Punto Maglie - prizewinner

Back in September I told you about the Hand Embroidery and Weaving Exhibition in Valtopina and how some Veronese Crochet Lace split the prize for the lace category with some Punto Maglie needle lace. I'm happy to tell you that I can now show you what the Punto Maglie entry looked like:

Napkin with corner insert of Punto Maglie needle lace. Image copyright Assn. Punto Maglie.

Central insert of Punto Maglie needle lace for the tablecloth. Image copyright Assn. Punto Maglie.

Following the theme of the exhibition: Green Monuments of Umbria - the trees, we can identify the leaves and the fruit of the Olive tree in the Punto Maglie pieces pictured above. Besides occupying an important role in mythology and symbology, the olive is also predominantly present in the two regions of Umbria (where the exhibition was held) and Apuglia (where Punto Maglie comes from) thus, this entry creates a bond between the two areas. Exhibition participants were required to demonstrate the development of their ideas for their patterns on paper and produce pieces of their chosen lace or embroidery for a six setting tablecloth (140 cm x 160 cm) with matching napkins (40 cm x 40 cm). The central insert of Punto Maglie needle lace pictured above measures 30 cm x 21 cm.

I wrote to Liliana Ciriolo of the Associazione Punto Maglie to ask her some details about this prizewinning lace which she made together with Anna Borgia, Mina Saponaro and Renata Skovran from a design by Alessandra M. Chiurazzi inspired by a 16th century model. It took them a month to make the pieces using white DMC no. 80 thread. Stitches employed were the buttonhole stitch, the cording stitch, picots and the net.

Congratulations to the women of the Associazione Punto Maglie and thank you for sharing these pieces with us!

On November 4th, the town of Maglie was featured on an Italian TV program "Ti ci porto io" [I'll take you there]. Around the 8:25 mark of the video below, you can see how they execute Punto Maglie needle lace and see some of the Associazione Punto Maglie's work which includes a bridal gown which took four women more than 5 months to make.
The interviewer says: Four people took five months to make it? Why do you do it?
Anna Borgia answers: For love.
The interviewer then asks how much it might cost and she asks for a ballpark figure.
Anna Borgia: Around six thousand euros.