Thank you all for your contributions which has made such interesting reading. The History of Lace and these tells is fascinating..
The men learned lacemaking as children, and as agricultural workers they were dependant on the weather, - so during times of bad weather, they were able to earn a few pennies by making lace, until they were able to return to the land. There is a delightful story of a Lace School in Elstow (I think) where a boy got so mad at his lace, that he grabbed his pillow ran outside, and dropped the pillow etc down the well!!!!!! My family came from around the Bedford area â not far from Olney! â and I have recently found out that they were Straw Plaiters, too. This, I am told , was common amongst Lace makers, as the same Cross & Twist is used to plait the straw, and was very Portable, so they could plait some straw while walking to market, and then sell it to the Luton Hat makers â Luton being also not far away, and the centre for straw hats, boaters, etc. This is a whole different story, though!!!!! But interesting how one leads to the other!! Regards from Liz. In still wintery Melbourne, Oz. - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
