Not sure about gold but! I was talking to a non-lacemaker friend this weekend about my wedding hankie & how I get bored after a couple of hours. She asked how long it takes to do a bit & I wasnt sure. It made me think! The hankie is about 23cm square & the lace about 1.5cm wide. This means I need about 104cm (4x23 + 8x 1.5) I timed myself this weekend at 1.75hrs for 4cm. So assuming a minimum wage of about GBP4.50/hour and allowing about £5 for yarn and the simple cotton hankie to attach the lace to my hankie should cost about £210! Now I may not be the quickest lacer around (although I dont think Im slow!) and are lacemakers so unskilled as to merit only a minimum wage? In any case it makes you think, doesnt it! Wasnt the Bucks Point pattern called 3 penny spot named because thats what lacemakers earned per yard in the past ie about 3.5p/inch (or 2.5cm?) Can someone who knows some of the history stuff advise? Viv In Worcestershire where were on our 4th consecutive day of summer!
-----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Barry & Joyce Moes Sent: 04 June 2006 02:05 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [lace] 8 Times its Weight in Gold Greetings Gentle Spiders, I am trying to put together some material for an Introduction to/ Demonstration of Bobbin Lace for our club. I seem to remember from arachne several years ago the statement that at one stage lace was worth up to 8 times its weight in gold. Could anyone help please with the source of this quote? Our club has some small scales used for dyes and fine threads. My little piece of silk Chantilly lace weighed 2 gm. The price of gold is over 600US$ an ounce, so if this figure(8 times) is correct, the value of my lace today is over 40 US$. I wanted to touch on some of the history of lace and why laws were passed to govern its use and sale. This tiny piece of lace sitting on the scales beside a portrait with a heavily ruffed collar would tell the story very succinctly, I thought. So if someone could give me a reference for this statement I would be most grateful. Thanks, Joyce Moes Lake Placid (Cairns) Australia [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
