Blog & News

This is going to be a very niche item. That said, the more of you lace makers I meet, the more I grasp the heavy sci-tech nature of this couvige. 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-33366-x

High-resolution silkworm pan-genome provides genetic insights into artificial selection and ecological adaptation

Anyway: researchers sequenced the DNA of silkworms. They picked different silkworms around the world to compare them. In some species, they might still have a gene that another variety lost. Or some have a gene turned up to 11 that's only set to level 3 in another one. 

They found that one crucial different between fine and coarse silk, in this gene:

We found an 11.1 kb intron insertion and a 6.2 kb downstream insertion of the chitooligosaccharidolytic beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase (BmChit β-GlcNAcase) gene in Chunfeng and Suxiu strains (Fig. 6f). We found that the BmChit β-GlcNAcase gene is expressed at a significantly higher level in fine silk strains (Suxiu, Chunfeng) and has an expression peak in silk press at the wandering stage (which occurs at the start of spinning) (Supplementary Fig. 6b, c). CRISPR-cas9 mediated knockout of the BmChit β-GlcNAcase gene produced coarser silk (Fig. 6g, Supplementary Fig. 6d). All these results suggest a key role of the BmChit β-GlcNAcase gene in the determination of silk fineness.

I don't understand what that gene does yet (but it sounds to me like it cuts sugars off, which makes sense...), but it looks like the key. So this gene, when turned up, makes silk finer. When they knock it out, it's coarser silk.

This is wicked cool. 

It's not lace, but might be of some interest to folks here. This North Bennet School in Boston is where I got my new lace pillow in the Queyras style. They have other hand craft skills and this talk is apparently about weaving and technology tensions.

https://nbss.edu/news-events/events/in-the-making-jovencio-kat/

Check out those fat cloth stitch sculptures--now I'm wondering about giant soft lace sculptures too!

From that post there's a link to their Eventbrite to register for the zoom tickets.

Inside the Fascinating History of Lace

The intricate textile—with its many technical and social complexities—is a key subject during New York Textile Month

Coinciding with New York Textile Month, “Threads of Power: Lace From the Textilmuseum St. Gallen” is the first large-scale exhibition on lace to be presented in New York in over 40 years. The show, which opens on September 16, is chiefly aimed to address the “simultaneous presence and invisibility of the lacemaker,”....

Nice piece on the Bard exhibition.

This woman makes Ñandutí lace out of denim cutouts. It's cool, and expensive. 

Libby Newell.

https://spaldingnixfineart.com/artist/libby-newell

Spaces are still available.  The dates are from 9/22 to 9/26.  There is an option to choose the dates during this time.  Please contact me if you are interested in Kumiko Nakazaki’s workshop.  My e-mail address is traysumiko@gmail.com and the cell phone number is 704-501-7923.  Kumiko will be teaching at the Finger Lace Guild Retreat this year.  Anyone who needs Kumiko’s instruction after the retreat is very welcome.

Offered through the Lace Museum, join this virtual class every Thursday from Sept 29th - November 17, 2022
To Sign Up for This Class you need to Contact:
https://thelacemuseum.org/virtual-education/

Course Description: Made in five separate pieces, students will learn elements of 3 different lace techniques in one pattern that include Honiton, Bedfordshire and Cluny laces….a three for one! The body of the Butterfly uses Honiton techniques including starting at a point, working up the edge, the four-pin bud, working with and crossing the coarse thread, making a divided trail and ending at a point. The lower and upper wings use techniques from Bedfordshire and Cluny lace that include the Bedfordshire and Cluny joins, crossing trails, Bedfordshire circles, adding and deleting pairs, leaves, picots, cloth stitch trails and footside techniques, plus pattern interpretation, design, and the use of color. A bonus discussion on how to use this pricking with Honiton Fillings will also be discussed. The pattern was redrafted by Holly Van Sciver from a traditional pattern published by Pamela Nottingham.

Dates: 8 Thursdays – September 29, October 6, 13, 20, 27, November 3, 10, and 17, 2022 (24 hours of class time)

Time: 9:30 am – 12:30 pm Pacific

Registration Fee: $280

Please visit the event page for more information.

This story about an installation at the Waco Airport had me intrigued, for sure. 

Picks for Waco airport art highlight flight, mammoths

“It was like nothing we had ever seen before, a traditional art form — lace making — but at such a large scale. … It’s a simple design, but complicated in how it’s executed,” Dyer said.

They are musing about cotton. But obviously it should be wooly....

She has not decided what material to use in Waco, but is considering cotton, given the city’s history as a cotton growing hub, she said. Also undetermined is how much of the piece she will weave onsite.

See more of Manca Ahlin's work at her website: http://www.mantzalin.com/

I learned today that Nancy Hood, long-time lacemaker and contributor to our NELG logo passed away on July 30, 2022. Her picture is included in our most recent newsletter among the other participants. Her generosity to our library and silent auction has been very much appreciated. Our thoughts and sympathies to her family and friends.

Spotted this podcast episode with some names I recognized, and I thought it was nicely constructed. It celebrates lace history and traditions but also moves it forward with contemporary lace art.

Haptic & Hue: THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD OF LACE, EPISODE #31

You can listen on podcast apps or from the web page, but also go see the episode page for some lovely images of lace work and links to a lot of good resources.