TIMARU NEWS

Press, Issue 22599, 3 January 1939, Page 2

TIMARU NEWS

SOCIAL AND PERSONAL Mr and Mrg W. B. Cunningham (Nile street) and their guests, Mr and Mrs H. E. Wylde (Greymouth), left on Saturday for Lake Wanaka. Mr and Mrs A. Brant and Mr A. Brant, who were guests of Mrs G. M. Wilson (Victoria street), have returned to,- Auckland. Mrs T. S. Harcourt (Koiterangi) and Miss E. Thompson (Wellington) are staying with Mrs A. Dale (Albury). ■ Mr and Mrs H. Barnes (Tomahawk, Dunedin) are at present staying with Mrs W. Pritchard (Wilson street). ' Mrs J. M. Scott and Miss Margaret Scott (Seddon street) are spending the holidays at Kakanui. Mrs B. Haines (Christchurch) is staying “with her mpther, Mrs, C. J. Le Cren (Grey road). Dr. and Mrs R. D. King (Sefton street) have left on a caravan tour as far as Lake Hawea. Mr and Mrs W. Bradshaw (Christchurch) and their family spent the week-end with Mrs J; C. Macaulay (Mount Nessing). Miss .Ann Savill and Miss P. Deii-nison-Pender (England) arrived yesterday to stay with Mrs C. L. Orbell (Pentlow). Miss Eileen Orchard and Mrs E. Jowett (Christchurch) are visiting Timaru. Mrs E. C. Rawson and Miss I. Rawson (Glen-iti) are visiting Hokitika. HANDMADE LACE

IRISH WOMEN’S ART

From the time when the first Queen Elizabeth wore “ruff, cuffs, tucker, and apron of geometric lace, of exquisite fineness, stained of a pale citron colout,” lace of rare loveliness has been beloved by Royalty. Irish lace, indeed, because of its costliness and beduty, has always been an appropriate addition to the wardrobe of kings and queens.

Queen Victoria was a great admirer of Irish lace. A collar, fichu, parasol cover, and scarf of Limerick lace, made at the Convent in Kinsale, County Cork, and shown at the Dublin Exhibition, was purchased by her late Majesty in 1897 for her personal wardrobe. The pieces had obtained first prize and were of exquisite design and workmanship. , Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth possesses several pieces of Irish, lace which she admires greatly. Queen Mary, too, has an • affection for Irish lace, and at her Jubilee celebrations in 1935 wore-a .train of Youghal lace which had been presented to her at her Coronation ■in 1911. As you look at the microscopic arrangement and variety of each gossamer thread, set so exactly and appropriately in its place, you cannot but marvel that human hands and human eyes have been capable of fashioning such beauty. Although machines have copied hand-made lace, nothing but the skilled eye and hand of the expert craftswomafci can add to technical perfection that subtle loveliness that is the charm of hand-made lace. Irish lace was born in poverty and fostered in famine. The art was taught to the peasants chiefly as a relief measure when the potato crop failed in 1846. Many philanthropic people encouraged the industry, and ladies taught the : poor to follow the art in their own homes, and also obtained markets for the work. On many a lonely mountainside, the lacemaker’s lamp shone long through the night hours, for where there were hungry children to feed, hands and minds took long to weary. Threads numbered 100, 200, and even 400 are often employed in , work so fine that for gossa-mer-like frailty the lace is comparable only to a spider’s web.