Hi all, First of all let me say that the conference was great! Thanks to all of the attendees for coming, thanks to the teachers who travelled far and worked hard to impart their knowledge to us, and thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make it a success. (Just as an aside: the cinnamon thing thing wasn't really a complaint; I just idly wondered out loud if we could have cinnamon for our cereal. Alice asked and they cheerfully put out a bowlful every morning.) Even with all the volunteering, I know I didn't lose any weight at the conference - the food was great!
I'll reply on the "favor" question - I was one of many people that helped make some and helped set up the banquet tables for Saturday night. Please forgive me for not knowing where all of the favors came from. I know a lot of groups donated them, but not everything was marked and as a "working 8-5" member of the host group, I didn't make it to many meetings. Wednesday night was the "Garden Party": registration, cookies and punch while we renewed old friendships. Our registration packets came with large ziplock bags - handy for putting our stuff in as we acquired things over the 4 days. Each registration book had two bookmarks made from large paperclips with tatted flowers on top. There were also pens with silk flowers attached to the tops for everyone, stored in decorated flowerpots and tins. Thursday morning we received kleenex (facial tissue) in beautiful fabric cases with handmade lace decorating the tops, bobbin rolls, and scissors cases. I believe the tissue cases were made by the lacemakers in British Columbia; not sure about the others (?). Friday morning we received tubes of mini M & Ms - the tubes are the perfect size for storing crochet hooks and other tools. I believe we also received a plastic bag with several items in it - floral stems, a mysterious little wooden peg, and something else that's eluding my poor brain. It may have been the crocheted rose bookmarks. Anyone else remember? Saturday was lace day, so no favors until the banquet in the evening, but there were three "make and take" stations for handy little things. A pin/bobbin lifter (like the plastic horseshoe), made out of plastic tubing bent in a circle with pipecleaner to join the ends; a pillow whisk made from tulle; and divider pins that you built using long doll needles and an assortment of beads. Banquet favors: small jar filled with Oregon hazelnuts (also known as filberts) decorated with a fabric top with tatted motif, ribbon and buttons; a needlecase of paper and felt with flowers stitched on the front in metallic thread, a bobbin spangle, and a cute little box from the Merle Norman cosmetic people who generously donated enough boxes for everyone at the conference. Each box contained a small handbag of sparkly red vinyl with a gold chain handle (perfect for needlelace and tatting-sized projects), and inside were sample-sized containers of mascara, face powder and lip gloss. The table centerpieces were upright wooden frames with linen bobbin lace with paper string flowers (Alice can explain better) in many colors and styles. These were given as door prizes at the end of the banquet. As Alice said, the door prizes were wonderful and too many to mention here. I'm sure I've forgotten some of the favors and hope someone else will chime in and remind me. (we started 10-hour days at work on Monday and I haven't quite adjusted, yet.) I took the beginning needlelace class with Nancy Evans (and Alice and Bev), and had a great time while learning a lot. Nancy made 3-dimensional rose patterns for us to work while we learned the stitches. I'm still working on mine, but am anxious to finish so that I can see what it will look like. We were a bit loud sometimes - we got to giggling while were were working and talking. :-) This is quite long enough; I'll let someone else talk about the other classes and events. LeAnn in Aloha, Oregon - where it's sunny and the peacock is calling at the office window. - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
