Time to Grow

April 22, 2024

Spring is a wonderful season. Watching the nature waking up and making the most amazing shapes and colours seemingly out of nothing is the best inspiration for creative souls. 

It never fails to fill me with awe and and urge to participate.

For many years now, my first spring project is the seedling, the simplest pattern that I ever designed. And I just can’t seem to grow out of it 🙂 

I love leaf tallies in bobbin lace, and I love to make them in wire. The seedling is therefore an ideal pattern because it has nothing else than two leaves. The cotyledons are completed with the seed they originate from, and together they symbolize the new beginning, new life, new energy.

The seeds I like to use for the seedling are rudraksha seeds from India. Their name means “Tears of Shiva” and are considered to be auspicious and valuable as an instrument for inner transformation. The rudraksha seeds have been used for millennia as prayer beads. I found them in the Little India district in Vancouver where I used to browse and admire the traditional Indian arts and crafts. I always liked the shape and feel of the rudraksha seeds, even before I learned about their ancient history. They just looked like true seeds, and being round and wearable made them the best choice for the seedling pendant.

As I keep learning a little bit more about Indian spiritual traditions, I find it very interesting that in continuity of the ancient wisdom, a movement to Save Soil originated in India and is spreading around the world. It connects all aspects of environmental stewardship back to the health of the soil, and therefore has a potential to spearhead a real change. Because seedlings of any kind can germinate only in good soil.

Every year when the spring comes I make the seedling pendants. I like to wear them, too. More like a lucky charm than jewellery, especially when working in the garden, because in that field I am a complete amateur and need a lot of help from Mother Nature (the pendants are pretty hardy and can withstand a lot of wear and tear). Other seedlings get dispersed to family and friends with green thumbs, and sometimes strangers too, with an occasional overstock being donated to a local garden club’s annual plant sale/fundraiser. 

To spread the seeds even further, the Seedling Pattern and Tutorial became available as part of Basic Series of my patterns for wire lace. Not that I expect there are many more lacemakers crazy about seedlings, but this simple design is truly good for practicing those leaf tallies!

Spring is in full swing, and if you feel like growing some plants, or lacemaking skills, give the Seedling a try!

Happy lacemaking to you all 🙂