Something Tattered

I have been absent because I am sewing up a proper town dress from previously thrifted fabrics and trims. I am pretty darned excited about it. It is really fun but consuming... I learned how to use two new feet on this machine of mine. Needless to say, my newly embraced housework is slagging a tad. Ooops. I will recover the ground I had made...I remain undaunted by setback.

I also made some new lace necklaces for my next Etsy shop update. Thanks so much Ambika for your kind post a few months ago. It inspired me to get back into it.

All of these are hand sewn together on a dress form to get the weighting, balance and scale just right. The laces are all from small unusable scraps, carefully and nervously snipped. Some of the lace is handmade and I think some bits are machine made but so very high quality, that it is a pleasure to work with them.

I think when I first posted about making these, I wrote about the idea that I had of Mrs. Haversham's house in Great Expectations and imagined they were the sort of thing a girl might make from the abandoned detritus of a romance gone bad
to help ease the boredom of her own isolation.

I still think about that while I make these.

I sew in the beads and chains knotting each bit individually. Each necklace is initially laid out in bits and then built and layered until it lays perfectly and looks finished. They are a delight to make because of the way that they evolve and surprise me.

And it is fun to save some one else's beautiful handwork.