Festival of Trees & Traditions

Is it officially the Holiday season?  Now we can get to the traditions of the holidays.  It's the traditions that can make the holiday time warm and lovely.  Whether its the annual office party, good food and drink shared with love ones, or a stroll in the nippy cold (up here in Connecticut) to see the lights - its a season to enjoy.

There's one tradition at the Wadsworth Antheneum Museum of Art celebrated each year - now in its 37th! year.  The Festival of Trees and Traditions will open on Thursday, December 2nd, at 5:00 pm in conjunction with First Thursdays. 

What an evening this First Thursday will be.  NELG's tree will make its debut for the first time.  Some lucky person will be going home with a tree filled with hand made lace fans.  The picture above was our tree from last year.  There are 40 fans, each one with hand made lace on them.  There's bobbin lace, tatted lace and crochet lace.  The fans are different colors and so are the pieces of lace.  Thanks to all the members of NELG for taking the time to produce the lace and to Mary L. for putting all the fans together.

Back to the celebration.  First Thursday - it's going to be a WOW of a night, with music, food, and all the decorations.  There are over 200 artists entering their holiday decorations into this event.  The museum will be looking rather festive and grand.  The decorations will be for sale that evening and throughout the event.  I wouldn't wait if you see a tree, wreather, or other holiday bauble that takes your fancy.  They go quickly.

I urge you to attend as it will be a great night.  If you can not make it then, come on by - the Festival will be open through December 13th. 

See you First Thurday!

PS  all decorations stay on display during the festival.  You can pick up your's once the festival is over.

Studio Time at Jill's

This past week we had studio time again at Jill's.  Nancy, Jeanne, and myself visited at Jill's and made some lace.  I was working on Shelby's blanket.  It's getting closer to done now and a bit exciting.

Studio time is great for me.  It's chance to share events, patterns, books, the famous UnDo's, news in each of our lives. 

We all discussed our great success at the New England Fiber Festival held at the Big E in Springfield, MA two weeks ago.  It was a great time.  Jill noticed that the festival arranged to have 'four hour workshops' available to those attending the event.  She had emailed me on this earlier and said ... 'think about it'. 

We discussed it a bit, we could set up a small project, like a pin that could be completed in the time allotment.  Those of us that demonstrate often times bring a 'try-me' pillow so that event attendees can actually handle the bobbins and make some lace.  I bring along my snake pattern pillow - it's multi-colored and kids really enjoy making lace.

Thanks to Jill for Studio time.  I'm considering taking a lesson or two on some really interesting point ground laces.  (yes I know - not till next year !)

Fiber Festival at the BIG E

It was a wow Festival!  Great job to the folks at the Big E in Springfield, Massachusettes. 

NELG was invited to have a gratis booth at the two-day show.  Thanks to our members and Jill's coordination with them, we staffed it  with demonstrators.  Extra thanks to Jill for the creating and printing of the new NELG banner.  (I need a better camera and remember to take pictures!)

I was there for the Sunday show. Since I did not change my clocks the night before, I was there an hour early!  I did appreicate the extra hour of sleep today.

There were lots of vendors with all sorts of roving and yarns and assorted items.  What was different here, is that the farms brought their critters so we had lots of sheep, alpacas, bunnies and goats in the north side of the building.  Once I figure out how to do sound here, I'll do a the alpaca humming I learned or maybe not.

Our booth was busy - lots of folks stopping by and wondering about what we were doing.  There was only a few exclaimations of  "oh that's tatting".  I had a simple Bruge lace pattern on my pillow and a try-me snake pillow.  Bryce had her beautiful Swedish pattern, Barbara K. brought ancient lace on her pillows and our newer member, Linda showed folks about tatting! 

We handed out our brochure, talked about the advantages of membership in the group.  I must say - without really any coordination among us, we were working great together with enough variety to show visitors what lace is about.  About half way through, we noticed that none of us had any English on a pillow and missed out showing spangled bobbins.

I'm looking forward to next year already - so mark your calendar - 1st weekend in November!

NELG Website

It's coming along - not the one you can get to by clicking here but the new one that is being worked on as I type.

It is exciting.  NELG is a great organization that I've been a member of for some time.  Now that I have been 'involved' as opposed to just writting the check member, it's time to help us out and grow our group.

It seems just recently - last year or so - there are so many events that our organization can take part of and show off the making of lace.  Anyway, it is looking really nice.  Jill, who is our President, and I went to work on a new site about two weeks ago.  It is already taking shape.  Moving all the data over to this hosted site will make working with NELG on the web the place to get Lace information in New England!

Keep an eye open - I'll update you as progress continues.  We hope to launch it very soon.

CT Lace Day

Connecticut Lace Day for October was hosted by Jeanne.  One of our newer members.  We had a lovely day.  I met Jeanne at Jill's studio nights this past summer.

As you can see, lots of us were actually doing and undoing lace for the day.

For me, I was working away at the Shelby blanket. 

These CT days are great.  We enjoy the conversation, share stories, and sometimes even talk about lace.  There were several instances when the entire room went quiet.  All you could hear was the clinking of bobbins on the pillows.

Thanks to Jeanne's husband for taking this picture and then he developed them and  presenting each of us with a copy at lunch.

Keep an eye open - NELG will be demonstrating at Webbs in North Hampton Massachusetts this Saturday, October 16th from 10am to 3pm.  Hope to see you there.

Demonstrating making Lace

So mark your calendars.  October 16th we will be at Webs in Northhampton MA and on November 6th & 7th we will be at the Fiber Festival at the Big E grounds.

Why demonstrate?  First of all I find it fun.  Most of all, it is showing the public what bobbin lace is, a bit of it's history, and that almost anyone can make the lace.

Each of us (demonstrators) make it different.  Some of us bring exhibits, some bring pillows the public can work, some just bring a current pillow project.  There is not one way to do it. 

I found that by watching the crowd around you then you 'invite' them to come closer and see.  I have also found that having a name tag helps you look a bit more approachable.

There was an experience that came to my attention just recently.  Unfortunately, there wasn't enough information given to the demonstrator about the "set up time".  She had traveled some distance, arrived before the 'open' time, yet it was after the cut-off time for the use of the carts.  Without the carts, it was too difficult for her to move her display.  Unfortunately, the lace maker left without demonstrating.  It was a loss for her and a loss for all the patrons at the event.

Let's work on our information about demonstrating, get it out early, and have really successful days in the public!

NELG Meeting

Last weekend was the first gathering of the New England Lace Group since the summer vacation and the first meeting of the new year.  We met at the Joshua Hyde Public Library in Sturbridge. 

Business meeting was first.  We reviewed the past year's financials and the current year's budget, brillantly done by our treasurer, Winann.  Our vice president, Carolyn W,  outlined the programs to be held during the next couple of months and a few surprises for next year.  We congratulated the Big E winners and noted the upcoming themes for 2011 and 2012.  Our president, Jill, indicated that the nominations committee should get underway for next year's canidates as president and member-at-large will be open positions.  We discussed opportunities to demonstrate at a new venue this coming fall at the Eastern States Exposition - the Fiber Festival along with other events.  All said - we closed the meeting to get on to our program.

Carolyn W prepared a great presentation on the needle lace Alençon.  When we were at Rhode Island School of Design, we were able to see Napoleon's bed spread.  This was truly a treat and we were all impressed with the small bees that were decorated the spread.  She gave us a bit of history of Napoleon and the creation of the bed set.  Look for a future article in the publication Piecework Magazine. 

We all began with a sampler.  This will be my first attempt at needle lace - errrrrrr.  For beginners, it is made with a pattern that is stiched to a cloth backing to give it some strength.  Then the outlines are made with several strands of the thread you will be using and will be 'couched' down on the pattern.  There is a method to it all, like using a different colored thread to do the couching! Then the real work begins, you begin to make the stitches.  We are using a small darning needle and plain old sewing thread.  I'll put up pictures once I get a bit done. 

Over all, we had a great time.  Next month we will be demonstrating at Webs Yarn in Northhampton, MA from 11am to 2pm  - Join us on October 16th!

Demo at the Big E

It was Connecticut Day at the Big E and according the staff, one of the largest attendance days.  Go CT!

I choose the day as it's in the middle of the week, and I like to see the parade.  There are lots of CT related high school bands, the Governor and her Foot Guard, the State Police, fife and drum and lots of others.  The end of the parade was the Budweiser Clydesdales and the Hallamore Clydesdales each with a eight-horse hitch.   So amazing the size and strength of these gentle giants.

In the morning, traffic was bruttle and took me almost 90 minutes to go 34 miles!  Gate 1 is where the one day volunteers, vendors, and performers get to park.  It is so nice, it is right next to the back gate making it easy to bring in my lace making gear.

The New England Building / Creative Arts is where we get to set up.  Actually we don't really have a space, we set up in the aisle. It would be nice if we had a 'real' space we could set up in (hmm idea for next year).  Linda (fellow lacemaker) met me there and we set up our space so the patrons of the fair could learn about lace.  I met Linda at the fair last year and helped her rekindle her love for lace making.

Before you know it, the building opens with a raising of the flag, accompanied by a group of fife and drum musicians.  It is fun to watch the patrons go by, some are outright curious and come up and declare that I'm tatting (lol) and others are too shy unless you invite them over to see what we are doing. Time goes so quickly, some where around three and a half hours into it, I could feel my voice getting scratchy.  We handed out lots of NELG flyers to interested folks and may come up we a few more members!

I must say - it was a successful day.  Many for folks learned a little more about bobbin lace.

Ladies and Gentleman and all those fiber enthusiasts ...  the list is now available -

This year's winners at the Big E for Lace have been selected!  Congratulations to everyone.

Big E opened today - and will run until October 3rd.  Stop by the Creative Arts Building and see our display.  If you are there on Wednesday, I'll be demonstrating.  I feel so inspired.

The link above will take you to the pdf list - here a quick list.  Once again, good job to all. 
Department 4 - Lace
Section A - Bobbin - Original


Class 2 - Non-Instructors
1st Wolf, Bryce M.

Section B - Bobbin - Adaptation

Class 1 - Instructors/Professionals
1st Hawkins, Jill
1st Hawkins, Jill
1st Hawkins, Jill
1st Schick, Doris

Class 2 - Non-Instructors
1st Karwarski, Frances
1st Karwarski, Frances
1st MacLean, Gail A.
1st MacLean, Gail A.
1st Provest, Barbara
1st Sacco, Sharon
1st Wolf, Bryce M.
2nd Bouchard, Nancy
2nd Bouchard, Nancy
2nd Denette, Lynn
2nd Provest, Barbara
2nd Sacco, Sharon
3rd Denette, Lynn
3rd Linden, Mary
3rd Steinmetz, Winann D.
4th Bares, Rosalie P.
4th Morrow, Barbara

Class 3 - Youth
1st Miller, Jacquelyn P.
1st Schyberg, Orion
2nd Figuenoa, Tatyana
2nd Schyberg, Aurora M.
3rd Miller, Jacquelyn P.
3rd Peterson, Gabrielle

Section D - Needle - Adaptation

Class 2 - Non-Instructors
1st Linden, Mary

Section E - Combined - Original

Class 2 - Non-Instructors
3rd Coleman, Jim

Section F - Combined - Adaptation

Class 2 - Non-Instructors
1st Wolf, Bryce M.

Section G - Tatting - Original

Class 2 - Non-Instructors
1st  Perrault, Linda


Special Awards

Class 1 - Best of Division - Adult
1st Schick, Doris

Class 2 - New England Lace Group
 Best Technical Proficiency
1st  Schick, Doris

Class 3 - New England Lace Group
 Best Beginner
1st Schyberg, Orion

Class 4 - New England Lace Group Award
Best Original Design
1st Wolf, Bryce M.

Class 6 - NELG of Connecticut Award
 Best use of color in any lace
1st Linden, Mary
1st Linden, Mary

Class 7 - Lace Bobbins by Chris Parsons Award
Best Continuous Lace
1st MacLean, Gail A.
Class 9 - Lacy Susan Award
Best Use of Color in Any Lace
1st Wolf, Bryce M.

Class 12 - Van Sciver Bobbon Lace
Best Buck Point Lace
1st Hawkins, Jill

Class 13 - Bobbins by Van-Dieren
Best Torchon Lace
1st Sacco, Sharon

Class 14 - Best of Division - Youth
1st Schyberg, Orion

CT Lace Group Meets - We are Artists!

We had a lovely meeting last Saturday at Boo's home.  Surprisingly it was Labor Day weekend and we had over 14 of us partake in the name of making lace, conversing and enjoying company.

Boo and her husband and two children were the greatest hosts.  As we do, we organize the lunch as a 'bring a dish' as requested by our hostess.  This time, I brought a cheese tray. 

It's not a regular meeting for NELG, more so it is a chance for us to gather for a few hours of making lace or some other fiber interest.  I took the opportunity to get some ideas about a flyer that came across my desk from the Hartford Public Library.  It is their call for Artists for the ArtWalk.  I spoke with Mary and Marian of HPL about the project.  Generally it appears that they only want one artist.  With reading the outline, maybe several artists(lace makers) would be within the confines of artists they would be interested in.

I thought it might be a good project if the group thought so.   I received good feedback.  I'd be looking for already completed works, antique works that inspired current work.   Once I get a chance to talk with our President and her thoughts, I'll be back to the Library to find out about if they would accept an exhibit with more than one artist? 

Either way, it would be a way to get our work out into a larger space and educate the public about lace making.  It would allow us to have an exhibit that could be posted in various libraries and exhibition spaces.

Big E - Your Entry

Is you lace entry ready?  Contact nelginfo@gmail.com .  We have a group from Massachusettes and Connecticut bringing up the entries!

The Big E's judging day is September 13th!!  Opening Day is Friday September 17th 8am to 10pm!

NELG's members will be present most days - Find us in the New England Center.  Stop by and see Cross / Twist and you too will be making lace!

Demonstration Time

Just a reminder to NELG members - get your hours in! 

Next month will be the BIG E.  It will begin on September 17th and go through October 2nd. 

There is so much to do and by demonstrating your lace making skills, you will receive 2 tickets for the day and parking at the back gate!  We need as many folks as possible.  It is a great place to attract new members to our organization  and for referrals for students and teachers.

See the current year's brochure for highlights.  The following days honor each of the New England States.

Special Days are:
Rhode Island Day - Sept 21
Connecticut Day - Sept 22
Massachusettes Day - Sept 23
Vermont Day - Sept 25
New Hampshire Day - Sept 24
and Maine Day - Oct 2nd

Hope to see you there!  It is just a great time for everyone.

Meeting Jean Leader

Sunday night some of our lacemakers met at the Rainbow Garden on the Milford Green for a very pleasant evening of lace conversation and all else that is important to us.  They had just finished lace classes with Jean Leader sponsored by NELG.

Thanks to Jill for making these arrangements.  Since I was unable to take Jean's class,  (everyone raved about it), having the opportunity to meet Jean in person was a real treat.

Some of the classmates were already beginning a sample of lace that they learned in class, some took the balance of Sunday off to just relax from the 2-1/2 days of classes.

If you'd like to see some more of this great teacher, visit Jean Leader Lacemaker.  She still has two weeks of classes, one the end of August and one in October if you'd like to hop across the pond to attend.

Jean Leader Arriving

NELG will be hosting a Jean Leader Workshop this coming weekend.  If you haven't signed up - oh well - get in line behind me.

The classes sold out in a flash - though you still have a chance to meet and talk lace at the evening dinners that are planned for Friday, Saturday, & Sunday evenings.

If you want  more information email NELGinfo@gmail.com

Studio Time at Jill's

Since mid-April, Jill has been hosting studio time at her home.  Studio time is time to work on your lace projects.  Of course you can stay at home and work on your projects, yet it's the comradery of lace makers and the sound of the bobbins clicking that make the cross-twist-cross go quickly.

Studio time is also lesson time, time to look at different patterns, and time to "brag" that you finished another piece.  Jill just completed another small motif that will fit in a beautiful silver coaster.  It is truly beautiful and exquisitely made.  I few weeks ago I was attending and actually started a small project.  More on that later.

We are ending studio time for the summer and will resume in the fall.   The next CT Lace Days will be held over 4th of July weekend at Barbara M's home.

PS the bobbins pictured are made from bone and hand painted - they are beautiful!

NELG Lace Retreat

The first weekend of May was NELG's Lace Retreat Weekend.  It begins late on Thursday, then all day Friday & Saturday and concludes Sunday after lunch with classes or just for retreating!  We have been at the Sacred Hearts Retreat Center for quite a few years.  It's in Wareham MA on a cove of Buzzards Bay just before Cape Cod.

I took part in just retreating once again this year.  It was great - I took some projects (from the Plan) and went up by early Friday evening.  Accomodations were just lovely, weather was wonderful and most of all, it was those lacers that attended that make it just great.  You can't imagine the amount of creativity that was there on the weekend.  Thank you to everyone!

Next year is all ready booked so mark your calendars, it will be the third weekend of May.  I'm looking forward to the change in the dates as I will most likely be rested enough from tax season to take a class!  Unfortunatley I will not be able to study with Jeanette Van Ord.  This year was her last year that she will be coming (from  Netherlands) to teach.  She has been teaching for the last twenty years and so many students have learned so much about lace from her.  We will miss her!

Holly Van Sciver was our vendor and the other teacher.  She gave a great presentation on Saturday night about Lester Lace that came about at the time when the lace industry was failing and hand made lace was becoming history.  It was truly facinating and informative.

Before we knew it, it was Sunday breakfast.  The silent auction concluded and we made over $300 to help out our group.  I came away with some old IOLI magazines and assorted items to help out the lace corner of my studio.  I did purchase additional bobbins and a couple of books on tape lace from Solivinia. 

Looking forward to the plans for next year.  One item I've been thinking about is either getting there a day in advance or staying an extra day after.  If you are looking for a place to take an individual retreat - I recommend the Sacred Hearts Retreat Center as a great place to get away.

Connecticut Lace Day - At Barbara's!

This past weekend was our group's Christmas gathering.  Held at the home of Barbara, it was decorated for the season.  In the dining area, the big old wooden beams were hung with a hundred crochet snowflakes - each one different.  The table was set in Christmas Spode, enough for our very large gathering.  Off to the other room, was Fine Threads from Vermont with lots of wares for you to choose from.  I did make myself available for another book of patterns and some fancy thread.  Lunch was just lovely, great breads from this bakery near Winann's and a condon blue cassarole, salad, carrots and beets from Boo's garden.

Of course there was dessert - and dessert is more serious than the meal.  Besides lovely chocolates that were passed around, Boo made two hedgehog cakes.  Yum Yum and a white cake with raspberry and white chocolate frosting. 

What an amazing day.  Barbara is quite the creative one.  Throughout her home was many samples of her lace making and other fiber projects to admire.  There was a plastic beach bag she crocheted, that got my interest and I'm going to give it a try.   I took a fancy to the snowflakes and became reinspired once again in my thread work.

Before and after lunch we enjoyed each others company, worked on our projects that we brought along and visited the "shop" for those extra goodies a lace maker could not be without. 

On this occassion, there is a gift swap.  Your gift goes in the pile and you can then take a number.  So a basket with numbered slips of paper was passed around the table.  As it went by me, I put my hand in and whispered on the louder side...".... ah Christina...." and pulled out my slip.  Wouldn't you know, I got the slip with the #1 on it.  Oh no! and lots of laughter was heard.  I asked if we could reverse the order so I would go last.  No problem.  Phew!  See I won the lace lessons, the Christina pillow, and a couple of other items( gave them back) at the 25th Anniversary.  That was my first meeting and this was my first attendance at the Christmas luncheon.  I ended up with a piece of lace and a frame to put it into.  One thing that surprised me is that the gift swap was no where near the " oh $10 - $20 range" for the gift.  IMO my gift didn't measure up - note for future - find a better gift!

Before we left, Barbara had one more surprise for each of us.  She handmade two dozen ornaments, each different, all with some kind of lace on them.  Each one was even better than the last.  We all gasped and awed at her creativity and originality to each ornament.  It was a lovely day - so many creative people to be with. 

PS - another 25 Round 4 mofits are complete!

NELG Meeting

This past NELG meeting was really fun.  Our business meeting delt with some of the general items we always talk about.  We will be demonstrating during the Allure of Lace exhibit at the Wadsworth Museum in Hartford.  We will be there the day after Christmas!  Stop by and see us - it's a free admission day at the Museum.  We will be hosting an upcoming seminar (mixed Beds & Bucks) late July/early August with Jean Leeder.  While it will be limited seating, it should be a good session to learn lots.

After the business, we turn to painting bobbins, this month's activity.  It was fun and everyone's design was truly as unique as each of us are.  I know it would be nice if I had pictures.  I need to be better about taking my camera with me and taking it out to take a few pictures!

Thanks to the members that sat with me for their survey interview!  Really good thoughts and suggestions were obtained. 

PS if you have the items from the Archive - please bring them to the December meeting and I'll coordinate bringing them back to Doris.