I can't remember whether it was on lace or chat, but a few days ago Jeri jogged my memory about the Witney Antiques Sampler Exhibition - it used to be on at the end of November/beginning of December, and I have missed it for the last few years.
Phil and I went yesterday - and apart from the stunning display of samplers, there were also a couple of lace items on display. One, included in this year's catalogue, is a small sampler (about the size of a postcard) of Hollie Point. For those who haven't come across this before, it is an English Needlelace, formed by corded twisted buttonhole stitches, with the pattern being formed from holes left in a solid background of stitches (rather like Assisi work in embroidery in effect) - lots of counting! It is called Hollie Point as a derivation of Holy Point - being one of the few activities considered suitable for young ladies to occupy themselves with on Sundays - and many of the designs include religious symbols (doves, crosses, etc). Articles made were mainly for religious use - Christening bonnets, panels for Christening robes, etc. Pickford House Museum in Derby once had a baby's bib with a Hollie Point panel on display. The lace is one of those which is a requirement in the City & Guilds Part 2 certificate, and drove me batty producing a sample - I ended up convinced that the needles must have been finer, as well as the thread, as getting between the closely spaced stitches for the next row was very hard work! The other piece that caught my eye is a large cloth - about a yard square, described as Valenciennes. Their bit of information stated that the lace was made in a damp atmosphere to prevent the very fine thread from snapping, and that the lacemakers often went blind by the age of 30 (???). The thread looked to be linen, a bit finer than the 60/2 I have, but certainly not what I would call a very fine thread. It was obviously made in panels of about 8 inches width, had figures and an inscription worked into it and was very open in design - a lot of what looked like ordinary torchon ground in the background. One of the figures had a skirt of snowflake ground. The price put on this piece was fifteen thousand pounds. I did ask if it would be possible for them to put a picture of it on their website, but apparently not. They would like to, but cannot get a clear enough photo due to its size and lack of space where it is displayed. However, if anyone is in the area, it is worth going to have a look at. There are times I wish I had married a millionaire!!! The exhibition is on till the end of the week, but I think this is possibly separate to the exhibition. -- Jane Partridge - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
