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I stuffed it really tight and sewn up the opening. Double sewn it so it wouldn’t accidentally come undone or rip. And here is my new Honiton pillow

I also made 3 cover cloths(as directed in the book by Elsie Luxton) and a bobbin roll cover. I was anxious to get started, so last night I prepared the pricking of the first lesson in her “Techniques of Honiton Lace” of the three leaf sprig. Here you see I have worked a few passes with 15 pairs. Have one more pair to introduce and then continue.

A closer view of the work

What is nice is the pillow is surprisingly light weight and I have a fairly long lap that I won’t be lacing up close to my chest. It is a good distance for lacing. Can’t do that with most of my other pillows.  Of course I would want it close to my sight since the lacework is so tiny!!

I am going ahead with my proposed project of making my own Honiton pillow so I can get started on learning more about Honiton Lace.  My dear friend, Celtic Dreamweaver showed me how to do this lace several years ago.  But I was using her tools and pillow.  And I really want to get going on this lace before my eyes give out!!  It is similar to Bruges except that you are using REALLY fine thread.  And my motto has always been, “the finer the thread, the better!”

I cut out two 14 inch circles of heavy tight woven navy fabric and a 3 inch by 44 inch long strip for the side. Sewn one circle to the side strip and then the other circle to the other side of the strip but left a 6 inch opening for stuffing. I secured the opening stitches with heavy thread and knotted, because I know from experience that the stitches get pulled really hard and the stress could make them come out while stuffing.

Below are pictures I took of some of the process of me making my Honiton pillow.  I plan on making a full tutorial and add it to my Bobbinburg section of my website.

I found this bag of barley straw at a tag sale and knew that I could make use of it somehow with my pillows. This is the first good project with it.

Then you cut the straw into little pieces about 1 inch lengths. I wasn’t too concerned about the little knots. I have read that they just float in the pillow and don’t really cause damage. So rather than spend months of cutting and making sure I keep the knots out of the good straw, I just started cutting. I did make sure there were the unwanted twigs or rough junk not to be cut and put in the good pile.

After cutting quite a bit of it in the bag, I scooped out a handful and cut it over an empty cat litter bucket I had on hand. We have three cats and we reuse these buckets for other things. The cuttings that go in this bucket are more fine and even.

After a few hours of cutting……..and by the way, I do recommend you wear gloves(use of scissors for that many hours gives you blisters and sores!)…………I proceed to stuff my flat pillow case.

This is how my pillow looks so far after 3 hours of cutting straw and stuffing it in the pillow. And this is only 2/3rds full!! I still have more cutting to do. Have to make it so full that I can’t possibly stuff any more. The saying goes “a very firm pillow makes for better lacemaking” is true!

So far so good! Will post more on my finishing later…………

Just have to show you what the morning dew brought to my attention. A dew filled funnel spider web made by a resident grass spider!

No, I didn’t get a bike. It is my niece’s. And besides, it is broken, so I can’t go anywhere. I just think it is cool!

On the lace front, I have been working hard the past few evenings to get this doily off my 24 inch cookie pillow so i can get on with other projects. I have had this on the pillow for some time. But not as long as most. Probably only a year. I made some mistakes that may be noticeable if looking really hard. But I wasn’t going to fix them. Only one Creator is perfect!

It is from Edna Sutton’s book “Bruges Flower Lace” on page 95 done in Bockens 80/2 linen. It measures 21cm by 15cm(8.25in by 6in). I really like this Bruges Flower Lace type of lace. I may start another or go in a completely different direction. Whatever hits my fancy and creative eye.