Spring 2016 - The Lace Museum

Spring 2016 Vol. 34 No. 1
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Volunteer Luncheon
Book Review
Needs of Museum
Lace of Quarter
Second Friday Sunnyvale
We Remember Vickie
Lace Museum Workshops
VOLUNTEER LUNCHEON
Our Founders: Gracie Larsen & Cherie Helm
This year's Volunteer Luncheon was held on February 29th
at the VITA Community Room in Mountain View, CA.
We had a total of 34 active volunteers in 2015, although not
all were able to attend. VITA set up a fabulous welcome
sign that is the backdrop to this photograph of the museum's
esteemed founders, Gracie Larsen and Cherie Helm. We
Joyce Ann Martin
had a delicious Italian lunch followed by some scrumptious
tiramisu made by volunteer Shirley Vernon. After lunch,
Pat Wootton gave a presentation delving into the history
and deep imagery of war lace. Some related pieces from the
collection were also on display.
We Remember Vicki…
We mourn the passing of volunteer and
Museum Board member, Vicki Satterlee
Friend in October 2015.
Vicki was introduced to the museum via a
neighbor who was taking lace making classes
at the museum. She started volunteering
almost as soon as she discovered the
museum. She became the newsletter editor in
2009; the first issue published under her
tenure was in November 2009. She
continued to edit the newsletter through the
fall of 2015. She also contributed editorial
expertise to various other museum
publications. She joined the Board of
Directors in January of 2010. She set up a
system to track monetary donations to the
museum using computer software.
Vicki coordinated and edited three Lace
Museum calendars including: 2013 – “These
are a few of our favorite laces – a thirty year
retrospective”, 2014 – “Irish Crochet in the
collection of The Lace Museum” and 2015 –
“Fine Belgian Laces in the collection of The
Lace Museum.
She was involved in many of the outreach
programs at the museum including installing our
first traveling exhibit at the Saratoga library and
smaller outreach exhibits at other area
libraries. She worked with our team of
volunteers at Vintage sales and Hands on the
Arts events at the Sunnyvale Recreation Center.
Her other interests included photographing lace,
crocheting and tatting. She crocheted many
snowflakes for the annual ornament sale, and
learned to tat in order to make additional
ornaments.
Vicki is missed very much and our condolences go
out to her family and friends.
Book Review
3D Flower Tatting, Vol. 1
Terachi Yuuko
$24.00
Looking for a fresh approach to your tatting? Terachi
Yuuko has designed some delightful 3D flowers and
berries with beads in this little book using Yuuko’s Push
Out Trick.
The trick is to overlap flat parts of tatting to create
dimension, since the patterns are continuous, there is also
a minimum of cutting and running threads.
Each pattern has the steps clearly drawn, beautifully
pictured and described in both Japanese and English.
There are no basic tatting included, as it is assumed that
the reader comes with experience.
Australian Bluebells, Cherrysage, Berry & berry,
Strawberry, Marigold, Purple Rose, Rose Cap
Suzanne Fouché
NEEDS of the MUSEUM
The Museum is in need of a replacement for
our professional clothing steamer which
broke down during the last exhibit change.
It is not necessary the cleaner is new; we
would gratefully accept one in good
working condition.
The important thing to us is that it is a
professional clothing steamer and not a
portable steamer.
Lace of the Quarter- Spring 2016
Lace of the Quarter Spring 2016
Accession 2004.0433.016
Donated by Cherie Helm
This piece has a combination of needle lace and
bobbin lace motifs popular in the nineteenth century.
The Point de Gaze needle lace motifs have
raised/layered petals for added dimension which
indicates a later nineteenth century adornment. The
Duchesse bobbin lace motifs of scrolls, flowers and
leaves embellished with raised edges and veins would
be worked by various lacemakers, usually given to
work only one pattern in a lifetime. The individual needle lace and bobbin lace motifs would then be laid
out and assembled by a master to fulfill a specific order or design.
New at the Museum
Second Friday Sunnyvale is an
opportunity to see the museum
one evening a month from 7-9pm.
It is a chance to come enjoy the
displays, work on projects and
enjoy the company of friends
when the museum is not usually
open. Sometimes we have special
guests, displays or events. Keep
watching our website, newsletter
and Mailchimp emails.
Class with Jean Leader
On February 21 and 22, we had a great
time with Jean Leader. We learned
about the use of color in Torchon as
well as some nifty starts and finishes.
Karen Alger & Donna Jeffrey
Barbara Boone and Joyce Ann Martin
The Lace Museum is happy to introduce our new newsletter
editor, Francesca Moore Miller.
The museum has joined the modern age, as Francesca lives in southern California. We asked her to tell us a little
about herself and this is what she told us:
“I have been making lace for 14 plus years. It started as an outlet instead of spinning or knitting. I could no
longer hold on to a tapestry needle or the knitting needles to make socks. I remembered that I had a friend, Lynn
Oliver, who would come and demonstrate lace making with us when we were spinning on our wheels or drop
spindles. She has the most beautiful midland bobbins that I had ever seen at the time and an even more beautiful
Simon cookie pillow. I fought the desire to delve into the whole of lace making for a while because I could not
bring home another craft! As time went on, I became frustrated with not being able to do fine handwork and
decided it was the time I looked up Lynn. It just so happened that I called her on a Wednesday that the Freeway
Lace Guild was meeting on the following Saturday.
I was attending a local lace group on Monday evenings after work. I wanted to do more than the same bookmarks
using size 5 pearl cotton from Bridget Cook's Torchon Lace Workbook. I think I made the 10 exercises at least
10 times and wanted to know when I could do more. It wasn’t until I had gone to the Freeway meeting and met
Maria Provencher that I found out that the instructor of the local group was a student of hers. My instructor did
not know too much more than the very basics because she had not had too many lessons. Well, I joined the
Freeway group right away, followed by the Hedgehog Lacers, Lace Museum in Sunnyvale, IOLI and OIDFA.
Looking forward to the convention in the summer of 2002 in Costa Mesa, California, I signed up as a white
glove hostess volunteer and the banquet. I didn’t take any classes then because I felt I didn’t know enough about
lace making to spend the money on a convention! What a time I had in just that short visit to the convention. I
wanted to go again which didn’t happen until 2006 in Montreal and I have been attending since. I did take classes
with my local teacher Betty Jo Emler to prepare for convention and the lace day classes. She became a good
friend and mentor as she taught me the basic skills of lace making. We met every week end and made lace. We
traveled to lace days, lace demonstrations and conventions together. Betty Jo encouraged me to take classes with
others so that I can learn more. I wanted to be sure that when I attended a class I would be ready for the teacher.
This is a practice that I still do; wanting to maximize my time in class.
My exposure to the Lace Museum was a Milanese class with Louise Colgan, which has become my most favorite
lace. After much trepidation, I had first taken a lace day class with Louise Colgan at the Hedgehog Lacers in the
spring of 2003. I was able to complete my moon that weekend and wanted to do more of that colored thread
lace! I had a plan to work my way through her patterns in progression when I heard about the opportunity at the
museum in Sunnyvale. What an experience it was to meet the dedicated ladies volunteering to make my time
there special and take the class. I am very grateful to them all. I must admit that I am one of those that arrive at
the post office very, very, very early in the morning on the day registration opens for the class with Louise. My
registration is dropped off at the post office with a prayer to lace angels and gods that I get in the class.
My real job keeps evolving; I started as a clinical assistant in the Post Graduate Orthodontic Program at UCLA
School of Dentistry. I was a chairside assistant, then a receptionist and now I am in academic administration. I
have been able to translate my newly learned skill set to lace making volunteer jobs.
I am very involved with my local lace groups. I see that things don’t happen if we are not working to make them
happen. I get the most pleasure when I see the smiles of my fellow lacemakers enjoying what we do as volunteers
for the group.”
We all welcome Francesca and wish her all the luck!!
3-D Needle Lace Gladiolus
By Loretta Holzberger
Sometimes I just like to do something threedimensional, especially flowers. It is fun to
create things that almost look realistic and this
spray of gladiolus does just that. To get a
dimensional flower to look like a particular
variety, it is important to study the flower
carefully to see how many petals, how they are
arranged, what the stamens look like, what the
calyx looks like, and finally what the leaves look
like. Color can be important too.
So, these are the important identifying elements
of gladiolus. They grow on long strong stems
with multiple flowers that open from the bottom
up. They come in many colors such as white,
yellow, pink, red and lavender. Each flower has
6 petals and a distinctive stamen. The flowers
face to alternating sides along the stem but still
mostly face forward. Leaves are very long and
rather narrow.
Supplies needed: Flower color and green tatting
cotton or Güttermann silk thread; #28 or #30
gauge craft wire; (It is nice to match the thread
color but gold or silver will also work.) white or
pale yellow #10 or #11 seed beads; sewing
thread for couching and wrapping; paper with
pattern copied or traced onto it; contact paper to cover pattern, two layers of muslin or other
fabric to back pattern or stiff fusible interfacing to back the pattern; tapestry needle to fit thread
size; wire cutters for cutting wire; some stem wire and floral tape.
1. Petals: Couch wire to pattern, leaving
about 2 inches extending at the bottom of
each petal. You will need six petals for
each flower and one plus a calyx for each
bud. It is helpful to put a small piece of tape over the wire ends.
2. Fill petals either from tip to base with double buttonhole stitches, side to side with pea stitch,
or a stitch pattern of your choice. Cover the edge wire with closely spaced buttonhole
stitches. Work buttonhole stitches about ¼ inch down the stem. Work the buds, calyx and
leaves in the same manner, using your choice of stitch patterns.
3. Stamens: Twist 30 inch pieces of flower-colored
thread and wire together tightly. To do this, knot
the ends together. Secure one knotted end to a
fixed object or clamp and insert a
small dowel or pencil into the loop between the wire and
thread by the other knot. Twist it until the wire and thread
are well twisted together. Secure areas to be cut with a little
Tacky glue before cutting. Cut three 5 inch lengths for each
flower. Slip a white seed bead on each of 5 ends, fold the
end over the bead and twist to hold. On the 6th end, add 2
beads before bending it down. Fold each wire/thread twist
in half.
4. Arrange the largest and 2 smallest petals
around the bundle of stamens. The largest petal faces down. Arrange the remaining 3 petals behind the first 3
so they fit between them. Secure with sewing thread. Wrap the wires with floral tape, then green tatting thread.
5. For buds, fold a bud petal in half lengthwise. Place a leaf-shaped bud calyx around it. Secure the smallest
bud to the end of a piece of stem wire with sewing thread and then floral tape. Additional buds need to be
made and wrapped separately, like the flowers and added to the stem as you wrap it with floral tape.
6. After all the buds and flowers are added to the stem, wrap the stem with green tatting thread to finish.
Gladiolus Pattern
Long Leaf 10-12”
Please check out our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ The-Lace-Museum-332034293624/
Or see our Pinterest page: https://www.pinterest.com/lacemuseum/ remember out title display is: The Lace
Museum, Sunnyvale” this is not to confused us with Lacis in Berkley.
THREADS & PINS WORKSHOP
Sponsored by THE LACE MUSEUM
~ Taught by LOUISE COLGAN
DATE: Sunday, May 22, 2016
LOCATION: THE LACE MUSEUM
552 South Murphy Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
Telephone (408) 730-4695
HOURS: 9:30 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.
FEES: $40 for the Class + $16 Kit Fee
MAKE CLASS FEE CHECK PAYABLE TO THE LACE MUSEUM.
KIT FEE TO BE PAID DIRECTLY TO THE TEACHER AT THE START OF CLASS.
WORKSHOP PRICE INCLUDES MORNING COFFEE & AFTERNOON TEA
A variety of Lunch options are located close to the Museum;
Members of the Museum Staff will be available to assist us.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Learn how to take the mystery out of selecting the proper threads and pins for
your Bobbin Lace projects. Information will be given on different types of threads used in lacemaking, as
well as methods for matching threads to prickings for a variety of lace styles. Students will be able to apply
what they have learned through a series of test exercises and will have the opportunity to start a thread
sample reference notebook.
REGISTRATION: Registration is open to any interested Lacemaker. Registration is closed, but we are
keeping a waiting list. Confirmation notices will be sent out by April 22. Cancellation after
confirmation notice may be non-refundable or incur a penalty ~ depending on whether or not the
space can be filled.
SUPPLIES: The Kit includes a reference notebook that students will be using during class. In addition, the
instructor will be mailing a supplemental supply list to each student after registrations are confirmed.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: SUE MEYER at [email protected] OR
LOUISE COLGAN at [email protected]
....................................................................................................................................................................................................………
CUT HERE AND RETURN WITH PAYMENT
Return this portion with your check made payable to THE LACE MUSEUM and mail to:
THE LACE MUSEUM Threads Workshop; c/o Sue Meyer; 552 South Murphy Avenue; Sunnyvale, CA
94086 ee he orkshop pa e o o r e s e or a a op o
Name: __________________________________ Address: ________________________________________________________________
Telephone: ____________________ Email: ______________________________________ LACE MUSEUM Member # ________
ALL NON-LACE MUSEUM MEMBERS, PLEASE ADD $5 TO THE WORKSHOP FEE