Even though I think of myself as somewhat minimalist, I do like a touch of frippery here and there. I’ve heard other women confess this dark secret, too. We love lace the way we love patchwork quilts and vintage buttons. Mostly our lace is confined to underwear, but there’s no reason not to indulge your inner frill seeker and use it in the broad light of day. On a pretty homemade Christmas apron, for example, a doll’s dress, a hand-embroidered hanky, or as a ribbon on a bridal gift.

These laces are the beginning of South Seas Knitting’s haberdashery department. What a lovely word. It brings to mind polished wood counters with glass fronted drawers, and a lift attendant to take you up to the ladies lounge for afternoon tea.

They are made in Nottingham, England, one of the homes of the lace making tradition, and they’re 100% cotton.

For a more exotic effect, here are some made in Italy, also from cotton, with a dash of gold metallic thread, perfect for a bridal garter.

Cuteness alert!

Patterns for irresistible knitted friends have just arrived. Among this mischievous group by Rebecca Danger are Wasabi the Gregarious Pug (below), who is incredibly outgoing and will do anything for attention (does that mean he’s insecure? surely not)…..

Penelope the Empathetic Monster, who thinks that all life’s problems can be fixed with one big hug…..

and Greta the Captivating Cat, who adores silent movies. I’m guessing she probably adores lace, too.

Oooops, it looks like Greta has slipped away, as cats will do. She is currently out of stock. I’m sure she will return soon. Please check back from time to time. Meanwhile, there are many other fantastic creatures to be made from Danger Crafts Patterns

The wonderful thing about making toys, is that gauge doesn’t matter, so you can use any yarn, especially scraps from your stash. One suggestion for stuffing: organic wool fibre. It’s the best, and 100% natural.

Happy knitting!

–Mel

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 5:07 pm and is filed under Uncategorized, inspiration. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.