Re: [lace] How did you start making lace?
Der Lisa, I don't have any of the others on your list , but I'm working a pattern from the Cluny de Brioude book at the moment and I reccommend the book wholeheartedly. The Cluny techniques differ slightly from Beds. ones, but most of the time you can substitute beds. techniques quite easily, and the diagrams and instructions are clear where things do need to be done a little differently. The only drawback, for an English-speaker, is that the text is entirely in French (doesn't bother me as I read French well), however everything is beautifully diagrammed so you shouldn't need to refer to the text too often and we have several French speakers on Arachne to help with the occasional translation difficulty. Beth in an unseasonally warm Cheshire, England Lisa wrote: My next question is about books -- I'm a real book hound, and love my lace books! I've been visiting the Van Sciver website and am greatly tempted by these titles. If anybody can offer feedback about any of these, (good or bad) I'd really appreciate it - (I'd also like to know which books are in English, what type of binding, how many pages, # patterns, etc.) A Celebration of Bedfordshire LACE - The Thomas Lester Collection Guipure-und Cluny-Spitzen Patterns for Lace at the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery, Bedford, from the Thomas Lester Collection Traced Parchment Patterns for Lace Guipure du Puy Cluny de Brioude Right now I want to rebuild my technical skills, especially in Bedfordshire lace. - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] How did you start making lace?
On Friday, October 28, 2005, at 11:32 PM, Lisa McClure wrote: A Celebration of Bedfordshire LACE - The Thomas Lester Collection Patterns for Lace at the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery, Bedford, from the Thomas Lester Collection Traced Parchment Patterns for Lace I have these 3 books. The first is an oversized (length and width, not thickness) book of magnificent photographs, including close-ups of Lester lace. There are no prickings but it's a great reference/eye candy book because the pictures are so good that you can figure out how the pieces were made. 'Patterns for lace' is a book of prickings with photos of about half of them made up. The prickings have all been trued up. The last book has copies of old prickings only. They would have to be trued up or redrawn before making them. With your love for Beds and with lace books going out of print so quickly, I'd suggest that you buy all 3, even if you're not ready for them yet. They'll inspire you to keep going! Margot Walker in Halifax on the east coast of Canada Visit the Seaspray Guild of Lacemakers web site: http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/quinbot/seaspray/SeasprayLaceGuild.html - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] How did you start making lace?
Hello, everybody! I'll combine my answer to this question with my re-introduction to the group: Back in 1987, I discovered that the Emily Griffith School in Denver was offering a class in handmade lace, so I signed up, and began bobbin lace lessons with Gretchen Allgeier, who owned Beggar's Lace at that time. (I still have my original receipt) I had always loved textile crafts, but really fell in love with bobbin lace, especially because I loved the puzzle aspect of it. (real brain work!) I started out in Torchon, and then moved on to Bedfordshire lace, still my absolute favorite of all styles, though I am very intrigued with the point laces, especially Binche. I have tried to get into the tape laces, but just can't abide all those fiddly sewings! Then in 1996, I adopted my beautiful 9 1/2 month old daughter, Lara, from China, and all other hobbies and interests, including lacemaking went into storage for the duration. Well, now she's 10 1/2 years old, and I am finally thinking that it's time to pull the lace pillows out of the closet and try and start back up where I left off before. One surprising thing to me -- my pillows must have been breeding. I can't believe how many pillows I have! What could I have been thinking! All the moving and storing hasn't caused as much damage as might be expected - so far, 2 broken bobbins found, both commemorative bone bobbins. The other night I unwrapped a big project in process - the Bedfordshire thistle bookmark designed by Jean Leader. I was in the middle of the 2nd thistle, and now need to work up courage to try my first tally in about 10 years! Now we're living in Arizona, and I'd like to find some lacemaking friends. That was one really terrific thing about making lace in Colorado. The Rocky Mountain Lace Guild has the most wonderful people in it! Are there any bobbin lacemakers in the Phoenix (preferably NE) area? I have heard about an upcoming lace day in Tempe, being hosted by 'Lacey Ladies' but I haven't been able to make contact with any of the members, so I don't really know whether that will work out or not. But we are planning to attend the event and hope to find some other bobbin lacemakers. If anybody has any contact information for Arizona lacemakers, please let me know! My next question is about books -- I'm a real book hound, and love my lace books! I've been visiting the Van Sciver website and am greatly tempted by these titles. If anybody can offer feedback about any of these, (good or bad) I'd really appreciate it - (I'd also like to know which books are in English, what type of binding, how many pages, # patterns, etc.) A Celebration of Bedfordshire LACE - The Thomas Lester Collection Guipure-und Cluny-Spitzen Patterns for Lace at the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery, Bedford, from the Thomas Lester Collection Traced Parchment Patterns for Lace Guipure du Puy Cluny de Brioude Right now I want to rebuild my technical skills, especially in Bedfordshire lace. Then, I really want to try and develop some skills in designing lace, which leads to my next question -- Is anybody using Lace 2000 software program? If so, what do you think? Is it still being supported? Is it worth the money? Again, I've love to hear any feedback, good or bad. The other day, I did a Google Blog search on bobbin lace, and would you believe it? The first blog I pulled up included a link to a lace website, and when I clicked on it, it turned out to be my own website! (unfortunately, not updated in years and years. I feel pretty guilty about that, too, but won't make any promises about getting it updated anytime soon.) Lisa McClure http://www.tussah.com/lace/ - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] How did you start making lace?
In 1972, I had just finished studying, and suddenly had my evenings free. Also I had just passed my driving test, so decided to join an evening class. I wanted to do something crafty, and lacemaking seemed like a good idea! I had no idea how it was made, and didn't particularly wear lacy things, but it was to be a life-changing descision. I attended the enrolement meeting, and signed up. The teacher told me how to make a pillow and cover cloths, for the next week (nothing available commercially in those days). She gave no handouts and I had to remember everything! First cut 2 circles of calico about 18 diameter. Then a long strip equal to the circumference, plus extra for turnings. The strip joins the 2 circles together, to make a honiton-type shaped pillow. Now stuff it with wood wool until very hard. Wood wool was commonly used for packaging before we had polystyrene and bubble wrap, but I had no idea how to obtain any. My parents had an old footstool, which needed repairing, and said I could use the wood shaving contents. Well the pillow took the whole lot, and weighed a ton! But it was a good firm pillow, and I used it for many years. When I arrived at the class and saw someone making a lace edging (with about 15 pairs), I almost ran out in horrror, but that evening, I caught the bug and never looked back. Interestingly the class was so big that the main teacher had about 15 students in one room, and I was taught with a similar number in an adjoining room, by the assistant. When I began teaching in 1978, my classes were about 20-24 students, many in their 20's and 30's. Now I'm lucky to get 10, and at least half are pensioners, and only one under 40! Christine Oxford UK - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] How did you start making lace?
I started making lace thanks to one of my jewellery-making students. I had seen Lenka Suchanec's website, and thought that it would be wonderful to make some jewellery in precious metal wire using lacemaking techniques. I was talking about it during class one day, and one of my students said she went to a lacemaking class. I asked her (very naively!) if she could 'just' teach me the stitches so I could have a go with wire. She encouraged me to go to her class, and although I have tried with wire, and been on a wire lacemaking course, I am not as keen as I was on that, but am totally addicted to lacemaking. I know some members of my family find me a bit of a bore on my pet subject Dee Palin Gloucestershire - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] How did you start making lace?
wll i was in Nottingham for a month with a group of pupils in august some time in the 1980ies... i visited the lace museum (on my own) , met a lacemaker who was demonstrating, had a go (with four bobbins) , thought it was fun ... and only found a lace teacher in Paris about fifteen years later .. many thanks to the Nottingham lady who was demonstrating that day !!! dominique from paris, france. - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] How did you start making lace?
In message [EMAIL PROTECTED], Christine Lardner [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes When I began teaching in 1978, my classes were about 20-24 students, many in their 20's and 30's. Now I'm lucky to get 10, and at least half are pensioners, and only one under 40! In the late seventies, there was the big craft revival following on from all things flowery of the late sixties... lots of part-work how-to-do craft magazines and books. Evening classes were for leisure as well as study - you didn't have to take an exam at the end of it - although my view may be coloured by the fact that at that stage I was just out of college and still living at home - though even after I moved into my flat I had time to go to a homecraft class one evening a week with Mom - we learnt to make baskets and soft toys (Snoopy and a teddy bear!). It was the time between study and marriage plus kids. These days, however, that age group is more likely to be out clubbing with their friends rather than going to night school! (Or maybe evening classes have lost the mythical lure of being the place to catch the perfect bloke!). I think, also, we felt safer going out at night - certainly in the 70s I didn't think twice about walking across Birmingham (UK) city centre at 11pm to get the other bus home - now I'm nervous about going to visit my parents in daylight! These days, the pensioners still feel young enough to learn (even those who don't start making lace till 84, as with one of my students). There still isn't anything good on TV, but we do tend to sit at our computers in the evening rather than going out. And with the instantness of email, comes the expectation that everything else is just as quick.. and lace isn't - it is a slow process. There are still those of us who make lace because we can cope with things that don't get finished in an hour or two, but many can't. As to the magazines, yes, they still cover various crafts, but only those that can be explained in a quick one off article (with the exception of Anna) - putting a complicated lace pattern into a craft magazine these days would have little appeal - only the relative few lacemakers (compared with the tens of thousands of cardmakers and scrapbookers) would know what to do with it, unless they went into pages of explanation - and space for a very limited audience doesn't exist. Getting knitting off the ground again has taken a very dedicated campaign (probably by the Knitting and Crochet Guild) at shows - with a focus on a relax and knit stand at the entrance to whichever hall they are in (I'm thinking of the shows like Sewing for Pleasure at the NEC). There are still relatively few knitting magazines on the newsstands, and although you are likely to find a knitting pattern in a women's magazine, you are not likely to do the same with a lace pattern. However, I read in one of the magazines that came with a Sunday paper that there is about to be a backlash to the everything machine made/for convenience - home cooking is coming back in, and likewise what they call domestic crafts - making things for the home, etc. So maybe crafts in general will raise their head again, as in the 70s, and with lace being back in fashion for clothing, who knows? -- Jane Partridge - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
