I know not everyone on Arachne uses Facebook, or checks The Lace Guild's website, so I thought while the list is quiet I would let you know about three lacemaking events I'm organising at a narrow gauge preserved railway in Porthmadog, North Wales, this year. I've been a volunteer shedmaster (ie looking after passengers in the museum) at the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway since 2009, and started organising lace events as a "something different" fundraising effort, with the first of our annual Lace on the Train weekends being held in September, 2011, to coincide with National Lacemaking Day. A couple of years later, we added a residential weekend in the hotel opposite the railway, where the proprietors let us use their function room free of charge. This was a successful event, but the following year the proprietors had moved on and the hotel was undergoing refurbishment prior to new tenants taking over, so Plan B was put into operation and although it meant we could no longe! r offer accommodation, our lacemaking weekend was moved to our Volunteer's "mess" at the railway, and we now hold two weekends each year. All lacemakers are welcome, no matter which type of lace they make.
Lace on the Train (August 3rd and 4th, 2019) started out "as it says on the can" - we sat in one of the carriages on the train making lace as we travelled up the line and back. With the husband of one of the lacemakers driving, it made for a relatively smooth ride (he'd hear about it later if it wasn't!!!). Traction for this weekend is normally steam, and it is included in the "Special Events" list on the timetable. There were a couple of problems, though, as if we sat together the passengers left us to it and went in other carriages, and some were not comfortable making lace on the move, so although now the opportunity is still there for those who want to make lace on a steam train ride, we have tables set out in the museum where we can sit and work, and offer the other passengers the chance to have a go. This often means that parents are coerced into staying between trains by children who have got engrossed in making lace. Last year the young son of our Training Officer sp! ent an afternoon with us, taking to bobbin lace like duck to water, and had three pieces of lace to take away with him by the end of the day. (Thankfully Pam had brought a second beginner pillow with a bookmark in progress which he finished). I think he also had a go at tatting. There is no need to book, just turn up on the day, but if I have an idea of how many lacemakers to expect it helps when getting tables and chairs out! For those who don't want to be in the public eye, and want to get on with some lace without the usual interruptions you get at home, we have the two lacemaking weekends - this year, Saturday 6 to Sunday 7 April (the weekend before Haydock) and 12 to 13 October. We sit in the Weatherby Room in the Volunteers' Amenity Block where we have table space for 12 lacemakers and full kitchen facilities. I need to know in advance who is coming and which day/s for these weekends. Having C&G qualifications and taught lacemaking for 15 years in the past, absolute beginners are welcome and I can help anyone learning Bucks, Beds, Torchon, Honiton, needlelace and tatting (advance warning would be appreciated though!). As the intention behind these events is to raise money for various railway projects - restoring and maintaining a preserved railway with steam and diesel locos costs a lot, especially as we are reliant on fares and donations with no public funding - the WHHR is a registered charity (number 1039817 - Welsh Highland Railway Ltd) I decided at the outset not to ask for a set fee for these events, but to ask for donations equal to the amount you would expect to pay if you were going to a similar ticketed event. I ask Chris Parsons to make the commemorative bobbins (available to those who attend) and usually have my patterns and a few other items on sale, with all profit/proceeds being donated to the railway. For those with partners/children in tow, there is plenty to keep them occupied at our railway, and there are also the two preserved railways run by our larger, better-known neighbours at the far end of the town, a maritime museum at the harbour and a beach not too far away. Our station is opposite Porthmadog's main-line railway station - which is one of the reasons I started going there, as it is door-to-door by train from Birmingham International. Please email me off list if you would like to join us, there is still space for the April weekend but I do need to know numbers as soon as possible. Jane Partridge mous...@live.co.uk - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
