Lovely Lace

I have a box of old sewing bits and pieces. I couldn’t help thinking about who wove the lace threads, half a century ago. Were they cottage industry workers from quaint cottages or did they sit battery hen style, in a draughty huge workshop in a smoggy Midland’s city, wearing grey smocks?

I wonder what garment, the collar came from? It has been in the family as long as I remember and I think my grandmother gave it to me. The laces are English in origin, for New Zealand was a colonial outpost, and we traded butter and lamb for fineries in those days.

I came across my French embroidery kit I bought in Saumur, from a petite lace and haberdashery shop near the river. (It is a pity my French is not up to scratch, as the instructions are very detailed.)

Days have gone too when we carried a fine handkerchief. Grub roses. Drawn thread work. Entirely hand stitched.

I wonder what I will do with these little threads of history?