[lace] more lace references in literature

[Julie Ourom]

Hi, all,

For your reading pleasure, here are some titles of books I've come across that
have more than a brief mention of lace. Apologies for any titles that have
been mentioned previously.




ALBERT,SUSAN WITTIG Queen Anne’s Lace

BARTLETT,ELAINE A crafty killing

BLUNT,WILFRID Sebastiano: the adventures of an Italian priest Sebastiano
Locatelliduring his journey from Bologna to Paris and back 1664-1665

DODWELL, CHRISTINA A Traveller on Horseback

DONATI, SARA Lake in the clouds

DUNNETT, DOROTHY Niccolo Rising

GEORGE, ELIZABETH A traitor to memory

GEORGE, ELIZABETH With no one aswitness

GREELEY, ANDREW Irish lace

GREENE, GRAHAM Travels with my aunt

GREENWOOD, KERRY Away with the Fairies

HANNAH, KRISTIN The nightingale

HARPER, KAREN The queen’s cure

MARTIN, LEE Hacker

MAYES, FRANCES BellaTuscany

MAYES, FRANCES Underthe Tuscan Sun

MICHAELS, BARBARA Shatteredsilk

OLEKSIW, SUSAN Family album

RAVERAT, GWEN Period piece: a Cambridge childhood

ROBSON, JENNIFER Somewherein France

TODD, CHARLES A lonely death

TODD, CHARLES Wings of fire

TOPE,REBECCA  Fear in the Cotswolds

--

JulieO in Canada (Whitehorse Yukon/Vancouver BC)
crocusc...@gmail.com

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[lace] lace reference in fiction

[Julie Ourom]

 Hi, all,


 I came across another bobbin lace reference in my reading this week:



Rutledge turned, crossed over to the nearest shop.  In the small window
fronting the road there was a collection of ribbons and laces behind a spill
of colorful embroidery thread, packets of needles, and an array of
handkerchiefs that reminded him of those he’d seen in Olivia’s room. As he
opened the door, a gust of wind and rain nearly jerked the knob out of his
hand.  Startled, a middle-aged woman looked up from a cushion of bobbins and
threads and a half-finished lace collar on her lap…She sank back into her
chair, somehow preventing the bobbins from rolling to every point of the
compass.  Then he saw that like the Belgian nuns he’d come across during the
war, she had pinned them in place.
 From Wings of Fire, by Charles Todd, one of a series of mysteries set in post
World War 1 Britain.  Well worth checking out.

 JulieO in Whitehorse, Yukon/Vancouver, B.C. Canada

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[lace] lace reference in fiction

[Julie Ourom]

Hi, all, 

While reading Rebecca Tope's series of mysteries set in the Cotswolds 
(England), I was interested to see a lace mention: 

"She would take things slowly, reading a daily newspaper and listening to the 
radio.  And she would teach herself lacemaking - a secret ambition she had 
nursed for twenty-five years.  Her sister Jocelyn had given her a lace cushion, 
two dozen bobbins decorated with beads, a book of instructions and several 
reels of cotton.  It was magically tantalizing, in its own cotton bag with 
large red flowers printed on it, and she was itching to get started."

and a bit later:  

"She set up the lacemaking cushion, but found it much more complicated than 
expected.  Putting it back in the bag, she regretfully decided to abandon it 
until she could find someone to teach her. OK, I do know this is fiction, but I 
kept hoping she'd find a teacher or a club to join..."

>From Fear in the Cotswolds.  Other titles in the series mention other crafts 
>and there are lots of mentions of sheep and the wool industry for which that 
>area is well known, but no other lace sightings that I found.


JulieO in either Whitehorse, Yukon or Vancouver, B.C.

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[lace] tatting with the 'wrong hand'

[Julie Ourom]

Hi, all,

I'm left-handed and when I decided to learn how to tat years ago it never
occurred to me to learn other than left-handed.  Several years later I
decided that was a mistake - it was too much trouble converting charts from
RH to LH - so I re-taught myself right-handed.  Although both ways were
initially awkward, I persevered and now find tatting right-handed comes
naturally.  And it wasn't just that, but I get way fewer knots and tangles
tatting RH.  For some reason as it seems the threads lie more smoothly RH.

One thing that worked for me was to start with thick threads.  It made it so
much easier to see what I was doing and make sure I flipped the stitches
correctly.

JulieO in Whitehorse, Yukon, in Canada's north, catching up on a summer's
worth of e-mail now that it's autumn.

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[lace] peccadilles

[Julie Ourom]

Hi, all,

I came across a mention of "peccadilles" in some non-lace reading and got
curious and decided to do some research.  My lace library isn't as extensive
as others' so when I didn't find anything (e.g. Earnshaw, Dictionary of
lace), I turned to Google.  First stop, Wikipedia, which suggested this is
cutwork (so likely an embroidery rather than lace technique) and confirmed
that further research might be productive.

Here's Wikipedia:

 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piccadill

A piccadill or pickadill is a large broad collar of cut-work lace that
became fashionable in the late 16th century and early 17th century.  The
term may originate from a conjectured Spanish word picadillo, from picado
meaning punctured or pierced. This is similar to the Spanish word picadura,
used for the lace collars of the seventeenth century that contained much
elaborate cut work.  Examples of a piccadill can be seen on portraits of
 Queen Elizabeth I and other
portraits of her contemporaries such as Sir Walter Raleigh.  Piccadilly, a
street in central London, is believed to be named after the piccadill,
perhaps because a landowner in the area once made his fortune from them.

There seems to be other information online, not all in languages I read.
Here's one that confirms the Wikipedia entry (or may be where the
information originated J.)

Historic dress 1608-1800 (Internet Archives)

 

http://www.archive.org/stream/1607historicdres00mccluoft/1607historicdres00m
ccluoft_djvu.txt

The fashionable costume in England during the reign of Charles I, made
familiar to us by the magic brush of Vandyke, was picturesque in the
extreme. A gentleman of those days wore a doublet of satin or velvet with
large loose sleeves slashed up the front (Figures 45, 46); the collar
covered by a falling band of richest point-lace with the peculiar edging now
called Vandyke (Figures 14 and 16), and a short cloak worn carelessly over
one shoulder. Bands were called 'peccadilles ' when trimmed with this
pointed lace, so fashionable in the middle of the seventeenth century, and
it is interesting to read that the fashionable London thoroughfare,
Piccadilly, gets its name from a shop where "peccadilles" were made and sold
in the reign of Charles I. 

 

I'm flagging this as it sounds worthy of more research, and would be
interested to hear from anyone who has information on this.  It will
certainly enhance my visits to Piccadilly Street/Circus on future trips to
London.

FWIW, I've been holding onto this information for some time, trying to
decide whether to post it.  The conversation this week about lurkers and all
made up my mind.  I've been on the list since the very early days, and go
through phases of posting and not.  I suggest there are many reasons why
people post or don't, and ultimately it's up to each of us how or whether we
want to contribute.  

Encouragement always bears better results than negativity.  The list may
feel it is democratic, international, welcoming and all-inclusive, and
indeed by and large is.  However, regardless of the intent, responses don't
always come across that way.  I'm not sure which is more disheartening,
having messages ignored when one has gone to the effort of sharing
information, or being chastised because one hasn't met some arbitrary
standard.  And that could be for the lace content, but I've also seen it for
formatting, grammar and/or language.  I've had it happen to me and have seen
it with others.  None of this is conducive to participation; I'm not
thin-skinned but I need to maximise my returns and Arachne isn't the only
way to do this.  The reception people get when they post is arguably a major
factor in why people stay or "disappear" and surely the latter is not what
we want.

In the meantime, I hope the information on peccadilles is useful to someone.

JulieO in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada who REALLY planned to make lace this
afternoon.

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[lace] Honiton lace shop

[Julie Ourom]

I was in Honiton a year or so back, spent a weekend there.  I thought I wrote
a posting to Arachne, but maybe not.  The lace shop was definitely closed,
very little traces of it.  The museum was open, just winding down for the
season at the time, and well worth a visit.  Lots to buy in the shop!  It's a
lovely little town to spend time wandering around - lots of nice cafes (but
surprisingly little in the way of accommodation), lace and other murals on
exterior walls and very pretty countryside.


JulieO in Whitehorse, Yukon/Vancouver, BC

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RE: [lace] Downton bobbins

[Julie Ourom]

Hi, all,

Having been in the Salisbury Museum last year, I have some info to
contribute.  I sent Brian 
My photos with bobbins separately, unfortunately poor quality so don't know
if they'll be of any use.

As for books, the museum produces a little booklet on Downton Lace, very
inexpensive as I recall. One of the authors is Pompi Parry, with whom many
might be familiar.  Brian, one photo of bobbins, and several of pillows with
bobbins.

Bertha Kemp has also done a book - Downton Lace  Dryad Press, 1988  No
photos of bobbins.

Have always thought of having a go as I quite like the look of Downton...one
day.

JulieO in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada

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RE: [lace] Tea Dying

[Julie Ourom]

Hi, all,

Dylon used to make a product called tea dye, no idea if it's still
available, but if it is it's a good way to overdye something like this.
Check at chain craft stores like Michaels.

No affiliation, and I have no idea if it has any long term effect on
fabrics.   That doesn't sound like a prime consideration here.

JulieO in Whitehorse, Yukon, enjoying summer 

-Original Message-
From: owner-l...@arachne.com [mailto:owner-l...@arachne.com] On Behalf Of
Earl & Ruth Johnson
Sent: May-26-10 4:27 PM
To: l...@dont.panix.com
Subject: [lace] Tea Dying

My DH and I often entertain ourselves on Saturday mornings going to garage
sales.  (A garage sale is when people sell unwanted items from their garage
or
driveway.)  I have acquired many interesting things over the years,
including
some very nice pieces of needlework and lace.  Recently I took a chance and
bought a netted lace tablecloth.  I say "took a chance" because the
tablecloth
was very stained and had what appeared to be "rust" on it.  I was right to
be
skeptical because there was little change in the stains and no change in the
rust after soaking in Orvus for 48 hours.  The netting has no rips or tears
so
the stains are doubly unfortunate.

It just occurred to me I could try dying it with tea to hide the lighter
stains.  I believe the thread is 100% cotton.  What kind of tea?  What
temperature should the water be?  How long should the tablecloth remain in
the
water?  Do you just watch it and take it out when it looks darker?  Will the
new colour be stable?

I would be interested in hearing from anyone who has tried this rescue
technique.

Ruth Johnson
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

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[lace] Dillmont again

[Julie Ourom]

Thanks to Liz for this information which gives more clues.  I have what I
suspect could be the English equivalent of the edition that Lucie has access
to.

For those trying to date the pocket versions, they just do not appear to
have the same identifying marks as the larger sized editions so the dating
information provided on the list doesn't help.  Narrowing it down by # of
copies seems to be as much as anyone has been able to do.

JulieO in Whitehorse, Yukon, just back from a trip to England with some lace
content, need to find time to share

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[lace] Michelle Obama's outfits

[Julie Ourom]

If you missed this earlier, as I did, I found links in another place on the
NYT website, not sure if it's the same info as mentioned previously. 

 

http://www.nytimes.com/

 

Click on either "the first lady tells a story with fashion" under "fashion
and style" near the bottom of the page or "fashion & style" in the list on
the left for an article describing her outfits plus a short slide show with
audio (multimedia box on the left) that has some great close-ups, including
the "spiders" on the ball gown.   They sure look like spiders to me.

 

Personally, I thought the inaugural outfit was much more elegant than her
ball gown.  I was much more impressed with  Beyonce's ball gown than Mrs.
O's as well, and was taken aback by Aretha Franklin's hat (though others
disagree given how many were sold today).  

 

The Obamas do make a lovely couple.

 

JulieO in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, who doesn't usually comment on
fashion...

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[lace] Anna magazine, and lace content

[Julie Ourom]

Hi, all,

 

I may have missed a discussion on the new Anna.  Many of us were extremely
disappointed when the German Anna magazine ceased publication about three
years ago.  I have some 30 years worth of issues (mostly the English
editions) and have probably used it more than - or at least as much as - any
of my other subscriptions.   We were promised a replacement, and I belatedly
realise that this has actually happened.   

 

Over the holidays I came across not just one, but two magazines called Anna.
Totally different, although from the same publishing consortia, Vikant
Publishing and Burda.  One is published in German, and is very similar in
look, coverage and layout to the original magazine.  It continues to have a
nice, European feel, and has undergone some updating to make it even more
appealing.  It also looks like they`re continuing to publish special issues
too - there`s one advertised for spitzen hakeln (crochet).  

 

The second one is in English, published in the USA, with a similar masthead.
However, it is by no means the same magazine. Fewer patterns, a glossier
layout and seems more in keeping with other English language publications.
I liked the look of some of the embroidery patterns and ornaments, including
some very cute felted ones, but I have to say the knitted sweater patterns
left me cold and overall the patterns probably require less proficiency at
that particular craft.  

 

It`s hard to compare the two - the German one continues to be published
monthly, and the website for the American edition states 5 issues per year.
There was no overlap in content between the two issues I have, but there
wasn`t necessarily meant to be.

 

As for subscribing, if I was going to add anything to my list (and that I'm
not sure about), it would be the German one.  Much more to my interest, and
more for the money overall.  I read enough German to get by, but would be
delighted if this was published in English again.  Who knows why they
thought they needed a different magazine for the American market; I wish
they`d simply kept on with translating the German edition into English.

 

And, saving the best for last - there`s bobbin lace in the November 2008
German edition! - a nativity scene designed within a shooting star shape.
It looks to be simple tape lace, and is quite stunning in appearance,
although reasonably ambitious at almost 60 cm in width.  Pricking provided
and I`m sure experienced lacemakers could work it out even without being
able to read German.

 

Here`s the link for the US edition:

< http://www.annacrafts.com/Resources/AboutANNA/tabid/55/Default.aspx

 

As for the German Anna,  I didn`t find a website, or anything specific on
the Verlag or Burda sites (although I may have missed something scrolling
through the pages) and there was no mention of one in the magazine.  

 

JulieO in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada...where the deep freeze since
mid-December seems to be heading elsewhere

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RE: [lace] interesting advertisement

[Julie Ourom]

Hi, all,

Buffalo NY being so close to the Canadian border my guess is that the writer
didn't realise it was in the US not Canada...not an unusual mistake, but
more often the other way around.

I'm very intrigued by real mentions of lace at that time in Canada as these
appear to be few and far between...yet it's likely there was more happening
than we think... Immigrants brought their traditions with them as we know.
Lucie DuFresne (hope I got that right) in Ottawa has been doing research
into early lace making in Canada so I hope she reads this and comments.

JulieO in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, where it's cold.

-Original Message-
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of
bev walker
Sent: November-05-08 12:19 PM
To: Diana Smith
Cc: Arachne
Subject: Re: [lace] interesting advertisement

Hello Diana and everyone
I wonder what they meant by 'Buffalo' in Canada - the Niagara area perhaps?
I don't think there is a town by that name - but I would be interested to
know if there is.
Around the same time, the early 1900's, there was an effort by the Women's
Art Association of Canada to promote painting and handicrafts - including
pottery, weaving and lacemaking - as a means to improve the income of women.
I have some copies of plate photos of laces held by the WAAC, from one of
their displays. In the end it wasn't a successful enterprise and the WAAC
moved on to other projects.

On Wed, Nov 5, 2008 at 7:30 AM, Diana Smith <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> Hello Andrea
>
> In the little book published by Liz Knight on Harry Armstrong and the
Bucks
> Cottage Workers' Agency of Olney there is a picture of a trade stand in
> Buffalo, Canada. Pictured on the right is Harry's sister Hilda Armstrong ,
> in the background is a lady seated at a lace pillow. On the left is a
> younger woman - could this be the Mrs Netty Armstrong? They are all in
front
> of a stand exhibiting a considerable amount of lace.
>
>

-- 
Bev in Shirley BC, near Sooke on beautiful Vancouver Island, west coast of
Canada

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RE: [lace] fine linen & Nottingham

[Julie Ourom]

Yes, I should think of that too.  My very first bobbin lace class was with
Pam Nottingham way back in the early 80s.  What a wonderful experience, and
lucky me.

JulieO in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada with mild and wet fall weather.

-Original Message-
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of
Carolyn Hastings
Sent: September-29-08 7:51 PM
To: 'ARACHNE'
Subject: RE: [lace] fine linen & Nottingham

> -Original Message-
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf
> Of Julie Ourom
> Sent: Monday, September 29, 2008 9:04 PM
> To: Lace@arachne.com
> Subject: [lace] fine linen
> 
> 
> 
> And heres a lace quote I came across recently:
> 
> ...not to have remembered that though Nottingham to two-thirds of
> Britain
> may mean lace, to the other third it means racing.
> 
> From The man in the queue by Josephine Tey

And to many it means first and foremost something else: Pam.  For all of her
contributions to the lacemakers of the English speaking world and beyond.

Carolyn

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[lace] fine linen

[Julie Ourom]

I find second hand stores, rummage sales etc. are a good source of old
linen.  Often these are in good condition, sometimes just needing a
cleaning.  Sometimes weak spots or stains can be covered by embroidery or
appliqué or lace.



And here’s a lace quote I came across recently:

“...not to have remembered that though Nottingham to two-thirds of Britain
may mean lace, to the other third it means racing.”

>From The man in the queue by Josephine Tey



JulieO in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, where it’s almost winter.

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Fw: [lace] Mez thread

[Julie Ourom]

I have some of this...picked it up in Germany a couple of years ago, had 
planned to use it for lace knitting but so far it's still in my stash.  It 
looks like it's about a number 10 crochet cotton (bedspread weight), has a 
nice twist.


JulieO in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada...where it might be spring...until it 
snows again, nonethless there's lots of sunshine and the snow is melting. 
[EMAIL PROTECTED]



- Original Message - 
From: "Brenda Paternoster" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

To: "Alice Howell" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: 
Sent: Monday, April 17, 2006 3:57 PM
Subject: Re: [lace] Mez thread



On 17 Apr 2006, at 22:50, Alice Howell wrote:


I recently got a supply of lacemaking things from an
estate, and it included two spools of a thead that is
strange to me.

Mez Iris 50g spool, 100% Baumwolle, Made in W.
Germany.

It has no size numbering on it.  Does anyone know if
"iris" denotes the size...and what it is?

Mez is part of the Coats Anchor group.  The name Mez is often used in 
Europe whereas it would be Coats or Anchor in Britain or US.  I haven't 
come across Iris before, but it's probably the name of a style of thread 
that only came in one thickness so it is in effect the size.


Made in W Germany means that it's a good 15 years old.

Brenda
http://paternoster.orpheusweb.co.uk/

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[lace] re: Lace in Fashion

[Julie Ourom]

My reaction was what a shame that a lovely display of lace (whatever the 
type) was spoiled by how it was displayed...to make a statement that's for 
sure.  It took me a few minutes to find it on the site, turns out it's the 
cover of the Feb issue not the Mar one, in the meantime I typed lace in 
their search engine and was intrigued to see a lace skirt under "desk to 
date"...worn very sedately over a longer skirt.  Interesting too that 
there's a link to Louise Vermuelen's site (I'm sure I've seen this mentioned 
on Arachne) "real Belgian lace manufactory".  Better than Walmart that's for 
sure...and there were a few things that piqued my interest.


Back to my Bucks samples, and re-considering whether to go to Montreal or do 
something else instead...


JulieO in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada...remarkably mild for early February 
although a nice layer of fresh snow makes it still winter.  e-mail address: 
[EMAIL PROTECTED]


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[lace] lace magnets, thread selection

[Julie Ourom]

Lace magnets:  I don't think this has been mentioned yet, but my ISP has 
been flakey lately so I may have missed some messages.
In pride of place on my refrigerator (admittedly a very large North American 
model) - and it's totally up to me what gets displayed on the outside as 
thus far the cats who are the only other breathers in the house have only 
expressed interest in what's inside it - is a fridge magnet with "Canadian 
Lacemaker Gazette Ottawa, Canada 1991-2000" surrounding a circular piece of 
lace.


I'm assuming this was a membership bonus but it's possible I picked it up 
somewhere else.  However, that date leads me to believe that's how I got it 
as that's about the time the Gazette moved from east (Ottawa) to west 
(Victoria).  I did have a quick look through the issues from around that 
time...but didn't find mention any of it.   Perhaps Arachneans from Ottawa 
recall more details, including the name of the lacemaker?


Anyway, the graphics surround the central image which is a Canadian maple 
leaf design in some sort of bobbin lace.   It's very attractive and has 
withstood 5+ years of display with no ill effrects.  It has a slightly shiny 
finish and looks like it may be laminated so there's nothing to rub off. 
So, here's another lace "thing" for collectors to keep an eye out 
for...although there probably weren't that many produced in the first place.


Thread selection:  OK, this went through my mind today when I was trying to 
decide what thread to use from my limited stock.  Is there such a thing as a 
basic selection of threads that a lacemaker could invest in to have on hand 
to meet various needs?  I realise this is probably not an easy question as 
thread choice is highly variable and depends on techniques, how fine one 
likes to work and so on.


However, it's hard to know what to buy unless one has a specific project in 
mind.   Anyone have suggestions for what someone like me who does Torchon, 
Bucks, some tape lace and dabbles in a few other areas should keep on hand 
so that when inspiration strikes (or I decide to join a virtual lace meeting 
tomorrow )...to get going right away?


I figured it out for today by making a leap of faith and deciding that if 
DMC Retors D'Alsace 80 is the same as DMC Broder Machine 80 (according to 
Threads for Lace, edition 2)...then Retors D;Alsace 50 is likely the same as 
Broder Machine 50...I suspect that having the 3rd edition of Threads for 
Lace on hand would make these comparisons easier...


Bobbins wound and ready to go tomorrow...I needed an incentive to get going.

JulieO in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada...add very cold temperatures to some 
nice fresh snow, and it's definitely seasonable...and good weather for 
crafting.  e-mail address: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 


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[lace] cleaning pins

[Julie Ourom]

Jenny B asked about cleaning pins.  Has anyone tried using an ultrasonic 
cleaner for this?  My DD picked one up at Radio Shack (no affiliation) over 
the holidays, and it seems to have done a good job on some jewelry and 
silverware.  Much less intrusive than jewelry cleaners although leaves a 
slightly duller finish which is not necessarily a bad thing.  I'm planning 
to bring him a few things when I visit at the end of Feb, will put in some 
pins and see how it goes.


Here's a link if you want to see more:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103904&cp=&kw=ultrasonic&parentPage=search

No idea why it's discontinued...

Hoping to make some lace this weekend...

JulieO in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada...add cold temperatures to some nice 
fresh snow, and it's definitely seasonal...and good weather for crafting. 
e-mail address: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 


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[lace] thank you - thread help

[Julie Ourom]

Thanks Tamara, Brenda, Carolina and others for all your help - I'm going to 
have to experiment with wrapping as I haven't tried that yet and it is 
obviously very helpful in a situation such as this.   Very unscientifically, 
I had thought of using Coats #30 crochet cotton which is 22 wraps - well it 
looked to be about right .   Since I have this galore, and in the right 
colours too, and I don't have #12 perle cotton in any useful (for this) 
colours, and time is of the essence with Hallowe'en a week away, I hope 
it'll work.  Since crochet cotton is smoother than perle, I thought one 
extra wrap would be ok - do someone  let me know if that doesn't make sense 
and one wrap really makes a difference in this type of project.


Of course I have #8 perle cotton in the right colours...but separating the 
plies is probably a dumb idea, and I don't want to scale up the pricking as 
it would come out coarser.  Although...if I were to do so, the #12 is 21 
wraps and the #8 is 16 wraps - does that mean I'd increase it by 25% (or 
whatever that is in area)?


p.s. thanks also for the link to Jean Goldberg's needlelace - I don't do 
needle lace and that site is incredible - and incredibly inspiring.   How I 
wish that I had ideas like that.


JulieO in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada where it's cold and there are a few 
flakes of snow in the air...winter is definitely on the way...and I have 
more time indoors.  e-mail address: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 


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[lace] thread help: daliam cotton thread, lace in literature

[Julie Ourom]

Well, I joined the list within the first month or two of its formation so I 
could probably be considered a dowager, not that I've ever thought of using 
that term.


Thread help
The October pattern in the Lace Guild calendar for a tape lace pumpkin 
caught my fancy.  It's made by a Spanish lacemaker, Maria Jose Jovez and 
calls for Daliam cotton thread 50 #12.  Has anyone ever heard of this 
thread?  I want to use some crochet cotton from my stash and it would help 
to know approx. what weight it is so I know how to adjust the pricking.  So 
far I haven't been able to track it down.  I have only the second edition of 
Brenda's thread book, and I don't see it there.  I'd appreciate it if 
someone could check to see if it's in the 3rd edition (I need to get a copy) 
or possibly someone knows of this thread or has used it.


Lace in Literature
from The Towers of Trebizond by Rose Macaulay, an out-of-print novel (likely 
in your library), zany and fun.
"...I was glad to drive to Bethlehem in the afternoon with my mother, who 
knew nothing except about the shops where they made jewellery and 
mother-of-pearl crosses and olive wood Bibles and velvet jackets embroidered 
with gold.  Whenever my mother was in Bethlehem she got some of these 
jackets or tunics, and gave them to her friends and relations.  She had a 
notion that all the New Testament women had shopped there, and that on the 
Sabbath they had all put on these velvet coats, and walked out in them, and 
she pictured all the Marys... and all the other women, walking out in these 
black velvet coats embroidered with gold thread, and ovef they heads they 
wore shawls of handmade lace."
   Probably knit or crochet lace...how we all wish that writers would give 
us more of the important details.


JulieO in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada where it's cold and frosty today...and I 
can finally spend time getting organised for some fall projects...e-mail 
address: [EMAIL PROTECTED]


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[lace] mayflower and other floral emblems, Schneeberger angel, tallies, money in Prague

[Julie Ourom]

Apologies...some of this probably should be on lace chat...except I'm not.

Mayflower - According to the Dept. of Agriculture (Canada), the Nova Scotia
floral emplem, the mayflower is a trailing arbutus (epigaea repens) that
grows across Atlantic and eastern Canada as far west as Saskatchewan.  It's
apparently very common in Nova Scotia and was selected for their emblem in
1901.  I have a booklet with photos that shows clusters of tiny white
flowers with large shiny evergreen leaves.  The booklet is likely out of
print - I purchased mine in 1967 for 50 cents - and a quick check of their
webpage failed to turn it up.  I have more info I can share on any of the
floral emblems (including how to grow them) if anyone wants to contact me
off list.

I've always wondered if anyone has tried reproducing the floral emblems in
lace?  Patons produced a knit afghan booklet with charts for the different
provincial flowers (alas, the territories are missing ), I know I've seen
various counted cross stitch renditions, and, of course, Bev Walker sells
sets of gorgeous bobbins painted with the emblems.If there's anything in
lace, I've not seen it.

I'm nowhere near the designing stage myself, but maybe one day I'll do
something myself.  Except, my experiences with Honiton and Duchesse a few
years back almost turned me off lace and those are the techniques that
spring to mind.

In the meantime, I have finally finished the Schneeberger angel from one of
Lia Baumeister Jonker's booklets that I started last fall.   It turned out
quite nicely, especially against a dark backing.   Most of the pattern was
straight forward although I had to really think through a few steps before I
worked them.  The instruction is in somewhat idiosyncratic English and while
very charming isn't always easy to follow with just the written information.

One funny little thing that I've encountered once before - in one place I
inadvertently looped my thread around the previous pin so I'm now stuck with
a tiny loop of loose thread on the right side.  Only thing I can think of is
to bring it through to the back and hide it there.  Fortunately, this piece
will be framed so it's unlikely to show.

One benefit of doing this design - I now have 25 tallies to my credit, and a
few of them actually look ok.  It's just as well that I have another 975
before I achieve perfection as it's going to take me that many .

Money in Prague?  When I was there in 2000 (had really hoped to get there
this summer but it's just not working out), I had no trouble either changing
money or using my Visa card.  I use Visa wherever I can, it's works for me
like my current account, and I found even the smaller places there took it.
There were bank machines anywhere I needed one.  I usually used the one at
the subway stop where I was staying.  I was aware of all the horror stories
and I'm pretty street conscious overall.  There were places where I wouldn't
have used a bank machine, there were places I wouldn't have felt like
walking around... but that's no different than being anywhere else in the
world and IMO not anything to unduly stress about.   Oh yes, the first place
I used a bank machine was in a scruffy train station near Cheb (we were
coming from Bayreuth in Germany) where nothing was in English and it was not
easy to read the train schedule, signs or anything else.  That was just
after a few uncomfortable border incidents so we were somewhat psyched.
Fortunately, we found help, the bank machine got us money to buy our first
Czech beer and everything went well from there.  Most of you will likely be
travelling by main line stations and more conventional means - just be aware
of what's going on around you, and enjoy a wonderful country and a super
opportunity.  Sure wish I could be there too.

It's raining...maybe I should make some lace this afternoon.

JulieO in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada where it's definitely spring although
not as warm and sunny as the cats and garden would like.  [EMAIL PROTECTED]

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[lace] Nancy Drew and lace

[Julie Ourom]

I thought I'd take advantage of a quiet list and report on my recent lace
encounters.  Nancy Drew isn't my usual reading (hardly even read it as a
child, not recommended by my librarian mother, I can understand why), but I
recently came across "The Secret in the Old Lace"  and had fun reading it.
Judging from the descriptions, the author had likely been to Bruges and
visited The Lace Center.  There are great descriptions of the city,
architecture, canals etc. that make it sound very inviting, and of course
Nancy Drew is her usual perfect, know-it-all, all-powerful self.  Here's
what the book has to say about lace:

"She led the girls to the Lace Center where supplies were sold and lace
makers could take courses in their craft.  There were two types of lace,
Hilda explained: bobbin lace which originated in Belgium and needlepoint
lace which developed at the same time in France.   'Those are bobbins,'
Hilda said, pointing to a tray of wooden objects which resembled miniature
bowling pins.  'They are attached to linen threads and serve as weights when
the threads are combined in intricate patterns  But first, the kantwerker or
lace maker chooses a wooden mold to work on.  Like one of these.'  She
indicated a stack of disks about a foot and a half in diameter.  One side of
each disk was a mound covered with canvas.  'They're called pillows and are
filled with seaweed,' the girl continued.  'After the kantwerker chooses her
pattern, she copies it with pins which she sticks into the pillow.  The
threads are woven around the pins and then the pins are pulled out.' "
Well, a good try even though she didn't get many of the details right.

Of course Nancy finds some antique lace and jewellery and solves the mystery
after seeing a painting (Le Cavalier et le spectre noir by Dirk Gelder, the
book says) showing a man wearing lace cuffs.  She describes the lace this
way:
"Nancy, in the meantime, was studying the intricate pattern in the lacework.
Woven around the words was a scene of some sort.  A geometric figure seemed
to be the focal point.  It was oblong with vertical stitches that curled
into a knot at the top.  Above the figure was a diagonal design that formed
a baseless triangle.  Nancy thought it was very strange."
Perhaps someone else can identify the lace from that description, I sure
can't.  She obviously has better eyesight than I do, to be able to describe
something that well from a painting.  The words "written" into the lace were
"Je vous aime"  (sic).  (One would think they'd get that bit right.)  But
she's obviously seen machine made "tourist" lace with inscriptions written
into it, and it feels like she IS trying to describe a piece of lace,
without knowing enough about it.

I was reading the book in bed in a hotel room, and laughed so loud in places
that I could have awakened the whole building.  Obviously the author is more
than a bit muddled about some of the details, but it's still encouraging to
see lacemaking mentioned in modern children's literature, even if it's hokey
and inaccurate.  Now when I see Barbie with a lacemaking kit...then I'll
know we've gone mainstream.

I did a quick check for the artist and painting but there's no way of
verifying either without more info.  And  I don't know why I was surprised
that my search brought up a synopsis of the actual book (complete with more
inaccuracies) from the Nancy Drew webpage:
http://www.nancydrewworld.com/lace.html

JulieO in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada where the snow is gone, the days are
long and it's definitely spring.  [EMAIL PROTECTED]

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[lace] results of valentine's day draw

[Julie Ourom]

Bev Walker and I pooled our resources, and between us have come up with 6
magazines to send out.  Once I weeded the duplicate entries out of the pile
, there were 53 entries, so your odds were better than 1 in 6.  Here are
the lucky Arachneans:

Barbara George
Faye Owens
Merlene Solis
Shirley Meier
Linda Thomson
Rosemarie Chapman

There were lots of familiar names, so it was hard not to cheat - but I
didn't!  (Only the cats know for sure.)  And I wish I had something for
everyone.

Please send me your mailing address by the end of the week and we'll get
the prizes in the mail.

JulieO in Whitehorse, Yukon with unusually mild weather for February...I'm
sure we'll get more winter, but in the meantime we are delighting in the 50
degree Celsius temperature rise from last week to this.. [EMAIL PROTECTED]

p.s. if you sent me a personal message, I'm a bit behind on e-mail, but hope
to catch up this week.

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[lace] magazine draw, British lace events in May, lace in literature

[Julie Ourom]

MAGAZINE DRAW
It's not too late to get your name in for the Valentine's Day draw for a
copy of Lace Crafts Quarterly.   Thanks to another lister there is more than
one copy to give away, plus there might be a bonus draw for a few other
goodies.  Just send me your name (off list, please) by Saturday February 14
and the results will be announced on Sunday.

BRITISH LACE EVENTS IN MAY
Does anyone know of any residential lace courses and/or lace days in the UK
in May?  Regrettably, I won't be able to get there for the Lace Guild
Convention at the end of April  (WHY do all the summer travel specials start
in May?) so I'm hoping there'll be something else.  Nothing on the Lace
Guild web page for May yet...

LACE IN LITERATURE
>From The Grand Complication by Allan Kurzweil, somewhat zany, but a good
read, especially for librarians:
"It was in that hotel room that Nic and I had our first fight as man and
wife.  At issue was a headboard bearing an image of Vermeer's pensive
lacemaker.  As an art student in Paris, Nic had studied the original; there
was no way, she announced, she'd make love under the grotesque gaze of a
silk-screened reproduction."

Well, I would, especially when I think of the *art* that adorns the hotel
rooms I've stayed in recently...
There's another passage later in the book mentioning about a lace collar
worn by Marie Antoinette on display at Versailles.  (This is a novel, no
idea of the accuracy of the detail.)

JulieO in Whitehorse, Yukon with unusually mild weather for February...I'm
sure we'll get more winter, but in the meantime we are delighting in the 50
degree Celsius temperature rise from last week to this.. [EMAIL PROTECTED]

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[lace] lace crafts quarterly - free draw

[Julie Ourom]

I have an extra copy of Vol 2 No 3 of Lace Crafts Quarterly (articles by Pat
Earnshaw, Marni Harang, Nancy Evans and others) that I'd be pleased to give
away to a lacemaker.  Send me your name (off list only) and I'll figure out
a way to have the cats choose one on Valentine's Day.

It's taking me longer to get back to my lace after the holidays than I'd
expected...lots of ideas, not enough time.

JulieO in a frigidly cold and snowy Whitehorse, Yukon... [EMAIL PROTECTED]

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[lace] I moved my lace, lace and the Globe Theatre

[Julie Ourom]

I MOVED MY LACE
...and it worked!  After having this in the back of my mind all week, I sat
down and did it today.  Didn't have any choice...I couldn't work any further
until I moved my pricking.   And since the pillow I'm using is on a stand (I
probably didn't mention this before, but it's my biggest pillow and I like
the way I can swivel my work), I couldn't use the towel or styrofoam tricks
to extend it.  They will help I think with my other pillows though.  And one
day I will get or make a larger pillow.

It became pretty obvious that I'm going to have to move this piece several
times, so the sooner I tackled it the better.  Thanks to Noelene,  Ann,
Alice, Tamara, Patsy, Sheila and Bev (I hope I didn't miss anyone) for
giving me the benefit of your experience.  Your suggestions really helped,
and having it expressed in different voices helped to clarify what I needed
to do, and more importantly, why.   I read the messages several times, took
a deep breath and did it.

The only thing I had trouble with was trying to put the pins back into the
pillow in the right place.  They were still in the pricking, for the last
full repeat, but kept poking further through to the back side than I would
have liked.  I finally got them placed reasonably well (I have a very slight
buckle on the pricking that I hope won't make any difference to the finished
piece) and carried on.   The next time I will move it right *after* a corner
if I can, doing it just before (no choice there) meant that I had a couple
of awkward repeats until I got round the corner.

I will not be as worried the next time, but I will also do it slowly and
carefully so as not to make a mess of it.  And, I have too much invested in
it at this point and it's slated for my mom's 74th birthday in October (a
bit of a miscalculation there, now I'm going to have to give her something
more impressive *next* year )  It's looking quite nice already and I'm
very pleased.

LACE AND THE GLOBE THEATRE
Same mother (well I do only have one) just came back from a trip to England.
Among other lace discoveries which I have to visit her in Vancouver to hear
about , she mentioned a tour of the Globe Theatre.  She didn't see
Richard III, but she said there were several rooms with costume displays
that included lots of lace on the garments as well as a pillow with lace in
progress.  No idea what kind of lace, possibly some of you who've been to
the theatre will know more?

JulieO in Whitehorse, Yukon wondering if it'll warm up enough today to do
some garden clean-up  [EMAIL PROTECTED]

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[lace] lazy susan and thanks

[Julie Ourom]

Thanks everybody very, very much for all the advice about moving lace.  I
have to admit the thought is scaring me, I'm sure once I tackle it I will
feel better, and I also know that I need to be in the right frame of mind to
attempt this.  I am thinking of next Sunday which is my next free time
during daylight hours (always a good plan).  Mind, this is one of those
times when it would sure be nice to have someone standing behind me to
provide support!   I am contemplating practising first on a short and simple
piece that won't matter so much if I make a botch of it.  And in the
meantime I'd already thought to extend the pillow so that will help too.

Fortunately I have four corners to turn before I have to think about sewing
the edges together, so I can read up on this and maybe practise a bit first.
Sounds like I can use that same practise piece the same way!

Noelene asked whether I use a crochet hook (yes) or a lazy susan (never even
heard of one).  Perhaps someone could enlighten me?

And now I realise that just because I can make an edging on a 19" cookie,
that doesn't mean I can't get a larger pillow and a block pillow and a
roller pillow at some point too.  I thought it would be extravagant for the
lace I've made so far.  How cool to find that this would actually be useful
and make things easier!  I should have been looking closer at other peoples'
stuff when I was in Victoria to get ideas - next time.

No messages from Clay this week which I think means she's already on her
Alaska cruise.  Disappointingly the weather has turned cool (cold to most of
you) and wet up here so I hope she has luck on her trip.

JulieO enjoying vegies from my garden and greenhouse...and protecting them
from frost in Whitehorse, Yukon [EMAIL PROTECTED]

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[lace] placing patterns on pillows, moving lace and finishing off...help needed

[Julie Ourom]

Jumping in again to ask for advice.  I've had a very productive time lately
finishing a couple of pieces (including the Chrysanthemum jabot from the
course in Victoria...not quite good enough to wear, but a good start) and
getting bobbins and pillows ready for a few projects.   I've now started a
hankie edging using the half stitch fan pattern from Gillian Dye's Beginning
Bobbin Lace (A great resource for beginners btw, and packs a surprising
amount of patterns in one small book.  I've made more from that book than
any other in my collection.)  The pattern is easy, probably too easy but I
liked the looks of it in the photo, and I wanted something that would give
me lots of practise with tension.  And after realising that up until now the
notion of a "standard footside" in torchon had obviously escaped me , I
decided I'd better concentrate on the basics for now.

Only problem is, I didn't fit the pricking on my pillow very well so it's
too far to the side and I have to work with the bobbins hanging off the
pillow.  This is not very comfortable and can't possibly be good for the
lace.   I did it this way as the instructions suggested, and to hopefully
avoid moving my lace...but it's obviously not working.  Should I have just
put the pricking (with a number of repeats and corner) in the middle of the
pillow?  That's what I've done before, but I've never actually gone so far
as to make an edging of this size and shape.  And my experience moving lace
is limited...and not very practised.  I tried using a piece of styrofoam
from a meat package on something recently but didn't know how to handle the
abrupt drop off where I want to get back on to the pillow.  Now I'm thinking
maybe I have to taper the sides so it flows gradually?

So how does one work an edging for an 8" hankie (complete with corners) on a
cookie pillow.  Mine is 19" diameter, the largest I have.  Is this
reasonable, or should I be thinking of making a larger pillow for this kind
of project?  Or a block pillow?

I also tried joining two ends on a pattern recently and it doesn't look very
nice.  I need to figure out how to do this before I get that far on this
project.   And if I've been moving my lace and unpinning as I go, am I meant
to re-pin the beginning to another pricking before I join it to the end?  I
tried, but it's hard to get it to line up neatly.

Hoping some of this isn't as hard to do as it is feeling right now!  I want
to move past samples and small motifs...

p.s. I have no idea whether I'll ever want to tackle something like Miss
Channer's mat...but, I agree, it's the real reason to collect bobbins since
I won't be able to do a large project like that without them!  In the
meantime, I spent an enjoyable afternoon recently organising my bobbins, and
deciding which to use together and on each pillow.  (This seems very
important to me.  I like things to coordinate.)   I have more than I
realised, although they're not all of the same calibre.

JulieO enjoying vegies from my garden and greenhouse...and protecting them
from frost in Whitehorse, Yukon [EMAIL PROTECTED]

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[lace] jumping around, pre-pricking and more

[Julie Ourom]

Thanks for all the reassurance that it's ok (in the North American tradition
at least) to jump around in my lace making.  My first lacemaking was in
England and I think that's where the notion of a very structured approach
got into my mind.  While there are sound reasons for that, I think like
others that for the type of lacemaking many of us do, jumping around gives
us the ability to try out whatever we're interested in.  We have the luxury
that we don't have to stick to one type of lace as in the past.   Besides
it's fun and life is too short and there's a lot of lace out there.  And I
doubt I'll ever be really good .

Interesting...I'd always been under the impression that most other
lacemakers have more opportunities to learn from teachers than I do...now it
sounds like many of us are self taught from books with the occasional
workshop to keep us on track.  Not that I really needed to be different...

Personally I'm not sure I'd rather be a lace frog or a dragon fly...maybe a
crane fly.  For those that like the idea of a dragonfly, Canadian Living (no
affiliation) has a neat beaded dragonfly pin that would make a suitable
adornment for your pillow.  Check here for the pattern:
http://www.canadianliving.com/crafts/features/dragonfly-pin/index.asp
Easier to bead than a crane fly too, with all those long spindly legs...

Pre-pricking...well I think I can handle that.  Will try it on the new piece
I want to start this afternoon.  When I did this in the past, I recall using
something (maybe a piece of styrofoam) to prick into rather than the actual
pillow.  Is that what others do?  Unless you're pricking as you go along and
then it would have to be right into the pillow.

Thanks also for the great input on OIDFA in Prague...I'm really going to
have to do this.

Would love to see a picture of a gossip pillow, barring the real thing.

JulieO in Whitehorse, Yukon where fall is definitely on the way and we could
get a killing frost any time...and my garden isn't ready to put to bed
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sure hope some of our cool Northern air is heading south...

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[lace] personal lace renaissance (long and a bit chatty), prickings and bent pins; OIDFA in Prague

[Julie Ourom]

PERSONAL LACE RENAISSANCE...and whether one should have a plan for learning
lace
For the last couple of years, I've done more reading about lace than the
actual making of it.  It just always felt that there were too many other
things getting in the way, including a cluttered workroom.   Thanks to the
lace conference in Victoria in June, all that has changed!   It also hasn't
hurt to have had an at-home vacation this month so I've been able to catch
up on lots of things around the house and actually have time for lacing.

Unbelievably I've made more lace in the past month than in the last few
years, and have more ideas than pillows.  (Of those, I have 5, although 2
are only useable for Honiton or Duchesse and I haven't attempted to get back
to either yet...)   I've been working on the Chrysanthemum jabot from the
workshop I took in Victoria (almost off the pillow), some Torchon samplers
and a couple of Schneeberger pieces following up from some lessons a long
time ago.

And then I see Clay's mention of Flanders and realise I have the Niven book
and have never used it and it actually looks achievable.  Well, I'll soon
find out if it's possible to teach oneself Flanders using the book!  Clay
seems to think it is, as she did.

And then it occurs to me - do most lacemakers concentrate on mastering one
technique (or perhaps working it until they lose interest) or do they dabble
all over the place like I seem to be doing?  I originally started with
Torchon and Bucks, and then got sidetracked as the few and far opportunities
to learn lace came up and I took advantage of what was available to me.  Now
I'm wondering if I'd be better off trying to do one type properly, rather
than jumping all around.  Would love to hear others'  ideas.  And yet - too
many patterns, too little time.

PRICKINGS AND BENT PINS
I found the recent discussion very interesting.  For the types of lace I've
been doing, I just use a photocopied pricking with sticky film on top.  I'm
sure adding a piece of card would improve the accuracy of the prickings, but
I find I already get a lot of bent pins and I don't think I want to prick my
patterns in advance.  I have straw pillows, stuffed as tightly as I can get
them, if that makes a difference, and use brass lace pins.  Maybe it doesn't
matter at this stage, but if I really keep going at this, I'm going to have
to find a way to have better prickings with fewer bent pins.

OIDFA in PRAGUE
And now I hear that OIDFA will be in Prague in 2004 and I've been looking
for an excuse to go back to Prague as it's such a wonderful city, and I was
planning to go to Europe next summer anyway... it's starting to feel as if
it's meant to be.  Would a novice albeit enthusiastic lacemaker be out of
place?  Is anyone else on Arachne thinking of going?  Is it expensive
(relatively speaking and given that I likely have accommodation)?  I will
have to start looking into this seriously!

This is way too long for a seldom poster but I just needed to share my
excitement and I'm not likely to post often...

JulieO having a mini-vacation at home in Whitehorse, Yukon where fall is
definitely on the way  [EMAIL PROTECTED]

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