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.
