I took a workshop on how to make bobbin lace at our last ANWG conference in 1995. Since then I’ve worked at it on and off (lately more off than on). It is something I enjoy for the mental stimulation and the fact that it is still weaving, just that you build your loom as you create your textile, warps can turn into wefts, you can tie knots, make loops, add in colour at will.
But I’m mumble-mumble years older now. My eyesight continues to deteriorate (gave up cross stitch a couple of decades ago) and my neck doesn’t like to be bent over.
My lace making friend is in hospice and somehow the desire to continue to make lace seems to be leaking out of me.
I am going to be making up my mind whether to offer my lace making supplies at the conference here in June.
I have several pillows of various types (cookie, filled with sawdust, block made with styrofoam, a roller pillow) and my friend in hospice has, over the years, given me a lot of her painted bobbins. Not to mention others I acquired along the way.
There are several shelves full of books including the very latest 3 volume set that I had hoped would serve to inspire me to start making lace again. I paid $40+ each for them, then put the loose pages into plastic pocket pages in binders. They would be a bargain at $120 for the three.
But a part of me wants to hang on – for the memories of my friend as I use her bobbins, the many emails we exchanged over the years (we emailed nightly for 27 years – until she entered hospice a couple of weeks ago).
I’m torn. But the conference would also be a really good place to try to sell my bins full of stuff. And I need to remove them from the annex, so sooner would be better than later.
I haz a sad today…