Once I am done, what is the BEST way to finish a project?
Ther's no single way; depends on th project.
I also want to enter this in the Iowa State Fair next summer, so does anyone know, can I frame it, or do are there rules that the judges have to be able to pick up a piece and
look at the back of it?
That varies from Fair to Fair (state, county, locality). Iowa State Fair might have a website; check and see if they have a contact person for Arts and Crafts (or whatever they may call it. Sometimes it's something like "home crafts"). Ask them what their rules are. If they don't *forbid* it, go ahead and frame it. Judges may *like* to handle a piece and look at the wrong side of if, but a piece tends to look better if mounted, and you can hide a multitude of sins in the process.
If I can frame it, should I have the piece attached to the material, or would it be better to let the framer do that?
Never trust anyone other than yourself when mounting a piece of lace :) *Definitely not* a framer who may know everything about framing, but zero about textiles.
Can I have glass in the frame?
Again, depends on the rules of the individual organisation that mounts the competition; ask them. In Virginia, there's no rule against glass, and we've never discriminated against pieces which were framed and glassed over. But I don't like glass, either as a judge, or as a lacemaker. It might be OK for antique/fragile lace which needs to be protected against handling at all costs, but, IMO, glass detracts from the overall look of textiles. Not only does it provide a visual barrier (cheap glass reflects light and makes viewing more difficult), but it gives a "hard edge" to textiles which shouldn't have any.
My thoughts were to wash it, block it, and then stretch dark blue or black silk on a frame, and stitch the lace to that. Then I would take it to the framer and let them do the rest.
*Almost* exactly so. But, after you've washed and blocked it but *before* you've mounted it on fabric, go to your framer and choose the frame style and size. That's because different frames have different "lip" depths, and will cover a different amount of your background fabric. You don't want to go to all the trouble of mounting only to discover that the frame comes too close to your object (lace), leaving no "breathing" margin around it. When that happens, the lace will look "crowded in"
Take your chosen fabric -- uncut -- with you; that will allow you to see what colour frame will look best with it. With luck, it will also let you see how big the frame needs to be; ready made frames often come with a piece of cardboard which fits the frame precisely (so that you can do your own framing). Drape your fabric over the cardboard, lay your lace on the fabric, push the cardboard into the frame and see if it "sings" to you. If not, identify what's wrong and try another frame.
Even if you choose a frame that has to be specially cut and fitted (so have only a small corner piece to play around with when choosing), you can get an idea of how much of the background fabric will be covered by it (ie how much bigger it needs to be to show the lace *and* some margin of fabric around it).
PS If you *do* go for a glassed in version of the frame, at least make sure that the framer doesn't seal the whole thing with paper in the back. The paper lets *some* moisture in and out, but not readily; you're running the risk of condensation and eventual deterioration of the textile. Un-sealed "picture" will have slight cracks between the backing and the frame, which will allow for freer air-circulation.
----- Tamara P Duvall Lexington, Virginia, USA Formerly of Warsaw, Poland http://lorien.emufarm.org/~tpd/
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