Catching up...

with Karen's class.  This section has taken me a long time, partly because of all the other commitments I've been whinging about, partly because I had so many ideas - and I still haven't got them all down on paper.

We started by looking at lace for inspiration. Now, for someone who lives in jeans and t-shirts, I have rather a lot of lace. Some inherited, some sent to me by a kind on-line friend, some bought, little of it ever used. 

Drawing the lace was more of a challenge than finding some. I made a few sketches before we went on the drawing course, but when we got back I started again... Still not brilliant, but definitely better than before.

That was just the start of Karen's ideas,  as you can see - although the ribbon and tassel were my own. The little edelweissy things are embroidered inserts, as suggested by Karen, (although she puts hers in much more neatly) and inspired by this lace, which has what look like woven picots in one of the motifs. I wish I knew more about lace - any experts out there?

It's not stained, by the way, just a c**p photo.

At about the same time we started this section, I came across this image, which got me thinking about the difference between black lace and white lace. How different the 'feel' of the portrait would have been if she had been wearing white! 

So things turned a little dark.

For this page, as well as this weeks ideas, I went back to some of the first techniques Karen taught us, as she keeps encouraging us to do. I really enjoyed making the little blackwork stitch sampler - just wish I'd mounted it straight... 

Lots of room on this side for more explorations, but I want to get on to the final section of the course before too long, as I've signed up for Karen's next one, staring soon.

More pictures of my work, and everyone else's, here.