Pag medallion 2

This is my second Pag medallion.  One of the reasons I rushed through completing the first medallion is to be able to start a second one in class.  Good thing I did!  Although starting a pattern on the first day made a lot of sense as we were walked through it, when it came time to start a new one a few days later, I really did not remember the details any more.  I also wanted to learn how to make the flower petals.  I really, really like flowers!

Most of this was completed after I came home from the congress and it shows.  There are many, many, many mistakes, but I guess I will take it as a positive that I caught my mistakes soon after they were made.  I did not want to take scissors to my lace though.  I was anxious to finish this and start another piece.  Knowing there is no book to look up things I forgot how to do makes this nerve wracking (well, as nerve wracking as lace can be...).

I hope to start the second piece sometime this week.  It looks to be a hectic week at work though, so I am not sure how realistic it is.  My plan is to repeat the first piece to get a better grasp of the basics.

Lumpy sofa pillow - aka needle lace pillow

The pillow used for Pag needle lace is not like the needle lace pillow most are used to seeing.  In fact, at the start of the class my thought was that they were handing out sofa pillows!  I later learned that the instructors had to quickly make additional pillows for us to use in class so most of them were not proper pillows.  The one I used was certainly not - it was very lumpy and not very stiff.

When I came home, I pinned my work in progress on one of my bobbin lace pillows, but it was not easy to work.  I can see why the Pag lacers use the pillow they do.  My next goal was to make a pillow for Pag lace.

This is an interim pillow for two main reasons.  First, it is not a proper Pag pillow.  I have probably mentioned before how I do not sew.  I tried to make a proper Pag pillow but my sewing skills and sewing machine just would not cooperate.  In the end, I literally ended up making a pillow consisting of two squares sewn together.  It should do for the time being (I hope!).  Second, the pillow is very lumpy! I filled it with polyester fiber and no matter how hard I tried, it is kind of lumpy.  A proper pillow is stuffed with wool fleece.  I would assume wool fleece cooperates better than polyester fiber fill.

I love the fabric, but I suspect it will not be very durable.  The fabric frays like crazy and I am not sure it will be strong enough to withstand the tension the pattern is under while working.  Another example of where my sewing and general fabric skills are very much lacking.  It seemed study enough in the store when I bought it...

Hopefully this will work as I work out how to make a proper pillow.

Travel doily

Another completed tatting WIP!  This was actually finished about a week or two ago, but I just finished all the ends earlier this week.  I am happy this one is done!

When I first started tatting, I had one thought - portable!  I have never been tempted to travel with my lace pillow so I was happy to have something I bring along on vacation.  For quite a while after I learned how to tat, I dutifully brought some tatting with me on all vacations.  For some reason though, I hardly ever pulled out my shuttles.  The only time I can remember tatting on vacation was once when we were camping and had a day of rain.  We literally spent most of the day inside the tent - not exactly the weekend trip we had envisioned!  This is the last doily I took with me on vacation and I actually started it for the sole purpose of taking it with me.  I thought about taking it out on the train on the way to the airport, but decided not to.  That was the only time during my vacation that I even thought about it.  After that trip, I decided not to bother taking anything with me anymore.  That was in the fall of 2013.

This is another one of Stawasz's designs.  It badly needs blocking - I am confident that if blocked, there would be no ruffling.  I am not sold on the little "connectors" between the motifs of the outer round.  I think they are too floppy and do not lie well.  Maybe if I blocked it, it would look better.

Overall thought, I like the design.  It was also pretty fun to make.  A lot of ends to sew in, but I tried to make as many of the individual motifs assembly style as possible.  That works better for me.

Made with DMC Special Dentelles 80, the piece measures just over 12" in diameter.