Bobbin' Along

Day 127: I'm no red, red robin, but I'm bob-bob-bobbin' along with a wide assortment of implements on which thread/cord/yarn can be wound. Spinning takes bobbins, as do weaving, embroidery, sewing and sometimes also knitting and crocheting, but the queen of all bobbin projects is bobbin lace. Not only are there different types of bobbins used in the various styles of bobbin lace, even a small piece (say an inch wide) may take two dozen or more to create. I once saw a woman working on an edging roughly three inches wide with over 200 bobbins spread out across the pillow. The most I've ever managed was a little over fifty. Some types of bobbin can be wound with a physical aid. Others have to be loaded by hand (a tedious task, believe me). I'm sure I've missed a few which could have been in this array, but this needed to be a short post because this weekend, I'll be occupied with delivering a hands-on lesson in how to warp a loom.

Time To A-ply Myself

Day 17: It's time to "a-ply" myself to the task! There's a system here, not a backlog. You see, it's recommended that after spinning a "singles" (I'd call it a "single," but the spinning community uses "singles" as a singular noun), you let the yarn have at least 24 hours to rest and adjust to its new twisted lifestyle. This gives it time to get the kinks out before it's asked to twist the opposite direction in tandem with another "singles." I spin one bobbin and set it aside. Then I spin another. In order to give the second one its rest, then I will spin a third (in this case, of a different colour), and when that one is off the wheel, then I can ply the first two singles together. Alternately, I can spin two more singles as I've done here, which gives the second two a chance to rest while I ply the first two. It really isn't as complicated as it sounds. In the end, these four bobbins will yield two double-ply yarns and will then be freed up for the next round of singles spinning.

Kumihimo Braiding

Day 177: I have to admit that I don't know much about the history of kumihimo beyond the fact that it originated in Japan and was traditionally made on a barstool-like table called a marudai. Wikipedia goes into greater detail, as do many websites. I became interested in it as a means of making sinnets such as those created by sailors and depicted in "Ashley's Book of Knots" and other nautical references. Kumihimo can be done much more quickly and at least in my hands, with more even tension than working with untensioned cord, and of course by using a kumihimo loom (disk or plate), much finer threads can be employed. Durable closed-cell foam looms are available in many craft stores. Good threads are somewhat harder to come by. The craft outlets push nylon rattail and hemp, both of which give a coarse, clunky product unlike silk, rayon or floss. Kumihimo has seen an upsurge in popularity over the last few years thanks to the attention it has received from the jewelry trade, and much modern kumihimo is done with beads strung on the warp. However, I feel that its true beauty lies in the intricate patterns which can be woven with variously coloured cords. Here, I've done up some samples in simple 8-strand and 12-strand braiding. The blue/green/purple strand is a work in progress.

Rob's Wellington Cap

Day 139: Thanks to a friend with a 3D printer, I was able to fill a request from Rob (a friend in New Zealand) to "make me one of them flash beenies in Wellington colours, please." Seamus printed up 32 intarsia bobbins in assorted colours using an internet image for the basis of his design. They work perfectly! I prefer using bobbins to making yarn "butterflies" because when you're working more than a couple of changes, the strands tangle. Bobbins hold the yarn securely through the untangling process, but butterflies tend to fall apart and frequently need rewinding. Horizontal stripes don't require bobbins or butterflies, but unless the yarn is carried on the back of the work, vertical sections are best worked in intarsia. I experimented with both techniques as well as several ways of effecting decreases before I was satisfied with the pattern for Rob's Wellington cap. Originally, I'd planned the hat to be a Christmas present, but Christmas falls in mid-summer in New Zealand, so I mailed it off to him this week.

Canada Post

Day 79: We often tease our friends north of the border about how long it takes mail to be delivered by dogsled or carrier-beaver. Last year, a package I mailed to Ontario took over a month to arrive. This year, a box coming the opposite direction took over two weeks to show up on my doorstep. It was packed with assorted goodies including hand-turned lace-making bobbins and shells formerly inhabited by an invasive species of snail (thoroughly cleaned). Spread out together, I thought they made a lovely warm-toned still life. Thank you, Di!

Lace And Lavender

Day 294: Silly as it seems, I had to remind myself that I wasn't growing lavender as a feature in my flower bed, I was growing it as a crop to be harvested. After making half a dozen lavender bottles (lavender wands), I wanted to make sachets, so picked several bouquets, cleaning the buds from the stems as they dried. I chose a wide glitter-dotted voile ribbon for the sachet fabric and hand-stitched it into two-inch pillows which were stuffed to the max with fragrant, lovely lavender; functional to be sure, but not particularly esthetically pleasing. They needed fancying up with some hand-made lace.

Initially, I'd planned to tat the edgings, but tatting cotton is getting terribly hard to find these days, at least in the #80 size I prefer. I dismissed crocheting as too coarse and common. Bobbin lace? "Little Hearts" from Geraldine Stott's "100 Traditional Bobbin Lace Patterns" is one of my favourites, but it meant that I would have to reduce the number of repeats for a handkerchief edging to one suitable for my sachets. That was easy enough to do, although it did mean making a new pricking.

"Little Hearts" takes 12 pair of bobbins and one gimp thread. I used sewing thread for the lace although it's a bit heavy for bobbin work, because the colour selection can't be beat. The gimp (the heavier thread outlining the hearts) is #8 perle cotton. The lace for each sachet takes approximately six hours to complete, time I spread out over several days, working on other projects in between bobbin binges.

I'm almost done with my fourth edging, and when it's done, I plan to make a few with finer white thread and variously coloured gimps just to have on hand for gifts. Who knows? You might even find a bit of bobbin lace in your Christmas stocking this year if you're good!

I Love Presents

Day 177: I love presents! And handmade ones are the very best anyone could ever hope to receive!

Yesterday a small box arrived from Canada. I knew it was coming and I knew what it contained, although I didn't know the specifics. When I opened it, out tumbled eighteen beautifully turned bobbin lace bobbins. I've spent this morning attaching the spangles (beads) which help keep the bobbins in place on the bolster.

These will count among my most treasured needlecraft tools because they were made especially for me by my wonderful friend Di Bédard. Thank you so much!