Each year the New England Lace Group has a Retreat in May. If there is still room in the event after the NELG deadline, I like to extend lacers on Arachne the opportunity to attend. This year it's in Wareham, MA. The last town on the bay side before the Cape Cod Canal. Below if the abridged newsletter article about it. If you'd like to attend, please contact me for a registration form at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or call me at 508-277-2487.
---begin article---- Retreat!! Facility The facility itself is beautiful. I want to call it Georgian in architecture design, but I may not be correct. Its two front parlors have windows from the tops of the very high ceilings almost to the floor. We have a separate room for the vending that you don't have to walk outside to get to! There's a lovely meditation garden and extensive woods to wander in. The meadow to your left as you drive in is host to soccer and football games when youth groups visit. We eat dinner at 5:00 pm each evening and are served family style. Breakfast is at 8:00 am and lunch is at 12 noon. Bedrooms are mostly doubles (17) and triples (5), but there are 3 single rooms on the third floor (which may go to the teachers if they don't mind walking up three flights of stairs). I've asked for two names of roommates and will try to accommodate preferences for smaller or larger rooms and will contact you before any "room type" assignment is made. Sacred Hearts Retreat Center is a little more expensive (last year "Retreat Only" was $165, this year it is $180.00) and not quite as flexible as St. James, so there are fewer options to choose from. Suffice it to say meals are included in the base rates and, except for Thursday dinner, cannot be separated out, so if you don't eat a meal, there's no reduction in price. The falling value of the dollar and the increase in fuel prices are shown in the increase of the Class prices (a full workshop was $95 last year, this year it is $125.) I hope this won't dissuade people from taking class, it's still a great deal, the same amount of class time would cost $175 at an IOLI Convention. Vending! Holly will be coming to vend at the Retreat with her full range of lace supplies, including several new books and other goodies. If you have specific requests, please contact Holly and she will bring it for you. She only has limited space in her car, so often packs one item of each size and type especially of large items. For example, if you are in the market for a certain size pillow, she might be sold out before you have a chance to shop. Holly has added a new range of tatting supplies to her inventory, so all you tatters have more to challenge your pocketbook. And, big drum roll please, Van Sciver Bobbin Lace now takes credit cards, so nothing's stopping you! Small consignment boxes of related lace goodies will also be available on a self-serve basis. Classes Jeannet van Oord - Continental Laces What can one say about such a force of nature? Jeannet was a founding member of the National Lace Group in the Netherlands, LOKK, and a founding member of OIDFA. She has taught workshops for NELG for over 20 years. Her ability to teach so many different types of lace has been a lifesaver for NELG when we could not afford to have more than one teacher. Jeannet can do it all. Torchon - This is your basic lace and you would start with this one if you are a beginner lacer, there are lots of skills to be learned. 's Graevenmoer - A next step from Torchon, it has an interesting way of doing half-stitch, unique to this lace. Flanders - this is the basic continental lace, with its distinctive 5-hole ground and cloth filled motifs. This lace is a good place to start if you want to learn the techniques of the Continental laces. Paris - Paris Ground looks like little six pointed stars, advanced patterns feature flowers and other motifs from life, while beginning patterns are of simpler shapes. Binche - The queen of Continental Straight laces uses all the grounds in the "lesser" laces as fillings. Simple patterns feature "snowballs." The more complicated patterns are traditionally floral, but more contemporary designers have created landscapes and tableaux in Binche. Bloemwerk - A beautiful part lace featuring floral patterns. It is traditionally worked in a relatively thicker linen thread and is an excellent way to gain skills to advance to finer work in Duchesse. Duchesse - Finer and more detailed flower part-lace. There are several types of Duchesse lace, Brussels Duchesse and Withof Duchess. Brussels Duchesse is usually more floral and Withof is distinctive in its style of graceful curves forming abstract and very pleasing designs. Rosaline - Rosaline is a piece lace that has distinctive rose shapes and "pops". It has quite a delicate look. Chrysanthemum - Made with a small number of pairs, it features curved tapes forming graceful "chrysanthemum" shapes which are shaded by utilization of different stitches on either side of the tape. The motifs are joined with plaits or picots. Jane Viking Swanson - Battenburg - Needle Lace Fillings A word from Jane: I hope some of you will join me in making Battenberg lace at the NELG Retreat in May. For those of you who don't know, Battenberg lace is made with a commercially woven tape in place of the classic needle lace cordonnet. The filling stitches are the same as those used in all needle lace. The tapes come in widths from 3mm to 10mm in different weaves and colors including metallic. Most of the tapes are cotton so they take dye well. It can be quicker to make than other laces but the choice is up to you. Those of you who bought the Rocky Mountain Lace Guild edition of "Tina the Little Lacemaker" will find Vasna Zago's version of the star doily on page 186. She didn't get that piece finished in class! For those of you who love needle lace, how about trying some new stitches on a Battenberg tape framework? I have found the NELG Retreats to be a perfect time to play with new stitches. I never used to take the time at home and there are so many lovely stitches to try. Seeing them take shape is so exciting. I have an extensive library of stitches from antique magazines and more current books on tape lace and needle lace. There will also be a variety of threads in cotton, silk and metallic available for you to try. Also at the Retreat there is an appreciative audience to applaud your efforts! The history of Battenberg lace is so fascinating that we will certainly talk about that. There will be copies of The Modern Priscilla and Home Needlework circa 1900 to peruse and finished pieces of lace and vintage patterns to examine. We will be able to see how different stitches affect the look of the lace. If you'd like to baste the tape down before the Retreat, first sign up and then Laurie or I will send the pattern and tape out by May 1. If you don't have time to do that before the Retreat don't worry, the tape on the central flower of the Star Doily can be basted down and you can begin stitching fairly quickly. There will be other patterns available if this one doesn't appeal to you. Hope to see you in Wareham! - Jane Louise Colgan - Milanese Lace Milanese is a variety of tape or free lace distinguished by decorative stitches worked within sections of each braid or tape. These characteristics make it suitable to both traditional and contemporary interpretation. This course in Milanese Lace will provide instruction in the basic techniques which define its style, with the additional option of applying colored threads to create unique pieces from the given patterns. As with other similar free-style laces, individual interpretation of the designs is part of the learning process. NOTE: The primary source for course projects is Milanese Lace: Original Patterns in Color by Louise Colgan. (Accompanying this article is a picture of one of Louise's original designs that can be your project during her workshop, three others may be found on the wrapper.) BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION Louise Colgan is a lacemaker, designer, and teacher with experience in a broad range of Bobbin Lace techniques. As an instructor, she offers classes continually throughout the year and travels extensively around the U.S. to teach intensive workshops. She currently serves as President of the International Old Lacers, Inc. following terms as 1st & 2nd Vice-Presidents and Southwest Regional Director. Louise was Founding Chairperson of the Golden Gate Lacers, a Charter Chapter of I.O.L.I. and is a Past Chairman of the Lace Museum Guild now in Sunnyvale, CA. Her work takes her to a variety of locations to give lectures, demon-strations, and seminars. She has taught Bobbin Lace workshops at many I.O.L.I. Conventions; Milanese classes for U.S. members of O.I.D.F.A.; plus workshops for a variety of regional groups. In her capacity as a lacemaker and designer, Louise has exhibited her work both locally and internationally. Pieces of her lace have been on display at the John Bull Trophy Exhibition in England, recent O.I.D.F.A. Congresses, the Olive Hyde Art Guild Annual Textile Show, and the California State Fair with Best of Class awards. Her designs have been published in the international LACE EXPRESS magazine. Additionally, she has published three books of her own designs and has made an instructional video on Milanese Lace through Hensel Productions. OTHER ACTIVITIES We will have the IOLI Lace Study Box available to study, there are over 80 pieces of lace in the box to look at, photograph, study and diagram. What fun! -------------------------------------- Laurie J Hughes Senior Research Associate New England Research Institutes, Inc 9 Galen Street, Suite 117 Watertown, MA 02472 v: (617) 923-7747 x341 f: (617) 926-8246 e: [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.neri.org - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
