I was going through a tough patch having just had a second miscarriage
in less than a year and felt a strong need to be creative. That was
late summer 1975, and a local department store were displaying (part
of) one of the Battle of Britain lace panels in a window. They are 65"
wide and 15 yards long! Nottingham Leavers lace.
I was fascinated by it and stood looking at it for as long as 3 year
old DD would allow. The label said that a limited number of the panels
were made and then the patterns destroyed. I knew it wasn't based on
knitting, crochet or embroidery, it didn't look like regular weaving
but I didn't have a clue as to how it was made. However I knew that
the local Adult Ed college offered classes in pillow lace, maybe it was
that! Emma was about to start two mornings a week at nursery and one
of her mornings coincided with a lace class so I signed up. If I
couldn't make another baby then I'd make lace instead! By the end of
that first year in class I was very pregnant with the twins! and
lacemaking went on the back burner for a while.
There's a not very good picture of the panel at
http://www.raf.mod.uk/bob1940/roll.html
then click on the thumbnail image
Info about the panel at
http://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/battle_of_britain/
and another image at
http://tinyurl.com/b44ff
where it's called a tapestry!
Brenda - who still can't make leavers lace!
http://paternoster.orpheusweb.co.uk/
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