Blog & News

I regret that I have very, very sad news to report.  It appears that Tracy, "The Lacemaker" in Ohio is closing up shop.  According to her webside lacemakerusa.com, except for remaining internet sales, her doors will close Dec. 7.  Whatever are we going to do for vendors?!!!!

Some of you may read Laurie's Blog, LaceNews.   Several months ago, she took it upon herself to organize the lace video's found out on YouTube.  You can click here for The LaceNews Channel on YouTube .

What a great job!  There are a couple dozen playlists.  Each playlist is organized by either type of lace, region when lace is made, etc.  These are videos by tourists and by the lace makers themselves.  Some are a picture albums, some are streaming video with how to's. 

Need to get inspired?  Then get yourself a refreshment, click above, and sit back and enjoy the creativity that is all about us!

Patty

 

It was a late night on Monday as I attempted to finish up the Display at the Berlin-Peck Memorial Library.

Tuesday morning - back to the Library to work on the display - had to get some supplies so that the various items could be placed so everyone could enjoy the amazing work by our members.  Thank you to all the members!

It was also making up some posters to distinguish Bobbin Vs. Tatting Vs. Needle lace.  Finding the right pictures to help tell the story.  Thank you to the Staff at the Library and to the Library Director, Helen Aveline. 

I heard from her today and she has sent off some of our pictures to two of the local papers!

This display will be up for eleven days!  Come by the Library or see us on October 15th from 10 a.m. to Noon at the Library.

See you there!!!

Hi everyone,

I am interested in purchasing a Christina pillow.  I have the address of a place in Sweden but the cost is hefty.  I am making inquiries with the local vendors.  But just in case someone out there knows of a pillow I can purchase, please let me know.

thank you,

Linda

Another year of cream puffs, fried dough, and all sorts of agriculture is now a faint memory.  Today we dismantled our lace display at the Big E - a bit solemn as I assisted Winann with packing everyone's work, along with ribbons and prizes.  It was a wonderful year for NELG.  So many entries - each one uniquely special.  Staff at the New England Center were once again happy with plenty of comments from fair goers about the lace display.

If you didn't attend the Big E this year, we have a treat for you.  Beginning on Tuesday, Oct 4th, some of our lace entries will be on display at the Berlin-Peck Memorial Library in Berlin, Connecticut.  The showing will be through Saturday, Oct 15th.  We will be demonstrating lace making at the library from 10am to Noon on that day.  We hope to see you there.

PS  a look at the display just before completion!

The CT Lace Day was held this past saturday at Rosalie's. The day began with a sad moment when a couple of members shared some sad news. It was wonderful to see the outpouring of love and support from the group for these members and their families.

A new member, Martine, joined us saturday for the meeting. She shared with us lots of items and a few good stories too. One item in particular caught the group's attention. It looked like a beautiful handbag, but when opened revealed a bobbin lace pillow. It was the consensus of the group that we all HAD to have one. We are thinking about a monthly activity in the future.

Actually, there were quite a few good ideas floating around and Patty was working feverishly getting them down into her phone.

Thanks Rosie for a great day.

A great day to be at the fair!  No rain!

Mary Linden, Clare Settle and I demonstrated at the Big E today to a never-ending stream of people.  (There is a big difference between a weekday and a weekend.) I brought a try-it pillow that was tried out by all kinds -- kids, moms, even men.  (If anyone is interested, I know a pattern for a heart that uses only 5 pairs.  Even easier than the snake and clearly shows the worker path.)  I didn't get a stitch done on my own lace.  Mary and Clare kept up the patter until Clare left to demo spinning and Mary departed with the grandkids.  I stayed a bit longer, then wandered off to check out the cows, and bought beignets. (I do like cows -- and beignets.)

The folks who work the building were very solicitous -- brought water, offered lunch tickets, and let me leave my stuff behind their desk when I went to look at cows. 

If you haven't demo'd at Big E, I highly recommend it.  It's just plain fun. (Did I mention the beignets?)

Yesterday was my day to volunteer at the Big E and demonstrate making lace in the New England Building - or known to the fairgoers - the cream puff building!

It was a grand day - it was Connecticut Day - it's become a tradition for me.

Jeanne and I sat side-by-side for the morning.  Joined by her husband, he shepparded lots of folks over to our pillows.  We talked about cross and twist and 'you too can make lace'.  Jeanne brought a beautiful piece and I had my demo roller and snake pillow for kids. We handed out lots of NELG broshures and told folks to come to our website to read more about us.

Keep an eye out as we will post some great picutures for you!

Patty

 

 

I find myself just studying each picture as the go by.  There is an absolute wonderment in looking at the picots, the cross and twists, the braids and gimps.  With a few simple threads we mark out the tiny spaces that make the lace come alive

Make time for the Big E - I'll be there for Connecticut Day - you'll have a chance to get up close and personal. If you can't come to the fair, you can look at the entries right here. Thanks so much for all the artists that entered their lace creations for all of us to enjoy.  

Hmmm  Is it too early to think about next year's lace entry??? 

Patty

 

Hi,

Here is my question.  When you are working a piece where the worker pair is whole stitched through several pairs of passives, how do you keep the worker pair in the place that it should be?  When the worker only has to cross a few pairs of passives, I just pin the worker pair and then tug a little while gently holding down the passives.  But when there are 10 or more pairs, I find that I have to tug tight and then it distorts the piece.  What I end up doing, is putting in pins every 3 or 4 passive pairs to keep it in place.

Any advice?  If you want more of a hint of what I am talking about, please see my trio of houses piece.

thank you for any suggestions,

Linda