lacewise

[lacewise]

Are lace-makers ever struck by the realisation that all the holes were already there before they started?

[lacewise]

Finished my next square!!! Egg!!!

[lacewise]

All done (for now)!!! This one is. A jumble sksksk. Fish are tatted, coral is needle lace, sponges are cut up and glued together needle lace, anemones are woven squares cut up and glued down. Having fun!!! Next square is gonna be a ray gun I think!!!

[lacewise]

always complain about things. okay, you know how programmers explain their code to rubber ducks when it's not working? same principle. an appliance breaks down. I get pissed off, try everything, go through the various stages of despair etc. I complain about it to a friend and explain why it frustrates me so bad, and suddenly I'm thinking 'wait I should try unplugging it and then doing a factory reset and then—' and I go home and do that and it starts working again. I keep losing my earrings. I complain about it to a friend, about how I keep them all in a little dish but then the specific one I want always dematerialises the moment I want it. my friend says 'I just keep them on the little card backs they came with' and I think well shit, I always throw those out. but then I think aha I can make a bunch of pinholes in a decorative postcard. genius. I read a story. it's about something I'm usually into, but for some reason I don't like this story at all. I complain about it, I figure out what irritates me about it, I have a great idea for a way better story. I try a new recipe, it doesn't come together. I bitch about it like crazy, about what I thought I did right and how it failed, and before I know it I'm explaining out loud which parts I'm inexperienced at or didn't understand or adjusted wrong. I need a little table for drawing on. I complain about it in the group chat, two days later someone says 'hey I spotted the kind of table you're looking for on the side of the road, do you want to come pick it up'. I complain, endlessly. my life is enriched. the art of complaining.

[lacewise]

I’ll see “not your granny’s” textile art on modern or post-modern style pieces that have been popular since at least the 1980s, often the 1950s, and think to myself “how old do you think your grandmother is? This is quite literally our grandmothers’ textile arts”

[lacewise]

Making an egg!!

[lacewise]

sorry to anyone who followed me for anything, ever. you are not getting that.

[lacewise]

‘Chevalier de la Nuit’ perfume by Ciro, bottle by Julien Viard, 1924.

[lacewise]

I am gently taking your hands and begging you, BEGGING YOU, to understand that humans are not inherently harmful to the planet. We are animals who are part of the ecosystem. We belong here. This is our home. We belong here. You belong here. Yes, you belong here.

[lacewise]

Everything in my life has been a bit out of control lately. Sometimes. I just need a moment to sit, disconnect, and do some slow and methodical work.

Just one moment at a time.

I am working on a couched section for a silk and goldwork assignment. Using the koma for such a small section is super important.

[lacewise]

[lacewise]

I haven’t made a poll in a while so here we go:

Also if you are a lacer of Tumblr you should join the Lace Coven on Discord so you’re not alone in practicing this dark magic and summoning demons every time you make a mistake

[lacewise]

An incomplete list of reasons why crafting helps my mental health (and might help yours, too):

It stops me from doom scrolling: can't go on social media if my hands are full of yarn.

It gives me a sense of agency: a lot of things are messed up in a way that's beyond my control, but I can make something that didn't used to exist. It's evidence that I'm alive and I can impact the world, even if the impact is small.

It builds my tolerance for mistakes: I grew up a perfectionist , which is really bad for my wellness and my ability to complete tasks. But crafts are a great source of low-stakes mistakes to help me learn how to handle imperfection. And while there are certainly mistakes I'll always fix, I also have many opportunities to decide a mistake is acceptable and leave it in favor of getting to the finish line.

It interrupts rumination: even if I'm still chewing on some troubling news, it's not front of mind if I need to focus on getting this seam straight or whatever

It helps me meet good people: although there are obvious exceptions, I've found most craft-centered spaces (IRL and online) to be full or supportive, kind, helpful people in all walks of life

It encourages a growth mindset: I'm always learning new things in crafting, and that builds my identity as someone who can grow and improve.

And finally, making your own clothes is empowering: I know this is specific to fiber crafts, but it's important. When you make your own clothes, you flip the notion that you're supposed to "fit into" a certain size and instead remember that clothes are supposed to fit you. You get to learn how to dress the body you have with love and care, instead of allowing manufacturers decide how clothes should look.

[lacewise]

Fabrics too

sorry to be brave on the internet but I think food labels should list every single ingredient and that there should be harsher penalties for mislabeling and deceptive labeling

[lacewise]

Finished Object Friday! Show me the things and let me hype you!

[lacewise]

Finished Project Friday!

If you’ve finished a project, show me and let me hype you!

[lacewise]

With the LynxLace webarchive having gone down before (it’s back now!) I really, really wanted to speed up making lace tutorials but I wanted to wait until I had inspiration (amongst other things) so I was actually contributing to free needle lace resources online beyond the basics I see redone a lot. (Also wanted it to be more inclusive than the meta history research I’ve been doing.)

Inspiration has finally hit so you may see me posting silly videos or reposting research from this blog on YouTube (since I am no longer feature-restricted! For now!)

Please don’t be alarmed. I will still be here, still part of the lace discord, and still working on a couple of FAQ posts for a subreddit I shall probably then promptly abandon

(This will also take a while as needle lace is Not Fast.)