Pizzo Margarete

The other day, surfing around as one does, I stumbled upon a spectacular Flickr folder full of amazing works of art done in Pizzo Margarete.

If you're looking for some eye candy, grab a cuppa and google "Pizzo Margarete" images!

Here is my first attempt from Adriana Lazzardi's wonderful book: Macramè Il Pizzo Margarete.

My technique needs a lot of work but it was fun to do and quick! I used some fine hemp yarn which gave me blisters on my hands so I will be looking for some cotton threads to use next time. The bookmark measures 12 inches long by 2 inches wide (at the widest motif). I made an error in not attaching the diamond shape together in the centre but at least I recognized it (as soon as I was finished of course!). I am not discouraged from trying again which is the important thing.

In the May/June 2012 issue of Piecework you will find a wonderful article and projects by Marji Suhm who learned this technique from two expert teachers in Germany where the technique (known in German as: Margaretenspitze [Margarete's lace]) was originally created by Margarete Naumann around the turn of the 20th century.

I always love to see how Italians add their own flair and style to techniques and the Flickr folder mentioned above shows you some fantastic Italian creations in Pizzo Margarete.

Old Puncetto needle lace book in English

Some years ago while searching in the World Catalogue, I came across a book published in 1917 by Theresa Rizzi. It was called: Poncetto Lace. I wrote to the curator of textiles at the Smithsonian Museum where the book was held and asked if it was possible to obtain a copy since the text was old enough to be out of copyright. The curator sent me some scans of the text and asked that I not circulate them as they were part of the Smithsonian's collection. She also said that the Museum had future plans to start publishing scans of the texts in their collection on the Internet Archive and at some future date this book would be there in the public domain.

I'm excited to tell you that it has now been added to the Internet Archive and you can download it yourself here.

This is the only dedicated manual for Puncetto needle lace written in English that I know of. Before you get too excited, this is a manual from 1917, so if you're familiar with old instruction manuals, you'll know that step-by step photos didn't exist due to the high cost of reproducing photography so instructions were written out and sometimes very difficult to follow. Theresa Rizzi has, however written this booklet with the intention of her readers being able to learn from her instructions so it is better than a lot of old manuals from the period. The only thing I found unclear was how to start a piece not attached to a piece of fabric. However, thankfully today there are other ways to learn this, one being an excellent video series on YouTube (start with Puncetto Anfang).

Poncetto Lace is only 16 pages long and has a few patterns for insertions and edgings. While it is not an exhaustive how-to manual, it may just help you to understand a bit more if you've been struggling with Italian instructions.

Deruta Drawn Thread Work - New book!

 

What a lovely surprise in the mail on Friday! A long-awaited book on Deruta Drawn Thread Work by Maria Elide Melani of the Association Ago, Aga e Fantasia.

While the text is in Italian, there are a great many step-by-step photos to take you through the set-up, the stitches and the edgings that you should be able to understand what to do with little trouble. The book is packed full of colour photos of lovely projects and finished works. There are a dozen or so stitches explained and 13 patterns.

This book is the fruit of many years of research and exploration of this almost forgotten technique born in Quarrata in the province of Pistoia in the Tuscan region of Italy.

Maria Elide is a delightful teacher and it is well worth your time to take a side trip from Florence to visit her in Pistoia.

You can purchase directly from the publisher, Nuova S1 via bank transfer or with PayPal from Tombolo Disegni (send an email request to order).

Bosa Filet Lace - New book!

There are not many books on Bosa Filet Lace. In fact, there is only one that I know of which is out of print and completely unfindable (if that is a word). Imagine my excitement therefore to discover this new book which is available through the publisher Petites Ondes (free shipping until the end of June) or LuLu Print-On-Demand Books.

You can download a preview of the book (text in Italian) from the Petites Ondes page, click on "Sfoglia un'antiprima" on the right side of the page under the photo of the piece of netting mounted on a frame.

Image copyright Petite Ondes and Marina Mureddu.

The softcover book is 108 pages, printed in black and white with Italian text written by Marina Mureddu, a Sardinian woman from Cagliari which is in the southern part of Sardinia.

Signora Mureddu learned Bosa Filet Lace from the granddaughter of a famous woman from Bosa, named Olimpia Melis who achieved international fame with her Bosa Filet Lace at the beginning of the 20th century. Olimpia Melis exported works all over Europe and to New York, things like: borders, curtains, tablecloths and other household items made by several hundred Bosa Filet Lacemakers.

Over a period of several years, Marina Mureddu was able to study some of these original works and make patterns. The book contains some history, instructions, patterns and photographs.

Franco Jacassi and his buttons

If you visit the Needleprint blog to read today's post, you will find it is about Franco Jacassi, who has over 10 million buttons in his vintage clothing showroom in Milan and about 70,000 buttons in his own private collection. Make sure to watch the video at the end of the post!

If you do a Google search of his name, Franco Jacassi turns up in many articles and on many blogs in several different languages. Over 30 years of collecting and exhibiting have made him indispensible to all the high fashion houses around the world, to vintage collectors and especially to those who love buttons!

The showroom houses many other vintage items besides buttons. Clothing, laces, ribbons, zippers, hats, handbags, old fashion magazines - something for everyone!

The latest craze for all things vintage has inspired Franco Jacassi to develop a line of accessories.

There is an excellent interview (in English) with Franco Jacassi here.

Image copyright: Tommaso Fiscaletti.

The Franco Jacassi three floor showroom can be visited at:
No. 3 Via Giuseppe Sacchi in Milan.
It is open from 10 am to 1 pm and then from 2 pm to 7pm, Monday to Friday. Closed the month of August.

Marine Byssus and Chiara Vigo - ebook!

On the 16th of June at the Biografilm Festival in Bologna, Chiara Vigo herself will be on hand at the presentation of Susanna Lavazza's ebook written about Signora Vigo and what she does with the Byssus or Sea Silk fibres that she collects from the Pinna Nobilis in Sardinia.

Happily there is also an English language version which will soon be available from amazon.com for the Kindle but which can be downloaded in Adobe Digital Editions format now from Feltrinelli

The Italian version can be downloaded from a list provided on Chiara Vigo's blog here.

On YouTube you can watch the 40 minute presentation of the book (in Italian and Sardinian). At about the 31 minute mark, there is a Swiss film (dubbed in Italian) which has some great photography of the Pinna Noblis in it's natural habitat.

For more information (in Italian) go to Chiara Vigo's blog. 



Thanks to Rossella for the heads up!!

Off Topic - EAC Seminar 2012

This is just a quick note because I cannot find the time to contact everyone. I will not be able to attend the EAC National Seminar in Victoria this year. I cannot get the time off work. I'm very sorry not to be able to meet the people I wanted to and to see old friends again. Hopefully life will provide us with another opportunity in the near future.

Excuse the off-topic post, but this was the quickest way to do this!