About 4 yrs. ago I did a search for Scottish lace info when I was asked by
the local Scottish Games people to demonstrate at the games. There was not
much to be found, although a University in Mississippi has some books on
Scottish hand crafts.
Hamilton Lace seems to be named for the Duchess of Hamilton who organized
a charitable school in the 18th C. (see Dictionary of Lace by Earnshaw).
There was also a small 'home lace industry' in New Pitsligo. The only
patterns or pictures I have seen are defiantly Torchon style and quite course
and very open.
Earnshaw states: "Scottish Lace There were no commercial centres for
lacemaking in Scotland, and lace does not even appear to have been worn in any
quantity. There are references in the sixteenth centruy only to pearling, to
'cuttit out work' and to lacis as made by Mary Queen of Scots during her long
imprisonment."
"The cobwebby knitted laces of the Shetland marriage shawls can be traced back
to the 1840s" and "Scotland was noted for its beautiful Ayrshire work."
I would still be interested in any further information on Scottish laces.
There is a web site (a newspaper I think) with an article about New Pitsligo
lace-making.
see
http://www.buchanie.co.uk/archived/2004/Week_45/village/lace-making.asp<http:
//www.buchanie.co.uk/archived/2004/Week_45/village/lace-making.asp>
There is also a booklet "Lace-making in Hamilton" by Jessie H Lochhead, M.A.,
published by? 'Hamilton Public Libraries and Museum Committee 1971' The copy
I got on inter-library loan came from the Univ. of Chicago Library.
The Canadian Lacemaker Gazette Vol. 13 No 3 had an article on New Pitsligo
Lace by Sandi Milliken with a pricking of the pattern "Bird's Eye" with a
diagram by Bev Walker. Margaret Merner was kind enough to send me a copy at
the time I ask here on Arachne about Scottish laces. In 2004, I was told
Sandi had taught a class on the New Pitsligo lace at IOLI in the mid 1990s,
had planned to write a book about it but became ill and died in 2002. In
1993, Sandi and Trish Fisher (WV) had made a trip to New Pitsligo, staying 2
weeks with a local lacemaker/teacher. Trish states "New Pitsligo lace IS much
like Torchon but has it's own special rules and quirks."
Lorri
Graham, WA USA
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