The other books

The other two books I picked up at the Essex Lace Fair are on torchon lace ('for girls in India to make') and decorative knotting. I didn't realise when I purchased the book that the torchon lace pattern book was from India or for instructing the girls of India with, but I find it amusing.

Why?

Because the previous day was the Thameside Lacemakers lace day and the speaker for the event discussed lace, but also spent a fair few minutes about an English woman missionary who went to India to do missionary work and start a school there teaching lace to help orphan and impoverished girls learn a vocation (this was in the early 1800s). And according to the publication date in my book, was still going in 1909.

The decorative knotting is, just to be different, a brand new publication. I think I got it because I wanted to find a supplier for fine nylon braided cord... oh and the pictures and instructions for a dragonfly pin also had something to do with it, heh.

Found some treasures at the Essex Lace Fair

Oh I found some wonderful books at the Essex Lace Fair! I am so very glad I attended this event. I discovered that Bead Fairs also exist here in Britain. *happy dance*

Anyway, on to the books, the vintage books. It will be quite a task to 'translate' these vintage crochet books into modern terms, oh and diagram them as well, so that it would be useful to those in the USA and the rest of the planet, should they want it. The instructions are written in an archaic form of British crochet terms, figuring out what the 'plain stitch' is amongst all the rest of the very wordy instructions will be fun. Still, the items photographed in these books are very pretty and could be converted to for use in today's world.

I've included a sample of the instructions and a plate from one of the books. They incorporate needle lace in their crochet patterns and also include braids amongst the crochet. One braid that instantly caught my eye was the 'Bigoudis braid'. The crochet patterns using implementing this braid are quite beautiful. I know we believe our lives to be so rushed and hurried, that we use fat yarns and don't have time to make things beautiful and comforting, but it would be a wonderful event if we could slow down and create (and use) such lovely objects once more.