More Lace...

Here's a few videos to wet your appetite about the Pan Celtic Lace Weekend!!
www.panceltic.ie

Kenmare Lace - Nore Finnegan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1kXB2mscK4

Irish Crochet Lace - Máire Treanor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHwhpjb_WnU

Carrickmacross Lace - Kathleen Kerley
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM53ktqsyFI

Limerick Lace - Sandra Finnegan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjgV8rklkd8

Sheelin Lace Museum
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TICGmVqfEtg

The Story of Lace

I've been so busy trying to spread the word, that I completely forgot to blog about 'The Story of Lace on my own blog!! Here's the spiel...

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The 40th International Pan Celtic Festival will be hosted in the Gaeltacht of Corca Dhuibhne/Dingle Peninsula, Co. Kerry. This year the festival hosts a lively programme, very best of food, music, singing, dancing, and Irish Lace!

‘The Story of Lace’ is an exhibition, seminar and workshop on Irish lace making.

The Exhibition, 28th April – 30th April 2011, will consist of samples of different styles of Irish lace including Irish Crochet, Kenmare, Carrickmacross, Youghal, and more.

The Seminar takes place on Friday 29th April, and is open to all. Talks on the History of Irish Lace will be given by Máire Treanor, author of Clones Lace, and Nora Finnegan, who runs the Kenmare Lace Museum, two of Ireland’s finest lace-makers. There will be a viewing of ‘'Irish Lace' from *Hands* a series of documentaries made for RTE in the 1970s/80s, on the final years of traditional rural and urban life in Ireland. At the end of the seminar, there will be a Q&A session, where you can bring along your antique lace to be identified by Máire and Nora.

Workshops 30th April 2011
Kenmare Lace with Nora and Irish Crochet Lace with Máire are taking place on Saturday 30th April. Basic sewing and crochet skills is required for the workshop and places are limited to 12.
Cost: €40 (€20 non-refundable deposit to book your place).

Please make cheque or postal order payments to Pan Celtic Corca Dhuibhne, Ionad Forbartha Gnó, Páirc Ghnó an Daingin, An Daingean, Co. Chiarraí. Registration forms to book a place at the workshop can be downloaded from the Pan Celtic website www.panceltic.ie

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For information contact me, bookings, you can contact, well, me, and anything else to do with the event, please contact me!!! No, seriously, contact me, or email woollywayATgmailDOTdom. I'll be updating about the exhibition on The Woolly Way of Ireland blog.

I am really excited, because lately I have become obsessed with lace. (Check out my Lace Inspired collection on Pinterest!). And to have 2 of Irelands expert lace-makers teaching workshops, as well as an exhibition of antique and modern lace, in my town is just fantastic. I could spiel on about lace, its history, etc, but I think you should just come to Dingle, and find out for yourself...

Its going to be a fantastic weekend, because not only is the Pan Celtic Festival on, Feile n Bealtaine also kicks off. So Dingle will be hopping!

Cork Textiles Network Conference 2011

www.deirdre-nelson.com

I'm home and finally recovering from a whirlwind trip around the country. First I went down to Cork, to the annual Cork Textile Network Conference. I wasn't going to go, but decided last minute I would. I had seen some of Deirdre Nelsons work online, and was looking forward to hearing her speak, I also managed to book the last spot in her workshop.

The lectures were great, Deirdre Nelson, Diane Harrison and Aileen Johnson. Then after a beautiful (and cheap!) lunch, it was into the workshop with Deirdre Nelson. Well... what can I say. You have to meet this lady to truly appreciate her work, her humour, her thought processes... her way of teaching.

Fantastic is the only way to describe it. Probably the most un-productive workshop I've ever done, in terms of what I made, (maybe, just maybe, I was yapping too much..), but mentally, it was astounding. I think maybe the best workshop I have ever been to, and the most enjoyable. Pure stitching soul food... (with a bit of mackerel, very unsubtly thrown in..)

At the end of the day there was supposed to be a show and tell, but we figured we'd been doing more telling than had stuff to show, so we skived off. At that stage all I had made was a shower cap for a rubber duck... You had to be there to appreciate it...

Heres what I made on day 2:

and a few pics of what others in the class made....

I think everyone enjoyed the class immensely. There was a great mix of felters, stitchers, and of course, crocheters! Deidre is doing a residency in the Sirius Arts Centre in Cobh, Contemporary Souvenirs. She is looking for people to partake, but I will put that in another post. It definitely worth its own post...

Here's some other work by Deirdre

Textile Madness in Munster

I used to moan about the lack of textile events/exhibitions, etc, happening down South, compared to the East Coast. However, this time I am moaning about how much is going on!! I just cant keep up. I had a feeling this year was going to be exciting (sanguine according to this post...), but man, slow down, or we'll be burned out before the summer...

Heres a few things going on, I'll be posting in more detail both here and on The Woolly Way

The Sewing Shed!
We're all excit'd and deligh'd for Nikki, who is moving to a bigger premises this weekend. If you are in Keel on Friday 4th March, her official opening is from 10am - 4pm.

Cork Textiles Network Conference!
The annual CTN conference kicks off this weekend.

Tread Softly!
this exhibition opens in the Cork Museum on Friday also at 6pm. Lots of CTN members in this.

Seamless; Off the Body, On the Wall!
Textile Exhibition at Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa, Cork

The Irish Coral Reef is coming to Cork!
to Farranferris College and Green Works and the opening is to coincide with the Environ 2011 conference in UCC . It'll be on display for 3 months

and finally, lastly, The Pan Celtic Lace Seminar!!!
Details of which will hopefully be announced tomorrow, (when I finally get all the blurb written up...). Keep April 27th - 1st May 2011 free in your diaries!!

So between all this, I'm trying to get my project designed and done for the International Freeform Fibre Art Guild, something interesting for the CTN photoshoot, something big for the Electric Picnic, (...and despite a suggestion on Twitter, I will not be knitting the entire Irish Cricket Team jumpers after their amazing defeat of England...)

Phew, and thats just March!