"Borris Lace Collection - A Unique Irish Needlelace" By Marie Laurie and Annette Meldrum of Australia Sally Milner Publishing Pty Ltd 2010, soft cover, 128 pages, quality paper, many photos & diagrams Approximately 11 inches by 8 inches Book can be found at Amazon. But please support your local lace stockist, if possible. Only with our support can these people stay in business and be able to provide lace supplies conveniently. There is always something new to learn about lace. Borris lace is made with manufactured lace tapes and a threaded needle. It originated a bit over 150 years ago in the town of same name, southwest of Dublin, and with the publication of this book Borris will become a lace travel destination. You can arrange to see the lace, which is housed in the family chapel at Borris House, by appointment: _www.borrishouse.com_ (http://www.borrishouse.com/) Together, these two Australian authors bring a impressive knowledge and skill background to this new research. There are at least three groups of people who will be interested -- making this a nice gift selection for the coming holiday season: 1. Those who embrace anything new about Irish heritage and/or Irish laces. It covers the Kavanagh family history behind this lace, and explains its family connection to the Ballantrae Lace Industry in Scotland. Where it stands in relationship to other tape laces is related. 2. Those who collect lace and require good photographic presentations of unique lace details in order to identify lace will find the inventory of laces most instructive. In appearance, the closest lace to Borris is English Branscombe tape lace, and a comparison chart is provided for collectors to use. Differences are distinctive, and not found in traditional lace literature and manuals. One unique stitch has been found only in Swedish drawn thread work, for example. 3. Needlelace makers who would enjoy learning to make this Irish lace. This would include members of lace and embroiderers' guilds, who often offer needlelace instruction. This is a lace someone can easily learn to make, and add to their lace repertoire. The 16 lessons were prepared by Marie Laurie. Interestingly, she once sat behind this reviewer on a 2000 OIDFA lace tour coach, stitching needlelace as we made our way through Sweden. Very impressive how portable it can be when worked in the hand. Borris lace employs a machine-made tape which is basted to a pre-designed pattern attached to foundation material that will be cut away when all stitching is complete. The tape determines most outlines of the design. It is held together with bars, picots, net grounds and decorative stitches made by threaded needle. None of the stitches penetrate the foundation material and pattern. At the end, the tape and stitches holding it together are cut away (released) from the foundation, and you have a piece of lace. Very good techniques for mounting lace are illustrated. Different projects are mounted in different ways - to build skills. For some who read this book, you will realize it is a excellent example of how to catalog and research little-known laces. This is very important to all of us who may come across laces that do not yet seem to have been studied and shared.
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