Pat Earnshaw's books

Books by Pat Earnshaw

Pat's books are available from:

Gorse Publications,
P.O.Box 214,
Shamley Green,
Guildford GU5 0SW

email:
Post-free in the UK.
Cheques to Gorse Publications.

Virtual Eden, 2008, RRP £ 4.50
Published by Gorse Publications - ISBN 978-09524113 85

. . We were like moulting dogs
shedding handful by messy handful
all the impetuous honesty of early childhood,
our piebald skins bared to the spreading light
of consciousness, learning concealment, mouths
nibbling the secret apple.

from 'Rude Words'

Virtual Eden is a series of vivid cameos tracing elements of the author's life between the ages of one and eight, a time that is often viewed in retrospect as blissful and protected, a personal Eden. With remarkable recall and an unusual sensitivity to atmosphere, she sketches the opposing personalities of her maternal grandparents and their lives in the primitive conditions of an isolated rural village; the death of a two-month old brother; a letter she wrote to a favourite doll when she was four and a half and had just started school; her father's suicide; the emergence of awareness of herself as a person and a body; and the sense of total isolation following a long 'exile' in hospital, after an operation for middle ear abscess (age 8).

Told as far as possible from a child's point of view, and free of self-pity and sentimentality, this collection is a moving account of one person's experience of infancy and early childhood.

Gothic Tales , 2005, RRP £ 4.50
Published by Gorse Publications - ISBN 978-0952411376

Gothic Tales is written not in the current mode but something more ancient, less closely connected with the everydayness of existence, exploiting atmospheres and situations on another, perhaps supernatural even spine-chilling, level of reality.

     If I had time
     I'd gather memories round me
     like lost orphans of baboons.
     Brown as dried figs they'd cling
     to my limbs, yellow circular eyes
     lost in the hopelessness
     of communication.

The Golden Hinde, 2002, Out of stock
Published by Redbeck Press - ISBN 978-0946980871

Under the generalship of Francis Drake, five ships set sail from Plymouth Harbour on November 15th, 1577. For almost three years they braved largely uncharted oceans without telescopes, knowledge of longitude, or any means of outside communication. Their quite small boats, the decks painted red to hide the spillage of blood, confronted great storms, attacked Spanish Galleons, and were attacked by vengeful Indians linking these white skins to the vicious cruelty of the Conquistadores. They suffered drought, starvation, lice, and were never quite free of the superstitious dread of witches and sea-monsters that returned to hunt them when they were stuck on a sandbank in the Moluccas.

Only one ship survived the journey: The Golden Hinde . .

My Cat Vince, 2000, RRP £ 7.50
Published by Gorse Publications - ISBN 978-0952411369

This volume contains twenty prose-poems about a black cat called Vince, each tale beautifully illustrated by wild-life artist Sally Michel. Vince is a real-life cat: small, slim, neither beautiful nor cuddly but loyal, affectionate and with great charisma.

The text of My Cat Vince was awarded first prize in the Scintilla poetry competition, 2000:
'Pat Earnshaw's modestly titled My Cat Vince delighted us with its bold use of prose-poems episodically arranged, precisely and evocatively observed, subtly exploring connections between human and animal awareness "within the texture of the universe"'.
(Scintilla 4, 2000).

A Dictionary of Lace (Paperback), 1999, Out of stock
Published by Dover Publications Inc. - ISBN 978-0486404820

'There is certainly room . . in the whole field of lace for some difference of opinion. But the latitude is limited: the object of a definition is that other people shall understand what we are talking about. Without this agreement, communication becomes meaningless.'

This book not only sets out clearly the generally accepted definitions of lace terms such as blonde, droschel, reticella and tulle, but also assembles the many differences of opinion - as to origin, nomenclature, dating and sequences of development - of the more controversial forms. There are brief encyclopaedic sections on design, dating, fashion, smuggling, the naming and geography of laces and the use of foreign terms.

The numerous pages of illustrations are intended to supplement those of design and technique shown in Pat Earnshaw's The Identification of Lace, by broadening the field to show lace in relation to contemporary historical, political, social and economic situations (with Louis XIV garbed in lace, the ladies of his court smoking in secret dissipation, the collar of King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, a 1661 collar thought to have been made for the engagement of Charles II and Catherine of Braganza, the baby cap worn by Lord Nelson, the wedding veil and flounce of Queen Victoria - long thought to have been lost, and the wedding tulle of Diana, Princess of Wales); and by extending also in depth, to include sketches of the lace stitches used, stereo-scanner magnifications of the fibre-elements, and photographs of some of the machines and their products.

There are over four hundred entries.

Identification of Lace (Paperback), 1999, RRP £ 9.99
Published by Shire Publications - ISBN 978-0747802372

This book guides the reader through the intricacies of identifying a piece of lace, listing and illustrating the points to look for in each lace. It covers the whole range of laces from all parts of the world, selecting for examination those major types which the collector or dealer is most likely to come across or hear about. The numerous photographs are arranged to assist comparison of diagnostic features and to put together laces which might be confused with each other so that their differences, sometimes subtle, can be appreciated.

Out on a Limb, 1999, RRP £ 6.99
Published by Gorse Publications - ISBN 978-0952411350

Sonnets, villanelles, sestinas, terza rima and other traditional forms alternate with free verse to explore the mysterious, at times sinister, occasionally surreal aspects of science and the mind, that underlie the humanity of everyday life.

A nicely presented collection of well crafted, thought-provoking and enjoyable to read poetry. There are 50 poems on 96 pages with not a dull one among them. A bargain at the price, rush out and get a copy. I promise you'll not put it down unread.
New Hope International: http://www.geocities;com/Athens/Oracle/1735

The spectrum of Pat Earnshaw's knowledge across the board from science fiction to science fact appears to be boundless. . . her powerful written words ensure a rare and evocative insight into human vulnerability and the scepticism of science. An exceptionally succinct and innovative composition from a woman who has done her research well.
Oxford Poetry Chronicle No. 3. Summer 1999

She writes knowledgeably about history. 'Madness for tulips 1630s' is a fine example and in 'Addiction' she takes us through the folklore surrounding smoking. In 'Ice in my heart' this poet writes of conflict, using ice images -'I need to stay frozen / tears hard and unfallen / I was not meant to be frozen;' I hope she will tap her unconscious as freely as she ranges the visible world. This is a mind-expanding collection and should be read.
Jill Bamber, Links No.6. Autumn 1999

Cychosis, 1997, RRP £ 6.99
Published by Gorse Publications - ISBN 978-0952411342

This second collection of Pat Earnshaw's poems explores the themes of time, immortality, the millenium, childhood passions and cannibalism.
The title CYCHOSIS combines the concepts of psychosis and cyberspace.
The title poem is a study of the near-paranoia induced by an obsession with virtual reality.

'An apocalyptic voice speaks - or rather sings mournfully - throughout this interesting collection. The best of the long poems deal without sentimentality with the terrible gaps in perception that can exist between children and adults. The eponymous poem has all the surprises, the delights and the flaws which make Cychosis such an interesting read;'
Derrick Buttress Links no.4

'One senses a quest for wisdom that is also a quest to deal with tragedy.'
Pennine Platform no.43

Pigeon Grounded, 1996, RRP £ 6.99
Published by Gorse Publications - ISBN 978-0952411338

Pigeon Grounded was Pat Earnshaw's first return to creative writing. The medley of poems ranges from rhyme to free verse and from everyday observation to scientific fact and speculation.

Extracts from reviews:
'a readable enjoyable collection . . much excellent writing'
New Hope International Review, Vol 19 no 4 p 7.
'The author uses her considerable scientific knowledge to enrich her accounts of the world around her'
Zene no. 11.
'Below the polished surface and behind the gentle humour and resigned irony, her verse possesses both passion and pain'
Author-Publisher Network, Autumn 1997.

How to Recognise Machine Laces , 1995, RRP £ 12.50
Published by Gorse Publications - ISBN 978-0952411326

The aim of machine laces from the very beginning was to copy those made by hand, and so invade the immensely profitable market that hand laces had monopolised for so long.

In time the imitations became so scrupulously exact as to present a kind of virtual reality of the 'real' form.

This book begins with a brief description of the nine major lace machines, to put their products into context. For each, the machine and a typical product are illustrated.

Chapter 2, A facile guide to the recognition of machine laces, segregates all the diagnostic features into: firm indications of machine origin (found only in machine laces), less firm indications (sometimes found in hand laces), contra-indications (never found in machine), and other features sometimes quoted as helpful which really are not.

In the third chapter, a near-alphabetical list of twenty-seven handmade laces is matched with photographs of machine copies of similar design, emphasizing the characteristics which distinguish one from the other.

Lace Machines and Machine Laces: v. 2 , 1995, RRP £ 18.50
Published by Gorse Publications - ISBN 978-0952411314

Years 1985-1995 have been packed with quite staggering advances in both mechanical and computer technology. Volume 2 brings the story totally up to date with accounts of the very latest CAD/CAM applications which enable manufacturing designs to be beamed by satellite to lace machines across the world. In addition it throws new light on the formerly obscure history of the Pusher from 1860 to the present day, and on the evolution of the Raschel machine from its inception in Saxony in 1859 to the amazing variety of its forms and products in the 1990s.

Lace Machines and Machine Laces: v. 1, 1994, RRP £ 19.50
Published by Gorse Publications - ISBN 978-095241130X

This is an almost unaltered reprint of the volume first published by Batsford in 1986. It is a comprehensive and fully illustrated account of all the major lace-making machines, from the cumbersome hand- and foot-powered Stocking Frame of the 1760s to the high-speed Raschel of the 1950s and after.

The history, structure, techniques and products of the Bobbinet, Pusher, Leavers, Lace Curtain, Handmachine, Schiffli and Barmen are all described, and the differences between them emphasised.

There is a detailed glossary and a reading list. The book is an invaluable guide to the identification of machine laces.

Embroidered Machine Nets: Limerick and Worldwide, 1993, RRP £ 25.00
Published by Gorse Publications - ISBN 978-0951389157

Machine nets were invented during the 1760s and were fashionable from about 1800, but it was several decades before patterning could be produced on the machines.

During this time, tens of thousands of women were employed in decorating the plain net by hand embroidery.

Three main techniques were used: needlerun, tambour and cambric appliqué.

Neither run nor tambour originated in Ireland, but Limerick soon became the most important centre in Britain for their production. 'Limerick cut cambric', also made there, was renamed 'Carrickmacross' in 1872.

This book gives a comprehensive account of all three techniques, their history and how to make them. Instructions for 40 run stitches and 18 tambour, all analysed from antique laces, are illustrated by line drawings and close-up photographs. Further run stitches are described under 'Cut Cambric'.

Embroidered Machine Nets: Limerick and Worldwide , 1993, RRP £ 24.00
Published by Gorse Publications - ISBN 978-0951389173

Machine nets were invented during the 1760s and were fashionable from about 1800, but it was several decades before patterning could be produced on the machines.

During this time, tens of thousands of women were employed in decorating the plain net by hand embroidery.

Three main techniques were used: needlerun, tambour and cambric appliqué.

Limerick Run Laces: An Introduction, 1992, RRP £ 6.50
Published by Gorse Publications - ISBN 978-0951389165

Machine nets decorated simply by running a blunt-tipped neddle in and out of the meshes were the most successful of the various embroidered laces that were first established in the city of Limerick, in southern Ireland, in 1829.

Hampered for several decades by inadequate design, but bolstered by the lively capacity of the lacemakers for inventing stitches, the industry reached its aesthetic flowering during the prosperous days of the mid-1880s, and its greatest commercial success between then and the outbreak of war in 1914.

This book is based on three examples of Limerick lace from this period. It describes the materials used, the setting up of the work, and the various stitches of the solid and decorative areas, thus pointing the way for Limerick run laces to be recreated as closely as possible to their original form.

Outlines and Stitches: A Guide to Design with Special Reference to Halas Needlelaces , 1992, RRP £ 12.50
Published by Gorse Publications - ISBN 978-0951389149

            The Hungarian Halas lace was a child of the art nouveau movement, first appearing in public in 1902. It was a complex hybrid of pastoral designs collected by a drawing master, and of needle lace stitches conceived by an embroiderer marvellously skilled at wielding a needle, but with no previous experience of converting stitches to lace.
            The blending of imagination and originality, of initiative and experiment in these two people, produced a lace of outstanding freshness and charm which, for a time at least, ranked high as a desirable, and distinctively national, status symbol.
            The history of Halas lace, its progression from coloured silks to white 300-count cotton, from 12 needle lace stitches to 60, its masterly series of artist designers, and its international successes, are recounted in the second part of this book.
            Needle laces are no more than shapes (outlines) filled in with a series of thread movements (stitches). In the earlier chapters, this theme is pursued through a number of Halas examples. Studying their varied approaches may suggest to individual lacemakers ideas for achieving their own uniquely personal style.

Lace in Fashion: From the Sixteenth to the Twentieth Centuries, 1991, RRP £ 11.50
Published by Gorse Publications - ISBN 978-0951389133

This book tells the story of the wearing of lace from its first emergence as a fashionable accessory on the ruffs, cuffs and coifs at the royal Courts of sixteenth-century Europe. Even at that time, lace was of vast economic importance.
During the social, political and economic changes of the following four centuries, a kaleidoscope of shapes, designs, threads, textures and techniques rapidly succeeded each other, in the fight for control of a limited but very profitable market.

Needle Lace (Embroidery Skills) (Hardcover) , 1991, Out of stock
Published by Murdoch Books - ISBN 978-1853911583

Detailed instructions on the basic techniques and equipment needed to make needlelace.

Over 60 needlelace stitches clearly described, with detailed drawings, diagrams and samples in full colour.

Examples of antique lace and of the work of leading artists in the field today.

Seven projects to help beginners to practice their skills and produce beautiful finished pieces.

Designed to be of practical use and inspirational value both to beginners and to those who are more skilled.

Youghal Lace: The Craft and the Cream , 1990, RRP £ 7.50
Published by Gorse Publications - ISBN 978-0951389122

This is a practical workbook which extends the brief instructions given in the chapter on Making in YOUGHAL AND OTHER IRISH LACES.

Written instructions for working the 43 stitches of an old sampler at St Clare's Convent, Kenmare -where much of the finest Youghal lace was made - are illustrated with individual photographs and line drawings.

THE CREAM demonstrates the peak of Youghal lace production in colour photographs of designs from the superb books at Kenmare, and the magnificent train commissioned for Queen Mary in 1911. This section ends with a list of the identifying characteristics of Youghal lace.

THE CRAFT describes in detail the method of lacemaking as practised at the Convents, quoting the instructions from The Needlecraft Practical Journal no.106, issued shortly before the First World War. Using this account, together with the stitches and designs of the earlier sections, Youghal lace can be made again in the traditional manner.

Threads of Lace from Source to Sink , 1989, RRP £ 10.00
Published by Gorse Publications - ISBN 978-0951389119

            This book explores the origin of threads from fibres of living and non-living sources. Out of the vast number of possibilities available for textiles, only linen, cotton, silk and wool were to attain the highest economic importance.

            Ways of distinguishing the fibres from each other are described; also the techniques of hand- and machine-spinning by which the fibres are turned into threads; and the more sophisticated and varied processes by which the threads are converted into openwork fabrics such as lace (this is the end-product or sink considered here).

            The effect of the direction and tightness of the spin or ply profoundly affects the final texture of the lace.

            The fibre-selection is linked to geographical sources, and is a valuable guide to identification.

            Finally, the emergence of new synthetic coloured or metallic threads, combined with high labour costs and limited time resources, have pointed hand-made lace - freed at last from the restrictions of commercial production - in the direction of new and often startling effects, giving greater scope than ever before for individual expression and creativity.

Bobbin and Needle Laces: Identification and Care (Paperback) , 1988, Out of stock
Published by B.T. Batsford Ltd - ISBN 978-0713441406

Here is a practical, highly illustrated account of how, when and where laces were made, and the ways of identifying them - first of all by discovering the techniques used. Pat Earnshaw shows how the various parts of the lace are examined visually, and explains how design, thread and texture, with some historical knowledge, can help establish a lace's age and origin. A 'key' guides the reader through these points towards a final identification.

With its detailed guidance on care, storage, and presentation, this is one of the standard sources of information on the subject.

Needle-made Laces: Materials, Designs, Techniques (Hardcover), 1988, Out of stock
Published by Cassell Illustrated - ISBN 978-0706366204

Drawnwork
Cutwork (Antique Cutwork, Richelieu, Intagliatela, Carrickmacross guipure, Broderie Anglaise, Venetian Ladderwork, Ayrshire)
Reticella (Punto in Aria)
Venetian Lace (Point de Venise, Point de Gaze, Point de France, Argentan, Alençon, Burano)
Hollie Point Lace
Halas Lace
Tape-based Laces (Battenberg, Branscombe, Pont de Milan, Dichtl, Ardenza, Luxeuil)
Teneriffe
Buratto
Limerick
Carrickmacross.

Youghal and other Irish Laces (pbk). , 1988, Out of stock
Published by Gorse Publications - ISBN 978-09513891 0 2

The story of the needle lace known as Youghal (pronounced yawl) began when one of the Sisters at the Presentation Convent in the town of Youghal, County Cork, started to unravel fragments of antique Venetian and French needle laces with the idea of exploring how they were made. Beginning as imitation, the lace developed its own strikingly beautiful designs, destined for a royal and aristocratic market.

This book recounts for the first time the story of the creation and development of this lovely lace, describes its method of working, its original stitches, and its relation to other well-known Irish laces such as crochet, Limerick and Carrickmacross.

Lace Machines and Machine Laces (Hardcover), 1986, Out of stock
Published by Batsford Ltd - ISBN 978-0713446845

Machine laces began over 200 years ago. The rapid following of one invention upon another, the cut-throat competition between rival countries, rival manufacturers, and rival machines which involved industrial espionage, endless law suits for infringement of patents, and smuggling punishable by deportation to Australia make a fascinating story. This pioneer work, first published in 1986, has been re-issued in 1994 as Volume 1.

It details the structure, techniques and products of the Stocking and Warp Frames, Bobbinet, Pusher, Leavers, Lace Curtain, Handmachine, Schiffli and Barmen machines, and emphasizes the differences and similarities between them.

There is a detailed glossary and reading list.

Lace in Fashion, 1480-1980 (Hardcover) , 1985, Out of stock
Published by B.T. Batsford Ltd - ISBN 978-0713446425

This book tells the story of the wearing of lace from its first emergence as a fashionable accessory on the ruffs, cuffs and coifs at the royal Courts of Sixteenth-century Europe. Even at that time lace was of vast economic importance.

During the social, political and economic changes of the following four centuries, a kaleidoscope of shapes, designs, threads, textures and techniques rapidly succeeded each other, in the fight for control of a limited by extremely profitable market.

A Dictionary of Lace (Paperback), 1984, Out of stock
Published by Shire Publications Ltd - ISBN 978-0852636022

Bobbin and Needle Laces: Identification and Care (Hardcover) , 1983, Out of stock
Published by Batsford Ltd - ISBN 978-0713441390