Venetian Lace

Venetian Lace. That may strike you as a bit of an odd subject, but I have always had a bit of a thing about lace. I crochet, and laceworking is only a few steps away from that, but the microscopic scale of the work would be a bit beyond me. It's one of those skills that infinitely fascinates me, but would frustrate the devil out of me should I ever try to do it. I'm happy to admire it from afar.

I recently had the good fortune to visit Burano (Venice):

Yes, there is a reason why the houses are all different colours. The different colours follow a strict system run by the government. If you buy a house on Burano and wish to paint it a different colour, you need to notify the government, who will tell you which colours you are allowed to use in that part of the island. The story behind this is that it supposedly helped fishermen find the island and their own house when they returned from a fishing trip at night.

Burano is the island which is famous for its beautiful handmade lace. I was also lucky enough to visit one of the lace workshops there, where an old lady gave a demonstration of how they make the lace. They had some beautiful designs, and I bought my lace fan from there.

The quality and detail is fantastic, and it really makes me want to make lace! The different ways of making lace overwhelmes me though, as well as how it takes so long to make such a tiny piece of work.

I could write more about Burano and the lace, and more about Venice in general, but if you want to learn more about needle lace, and Burano lace, this website may be helpful, provided the Youtube links still work...

http://lynxlace.com/learningneedlelace.html