Bobbin lace will never be as popular as cross stitch. Or as knitting. In America it has NO background, except is small pockets, perhaps, and I've never been there. I need to finish the book on lace in Ipswich MA, to see if there are more lacemakers there than usual. Hell will freeze over before JoAnn Fabrics carries bobbins. Fine. But there are those, such as I, who will come to be passionate about this art form after a minimum of exposure.
How about trying to expose our children and grandchildren to the art. My own children presently have no interest, but they have been exposed, and I am always hopeful. My daughter weaves. My son, age 30, studying applied mathematics, started on the children's pattern used in Kantcentrum, using a cork trivet for a pillow, as we were camping in Belgium. After going to the wonderful museum in Kortrijk [sp?] he showed interest, and I made it available to him. Doing your lacemaking in public, on vacation, in groups at the train station, or in the park, or outside the quilt museum, could make a difference. Making lace at home, while the backbone of what we do, does not create more lacemakers. Lyn in Lancaster, thunderstorm, Pennsylvania. -----Original Message----- >From: [email protected] >Sent: Aug 12, 2010 1:09 AM >To: [email protected], [email protected] >Subject: Re: [lace] Fiber familiarity > >---- [email protected] 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 >[email protected] > >- >To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: >unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to >[email protected] - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]
