|
DESIGNING Torchon Lace is quite an adventure for me. I usually employ the 'what if' method - what if I do this will it work? Using this method I think I have enhanced my designs with many variations which work well especially when using colour.
I do not sell my designs direct but they are available from Prescencia UK along with the threads I used for the samples. Also available from Presencia is everything the lacemaker requires along with supplies for other crafts as well.
BELOW are more samples of my work. I must confess that I personally have not worked a lot of them, but they have been beautifully worked by Vivienne of Presencia UK (formerly Biggins) and the actual lace can been seen at one of the many laceshows at which Presencia is on show.
VIVIENNE, whose love is colour work (as can be seen from many of the pictures) will often ask ''Can you do a round/square/oval mat with x,y,and/or z' and I play with the idea a bit and eventually a pattern begins to take shape. I email it to Vivienne and she sends it back, I amend it and it starts it's journey back and forth until the final pricking is born. Teamwork has achieved what I believe to be a wonderful catalogue of Torchon Lace patterns. Vivienne thinks it's magic that produces the patterns but it's just being on the 'same wavelength' where lace is concerned.
THERE are quite a few bookmarks on this page. I find them extremely useful. If I have come up with a new way of arranging stitches, then I incorporate them into a bookmark. What this does is enable anyone who is a bit dubious about a feature to practice on a small bookmark before setting out on a large project of which they are unsure.
MY love affair with lacemaking started back in the early '80s when a girl I worked with asked me to go with her to lacemaking classes. At the time I was very much into handicrafts and cross-stitch in particular and so said yes. Jackie and I went to the classes on a weekly basis when we weren't on shift at the factory. Having quickly picked up the basics I was disappointed at the lack of patterns suitable for my blossoming talent so I began to design my own. At that time I did not know of Biggins - I had not yet acquired a computer so did not have access to the internet.
MY involvement with Biggins began in the mid-'90s when I discovered the website. I had sent for some lace threads. The particular one I wanted was now discontinued but Vivienne sent me an alternative reel, free of charge. I reciprocated by sending her a couple of patterns I had made, and the rest, as they say, is history. I am ever grateful to Vivienne for her guidance and friendship and support over the years.
|
