Dear Lacemakers, The angels have been at play, which is a lot nicer than when they give warnings of danger to me.
Most of yesterday, I sat at the computer copying the interesting Scottish lace information, with a break to go to post office for mail. The subject was so engrossing, that the mail was laid aside. At about 8:00 p.m. the surface-sent mail became of interest. There was a large envelope from my embroidery friend, Marion, in Georgia. She leads tours to the British Isles for embroiderers, and they happen to be wonderfully comprehensive, especially because she is a graduate of the Royal School of Needlework and has valuable contacts throughout the U.K. Inside this package were 3 pages from a Scottish Rural Womens' Institute portfolio (she was purging "junk") of Scottish crafts. She did not note the date of the portfolio. These were (1) a Ayrshire needleworked christening robe from early 19th C. in the Royal Scottish Museum, (2) a page showing 6 New Pitsligo edging laces, (3) a page showing 6 needle-made Ballantrae laces! Marion is not a member of Arachne and she sent the package before Arachne correspondence on this subject! Tomorrow, I'll give the two lace pages to Lacefairy to put somewhere on her website. This is not all. I remembered asking about Pitsligo laces about 5 years ago, on one of Marion's tours to Scotland. For the second time (my earlier trip was 20+ years ago), we met her friend Christine, who had been a classmate of Marion's in the 1950's. I called Marion before 9:00 p.m. last night to interview her about what she remembered of Christine's relationship to New Pitsligo lace. Marion related that Christine revived its production in the early days of her shop in Stonehaven (shop closed when she retired, about 5 years ago). She taught for the Scottish Rural Womens' Institute, even being sent out to the islands, and Marion said it was New Pitsligo lace that she taught. She was commissioned to make and present a hankie to the Queen Mum (probably in the early 1970's). In more recent years, she was commissioned by Queen Elizabeth II to design casings for heating radiators of chair seat height for Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh. These canvaswork (called needlepoint in the U.S.) covers resemble church kneeler cushions. It always amazes me that in some countries there is little communication between lacemakers and embroiderers. In the U.S., there are a number of people who have an interest in both and make an effort to help keep communication lines open. Jean Leader: If you wish to pursue this 20th Century connection for a future article, please write me privately for contact info. Jeri Ames in Maine USA Lace and Embroidery Resource Center - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
