Tamara and all, I know exactly what you mean, my own grandaughter at aged 12 was so interested in lace making and being the dutiful grandmother I bought her a pillow, bobbins (plastic thank goodness) bobbin case, pincushion etc. She only made one piece of lace from then on, when I now ask her at age 15 whether she want to make some lace with me she tells me " nanny, its so boring" I am keeping the equipment for her in the hope that one day she will regain her initial interest, well I can hope can't I. Sue M Harvey Norfolk UK ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tamara P. Duvall" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "lace Arachne" <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2005 1:41 AM Subject: [lace] Re: Wear More Lace!
> On Jan 10, 2005, at 19:16, Catherine Hill wrote: > > > No, we shouldn't be giving modern lace to the young > > and beautiful in our circles of acquaintance. We > > should be teaching them to make their own modern laces > > to wear. It can replace knitting as the "next big > > thing that everyone who is anyone is doing". > > The above struck a chord... > > 2.5 yrs ago, I introduced BL and my step-granddaughter (then aged 11) > to one another. She's liked arty/crafty "stuff" from the time she was > 3, she's very bright, she used to be able to focus, and she *wanted to > learn* (or said she did). We had a couple of shortish lessons (the > attention span wasn't what one might hope for; and nowhere near that > she had at 3 <g>) while she was here, and she was a "natural" - took > off like a rocket. The year after, when she visited, we went through > the same routine, because, naturally, she'd forgotten it all, not > having had any reinforcement in more than 6 months, and no equipment of > her own. Same thing - the 3 basic stitches it took me 3 months to > learn, she learnt in 3 half-hour lessons. No problems with the two > different footsides, either, though they puzzled me for a long time, > when I was learning. And she loved it (or said she did). > > So, this time, I arranged for some support in her area (Boulder, > Colorado) - she'd have to make the initial contact, but the network was > established, thanks to Merlene Solis. And, for Christmas '03, I sent > her "kit and kaboodle" - starter kit from Holly, plus some prettier > bobbins I had (she liked the spangled ones better than the unadorned > ones I use. What child wouldn't <g>), and some extra books of simple > projects (Springetts). Figured that, by the summer of '05, when the > IOLI convention took place in Denver, I could pay for a workshop of her > choice and, and we'd spend some meaningful lace-time together, even if > not in the worshop itself. > > This spring, when I saw her, I knew it was a pipe-dream; today, I had a > message from her mother (my stepdaughter) which confirmed it: > > > I need to figure out what to do with the lace supplies you so kindly > > sent to Lily. She is not likely to ever take it up here on her own. It > > is a lovely package and I am thinking that I should just send it back > > to you. > > > > If you were here to help her, she'd maintain some interest in it, I > > am sure, but it is just not what her life is about now. She does knit, > > but she can do that lying in bed! > > I think the last sentence is the most revealing one... You can't make > BL lying in bed and talking on the phone to your buddies about your > enemies and their pimples :) And you can knit on the (school) bus or on > the subway (metro, underground), but can't make BL there. And being > able to make something unusual isn't likely to impress your teenage > (and pre-teen) friends much; not as much as your parents' being able to > buy you something unusual, or send you for holidays someplace unusual > will... > > So, yes... Let's teach. But wearing lace by the young and beautiful, > even if they didn't make it themselves has merit. And is more likely to > happen. I still wouldn't *give* the pieces to them, just lend - teach > them full accountability when they're young, instead of this "it's OK, > because I didn't mean to" when they destroy something beautiful > > -- > Tamara P Duvall http://t-n-lace.net/ > Lexington, Virginia, USA (Formerly of Warsaw, Poland) > > - > 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]
