digital ones in a row, but also nice. In case you're wondering it was NOS4A2 by Joe Hill and it was quite a good read even though I'm clearly late to the party in reading it.

This week seems pretty free of events, so I'm hoping that I get a burst of creative energy. If not I have another latch hook to play with and of course a book full of bobbin lace lessons to get on with. I think I should be able to stay busy if not interesting.

Done

You know what, I'm not even going to mention the choker I was suppose to make beyond this sentence. Instead I'm going to just tell you what I did get done yesterday. After schooling I starting in on the bobbin lace again. I'm on maybe the fourth or fifth lesson of it with the last completed thing being this strip of pseudo lace. This one has a sort of diamond pattern in it, but still no footside, so it's all wonky. I kept leaving the bobbins in the wrong spot after weaving the diamonds, so I had to undo and redo several times before I got through it.

After lunch I got those latch hooks turned into wall hangings. I was going to just put a ribbon on them, but the husband wisely pointed out that they would have bent in without some sort of support. Luckily I had some wood dowels on hand, so I made more stable hangers for them both. A little hot glue, some ribbon loops and they're ready to go. Of course after that I was pulling glue remains off my fingers for an hour before I could play with thread again without it snagging.

Once that was done, I rewound the bobbin, this time with regular sewing thread as I've almost depleted the thread that came with the kit. The next piece in the book is a fan headside. It continued to give me problems all afternoon. I just keep leaving bobbins in the wrong places and having to undo and redo repeatedly. Hopefully I start getting the hang of that and I'll have another piece of pseudo lace to show you on Monday. Maybe I'll even carve out some tatting time from the rather busy weekend I'm anticipating. Either way I'm sure to have something to share.