Image via WikipediaWhen I was a young newlywed, the lace ladies used to chase me around the ruins, thinking I needed to beef up my trouseau - even though I already had a husband in tow. Making lace is a cottage industry for many Turkish peasant women. They probably spend the entire winter creating intricate tablecloths, doilies, and such. Mostly they stick to crochet type pieces, because those are easier and faster to make than the older styles. One woman on the road up to Alanya Castle tried to tempt me with some lovely and very reasonably priced needle lace (like the pic).Alas, they were barking up the wrong tree. While I appreciate the beauty of lace, I've only ever been able to use a couple of accent pieces at a time. My grandmother kept trying to pass the stuff on to me too. Honestly ladies, lace is so 1930. Or so I thought.
If I can wear lace, I might do that now, especially if it's black. Fall 2010 catalogs are sprinkled with the machine made stuff. I'd love a shirt or jacket with some fanciful lace cuffs - might help me get my inner Shakespeare on. Maybe some lace look tights....or a little something around the neckline. Not too frilly.
Lace trimmed curtains? I had them on my Victorian house and I hated washing them. I think I'll stick with the Thanksgiving tablecloths.
Still, I admire the women who carry on and actually make the lace, passing their techniques from generation to generation. So I'm happy to support them once in a while.
Watch the video. It takes her a couple minutes to make one simple flower. No wonder they use machines now. Lace making is time consuming and it ruins your eyes...so does typing all day on a computer but that's another story.
6 comments:
Oh, I agree. Admire the stuff but fine lace requires hand washing and in 1930 we might have had time for that :)
Jules @ Trying To Get Over The Rainbow
That lace is exquisite. My grandmother had some of those too, and she passed them onto me. I think I used them as a lace collar and it soon wore away. Now I wish I had looked after it better, because I LOVE LACE.
The lace in the picture is absolutely gorgeous. I can appreciate lace in clothing, but I mostly agree with you - it tends to get dreary to wash, and I think that in many cases it is a little too much. I do love those lace-over-silk type of dresses I see a lot on the catwalk these days, though (not that I see a lot of catwalks. But if I ever open a magazine, I mean).
What an amazing work of art. My Grandma Betsy could work lace like that. The end image was disappointingly fleeting after watching the painstaking crocheting though! :O)
That is just BEAUTIFUL. I am with you on it being a special occasion thing because of the care, but I love it for a runner on a side table with crystal sitting on it. I don't have very many things I am traditional on, but somehow that china, crystal and lace made the cut.
It really is beautiful - but like you I don't have a lot of it around.
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