Wednesday 26 October 2011

Lace

I love lace.  I admire lace.  I enjoy its delicate patterns, its numerous different widths, its myriad of colours and its different types and textures.  I love antique lace, vintage lace, and new lace.  But, before any of you lace-makers out there start jumping up and down, I have no desire to make lace, only to find ways of using it in my crafting projects whilst respecting it and wanting to use it as a distinctive embellishment.



I had no idea how much lace would become a passion.  It started off gently. I used it in my collage artworks when I was at college, and then I continued to use it because it added a different texture and pattern and made its own contribution.  When I moved into craft work, I started to collect it.  I purchased different colours, widths etc.  Then two things happened:



Firstly, I was given a small box full of antique lace.  It came from a friend’s mother, and had belonged to her grandmother. Her grandmother, of course was a Victorian lady and I had been given her precious collection.  Fabulous!  What treasure!  What delight!  The small collection revealed that this lady loved lace and she had even attempted to make some tiny pieces.



Secondly, whilst sourcing my craving for even more lace I came across “Viennese” or “guipure” lace and I was hooked.  It is the most beautiful lace I have ever come across.



So, now I have quite a collection of lace, but rather let it sit around in its storage boxes, I am always looking for craft projects in which I can use some lace.  Recently, I made a bag using some vintage lace that I purchased this summer.  I was very pleased with the result.  It is a very special bag and is available to purchase from my shop at Folksy:


BFN