I grew up in New York City, but in Queens, on the north shore of Long Island.
I always thought that if you couldn't find it in the city, i.e., Manhattan, it
didn't exist. Living in Pennsylvania for the last 40 years, however, I
discovered that when it comes to fiber arts, knitting, quilting, embroidery,
smocking, etc. New York, my Mecca for a lot of things, is not the place. It is
in the suburbs, if not the 'countryside' where you find the really nifty fiber
arts stores, the yarn shops, the quilting stores, weaving, spinning. No
stationary lace shops in the entire US that I'm aware of, although I'd be
thrilled if someone could prove me wrong. Embroidery as it is done in the US
is not designing and then executing the design, but executing someone else's
design. A number of years ago I went to NYC with the idea of finding an Uber
yarn shop. No such thing available. Same with Philadelphia. The really nifty
yarn shops are elsewhere. I live in Lancaster, where quilting i
s a really big deal, being near the Amish, and that is where the most frequent
fiber arts creativity is found. Design, color selection, execution. Becuase
there is usually no such thing as fabric you can buy according to a book, but
by choice at the store of your choice, there is more creativity there than
usually in embroidery. True Amish quilts can be simple works of art. On the
other hand, the fabric shops in certain areas of Manhattan and Philadelphia are
wonderful, as was the old G Street Fabrics in Rockville MD, outside of
Washington DC. I have seen field trips to G Street Fabrics, but not recently. I
hadn't been there in years, went back and found out they'd moved. Seemed to be
under new management. Perhaps the torch has been passed to one of their other
stores, perhaps the one in Alexandria Virginia.
I suspect that the lack of yarn shops in DC also might have something to
do with the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, held the first weekend in May
outside of Baltimore, which is very near Washington DC, for our non-USA
readers. If you spin, weave, knit, crochet, do anything with wool, raise
sheep, that is the place to go. Vendors come from all over the country. So
those looking for exotic yarns who live in the area either go to their local
yarn shop, go online, or wait for the Maryland Sheep and Wool.
The National Museum of African American History, future exhibition site of
the Harriet Tubman shawl which was discussed a while back, doesn't open until
2015. However, they are showing exhibits at their gallery in the American
History Museum part of the Smithsonian complex. I wonder if they could be
persuaded to exhibit this in some way to the members of the convention. There
are a few pieces of lace on display, if you know where to look, but only as a
part of another exhibit. No lace exhibits standing alone, as they do so
magnificently at the V & A in London.
Likewise, there is a behind the scenes exhibition of the very large
collection of lace owned by the Smithsonian, which is shown to a select few I
believe the third Thurdsay of the month. Perhaps they could be persuaded to do
a larger exhibit of such amazing artifacts to members of the convention.
The Smithsonian is an absolutely amazing conglomeration of museums, mostly
on the Mall between the Capitol and the Washington Monument in Washington DC.
For those from a distance who are able, do spend a few extra days in the area.
It probably would take 5 days, 9-5 to see it all just a little. But picking
and choosing would still be excellent just in one day. The museums are free.
Easy to reach by Metro.
-----Original Message-----
>From: Lorelei Halley <[email protected]>
>Sent: Aug 31, 2010 12:16 AM
>To: [email protected]
>Subject: [lace] Bethesda
>
>Liz
>Art quilts are the most serious and commonly practiced textile craft in the
>U.S., all over the country, as far as I can see.
>
>
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