Blog & News

It is that time of year when New England weather can be dangerous to travel.  Planning is always difficult since the weather forecast is not particularly accurate in advance.  While we will try to have NELG meetings as planned, during the winter months especially, please consult the NELG home page before you start your trip to the meeting.  We will be posting any meetings that are cancelled due to weather so you can get that information on the home page, possibly through the blog.

And of course, do remember that the weather throughout New England can vary widely at any time.  Please consider your local conditions even if the meeting is not cancelled.  We prefer that you are safe even if it means you need to skip a meeting.

We are often reminded by our peers that washing old textiles is dangerous.  As someone who has more than once washed curtains that ended up with less than started in the washing machine (have you ever retrieved just the hems of a curtain from the dryer?), I have respected that warning.  I saw this video of the cleaning of a 17th century tapestry which obviously is an exception to the rule.  The process is interesting.  See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3xN3rqmfkk&feature=youtu.be

Is it ok for me to "share" this on the IOLI Facebook page? Is there any other information that you would like to share with the IOLI Facebook page?

Devon Thein

dmt11home@aol.com

I finished my Snowflake video.... year long project.  Enjoy !

Snowflake Video by Patty

Are there really only 3 people planning to go to the meeting this Saturday?  If you are planning to go, could you register so I know how much food to bring?  :-)

I was just re-reading the November newsletter, and my curiosity was piqued by Gail's article about the Dresden (Connecticut) Laceworks and the lace sample book at the Connecticut Historical Society. When I first read the article, I must admit I assumed it was handmade lace, but on their website there are a couple of blog posts, and what looks like a pattern for machine made lace. 

Here is the blog website http://chs.org/2014/10/william-blores-lace-pattern-book/

Jill

We had a busy demonstration period this fall.  Now it has wound down and been replaced by holiday season.  There is so much to be thankful for as we reflect upon our lives.  So here is my NELG list:

1. I am thankful for everyone who joined the demonstrations this fall.  We managed to cover nearly every day at the Big E as well as Old Sturbridge Village and Plimouth Plantation that overlapped it.  We are not a huge group, and I am always amazed that we manage to cover everything at once.
2. I am thankful that we have so many small groups that meet outside of the NELG meetings in Sturbridge.  These smaller groups help to promote lace by connecting people who love lace.  Often this allows members who cannot travel to Sturbridge to connect with the group.  It also lets people who are just starting out on a technique to get informal help from others.
3. I am thankful that Jim, our VP, has put together a great schedule for us this year.  Our "field trip" on October was great fun, and I think we learned a lot about silk in New England.
4. I am thankful for Jill in England who continues to support us by maintaining our website.  She does a wonderful job of it, and I think we have one of the best as a result of her work.
5. I am thankful for all of you who do travel to Sturbridge for the NELG meetings.  The last one was a very large meeting which was great, but even those very small meetings are important.

So enjoy your meal tomorrow.  I know the holidays will be busy for most of us, but if you can, please come to the December meeting.  We will be celebrating the season with an optional gift exchange which is always fun as well as lots of food.  To make it easier to fit into your schedule (we hope), it has been moved to the second Saturday, December 12.  I hope to see a lot of you there.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

I'll be bringing 2 lace pillows to the November meeting to sell on behalf of Carolyn Samonds. One is a Princess Lace Loom roller pillow (green velveteen cover, with original 1904 instruction manual, a 1911 catalog of laces, and an Italian lace magazine) for $35 and the other is an antique grass-stuffed bolster pillow with red stripe cotton cover over a natural linen cover (just the pillow, no stand), for $15.  See you then!

I had the opportunity to view a little of the current exhibits at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston yesterday.  If you have the opportunity to go, there are a couple of exhibits with lace interest.  The current major exhibit, "Class Distinctions: Dutch Painting in the Age of Rembrandt and Vermeer" has a number of paintings with well depicted early bobbin lace.  The other exhibit with a very interesting contemporary lace piece that was brought to my attention by Doris May is "Crafted Objects in Flux".  Both are well worth the trip.  The first ends January 18.  The second ends January 10.

Hi folks,

http://www.antiquepatternlibrary.org/html/warm/main.htm  may be a great resource for our Links page.   These are patterns that are out of copyright date.