---- dmt11h...@aol.com wrote: I find it rather discouraging that the children are not interested in bobbin lace and the adults say it is "too tedious". Is there some way we could demonstrate bobbin lace that would not provoke the "tedious" response?
When someone ask if it's tedious, I say, "I do this for fun--by definition, it's not tedious." WHen they say it must take patience, I say, "I have no patience. I don't do things that take patience." If they say it's too hard to see, I tell them about my friend who is blind and makes lovely bobbin lace. I like to bring a wide (50 pr) torchon piece to demonstrate. Then when they say it's too complicated, I show them how, no matter how many pairs on are the pillow, I only use 2 pairs at a time; I point out the pinholes on the pattern; the next pinhole that needs working is the one farthest from me; there's a pair coming from above-left and another pair coming from above-right to meet at that pinhole; then I show them how simple cross and twist are. Whenever I demonstrate bobbin lace, there are always kids who are fascinated. I try to always have a "try it" pillow and talk them through a basic pattern. There's almost always at least one who wants to spend the rest of the afternoon at the try-it pillow. I've also had adults pull up a chair so they can watch me longer and more carefully. So yes, there is a lot of apathy out there, but there's still interest. There are men (generally engineers) who are quite intrigued but are unwilling to do "sissy work". There are women that, no matter how hard I cajole, refuse to try the try-it pillow because "I'll just mess it up". But there are women who ask for class information, too. And there are kids who get their parents to start taking them to lace meetings and lace classes. Robin Dusting is tedious; making lace is engrossing! Robin P. Los Angeles, California, USA robinl...@socal.rr.com - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
