Making a Teneriffe Cushion

Day 352: I've spoken before about my maternal grandmother who taught me many of my needlearts skills, and had it not been for her, I might never have delved into the nearly-forgotten technique of Teneriffe lace. She used to include a Teneriffe wheel design on all her chicken-scratch aprons (another obscure type of needlework), and I have always worked my Teneriffe on fabric in the same manner. To make independent medallions, the needleworker must use some type of form which can hold pins securely. A bobbin lace pillow can be used, but the size is cumbersome. Ideally, Teneriffe cushions can be held in the hand. There are a number of different styles, and I prefer a domed type to a flat surface because the lace has a tendency to curl in on itself as the threads are drawn together to form the design, but I did not have a cushion. After several days of exploring the options for building one (foam? cardboard? walnut shell filling? sawdust? leather top?), I came up with a Grand Plan. I bought a small wool needle-felting pad, cut it into a circle with a coping saw, made graduated circles of sheet felt to pile into a dome, and then I took a needle-felting tool to the top and stabbed the livin' daylights out of it until my arm was tired. The result was a nice, firm dome. Next, I took a piece of a gardener's knee pad and mounted it on the bottom to give height (my Teneriffe pins are quite long). The requirement here was that a doll needle needed to be able to pierce the cushion all the way through from top to bottom in order to secure the starting thread. The knee pad was perfect. Once the form was made, I sewed a cover for it, a necessary addition to keep the lace from picking up "fuzzies." Eventually, I'll put a colourful woven band around the outer edge, but right now, I just want to make some lace.