This is the book's history.
hen the Australian Lace
Guild was first formed in 1979 our most urgent need was for bobbin lace
teaching, especially in the remote areas of
this large and sparsely populated country. A correspondence
course seemed to be the answer so I set about developing what I had
written for a series of craft cards into a set of six bobbin lacemaking
lessons. We trialled these for a year and launched the final
product in 1982, having incorporated all the suggestions made by
students.
The course had
a staggering number of participants in those early years and is still
going. Several early students in remote places did not see
another lacemaker at work until long after they had finished the course.
erhaps the most
successful aspect of the lessons was developed because prospective
students did not have photocopiers. This meant they would have to
draw their own patterns on graph paper before starting work. Like
most teachers I had always photocopied patterns for students in my
weekly classes in the city, but when working on the correspondence
course I decided to change this and have new city students draft their
own patterns
so I could more easily identify problems the remote students might
encounter. I was delighted with the result. Some students were
even able to design in a modest way after the third lesson, and
all reported having a much better appreciation of the way lace 'works',
so that working out such matters as where to start a piece, or how
to alter its scale were no longer the trial they had been to earlier
students. Most importantly, both groups of students became
'independent' lacemakers in a very short time, and gained the
background and confidence to move on to more challenging laces.
he success and
enjoyment of these students gave me the confidence to expand the
lessons into a book. The basic content of the book has not
changed from the first edition but in 1995 I revised it completely to
be easier to read, and reduced the scale of the patterns to reflect the
easier availability of more suitable threads. Many copies of the
earlier edition were sold in Europe and America so I also standardised
the use of 'cloth stitch' instead of 'whole stitch', and added an
introductory chapter on 'free lace'.
evelopments in
communication have reduced the isolation of people living in remote
areas but the book is still useful for, and appreciated by, those who
cannot easily get to classes, wherever they might live, or those who
prefer to work on their own.
What others say about Introduction to Bobbin Lacemaking
"This is the only book I know of which you could hand to
someone, along with bobbins, and say 'Now go home and learn bobbin
lacemaking'.
The first edition grew from the correspondence course which
Rosemary wrote for the Australian Lace Guild and is just like having a
teacher standing beside you.
Some Australians live so far from classes that this book, and maybe a
weekend workshop to start off, are all the tutoring they can
obtain. All in all, a priceless book for
the beginner, now with ideas on free lace to come back to later."
The editor, "Australian Lace", Autumn 1996
"This is the best of the beginning bobbin lace books. The author is an innovative lacemaker whose approach is to help you understand the underlying principles of lace making so you can soon be developing your own designs, not merely following step-by-step patterns. She takes readers through a series of exercises that build on the basic skills of lace making, and she gives instructions for several small projects. Extensive diagrams illustrate the clearly-written text."
Halcyon Yarn web site (see links page)
"This is the book I wish I had when I started to make lace. I can recommend this book to anyone new to bobbin lacemaking."
Patricia Stow in "Lace" 2/96
"This is certainly a book for the lacemaker starting out in this lovely craft - and a book for the teacher who will find it useful in class."
Pat Hallam in "Lacemakers' Circle" 3/96
