[lace] Lace newbies and continuation of textile arts
I came into lace making accidentally by purchasing a bag of bobbins at a thrift store several years ago. I didn't know what they were, but they were cheap and looked interesting. I thought I could use them in dollhouse miniatures. Then while browsing on ebay for something else sometime later, I learned what they were. It was still a while after that before I was exposed to the craft itself. Our local library has an online listing of many local groups, and Lacemakers of the Ozarks is one of them. Most of the meetings are at one library branch or another. I visited a meeting with my bobbins, rented a pillow made of covered builders foam for a small refundable fee, and learned the basic stitches. They teach beginners for free and seem to truly love and embrace anyone who wants to learn. Some of the lace makers go to local fiber arts fairs, re enactments, period demonstrations, etc. They are always willing to show and share. This year there were quite a few very impressive bobbin lace pieces in the fair, and demonstrators took shifts at the exhibit. By the way, I was 55 when I made my first cross/twists. I have replaced builders foam pillows with real lace pillows and my collection of lace books has grown. I am now retired and hope to continue to learn and make lace along with all the other things I've always wanted to do. Ironically, I've kind of over scheduled my retirement! I don't think there is any set age or time of life for learning a new hobby/craft/skill. But the excitement passed on by those who teach and the thrill of completing a project eggs one on. To me it seems the way to advance the interest in any craft is to get out there and demonstrate where ever it can be done. Excitement and enthusiasm is contagious. Seeing a lot of bobbins on a pillow can be very intimidating, but being shown it is just a variation of some simple moves makes a person think anyone can do it. Granted, there are a lot of other things to remember besides cross/twist. Once one becomes interested, a desire for books and supplies naturally follows. Sometimes borrowing a book or a magazine leads to the purchase of the same. I agree that lace making books are expensive and sometimes hard to come by. My sister is interested in learning now, too. She is also in her 50's. Liz in breezy, cool Missouri, 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://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
[lace] Newbies, Questions and Arachne
Hi All, While there has been quite a discussion about newcomers asking questions, I thought there hadn't been quite as much emphasis on Arachne's general willingness to entertain questions. They are the lifeblood of the art of lacemaking. I have taught many people various things in the line of lacemaking and I always come away richer for the experience. After years of participating in lace, my own questions dwindle, but trying to formulate answers, now there's a way to get the brain working! I think one of Arachne's most sterling qualities is to enthusiastically answer all comers. The basics are the basics and are always a rich field of ideas, and newcomers to lace have an uncanny ability to spot inconsistencies and rote answers. Patty - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
[lace] Newbies to "Hoe-niton" lace
Dear all -- I think the following episode may gladden the hearts of proselytizing spiders, especially Devon: On Wednesday evening, five of us TerraPins (local Baltimore chapter of CRLG) were demonstrating lacemaking at the Baltimore Museum of Art (by invitation). The Museum was crowded with visitors -- dads, moms, babes-in-arms, wonderful marvelous little 8-year-olds, and every other variety of human being imaginable as walking through a museum and stopping to watch lace being made. The next night I got a phone call from an obviously eager young woman. "My name is LeAnne Boyd," she said. Could I please tell her whether "Hoe-niton" is a continuous lace. "No," said I, "it isn't." Tell me more... LeAnne and a friend had watched us on Wednesday night, and had gone on Thursday to the library and gotten out a book on lacemaking. "Hoe-niton," said she, "A Practical Guide." And there it said to hang on 8 pairs. LeAnne was much troubled by this, because the book also said that "Hoe-niton" was not a continuous lace, and she was dismayed at the prospect of having to hang on 8 pairs, only to have to cut them right off again! Needless to say, we had Lesson 1 right there on the telephone. More lacemaking demonstrations is what we need! Aurelia - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] newbies
Morning spiders one and all Welcome to all the newbies, you've joined a very friendly site, where you can glean masses of useful information and ask qurestions to your hearts content. But whereabouts are you in the world, its a big place? Kentucky is pretty big to! My question of the day, well its for a friend. When she went to the NEC 2 years ago she spotted a book of patterns for lace window decorations - you know the ones a piece of lace inside a metal ring to hang up in a window - well guess what she didn't by the book (big regret) and she forgot to take details (even bigger regret) - can anyone help track it down please? Many thanks. I'm now off to Southend, Essex for the visiting Bavarian Christmas Market - forgot to ask my brother to bring over some stollen when he visited and I'm getting withdrawl symptoms already at the thought of no stollen for Christmas. Best wishes Nicky in an overcast Suffolk, England - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] newbies
Welcome to the newbies. Please don't feel intimidated. No matter how much those of us who've been making lace for years know, there's always another type of lace which we know nothing about. In other words, we may not be newbies to the list, but we're always newbies for one type of lace or another. Margot Walker in Halifax on the east coast of Canada [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
