Hi All, I was interested in the thread on Inishmacsaint Lace and when so little information on it appeared I decided to go to the source. Mary Shields gave a wonderful talk on Irish Laces two years ago at the lace days in Ithaca, New York. She was also my Carrickmacross teacher (she's a wonderful teacher, take her courses if you can!). Anyway I wrote her an e-mail and here is what she sent me about Inishmacsaint Lace.
Inishmacsaint is an island in Lough Erne near Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh. They were renown for the quality of the lace and had royal patronage. INMS (I have to abbreviate it somehow <G>) was made from the finest of unbleached linen thread produced in Ulster. The raised parts are worked over linen cord or horsehair. I've got to quote here "The technique was based in style of Venetian Gros Point and Spanish Needlepoint, (raised and flat point) point de neige, point plat." Most INMS was raised point but some flat point was also produced. INMS was first made in Tynan, County Armagh. In 1849 Mrs. Maclean, wife of the Church of Ireland Rector of Tynan, began teaching needlepoint around 1849 to provide much needed work for women after the Great Famine. Guipure flounces were show at the Great Exhibition of 1851 and INMS Lace was also at the Chicago World's Fair in 1892. After the family moved from Tynan, Mrs Mclean's daughters set up a lace school in the Parish of Inishmacsaint, Co. Fermanagh. That was in 1865 and that small area is where the lace continued to be made. The school supplied lace to The Lace Depot in Dublin and fulfilled private orders. After the Chicago World's Fair the main market was in California though the industry fell into decline after the San Francisco earthquake in 1906. Private orders were filled after that, possibly as late as 1922. The lace is no longer made because there is no modern thread to compare with the fine unbleached hand spun local thread produced in Ulster at that time! Mary also writes that the best and most extensive exhibit of INMS lace is at the Sheelin Irish Lace Museum, Ballinaleck, Co. Fermanagh. Another that does have some is the Monaghan County Museum. Mary's talk in Ithaca was so interesting. I can't find the few notes I took but I think she stuck with the Needle laces of Ireland and there are many. One specific type was only made for something like 15 years! The history of lace is so fascinating! Jane in Vermont, USA where it's cooling off a little and the leaves are changing color a tiny bit. [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
