Romanian Point Lace Sampler - Done!

I took my sampler off the pattern last night, and it stayed in one piece! The shape changed a little, I can see that might be a problem in a larger piece.

What comes next? I have some tatting in my project bag, and I keep working on RPL braid.

Romanian Point Lace Sampler - Almost Done!

After thinking it over for at least a week, I decided to add some braid to separate the trunk of the tree from the center. I considered making a bar across the space, but decided to add braid instead. In the end, I don't think it mattered much, I can't really see the braid anyway. I wanted something to anchor my needle lace stitches in the trunk, and I think it did the job.
I also did a little star in the center of the tree. It was pretty easy, but I think I pulled my threads too tight. The sampler may be a bit lumpy when I take it off the fabric. I used my scanner for this picture. The colors are pretty close to real life, and I included a small ruler so you can see the size.
I used two different needle lace stitches in the trunk, I wanted one side darker than the other. I had to do some short rows to fill it in, but I think it worked okay.
I'm still thinking about the blank ovals. I originally intended to fill those in with different fillings, but it was just too small. Now I think it would interfere with the beauty of the fillings of the ovals, and I will probably leave them blank.
If I make this again, I would scan my original drawing and enlarge it just a touch. I would also have to make some changes to include the little braid at the top of the trunk. All in all, I'm pretty happy with my sampler. I tried needle weaving, needle lace stitches, braid, and the little star in the center. I think it gave me the opportunity to get the feel of what RPL is like. I'm not taking it off just yet, I'm not real sure what might happen.

Update

I've been busy this past week. My first grandchild was born, and we've visited twice. I was finishing up some knitted sweaters for him, and decided to keep on knitting baby hats for the hospital.

I've made no progress on my RPL sampler, but my Ebay Purchase arrived. The mailman also delivered the VHS tape of RPL. The tape is fantastic, and I could see I was making my braid as I should. I need to practice, I can get some of my braid to unravel from the start, but not for very long. The books are awesome, and I love the variety of patterns and stitches. These books fill in some gaps the T&W book didn't cover completely. I am still considering different ways to finish my RPL sampler, now there's even more food for thought.

I have tatted a little on my single shuttle edging, it's about 9" now. I have yet to find some hanky fabric that looks good, there's another fabric store I will stop by later in the week.

Romanian Point Lace Sampler - Oval 4 & 5

I stitched the last two ovals today. The one on the left is Divided Wheat Ear, on the right is Plain Wheat Ear. I ended Divided Wheat Ear early, and didn't see it until I snipped my thread. I decided against removing or adding more rows, and made sure I did the Plain Wheat Ear correctly.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do in the little oval spaces. I meant to do some little wheels, but the spaces are so small, and #20 thread seems so big. The whole thing is so small, I hate to overwhelm the tree with too many stitches. I'm going to think about it awhile. Maybe I'll do some wrapped bars, I'm just not sure.

I think it is a little small, and I may someday scan the design and enlarge it just a bit. I had trouble laying all the foundation threads, they laid against the braid and were hard to pick up. I've had a lot of fun with this little sampler, I'm eager for the workshop in April!

Romanian Point Lace Sampler - Ovals 2 & 3

I finished all the foundation threads this morning, and put some stitches in 2 more ovals. The oval to the left of center is called Arabesque( page 22). The oval to the right of center is Ziggurat (page 21).My needle weaving looks better than my needle wrapping, but, hey, it's a sampler and I'm learning!

I was an Ebay virgin, until yesterday. I got to second base when I bought the Romanian Point Lace book on Half.com. It was so simple to create an Ebay ID and I already had PayPal.
I was innocently surfing and I checked Ebay for RPL books, little did I know I was headed for third base. I found a set of 3 Romanian Point Lace books by Sylvia M. and there was no turning back. I made my first Ebay Purchase - Home Run!
Ebay is far too painless and simple enough that I did it without a hitch. I could have waited till Saturday and bid at the last minute. Probably no one would have bid. But nooo, the evil Buy It Now button tempted me. After all, even at the Buy It Now price I was getting the third book free. Who can resist Buy Two, Get One Free? Sigh. I am so bad. No more Ebay, I promise. Back to my regularly scheduled lace making. Taking advantage of another day with good sunlight.
Showing my progress with my personal Tatting Challenge. I decided to stay with the blue variegated thread and already have about 6". You can see it curves a little, but that means I'll be able to gather it around the corners.

Romanian Point Lace Sampler - First Oval

It was sunny this morning, and I took advantage of the good light to do the first oval of my RPL Sampler. I was so pleased when I finished stringing the foundation threads, I stopped to take a picture. I wasn't sure how good the next step would look.
This is my finished oval, I followed the directions for Obelisk (p.20) in Thompson's book. I decided to keep the needle weaving in the same color as the braid. I didn't want to deal with hiding the colored thread in the braid this time. I can't wait to use some of my stash of tatting thread. The colors will be beautiful.
I can see my foundation threads are a bit loose. I think I could have couched my braid a bit firmer. The foundation threads seemed good when I started, but loosened up by the time I was done with the needle weaving. I'll try to make the foundation threads of the next oval firmer, but not distort the shape. That's what samplers are for; learning.

Project Plans

I went to the fabric store today and found almost everything I was looking for. I found 2 quarter flats that I want to use for a needle case, muslin and interfacing, and a yard of fabric I thought would make some hankies for my mom. I wasn't looking for more tatting shuttles, but I can't resist yellow Clover shuttles, so I used my coupon and got 40% off.

I found some crochet thread stashed and forgotten years ago, and I thought it might make some interesting RPL braid. It is #20 and the color name is Garland. I worked and worked, but can't get a decent cord out of this thread. I changed hook sizes, but still have trouble. I thought it might be hard to see the loops because the thread is colored, I'll try again when we have some good sunshine. Maybe in June or July.

I think I will join the 25 Motif Challenge, unofficially, that is. My mom likes the tatted hanky I made last year and I'd like to make another. I don't plan on making 25 motifs, but I will challenge myself to 40 Inches of tatted edging. I like a single shuttle edging because it is easy to carry just the shuttle and no ball, plus the edge will be flexible enough to ease its way around corners. I started with a blue variegated #80 thread in a simple edge, but I think it's a bit narrow. I may look through some books for a wider edge, or I could start this one over and use 5ds instead of 4ds. The blue thread looks a bit tired to me. Coincidentally, I have a new yellow shuttle I can fill once I decide which color Mom wants. She was a member of the Red Hat Club, and I think a purple edge might be a hit. The variegated red is snappy, reminds me of cinnamon red hot candies. The green/white/purple combo is awfully pale, and there's a lot of white in that. I'm leaning toward the red, because I don't think I could do a long haul of purple. I love my mom, but really, purple?

Finally, I'll give you a couple of links for Romanian Point Lace. Here is a page of information from the Lacefairy. From there, you can find a link to a slide show of Romanian lace and costumes at the Lacis museum. Here is another link to Sylvia's Flowers and Lace. I'd like to order a copy of her book, but I'll wait till after the April Workshop and May's Trunk Show.

Romanian Point Lace Sampler

I took advantage of the strong afternoon sunlight, and finished couching the braid to my pattern. I wasn't sure if I should sew the braids together with #20 thread, or if I should find some sewing thread. I decided it would be easier to continue with #20, and it worked out all right. The worst part is threading the needle with #20 thread. I need to find one with a bigger eye, I guess. If you look closely, you can see I had a problem with one join. I had a knot in the thread, and I couldn't get it out. I'm not sure how it got there, but I have made a mental note: When you start your braid, make sure there are no knots in the tail.
My hoya multiflora is almost ready to bloom. The buds are so full, I expect them to open any day. I will be interested to see if they open slowly, or just pop like kernel of popcorn.