of lathes and lace

First, the halloween treat bag that Leah made for Jesse this year has surfaced from the boy's room and I remember that I said I'd show it here when it popped up. She made it all by herself, while I was sick enough to be unable to help. I think it was a perfect project for her to do on her own, as the frayed edges and general unpolished sewing skills are actually a good match for Halloween ghoulishness.
Moving forward to the current holiday season, the elves here have been having much fun. I took a wood turning workshop and used a lathe to turn these wooden ornaments. It was a blast to see the wood chips fly and watch the shapes emerge as areas were carved away and curves were created. The black lines were added by holding a piece of wire tight against the wood, creating friction as it spun on the lathe, leaving a bit of wood burning. For years I've been interested in messing around with a lathe, so now a lot of the mystery is gone and I know for sure that it really is as enjoyable as I thought it would be. Leah Lacemaker is moving along with glee. She meets once a week with her lace teacher and has already learned about 6 different stitches. She made a good portion of this candy cane before she realized there was a mistake waaayyyy back, but she wanted it to be done right, so we patiently un-did a fair bit of work and she re-made the lace correctly. This type of bobbin lace is called "tape lace." She knows enough to work basic ornaments in any shape with this technique. Now she's working on another project that alternates between three different stitches, very different and very pretty. I'll post a picture of that when she gets further along on it.
We're all wiped out today because we went to see Cherish the Ladies perform their Celtic Christmas show in New Haven last night, so the plan for tonight is a rare vegging marathon in front of the tube to watch some of the Christmas shows we have on loan.