Jeri's contribution reminded me in a timely fashion of how my own Mother and her generation of lace makers in the 40s 50s & 60s of the 20th Century in England were mainly self taught. They used any piece of lace or any book they could find; in particular' DMC Les Dentelles aux Fuseaux for Torchon , Channer for Point Ground & Maidment published in 1931 for almost everything. We all owe these three books an incredible amount and they still stand as vital points of reference. My Mother, Elsie Tudor, living in Norwich UK ,at the time, made her own bobbins out of doweling bought very cheaply at the hardware store and pillows, of course. She sought any old piece of lace and looked to see how it had been made. There were teachers in the early days but everyone was learning and teaching at the same time. Bobbin lace was a craft that had almost disappeared.
The really good thing about learning bobbin lace is that it can be accomplished on your own. It has always been a slow craft where the use of a good brain and time is most of what is needed. The complexities of learning such a skill last a lifetime and never cease to enthral. It has never been a quick fix craft and where this has been attempted the results , I suggest ,have not been satisfying for long. Those who know me will know that I have always done my best work well away from any class ! Jean,………….. in a slowly brightening England, (meaning I can spend even more hours at my lace pillow ! ) http:// jeanmaryeke.com - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
