Where can you go? Higham Hall - That's Where!

Heya Folks,

It occurred to me that you might need to know where to go to learn how to do this stuff.

The best course in the area (that I know of) is at Higham Hall. I've been once, and I have to tell you if I win the lottery I'm getting my own room - permanently.

You can go to their website here: http://www.highamhall.com/default.asp

The weekend I had there was amazing. Mind you I had a two year old at home, so any weekend away would have been amazing! LOL!

Anywhoo....we got there, got our room (I slept with Ang - and yes, our husbands know!). We did a little milling about looking at the amazing Hall.....so beautiful. Then had a fabulous dinner and dessert.

The next day was a Saturday, which was pretty much like this:

Wake up.
Eat.
Make lace.
Eat.
Make lace.
Walk around.
Eat.
Make lace.
Eat.
Make lace.
Eat.
Read, tell ghost stories, and talk into the wee hours of the night.
Sleep.

Sunday was a similar start, but alas, we didn't have dinner (the evening meal) there and I had to go home to my little critter.

I could see how in the olden days ladies would become 'ladies of leisure'. I'm sooo signing up for that if I win the lottery!

I walked around with Angie to look at the beautiful garden, and to look at all the birds that come around. The view is lovely.

So, where am I going with this? If you are new to Ruskin, would like to learn, and have £180 burning a hole in your pocket, get yourself signed up. And do it early. The class is always full....with people like me who go back. Ang has an addiction problem and goes whenver it's held. I go once a year.....because otherwise I'd get addicted.

The staff there couldn't be nicer, and the food was amazing. We even got a recipe for some potato and herb pie thing that I must make!

Karen is the instructor at Higham and she makes her way around and around the room to make sure everyone is given their time and tutorial.

In fact, just this weekend there was another course on....and they've spotted the blog!

Hopefully soon we can have some more photos from the class to post on here.

There is the lace group that meets in Keswick from October to March each year, where about 15 of us make Ruskin Lace in a room near Booths. It's a lovely day to just sit and dedicate our time to Ruskin.....because if we don't do this, it tends to get put after the laundry and dishes.

So - if you're interested....c'mon down! We promise not to bite.

:) misha

How did I get interested in Ruskin Lace?

Well......I blame Angela Winter. She's in my quilting group and she was bragging about some Ruskin lace one day. She brought some in and my first thought when I looked at it was.....well, that looks rough. It's not the light, lacy lace of petticoats and little girls' knickers....it's sturdy, complicated and beautiful.

I went home and couldn't get it out of my mind. I'm a keen needleworker and this was a mountain I hadn't yet climbed! I was hooked.

Ang has patiently (lie) taught me from scratch how to do it, and I think I've fared very well...so far...my photos will come later and you can decide.

Where did Ang get involved with it? I'm not sure, I'll ask her. But her teacher was Elizabeth Prickett, you can see her website here: http://www.ruskinlace.org.uk/

Apparently Elizabeth was a wonderful teacher (she has retired from teaching now), but very concise in her instructions....which everyone who has purchased one of her books will know. You can see a copy here: http://store.ruskinlace.org.uk/. The book is intensively instructive....which is both a massive bonus and also very hard to follow. So, we thought we'd make this blog to help with following the patterns.

We've found that seeing an actual piece done is extremely valuable, and helps us work the pattern in a way that the drawings don't.

If you are interested in Ruskin Lace, it's not impossible to learn, and if you are a needleworker, you will love the challenge. At the link above is a DVD that Elizabeth did before she retired. It is worth every single penny. And I mean EVERY SINGLE PENNY!!! My suggestion for newbies is to buy both the book and the DVD. And I don't say this lightly. I can't do any of the patterns without the book......it's not the kind of thing you can take notes on from someone else. I use the book all the time when working just one pattern! The DVD is extremely well shot - though you will feel inferior when you can't make yours look as nice as hers....just remember she's had loads of practice!

So.....I'm going to populate this blog with as much information as I manage to get my hands on.....but within time constraints I have....so don't be thinking there will be new stuff all the time! Sheesh!

Ang also had an excellent teacher named Bridget Rylands, who I have loads of photos of her work, too. I don't know much about her, but will get Ang to fill us all in.

We both now have instruction (me admittedly not as much as Ang) with Karen Quickfall, who is a hired gun for instruction should you be so keen. She teaches at Higham Hall and also to a Ruskin Lace Group that meets in Keswick throughout Autumn and Winter. She doesn't do the web thing so much, so if you need to contact her, let me know and I'll get you to her.

So, let the fun begin....and if you are a Ruskin Lace-r...and want your stuff on here, we are all for it!

:) misha