"This is a most unusual book, dealing with a subject that has never previously been so thoroughly examined. It concerns the tools and accessories that have been used in needlework throughout the centuries, and their relation to the history and development of needlework itself. A glance at some of the chapter headings gives an indication of the scope of the book: Needles and Needle-cases; Scissors and Knives; Work-boxes and Work-tables; Embroiderers' Tools and Cord-making Appliances; Knitting; Netting; Knotting; Purse-making and Pillow-lace. Not only is the evolution of the more everyday implements traced in detail; the reader is introduced into a world of Hemming-birds, Niddy-noddies, Yarningles, Lucettes and Drizzling-pins - the terms used are as delightful as the objects themselves. There are more than 200 illustrations. Some are from museums and art-galleries in this country, the United States and the Continent; others are from the author's own unique collection of tools. There are metal sewing-boxes worn by Anglo-Saxon women; needles and pins of medieval times; costly knotting shuttles used in the days of Marie Antoinette; and all the varied paraphernalia of the Victorian era. The author quotes extensively and most appropriately from many literary sources including Chaucer, Defoe, Jane Austen, Hans Andersen, the diaries of Parson Woodforde, etc., giving some indication of the enormous amount of research she has undertaken. She is herself a needlewoman, familiar with all the processes she mentions. To anyone interested in needlework, and to the social historian, this will be a valuable book of reference. It also presents many challenges to the collector, who will surely be inspired to search for the numerous delightful and once useful things described - the delicate tubular needle-cases of the Georgian and Victorian periods; the sewing-clamps or grippers that were so popular in the United States in the early 19th century; the bobbins used for pillow-lace with their intriguing inscriptions; and the small stilettos needed for Broderie Anglaise or for that curious and long-forgotten pursuit of Parfilage." --

This book brings together twenty essays on diverse topics in the history and science of knots. It is divided into five parts, which deal respectively with knots in prehistory and antiquity, non-European traditions, working knots, the developing science of knots, and decorative and other aspects of knots.Its authors include archaeologists who write on knots found in digs of ancient sites (one describes the knots used by the recently discovered Ice Man); practical knotters who have studied the history and uses of knots at sea, for fishing and for various life support activities; a historian of lace; a computer scientist writing on computer classification of doilies; and mathematicians who describe the history of knot theories from the eighteenth century to the present day.In view of the explosion of mathematical theories of knots in the past decade, with consequential new and important scientific applications, this book is timely in setting down a brief, fragmentary history of mankind's oldest and most useful technical and decorative device — the knot.

This book is aimed at the competent bobbin-lace maker. Honiton lace is, in the view of many, the finest of the bobbin-lace types, and this book consists principally of a collection of 30 challenging, original lace projects. The lace was designed by Barry Biggins and worked by a number of lacemakers to demonstrate the variety to be achieved in the interpretation of patterns. Technical notes are also included.

From the award-winning author of Small Island, “a bittersweet exploration of an outsider’s experience of British culture” (Bookmarks). Faith Jackson knows little about her parents’ lives before they moved to England. Happy to be starting her first job in the costume department at BBC television, and to be sharing a house with friends, Faith is full of hope and expectation. But when her parents announce that they are moving “home” to Jamaica, Faith’s fragile sense of her identity is threatened. Angry and perplexed as to why her parents would move to a country they so rarely mention, Faith becomes increasingly aware of the covert and public racism of her daily life, at home and at work. At her parents’ suggestion, in the hope it will help her to understand where she comes from, Faith goes to Jamaica for the first time. There she meets her Aunt Coral, whose storytelling provides Faith with ancestors, whose lives reach from Cuba and Panama to Harlem and Scotland. Branch by branch, story by story, Faith scales the family tree, and discovers her own vibrant heritage, which is far richer and wilder than she could have imagined. “Levy has chosen her title shrewdly: like the lemon, her loaded satire is bright and alluring, but its bite is sharp.” —Booklist “Levy’s raw sense of realism and depth of feeling infuses every line.” —Elle “Bright and inventive . . . Levy’s command of voices, whether English or Jamaican, is fine, fresh and funny.” —The Observer