The New England Lace Group - nelg.us - also... · The Quarterly Newsletter of the New England Lace...

The Quarterly Newsletter of the

New England Lace Group Issue 91 www.nelg.us November 2015

Enjoying Lace Together Since 1982

As you will read in this issue, this autumn season has been a very active season for our group, with demonstrations in three of our six New England States.

Do you love to demonstrate lace making?

Share with us the reasons you find it so enjoyable, and in the next issue we will publish our Top Ten Reasons Why I Love to Demonstrate Lace Making!

Contact the newsletter editor with your reasons using the contact info on page 2.

Old Sturbridge Village

TheBig E

Plimoth Plantation

Mansfield Public Library

http://www.nelg.us/

NELG Newsletter, Issue 91, November 2015

Elected Officers

President

Sharon Sacco 69 Aaron Way Carlisle, MA 01741 (978) 371-1984 [email protected] Vice President

Jim Martin 117 Mansfield Road Ashford, CT 06278 (860) 377-6762 [email protected] Treasurer/Membership

Barbara Morrow 132 Old Mill Road Shelton, CT 06484 (203) 521-9874 [email protected] Member at Large

Katherine (Kate) Moore 76 Stafford Circle Dennisport, MA 02639-1124 (508) 237-4592 [email protected]

Appointed Officers Clerk

Bryce M. Wolf 52 Birchwood Lane Lincoln, MA 01773

(781) 259-8529

[email protected]

Librarian

Susan Landry 27 Dewey Street Watertown, MA 02472 (617) 504 9510 [email protected]

Newsletter Editor

Gail A. MacLean 5 Brookhill Lane Norwalk, CT 06851-1617 (203) 847-9437 [email protected]

Webmaster

Jill Hawkins 44 Winchcombe Meadows Milton Keynes, Bucks MK14 6GA England [email protected]

In this Issue

President’s Message ............................................................. Page 2 Creative Arts Special Awards and Results 2015 ...................... Page 3 NELG Retreat Survey Results ................................................. Page 5 Back in Bruges ...................................................................... Page 6 Things to Do & Places to Go................................................... Page 8 NELG at Old Sturbridge Village ............................................ Page 11 NELG at the Big E ................................................................ Page 12 NELG at Plimoth Plantation ................................................. Page 13 NELG at the Mansfield Public Library ................................... Page 14 Work of Our Members ........................................................ Page 15 Member Resources ............................................................. Page 18 Pattern Pages ..................................................................... Page 19

…And much more!

President’s Message

In reviewing the draft of this newsletter, I am impressed with how active NELG has been this fall. We have been very busy with demonstrations. It has been wonderful to see a lot of participation. Thank you to all who joined us.

For my demonstrating which will come to an end at the Fiber Festival, I chose a 20th century Valencienne piece for this year. For me it has been a great piece since I can link it to the earlier continental laces that arose with the development of European economies

and wealth. As I like to tell people, this was how they displayed their wealth. After all, there were no little red sports cars or Gucci bags to make a statement then. It’s been fun for me to link this hobby to history.

One question that keeps being asked is how long it took to make. Alas, I haven’t been able to give a good response. After all, I do not have a reason to track how much time it takes since I am having too much fun. But I do know that there are sections of it that can be done in a few minutes here and there since I have worked on it at home. I have set some limits for it at home since I am trying to finish off some of my UFOs that have occupied my pillows for longer than I would like. But given that it is now a half yard long, I am beginning to think it represents a lot of demonstrating this fall.

The demo schedule will be in hibernation until spring; that will let me concentrate on other things. Given how busy we have been, I suspect that I am not the only one looking forward to the holidays. So, I wish you all the best of holidays this year.

mailto:[email protected]









Creative Arts Special Awards 2015

James Martin Best of Division—Adult

Judge’s Choice (Beverly Award)

Elizabeth Willingham Best of Division—Youth Best Beginner—Youth

Rita Bartholomew Best Technical Proficiency

Janet Blanchard Best Beginner—Adult

Janet Blanchard Best Tape Lace

Bryce Wolf Best Torchon Lace

Patty Foley Best Tatted Lace

Carolyn Hastings Best Traditional Lace

Bryce Wolf Best Use of Color

Patty Foley Best Tatted Lace

Anna Bone Best Contemporary Lace


Creative Arts Results 2015

Congratulations and thank you to all of our winners! Your entry in the Creative Arts event has helped bring the beauty of lace to the thousands of people who attended the Eastern States Exposition this year.

Special thanks go to Winann Steinmetz, Mary Linden and Rosalie Bares for arranging the display case and to Rosalie Bares for the photography. We are grateful also to all who helped deliver and return our precious entries.

Here are our NELG winners (you will note that none are lower than 2nd place!):

Bobbin Lace, Original 1st – Bryce Wolf, tan and blue wool scarf

Bobbin Lace, Adaptation 1st – Rosalie Bares, Torchon hearts, aqua background 1st – Anna Bone, nativity scene 1st – Claire Bouchard, pink angel 1st – Carolyn Hastings, black Bucks fan 1st – Linda Lane, trim on period man’s shirt 1st – Mary Linden, Idrija medallion 1st – Gail MacLean, Barjac Ombrée flower 1st – James Martin, gold star 1st – Catherine Morin, blue round mat 1st – Sharon Sacco, Duchesse bell, red background

1st – Bryce Wolf, black and gray moth table runner

2nd – Rosalie Bares, boy and girl 2nd – Anna Bone, teal Idrija fish 2nd – Jeanne Goodwin, Torchon trim on pink shirt

2nd – Mary Linden, blue and white Idrija teacup 2nd – Gail MacLean, multicolor Idrija teacup 2nd – Catherine Morin, white flower, blue background

2nd – Winann Steinmetz, white on brown ornament

2nd – Bryce Wolf, Bucks trinket box

Tatting, Adaptation 1st – Patty Foley, collar 1st – Patty Foley, framed hearts 1st – Sharon Sacco, purple trimmed handkerchief

2nd – Patty Foley, flowers in vase

Beginner, Any Lace 1st – Janet Blanchard, Russian Tape pink butterfly 1st – Janet Blanchard, Russian Tape multicolor mat

Other Handmade Lace, Original 1st – Rita Bartholomew, yellow netted shawl 1st – Rita Bartholomew, Arctic circle doily 1st – Rita Bartholomew, multicolor bookmark 1st – Sharon Sacco, purple Romanian point

Check out the

NELG Website

where you will see

individual pictures

of all the entries

listed here!


NELG Retreat Survey Results

By Jill Hawkins

Attendees at this year’s retreat were asked to complete a short survey on their experiences; we received 16 responses. Overall, results were favourable, and all comments and suggestions will be taken on board for the future.

The overwhelming majority are happy with our current location and timing (the weekend after Mothers’ Day), would still come if there were no vendor and think retreat is good value for money.

Would you like NELG to investigate an

alternative location for retreat?

Would you like retreat to be on

a different weekend?

Would you still come to retreat if

there were no vendor?

Do you think the retreat is good value for

money?

Yes 6% 94% 100%

No 94% 100% 6%

We additionally asked for responses about the retreat overall, the facilities and food:

What was your overall experience

of this year's retreat?

How would you rate the

accommodations?

How would you rate the food?

Very good 88% 21% 50%

Good 13% 29% 25%

Average 7% 25%

Poor 7%

There were some fantastic general comments:

I personally enjoy the retreat side of the event. I probably would not sign up for a workshop.

I think the whole retreat is a fabulous experience. The food and lodging both are very reasonable.

I think that for the money, it is reasonably priced. The food is decent, not fancy, and the beds are serviceable. I like the grounds, and being able to take a walk. Personally, I like more vegetables than they serve, but have no complaints about the food.

This year was my first time attending and I only went for 1 day. Hope to be able to go for longer period of time next year and take a class.

I like the fact that you do not have to take a class.

It's hard to find a good venue. If one wants hotel accommodations, you pay hotel prices and share hotel space. Yes, Sacred Hearts is a little tattered,

but it's comfy, has nice grounds, lets us bring wine & beer, and even gives us our own fridge to put it in. Pretty accommodating if you ask me....I suppose if we could find a place that was easier on our less agile members it might be worth considering.

Anything you can do to keep the cost as reasonable as possible is appreciated. You gals do a great job and I am very appreciative of the opportunity to make lace and meet up with long time friends.

I love retreat the place and the lacemakers

I think the whole retreat is a fabulous experience. The food and lodging both are very reasonable. I miss the New England group and look forward to this once a year opportunity.


And lastly, there were a great many suggestions for classes/teachers:

Wire lace (suggested by 4 people)

Bobbi Donnelly - Tonder

Kathy Kauffman - Flanders, Binche

Susie Johson - Withof

Loretta Holzberger - Halas lace

Sylvie Nguyen - Russian, Schneeberger

Marina Reguiero - Hinojosa

Josee Poupart - wire lace

Louise Colgan - Milanese, Hungarian tape lace

Sally Schoenberg teaches a variety of continental laces and is a very good teacher

Binche and Chantilly

Binche, Tonder using/displaying/attaching lace

I really liked the Idrija

Thank you to all who responded. If reading this has prompted some additional thoughts, please share them with the Retreat Committee at [email protected].

Back in Bruges

By Sr. Madeleine

Some of you may remember my Tales of Times in Bruges, Lace Capital of the world, from earlier newsletters.

I am back in Bruges! I arrived in late June for three, week-long intensive classes—in Bruges Flower Lace, Needle Lace, and my final year in Flanders Lace.

The school has moved from a rather charming, if antiquated, manor house around the corner to a modern three story building—complete with an elevator, a spacious and well-stocked shop and a fascinatingly detailed and interactive museum with video and audio in 4 languages—quite an impressive surprise!

As always in Bruges, lace is everywhere—from the souvenir shops to the church altars, appearing in the most unlikely places.

Belgium`s 4th of July is July 21st. Not sure exactly what it celebrates, maybe independence or survival from two world wars (answers were conflicting if comprehensive) but it is a very complete national celebration. Stores are closed, people are on holiday etc.

The Bruges celebration included a Mass at the Cathedral (Flanders is

very Catholic) complete with a royal family representative, a military band and a procession of 10 priests. And, yes, you guessed it; they all wore surplices with deep lace borders each of a different pattern. That was it for me paying attention to the Mass!

I was fortunately sitting right behind the priests (being a nun has its advantages!) so I had time to inspect the lace, much of which was obviously quite old and was donned specially for the occasion. Since at that point my Flemish was pretty weak, amounting to “Let us pray,” I could not ask any priests about historical details on their surplices.

However, my priest, a spry lively 70-year-old plus from the Beguinage, the one who says our 7 a.m. Mass every day, was one of the 10 priests in procession. So I collared him (no pun intended) after Mass one morning and asked if I could see his surplice. Now he speaks Flemish and I speak English but we managed together in French!

``Oh it is nothing special,`` he replied.

``Well it is special to me; I make lace.`` I persevered.

He relented and brought it down for me. The sisters and I oohed and aahed over it. One sister photographed it and will have a lady she knows create a pricking from the design. We were all very excited over his `nothing special` surplice.

I have mentioned before the side altars which have 500-year-old lace borders 6 to 8 inches deep. I examined them once again more closely and discovered there were no corners made; the lace was overlapped and sewn to make a corner. Either there were no patterns or lace was always made in lengths then.

Another surprise: one day in celebration of a Saints` day, a long length, 6 inches deep, appeared on the main altar! The sisters asked me if it was needlelace. On close inspection I decided no. Rather it is cutwork with some needlelace around the cutwork. Now I am no expert at identification but I am a pretty determined sleuth. Apparently it is Dentelle de Richelieu, not needlelace, since the centers are linen fabric but the designs are festooned and connected with brides and needlelace stitches.

[Here is a fascinating addendum to the Dentelle de Richelieu tale.



A lady at the Kantcentrum knew of the lace and she fished around until she found a book on the lace of Ciliaos, a town on Ile de la Reunion in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar!! The island was French owned and still is, which makes sense with the Dentelle de Richelieu name. It is a bit like Idrija lace—very town and region specific. The tradition has been preserved by nuns! The nuns have endeavored to teach 100 women a

year the craft up through the 1980s which was when the book was written.

The intriguing question now raised is how did such a large length of this lace come to be in the Beguinage altar collection? Was there a connection between the sisters here and the sisters there? French was the language of this convent until the 1980s. Did a sister here make this lace; if so, how did she learn it? Was it a gift?

More for Sister Sleuth here to uncover!]

Small lace pieces also appear periodically inside the door where the communion bread is reserved. Some are mats, some cover the ciborium. It is always a lovely surprise. It seems the Beguines made love gifts of lace for the Church that have long outlived them. So also do we lace makers continue today; we make and give lace as a Gift of Love.

Photos of lace referenced in Sr Madeleine’s article, starting with upper left picture and proceeding clockwise: 500-year-old lace on a side altar; details of how the corners were made; details of Dentelle de Richelieu; Dentelle de Richelieu on the main altar.


Things to Do & Places to Go See the NELG website (www.nelg.us) for more information, more events and to register for these events.

NELG Meetings

All meetings are at Joshua Hyde Public Library, Sturbridge, Massachusetts, from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. unless otherwise noted.

Please register on our website so that we know how many to expect.

November 21: Snowflakes in Lace. Get ready for the

holiday season (this year’s or next) with Bryce

Wolf as she shows us how to create small lace

snowflakes with metallic or blending filament.

December 12: Annual Holiday Celebration. Bring a treat to share, some holiday cheer, and an inexpensive, wrapped lace/fiber-related gift, if you want to participate in our always entertaining gift exchange. No gift? No goodies? Come anyway and enjoy!

January 16: NELG History Day. At this meeting we will be digging through the NELG archives and reviewing some of the pictures and other ephemera and memorabilia from the past. The aim of this endeavor, in addition to the enjoyment of simply waxing nostalgic, is to cull through, help identify, and discuss what we wish to maintain in our archives and how to do so. Time capsule anyone?

February 20: Attaching Tatting. Bryce Wolf will be presenting a workshop on adding a tatted border around an irregularly shaped item such as valentine “cut outs” or bookmarks. This process is a wonderful way to embellish many textile-based items. Once you’ve learned the method, let your imagination run wild!

March 19: Finishing a Handkerchief. Sharon Sacco will lead a workshop on sewing a lace edging onto a handkerchief. We will look at different ways of attaching lace to a fabric which can later be used in a myriad of applications.

Lace Days

Lace at Lies’ Lies Stolk hosts a lace day at her home in Hudson, MA the first Saturday of each month. Please be sure to contact Lies at 978-562-7082 or [email protected] beforehand, since a date may be cancelled or rescheduled.

Western Massachusetts The Western MA group of lace makers is enjoying making lace. Watch the calendar for more information or contact [email protected].

Sunday Lace Group of Eastern Massachusetts They meet on the 2nd Sunday of each month from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at members’ homes, generally located east of I-495 between Lincoln and Carlisle. For further information contact Bryce Wolf at 781-259-8529 or [email protected].

Connecticut Lace Days The group meets on the 1st Saturday of each month from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the designated home. Please contact the hostess a few days beforehand so that she may plan lunch.

November 7: Linda Dumas, 860-683-2419 [email protected] Windsor, CT

December 5: Barbara Doheny, 203-288-1831 [email protected] Hamden CT

January 2: Winann Steinmetz, 203-876-8314 [email protected]

Milford, CT

February 7: Clare Settle, 203-882-8465 [email protected] Branford, CT

A Gentle Reminder: All the work that appears in this newsletter is either original or obtained from an outside source with permission for its use in the NELG newsletter. Please contact the Editor for written permission to use any particular item. Thank you.

http://www.nelg.us/









Demonstrations and Other Lace Events

November, 2015 7-8: Fiber Festival of New England

West Springfield, MA Contact: [email protected] www.fiberfestival.org Demonstration Opportunity!

May, 2016 12-15: NELG Retreat Wareham, MA Teachers include Louise Colgan and Holly Van Sciver www.nelg.us

June, 2016 24-26: OIDFA Congress, Ljubljana, Slovenia

July, 2016 17-23: IOLI Convention, Indianapolis, IN

September, 2016 10-11: Old Sturbridge Village Sturbridge, MA Demonstration Opportunity!

16-Oct 2: Eastern States Exposition (the Big E) 100th Anniversary! West Springfield, MA Contact: [email protected] www.thebige.com Demonstration Opportunity!

October, 2016 7-10: 36th Annual Ithaca Lace Day Ithaca, NY www.vansciverbobbinlace.com

2017 IOLI Convention, Philadelphia, PA

2018 OIDFA Congress, Bruges, Belgium

2020 OIDFA Congress, Estonia

Symposium of Young Lace Makers

Ed. NOTE: NELG Member Jeri Ames has made me aware of the following exciting opportunity for young lace makers. How wonderful that some are encouraging younger generations to continue our centuries-old traditions and adapt them to the 21st century! Any ideas how we could do the same?

We are pleased to announce that we will be holding a symposium for and about young lace makers in Gandino, Italy, 10-12 June 2016. The symposium aims to encourage communication amongst young lace makers and to safeguard and promote this rich textile tradition as a form of creative expression.

The Theme for the 2016 Symposium is: Inter/Lace Inter/Face.

For the purposes of this meeting we define lace as a fabric in which the open spaces are as fundamental to the design as the solid areas and where there is interplay of holes as an intrinsic part of the fabric’s structure. For this reason we will not accept proposals based on die or laser cut “lace patterns.” All lace makers who will present work or research papers and teach the workshops must be under the age of 40 at the time of the symposium; this is

not meant as discrimination but is rather an attempt to focus on the work of a generation which for various reasons is not associated with the major guilds and organizations. The symposium, however, is open to all who wish to attend. The symposium will be divided into three categories; Lace and Tradition, Lace and Design and Lace and Art and we are accepting proposals for papers, works of art and design, and workshops related to these themes the deadline being September 22 2015.

For further information or questions please don’t hesitate to contact the conference organizer, Angharad Rixon at: [email protected]

Meeting Minutes

Minutes are available on our Website under Governance: Minutes to Member Meetings. We publish meeting minutes in our newsletter after they have been approved at a subsequent meeting.

There are no minutes available at this time.


http://www.fiberfestival.org/

http://www.nelg.us/


http://www.thebige.com/

http://www.vansciverbobbinlace.com/


Lace in Literature

Submitted by Gail MacLean

From Still Waters (Sandhamn Murders Book 1) by Viveca Sten:

“Nora looked at her husband, who was sitting on the garden seat splicing a rope. Repairing frayed ropes was almost a forgotten skill. A kind of bobbin lace-making for men. Perhaps it wasn’t an occupation one would normally associate with a radiography consultant at Danderyd Hospital, but it was something Henrik enjoyed doing on those few occasions when he had time to sit quietly in the garden. He was completely focused on the task at hand.”

From The Cat Who Wasn’t There by Lilian Jackson Braun:

Chapter Nine: “’Too bad we didn’t see any smugglers’ caves. I used to read about Dick Turpin, the notorious smuggler and highwayman, but Irma never mentioned smuggling at all. I wonder why. At one time in history it was a national [Scottish] industry. The ragged coastline, you know, with all those hidden coves and sheltering islands, was ideal for bringing in contraband by ship.’

‘What did they smuggle, Lyle?’

‘Luxury items like rum, wine, tea, tobacco, lace, diamonds, and so on. From Scottish coast villages they were transported to major cities in Britain by wagon and stagecoach—disguised as something else, of course. It drove the government crazy but it must have been an exciting operation. They had a network of tunnels and hiding places, including caves along the shore. A whole string of inns was involved.’”

Chapter Eleven: “He had brought Memoirs of an Eighteenth Century Footman for reading aloud. ‘It’s a true story,’ he explained, ‘about the orphan of a Scottish gentleman, who became a veritable prince of servants, with gold lace on his livery and a silk bag on his hair.’”

Who Knew?

By Gail MacLean

As a resident of Norwalk, CT, I received an email query about a former lace factory in this town that had been repurposed recently into a collection of artist studios.

I consulted the few history books I have of Norwalk, plus some local online sites, but found no reference to such a factory. Hat factories—yes; oyster industry—yes; pottery works—yes; lace factory—no.

Then I was re-directed to a Dresden Laceworks, and found the following information on the Connecticut Historical Society website:

“We recently acquired a small leather-bound book of graph paper in which William Blore of Nottingham, England, drew patterns for the lace he manufactured. In many cases he affixed a sample of the lace for reference...

In 1910, Bernard Blore moved to America and by 1930 he was vice president of Connecticut Lace Works in Norwalk, Connecticut…

Connecticut Lace Works was formerly known as Dresden Lace Works, but in 1918 they were sold by an “alien property custodian”–German-sounding companies were associated with their country during World War I and were considered dangerous.”

The website writer finds the samples in the pattern book visually stunning. They have several books in their collection about lace and lace-making, but Ms 101711 is the first manuscript on the topic. What fun it would be to make a visit to this Society in Hartford and examine their lace-related acquisitions!

Report Your Volunteer Time!

Please remember to report the time you devote to NELG.

Anything you do to help NELG counts as volunteer time—demonstrating lace making, writing articles for the newsletter, teaching a friend to make lace, preparing and making a presentation for one of our NELG meetings, helping to set up a display for a library, museum or demonstration.

It’s easy to report your hours on the Report Volunteer Hours page in the Members Only section of the website. Or contact our Member at Large for a paper form.

As a Charter Group with the International Organization of Lace, Inc. (IOLI), NELG is required to provide volunteer hours in order to help maintain the not-for-profit status of IOLI.

Thank you for your time!


NELG at Old Sturbridge Village

Our September NELG meeting took place at Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, MA (OSV).

NELG was invited to participate in their first annual Trade and Craft Beer Festival. For two days, September 19th and 20th, lace makers filled one of the front rooms of Bullard Tavern, a space also shared by several other fascinating craft-persons, including a woman who dresses dolls, using bits of lace wherever she can find them.

Carolyn Hastings brought her granddaughter, a young lady who had just learned to make lace and who did an admirable job training

other young visitors how to do it themselves.

It was an ideal location for us—air-conditioned and convenient to rest rooms (probably accounting for some of the traffic!). OSV attracts an international audience and we met many interesting and interested people from around the world.

Our location also happened to be where the stagecoach stopped to pick up and let off passengers; it was rather cool to look out the window at the patient horses and the coach, right out of a Western movie! Further enhancing the time travel effect were the periodic

firings of a flintlock rifle as one of the OSV staff demonstrated it nearby. Made me jump every time!

And here is a bit of culture shock—as we relaxed outside the tavern enjoying our lunch and bottled water, we watched people pump their own water from the well in the town green!


NELG at the Big E

The New England Center at the Big E was the site of lace making demonstrations for almost every day of the more than two-week span of this year’s Big E. Here are a few highlights of that event. Thanks to Rita Bartholomew, Marjorie Dashef and Patty Foley for the photos.


NELG at Plimoth Plantation

NELG members were invited to demonstrate for the Second Annual Craft History Weekend at Plimoth Plantation on September 26th and 27th. We were blessed with ideal New England fall weather and a continuous stream of attentive visitors, including people from Germany, Romania, Russia, and Australia, and those were only the ones I spoke with!

In keeping with our historical location and our effort to acquaint people with lace from all centuries, at one time Kate Moore was making 16th century edgings in gold and silver, Gail MacLean was making 18th century Ipswich Lace in black silk and Rosalie Bares was making a 21st century Ulrike Voelker design in cotton and metallic threads!

An extra added enjoyment to this event is interaction with the Plimoth crafts people. One young couple tailored much of the re-enactor’s dress by hand. Another re-enactor exhibited each layer of a 17th century woman’s attire, explaining how it was made and used, and there were many layers!

Thanks to Marjorie Dashef and Gail MacLean for the photos.


NELG at the Mansfield Public Library

This year our annual October “road trip” meeting was held in Mansfield, CT.

Ann Galonska of the Mansfield Historical Society presented a program on the history of the silk mills and silk business in the Mansfield area around 1800. Who knew that a large number of enterprising families imported white mulberry trees and silk worm eggs to Connecticut?

Ann first explained the life cycle of the silk worm moth, with examples she brought from her own experience of raising silk worms in her dining room! Within a month tiny eggs the size of poppy seeds grow to become fat white caterpillars several inches long. This means that they need to eat a lot of mulberry leaves! Once they have spun their cocoons they sacrifice their lives for the sake of the fine, strong threads that can now be drawn out from their cocoons.

Silk was big business in and around Mansfield Connecticut during the first half of the nineteenth century. Ann provided pictures of local mills, some still in existence, where the threads gathered from the cocoons, usually at home on their farms, were brought to be spun into a valuable textile product.

Ironically the silk business came to an early end when producers, greedy to raise more silk worms and make more profit, cut down their thriving white mulberry trees to plant a new species of mulberry tree touted to produce better, fatter, faster worms. The new species of mulberry could not survive the New England winters and thus ended the silk experiment in CT!

After a break for coffee, tea and light refreshments, NELG members demonstrated lace making from 1:00 to 3:00 pm. It was a perfect fall day to travel, enjoy the foliage, learn about silk in CT and make lace!

http://www.mansfieldct-history.org/


Work of Our Members

When Vi Eastman took Allie Marguccio’s class in Idrija Lace at the 2015 NELG Retreat, little did she realize that she had found a lace to capture her complete attention! Since the class last May, here are some of the lace projects that Vi has completed—we should all be so creative and industrious!


Work of Our Members

Garter Lady #5

by Eileen Collins

As many of you know, September 12th was not only my daughter’s birthday, but also the wedding of one of her very good friends, “Garter Lady #5.” The lace was made with 4/20 silk, 3 strands of Silk Gobelin for each gimp, and the never ending blue metallic thread I got in Japan at a flea market 9 years ago. The casing is made from some silk Jaquard fabric I have. The “new” thing for this garter is the rosette with the beads in the center front. This was originally destined to be a mat for my cousin’s 60th birthday, but I mucked it up so bad in the join that it was scheduled for the garbage bin and a restart. I think it made a lovely rosette instead. The beads are fresh water pearls, Swarovski Crystals, Japanese seed beads, and

some other findings. Whitney and Jen did Irish Dance together for about 10 years when they were growing up, so the bottom lace HAD to be this one. Sally Barry named it “Flame”, but she looked at it with the picots up. When the picots are down, it is “Dancing Ladies.”

Welcome to Our New NELG Members!

Nancy Brown, Boxborough, MA

Ann Clark, Rangeley, ME

I enjoyed learning bobbin lace 20 plus years ago. I have not practiced since that time. Now that I have retired I look forward to studying the art of lace making again.

Nancy Pecca, Waltham, VT

I'm new to lace making, though the first time I saw it being made was about 30 years ago. I always knew that I wanted to learn that beautiful craft. Loving anything old, I found it very fun to collect vintage tools for lace making. The first time I touch one of those smooth, well worn bobbins, I can only wish I knew who owned and used it. I'm very interested in learning the craft beyond what I have taught myself and would be very interested in joining the group to demonstrate to the public. Very excited to join the group.

Kate Tinghitella, Milford, CT


Demonstrating at Victoria Mansion

By Vi Eastman

We were invited to demonstrate our lace skills at the prestigious Victoria Mansion in Portland, Maine, Sunday September 13, 2015.

The day was misty, low temperatures, and the tent they put us under had no side wall protection against the misty rain and windy cold! We stuck it out until it was actually raining, and explained this environment was not good for our delicate lace pieces, so

they allowed us to leave an hour early.

The Victoria mansion would not allow us to work on our lace inside the mansion since it was loaded with precious antiques, poor lighting, and we were not allowed to wander into the rooms that were roped off to prevent any damage to the walls, furniture, or rugs.

I am the only NELG member in this group, but we all make lace. Our special guest was Johanna Hildebrand from New Brunswick,

Canada; she had lots of tips for us that were really helpful. Johanna also made her own bobbins, and they looked really good on her homemade pillow. Elaine O’Donal is our only tatter, and as an instructor in the art of tatting, she really produces impressive pieces of lace. Barbara is one of the regulars of our ‘local’ bobbin lace group. Barbara was working on her piece of bobbin lace, and I was working on one of the Idrija bracelets at the time.

Our friend, Johanna, made these bobbins out of dowel rods and beads with large enough holes to slide the dowels into them, and glued into place. They really are beautiful, aren't they?


Standing Committees & Appointments

Scholarships & Grants:

Winann Steinmetz & Bryce Wolf

Retreat: Winann Steinmetz & Jill Hawkins

Nominating: Carolyn Wetzel & Bryce Wolf

Webmaster Assistant: Marjorie Dashef

BIG E Liaison: Mary Linden

Member Resources

Your Website Members Only Pages

Website Members Only pages are available to all registered members via the email address and password you defined when you registered online.

It is here that you will find current and prior newsletters, the member directory, resources such as the NELG business card, a form to report volunteer hours, and information on scholarships and grants.

Your Newsletter

The NELG Newsletter is published 4 times a year, on or about the 1st of February, May, August and November.

If we have a valid email address for you and you haven’t told us otherwise, you will receive an email informing you when the latest newsletter is available on the NELG website for your viewing pleasure or for printing in glorious color! Past issues of the newsletter back to 1998 are also there for your easy reference.

If you have an email address, but wish to continue receiving your newsletter in the mail (in black and white), let the Newsletter Editor know or update your website member profile accordingly. If you don’t have an email address, you’ll receive your newsletter via the US Postal Service.

Printing Your Newsletter in Duplex

Want to save paper by printing your newsletter on both sides of the sheet? Follow these simple steps:

1. Click on the printer icon in

your Adobe Reader window

2. Click on the Properties

button (at top of window)

3. Click on Finishing tab

4. Click on Print on Both Sides

(manually)

5. Follow directions that will

pop up on how to re-insert

your paper to print on the

second side

Your NELG Library

The New England Lace Group maintains a collection of both print and non-print materials for the use of its members. We have loaded scans of all book covers on the website so you can see each of the books we have. Click On-Line-Web to view the collection to date. To view the print catalog of books and materials that are currently available, please click here. If you don’t have access to the internet, you’ll receive a hardcopy of the Library Inventory with the February newsletter.

A representative selection from the Library is available at each monthly meeting, as well as at local Lace Days, thanks to our Assistant Librarians. To be assured of a particular item, please contact the Head Librarian and arrange for it to be brought to the meeting or mailed to you. Also, please feel free to contact her with your suggestions for new material to be added to our library for member use. She also welcomes reviews of new or current books for publication in the newsletter.

NELG has documented the Policies and Procedures with regard to how the Library collection is managed. Click on NELG Library Policy & Procedures and read the changes we have instituted for all members.

Your NELG Membership Directory

The NELG Membership Directory is available on the NELG website to all currently registered members. Check the Directory for the latest contact information of your fellow lace makers. Update your own contact data in the Directory when something changes and your lace friends will know instantly! If you have a picture of yourself and have difficulty uploading it, please contact our Webmaster, Jill Hawkins, for assistance.

If you don’t have access to the internet, you’ll receive a hardcopy of the Directory with the February newsletter.

http://connect.collectorz.com/users/NELACE/books/view

http://nelg.us/Resources/Documents/Library/2012-09-17%20%20Library%20by%20Topic.pdf


http://nelg.us/Resources/Documents/Library/NELG_library_Policy_2011-11-19%20FINAL.pdf

http://nelg.us/Resources/Documents/Library/NELG_library_Policy_2011-11-19%20FINAL.pdf




Pattern Pages (from 2014 IOLI Pattern Book)

The designers of these patterns retain the copyright for their patterns. These patterns may be reproduced for personal use only and not for commercial gain.

The New England Lace Group - nelg.us - also... · The Quarterly Newsletter of the New England Lace...

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