where did I take the shuttles?

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Italiano: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-59o3zbzk0jU1facPB5NtSHmHceLRUF2/view

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I know, I don't update my blog much, and yet there would be a lot to say. This summer Muskaan and I spent a lot of our time reviewing all documents in the “Endrucks 1920 Project” (#Endrucks1920Project), a titanic work and still ongoing. I feel as I worked a lot (on computer) but achieved nothing (with shuttles). To reassure myself, I need to take stock of my summer.

The title here is not for the fact that I cannot locate my shuttles ;-P on the contrary I even bought three amazing wooden shuttles (rosewood, birch root and mahogany), made by Laszlo Horvath aka Banyek, from Budapest (Purchased via his Ebay shop “smalcointattingshuttles”).

Rather, the title is a good pretext to tell you that on 7th June I took my shuttles to Orvieto, a city in Central Italy, a small city with ancient history, a monumental Cathedral and local delicacies, not far from Bolsena Lake. 

That day I went to the exhibition “An Iris for Orvieto”, that was initially held from 5th to 8th June 2025 and then extended to 14th and 15th June.

This is an annual event, among the organizers there is Mrs. Loretta Lovisa, Master of her lace “Merletto di Orvieto”, a tradition started at the end of the 19th century when the Irish lace was introduced in Italy in that area, and it soon became a distinct lace technique following the reproduction of the figures featured in the 14th century bas-reliefs of the Cathedral. Here is a very informative page prepared by Loretta: https://www.merlettodiorvieto.it/en/history-of-orvieto-lace/

Loretta is an enthusiastic promoter, and organizes and attends exhibitions, events and collaborations. Among these there is one recent collaboration with the brand Fendi for which she designed and realized one of their “Hand in Hand” Baguettes. The event “An Iris for Orvieto” was part of the annual “Orvieto in Fiore” (Orvieto in bloom) event which takes place on Pentecost (a religious festivity). This year Loretta chose the iris, since this flower is also a symbol of hope, in line with the theme chosen for Jubilee 2025: “The Thread of Hope.” 

There were really beautiful works of art, masterpieces of embroidery and lace, made with various techniques, sent from different parts of Italy. I took some photos, but here is a reel shared by Loretta in Facebook with all the flowers: https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1AYafu68Ri/ 

In spring she invited Luigia Tosin and me, both belonging to the Association "Ago, Filo e Fuselli", to send our flowers on behalf of the association, respectively in bobbin lace and tatting. 

Here is the flower designed and executed by Luigia, who is a Master in bobbin lace:

I received a wonderful welcome, I felt like I was visiting old friends, united by the same passion for lace. Our sincere thanks, from me on behalf of all in our association, goes to the organizers of the "An Iris for Orvieto" event, especially to Loretta and our hosts Maria Antonietta and Marco, who welcomed us so warmly. The exhibition was set up in a noble palace, “Palazzo Bisenzi”, one of Orvieto's historic residences. A curiosity: the palace is also famous for having hosted Sigmund Freud, who stayed in Orvieto several times, starting in 1897. 

During the exhibition, Loretta let me have a table for promoting our association, and I took the opportunity to display the models from the "Endrucks 1920 Project", and to briefly explain it to dozens of visitors, including foreign tourists, who came to admire the lace irises.

I designed my iris starting from pattern E11 (the 11th pattern) from the German book ‘Die Schiffchen-Spitzen’, 1920, by Frau Eleonore Endrucks-Leichtenstern. Thread is my favourite DMC Special Dentelles, size 80. I promise to share the pattern, sooner or later, but with the current schedule ongoing in the Endrucks 1920 Project, I could take long to transform my notes and scribbles into a shareable pattern!
The idea started because the shape of part of the edging E11 looks like a petal. I consulted a certain Smiling Lady you know, for one of her precious tips, and she approved the choice. As usual, several tests followed, but given the limited time available, I followed the advice of my aunt, an occasional painter, to use all the prototypes: she convinced me that the flower would look more natural if the petals weren't all perfectly identical!

 

For the leaves, I needed a compact, elongated structure, so I tried block tatting shaped into a long, narrow strip. Again, I made several prototypes before getting the right shape.

At the tip I attached the wire (0.3mm), sewed it along the leaf and then wrapped it to form the stems. In a similar way, I added wire to shape the petals (only along the middle of petal). The flower is 14cm high, from the bottom of the stem to the highest tip.

Here is a very short video of the tatted Iris, taken before sending it to the exhibition: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Vy4Af5rN34Eh6BFRnx37ReVl8IwY9r3O/view 

Here is the link to the reworked pattern E11 from the German book ‘Die Schiffchen-Spitzen’: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qwj9o6vfjMUckkYB1t0z_HRBgOR9zJ15/view 

Note: If you like exploring the vast range of derivative patterns, ideas, models, information related to the Project, start your exploration from the document called EPLinks - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1w1TZBg-HIzseGEUoJ-rko7tNbtSgZY5A18Oy2Y9Hh0Y/view

Muskaan and I will be happy to see your tatting. When you post remember to write the name of the designer and pattern number and also use the hashtag #Endrucks1920Project . Thank you.

Ciao,
Ninetta

P.S. Summer recap has just started!