"My email sends out an automatic message. Arachne members, please ignore it. I read your emails."Dear Devon, et al,
I am assuming this mother lives in the US, so we have this situation. A mother, experienced in bobbin lacemaking, with two young sons and she wants them to learn bobbin lace. So, we have a teacher, two young boys, no likelihood of nearby schools, and how to teach them. First of all, she has plenty of time to actually teach them, especially the younger, and figure out how that is done. Teaching the basic steps doesn't have many significant variations. The 'bandage' is the usual beginning. I think the biggest problem is what they are to make, as that usually is slanted toward female lace makers. From my courses preparing me for a teaching certificate in another life, I learned that this could be quite important, as around the age of six, children are learning about what it is that makes them a boy or a girl. It's the only age when all little girls, virtually, want pink, for example. Flowers are not going to work for a boy of that age. I am away from my books, so I can'! t refer to them except by memory. I think the best book, off the top of my head, is the one made by the Lace Museum in California. Also the rather expensive German looseleaf book designed for teachers of young lacemakers. Tapelace can make all sorts of trucks and bulldozers, items usually cherished by boys. I have two sons, I remember. The other possibility is 3d modern lace. Le Puy en Velay has a school for youngsters, as does Kant Centrum in Bruges, and the lace place in Brioude, France. Writing to them and finding out how they teach this could be useful. I know that one motif used in Bruges for teaching youngsters is a half stitch fish in multicolored crochet cotton. Thus I think the most difficult bit of this admirable plan is to find things in lace that boys would want to make. Lyn from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA, presently in the Arizona desert, enjoying sunshine and warmth. About to break out the shorts. "My email sends out an automatic message. Arachne members, please ignore it. I read your emails." I have received a >question to the page from a woman who has two young sons, 2 and 4. She >asks "What is the best way to start this hobby?" ... >I am now contemplating whether it might be easier in this day and age >for someone to teach themselves lacemaking than to locate and attend a >class. As we know, classes are few, meet rarely, and tend to be so >spread out that distance becomes a problem. I think this might be >especially the case for a young mother. >What answer should I give this questioner about the best way to start the >hobby? >Devon > - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
