♥ Scroll down to read about the Canada map project: Ten years in the making…
Canadian Lacemakers – Coast to Coast
Imagine having someone in your neighbourhood or within driving distance who can make lace and never knowing about them!
Have you ever wondered how many lacemakers there are in Canada? The latest estimate is 500 to 1,000. We have many talented people who would be excited to learn there are many others who are able to make lace. We are a unique group of people. Please join us and participate in this Canada wide search!
CLG is developing a registry list of lacemakers across Canada. If you are interested in participating or have questions, contact the editor: clgeditor@gmail.com (Note: add the email to your contact list).
Give your name, town or city and province. You will receive a registration number, example (19-175). The first number is the year followed by your number. Personal info remains confidential. A subscription is welcome but is not necessary to be included as a lacemaker in Canada. See √ invitation links/ checklist of skills below!
State the type of lace you make, or know how to make: bobbin, needle, tatting, crochet, knit, etc. You must submit your own information. The results will be updated regularly. The number of lacemakers by province/ territory will continue to grow as the information is collected.
Example: Jane S. Regina, SK (19-255) Lace types: bobbin, needle, tatting, crochet, knit. Info appearing on the list below: Saskatchewan: (5) Regina 1
Lacemaker count by province to date… locations are listed in alphabetical order. Are there more? Yes! Updates are ongoing.
British Columbia: (43)108 Mile Ranch 1, Abbotsford 1;Campbell River 1; Chilliwack 4; Comox 2; Coquitlam 1; Courtenay 4; Cumberland 1; Delta 1; Duncan 1; Halfmoon Bay 1; Harrison Hot Springs 1; Hornby Island 1; Langley 1; Merville 1; New Westminster 1; North Saanich 1, Powell River 3, Royston 1; Saanichton 1; Surrey 4; Vancouver 3; Vernon 1; Victoria 5; West Vancouver 1
Alberta: (9) Calgary 6; Edmonton 2; Rocky Mountain House 1
Saskatchewan: (4) Estevan 1; Saskatoon 3
Manitoba: (14) Baldur 1; Brandon 1; Cypress River 1; Lyleton 1; St. Alphonse 1; Winnipeg 9
Ontario: (76) Arva 1; Barrie 1; Beamsville 1; Belleville 1; Bracebridge 1; Cambridge 2; Coldwater 2; Cornwall 1; Earlton 1; Elliot Lake 1; Elora 2; Etobicoke 1; Godfrey 1; Gore Bay 1; Guelph 3; Hamilton 3; Innerkip 1; Inverary 1; Kingston 2; London 2; Markham 1; Mitchell 1; Nepean 1; Nobleton 1; Orillia 1; Ottawa 21; Owen Sound 3; Paris 1; Perth 1; Rockwood 1; Spring Bay 1; St. Albert 1; St. Catharines 1; St. Thomas 1; Sault Ste. Marie 2; Stayner 1; Stratford 3; Sudbury 2; Toronto 2; Windsor 1
New Brunswick: (3) Dieppe 1; Fredericton 1; Hanwell 1
Nova Scotia: (8) Brule 1; Caribou River 1; Centreville 1; Dartmouth 3; Pictou 1; Waverley 1
Prince Edward Island: (1) Beach Point 1
Newfoundland: (2) Carbonear 1; St. John’s 1
Yukon: (2) Whitehorse 2
Northwest Territory: (0)
Nunavut: (0)
Current Total = 184 Canada Lacemakers / Dentellières au Canada
Updated: August 8, 2019
Moving? Contact the editor to update your listing.
New participants receive a Registry number by email after their information has been received. If you need confirmation of your registry contact our office. clgeditor @ gmail.com (Add the email to your contact list).
NEW! An official certificate has been sent out by email. If you need a copy sent by mail please send us $2.50 to cover costs.
The certificate can printed in different sizes and can be framed! One idea is to place a gold star on the Canada map for your location. Note: Certificates are available in both official languages, French or English. Newcomers are welcome!
Canada Map
ten years in the making
This is the story of a project that seemed like a good idea at the time. Back in 2000 we saw a map of the Canadian provinces rendered in ceramics. We thought – why not in lace? How hard could it be?! Enthusiasm was high for the concept, which early on had included adding lace motifs around the perimeter to represent each province. This was an idea soon put aside for being too ambitious. Now, provinces and territories as shape were never drawn up with the lacemaker in mind. How tricky they turned out to be for adding fillings! We wondered about the whole idea, even though we thought a map of Canada in lace would look wonderful.
When one lacemaker completed her piece promptly, we forged ahead. Our first piece was Baffin Island. Eventually we had the complement of bobbin lace pieces completed by 2008. It took a few more years for the assembly: connecting the pieces by hand-sewing to form the complete map, choosing a background fabric (appropriately, it is the Canada Tartan), affixing the map to it, and finally reinforcing the whole so that the map could readily be transported for display.
Two lacemakers who gamely took part as beginners to bobbin lace have since become more proficient. It is a pleasure to have lacemakers of all skill levels represented.
The problem of rendering the small islands on Canada’s north coast was solved by Margot Walker, who worked groups of them in tambour on net background. At Margot’s advice, we kept most of them on the net support fabric, without compromising the effect. Some of the net background can be seen on the map. The uncut net could represent ice between the islands!
Our map made its first appearance in the Canada display at the OIDFA 2008 Congress in Groningen. It was shown again at our first BC Getaway, and officially completed in time for our second Getaway in 2011.
We are grateful to all those who took part, even those who investigated making one of the provinces and decided it wasn’t for them. For the lacemakers whose lace is “on the map”, as promised at the beginning of the project, we have sent commemorative bobbins with thanks.
Participants in the Project
Newfoundland and Labrador—Margaret Merner
Maritimes (New Brunswick, PEI, Nova Scotia)—Nova Pate
Québec—filling design drawn by Louise Morin Daigle, worked by Cindy Rusak
Ontario—Jane Dobinson. Filling is a roseground variation.
Nunavut—Beverley Walker. Filling is spider daisy from Stott and Cook’s “The Book of Bobbin Lace Stitches”
NU Baffin Island—anonymous
Northern Islands—Margot Walker in tambour.
Northwest Territories mainland—Tricia McKenzie
Manitoba—Ruth Giles. Filling is moss ground from a book by Eeva-Liisa Kortelahti.
Saskatchewan—Naomi Rogers
Alberta—anonymous
BC—Barbara Birke. Filling is diagonal ribbons.
Yukon—Barbara Birke. Filling is feather ground, both from “The Book of Bobbin Lace Stitches.”
Assembly—Tricia McKenzie and Margaret Merner
The project first appeared in the Canadian Lacemaker Gazette Vol. 25, No. 4 Summer 2011.
