Bookmarks

 

Was reading Femina by Janina Ramirez and she talks about King Alfred (the Great) and how he encouraged literacy by sending out 'pointers' with manuscripts and it started me thinking about books, and reading, and thinking - my brain has been a bit of a 'stew' recently as I dig around in my brain box examining this attitude and that 'known' thing, wondering if I actually 'know' that thing or have just accepted it as 'gospel'.  About myths, not just the 'fairy tales' of my childhood but societal 'myths' we tell ourselves without ever examining them very closely to see if they are 'true'.  Or not.  Or if circumstances have changed since we learned those things all these many years ago.

And I thought about how we 'bookmark' events in our lives - before this or after that.  So much of lived experience rotates around wins - and losses.  Around the grand decisions, but also, the small ones that seem too small to be very important, but in hindsight become milestones on our journey through our lives.

At my age I have a plenitude of them.  Some I knew were huge at the time, some seemed of minor importance.  But as I look back, they were all stepping stones.  Milestones showing my journey on this earth.  

On a whim I took a bobbin class class, not expecting it to be much, then found I'd slipped down a rabbit hole.  I stopped making lace a few years ago because life got overwhelming and I just didn't have the time or mental wherewithal to do it.  But instead of getting rid of my lace supplies I hung onto the pillows, bobbins, books.  They take up a substantial amount of my space, secreted here and there, in corners.  Out of my way, but not out of my sight.

Every once in a while I contemplate digging everything out but so far have not managed to carve out time to do it.

About once a year I think I really ought to get rid of it.  All of it.  And I just can't seem to manage to do that.

I did sell on one of my lace pillows in 2019, but when it came time to sell the rest, I couldn't.  

What do I want to make in lace?  Dunno.

I've been so focused on weaving down my stash I really haven't had much time to think about making lace.  But as my body slowly breaks down and I can see an end to weaving - not now, not this year, maybe not for several years - I think about the lace.  I can't see all that well anymore, but there is no reason to only use really fine yarns.  

But then, when I make it, what do I do with it?  I'm not a 'lace' kind of person when it comes to garments.  But other people are and while I wouldn't dream of trying to sell it, I could gift it.

I made a lot of bookmarks when I was first learning how to make lace.  Small items, quickly done, on to the next, usually with a new technique to learn.  Samples, but with a purpose.

But hardly anyone reads a physical book anymore and if they do, would they use a handmade lace bookmark?  Who knows.  

So my lace supplies sit, here and there, and I think about them now and then.  And move on.  For now.

Sort of like life.  We pay attention to the noisiest things, ignore the quiet ones.  Until the time is 'right'.  So I guess I hang onto the lace stuff and who knows, maybe next year I'll dig it out again.  Maybe even offer a beginner's introduction to lace making.  I've got several pillows and loads of bobbins.

Time will tell...