Alamo Bobbin Lacers

Lacemaking in Portugal

2010-08-20T16:31:00.001-05:00

Ok, y'all have GOT to see this! It's not the best photo but if you look closely it seems that someone is working a table cloth continuously on a bolster pillow! OMG!!

2010 IOLI Convention

2010-08-19T21:01:00.011-05:00

This year’s lace convention was hosted by the Portland Lace Society in Oregon. The hotel was located along the beautiful Columbia River; we were able to watch the river traffic out of a wall of windows…that is, the few times we raised our heads from the work on our pillows! Ha! Each room was equipped with a refrigerator and a microwave and free Wi-Fi. A grocery store was three blocks away and we - Heather Norris and Sherry Mathers – took Heather’s rolling duffel bag to the store and loaded it with food that covered all breakfasts, all but two lunches (two were part of the convention registration) and all but three dinners (the three also part of the convention package).
Heather and I took ‘s Gravensmoerse in the morning with Susan Wenzel and Milanese in the afternoon with Louise Colgan Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. We took Lia Baumeister-Jonker’s mini-class on Saturday morning to make a half-stitch butterfly brooch with rolled paper antennae and lower wings. We also attended a program on Ipswich Lace in Wednesday evening given by Marta Sprout, author of a book on Ipswich Lace. She has written a new book, Homespun Valor, with the personal stories of the women who built the lace industry in Ipswich; PBS has bought the rights to a film based on the book! We worked very diligently but our greatest success was the sales room! We bought spangles for the remaining unspangled bobbins belonging to the group. We also bought a number of "must haves" for ourselves but were able to keep out luggage under fifty pounds per bag.
Heather and I took a tour on Wednesday along the magnificent Columbia River Gorge to the wine country and toured two wineries (with tasting!). We returned along the gorge again, but this time stopping at amazing Multnomah Falls which we had seen only from the van window earlier. It’s huge and very majestic.
We missed the "tat off" which is always great fun but we did get to see the "lace off." Our own Jane Richmond was on one of the teams of three. Two members of a team held two bobbins (a bit smaller that bowling pins!) each wound with twine while the third held the knot of the four pieces of twine tied together. They had a limited time to make a braid working together to do the "cross twist" and received extra points for picots! The longest was a prize winner as well as the neatest. Jane’s team made almost the longest and it did win the neatest. Heather and I received a surprise at the Tuesday night dinner…"generations of lace makers" were honored and there were quite a few mother-daughter attendees and one four generation family!
We hope you consider going to convention yourselves in the future. 2011 will be held in Bethesda, MD. And 2012 will be in Minneapolis, MN. Check out the details for 2011 through the www.internationationaloldlacers.org website.

Edith's montage sweater

2010-08-19T20:40:00.005-05:00

At tonight's meeting, Edith brought the sweater she made and showed us the Spin Off Magazine which published it.
She spun all of the yarns (wool, alpaca, dog, silk, mohair & "trash cotton"). The "trash cotton" has a great story -- you'll have to ask her about it. She made up the pattern as she knitted and the results are just terrific!
We're so proud of her!!

2010-02-08T20:18:00.007-06:00

From Our President

The February meeting of the Alamo Bobbin Lacers will be held at Mount Calvary Lutheran Church, 308 Mount Calvary Drive. The meeting begins at 7 pm but we are there for socializing and enjoying refreshments by a little after 6:30 pm. JoAnn Mozisek will teach us how to do hairpin lace. We will make a bookmark. The pattern calls for acrylic sport weight yarn in two colors: 20 yards of the main and 15 yards of the trim. JoAnn says Perle 5 makes a nice bookmark, too. An adjustable hairpin loom is needed and a “D” crochet hook for sport yarn or a #7 steel hook for Perle 5. JoAnn will bring extra looms and crochet hooks.

Remember, Alamo Bobbin Lacers will be hosting a Milanese workshop by Louise Colgan March 20─22. It will be held at the clubhouse at Los Patios where all of you have been before. The teaching will be 9:30 am to 12:30 pm, one hour for lunch break, then 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm. The cost of the class will be no more than $110 – less than $100 if we can fill the class with 12 people. Louise gives an enlightening and professional class and we hope you will be able to take advantage of this opportunity.

We so enjoyed the January program given by Cheryl Anderson! We made “hanky” bags from a cloth handkerchief and narrow ribbon drawstrings. Cheryl brought two sewing machines and an iron so there was plenty of time for each of us to sew. An eight-inch handkerchief makes a bag suitable for holding a tatting shuttle and small thread ball, small bobbin lace tools, or knitting ring place markers and rubber tips for knitting needles, for example; a larger handkerchief would of course make a roomier bag.

With the wrong side down, each of the four corners of a square handkerchief is folded to the center of the handkerchief so that they meet; now the wrong side is visible on top. The next step is to sew around the perimeter of the handkerchief at a distance of slightly wider than the narrow ribbon width. Thread one ribbon through that casing that has just been formed all the way around; thread a second ribbon all the way around starting at the corner opposite the one used for the first ribbon. After flattening the handkerchief tie a small bow at each of the two corners used for threading and trim the ends. Cinch up the drawstrings and a darling little bag with draped “petals” appears! We’ll have photos in the next newsletter.

Quilt Exhibition (Beverly Tschart)

The 4th Annual Quilt Exhibition is continuing at the Landmark Inn in Castroville through February 26. Hosted by the Friends of the Landmark Inn, all proceeds benefit the preservation of the Landmark Inn and State Historic Site. Numerous handmade quilts from private Castroville collections are on display.

On Saturday, February 13 at 10 am, Marcia Kaylakie, a quilt and quilted textile appraiser certified by the American Quilter’s Society, will give a lecture. Beginning at 1 pm, she will give oral appraisals. The fee for attending the lecture is $5 and an appraisal is $20.

At the last meeting, we talked about demonstrating during this exhibition. We decided to make this a goal for next year which gives us more time to create an exhibit of lace pieces plus more days of live demonstration. Each year this exhibit draws a number of visitors. Take this opportunity to go see it and perhaps take advantage of the quilt appraisal. The Landmark is on the Medina River, has a nice museum and is home to the oldest grist mill in the area. It would be a great Valentine weekend outing.

A Brief History of Tatting (Rayna Lewis)

Tatting. The Germans call it schiffchenarbeit, meaning “the work of the little boat” (the boat-shaped shuttle). The Italians call it occhi, meaning “eyes” (referring to the rings that make up the lace). The Turkish say makouk, their word for shuttle. The French and South Americans call it frivolite; the Swedish word is similar – frivolitet. The Finish call it sukkulapitsi, combining shuttle (sukkula) and lace (pitsi) – shuttlelace.

While the exact origin of tatting is unknown, it is believed to have evolved from knotting. Primitive decorative knotting similar to tatting has been found on clothing excavated from Egyptian tombs and referenced in ancient hieroglyphic texts.

Tatting, or ‘knotting,’ became popular in Europe in the 17th century when the Dutch, trading in the East, brought it from China. In England, Queen Mary was an ardent knotter and even inspired a poem, “The Royal Knotter,” (“…But here’s a Queen now, thanks to God, who when she rides in coach abroad is always knotting threads...” )

As a favorite pastime of the ladies of the English Court, knotting shuttles were elaborate and expensive. They were much larger than the present tatting shuttles with blades open at the end so that thick threads could be wound on. French knotting shuttles were even larger than the English ones. Ladies of the French Court used their shuttles as fashion accessories to show off their hands and make them look composed and graceful, as well as industrious. Shuttles were carried in ornately bejeweled knotting bags. A fashionable lady would not be seen without hers and many ladies had their portraits painted with their knotting bag and shuttle.
In the mid 19th century, with the help of several women, tatting took its modern form. The word ‘tatting’ did not appear in print until 1843. The ‘Ladies Handbook of Millinery, Dressmaking and Tatting’ was published that year, the first of many books on the subject. Until then, tatting patterns were handed down from tatter to tatter or copied from other tatting pieces.

In 1850, Mademoiselle Eleonore Riego de la Branchardiere, regarded as the mother of modern tatting, developed the picot and opened up a new world for tatters. Until then, rings were connected by pieces of thread. Mlle Riego’s development of the picot allowed rings to be joined to other rings. She wrote 11 books on tatting.

Mlle Therese de Dillmont made the next major contribution when she created the Josephine knot, a technique using two shuttles. She also wrote the ‘Encyclopedia of Needlework’ in 1886 (still available today), placing her chapter on tatting between crochet and macramé because she believed tatting was an “appropriate sequel to crochet” and good preparation for learning macramé.

In 1910, Lady Katherine Hoare contributed the last of the major advances to tatting when she invented the modern tatting shuttle, smaller and with curved hooks on either side to be used as a pick to make joins. The use of chains and working with two shuttles became popular. Lady Hoare collaborated on a book, ‘The Art of Tatting,’ with Queen Marie of Romania. Queen Marie believed “tatting should be done by the woman who can afford to stay at home and have ten or twelve children”! The book caught the imagination of the American middle class and popularized tatting in the United States.

Tatting was popular during the 1920s and 1930s but then went into decline, although it has remained common in the U.S. During the 1930s and 1940s tatting enjoyed a revival in Australia with many original Australian patterns. Tatting is currently being rediscovered. In the early 1990s, two mailing lists devoted to tatting were started and are now major tatting websites/gateways: InTatters.com and TatChat.com.

Christmas Partiers - 2009

2010-01-10T18:51:00.003-06:00

Happy New Year!

From Our President

Happy New Year, Lacemakers! We’re all anxious to get back together and we will do so on our regular 3rd Thursday, January 21st at Mount Calvary Lutheran Church, 308 Mount Calvary Drive. The meeting begins at 7 P.M. but we are there for socializing and enjoying refreshments by a little after 6:30 P.M.

We’ll be discussing an opportunity for demonstrating and displaying at Landmark Inn in Castroville. They are having a quilt exhibit February 6th through the 20th which is very well attended by the public and they would like to have us demonstrate lacemaking. It is my understanding that we can choose our days and can leave a display for the entire period; we’ll have more information about security at the meeting.

There are still spaces available for the 2010 Lace Escape held in Brenham and hosted by the Houston Lace Guild (see the following article). It is so much fun!!!

Lace Escape 2010

Dear Lace Friends: Once again the Lone Star Lacers would like to extend our invitation to join us for our annual lace retreat.

Our 15th annual retreat will be held at our favorite B & B and the home of our retreat for the last thirteen years, the Ant Street Inn in Brenham, Texas. The dates for our retreat this year are February 19-21, 2010 and our teachers will be Louise Colgan and Judy Aycock.

The total cost for the Lace Escape 2010 will be $ 230 which will include the Friday night wine-cheese-fruit welcome reception, Saturday evening champagne and dessert gathering, breakfast on Saturday and Sunday mornings, and 12 hours of instruction.

Our theme this year is seashells, so break out the muumuus and flip-flops and plan to join us for another wonderful weekend of lace making and visiting with lace friends. Please fill out the registration form on the following page and return it as soon as possible with your deposit of $ 115. The balance will be due no later than January 9, 2010. While we realize some plans have to change, we can only offer a refund less a $ 35 handling fee if you cancel before January 9, 2010.

Once again we would like to encourage you to make your decision quickly and mail your registration and deposit as soon as possible. Our retreat is limited to 26 students and is almost always a sellout. We would be disappointed if you could not join us this year.

If you have any question, please contact any of the committee members. We look forward to seeing you at Lace Escape 2010.

Chris Apple NOWPRESHUS@aol.com
Linda Taliaferro lltaliaf42@gmail.com
Judy Aycock jjalace@swbell.net
Judy Ward lacerjudy@yahoo.com
Patsy Jewell jewellpat@aol.com
Gerda Wrede kjw759@aol.com
Carole Sattler sattlerc11@aol.com

Lace Muses: Helene Hunt (Amy Groff)

When Alamo Bobbin Lacers was formed in 1982, there were 7 charter members. One of those charter members was Helene Hunt. I met Helene just prior to the formation of ABL. She was in her 80s and was very frail. But her influence on the group, and all lacemakers who met her, was very great.

Helene was born in a small town in Flanders Belgium. She first became interested in lacemaking when, as a child, she met the sister of a former family servant who was a professional lacemaker. Helene took great pleasure in watching the woman make fine Valencienne lace.

After finishing elementary school, Helene and her sister were sent to a convent to continue their education. Soon after they arrived at school World War I broke out. Because of the German occupation, convents and boarding schools were forced to close, and Helene and her sister returned home. Helene’s father believed that “idle hands led to mischief” and was eager to find something to keep his daughters occupied. He asked the old lacemaker to teach his daughters bobbin lacemaking. They also learned to knit, crochet, and sew. This was how they spent the final three years of the war.

On Armistice Day, Helene met her future husband who was working for the U.S. State Department. During his career they were stationed at various places around the world. Raising children and supporting her husband’s career did not leave much time for lacemaking; nevertheless, wherever they went the lace pillow accompanied them.

In 1949 Helen and her husband came to the United States and settled in Virginia. While they lived in Virginia Helene spent much of her time making lace and demonstrating her art. For 25 years Helene demonstrated at Waterford Fair. Waterford Fair takes place every year in Waterford, Virginia, a national historic landmark.

In 1971 the Smithsonian Institute sent her to Montreal to demonstrate at an arts and crafts exhibit that followed the World’s Fair. Helene, who spoke five languages, was able to converse with many of the people from all over the world who were attending the event. The Smithsonian Institution recognized her for her service. She also received a Certificate of Appreciation from the White House. A copy of the Certificate, signed by former First Lady Patricia Nixon, as well as a copy of a picture of Helene, dressed in her lacemaking costume, shaking Mrs. Nixon’s hand, can be found in the album that Patsy Anderson created for Alamo Bobbin Lacers to celebrate our 25th anniversary. The album can be found in the Alamo Bobbin Lacers’ library.

Helene also volunteered her services to the Curtis-Lee Mansion at Arlington National Cemetery. She restored a lace pillow that was used in one of the displays and recomposed a fragment of lace that was found on the pillow. Finally, she taught a volunteer to make bobbin lace so that there would be someone to demonstrate the craft.

After coming to San Antonio, Helene frequently spent time with local lacemakers, sharing her skills and encouraging them. She even carried on long distance relationships, through the mail, with people who expressed interest in lacemaking. Once, while in Virginia, Helene was contacted by a woman in Ohio who wanted to learn to make lace. Helene set her some bobbins, a roll of toilet paper to use as a pillow, a pattern, and written instructions. Ten years later, the woman, who was still making lace, came to San Antonio to meet her mentor.

As I said, when I met Helene she was a very small, wiry woman. One of the things I remember about her was that, when she couldn’t sleep at night, she would get up, make a cup of coffee and drink it. Then she would go back to bed and sleep. That said something to me about the kind of tough, enduring character that this petite woman was.

{Next Month – photos of the Christmas party}

2009-12-04T07:22:00.002-06:00

No Meeting in December …we’re going to party!

From Our President

I trust everyone is recuperating from a wonderful Thanksgiving feast. Our Holiday party is coming right up. It will be at my house from 1pm to 4 pm on Sunday, December 13th. If you need any help with directions please call Sherry. Please bring your favorite party food (and be prepared to be asked for the recipe). Let me know if you have a specific activity you think we would all enjoy. Your husband or a friend or neighbor is welcome to come as your guest.

Our condolences go out to Michael and Cheryl; Michael’s mother died Thanksgiving weekend. Michael has lost his favorite aunt and his mother in a short span of time.

Lois fell Thanksgiving weekend and broke her hip. She is in Northeast Baptist Hospital following surgery. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her also.

Thank you to any of you who participated in the Kid and Ewe event and the SAS shoes event. Thank you to Beverly, Cheryl and Sherry for demonstrating at the Steve’s Home in the King William district. Previously this fall (and previous years) Sue and Dori have demonstrated there, too. We’re happy to report that Jim, Dori’s husband is doing much better.

Our workshop with Judy Aycock was wonderful and we’ll tell you more details at the meeting. See you at the party!!!

How to Add Photos to Your Blog Posting (Cheryl Anderson)

First, a little information. We have an email account at alamobobbinlacers@yahoo.com. Yahoo owns Flickr. We have a Flickr account under alamobobbinlacers, same old password (why complicate things?).

To add photos to your blog posting:

Sign in to flickr.com as alamobobbinlacers.
Go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/upload/.
Upload pix following the directions.
Click on the pic you want to use on the blog, then choose the "all sizes" icon above the pic. That will take you to a page with little boxes that have the link to the photo.
Copy and paste the link into the blog post.
Ta daaaaa; you’re done!

Remember that once the pic has been used in the blog it has to stay on Flickr. No changes. The photos can be viewed by anyone or we can keep them private. Personally, I think that public is a good idea. More visibility is a good thing.

Veering slightly from the topic, I have sent emails to IOLI and other folks on our mail list (the list that was on our old email account) letting them know of our new blog address. If anyone knows of places that have links to us, please email them and ask them to update their links to us.

Check It Out! (Rayna Lewis)

Spider Wranglers Weave One-Of-A-Kind Tapestry: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113223398&sc=emaf
Cheryl shared this website with us last month. If you haven’t checked it out yet, please do. It’s incredible what these folks did with spiders and weaving. I promise you will be amazed.

No Meeting in November

2009-11-05T15:19:00.001-06:00

We will not have a meeting this month. We decided at our October meeting that our workshop on English laces with Judy Aycock (November 7-9) will replace our regular meeting for November.

If you have not yet signed up for the workshop, it’s not too late. It will be held in the home of Sherry Mathers. Even if you don't sign up, feel free to drop by to view the works-in-progress and to cheer on the workshop participants.

Don't forget the 2009 Kid 'n Ewe Festival in Boerne the weekend of November 13-15. Check out their website for additional information on the events and times. http://www.kidnewe.com/

Our December meeting will be a holiday party the afternoon of December 13. Sherry has once again graciously agreed to host it at her home. Look for more details in the December newsletter.

Lacemaker gone astray

2009-11-04T02:37:00.007-06:00

Look who I spotted at the International Quilt Festival in Houston a couple of weeks ago!

October 2009 Newsletter

2009-10-10T15:54:00.011-05:00

From Our President

The October meeting of the Alamo Bobbin Lacers will be held on the third Thursday, October 15 at 7 PM at Mount Calvary Lutheran Church, 308 Mount Calvary Drive. We’ll be discussing what we want to put on our new “blog” and the technical “need-to-know” points of using, enjoying, and showing our best to people who go to our site. Heather Norris will be our hostess so come early to make a plate of goodies. Also, bring your show and tell. We’re still getting over the disappointment of not being able to have our workshop this month but we’re looking forward to the future.

Thanks to Cheryl Anderson and Beverly Tschirhart for demonstrating at the Hondo fair. Thanks to Cheryl, Ronna Bruce, and JoAnn Mozisek for demonstrating at the Moye in Castroville.

If you weren’t able to get your dues in last month, remember to bring them to the meeting or mail them to Heather Norris.

Alamo Bobbin Lacers at Medina County Fair

(See Cheryl Anderson's post on September 26)

Introducing a New Series

Amy Groff is writing a series of articles about the people who inspired her to make lace and expanded her skills as a lacemaker. The following article about Alfretta Skladal includes some information from an article written by Patsy Anderson, a charter member of Alamo Bobbin Lacers, that was published in the May 1981 IOLI Bulletin.

Lace Muses: Alfretta Skladal (Amy Groff)

I took my first bobbin lace lesson at the Southwest Craft Center from Alfretta Skladal and Margaret Ivy. They provided pillows, which they made, and bobbins to their students. The students were allowed to keep these supplies at the end of the class.

Alfretta was in her 80s when I met her. She had been making lace since 1947. She demonstrated and taught lace to anyone who was interested in learning the art. She refused to be paid for teaching lacemaking saying, “I don’t accept payment. I only ask that you teach someone else.”

Mrs. Skladal did not have access to the teachers and resources that we have access to today. She had a few basic lessons, but expanded her sills through studying books, constant practice, and sharing knowledge with other lacemakers. She originated a group of lacemakers in San Antonio that predated ABL.

She also relied on her imagination and creativity. She designed many of her own patterns and developed a unique way to make a permanent master pattern on a clear plastic strip. After designing the pattern on graph paper, she then layered a strip of plastic, the graph paper, and heavy pattern paper. She then pricked the design through all three layers. As the paper pattern wore out, additional patterns could be made from the plastic master pattern.

She also made her own work-pillows and helped her students make theirs. These were velvet-covered roller-type pillows.

Although Mrs. Skladal usually used plastic bobbins purchased in England, she also made her own from wooden dowels. The dowel was cut into four-inch pieces and grooved at the top to hold the thread.

She developed a method of winding bobbins that was fast and efficient. She slipped a one-inch piece of rubber tubing (from hospital supplies) onto her sewing machine bobbin winder, and then stuck the end of her lace bobbin into the free end of the tubing. While loosely holding the bobbin in place with her left hand, she wound the lace bobbin in the same manner she would a regular sewing machine bobbin. In this way she could wind at least fifty bobbins in half an hour.

Mrs. Skladal did tatting, knitting, embroidery, and sewing, but her specialty was torchon lace. The finest thread she used was 160/2 and the coarsest was 40/2. Depending on the type and width of the lace, her average speed was six inches of lace in two hours. Mrs. Skladal considered lacemaking to be good therapy for her arthritis and spent several hours a day at it. Much additional time was spent happily sharing her talent with others, including me.

REMEMBER: Next Meeting 7:00 pm, October 15

at Mount Calvary Lutheran Church!

Demo at Medina County Fair in Hondo, Texas!

2009-09-26T02:33:00.013-05:00

Last Saturday, September 19, Beverly and Cheryl demonstrated lacemaking at the Medina County Fair. The Alamo Bobbin Lacers have been demonstrating at this fair for years but it's been a long, long time since I've done this particular event. You can bet I'll be back next year! Beverly and I agreed that this was one of the best demos we've done. There were SO many people stopping to watch and talk and there were several "seriously interested" potential lacemakers. We're hoping to hear from one or two of them again. *fingers crossed*

Here are a couple of personal stories, not particularly lace-related, but great memories brought to me by way of lacemaking.
I had a great conversation with a little boy, about 7 years old, who was interested in how the bobbins were made. I explained how a lathe works and about the materials used for making bobbins -- plastic, wood, bone. Something about that reminded him of the fact that some species of sharks are endangered. That was news to me so he explained some of the pressures on the shark populations, including commercial fishing and death. I wish I could have learned even more but his mom made him leave.

Near the end of the day, a man watched for a while, very interested. He told me that as a boy in New Jersey he had worked in one of the last mills in the US to use a Jacquard loom. He told great stories about maintaining a dying technology, a story we lacemakers often tell about but don't often hear from others. We marveled at one another for a bit then I learned that he is Tim Fousse, Director of Public Works and Aviation for the City of Hondo. He was very nice about my laughing at that job description. Who knew that Hondo had such a long, colorful history of aviation? I introduced him to Mike, they found that they have heroes in common and I'm sure they will be sharing more stories and photos in the future. We all talked until Tim's wife made him leave.

Hmmmmmmmm....

--Cheryl

From Our President

2009-09-07T05:40:00.003-05:00

We have scheduled our workshop with Debby Beever for the weekend of October 10-12. We’ll be studying different aspects of Honiton and perhaps a second lace discipline to be decided after I’ve heard back from those of you who are coming.

Our next meeting will be September 17th, 2009 at 7 PM. (Please click on the link at right for the location and a map.) Heather Gonzales is the hostess. We will discuss the details of the workshop at that time. We’ll also begin thinking more specifically about the Louise Colgan workshop scheduled for March 20-22, 2010.

Dues ($10 for the fiscal year September 1 through August 31) are payable in September. Please be prepared to renew at the meeting or mail them to: Heather Norris. Contact Us if you want to mail your dues.

Cheryl Anderson will be bringing more books available for purchase. I’ll make sure to bring my copy of the group library list…look over your own copy plus your personal inventory so that you can find just the right addition to complement your collection and/or the group’s collection. Don’t forget your show and tell.

While going through some old “lace stuff” (partially because of my desire to establish the history of our group) I came across an Alamo Bobbin Lacers dated August 2000 written and edited by Sue Daeschner, who conscientiously produced the newsletter for so many years. I will end the way she ended that newsletter: “Be sure to put out water for the birds and little wild animals. It is so dry and they are suffering for a drink.”

The 2009 IOLI Convention by Dori Malmberg-Long

2009-09-07T05:37:00.001-05:00

Beverly took a Withof class with Susie Johnson – six hours a day for four days and many more hours working in the classroom. I took a Sprang class in the mornings (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday). Sprang is made on a frame by wrapping the warp threads over two suspended dowels and weaving some threads forward and some back with the fingers. The lace is stretchy like knit and can be done in heavier threads to make purses and caps. My teacher, Mieka Kerkstra, is in her eighties; pleasant and patient.

In the afternoon of those four days, my teacher was William McConnell teaching the Irish laces: Irish crochet, Limerick, Carrickmacross, and Tambour. The teacher seemed to know his lace, but he was severely lacking in teaching techniques. What I learned in this classroom, I may never use, but it is nice to know the basics anyway.

On Wednesday while others were going on tours, I took a wire lace class from Kim Davis, a bubbly kindergarten teacher who was very inspiring. I would love to take another class from her.

On Saturday after Beverly left, I took a six hour class in netted lace from Jean Doig. One woman was taking the class for the third time just to learn to make the basic knot. Learning to make the knot is that difficult, but we were assured that once you learn it, it is easily worked even while watching TV. I learned to make the knot, but it rubbed the skin off my fingers in the process.

There were several very informative lectures by Bridget Cook, Marianne Stang (point ground laces), Lieve Jerger (Lace as Meditation & Prayer), Phil Yeh (Line Art & Lace Design) and Bart & Frances of Belguim (on threads). The lecture at the banquet was on Lace in China and Sri Lanka. It included an old video of the blind lacemakers in India who would have died of starvation if not taught by the nuns to make lace. I purchased some of their lace; it is truly a Torchon miracle.

The salesroom had temptation in abundance and the lace displays were really great. If you can possibly do so, I urge you to go to Oregon next year for the convention. They are working hard to make it more affordable and grand.

We have a new home on the Web!

2009-09-03T02:38:00.006-05:00

Our poor little website! It has been soooo neglected! We just haven't been able to maintain it over the past couple of years. So here's an idea: let's try a different location and see if it works better.

Ah! A blog!

How 21st century!