My recent review of this book appeared in the November 2016 newsletter of
The New England Lace Group. I thought it had stood the test of time quite
well, and deserved a new introduction to today's lace makers. (It was
originally published in 1974.)
If you own the book "Lace" and would
Before the weekend, I requested information about lace to be seen in
Norway and asked whether there is a national lace organization in that
country.
There have been no replies. Before this gets lost too low in the recent
mails portion of our archives, would someone please write from a
An international lace expert has sent me the following request, and since
I have never been to Norway, I think it best to ask on Arachne what is
happening in June 2017 that is lace-related in that country. Please send
replies to me, with contact information, and I will see that this
To reassure all that this history is being preserved - a copy of this book
is in my Lace Library. It is about the history of these women, and
contains statistics, trade practices, political overtones, explanations of the
caste system, and that sort of thing. Though I read it
Dear Joseph,
A couple years ago, I heard from someone with a museum lace collection that
they had determined that some varieties of Acid Free tissue were drying.
And so, they were changing their procedures. Perhaps Devon can share some
light on the subject.
The other thing to consider
Since I raised the question of when we should expect it - the Summer 2016
bulletin was in my mail on Saturday.
Most members would not understand this concern, but librarians would.
Every issue is in my lace research library, and once in the past the
dates/volume numbers got all mixed up
Sue M., Were you at Winterthur 2 weeks ago?
This old lady (Jeri) is getting tired of writing about all the interesting
lace-related information learned on a daily basis. Yet, many people
protest there is no news for lacemakers ? I need apprentices ! Volunteers !
Several younger
Dear Sue M,
Where are you located? We keep asking, because correspondents fail to
give us an idea of the country in which they live. It becomes relevant when
someone tries to be of help. A search (extra time for us to do) for your
business brought up Indiana, U.S.A. Is this correct?
What is the last IOLI Bulletin members have received?
Has anyone received an e-mail notice of IOLI dues due before year end?
Jeri Ames in Maine
Lace and Embroidery Resource Center
-
To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line:
unsubscribe lace y...@address.here.
Since there seems to be no replies to my request that someone post Jenny's
web site address for new participants of the 2016 ornament exchange, I have
gone backwards in my schedule of many things being done for the future of
lace and found it for all:
http://www.brandis.com.au/
Arachne
Last week at Winterthur, Linda Eaton announced that the entire textile
collection is being photographed and will be available for viewing via
computer in the near future. So, Devon, they have anticipated your wishes.
They
have always had wonderful staff photographers, skilled in bringing
Original October 16 question:
Hello All! May I ask what brand linen thread you are using & why? I'm a
bit steamed to find big hunks of lint stuck in 90/2 linen thread & unsure
of whether to pick it out & risk breaking the thread or cutting it out &
adding a new bobbin. While I realize
Another solution is to go to look at past submissions which have been kept
for members of Arachne. The leaders of the exchanges have urged
participants to identify the original sources (designers), and they have (in
recent
years) also asked for prickings or instructions to put on the site
Thank you, Malvary!
Your reply to Susan was just what I needed to read this morning. It
illustrates dedication that is often missing on Arachne (though never from
you),
and which is often unappreciated. Now that Arachne readers know Malvary
is one of the proofreaders of "Lace" and also
Dear Brian,
This is a book I was trying to find some years ago. I was told a book
seller in Australia stocked it. However
my search did not succeed. You are in Australia, and may have more luck.
I've changed the Subject line, in hopes it will trigger someone's memory,
and be sorted
Dear Susan,
Kalocsa is a place in Hungary where they have traditionally made brightly
colored floral embroidery. What is of interest to us is that the
foundation under that embroidery is lacy, and white. The lacy parts were
originally
stitched by hand, but when the Singer treadle machines
Dear Susan,
One thing you might "search" is for Polish-American centers and societies.
In some cases, they may actually have a bricks and mortar building that
includes exhibition space and holdings of collections of interesting
needlework that are exhibited from time-to-time. Other
Dear Agnes,
Your lace is beautiful.
Thank you for mentioning Christine Springett, whom I've admired for nearly
40 years. I fall back on her books and videos when someone is interested
in learning to make lace. The combination of her assistance in getting
started on the videos, and the
RSN = Royal School of Needlework, located at Hampton Court Palace, England.
There is an article in the August/September 2016 magazine "Stitch",
published in England by The Embroiderers' Guild for sale to the public
(available
at some local U.S.-located Barnes & Noble book stores) -- about
Thank you for the salt-infused lace explanation, Ilske.
In brief, this is done only to new laces by an artist whose first
consideration is to make something that is not normal. Is the artist using
materials other than linen, cotton, silk and wool? How will this lace be
cleaned
in the future,
Why should any lace be bathed in salt water? Have professional
conservators and restorers approved this "treatment"?
This is a simple reminder that I "preach" to be very careful about
exposing your precious laces to chemicals and minerals in water drawn from
private
wells and public water
Dear Susan,
Yes, there is way too much to know about lace (and textiles, in general).
Since I've seen no Arachne responses to your inquiry about "Chinese
laces", please tell us more about what you wish to understand: the
author/document/page(s) where you found the referenced subject.
Dear Susan, Maybe this needs clarification?
Every time I refer to the University of Arizona files on Arachne (several
times each year), **I give the address Sue gave in her posting.** It was
my antique books that were the first to be scanned by Tess for the use of
our Arachne
A notice has come to me of a meeting by the North Cheshire Lace Makers Lace
Day that I'd like to attend.
It says the speaker is Jan Gardiner, and the topic is "A lacemaker's lot is
not a happy one". I'm guessing this would be about current lacemakers,
because this is in the present
I developed a serious lace interest about 40 years ago, via taking needle
lace courses taught by EGA. Since our lace guilds primarily focus on
bobbin lace at this time in history, this is something for people who prefer
needles as their tool-of-choice to know.
If you are a member of EGA,
I was taught at an early age to communicate truthfully, though I did know
when adults were not being truthful to me. Also, that (without a college
degree or even having taken any college courses) I was recruited by The New
York Times to work on school newspapers in the early 1960s. I
At the 2016 OIDFA Congress's gala dinner in Slovenia, I sat at the Belgian
table, surrounded by 9 very capable experts with extensive experience when
it comes to Belgian laws and organization of large events. Conversation
was in English. Please do not panic if you were planning to go to
Dear Elizabeth in Brazil,
1. Your letter did not go to Arachne as I see it on my copy of your
letter. As I saw your memo on my computer screen (copy below this note), it
only came to me.
My usual reply address choices with AOL are "Reply" which only goes to the
sender (you) or "Reply All"
This is a friendly reminder, not the police - please send your messages to
_lace@arachne.com_ (mailto:lace@arachne.com)
Messages do not need to be addressed to the digest or other related
addresses that we have. When you address to more than one address, it fills
up
our incoming mail
Dear Susan, et al,
Actually, I have nothing against modern handmade lace being cut, glued, or
held in place with adhesive tape. If what you have made is of substantial
value to you, you will instinctively not use harmful approaches.
All circumstances and environments are not equal. We
More Information - OIDFA Congress in Slovenia, from the woman in the
bright pink hat.
First, there is Manca Ahlin, the New York City architect. She delivered
one of the Congress lectures. After I discovered her last year while doing
some lace research, she was introduced to Devon at the
>From the woman in the bright pink straw hat.
There has been an absence of reports of experiences at the 17th World
OIDFA Lace Congress and General Assembly in Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2016.
This is for those of you who do not belong to lace guilds and consequently
do not receive their
Let's change the subject.
Paragraph from an open book in the case at Malta's national exhibit at the
OIDFA Congress:
"Put lace upon a woman's head and kneel behind her in church. See if you
can concentrate on the sermon without wondering what she is like."
Make lace. Wear it. Gift
My views of what we must do to promote lace making are unique. At age 78,
I'm interested in propelling us forward into the future and have been
trying to donate my library to a museum research facility that will be more
accessible than my home in Maine. It is a difficult task and (for me)
For those interested: The 68-page 1884 book by Sara Rasmussen -
Kloeppelbuch: Eine Anleitung zum Selbstunterricht im Spitzenkloeppein (Book of
Bobbin Lace: Self-instructions for Bobbin Lace Making) - is available for
reading. Select "Books" and then scroll down to Rasmussen at:
Dear Amanda,
Happy to see your correspondence from Philadelphia.
Knitters wear their knitting. For the sake of enticing young fiber
artists and making people connected with funding organizations aware of the
laces
being made today:
We must wear our laces in our everyday lives!
You
Response to correspondence generated by Devon Thein in which she refers to
supporting young lace artists and CV's (Curriculum Vitae - or, Resumes).
We need to make it easier for artists to find us!
In the past 20 years, I have shared with Arachne members much about public
relations,
Dear Lacemakers,
We have lost another of our precious lace experts, Radmila Zuman.
You can read her obituary by clicking on her name (on the right) at:
http://www.dignitymemorial.com/garner-funeral-service/en-us/index.page
Be sure to click to read the entire write-up about her life,
The Huguenots in England were French Protestants, which is why they fled to
England. Reformation reached France early in the 16th C. and was part of
the religious and political adversities of the time. Search
Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre, 1572, for an example.
It may be that the beads
>From my perspective, a one-time invitation today of how to find me - is
enough for people I'd love to meet.
At the IOLI conventions in the U.S., lodging, meals, lectures, sales rooms
and activities are all in one hotel, making a lunch meeting fairly easy to
organize.
This is not the
It is too quiet again. So, let me ask
Will you be attending the OIDFA Congress in Slovenia? This is an
*invitation* to meet me !
There is no one I know in Slovenia whom we could ask to coordinate a group
meeting. However, I'd love to meet you individually. Look for a 5' 2"
woman
Dear Lacemakers and Lace CollectorsCORRECTION
It has been pointed out to me by Jean Leader that there are 2 Blair
Castles in Scotland. The second being in Ayrshire, south of Glasgow! That is
the castle and contents that were sold. There ought to be a law! Whew!
That is good
Dear Lacemakers and Lace Collectors
I have learned the exquisite laces and whitework that Lady Evelyn Stewart
Murray collected and made while living in Belgium early in the 20th C.,
subsequently held in the Blair Castle collection, Perthshire Scotland, was
probably sold at auction in 2011.
Dear Gon,
This message was received in Maine. I know exactly how you feel, Gon.
You take time - I am sure it is a few hours of thought, sometimes making a
sample, getting instructions organized, and computer work to get each message
organized and set to go. You share something that
Dear Lacemakers,
We have hundreds of members in various countries who do not read any other
lace publications.
We know hundreds of lurkers are subscribed to Arachne.
Many days, there is nothing in my inbox. How can that be?
It is time for some of you who are younger to participate.
In a message dated 5/1/2016 4:54:26 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
cearbh...@gmail.com writes:
Does any one know what is going to happen to her wonderful website?
Cearbhael
REPLY
Dear Lacemakers,
A simple question. Not a simple answer..
Several letters to me are asking when they can
Dear Friends of Lace Fairy - Lori Howe:
If you have been reading Arachne for many years, you will remember Lace
Fairy. It is my sad task to tell you of her death on January 7, 2016. I
just learned this from a local person who is a member of Lori's church.
In recent years, Lori had
A very professionally presented exhibition. Makes me proud to be
associated with lace. Gwynedd is quite correct, but you will note that the
news
lady uses "crochet" when actually describing a very fine lace - a lace that
would never answer to that term. Language!
Be sure this is not
Dear Chris,
You may be surprised to hear from our members around the world. We are
about 1,000 in number, and over 21 years we have come to where we cherish
each other very much.
Your wife and I sometimes carried on private correspondence. She had an
intellectual interest in lace and
My calendar says today, April 12, is our birthday. Many thanks to Liz,
owner of the server, for providing this free way to communicate about lace
since 1995.
Jeri Ames in Maine USA
Lace and Embroidery Resource Center
-
To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line:
There are many memos in our Arachne archives about Magic Threads.
Lacemakers do not want anyone to think we do anything "lazy".
Do you remember how confusing it was when you were first learning to make
lace, and there were several words for each technique you were trying to
learn?
We need to keep lace history alive for today's young lacemakers, who have
not studied numerous languages. Even those whose grandparents spoke German
are usually not learning that language in English-speaking nations.
Laurie Waters has given her subscribers a long list of lace events in
I did something different this morning. I addressed my memo to Arachne,
and typed my address in the "copy to" box. Maybe that triggered something
causing my memo to be delivered to a wider audience? I'm now doing this
again, to test it.
Wow! Jane mentions internal office situations at
Our British lace friends are far too modest about the riches they have
created, so I'll toot a horn for them - again. (I note they do have an
"Introduction to Milanese Lace" by Pat Read for sale for 6 British pounds.)
As the owner of over 1,000 lace books I know devils will try to price
Congratulations on the 30th anniversary of the founding of Canadian
Lacemaker Gazette, which links Lacemakers from Atlantic to Pacific, and links
all
lacemakers in your very large nation.
As a result of concentrated efforts, there are now 35 Canadian lacemaking
groups in your directory.
Dear Sylvie,
20 to 22 years ago, the OIDFA Congress was held in Finland, and Rauma lace
was featured. Please, if someone attended, perhaps they can help.
Sylvie, you need to try to get to a lace guild's library that contains
OIDFA bulletins for the period about 1993 and after - (the 2 to
Dear Lace Lovers,
There is not much about lace and lacy that we have not discussed on
Arachne. That includes these machine-woven tulle shawls, embroidered with
metal
strips.
I own one. My shawl is what I'd call grim off-white. It measures 80" x
22 1/2". To give an idea of value, a
Last week, AOL firmly blocked email to Slovenia.
My solution was to call them at 4 a.m. New York City time. This way, I
could be certain everything was in the correct hands. Have the same problem?
Email me, and I'll share what worked.
-
I've read on Arachne that
Dear Julie,
1. Catherine Barley, the author of the book you are using, is a member of
Arachne. There are 329 messages from her in the archives under her name.
So, wait a bit, and maybe she will weigh in with her experience. To
verify I am correct, type her name in the search box at:
Just found on http://winterthur.org/embroidery
There are two items of interest:
1. Definition of the word art and the word craft - this is one of the
best (my humble opinion), and confined to one paragraph.
2. Click on the second item on the right, and view a larger image of a
1795
I receive private memos often. They feed my desire to know what is
happening in the lace community, and sometimes inspire memos that are sent to
Arachne. A Pennsylvania friend has sent some interesting information, for
which I have asked permission to share. The words are hers, unless
There are approximately 1,000 subscribers to Arachne. It works for most.
When I send a letter to Arachne it is because I think more than one person
will be interested. Otherwise, the time required is just too great - I
want a "big bang for my buck", as the saying goes. This means
Dear Lacemakers,
Thanks to the members of Arachne who wrote privately about how to access
the New Mexico article. It is extremely important for our international
group to become acquainted with what is going on lace-wise in the American
Southwest, which is why I became upset when the
To what is this memo referring? There is no letter about lace in New
Mexico in my Arachne in-box, and I do not find it in the Arachne archives as
new correspondence. This has happened several times recently, and is cause
for concern. Are others having the same problem???
Jeri Ames in
Thank you, Clay, for advocating a knowledge of history before presenting
lacemaking in an inappropriate venue. Many people have bad memories of how
history was taught to them in school - nearly all about wars and the ruling
classes and endless dates to memorize.
Lacemakers need to
Please read memos from our experts - so you can learn without huge
investments in books, classes, travel, lodging, etc.
It is disturbing to see anyone trying to manipulate a traditional lace,
and finding that they have problems like the one cited in this discussion.
Everyone trying to
Dear Sally,
Do you belong to any local lace guild? Do they have a lending library, or
helpful local members
It is amazing that you cannot find information. Have you looked at the
IOLI website's library listings? Books are available for borrowing, which is
one of the valuable
This is for our lace members who may volunteer in historic house museums or
wish to furnish their personal homes (built before 1870) with antique
textiles. Belong to a local historical society? This is a recommended book
donation, if they do not have it.
Florence M. Montgomery's -
Very recently, Gil Dye sent me a pdf of a talk she presented at The School
of Historical Dress in London. She was in the company of a number of very
well-known museum textile scholars (also speakers), which is delightful to
know. I must add that having one of the members of our lace
Everyone: This claims to be the 1st book printed in the German language
about bobbin lace.
You might check to see if your national lace organizations have this in
their libraries. If not, perhaps a small lace group could pool their
financial resources to buy a copy for their national
(There are a lot of quotation marks around the publication name in this
review. I do not know how they will show up on all the receiving devices of
today. My original of this article, for a local lace newsletter, showed
"Golden Hands" as italicized and in bold print, features Arachne's
Perhaps we should remind that the yarns being used for these bobbin-made
fashion lace scarves - various combinations of dyed fibers - were probably
developed for knitters. Therefore, I would first suggest a professional on
this Arachne list consult a knitter's group to learn how their best
Dear Lacemakers,
This memo came in over the weekend, and I responded directly to the author
in Australia. Upon further thought, it occurred to me that maybe I should
find out from the remainder of our membership if they think I have an
"attitude", since I am definitely the one who puts
Dear Elizabeth,
The recent series of books by Gil Dye might be helpful to you - they cover
the Elizabethan and Stuart periods. There is also the wonderful book "In
Fine Style". I reviewed them on Arachne, but you might like to see the
reviews as they appeared in the New England Lace
In a message dated 1/13/2016 10:37:50 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
jocelyn.froe...@gmail.com writes:
I have a question about silk threads and washability? A lace teacher
mentioned silk doesn't do well if it gets wet, and once ruined finished lace
and
many hours of work. That may have
All Members, please note:
When you send email to the _lace@dont_ (mailto:lace@dont) panix.com
address, it does not go into the Arachne archives! I received 2 of the
letters
about the Christmas Ornament Exchange, both using panix.
These slip ups remind me that my postings are not
For those lacemakers who are alone today, Merry Christmas:
Our lace community has become rather quiet, and so this moment to thank a
couple of our members.
In reading the joyful messages from recipients of 2015's Christmas
ornament exchange, it occurred to me I must acknowledge -
Added to the subject line: "author Goldenberg". When this subject was
raised by Liz in Missouri in late November, I wrote to her privately to ask
the name of the book, since it was not in the original Arachne
correspondence copy I received.
If others are interested, the book is "Lace Its
There is no mention of any observances of St. Catherine's Day, Nov. 25th,
on Arachne yet. The Lace Guild in the UK places their symbol of a wheel of
torture somewhere on the covers of every quarterly "Lace" bulletin. It is
a reminder that she was tortured in this way. She is the patron
Special attention to Laurie Waters, if someone can alert her directly.
Repliers: Please put above title as the subject so I'll know it is from
one of our members, if you reply directly to me. And, please reply directly
to me to avoid cluttering in-boxes of the many Arachne members not
Sally wrote: Is there a book out there on how to mount finished lace?
For a longer trim, or a complex shape, what are my options? Is iron-on
backing an option, or will I be booed and hissed out of the global guild?I
really don't want to spend the same amount of time sewing as I did
Thank you Bev for the address you have given. However, it is not the 9
page article devoted to the 3 items I wrote about. This article has
portraits of Mary Radcliffe and Charles the I, and a lot of extra info. That
is
why I wrote offering to forward it to our scholars.
Bev, I will
Lyn wrote about making time for lace in the morning before the rest of the
household is up and about.
For those of you who have many obligations, I thought I'd share what I did
to make time for lace and embroidery during difficult years.
It was 40 years ago now, and I had a new husband who
Devon has had problems posting to Arachne today. Now, I am trying for
her, but it seems that AOL may have me locked out, too. Hope this reaches our
members!
Jeri Ames in Maine USA
Lace and Embroidery Resource Center
From: dmt11h...@aol.com
To:
Everyone:
Why does this message have a "Help please" subject? Why is it attached to
a lace ID question? Going backwards a few days, why didn't the lace ID
memo have a more specific Subject line in the first place? (I have trimmed
most of the lace ID New Zealand correspondence away, per
Dear Jane and all those interested,
Thank you, Jane. This is valuable information to keep in our archives.
The Subject: lace-digest V2015 #105 gives no clue as to subject. Therefore,
nearly impossible to look up.
But, IT CANNOT BE LOOKED UP! Mail addressed to _lace@dont.panix.com_
On Wednesday, Nov. 11 (Veteran's Day), the (Karen) Augusta Auction Company
is offering about 420 items of rare clothing and textile objects from many
American museum collections at an auction to be held in New York City. I
think museums find it easy to raise cash from costumes that have
Dear Lacemakers,
I was trying to get into our archives this morning, and could not. Would
someone else please test
http://www.mail-archive.com/lace@arachne.com/index.html
Then, I highlighted the address and tried that. It also failed!
Thought I'd look to see if there are any angel
So that correspondence will go to the appropriate file in our Arachne
archives, I have changed the subject line from the one used earlier today to
Steampunk and Doily Free Zone (two subjects).
We last discussed Steampunk on Arachne in 2011 !There are probably
people who cannot relate to
In a special-interest publication, I have come across a long review of a
new book about mangle boards, used for smoothing damp linens. The book is
$185, so I thought the review would be an inexpensive substitute. It will
give those who are interested a jumping off point for printing
Dear Lace Experts,
This subject, written about yesterday, resulted in some fresh Arachne
mail, as intended. Much was personal - just to me, so the list did not see
them.
Here are a couple items to remind everyone:
1. Sometimes my mail from AOL does not get delivered. It happens only
Dear Lace Experts,
Our list is too quiet. Here is something to discuss.
Last year, I purchased a lace collection from a friend who desperately
needed money. It was all in one large densely-packed box, and most is
unlabeled. Not knowing where the laces came from, I have been slowly
Old correspondence about these panels was placed in my copy of the book by
Bill Rowe, for the convenience of future researchers. At the time Bill
Rowe (in England) wrote "The Battle of Britain in Lace" (about 2003), he
noted 19 of 20 panels had been located. His book is quite
My books on Kalocsa are filed under the Embroidery category, because they
rely heavily on a pre-existing foundation fabric for execution. On
occasion, parts are made of needle lace, but this is rare today.
In 1991, I went to Hungary the first time, landing within an hour of Pope
John Paul II's
Thank you, Jane.
In 20 years, we have discussed many subjects on Arachne. You may learn
more by searching
1. Sea Silk
2. Byssus
in our archives:
http://www.mail-archive.com/lace@arachne.com/index.html
Jeri Ames in Maine USA
Lace and Embroidery Resource Center
From a security point of view, giving last names does not seem like a
great idea. We do not know what safety concerns these lovely lacemakers in
small villages might have. I'd recommend not giving exact locations without
specific permission. Certainly, we should take the privacy
Can someone please tell me if Lace Stars of the Past, Present Future
is completely devoted to patterns for making bobbin lace stars (as in those
that we see in a dark sky)?
By City Circle Lacers, 2000 - IOLI Pattern book from Convention 2000
I found the New England Lace Group has a
A reminder that this is something that should NEVER be done in the
presence of children If they try any adult uses for power drills in
combination with wires, there could be serious injuries, especially from
spinning
wire that may become detached. It may be a good idea to tie back
In my library is a large lace exhibit catalog: The Romance of Real Lace
This accompanied an exhibition at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Paul
Textile Arts Gallery, August 1, 1993-January 9, 1994.
Inside, it says the lace collection of the Indianapolis Museum of Art is
considered one of
Thank you, Amanda, for this reminder of the 40th anniversary of the
Nottinghamshire Bobbin Lace Society.
My mission in writing about Lace is to be sure the history of women engaged
in the textile arts and industry are not forgotten.
In 2001, I made a solo visit to Nottingham, staying 2
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