Even after 42+ years of crocheting, I am always amazed and thrilled at all the new things there are for me to learn. I have tried over the years to get the hang of Hairpin Lace, but I always ended up with a tangled mess.
The talented Jennifer Hansen of Stitch Diva Studios has been putting out numerous hairpin lace garment designs, like the glorious “Klimt”.
Unfortunately the timing never seemed to work out for me to take one of her classes at the Knit & Crochet Shows, or they were sold out. When I registered for the Reno Show I decided I would fit in her Saturday classes on Hairpin Lace.
The morning class started at 9 a.m. and was all about learning how to make the strips of lace on the loom. I told Jennifer right from the start that this could be tricky for me, but would be no reflection on her teaching abilities. I was astonished by the end of the 3 hour class to actually feel very competent working the strips. Jennifer has awesome tips for success with the techniques and a lively humorous teaching style that kept me from tossing the loom across the room.
The afternoon class was the “Hairpin Lace Joining Workshop”. The idea was all the students would arrive with 6 strips of lace ready to join. The class project was a sweet little evening bag. We would get to practice all the various joins Jennifer was teaching us while making the bag.
Unfortunately, though I had got the hang of making the strips in the morning class, my strips were a little short to make the bag.
Still I felt very happy with my progress and that I’d gained the information needed to work with the techniques independently. I even went so far to purchase one of the beautiful hairpin lace looms crafted by Ed Jenkins that Jennifer had available for sell. Now I just need to find time in my busy schedule to practice this technique more.
Who knows, I might start designing a few things in hairpin lace myself.
Mamas2Hands 