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Belgian Bobbin Lace: A New Family Heirloom – Part 2
Having refreshed my bobbin lace-making skills by creating a sampler using various combinations of the three basic types of stitches, it was time to choose a pattern for my niece’s wedding garter. The type of Belgian bobbin lace that I make is called Torchon. It is made up of motifs such as spiders, fans and hearts. I decided to choose a pattern that would embody several motifs that would represent my niece and her special day. So, if you look closely, you will see hearts (in white) for her beloved, pine trees (in gold) for her second love, the Ottawa Valley, and spiders (in white, silver and gold) for her…
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Belgian Bobbin Lace: A New Family Heirloom – Part 1
My favourite (and only) niece celebrated her first wedding anniversary last month. This momentous occasion, along with my recent trip to Bruges, reminded me of a gift I made for her wedding. While I completed it during the summer of 2017, I actually started it in 1995, during my first Bruges visit. That visit was part of my first trip to Europe which included stops in Paris and Amsterdam. I spent the most time in Bruges though. This was due to the fact that I had registered for a week-long lace-making course at the Kantcentrum – Lace Centre. My goal was to learn to make the beautiful and delicate Belgian…
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A Quilt Community
The last weekend of May is a special time in south-western Ontario. On this weekend for each of the past 52 years, a small community has come together to host a unique charitable event that benefits the less fortunate around the world in a big way (to the tune of $14,000,000 since 1967). It is the New Hamburg Mennonite Relief Sale. The heart of the Sale is a quilt auction featuring handmade quilts donated by quilt-makers from around Ontario and beyond. But this Sale is so much more than that. Supported by local businesses and churches, as well as more than 2000 volunteers, this is truly a community event. That…
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Special Delivery
I was so excited to see the courier pull up in front of my home one day last week. I knew that he was carrying a very special package and I couldn’t wait to open it. Shortly after I launched this blog, I decided that I wanted to have a calling card that I could give to people to introduce them to L’Abeille Française – The French Bee – in person. So I reached out to my brand designer Julia of Julabrand Design Co. and asked her for help with this. Not only is Julia my beautiful niece, she is also a talented and experienced graphic designer, having trained at…
