Dear David, I am indebted to Jean Leader for the gift of a 192-page book from England by Veronica Main "Swiss Straw Work", self-published in 2003, ISBN 0-9541795-0-1. If you do a search of her name and the subject, you should be able to find out how to order it directly from Veronica. If this does not work, contact me off-line and I will supply the information given in the book. Alternatively, David, you could try to order it from Australia's version of InterLibrary Loan at your local library. Maybe there is at least one copy in a library in your country. Although the book is about Swiss straw work (not the straw work of the UK), it is most interesting to see straw work that very much resembles fine laces. There are many instructions (in color) in this book. Finer examples combine horsehair with straw to create delicate results. Implements used include needles, sometimes multiple needles, which result in very lacy doilies There is an antique straw embroidery on velvet shown in which the straw resembles gold thread.
Resources given in the book can be searched for and will yield results (the old web addresses did not always work): Guild of Straw Craftsmen (UK) Freiamter Strohmuseum Wohlen (Switzerland) National Association of Wheat Weavers (U.S.) Correspondence is inserted in my copy of the book from Gil Dye mentioning that Veronica was a curator at Luton Museums. She is well-known. Another insert is a letter from Avital (our web master) referring people on Arachne to check out _http://www.thestrawshop.com/_ (http://www.thestrawshop.com/) , which appeared in a Nordic Needle (American) newsletter. Our Arachne archives contain 115 entries under "Straw work". Some are about pillows, but you'll find more information about working with straw as well. _http://www.mail-archive.com/lace@arachne.com/index.html_ (http://www.mail-archive.com/lace@arachne.com/index.html) Jeri Ames in Maine USA Lace and Embroidery Resource Center ---------------------------------------- I'm currently doing some family history research for one of us, and find that IF her female relatives were not Lace Makers, then they were Straw Plaiters. Can someone please tell me exactly what they produced? David in Ballarat, AUS - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
