Every Thursday afternoon from 15:00 – 17:00 a group of ladies work together at Lambee’s Place, in the heart of Windwardside. Take a seat and watch the women chat and create new Saban masterpieces. Look closely to appreciate the varied techniques the Lace Ladies incorporate into each unique piece.
Saba Lace, or drawn thread work sometimes called “Spanish Work”, was introduced to Saba by Venezuelan nuns in the 1870’s when Mary Gertrude Hassell Johnson was sent by her parents from Saba to study at a convent in Caracas, Venezuela. While she was there, the nuns taught Miss Hassell to create the intricate designs of this needlecraft. Miss Hassell brought the craft back to Saba in 1884, when regular mail service first connected the island to the outside world. The wives and daughters of Saba’s seafaring men turned the craft into a mail-order industry.
The tradition carries on today with Saba’s famed Lace Ladies. A unique and historical way to commemorate your time on Saba, styles of Saba Lace are available to purchase online, along with books written about the patterns and history of Saba Lace.
