Your challenge this time is to participate in Maggie Hensel-Brown’s Community Lacemaking Project. If you have never made needle lace, this is an opportunity to learn by making a small leaf. If you have made needle lace before, this is an opportunity to demonstrate your skill. A page of leaf patterns, 38 pages of instructions and two video lessons are provided.
After you make a leaf, please remember to take a picture, and send the picture to challenge@internationalorganizationoflace.org with your name, location, size of leaf, materials and your comments. Instructions for mailing the leaf to Maggie are available through her website. There is a link to the website near the end of the details that follow.
You are welcome to contribute as many leaves as you want for this challenge and for Maggie Hensel-Brown’s Project. Deadline for mailing leaves to Maggie is mid-March 2024. Deadline for emailing pictures to IOLI is March 31, 2024.
WHAT IS THE COMMUNITY LACEMAKING PROJECT?
The community lacemaking project will be a single, large piece of lace to be exhibited in Sydney in mid 2024. It will measure at least three square metres.
A tapestry of small needle lace motifs, designed and pieced together by Maggie Hensel-Brown, but made by hundreds of others.
Needle lace is a centuries old tradition whose practitioners are severely dwindling in numbers. The aim of this community project is to introduce the basic stitches of needle lace to a broad range of new lacemakers, work together in small community sewing groups, and create a single large physical piece. A visualization of all of the hands and thoughts and moments that have gone into the stitches.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
IN PERSON: Maggie will be hosting a series of sewing circles. Stitchers will be introduced to the basic principles of needle lace, and will each produce a small motif to add to the overall piece. These circles will pop up between September 2023 and April 2024, mostly around NSW Australia, but also in other areas around Australia and overseas. You can be updated via the mailing list or on instagram on when and where these classes are happening.
ONLINE: For those unable to make it to any of the in-person sessions, there are digital instructions. Participants can gather materials, download a pattern, and stream a video lesson. They can then post the sampler to Maggie to be joined onto the tapestry.
The video links are now live, and you are welcome to start stitching. Any samples for the finished project will need to be sent to Maggie by mid-March. Video links are on Maggie’s website at: https://www.maggiehenselbrown.com/community-lacemaking
There you will find a form to use to contact Maggie for Postal details, questions and updates on the project.
All instruction, whether in-person or online, will be free for participants.