Hi Arachnids
One fact has so far been neglected and that is the difference in speed between
working a new patterns and familiar ones. Having to constantly cope with
techniques instead of repeating the same ones. The lace teachers of the past
insisted that a yard (metre) had to be made of every new pattern so that the
lacemaker would become so familiar with it that it became automatic and she
could go on auto-pilot.
Although I make no effort to work fast I get the same joy of experience
working with my hands and having the experience of seeming to block out other
stimuli but it comes not only from making lace but also from the activity of
puzzling out what to do next.
Regarding group projects, this idea is not new, they have been around since
the early days of lacemaking. I have three pieces of early Honiton lace They
are about the same width, two of them have joins. In one the two pieces are of
different design. The other has two pieces of the same design but it looks
like they were made by different lacemakers. The lace is very fine, finer than
240/2 Egyptian cotton, and even when made at speed would have taken a long
time to make. At this rate the lacemaker could not have afforded to make much
lace before she had to cut it off to sell it and therefore the pieces would
have frequent joins and several lacemakers would have made the same design so
they could be joined into one piece having the same design throughout. Many
Honiton lacemakers would have each made only one design and become very
speedy. Then the pieces from many lacemakers would have been used to make a
larger item, a collar or a wedding veil, and a skilled joiner would have
joined the motifs together for a collar or mounted them on net for a veil.
Many Honiton collars show a variety of motifs and often the repeated motifs
look like they were made by different lacemakers. Many collars look as though
a handful of mixes designs had been placed together, the two sides of the
collar not being the same. Some motifs are in the same place on the two sides
while in other places, although the motifs are the same size and taking the
same space, they are of different design.
Enjoy your lace at whatever speed suits you
Alex
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