One summer when I was 18 years old, I was invited by a girlfriend from FIT to spend a few days at her parent's farm in Massachusetts. The farm was comprised of acres of rolling hillsides, fields of organic veggies, cows, chickens and goats, and several large barns dating back to the 19th century. My girlfriend took me into one of the barns, there I saw for the first time an authentic 'Surrey with the Fringe on Top' from the 1800's! As we continued exploring the interior of the barn, I came upon a shredded hand made antique table cloth. I immediately envisioned one of the floral motifs sewn onto a worn out jean skirt and shared my idea. My girlfriend then grabbed the cloth, ripped off a piece and handed it to me. I added this piece to the scraps of antique lace that I had already begun collecting. Early in 1981, I was inspired to create this blouse, a romantic collage of antique and new laces. The front & back yoke is all one piece from the old table cloth. The curve of the keyhole opening in the center back matches the curve in the lace pattern. The collar & cuff I cut out from a hand made piece of lace from Germany which I found in an old trunk of broken porcelain dolls when I was 17 years old. For the front, back and sleeves, I used a new lace for strength so the blouse could be worn.
