MORE LOVELY LACE
I have been making slow progress on my old lace wallhanging. This is partly because of the heat and holiday distractions, but also partly because I am doing as much unpicking as sewing.
That statement comes from someone whose motto is "Life is too short for unpicking!"
It is proving quite difficult to get the lace to sit straight on the velvet background, in spite of close pinning and tacking. I am even resorting to measuring, which is not one of my favourite activities!
It was some consolation when my dear friend Joy, who owns the book from which I took my inspiration, said that the lace on the wallhanging in the book is actually far more skew-whiff (sp?) than mine!
But it is worth persevering, as some of the laces are so lovely.
The one at the top with the crowns was from a piece given to me by Judith Baker Montano. I was doing a workshop with her, and commented on the lovely lace with crowns that she sometimes uses in her pieces. Judith asked me "Would you like a piece?" and proceeded to her box of supplies and cut me lengths from two different crown laces, the other one being an eyelet lace. She told me that she had discovered these laces in Australia, and that they had originally been made for Edward VIII's Coronation, which never took place.
Now the second picture..well, wow! That was the cuff from a Bishop's vestments. Isn't it beautiful? It was given by a friend who actually used the matching cuff for making some knickers for a doll!
I must confess to becoming seriously covetous when I am watching ecclesiastical occasions, such as the Pope's coronation. Some of those laces, brocades and embroideries are just mouth-watering, and I find myself wondering if they ever get recycled!
I am not sure if the Bishop's cuff will find its way onto my wallhanging. It deserves to be the centrepiece of its own special project. I must put the word out among my ecclesiastical friends.