Els Mommers – Book #4
HISTORY OF SABA: SABA LACE
In 1830 a Saba lady named Getrude Johnson introduced the “Saba lace” needlework. She had been taught this work at a Caracas (Venezuela) boarding school run by Spanish nuns. That is why it is still called “Spanish work” on Saba.
Saba lace is probably the most creative activity that has shaped the lives of so many Saban women since the late 1800’s. It made the island famous, that is why it was often nicknamed “island of lace” in the past. It brought much needed revenue to Saban families for decades and is still being practiced by quite a few Saban ladies.
When I came to Saba in 1987 I was eager to learn this technique and wanted to make all the different patterns in a sampler. An old Saba lady taught me already six different patterns but then life got in the way and it was put aside and never got finished.
Now I used this sampler for this quilt and as you can see the last two rows still have no pattern but do show how a start is made.
For the ladies I traced, on fabric, an old photo on the lightbox and painted it. For the old traditional Saban wooden house I monoprinted the fabric and stitched the lines for all the woodwork.
The house is fused and stitched on, as are the separate made doors. Finally the ladies are stitched in front of the house.
The “Saba lace” scroll is machine embroidered.
The background is hand quilted to give the feeling of the sandy soil.
I used a machine embroidery edge for the transition from the lace to the sandy ground.
The whole process can be seen @ http:// kunamola.blogspot.com
FIFTEEN BY FIFTEEN 
What an interesting story, I love the way that you have included your sampler along side the ladies stitching. Great work!
Beautiful work and story.
Wow! What a clever way to incorporate your beautiful lace work into your composition. It’s the perfect addition to your design and adds so much to your story. As always, I’m amazed by all the details and techniques you use. Well done!
Interesting story well explained, personally experienced and loved. Your sampler is impressive and complements your beautiful quilt beautifully. Well done!
Your works are always wonderful, you tell a great story and give a good idea of the things you tell. great details and techniques you use. great job.
I like the fact that you introduced your own work into the quilt !
Living in an area where lace is part of the cultural background I understand perfectly how important it was for these ladies to get an income from their work.
Thank you Els for sharing another of Saba’s history. I like the way you have incorporated examples of the lace. Cheers
Beautiful quilt! I love your sampler and looking at your starter samples, it is what we call in Mexico ‘deshilado’ which is a technique from the state of Aguascalientes. I love your composition and colours. Bravo!
It’s good you didn’t throw it away all those years. You never know if you need it sometimes and now that time came, ha, ha.
A beautiful quilt with a lot of techniques. Your sample and the ladies making the lace together in one quilt is splendid.
I love how you managed to make your story so personal. Your quilt is beautiful, as always, and the variety of techniques amazes me. Bravo!
Wonderful method of explaining and including this example of saba lace.
I love the story of how you were taught to make lace, and the fact that you have included the sampler into your quilt. The textures of the wooden house and the sandy soil are perfect. A great quilt
A great range of techniques as always. Lovely to have the lace and its story included. Previous generations of women in my family were lace makers (Bedfordshire) – and I learned too many years ago – so I appreciate the economic importance of the craft.
What a wonderful story! The inclusion of your own sampler makes this piece very unique. Plenty of techniques to be admired. The house as a background to the ladies is very effective. Beautiful work!