Lacis: 1st Meeting of the Lace Knitters Group

I made another visit to Lacis on Saturday, July 7, to attend the first meeting of the newly formed Lace Knitters Group. My knitting pal Nina and I met at BART and took the train under the Bay, and got off at Ashby Station in Berkeley.

We got there a little early (the group meets at 1:00 pm on the first Saturday of the month), so we detoured to the funky Berkeley Flea Market at the corner of Ashby and Adeline. I picked up a large African basket. Little did I know that I would need it to take home my loot!

We went across the street to Lacis and found that we were surrounded by lace knitting as soon as we walked in the door. I noticed some magnificent examples that had not been displayed when I visited in June. Lace doilies, Shetland shawls, Orenburg shawls, a beautiful baby gown, and so many other lovely things were hung on every available wall.

A large table center called Krokus caught my attention in the front display area. It was mounted vertically on a black backdrop which showed the fine stitch detail. This had to have been knitted with size 100 or finer thread. In the next room, the glass display case had changed its theme. Instead of the beaded bags that I saw in June, lace gloves and hankies and doilies and baby things filled the case.

I was pleased to meet Jules Kliot once again, the wonderful owner of Lacis. I could tell he was excited to see the number of lace knitters walking through the door, chattering and ooo-ing all about the store. His smile is infectious. All of the knitters were greeted by the enthusiastic Mary Frances Wogec, lace aficionado and glorious leader of the Lace Knitters Group. After we sat down and introduced ourselves, the knitters produced examples of their latest work.

I finally met the notorious Lacefreak (Jane) and her sister, and saw some of Jane's extraordinary work. I have enough trouble keeping my mind on one or two lace projects, but Jane seems to have no problem knitting several big, complicated and fabulous lace patterns simultaneously. I mean to say, she can multitask like nobody's business.

Now, I'm not the most experienced lace knitter, but I have a good number of projects under my belt. I have to say that I was most impressed with the quality of work that these ladies and one gentleman brought to the table. Throughout all of our jabbering, Mary Frances was gracious and encouraging, and she even suggested a doily for our first group project.



The book Lavori Artistici a Calza #11 is an Italian magazine with some lovely doilies and other lace projects like baby bonnets, lace curtains and handkerchief edgings. We all agreed to take Mary Frances' suggestion and will be knitting doily #66, from inside the back cover.




She will help us by preparing a translation of the Italian instructions. I purchased the book as well as a ball of DMC Cebelia #30 in a rusty-gold color for my doily. After making my Lyra, I have every type of size 0 needle, so I am all set.

In the photo below is a cone of Aegean Blue Zephyr wool-silk that I already owned, as well as some baby blue beads from Beadissimo in San Francisco. I hope to make the Mystery Stole #3 with those, but I've got a few other projects to finish first. Next to these is my new ball of Cebelia for the doily. Lacis has a fantastic selection of Cebelia and other threads in a multitude of colors. Nina also picked up a cone of Zephyr at Lacis in an ethereal misty green.



The other book I purchased is the one I mentioned in my previous post, Knitted Lace Designs of the Modern Mode, Book 1 by Kazuko Ichida. The book is entirely in Japanese, but Lacis provides a thoughtful explanation and translation pamphlet in English by Mary Frances. All of the designs are charted. After leafing through the advance copy in June, I knew I would eventually come back to purchase the book.


Several Herbert Niebling and Christine Duchrow designs are included, although the individual patterns are not identified in English. I can provide an example here, but I am by no means an expert. The following three doilies appeared in three different publications in three different time periods.

The first photo is from the new Knitted Lace Designs of the Modern Mode, Book 1 and is identified as #25.

Compare it to the doily in the second photo from Burda's first lace special edition magazine of August 1965, which appears to be knitted in a finer thread with an additional tier of flowers.

And finally, the third photo is from the book Strick-Lehrbuch #603/114, published 1983 by Verlag Aenne Burda.


If you are familiar with Niebling's and Duchrow's work, I'm sure you will find many designs that look familiar in the new Lacis book. I found so many of the designs appealing. In particular, these made the list of doilies I would like to someday make. I may have to quit my job to have time to make all of these!



The last thing I purchased was a cleaning agent called "Restoration" that Lacis recommends for cleaning antique linens and lace.

I have a collection of hand embroidered linens that my grandmother embellished for her wedding trousseau in 1917. I also have some lovely doilies, chair sets, tablecloths and bedspreads that could all do with a little freshening. I am hoping that this product will help remove some of the yellowish spots that have appeared on some of them.

Last but not least, as Nina and I left the shop with our loot, I looked at the front window display and saw ... my blog post of June 30 was printed out and posted in Lacis' window.

!!!

I was so excited I snapped a photo.

Lacis Safari

The life of every lace knitter must include a visit to Lacis in Berkeley at least once, or many times if possible. One must make all necessary accommodations and do so without fail.
~ a Lace Knitter’s Tenet

I made the journey on Tuesday, June 26, with Laritza of the Knitted Lace forum. She was in the Bay Area for a conference, and I offered to play safari guide. I had been to Lacis in the past with my knitting group, the BAWDies (Bay Area Wool Divas) and on precious few other occasions.

The trip was not difficult, since we were in good company, knitting and chatting the whole way on BART. We disembarked at Ashby Station and walked one block to the lace Mecca that is Lacis.

Lacis is many things. First, the definition of Lacis is Filet lace (also known as Embroidery on Knotted Net, Lacis, Filet Brodé and Poinct Conté), a needle lace created by darning on a ground of knotted net or netting.

But in Berkeley, Lacis is:

A shop
A lace museum
A library
A costume research center
A showplace
A 501 (c)(3) nonprofit
A tribute to Kathe Kliot, its founder

The displays alone are worth a lengthy pilgrimage – for Laritza, a plane, a car and two trains were required. Lacis Museum, adjacent to the shop, would soon be displaying a special exhibit of handknitted lace. In fact, the exhibit opened to the public on June 30, but we were there a few days early, in time to see the beginnings of what promised to be a fantastic exhibition.

When we walked in, we first noticed a two-tiered display dedicated to lace knitting. The items included lovely handknitted laces, books on lace knitting, and tools of the art. One example was knitted by museum staff member Yasmin Syed from the Lacis publication Knitted Lace Designs of The Modern Mode, Book 1, by Kazuko Ichida. The pattern is based on the Glockenblume design by Herbert Niebling (Elsa Kunststrickheft, 3044, Modell 122). This new Lacis publication includes 31 designs of the “Niebling school,” and I was thrilled to thumb through an advance copy on display. Another lace tablecloth was knitted by Kathe Kliot herself, the late founder of Lacis.

But this lovely table only whet our appetites, for more discoveries lay further inside this magnificent shrine to the love of lace. Lacis is in a huge space comprising several storefronts at the corner of Ashby and Adeline in Berkeley. The main room houses examples of lace of every kind imaginable. Along the righthand wall, we found an amazing display of laces: pre-Columbian, Teneriffe of the Canary Islands, Chantilly Lace, Irish Crochet Lace … it went on and on.

In the back of the main room, an incredible assortment of books mesmerized us for quite some time. The lace knitting books were abundant, more so than the last time I had visited. I chose to bring home Muestros y Motivos, Tricot Hogar #1, a book I had wanted for a long time. I had only seen a few photos of the designs in this book online, but picking it up and leafing through its entirety convinced me to purchase it. In addition, we found books on costume, bobbin lace, nalbinding, and a protected shelf of vintage and rare books. All of these were for sale. Lacis’ collection is so enthralling, it nearly stopped us in our tracks.

But there was so much more to see. The back of the store held walls of needles and tools of every shape and size for every type of lacemaking, as well as other needleworking arts. I was delighted by the assortment of needle cases, the many thimbles, the bone knitting needles, the Inox I-cord maker (which I had never seen up close), the grommet punches, and unique thread cutters. At one table nearby, a young lady sat attaching lace to a bride’s veil – a special service Lacis provides. She said they were especially busy during the June wedding season.

In the middle of the room were boxes of threads in numerous colors from DMC, Flora, and others. They not only carry a wide variety of colors, but also numerous thread sizes of each color. I also spotted a recent shipment of Kaalund classic 2-ply wool – beautiful Australian laceweight merino in gently undulating colors that lend themselves well to lacework.

Then we took a turn into another room and found ourselves admidst a slew of glass-topped display cases, filled with beaded bags that would make a bag-lover cry. The work was lovely and meticulous. You could imagine the delicate gloved fingers of Victorian ladies clutching these bags as they strode to the opera or a cousin’s wedding. The finest handwork made these bags either by sewing them or by weaving them on a bead loom.

A few steps into another room were steps into another world, another time. We had found ourselves in the Bridal Laces exhibit. The lights were off to protect the delicate relics. A young lady turned them on for us and we marveled at the beauty of bridal gowns of centuries past. If we only had more time! Alas, it was nearly time for us to leave.

I asked the clerk if any other pieces of lace knitting to be included in the exhibit were hanging in the shop, and to my delight she pointed upward – toward the light fixtures and a black drape that hung over a wall, close to the ceiling. I gasped when I looked there. Shetland lace, doilies, and Orenburg laces were draped above our heads! These would be prominently displayed during the Knitted Lace exhibit to begin on June 30, but for now, they were hanging nonchalantly on a wall above us. I asked if I might snap some photos, and came away with a sneak peek of their newest exhibit.

I must admit I nearly always avoid the checkstand and the cashier when walking into a shop. Why is that? So it is not surprising to me that I nearly missed the jaw-dropping display of vintage tatting shuttles, chatelaines and other surprising gadgets and gewgaws in the display case under the register. Thank goodness I purchased something.

On the long ride back, we talked about the wondrous things we saw and said more than once, “It was worth it.” I will return.