What is the Sound of Lace?

Is it the voices of Portuguese women laughing and talking, echoing in a stone hall? Is it the sound of a pin being stuck into a straw cushion? Is it the sound of a million knots  pulled tight? Is it the clicking of the bobbins patiently feeding the masterpiece?

Yes, it’s the clicking of the bobbins.

These are the memories I took from the Bobbin Lace Museum in Vila do Condi, Portugal. I knew before I set foot in the door my Aunt Jean would have loved this place. Aunt Jean was first a weaver and second an explorer into all the fields of all fiber art. She was a creator of projects, all threads, yarn, fabric, string and accompanying  tools found their way into her life and as a result into a little bit on mine. (I ended up with some of her bobbins.) The last time I saw Aunt Jean in 2006 she was teaching my son and I a simple bobbin weave thru a wood spool. We made a really really long scarf. It was a bit like lace making.

I thought of my aunt as I strolled thru the museum.  The history of lace making in Portugal comes naturally; from the sea. The women mended the fish nets.  Obviously they got a little sick of that and kicked it up a notch. A really big notch. Today you see Portuguese lace making in many villages and towns. But the town of
Vila do Conde and this museum  hold the Guinness Book of world records  with the largest bobbin lace piece ever made. They had a grand

festival and received the coveted plaque, the giant (and I mean giant) piece of lace adorns the entry way (left side, ceiling, and right side) to the hall where the ladies sit clicking their bobbins. (Mike was afraid to go in there).