I was one of those "rogue" students to lacemaking. I joined a guild, attended about six weeks of two-hour meetings (classes), and then was forced to drop out due to illness. I had already been totally smitten by the lace bug, however, and since our local teacher did not make "house calls", I turned to the internet where I found the generous support of other lacemakers. I also discovered eBay, where I found a treasure-trove of books and supplies which I "couldn't live without". (not altogether true, but at the time they seemed priceless!)
At about the same time, I learned that at my tender youthful age, I was going to be a grandmother. And just to be sure that I had not missed the significance of this transition in my life (read: NOT youthful), BOTH of my offspring made this announcement within days of each other. So I decided that Torchon just "wasn't suitable" for baby lace, and turned to Bucks, which I essentially taught myself with the aid of books gleaned from eBay (and the help of my "mentor" who lived over the mountain). So within the time available to me, I produced four yards of simple Bucks lace with which to trim two modestly lacy, subtly smocked Christening Gowns for my two (you guessed it...) grandsons. When I look at this lace now, I see how clumsy my efforts were. But there is no questioning whether the lace is handmade or not!! (vbg) I spent some time after that exploring other laces, taking workshops in this and that... (that IS the American way!), before I rediscovered Torchon. A pattern for a bookmark which was offered on the Australian Lace Guild website caught my fancy, and I ended up working this over and over again, and enjoying each attempt. Some of my basic skills improved dramatically as I worked this pattern again and again, and I came to appreciate the structure of this very versatile lace. I'm now very immersed in a completely different form of lace, but I don't think I could have gotten there without the essentials I gained from Torchon. Clay Clay Blackwell [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
