Summer, Finally (and our plans for it)

Summer weather has appeared! I hope everyone who can, is out and about, soaking up the long-awaited sunshine.

Our city has opened up once more, and we’re feeling comfortable enough to plan a few diversions over the summer:

Meetings at the Park:

We’re resuming our summertime meetings at Queen’s Park in New Westminster! We meet, typically, in or near the Rose Garden, with the meetings running from 10 to 1. Anyone is welcome. We usually each bring a folding chair and a table for our pillows, plus our lunch. There are washrooms close by and the area we sit in is shaded. If you think you might come, it is a good idea to make sure you’re on our meeting email list – sometimes these meetings are cancelled at short notice, due to inclement weather or conflicting events. Our first meeting in the Park will be July 28th

International Lace Day is Tomorrow, June 26th:

We always like to celebrate International Lace Day by taking pictures of ourselves making lace wherever we are. This year, there is an optional theme: “tea”. You could dress up in your floweriest frock and hat, put on your white gloves, and take your picture with you drinking tea beside your pillow (pinky appropriately raised, of course) or send in a mouth-watering picture of your tea table, or celebrate tea however you want. Or not. It’s up to you.

London Heritage Farm on August 7th:

We will be demonstrating lace at the London Heritage Farm “Family Fun Day”, on Sunday, August 7th. We will be in a marquee tent in the grounds, and Ivan Sayers may have a display of period lace in the farm house itself.

That’s the summer we’ve planned, and after the past couple of years, it seems full of events! I think we’re all looking forward to more fun this summer, better weather, and of course, lots of lacemaking.

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Springtime!

What a treat it is to go out into the world, hear the birds, and see all the trees in bud and the flowers coming up. I’m already feeling happier and more optimistic, and we’re only a few days into Spring!

Our next lace club meeting is this Thursday, March 24th, at our regular meeting time and place.

While spring cleaning last month we found a few treasures in our storage room, and a few of us came home with more thread or supplies than we went with! We’ve still got some sorting to do; who knows what will turn up. I hope to enjoy your company on Thursday.

February Meetings

Our next in-person meeting at the church in New Westminster will be on February 24th. Come, sit and make lace and chat! We will also be having a little show and tell of some threads that are now available downtown at Dressew Supply, and some members will be re-organizing the Aladdin’s Cave we call the storage room, so if you’ve ever wondered what’s in there, this is the meeting to attend!

For everyone’s safety, we are still following the social-distancing recommendations that were put in place last year – we’re double-vaxxed, we sit spaced apart, and we wear masks when we get up and move around the room.

With A Heavy Sigh…

Sadly, the Getaway that was planned for Chilliwack in March, has been postponed. We all know why – Omicron, I’m looking at you – but we also know that we’re getting through this pandemic and one day it will be a thing of the past and we’ll meet again at the Getaway.

It just won’t be in 2022. Probably 2023.

Merry Christmas!

On December 9th we had a very successful Christmas luncheon. We had several tables in our usual meeting room, covered in our Christmas tablecloths. A small table in the middle of the room held a display of Christmas lace items we’ve made through the years. We brought in take-out food from the local White Spot, where we would have been eating in other years. Then Irene put out all our sale items and we were able to pick out some lovely bobbins and other items.

We were so happy that some members were able to come to the luncheon, who we haven’t seen in several years. Their presence made the day even more festive.

Several members brought gifts – thank you all! – and one of those was a free lace pattern from LOKK, the Dutch lace guild. Some of us were wondering just how the long strip of lace made an angel, so of course I had to make it. I’ve put up a page in our Patterns section (in the top menu bar), showing the completed lace piece and how to finish it. It was fun to make. The page also has a link to the free pattern page on the LOKK website, where you will find the pattern “Engel, staand of hangend”.

I hope everyone is well, and I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Christmas Festivities

This coming Thursday – December 9th – is our annual Christmas lunch, plus our long-awaited sale!

• Location: our regular meeting place, 320 – 8th Street in New Westminster
• Time: 10 am to 1 pm (regular meeting hours)
• lunch will be ordered from the local White Spot early on Thursday morning for pickup at 11 am; take a look at their online main menu and email your order to Christine by Wednesday. She will take care of the ordering, and you will need to bring cash to the luncheon to reimburse her – remember to add tip and tax to your calculations!
• we will also have the Estate Sale that we originally planned for November, 2019! That was delayed for weather and Christmas and the next thing we knew the world had shut down. So, bring extra cash – we have some quite lovely bobbins in the sale; some finely painted, mother-and-babe, carved, and also some other lacemaking tools and specialty items you might love to have

Do you have any lace Christmas items – ornaments, etc? If so, we would love it if you’d bring them along and add them to our informal display.

Hope to see you on Thursday!

Back to Normal: October Meeting and More!

We were all happy to be able to see one another again at our September meeting, and our monthly schedule is now carrying on as it was in the past. Our next meeting will be on Thursday, October 28th. (details)

We also have a monthly get-together on Zoom, where we make lace (or knit) and socialize. If you want to take part in the Zoom, please email Betty to get on the Zoom link distribution list.

In September we were happy to welcome a new member, Rosemary, who is rediscovering bobbin lace after a long time away from the craft.

While the pandemic was on, I sadly and slowly deleted item after item from the “Events” category on our homepage. Now, things have turned around and I’ve been able to start adding! On the right side of the website home page you will find a link to the Winter Lace Conference in Costa Mesa, California, which will take place in February, 2022.

Also, our Lace Getaway is re-scheduled! Click on “The Lace Getaway” on the top menu bar, for an update about the Getaway, which will be hosted by the Abbey Hill Lacemakers of Abbotsford March 24-26, 2022. If you’re interested in attending, you should email Abbey Hill Lacemakers to be put on their email information list. I’ve updated the Lace Getaway page to include a little information about what the Getaway is, and what to expect when you’re there.

Let’s Try This Again

Hello again! We’re restarting our regular meetings, and the next one is this Thursday (September 23rd)

We’d love to welcome any members who are double-vaccinated to our regular meeting place in the church basement at 320 – 8th Street, New Westminsters. (details)

Our COVID-aware meeting plan is that we will wear masks when we are up and walking around, or leaning close to someone while looking at their work. Masks can be removed when we are seated, and we will space out the tables to a safe distance. Happily the room is so big that we can have up to 10 members attend without compromising on our distancing.

I do hope to see you there!

Meeting Tomorrow

Just a quick note to remind everyone that we are resuming our Club meetings at our regular location! Our first Fall meeting will be tomorrow, October 22nd, at 10 a.m. (Details)

We will be able to boil water, but we’re asking people to bring their own mugs as we will not be able to use the ones out of the kitchen.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Local News – Speakeasy Style

Longtime club member Ivan Sayers will display 1920s-era clothing at the Roedde House Museum, on 4 days in October. This is the Victorian house in the West End of Vancouver where many members demonstrated lacemaking on International Lace Day a few years ago. The Museum advertises:

An expansive exhibit of 1920’s fashions from local fashion historian and curator Ivan Sayers; safely distributed speakeasy-themed alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks with information about Vancouver during the Prohibition Era; a unique photo booth for guests to strike a historical pose in an authentic Victorian house (photos will be a giveaway); 1920’s-inspired hand-crafted masks available for purchase and great door prizes!

The event is being safely run (only 10 attendees at a time, and a 90-minute maximum stay) on only 4 days (Oct 2, 3, 16 and 17). A description of the event, map, and ticket sales are here.