[lace] teachers & teaching
Hello All! Others have named good teachers & I've been fortunate to be on the receiving end in their classes. So Bravo--keep up the good work! However, I'd like to make a point using my embroidery experiences. There are some wonderful embroiderers (& lacemakers!) out there. They are quick to develop a concept & run with it, their work product is beyond reproach--BUT--they can't teach their way out of a paper bag. Sorry--it's the truth. They are simply incapable of conveying their knowledge to anyone else. Can DO, but can't teach embroidery. I've sat in class only to realize I signed up for several hours of nothing. Nor am I the only student who has come away from these events with glazed eyes saying "huh??"!! Actually, some of the best teachers are not (compensated) teachers at all. They are the friends & mentors who nudge in the right direction or gently point out the error. In that regard, Arachne members clearly lead the pack. Ever grateful here. Sincerely,! Susan Hottle, Erie, PA USA - 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/
[lace] Lace Teachers
To follow the discussion I had 2 brilliant bobbin lace teachers. I started lace when I was 26 years old and a very new Mum. Jenny Fisher was my first teacher, quite demanding and exacting but I learnt the basics when I couldn't get to regular classes, she had private classes for me (and my toddler) in her home. She would show me the next few stages, give me a few notes and a handful of prickings that kept me going for a while. I didn't have that much time since I was also completing my teacher training at the time. Soon child number 1 was joined by his brother and the older one was at preschool. So another Mum and I hit on the idea that we would look after each other's babies while the eldest were at preschool. We would do the initial child grab at preschool, she would go and teach at the university. At lunch time she would collect our babies and take them to her home and I would go to my afternoon lace class and after class I would reclaim my 2 from my friend. This went on for 2 years and very successfully. And the children loved their mixed up days. My second teacher was Margaret Holt to whose class I went on those afternoons. both Margaret and Jenny were instrumental (amongst others) in setting up the Australian Lace Guild in 1979. Margaret taught textiles at teachers college where her classes were first held, when she became too sick her classes were transfered into her home where her father insisted that we kept coming regardless of how sick Margaret was since we cheered her up. She encouraged us to fly, once we had the basics it was a case of what do you want to learn next, so we would all work on something different, and we would all explore different styles, a bit of beds a bit of bucks then back to torchon etc. AND she encouraged us to design. One of our number could sketch flowers and her legacy is a portfolio of sketches for lace patterns. Our job was to put in the correct fillings and work a sample. I learnt so much from both teacher, and since then my main source has been books. Anna from a sunny Sydney - 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/
[lace] sorry
I just sent a message on my tablet with the incoming message still attached. I haven't found out how to delete it, but I'm working on mastering this thing Malvary in Peterborough on holiday - 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/
RE: [lace] learning on your own
When I started learning from a book after a visit to England where both my mum and Jacquie had started. I bought 6 pairs of bobbins and started with the lessons in Golden Hands. When I'd been working on my own for some weeks I heard about a class in my own town with a teacher from Toronto. When she saw what I'd done she said "It's not very good is it. Of course, you are using cotton and you can really only make good lace using linen thread". Funnily most of the people who took the course with her were not able to progress with the bookmark she had started them on because she hadn't explained the process adequately and had the students working pin to pin not letting them know stitch names or what they were doing. I worked on from the books and was then able to help them to finish their project after we formed our first Ottawa Lace group. Its replacement lace group, The Ottawa Guild of Lacemakers has just celebrated its 25th anniversary. Malvary on Peterborough where I'm spending a few days away on holiday to see the beautiful fall colour > From: jdhamm...@msn.com > To: lizl...@bigpond.com; lace@arachne.com > Subject: Re: [lace] learning on your own > Date: Tue, 22 Oct 2013 16:29:27 +0100 > > Hi Arachnids, > > That is as appalling as some of the students in my class who had a previous > teacher who would never show or teach them how to start or finish a piece > nor how to turn a corner (she used to take their pillow home with her and > did it for them to "help" them). She also put them completely off doing > picots or leaves with her comments - they do their own starts and finishes > now and do leaves/picots/corners as and when needed; although one is still > reluctant to do picots. I am just thankful that she could not kill their > enthusiasm for lace altogether. > > I feel that they would have been better off learning from a book, although > that is not for everybody either. > > Happy lace making. > > Joepie in East Sussex, UK where it is raining hard again. > > > -Original Message- > From: Elizabeth Ligeti > Sent: Tuesday, October 22, 2013 3:31 AM > To: lace@arachne.com > Subject: [lace] learning on your own > > Up in the Top End (of Australia), <. ...> (1980s), I remember > someone > looking at my Beds lace I > was working on, and wishing she knew enough to move on to Beds and Bucks Pt. > laces. Her teacher was keeping her on little torchon edges, - and she told > me she had "only been learning for 3 or 4 years, so was not knowledgeable > enough to move to another lace yet" !! I am Still appalled about that, and > have never forgotten it! Exploitation, - like the "bums on seats in class" > comment. > > Regards from Liz in Melbourne, Oz. > > - > 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/ - 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/
Re: [lace] Translation of Lace Terms
I am also very appreciative of his work! Quite a few years ago, I was trying to learn Flanders with J.E.H. Rombach-de Kievid's "Flandrische Spitze" (German edition). My German-English dictionary was not much help. But, our next-door neighbors at the time seemed to be a perfect resource! He was a German, and she was an American who had studied German and was fluent and had been a translator for the state department! So I arranged a time when we could go down and all would be revealed! That's when I realized how difficult this is! While these two people speak and understand the German language (particularly with regard to Engineering and International Relations), they do not know lacemaking and therefore do not know which German words have been adopted and/or modified to describe lacemaking! The man actually got on his phone and called his mother in Germany, on the outside chance that she knew something about lace! That gave us no more information. Eventually, someone on this list sent me a single page with "Woordenlijst" at the top, and translations (from Dutch) to English, French, and German. This helped a lot. However, what pleases me so much about this new resource on the OIDFA site is that it encourages lacemakers to add more words and more languages which need translation! Thank you, thank you, for filling this need! Clay In Virginia, USA Sent from my iPad On Oct 22, 2013, at 12:15 PM, Donna Fousek wrote: > Thank your husband for doing that. I gave it a dry run and found it works. It > will come in handy for us all at sometime in the future. - 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/
[lace] Lace teachers
A couple of points have occurred to me while reading this subject. Firstly, not every teacher will "click" with every student. Some students will learn better from one teacher than from another. The second point is that some teachers are not so good at teaching the techniques of lace-making, but are inspirational when it comes to design. One in particular, I saw giving a class, which was in my opinion awful. Nevertheless, her work, and attitude to design, inspired me to start to design "free" lace for myself - and that was a huge step for me. Kathleen - 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/
Re: [lace] Translation of Lace Terms
Thank your husband for doing that. I gave it a dry run and found it works. It will come in handy for us all at sometime in the future. - 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/
Re: [lace] learning on your own
Hi Arachnids, That is as appalling as some of the students in my class who had a previous teacher who would never show or teach them how to start or finish a piece nor how to turn a corner (she used to take their pillow home with her and did it for them to "help" them). She also put them completely off doing picots or leaves with her comments - they do their own starts and finishes now and do leaves/picots/corners as and when needed; although one is still reluctant to do picots. I am just thankful that she could not kill their enthusiasm for lace altogether. I feel that they would have been better off learning from a book, although that is not for everybody either. Happy lace making. Joepie in East Sussex, UK where it is raining hard again. -Original Message- From: Elizabeth Ligeti Sent: Tuesday, October 22, 2013 3:31 AM To: lace@arachne.com Subject: [lace] learning on your own Up in the Top End (of Australia), <. ...> (1980s), I remember someone looking at my Beds lace I was working on, and wishing she knew enough to move on to Beds and Bucks Pt. laces. Her teacher was keeping her on little torchon edges, - and she told me she had "only been learning for 3 or 4 years, so was not knowledgeable enough to move to another lace yet" !! I am Still appalled about that, and have never forgotten it! Exploitation, - like the "bums on seats in class" comment. Regards from Liz in Melbourne, Oz. - 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/
[lace] For Lyn Bailey
Dear Lyn, On numerous occasions I've tried to reply to your emails privately but your server won't let me. Tonight I tried to send you some pictures of the Poppies. Alas they were returned. Can't you possibly change this set up? David in Ballarat, AUS - 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/
[lace] Good teachers
Good teachers abound, actually. Too many to really be listed. There are some rotten apples, but they are few, and word gets around. And even good teachers are not necessarily a good fit for all students. Good teachers can have bad days. You can learn something from everyone. Some more easily than from others. But we are lacemakers, and we think. The teacher is there for you, not the other way around. This is not public school, where you have to be there. We are adults and we are buying a service. Do what she says in class, but if you disagree, go home and do it your way. If it's working, continue, if not, go elsewhere or learn on your own. There are lots of very good books out there, and plenty of people who will help you just for the love of lace. Lyn in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA, where the good weather continues. Rain expected later, with clouds, but we've had great weather for quite a while. Fall in south central Pennsylvania is a pleasant time. Sweater weather. - 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/
[lace] Teachers
I was lucky enough to start my lace-making life with Nena Lovesey. She lent me bobbins and a pillow and started me off on Torchon lace. I couldn't attend a regular class, but saw Nena quite often, and learned so much from her, not only about making lace but about its history. I carried on on my own with books by Doreen Wright and Pam Nottingham. I tried Bedfordshire lace, but hated it - I love its appearance, but not all those plaits and picots! I wanted to make Bucks, but decided I needed a teacher, and signed up for a week-long class with the late great Marjory Carter, in my opinion, the best teacher I have ever met. I took a week-long course with her for many years, progressing to floral Bucks, and enjoying every minute. More recently, I moved to Belgian laces, and am lucky enough to go to Bruges most years, with the Mole Valley lace group. I have studied Flanders lace with Anne-Marie Verbeke-Billiet, and Duchesse with Marie-Anne Claeys-Baekeland. They are both wonderful teachers, but Marie-Anne has recently retired from teaching. I have just returned from a week in Bruges - I returned to Flanders after a long break and Anne-Marie was just as inspirational as ever. Lace means so much to her, that she puts herself completely into passing on her knowledge, and seems to be able to help every student, at whatever stage they are at, in their lace. Kathleen In a very wet and windy Berkshire, UK - 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/
[lace] Re: Name the Good Teachers, Please!
Sorry, for the book I mentioned I had the wrong title--it was "The Torchon Lace Workbook" by Bridget Cook. Nancy Connecticut, USA - 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/
Re: [lace] Name the Good Teachers, Please!
I am to some degree self-taught, starting with the Introduction to Torchon Lace to get the basics. Mistakes in that book, however, so I'm not sure I'd recommend it to anyone who is not rather analytical and can work through the mistakes. Then on to Bucks and Binche, and now old Binche/Valenciennes, with detours into Milanese, Beds, and Honiton. The last three were in classes, all with good teachers: Louise Colgan, Jean Leader, and Christine Hawken. Two terrific teachers are good for students who like very analytical approaches, Ulrike (Lohr) Voelcker and Holly Van Sciver. They are great on details, historical information, and the 'why' of various techniques and alternatives. I love their classes. Nancy Connecticut, USA On Monday, October 21, 2013 10:45 AM, "jeria...@aol.com" wrote: ...But, please name the GOOD ones!... - 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/
