Tapestry Crochet

Not your grandmother's crochet!
I read an article in the Summer 2010 issue of Interweave Crochet magazine and it got me interested in some different types of crochet.  Although I learned to crochet before I learned to knit, I have always preferred the knitted fabric.  Crochet reminded me of 1970's hippie style bags and vests, or granny square afghans in awful colors.  I took a class on Irish Crochet lace at a lace day last year and that was fascinating, but very slow and exacting.  The article was about double-ended crochet, which is done with a double ended crochet hook and makes a fabric with two different sides.  I tried to duct tape two crochet hooks together to try the technique, but I wasn't successful. So I called my local yarn shop and ordered a double ended crochet hook and put crochet aside for awhile.
 The next weekend I was up in Asheville for the Southern Highlands Craft Guild show at the Convention Center.  The next one is in October - you should go - its always awesome - textiles, furniture, music, jewelry, demonstrations, blacksmiths, etc...  Right down the street is the Earth Guild, a shop that sells everything a fiber artist could want.  (Asheville is a great place to visit- I especially like Malaprops Books and the Chocolate Fetish).  At Earth Guild, they had some interesting caps hanging on the wall behind the counter, done in tapestry crochet.  There was a pattern explaining the technique that I bought, and I made this:   

I liked it so much, I made this:

 They were easy to make and each took two balls of Lily's Sugar and Cream cotton yarn that can be bought at Michael's for about $1.75 a ball. 

Tapestry crochet, also called mosaic crochet, is done with a single crochet stitch hooked over a core yarn.  You can do it in two colors, with the second color carried in the core.  It can be worked back and forth in rows, or round and round in a spiral.  There is an excellent introduction and pictures and free patterns on Carol Ventura's website.  She also has written books on the subject.  "More Tapestry Crochet" is still in print and available at many libraries and at amazon.com.

Because the stitches are essentially square, you can crochet any design you can graph.  I found an excellent website called  microrevolt.org.  They have a free program called KnitPro that will take a picture and turn it into a chart.  I took my Owl avatar

 and used KnitPro to turn it into a chart that you could use for cross stitch or crochet, very detailed, with each square in the appropriate color.  I would show you the results, but the software won't support showing the Pdf file on the blog.  Trust me - try out the program - its wonderful.  You can set the program for needlepoint, crochet or cross stitch (square graphs) or knit portrait or knit landscape (rectangular graphs).
Tapestry crochet fabric (especially 4 ply cotton) is thick, but not chunky looking, and would make good bags or placemats or table runners.
There is an article in the September/ October 1995 issue of Piecework magazine about Guatemalan tapestry crochet, also by Carol Ventura, with a small brightly colored circular purse to make. 
Flickr has some nice pictures of tapestry crochet.
Enjoy the rest of the summer - its going fast!

Tonder Lace

                                                       Nancy's Big Heart of Denmark

Tonder is a city in Denmark (North Schleswig or South Jutland) that had an important lace industry in the 17th and 18th centuries.  A complete history of the industry in the area can be found in Skovgard's Technique of Tonder Lace (11-24) and in Palliser's History of Lace (273-277).  Please see the bibliography at the end of this post.

                                                              Toadstool, from Skovgaard's Techniques
One interesting story is that a young lacemaker named Kirstin Svendsdatter found a golden horn buried in the ground while she was walking to work one day.  She wrote to King Christian IV, who gave the horn to his son.  The king rewarded Kristin with enough money that she was able to marry her sweetheart and live happily ever after.  The horn is made of sheet gold and is covered in runic inscriptions.  It was probably a drinking horn, rather than a hunting horn, and a replica (the original was stolen and melted down) is now in the Danish National Museum in Copenhagen.
Christian IV is credited with improving and protecting the lace industry in Denmark.  In the early 18th century, a group of lacemakers from Brabant in the Netherlands and Belgium settled in Tonder and added new motifs and grounds to the lace.  By the beginning of the 19th century there were anywhere from 12,000 to 16,000 lacemakers (Skovgard, Technique, 17) to 20,000 lacemakers (Palliser, 275) in the Tonder area.  Many lacemakers devoted their entire careers to making one specific pattern.  "One widow, however, is recorded who lived to the age of eighty and brought up seven children on the produce of a narrow edging, which she sold at sixpence the yard" (Palliser, 276).

                                                           Eileen, from Skovgaard's Techniques

                                                          Bohnstedt, reconstructed by Bobbi from an antique lace
When cotton was introduced in the  early 19th century, the industry was already declining.  This may have been due to the changes in fashions brought on by the French Revolution, but also to the quality of the thread available. Coarser threads made for coarser laces, that were more quickly sold, but did nothing to improve the quality of the laces.  After 1864, when Denmark was forced to give part of the Tonder area to Germany, many lacemakers quit making lace for both financial reasons and because they did not want their lace sold or displayed in Germany.  It had always been a specifically Danish industry.

                                                               Nancy's Tonder handerchiefs
Lacemaking is celebrated in the Tonder region today.  The Tonder Museum has a large collection of laces and lacemaking equipment and publishes books on the art.  There is a lace festival every three years with exhibitions, lectures and workshops.  The next one will be held June 7-9, 2013.

Bibliography
These are books I own - there are several others available, but many are out of print.  See the IOLI library for more titles.

Hansen, Astrid.  Femten Bredere Tonderkniplinger.  Tonder Museum, 2004.  15 patterns with prickings, diagrams and photos, with an introduction.  In Danish.

Nissen, Karen Trend.  Knipling 3:  Tonder-Knipling.  Borgen, 1986.  A very thorough primer on designing and working Tonder laces.  In Danish, but an English translation is available.  Many of these patterns are available completely diagrammed with prickings from Karelly Knipleservice in Denmark.

OIDFA, the International Bobbin and Needle Lace Organization.  Point Ground Laces:  a Comparative Study.  OIDFA, 2001.  A comparison of the different point ground laces, including Tonder.

Palliser, Mrs. Bury.  History of Lace.  Dover Publications, 1984.  A history of most laces, including lots of photos.

Skovgaard, Inge.  The Technique of Tonder Lace.  Batsford, 1991.  A wonderful introduction to Tonder lace, in English, but now out of print.  Many beautiful patterns, from the simple to the complex, with photos, pricking, diagrams and working notes.  The IOLI library has it available for members to borrow.

Skovgaard, Inge Wind.  Tonderkniplinger I and Tonderkniplinger II.  Forlaget akacia, 2002.  Both of these books have great patterns, with prickings and diagrams.  The text is only in Danish. 

Southard, Doris.  Lessons in Bobbin Lacemaking.  Dover Publications, 1977.  This is a classic introduction to bobbin lace with some information and pictures of Tonder laces towards the end of the book.

Tonder Tyl:  17 Monstre Med Arbejdstegniper.  Knipling i Denmark, 1995.  17 patterns, with photos, diagrams and prickings, only in Danish.

Websites

Danish Lace Association.  Most content in Danish

David Collyer, a gallery of Tonder lace he has made.

The Lace Fairy has some beautiful pictures of Tonder lace, pillows, and bobbins.

Happy Lacing!

Russian Lace Knitting

Lately I've been noticing lots of Russian stuff around me - multiple Russian mobsters on Law and Order reruns, a movie called "Eastern Promises" with Viggo Mortensen (more Russian mobsters, jail tattoos, very violent, graphic sex), and most important - Orenburg Lace knitting.  My friend Ann is taking a class in August with Galina Khmeleva, owner of Skaska Designs and co-author of "Gossamer Webs, the History and Techniques of Orenburg Lace Shawls".  (Amazon only has the book from private sellers at $80 and $250- don't buy it from them, get it from the author at the link above for Skaska Designs, for less than $30).  I have been interested in this lace for awhile because of its beauty and history.  There are several Piecework magazine articles on this lace, most written by Galina Khmeleva.

• Sept Oct 2000 article about history and “Gossamer Webs” and a warm shawl pattern

• Sept Oct 2002 triangular warm shawl pattern

• May June 2008 lace scarf with “bow tie” pattern

• Nov Dec 2008 red lace cap pattern

• May June 2009 article tribute to Olga A Federova and an Indian Shawl pattern

• July Aug 2010 an Orenburg Sampler to Knit

Also, by other authors:

• May June 1995 snowflake motif scarf (Dixie Falls & Jane Fournier)

• Nov Dec 2009 Meteliza (blizzard) scarf (Inna Voltchkova)

 I've started a scarf from the Falls and Fournier article in black Jagger Zephyr (merino and silk) on size 2 needles.

You knit the border at one end, then you pick up the stitches along the edge of the border and knit the side borders and the central panel of the scarf at the same time.  At the other end, you knit another border and graft it to the body of the scarf.
Galina has another book "The Gossamer Webs Design Collection" which has instructions for knitting a small (handerchief sized) sample of a shawl, stitch patterns, and directions for a triangular scarf, a larger rectangular scarf, and a full sized shawl.  In the traditional manner, you cast on the border and knit it, use short rows to turn the lower right corner, pick up stitches along the edge of the border for the central panel, pick up the cast on stitches at the beginning of the border,  and turn the lower left corner.  You then knit the shawl with the borders continuing up both sides.  At the end of the shawl, you use short rows to knit the upper right corner, then you knit only the top border sideways onto the body of the shawl, knit the upper left corner and graft the short edge of the top border to the right side border.  Although this sounds incredibly complicated, once you get it on the needles its not too scary.  I made the sample shawl for a doll - unfortunately its at school so I can't take a picture of it for you. 
One of my favorite tidbits of Orenburg history is that tradition has it that the first shawl of this type was made by a women who sent it to Catherine the Great of Russian (1729 - 1796).  The empress liked it so much that she gave the women enough money to live comfortably forever.  However, to ensure that no one else would have a shawl like hers, she had the woman blinded.  Fortunately for the knitters of the world, the woman had previously taught her daughter how to knit, so the technique was not lost.
In honor of all this Russian serendipity, and in memory of my great grandmother, from Odessa, Russia, I made a big pot of Borscht, watched some more Law and Order reruns, and knit. 

Personal Bibliography of Lace Knitting Books
       These are in no particular order and are all excellent resources.  

• Knitting Lace:  A Workshop with Patterns and Projects, Susanna E. Lewis, Taunton Books, 1992.
• Knitting Lace Triangles, Evelyn A. Clark, Fiber Trends, Inc., 2007
• Traditional Knitted Lace Shawls, Martha Waterman, Interweave Press, 1998.
• Knitted Lace of Estonia: Techniques, Patterns and Traditions, Nancy Bush, Interweave Press, 2008
• Victorian Lace Today, Jane Sowerby, XRX Books, 2006
• Shawls and Scarves: the Best of Knitters Magazine, Nancy Thomas, XRX Books, 1999
• Folk Shawls:  25 Knitting Patterns and Tales from Around the World, Cheryl Oberle, Interweave Press, 2000
• Stahmans's Shawls and Scarves:  Lace Faroese-Shaped Shawls, Myrna Stahman, Rocking Chair Press, 2000

Happy Knitting!

Summer Lace

Lace at Sweet Briar was wonderful.  Good friends, great lace.  Clay has created a Facebook page for LASB.  I took the Tonder class with Bobbi Donnelly and worked on Fan Motif 1 (designed by Bobbi)) and started Bohnstedt (recreated by Bobbi from an antique lace). 

Working by a window is always a pleasure.  The facilities at the Florence Elston Inn and Conference Center at Sweet Briar College (Amherst, VA) are excellent.

Fan Motif I - My first goal was to finish something, and I did.  This was worked with 63 pairs of 140/2 Egyptian cotton and 4 pairs of gimp DMC Coton a Broder 25.

I started Bohnstedt, with 40 pairs of 140/2 Egyptian cotton and 5 pairs of gimp, DMC Coton a Broder 25.

Pretty flowers emerging from a forest of pins.
This has been my third retreat at Lace at Sweet Briar and each one was better than the last.
Once home, I have been trying to make some lace every day.  I am STILL working on the piece I started last summer, a reconstruction from the Barber-Conin Collection at Sweet Briar by Michael Guisiana and Bobbi Donnely that I am making into a handkerchief.

 The corners are challenging, to say the least (one reason why I am doing Bohnstedt as a straight lace).  Also, Tonder lace was traditionally done without corners, but was gathered when needed, and I am most inspired by traditional laces.

In the spring started a smaller Tonder lace, Bertha, for Peyton's 1st communion veil (in 3 years).  This is a Karelly pattern that takes 23 pairs of 140/2 Egyptian cotton and 2 pairs of gimp.

Perhaps with 3 years lead time, I will finish this.

 The gimp is laid in around each flower and then taken out at the bottom of the leaf, so it is a little fiddly, but very pretty.
With all of these projects going at once, bobbin management is becoming quite a problem.  I bought some bobbin holders from Lacy Susan (she and her husband Kenny are great vendors!!),  but at $4-$10 each, it can get pretty expensive.  So I went to Michaels and bought some craft tongue depresser things, got out my drill, and made my own.  I used an Xacto knife to cut the notches, bought elastic cord at a sewing shop, and finished them with clear wood finishing wax.

 The commercial one is on the top, mine below.  It  took me about 30 minutes to make 10 of them and I spent about $10 on supplies.  I have enough materials left to make 40 more when I need them.
I also saw some beautiful Flanders lace at the conference.  Last year I bought two Flanders books so I started the small Tulip flower from "Blumige Reste aux Flandern das Beste" by Ulrike Voelcker.  This one has 56 pairs of 100/2 Bockens linen.

The pattern is on page 27 and I enlarged it 160% for the linen thread.  The motif looks challenging, but the diagrams are excellent.  Dawn took a 3 day workshop with Ulrike doing this flower and she said it was a real bear.  Working with 100/2 linen after using so much 140/2 cotton is like using rope - a nice change.  I like the ground. Before I start the motif I'm going to redraw the working diagram in color to study how the threads travel.  
Summer is my favorite time of the year because I have lots of freedom to make lace (during the day) and knitting (at night).  Because I am a librarian, I keep my threads in an old card catalogue.

Camille the kitten is always waiting for me to drop something exciting.

This is my office, sloppy but comfortable.

This is the view out the window, where I can watch the birds, the fishermen, and the jet skis on the Fishing Creek Reservoir of the Catawba River.

Happy 4th of July, and enjoy the freedom of summer.