This is quite an interesting thread, I'm finding, with lots of really salient points all around :-)
I recently demo'd lacemaking at the Annual Duvall Outdoor Quilt show. Yep, a quilt show. It actually kind of works together in a 'crazy quilt' kind of way. Last year I was invited by the owner of the quilt shop in town to demo lacemaking (I've found she's a marvelous source of backing fabrics for my lace - for eg, the flags backing my Lester Eagle entered in the IOLI Contest - and she has a great selection of King Tut threads which are good for NL and some BL), and it was the first year she'd had some demo something. I had 2 LPS members join me, and we had a great time on the sidewalk, flanked by wonderful quilts, and lots of interest in lacemaking, and in how one of our members was combining tatting with her quilt blocks. We were invited back this year, and sat in the same spot (lovely sunshine again :-) ), and again lots of interest in the lacemaking and how it can be combined with quilting. To enhance that idea for the quilters were 2 quilt artists there by invitation to show their batik and crazy quilts. The crazy quilts were quite lovely, and she had some very nice machine lace embellishments. But maybe there's a little crossover there for people to learn to make their own lace to trim their quilts, and for lacemakers to discover another avenue for use and display of their lace. I would also think there might be people who are members of embroidery guilds who make lace, and can show that crossover between NL and embroidery, and embroiderers who see lacemakers getting interested in a different needle based technique. The same may also apply to weavers and possibly even spinners, and you could stretch it out to people in woodworking clubs. No they're not making lace, but maybe they might find an outlet for their creativity to make bobbins and tools. Just a couple of thoughts on possible opportunities. It doesn't necessarily address the issue of an aging lacemaker population in some countries, but maybe a few new eyes might open up to the world of lace (and vice versa). Cheers, Helen, Duvall, WA - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
