In a message dated 1/31/05 5:43:21 AM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> Giving the "masses" what they they need/want without actually asking them. > Big businesses - and that's what local authorities are - look at a very broad > picture not details/individuals. > Dear Lacemakers, Maine is a state with a population of about 1.5-million. This is about the population of many large cities. Compare the land/lake area of Maine (approx. 33,000 sq. mi. in my 1955 atlas) with that of many nations on a map or in an atlas! We must travel by auto in most of the state. The few Maine lacemakers would never expect any "local authority" to offer a lacemaking class. We know the people we like to share time with, and when we want to get together it is in private homes. The number that can participate is rather limited because of the long distances one must drive. However, we've found a lovely set of friends whom we trust in our homes. I think that the most we've ever had show up in one place was 6. This number will fit in most living rooms. (I am even remembering one of my early lace teachers in New Jersey whose living room was actually tiny. She did not let that stop her from teaching 4 or 5 people at a time.) Advantages: No dues and no need for keeping financial records. We do not have to keep minutes. (I do list who was at any meeting in my home on my calendar.) We can now communicate by e-mail, so no costly long distance phone calls. We concentrate on lace and talk about lace events and lace groups (such as Arachne) to keep each other informed. It is lovely, and anyone with a small living room could privately invite a few friends in for a few hours, just as they might for a private dinner party. Suggestions: Bring your lace supplies and a sandwich; hostess serves cup of tea. For older lacemakers, starting about 10 a.m. to after lunch or sometime in the afternoon will serve well. If you work and want to meet at night, Fridays work well - because for most women there is less need to get up early next morning, no children to get off to school, etc. If you have doubts about a person, why not arrange to have lunch together to get to know more about her before inviting her home? Or, just invite one person at a time to come to your home and lace with you, until you can decide which ones would be compatible. Don't make any promises at first. You could suggest the two of you do some complicated homework together before your next official class. Be very careful about loaning books or supplies. Put away your valuables, if they are a cause for concern. Consider that we have in our Maine lace friends who occasionally meet: Tess, Lori - the Lace Fairy, Elaine - a super tatter well-known in the tatting world (she receives commissions to make tatted items for museum houses and magazines), and myself. A day's drive away, and rarely seen, is Diane Zierold who occasionally writes to Arachne. There are a couple others whose names you would not recognize on Arachne. When we come together, it is to talk and lace, each with a different lace focus. Think of what would be missing (even to Arachne) if we were not very committed to lace, sharing, and encouraging each other. Lacemakers often make the best best friends - they are not invested in your personal and professional problems, and sometimes share the best insight and comfort precisely because they are not. Jeri Ames in Maine USA Lace & Embroidery Resource Center - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
