Threads of Friendship

Dear Alice,

As you well know, George is holding the sale of all sales yesterday and today, and then again next weekend in an attempt to disperse your huge yarn stash. My gosh, Alice. I knew you had a nice stash, but there are things that we Chicks had never seen.

Mary, Ellen and I helped out yesterday (well, yes, both by reducing your stash and helping with customers) and I came home with several cones of beautiful cashmere and cashmere blends, wool, silks, cotton, linen, ramie, and some fun novelty yarns. One of the yarns I am anticipating using the most is that wool cashmere blend. Big cones...two of them...and almost 4 pounds each. Yummm. You had some linen that will make some placemats that will go nicely with our Mason 'Pink Vista' dishes! I have put that task off for too long a time.

It will be back to East Lansing next weekend to help again. We had put the word out to Michigan League of Handweavers and as many guilds as we could. We had good traffic, but there is a lot more to disperse, so I hope that folks who couldn't come this weekend will make time next weekend.

One of our customers was a volunteer spinner and knitter at Greenfield Village, who promptly put in a call to Chris and Richard Jeryan, the restorers of the jacquard loom at the Village. They made it at the end of the day, but since we three were tired and had loaded our yarns, we left before Chris and Richard checked out. George had some cards for them. Richard was looking for some 40/2 linen, which was gone. Some very nice heavier linen is still there. (I wish I had seen that the new Weavecast audio features Richard and Chris before I had gone to Lansing yesterday!)

One of the nicest comments we heard was from the woman who works at 16 Hands. A friend of hers said this when her mother had passed away and she asked all her mother's friends to come and take her mother's art materials with them as her gift. It was as if everything was going out into the world to be seen and appreciated, just as her mother had intended.

Alice, your legacy is infusing the world in many ways. I hope that there will be a nice recoup so that it will help to preserve your wonderful collection of books, papers, samples, and fabrics that are going to MSU's Museum.

Hopefully,
Nancy

ps Anyone out there who lives in or is vacationing in the lower peninsula of Michigan and needs more information on the sale of Alice's yarns, please be in touch with me for the location, dates and time of the sale.

NEWS

Dear Alice,

It has been so long since my last postcard, and I have felt so guilty because I haven't written, that I think I will just dive in. 'Just start over, Nancy' I told myself when I alighted back in Ann Arbor this afternoon. So, here goes....

Mary, Ellen and I arrived home safely at 3 p.m. +/- this afternoon after our 12 hour drive from the NEWS Conference at Smith College. We started out at as soon as I finished up Daryl's Fast Warping class yesterday and drove as far as a bit east of Syracuse, arose at 5 this morning and continued the journey at 6:30 a.m. What a wonderful time we had! This was my first NEWS (not to mention my very first trip ever to Massachusetts!!), so I took advantage of every possible class I could. I signed up for every slot. There was so much to see, so much to do, vendors to check out, weavers to talk with, people with whom I was acquainted via internet to meet in person, architecture to see, the gardens (which I missed), Elm trees the likes of which I haven't seen in the USA (the one at Carl Linneus's garden is pretty impressive) Hancock Shaker Village, Fashion Show, Gallery Show, Instructors' Show...I was exhausted! I was so wound up I couldn't sleep. The inspiration I gained at NEWS will carry me a long way for the next year.

Thank you for introducing the Chicks to NEWS. This was Ellen's third, and I think this was actually Mary's fourth (she went with you, Sonja and Lois the first time. Remember that Hot Fudge Sunday in bed?)

I'll try to get some photos posted over the next few days. However, remember that tomorrow night is a Board of Trustees meeting, tomorrow morning I am taking Steve & Courtney to Detroit Metro at 5:30, Wednesday evening I am cashier for the AAFG booth at the Art Fair, I have a few details to wrap up on the "It's Spring Alice!" jacket, and then Saturday is the beginning day of the sale of your incredible stash (for which I have volunteered to help George out).

Chelsea, Scott and Stew are all glad to see me. And, of course, there is no place like home.

Love to you, n