|
|
|
|
My mother told me that when her mother died, she got ‘all the sewing
stuff.’ Bits and pieces of the lace collection were given to me by
my mother as she tried to thin her possessions. When I was ordained
as a Rabbi in 1998, and a group of friends commissioned a khupa
(Marriage Canopy) as an ordination gift, I knew that some of my
mother’s lace needed to be included. When my sisters and I were
clearing out our mother’s apartment in 2000, much of the remaining
‘sewing stuff’ came my way since I was the only one willing to take
it. Included were several big bags of lace bits and pieces. There
were crocheted pieces, embroidered pieces, saved cuffs: a boggling
assortment that I loved to go through. I ooh-ed and awe-d over each
pretty piece, but knew nothing about what all of this was, who had
made it or how old it was. Some of it was so old that it was falling
apart in my hands.
Lace from the Family Lace Collection
Lace from the Family Lace Collection
When my younger son married in 2007, I prepared the Ketuba on
stationery that I had created with Cate Curtis’ help. I scanned the
lace pieces and Cate used Photo-shop to create the stationery.
Ketuba on Stationery
In 2008 I took the box of lace, etc. to lace expert and teacher
Nancy Evans in Washington State. She quickly went through it and
told me what I had: mostly early 1900s and some late 1800s machine
made pieces. She showed me some samples of how to archive and
document the pieces. It was an exciting and inspiring visit. So now
I am undertaking a new project: to document the family lace
collection.
I began with the family lace collection and my mother’s fabrics. I
found the face for a doll that is machine embroidered, probably by
my mother. There is a remnant of a table linen: the worn centre cut
off and the discarded long ago. Now the cotton fabric is
disintegrating, but the crocheted edging is mostly intact. A lacy
cuff: early 1900’s, by my guess. Scraps from a crocheted table
cloth: I sniff them to see if they still smell like my grandmother’s
house. Suddenly the Princess appears. There is only one source for
her: my young granddaughter who at five years old draws pictures of
herself as a princess and insists that I sew for her the dresses she
designs. There is a continuum here that flows back and forth between
the generations.
Bubbe`s Princess
| Bubbe’s (Grandma’s) Princess: completed May 31 2005. Dimensions: 18” wide x 28” high. Materials: Laces and cotton on black satin/gabardine. Shown in the exhibit of samplers “When You See This Remember Me” curated by Mary Lou Trinkon. |
Contact Rabbi Mercy ~ Click to E-mail | 604.876.2770
© Rabbi Dina-Hasida Mercy ~ All rights reserved
Questions/Comments about this site? Contact the webmistress
Last updated: September 4, 2008