Thomas Wright published "The Romance of the Lace Pillow" in 1919. The subtitle is "The History of Lacemaking in Bucks Beds, Northants and neighbouring counties, together with some account of the lace industries of ireland and Devon". It was published by H.H.Armstrong, in Olney, Bucks.
This is taken from the chapter on lace tells and lace festivals.
The great holidays of the lace-makers was Tanders (St. Andrew's Day, Nov. 30th), but in some parts of Northants, Bucks and Beds, the leading festival was Catterns (St. Catharine's Day) Nov. 25th - St Catharine being the patron saint of the spinners, to whom the lace-makers considered themselves related. As time went on, the Saint became confused with Katharine the Queen - that is, Katharine of Aragon (wife of Henry VIII) of Kat Stitch fame, who was born on Dec 6th, old St. Catharine's Day.
Catherine of Aragon
The following is taken from catholicsaints.info.
| St Anne | Mother of the Virgin Mary | |
| St Crispian and St Crispin | -286 | Brothers, who worked from Soissons, France. They preached in the streets by day, and made shoes by night. |
| St Elizabeth of Hungary | 1207-1231 | Princess. She married Prince Louis of Thuringa at age 13. Once when she was taking food to the poor and sick, Prince Louis stopped her and looked under her mantle to see what she was carrying; the food had been miraculously changed to roses. Upon the death of Louis, Elizabeth sold all that she had, and worked to support her four children. |
| St Francis of Assisi | 1181-1226 | He dressed in rough clothes, begged for his sustenance, and preached purity and peace. Lived with animals, worked with his hands, cared for lepers, cleaned churches, and sent food to thieves. |
| St John Regis | 1597-1640 | Helped a group of country girls stay away from the cities by establishing them in the lacemaking and embroidery trade. |
| St Luke the Evangelist | Legend has that he was also a painter. | |
| St Sebastian | Son of a wealthy Roman family. Charged as a Christian, Sebastian was tied to a tree, shot with arrows, and left for dead. | |
| St Teresa of Avila | 1515-1582 | Born to the Spanish nobility. Mystical writer. |
Saint Marie-Azelie Guerin Martin (1831-1877) was a lacemaker. Lifelong lay woman. Mother of five nuns.
From an account of Canonization of Sts. Louis and Marie-Azelie Guerin Martin, it says: "Most famous of Alencon's 13,000 inhabitants were its lace makers. French people greatly admired the skill and talent required to produce exquisite lace known throughout the nation as "Point d'Alencon." Zelie Guerin was one of Alencon’s more talented lace makers.
Marie-Azelie Guerin Martin (Zelie Guerin)
© Jo Edkins 2017 - return to lace index