In December 2001, I took a wire lace workshop with Lenka Suchanek of Silver Pin Studio. This was my first attempt at bobbin lace with wires. In the first day of class, we all made bracelets:



The bracelet is a long strip of plaited lace. When it's all made, a heavier wire is threaded through the center of the strip (and the beads are added to the heavier wire). The ends of the wire all get hidden in the beads, too cool!

The next day, we worked on earrings. I took another photo trying to get a good picture of them, it's debatable if I succeeded! The oval earring and the earring with the flower are both Lenka's teaching projects, and the round earring (also pictured above with the bracelet) is my adaptation of her bracelet pattern to get a matching set of earrings.


I'm making some napkin rings (using the bracelet pattern) as a gift. Here's a photo of one of them before adding beads. I just used the magenta napkin to try it on for size. Here's the complete set of 4 with beads from above, from the side, and a closeup of a single ring. The beads are red tiger eye, and I had fun coming up with a slightly different beading pattern for each one.


I dug out my compass and a ruler to design a snowflake ornament with crystal beads. My original conception was something that could be either a Christmas tree ornament or that could be worn on a necklace, but it feels a little flimsy to wear, being made with 2 strands of silver-plated copper wire AWG 35 per bobbin. A heftier wire or more strands would probably make it strong enough to wear. It's just under 3 inches across.


I'm really enjoying the technique and hope to have some more pieces to post here soon!

© Emma Crew, 2001
emmacrew@yahoo.com
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