New England Lace Group

05/17/2026

Lacemaking demo at American250 Plymouth, CT!

04/24/2026

Members of the New England Lace Group will be at the CT New England Sheep and Wool Growers Association festival in North Haven, CT on Saturday, April 25. We'll be in Barn #9. Come and see how handmade lace is made and have a go yourself!

04/10/2026

Looks like an amazing new Milanese book!

A closer look at the cover.

I can't stop looking at it. See the previous post for my unpacking of the first advance copy.

Patience is a virtue. We still have a while to wait while stock is shipped to the U.K.

03/27/2026

03/27/2026

03/27/2026

Members of the New England Lace Group will be out and about in Connecticut this weekend. On Saturday, we will be at the East Hartford Public Library from 10:30am to 1:30pm. On Sunday, we will be at the annual Art of Shearing event at Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington from 10am to 4pm.

Stop by and see us and learn more about lacemaking!

03/27/2026

Meet with the New England Lace Group to learn about lace and lace-making techniques—and even try making it yourself! On Saturday, March 28, at 10:30 a.m., the Historical Society of East Hartford will share examples of women's dress and lace from their collections. Visit our special exhibit of lace bobbins from collector Carol Schmartz.

For all ages. Register for a reminder:
https://easthartfordct.libcal.com/event/16304706

For more upcoming events, visit our website:
www.easthartfordct.gov/library

03/09/2026

📢 Announcing: LACEMAKERS OF TOMORROW - please share!

Dr Catherine Lillie and I are delighted to announce the line-up for this exciting Zoom event taking place on Sunday 22nd March 7-9pm GMT. I am pinching myself that we will be hosting UK lacemaking legends Jean Leader and Gil Dye to share their experiences, not to mention special guest Elena Kanagy-Loux 🙌. All our speakers are donating their time free of charge so this can be a free community event for all lacemakers of any age and experience to attend and have their say in the future of bobbin lace. I'll be sharing more info about our speakers and their talks soon but don't delay signing up: bit.ly/lacemakersoftomorrow

This event is for anyone who cares about the future of bobbin lace in the UK any beyond, how to access learning to advance and develop their own lacemaking skills, and how we ensure a steady stream of bobbin lace teachers for future generations. Please, join us. Hear from experienced teachers and join the discussion to share your own thinking: what would help you? What can we do collectively? If we had funding, how should we use it to help grow and develop the lacemakers of tomorrow?

Do 👏 not 👏 miss 👏 this 👏

03/08/2026

Maggie Hensel-Brown is collaborating with the Columbia Gorge Museum in WA state on another large-scale project. Read more here: https://www.columbiagorgemuseum.org/lace-project?fbclid=IwY2xjawQaVbtleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeZRicIaV_T6erSBf_ZwY7vx2mC54Rso2-RYazemAtu8RpJ4zt8c94z0j6mSY_aem__tIxvc2PLQnAyQmKOjSfsA

Instructional videos and clear instructions have been published on the website. The deadline for submitting your piece of lace is August 24, 2026. The opening event, revealing the final installation, will be Saturday, September 12, 2026.

     The Columbia Gorge Museum: Lacing Communities Together project with lace artist, Maggie Hensel-Brown, is an initiative to engage curiosity and educate about the heritage artform of lacemaking. As ubiquitous as lacemaking is, and perhaps you have a lace story in your family that hovers around...

02/27/2026

Are you interested in spending a long weekend making lace - either in a workshop or hanging out with the other lacemakers? The New England Lace Group retreat and workshops are taking place from Thursday, May 28 through Sunday, May 31 at beautiful Mercy by the Sea in Madison, CT.

We still have accommodation available and there are spaces in Kim Davis' Early Bobbin Lace workshop, as well as our subsidized beginner workshop with Carolyn Wetzel.

All rooms have private bath and the conference center is located on a private beach on Long Island Sound. So beautiful!

Please visit https://nelg.us/ for full details and to register online! We hope to see you there!