Noelene wrote: ... The lace fairs in the UK and Europe people talk about seem well patronised, we have nothing like that here in Australia. So keep your emails coming in about new books and products, otherwise we'll never know what's available at least by mail order! ============================================================== Well, no lacemaker lives in lace heaven. I am close to the Lace Museum and to Lacis and between them, there is still quite a bit that is not available. My first, second and third place to look is on line, if only to get pricing and availability.
Like other Guilds, we have the IOLI annual convention which is well attended by vendors, but there is nothing in the US close to an actual Lace Fair. The US and Australia have vast distances to cope with, so even our regional events cover a lot of ground. And in countries that don't have a tradition of lacemaking (the US lacemakers inherit the tradition from Europe along with our names and language) access is even more difficult. In my area, the fabric shops are closing down, too. Although some people sew their own clothes, it simply isn't as prevalent as it used to be. Most fabric places that are still open are Quilt shops with a different clientele than general fabric shops. What troubles me more is that more and more threads simply go out of production. I feel a loss whenever I get the news that something else is gone that I never had a chance to try; although Brenda takes a lot of the sting out with her wonderful book comparing threads. Sigh . . . But all is not lost! We lacemakers are a clever lot and will persist through it all. I am going to try making a scarf with microfiber yarn just to see how it turns out. A lot of the excitement in lacemaking is the continuing invention of new laces (Lutac, Rosa Libre, etc.)and non-traditional materials (like my own personal favorite - wire!) We solve our problems with the tools and materials at hand. Musingly Patty - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
