I wear my blue pendant so frequently that I thought I would make one for myself and my mom using the thread kit that I bought from Lacy Susan at the IOLI convention.  This one is going to get a lot of wear also because I seem to have a lot of browns and greens in my wardrobe this year!

Last weekend I was invited to attend a workshop held in Moline, Illinois with a group of local lacemakers and members of the Doris Southard Lace Guild from Iowa.  I’ve done some Schneeberger before; I took a class with Lia Baumeister-Jonker at my very first IOLI convention in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1996.  At this year’s convention I bought a lovely book by Brigitte Bellon and I knew I needed to brush up on my technique before starting some of the great pieces in this book.

Jacquie was the host and we set up our pillows and stands in her living room.  We had some show and tell before lunch and then started the bookmark piece after lunch. 

I got almost halfway through the piece in the afternoon and have worked on it some more since I got home.  I would like to finish it before going to make lace in Dubuque next Monday.

Isn’t the wood in my pin pot gorgeous?  John Aebi does such a wonderful job with wood.  It was one of my purchases at convention.

At the IOLI convention we saw a fantastic display of sculptural pieces made in copper by a lady named Lieve Jurger.  She was born and raised in Belgium and learned lacemaking there.  The large lace cube is featured in some of her other artwork in the book The Winged Tiger and the Lace Princess.  http://www.wingedtiger.com

Here is the cube.  I think each side was at least 18 inches squared.  In the background you can also see a collar she designed and made.

Sorry for the size of the photos, but the piece is so impressive I wanted you to see it close up.  She is also working on a life-size carriage.  Only part of it is done; for scale know that each window is 20″ wide!

Absolutely awesome pieces!

I just returned yesterday from the IOLI (International Old Lacers Inc.) convention held in Los Angeles.  It was a week of making lace, learning techniques, looking at lace displays, visiting with friends from all over that we only meet at convention, and buying lacemaking supplies from the excellent vendors.  I’m exhausted!

I took a 12-hour class in ’s Gravenmoerse lace with Susan Wenzel.  I would have gladly taken the class all day if it had been offered, but I still managed to get a lot done in the afternoons on my own.  I completed the pendant and bracelet this week.  The bracelet was still on my pillow when I came home, but I proudly wore it today.

I also took two bead knitting classes with Kathy Kirchner, but both those projects are only at the halfway stage, so I’ll post photos of them when they are done.

We recently had the warmest day of the year so far so I took my bobbin lace pillow out to the porch and enjoyed the sunshine.

I finished the bookmark over the weekend while camping and already have another one started so I can build up my stash.

The pattern is by Lacy Susan and the thread is size 70 Venne Colcotton with a Gold Rush gimp.  It’s a pretty mossy green.