I'm away for a couple of days

Hi everyone, I just wanted to let you know that I will be out of town for a few days...

I'm taking a class with Diane Clements on needle lace. There is a picture of the project we will be working here.

I'll post when I return, have a great weekend!

Punto Avorio - Puncetto needle lace

Puncetto as it is commonly known today, has many other names, Punto Avorio being one of them. This needle lace is very attractive and though more commonly done in geometric designs, it can be used by the more advanced lacemaker to make curves. It is done in monochrome or even in bright multi-colours as on the traditional costumes of the Valsesia area in Italy.

If you've got access to Thérèse de Dillmont's Needlework Encyclopedia (also known as DMC's Complete Encyclopedia of Needlework), look under 'Needlemade laces' and check out the part on 'Knot Stitch Laces'. Look for Punto Avorio.

The best way to begin is to use the edge of a piece of fabric to attach to. Later you can try starting the way this lady does in her video.

There are a few books on this lace though all the ones I know of are in Italian and are difficult to find. Check out my library listing for titles relating to Puncetto. I have to admit to collecting everyone I have found so there are quite a few... to get you started I would say either the Manuale del puncetto valsesiano or the A scuola di Puncetto Valsesiano but if you are itching to give it a try right away, the Dillmont instructions are good or there are even some instructions in the Anchor Manual of Needlework under "Puncetto Work".

This is the corner of a fine linen handkerchief with Puncetto work that I purchased in Italy:


For free download of an Italian book from the early 20th century, go to Tuttoricamo, under the 'Books' section, then 'downloadable antique books', then under Amelia Brizzi Ramazzotti, click on the word 'Puncetto'.

UPDATE: Unfortunately the Tuttoricamo website is no longer active. You may search ebay for this book, it's called: Il Puncetto, insegnamento pratico illustrato.

The Lacemakers of Aquila

Last year on April 6th, a terrible earthquake devastated the town of Aquila, Italy and the surrounding regions. Many stitching groups rushed to organize aid of a less urgent nature for the lacemakers of the area. There was even a depository set up at the Italia Invita Forum of Lace and Embroidery in Parma in May to take donations of needlework supplies. A fund was set up for monetary donations. Simona Iannini's house crumbled on top of her and she sustained many injuries, not to mention the loss of everything in her house. Everything she had prepared for the Italia Invita Forum (she and another woman, Rita Fattore were to exhibit pieces of Aquila Bobbin Lace) was lost. Rita Fattore was marginally more fortunate, her son insisted she leave the house after the first quake and so she was saved... but after the second quake a couple of hours later, her house and all it's contents were lost.

Over the last year I have thought often of the people of Aquila and have searched for news of their fate. It seems that the Italian government, under the public eye of the world's attention, made many promises to help at the time, but have still not delivered - over a year later. In this month's issue of Ricamo Italiano (an Italian embroidery magazine) there is a letter from Simona Iannini. She has given me permission to translate a portion of it here for you to read:


In L’Aquila
Starting over... a semi-serious article of a school that begins to work again

...we Aquilani, mountain dwellers and determined, never lost hope of meeting once again to work our beloved lace (...and more). Unfortunately, what was previously done in a day, now takes a month and there were more important priorities like putting a roof over my son’s head! Having partially resolved these kinds of problems, it was time to start over.

Fed up with unkept promises, a widespread enough trend, Sunday, March 7th we met at the home of Alessandra Tagliaferri who, by good fortune (and good construction) has her house still intact. In the yard, she and her husband, obviously at their own expense, constructed a delightful wooden cabin. From there we will start over. Via the grapevine of telephone calls we were able to meet again with enthusiasm and emotion. I found it a bit trying, but beautiful and affectionate as always.

What do the Aquilani miss? We miss contact, we are divided, split up, dispersed. We miss a place to get together. One walks in the few streets or in the shopping centres searching for familiar faces. We tell ourselves: “Enough sadness, the aftershocks continue, our houses are gone, so are our jobs, we must find ourselves something to do. Let’s start again”. Our Accademy starts over from here, to teach various courses besides lace, to share our passions, to promote new projects and it is open to all those “of good will” and good character. We want to speak positively. Ideas abound.

For the record, I would like to thank my “ladies” for having listened to me when I had to vent about the situation for those of us who were wounded. By now we are no longer “odiens” [sorry, I don't know what this means] and we are only an uncomfortable expense for society. Does it seem right that there might not be any compensation? “In the end” I was told “it was hardly a workplace accident.” I was forgetting that ending up under the rubble of a house (mine was reinforced with cement), was our fault. Of course, we could have gotten out of the way!

Let’s unite for something which will give us support, even if only moral. But let’s leave the controversies elsewhere, the password is: pragmatism. Our courses will be given with lessons of different [skill] levels, in study groups. I also had two other locations in Montesilvano (Pescara) and Francavilla (Chieti), for giving lessons on Aquila lace, I hope to organize courses on the coast as well, like we have already been able to do in Lanciano. My thanks go to those who are contributing to my moral and occupational reconstruction, more precisely, my pupils and the great help that comes from outside our region.

To Alessandra’s cabin, I will bring the materials that you all have sent me which will be available to everyone, we will work to realize artifacts, in the hope of supporting ourselves.

I would like to say something to my countrymen: it is not living angry that resolves problems, a smile should not be denied to anyone and can help us move forward. At times I fear that we have forgotten the tragedy of those who lost loved ones and one might think only of one’s material possessions, I believe I can say this in hindsight, and I continue to send a thought to the little ones who are no longer here.

I, or rather we, have decided to start over with all our hardships, our long periods of time, our fears. The cabin will be the starting point for creating with our hands, for creating with our hearts, for planning, for growing, for being together. Those who love us, follow us (and help us) otherwise... we are strong enough to get by peacefully all by ourselves.

Thank you everyone. Simona Iannini


You can see some of Simona's incredible work at her website.
Rita Fattore is the co-author of Tombolo Aquilano.

If anyone knows what "odiens" are, please post a comment!

Tassels and Macramé

I have always admired the Italian approach to Macramé. It recalls nothing like what North Americans tend to think of, which are the hemp plant hangers and decorative owls of the 1970s. No, Italians have a far more tasteful and timeless approach to Macramé which includes elaborate fringes for curtains and tablecloths, bags, cushions, Christmas Tree decorations, tablecentres and tassels! They also make figures out of Macramé, like Nativity scenes and angels and even animals, flowers and monograms!

I remember my mother attaching her work to corkboard or hanging it from a doorhandle and sitting on the floor... Italians have it all figured out, they have many different cushions for making your Macramé on and I have to say they are very comfortable to use, you won't go back to going without one!

Last year in Italy I took a class in how to make a Macramé tassel:


It was an intense 2-day course which lasted all day... I mean all day! Our tireless teacher Liliana Babbi Cappelletti held the classes in her home and served lunch and dinner. We practiced using different threads, from raw jute to pearl cotton, then we worked the tassel. I didn't get finished and had to complete it at home but it all worked out in the end. Lilli's instructional books are incredibly detailed and very easy to follow.

I'm hooked!

Ricamo d'Assia

When I first started researching Italian needlework I had a long list of names that I had taken off of an Italian stitching website which was in Italian (of course). I had no idea if these names were "Italian" techniques or just the Italian names for techniques from other countries.

Ricamo d'Assia was one that I liked very much, lots of Openwork and Whitework. When I was looking for instructions in English for the Gigliuccio hemstitch, I found Renate Fernau's book on Schwalm Whitework Embroidery. Long after I was done learning how to do the hemstitch that I had been so single-mindedly looking for, I noticed the rest of the book. The embroidery looked a lot like... Ricamo d'Assia. (Ricamo is 'embroidery' in Italian)

This was one of those times when the technique I was researching was not in fact an "Italian" technique per se... Ricamo d'Assia is the Italian term for Schwalm Whitework. What I did discover however, was that it is immensely popular in Italy and there are lots of embroiderers there who do it. I got a little sidetracked by seeing so many lovely examples of this embroidery done by Italian ladies that of course I even had to try a bit myself.

Last year when I was in Italy I couldn't help myself and just had to get a book on Ricamo d'Assia as it was written by an Italian embroidery teacher. Guida al ricamo d'Assia is packed full of colour instructional photos explaining over 30 stitches. There are projects with varying levels of difficulty and even a bit about the stitches that surround the traditional motifs. The text is in Italian but the photos and diagrams are so good that you'll be able to figure out what to do without the written instructions. You can get it direct from the author Stefania Bressan. There is a book review at Tuttoricamo under "Books" and then "Pulled Thread and Schwalm Embroidery".

I mention this technique here because it did have me researching it for awhile before I figured out what it was, so if anyone else out there happened to wonder, now you know. If you're anything like me though, you are easily distracted by beautiful embroidery and this is well worth a look from the Italian point of view.

This delightful little pincushion is a gift that I received from Italy:

Siena - Palio costumes

Many people flock to Siena, Italy for the Palio horseraces each year. There is one on the 2nd of July and one on the 16th of August. The prize for winning is the Palio itself which is a painted banner. The right to parade the streets with this banner is the most coveted honour in the city. There is great excitement which builds all year long for these events and periodically throughout the streets of this walled city, you can observe boys in medieval-style costumes from the different Contradas parade, playing the drums and throwing flags in the air. Siena is composed of 17 Contradas [districts].


The costumes are very colourful and most have some kind of needlework on them. It is difficult to see this as the boys parade by and you can never stop them in their march so the only option for you is to go to the Contrada Museums. Each Contrada has it's own museum located within its district. They have strange hours and you are well advised to make an appointment to go through but it is worth the effort if you are into clothing or embroidery.


There are several key positions for parading and each position has its own Palio Costume. The alfieri [standard bearers] and the tamburini [drummer boys] are the ones you will notice the most as they are usually the ones in leading positions. The blue outfits seen here are from the Nicchio [Shell] Contrada and are modeled after designs made in 1928 by Umberto Giunti. The fabric is blue silk velvet lined with red silk satin, quilted in rows on the lower body. The tops of the sleeves, neckline, along the sleeve openings and above the hemline are all embroidered with gold thread. The crest is applied and was done in silk shading embroidery with silk threads on silk fabric.

There is a complex set of rules about who can parade when and where but you should be able to see at least one parade on these dates:
December 1
February 12
April 25
May 29
June 2, 23, 29
July 1, 2, 3
August 5, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17
September 22
There are many other times that they will parade to mark different events in the city but the dates above are always fixed.

Of course, if you attend one of the two Palio races themselves, then you will see many different styles of costumes as there will be other positions represented and they all parade around the Piazza del Campo in the hours before the race. There are some tens of thousands of people crowded into the square however and you may not be able to see that much, this is why a trip to the Contrada Museums is such a good opportunity.

( photos were taken by Rachel and NOT by her mother. :-D )

Punto Antico - Antique Stitch

I absolutely love this technique so you will probably read a lot about it here. Known under many names, Punto Toscano, Punto Reale, Punto Riccio and others, the term Punto Antico seems to be a relatively recent (early 20th century) name used to encompass needlework that uses the basic elements of this technique: Satin Stitch motifs, Curl Stitch curlicues, Overcast Stitch for bordering Openwork and Drawn-Thread work areas, Four-Sided Stitch, and very often Gigliuccio hemstitching. It is often paired with Reticello, Aemilia Ars and Punto in Aria needle laces.

Today it is largely done as a Counted Thread Technique but in the past (as even now) some do it as a classic embroidery technique, that is with traced designs on the fabric to be executed not by counting ground threads.

Going through the museums all over Italy I found extant pieces of this technique dating back quite far. There are pieces of fabric with Punto Antico elements on them dating back to the late 15th century. The pieces are quite complex suggesting that the technique goes much farther back in time.

This is some work at the Collezioni Comunali d'Arte in Bologna:


Ancient pieces have almost the whole surface of the fabric covered in stitching while modern pieces are quite sparse in comparison though done with no less good taste. I like the texture, the bas-relief effect, it seems to me like carved marble. The openwork spaces balance the textured areas using chiaroscuro effects so that this mainly monotone embroidery does not suffer in the least for lack of colour. The curlicues are my favourite element.

Another piece from the Collezioni Comunali d'Arte in Bologna:


This is some work exhibited at the Palazzo Davanzati in Florence:


As with any embroidery technique, there are a number of ways to execute the stitches. Taking the curlicue (Punto Riccio) as an example: it is executed in three parts with a base of Double Running Stitch (or Stem Stitch or Cable Stitch or Back Stitch) which are then whipped with an Overcast Stitch for each base stitch and then the whole line is covered in Overcast Stitches done side-by-side to create a wonderful raised stitch. Time consuming? Yes! Worth the effort? Very much so! It takes a bit of practice..


My first ones were quite lumpy but after many attempts, they are pretty smooth now...


Here's what they look like over Stem Stitch with only one Overcast Stitch per Stem Stitch (overcast the overlap) ... This gives quite a different effect which is nice too.


Anyway, its a fun stitch to play around with, giving your work some texture.

There are some Punto Antico online tutorials at Tuttoricamo under the "How it's Done" section (Antique Stitch). While you're there you can download some old books on the subject from the "Books" section: look under 'downloadable Antique books' - L. Vannini, there are three there.

I did a couple of articles for Piecework which are available for download from their website.

For some modern books:

Associazione Il Punto Antico (all books are either in Italian/English or come with English inserts upon request).

Tombolo Disegni (click "books", "libri ricamo", "ricamo italiani" - you need to send an email request to order) There you will also find a book called Punto Antico disegnato which is not a counted thread technique book but rather designs for traditional freestyle or non-counted thread, Punto Antico embroidery.

Most of the Carmela Testa books at Iva Rose also have some elements of Punto Antico in them though the instructions are a bit vague.

Check out YouTube as there are some tutorial films there too!