2015 IOLI Convention in Coralville, Iowa

[Jean Leader]

The International Organization of Lace, Inc. (IOLI) and the Doris Southard Lace Guild cordially invite you to attend the 2015 IOLI Convention in Coralville, Iowa from Monday, July 27 to Saturday, August 2.

If you are interested in making lace, collecting lace or just learning about lace you can find out more about the convention in the 2015 Convention Invitation.

[Barbara Gordon]

Getting a wee bit closer to home...maybe!  I sure hope so.

[Lorelei Halley Administrator]

Thanks for posting this.

[Elizabeth Ligeti]

I understand that getting there is not quite straight forward. Can you, please,  briefly give me an idea as to the travel there from, say, Seattle!   (Well, you never know - we might be able to make another trip. DH was asking where the next Convention was being held - so he seems to enjoy them too!!!!!

[Anita Hansen]

Elizabeth, I assure you it won't be a problem! For those who will be flying to Iowa, you will want the Eastern Iowa airport (CID). It is closer to Cedar Rapids, but only 20 miles north of the hotel. Unfortunately, there is no free hotel shuttle. Instead, you can rent a car at the airport, take a taxi or arrange for a shuttle. We will have more information on the website about shuttles. The more people who arrange to ride together the better cost per person. From the airport it is a straight shot down Interstate 380 to Interstate 80, then a couple miles east to Exit 242 and you are there!

For those attendees who may be interested in taking AmTrak, it is possible but perhaps not as straight foreward. The nearest station is in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa (on the California Zepher line) which is a small town perhaps an hour to the south. Again, it is a straight freeway shot north to I-80, but I don't believe there are any taxi or rental cars available in town. You would need to make prior arrangements. Alternatively, you could take AmTrak to Chicago and catch a bus to Iowa City (which is adjacent to Coralville). I would have to check with the hotel to see if the bus station is within the range of their shuttle service.

Some of this will be mentioned in the bulletin (as space permits), but we are planning to have as much information as possible on the website too. If anyone still has questions please don't hesitate to ask! We would like to welcome as many of you as possible to Iowa! Just keep in mind the shifted dates of our convention when making travel arrangements. We will be starting on MONDAY not The usual Sunday.

[Sally Olsen]

Elizabeth -  

I assume that you travel from Australia to Seattle to visit friends or relatives.  From Seattle, you can fly to CID, a.k.a. the Eastern Iowa Airport, on Delta with one stop at the Minneapolis/St Paul Airport, MSP.  If you fly on American, you'll probably go through Chicago O'Hare.  If you fly on United, you'll probably go via Denver or O'Hare.  

At CID there are non-stop flights daily to and from Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, Dallas, Denver and non-stop flights on a non-daily basis to other locations.  Allegiant Air, American, Delta, Frontier, and United are the commercial airlines at CID.  

I hope to see you and DH.

- Sally

[Elizabeth Ligeti]

Thank you both for that information.  It sounds easier to get there than I was led to believe. Good!!

No, we will Not be driving while over there. We are used to driving on the left, and I don't think DH would convert to Right hand drive so easily these days.

We will have to see how things turn out! Yes, Sally, - we would be visiting our daughter and family in Seattle, and then  "just make a detour," on the way back to LAX and home to Melbourne, Australia!!!   (Some detour!!)  

I have managed to get to 5 Conventions, - and had so much fun, made so many friends, - and learned a lot, too.  If we can possibly get in another trip we will do so, but age is catching up- unfortunately. The mind is willing, but the body can't always keep up, these days.  However, I am crossing fingers, and toes, etc.....!!!!!!!

[Sally Olsen]

My mother and I enjoyed your class in Denver, Colorado.  My father visited my sister's family while we were making lace.  

Last summer I had a wonderful time attending the lace congress in Adelaide, South Australia.  I stopped in Auckland on the way back to the US and visited "cousins".  I had a few days in the Bay area before attending the Sacramento convention.  I enjoy learning to make lace and always make new friends.  

[Anita Hansen]

Elizabeth we would certainly like to welcome you and your husband to America's mid-west! I recall meeting you both in 2010 at the Portland convention. I don't know if our paths crossed in Bethesda or St. Paul.

One thing we need to warn people about is there is a HUGE convention at the hotel the weekend prior to ours. It is the reason why we must start a day late. Consequently, NO hotel rooms are available in Coralville for Saturday evening. This shouldn't be a problem for most of our attendees because you will likely be arriving Sunday or Monday. But if anyone should wish to arrive early in the area we recommend finding a hotel room in Cedar Rapids or nearby areas for Saturday evening. If you have a car you can easily drive down to Coralville when rooms are available Sunday evening. If anyone is flying in, the airport is the same and the Cedar Rapids Marriott offers a free shuttle pickup. The bad part will be figuring out how to get you to Coralville. Taxis are an option, but expensive. If anyone is in this situation please let us know and we will see what we can do. Maybe there are other attendees with cars that will be there and can offer a carpool? Sally and I both live in CR and may be able to offer a ride if our schedule permits on Sunday. Or we might be able to recruit other local members or our spouses. Again, this is only if you wish to arrive extra early.

Also, for those planning to drive or rent a car, our venue is in a much smaller metropolitain area than most of the recent previous conventions. Personally, that would be welcome news to me since I don't like driving in large unfamiliar cities!

[Elizabeth Ligeti]

Sally I remember you and your mother at Denver. That was my first convention. I taught Reticella in the mornings and Gros Point in the afternoons (or the other way around!)

Anita I was at Portland, and also Bethedsa, and Salt Lake City, and Sacramento.  Such fun!!

We will have to see how we are in the New Year. DH is 81 now, and I am only a couple of years  younger, so we have to take things bit by bit. Still, we like to have "Possible Plans" to work towards - and IOLI conventions after a trip to visit family is always there!

[Lorelei Halley Administrator]

IOLI's pinterest page has photos of relevant lace types, and a map of the town.

https://www.pinterest.com/iolilace/ioli-2015-convention-july-27-aug...

[Lorelei Halley Administrator]

class info

http://internationalorganizationoflace.org/Conventions/2015Conventi...

[Sally Olsen]

Barbara Bulgarelli, the convention registrar, has just provided updated information on convention classes.  The I.O.L.I. website will be updated.  To summarize, space is still available in: Jane Atkinson's class, Jean Leader's Thursday class, both of Susie Johnson's classes, Holly Van Sciver's classes, Karen Thompson's afternoon class, Bobbi Donnelly's classes, Sylvie Nguyen's morning and Thursday classes, Dagmar Beckel-Machyckova's classes, Susan Wenzel's classes, Kim Davis's classes, Loretta Holzberger's Thursday class, Karen Bovard's A.M. & P.M. classes, Diane Willett's classes and Elizabeth Kurella's classes.  About 1/3 of those classes only have one seat left, so if you have not registered for convention because you the class you wanted was full and now there is space, register NOW!  We look forward to seeing you in Coralville.