Hi Tiny Dell and All, You didn't say what country you live in but in the US I find some nice pieces of lace in "Junque" stores. Not antique shops but places with old stuff, some have different dealers with booths in one large store. I've gotten some nice pieces from eBay but you have to be very careful. Ithaca Lace Days and the IOLI Conventions always have lace dealers in the vendors room and it's wonderful to see what they have!!!!!
One of the best things I've done is to make sure everyone I know (and have ever met) knows that I love lace so I've been given some amazing pieces. I've always done fiber arts and many years ago a friend gave me a box of lace she found in the trash behind an antique store. It's only been the last few years that I've known what I have! As has already been mentioned, a good lace ID book is also needed. I particularly like "Guide to Lace and Linens" by Elizabeth Kurella ISBN 0-930625-89-7 and "The Identification of Lace" by Pat Earnshaw ISBN 0-85263-701-2. Santina Levey's book "Lace - A History" is fabulous but quite expensive, you could try getting it through Interlibrary loan. Being a book collector I like to have as many as I can because they all have different things to say about the laces and different pictures. I love having bits and pieces of different kinds of lace and they're very handy if you do a demonstration. You can show people the different kinds when they say "my aunt used to do that". Now I *try* to focus on the tape laces like Battenberg though I found a cool piece in Denver that is cut work - one corner of the pattern is finished and another is started with a heavy piece of something basted behind it. I love partially done pieces of lace <G>. I also bought myself a little Point de Gaze butterfly. Since I took Irma Osterman's class in Ithaca last year I have a new appreciation of PdG and the Butterfly wasn't too expensive. I also know it will be some years (if ever) before I make my own PdG butterfly! Taking a lace ID class will really open the world up for you too!! I don't seem to sit down and read the books I have and it's not the same as having a teacher and many pieces of lace to look at while you're hearing about how the lace is made and how it differs from other laces and about its history. Arachne is a good place to learn about different laces too!! I was so happy with the recent Sprang discussion - the piece from the museum was fabulous!! But the name always makes me smile for some reason so I love when it resurfaces <G>. Jane in Vermont, USA where the leaves outside my windows are all yellow - looks like a sunny day even when it's cloudy! [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
