"Carrying on from the theme of beginning lace and time to practice, how much time do members here spend on lacemaking"
I, too, would like to learn how much time the really productive lace makers spend at their craft. Personally, I'm in my late 60's and still work 3 days a week. That, plus family and pets occupies much of my time. I took up bobbin lace in my early 60s so I haven't been at it for very long. I finally had time to spend on hobbies, especially since I get tired more easily and just need to sit down sometimes. It keeps my hands busy when I'm sitting. Generally, I work an hour or two most evenings while watching television. If I'm doing a special project, as I am right now, I spend several hours in the afternoon on it. Yesterday, I think I put in 5 or 6 hours. I like to do needle tatting, too. That is easy to do while watching TV because it doesn't take as much concentration and tensioning as bobbin lace. I have a backlog of project plans and books to work my way through. As for the lady who was originally asking about lacemaking as a hobby while her kids are small, needle tatting would be very suitable. One can complete small projects quickly, it's easy to pack up and keep out of reach. Very portable. Learning the basic "vocabulary" of tatting on the needle is really helpful before graduating to the shuttle, which is more challenging but still takes little space and is portable. Jean Reardon, western Pennsylvania where it's bitterly cold and snowy. - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/