lace

Lesson learned: scarves need to be stored rolled, not folded.

This is the Double-bordered scarf with diamond borders from Victorian Lace Today, a scarf that I think looks much better at a closer gauge than pictured in the book. I made this out of the two skeins I rescued from the first project I posted to this blog. The pattern is a little strange (at some points you are reading the chart both backwards and forwards at the same time), but it makes perfect sense after you finish the first few repeats. I finished this months ago, hence the creasing problem. Seriously, roll your blocked scarves.

A few pages away in Victorian Lace Today is the Scarf with French trellis border. I think this scarf is only rarely made, since I couldn't find much evidence of it online, and I'm not surprised. The photos of it are not very appealing. In reality, it's a very interesting knit and only used about 2/3 of my skein of Crystal Palace Lace. The bottom border is worked, then turned sideways so that you are knitting the long middle section at a 90 degree angle to the border. At the end of the middle section, you again turn your work and finish it off with another border. Really very clever, and make the monotony of churning out long rectangles of lace a little better. I think the two scarves look like they should be worn together (especially with their fall colors), but it's hardly warm enough here to wear one scarf, much less two.

And finally, the bobbin lace. I found this Victorian lace forgotten in a box. It was absolutely filthy, but I thought I'd try and see what could be done with it. After a soak in some Woolite, lukewarm water and Borax, it came out wonderfully. I'm in the process of turning the lace above into a tablecloth by handsewing it onto green cotton. It's taking a long time, but maybe by the end of the year I'll have some finished photos of that.

When I first found the lace, I had no idea how it was made, only that it was marked "Cluny lace". About a week later, I was browsing a bookstore and found a book on bobbin lace sticking out of one of the shelves. The book is really dusty and a little bent, and I get the idea that it was there for a very long time. It must have been waiting for me, and I bought it right away. I've been trying my hand at making some lace of my own, and while I'm finally getting the hang of it, it's really rough going. It makes me appreciate the skill in my found Cluny lace even more.

Next week I hope to have a finished sweater to share, more Cluny lace, and maybe sometime in the future I'll be able to share my mother's found Edwardian era (I think) tatting. Lonely handcrafts seem to migrate to this family, hmm...