Dear Nancy and Elizabeth, The August 1998 lace tour connected with the Ghent OIDFA Congress took us to the Antwerp lace museum at Saint Carolus Borremus church. Our tour guide in Antwerp was Frie Wuytack, who made beautiful bobbin laces and had written 3 bi-lingual lace books. I think this museum has limited days when open, so if you can search and confirm with them the hours of operation, it would be wise. Search 'Museums of Antwerp", and you'll find a lot of information. I had a telephone company friend in Antwerp in 1998, and she took me to Plantin-Moretus Museum, which was connected with the publishing of very early books. It took quite a while to tour, and was fabulous. There were women lace makers in the family, and there was something about them in this museum. It is in the Search site suggested above. Perhaps someone in Belgium could tell us more about the Plantin-Moretus family's lace connection and articles about the Plantin family. (See plate 35 in Santina Levey's "Lace - A history".) Antwerp, now a diamond center, is the city of the Virgin Mary. Many buildings (not just religious ones) have niches carved into the corner facades, containing a statue of her. My personal friend took me to the main cathedral (I think Notre Dame), because she wanted me to see the statue of St. Mary dressed in Antwerp's finest laces and jewels. She told me the attire was changed daily, and they had many more than 365 possible options. To add more on lace, Frie Wuytack's laces were stunning, especially the lace cathedral, pictured in her 2nd book "Kant met een knipoogji", or "Lace with a touch of humour", which I believe can be borrowed from the IOLI lending library. Maybe someone in Belgium will post a site where you can see this lace. (I have been looking for quite a few years for Book one of her 3-book series. If anyone knows where I can get a used copy, I would be most grateful.) My favorite stop on the 5-day lace tour of Belgium was the National Flax and Lace Museum in Kortrijk (Courtrai in French). They had just opened the second building, which contains lace. What a lovely museum lace presentation! Again, do a search. There is more to see in this city, if you have time. My local bookshop owner has just found a used copy of a book by the founder of this museum, Bert Dewilde. It will be a great addition to my lace library. Finally, Devon wrote about the National Flax and Lace Museum. You'll find it in an old issue of the IOLI Bulletin. Always confirm days and hours of museum operation before you leave home. Jeri Ames in Maine USA Lace and Embroidery Resource Center .
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