Update from the Chairman and next Zoom meeting 7 November 2020 at 13:00

On Sunday, 1 November, the secretary sent an email to members giving details of our next Zoom meeting at 1.00 pm on Saturday 7 November and including an update from the Chairman.  If any member has not received the email, please check your spam folder in the first instance and then contact the Chairman or Secretary.  The Chairman's update is given below, after the removal of some personal information.  Unfortunately the picture of Dorothy did not transfer, but members will see it in their emails.

Hello everyone.

I do hope that you are all keeping safe and well.

Who would have thought that we would still be in lockdown after all these months! Sadly, it doesn’t look promising for Christmas or the New Year. I am wondering what plans everyone has for Christmas?

We usually celebrate Christmas Day with either our son or daughter for lunch, then the other one for tea. Later, my husband’s family (around 30 of us) all crowd into his mum’s for games and pressies.

I have managed to make some lace over recent weeks… mostly finishing things bought at shows that I never got round to. Here is Dorothy … a design by Sue Clothier of Harlequin Lace. I am going to hang her on the Christmas tree.

It was lovely to see some of you at our last Zoom meeting and a few ideas were mooted to try and encourage more of you to join in. The pity is that the meetings are only 40 minutes long on the free version and the time passes so quickly. I was asked to consider finding a speaker for one of the meetings, but this would only be possible with a longer meeting.

With this in mind, I am proposing that we purchase a licence for a year to use Zoom for longer meetings. This would enable us to have more items of interest and give others more of an opportunity to chat. The cost is around £90, but would be good value for money if more of you were to join us, especially as we do not know how long this situation will carry on. It would be lovely to organize a speaker; show and tell and even a quiz!

If we purchase a licence, I would propose to do one or more training sessions for anyone who doesn’t feel confident enough to use Zoom. I could do these on a one to one basis or a small group. If you are interested, please contact me through the email or telephone details below and I will make arrangements.

Stay safe and well everyone and Happy Lacemaking.

Andrea Gaskell

Chairman

On behalf of PLM Committee.

07590116912

madwomanlace@gmail.com

Zoom meetings

If you are a member and would like to participate in the Zoom meetings but have not had the relevant information, please contact a member of the committee.  The planned Zoom meetings take place on the same day that we would have held our normal meetings - the first Saturday of the month. 

No meetings until February 2021

The committee has sent an email to all members, together with a letter from the Chairman, informing members that the committee has made the difficult decision to cancel all meetings until February 2021.  The committee are also asking for suggestions about venues that will accommodate the group, assuming that we need to maintain social distancing.  If not a different venue, perhaps members could suggest a different way of using our current venue.  If you have any ideas or suggestions, please contact a committee member.

May, June and July meetings and A P-lace together

The committee has emailed all members regarding the planned meetings for June and July and about a Facebook group: A P-lace together.  As you are aware, the May meeting has already been cancelled.  The committee has decided to cancel the June and July meetings.  

The relevant excerpts of the email are shown below:

"I hope you are all staying safe and managing to make some lace.

Your committee has discussed the ongoing situation regarding Covid-19, and has determined that the best policy will be to cancel the June and July meetings. Even if the lock-down rules ease off, it is unlikely that it will cover large gatherings for a while yet.

I know that not everyone is a member of Facebook and even those that are, may not be aware that The Kantcentrum has published some patterns in a new group (A P-Lace Together). To date, there are 6 patterns and I have attached a zip file with working diagrams and prickings. If you would like them in any other format, or would like images of completed samples please let Andrea know. You do not have to be a member of the FB group.

The group information states:

A P-Lace Together (A place together)
In these difficult and lonely times it is great to have a hobby.
Our lace teachers design a strip every week, especially for 'APT'.
The intention of this group is to work on this together and share your results.
As soon as it is allowed back, we want to bring all these sides together at an exhibition in the Kantcentrum Brugge.
Edges can therefore still be sent to "Kantcentrum, Balstraat 16, 8000 Brugge"
Please always label the edge with name and address and email if you want your edge back. We can also send you an email inform about the exhibition.
If you want the edge back, add a cover (SAE) with your name and address on it.

Best Wishes & Happy Lacemaking"

Message from our Committee Easter 2020

Dear friends,

We hope that you are all well and that you and your families are staying safe. It is unlikely that we will meet again until at least July or August, but in the meantime, we wish everyone a very happy and peaceful Easter weekend. 

It will be lovely to see everyone when this is all over and share what we have all been up to. 



Best Wishes from 

Preston Lacemakers Committee 

Coronavirus and future meetings

Preston Lacemakers has decided, with regret, to cancel the meetings for April and May, and it may well be that June’s meeting follows suit.  Any speakers due to come will, hopefully, be arranged for future dates.

Members have been sent an email with further information from the Chairman about the impact of the current situation, a copy of the AGM minutes and audited accounts, a copy of the new membership card and a copy of the membership application form and Data Protection Policy.  The new membership card includes the names and contact details of the new committee members.  If any member has not received a copy, please email prestonlacemakers@yahoo.com.

We hope you all stay safe and keep well and manage to make lots of lace.

Next Meeting: 4 April 2020 Make lace and chat

It was great to see such a good attendance for the AGM, many thanks for coming and for your contributions.  Special thanks to those of you who have volunteered to take on committee and other roles.

Our next meeting takes place on Saturday, 4 April and will be to make lace and chat.  As always, visitors are very welcome.  We suggest that you bring your own lunch and a cup, though we have spare cups available if you forget and there are shops and cafes nearby from which you can get something to eat.

Next Meeting: Saturday 7 March 2020: AGM

Many thanks to Julie Kline for an entertaining talk with lots of useful tips for maintaining our wellbeing.

Our next meeting takes place at Penwortham Priory Academy at 10:00 on Saturday, 7 March.  Our AGM will be held at 11:00 and then the remainder of the day will be an opportunity to make lace, swap ideas and chat with fellow lacemakers.  Any visitors are welcome to attend in the afternoon.  Please bring a cup with you so that you can enjoy a hot drink.

If any members have not received the agenda and papers for the AGM, please contact Christine on 01772 339913.

First meeting in new venue: 1 February 2020 Julie Kline, Chiropractor

Many thanks to Lisa Moore for an enjoyable and productive workshop on Needle Felting in December.  Everyone who participated completed an item to take home and we all had a great time.

Our next meeting takes place on Saturday, 1 February 2020 and we have a change of venue.  This will be our first meeting at Penwortham Priory Academy on Crow Hills Road, Penwortham, Preston PR1 0JE.  Whilst we normally meet at 10:00, we are asking people to arrive at 10:30 to give the committee a little time to get things arranged.  Our speaker will be Julie Kline, who is a chiropractor.  Her talk will commence at 11:00.  As usual, hot drinks and biscuits will be provided and members and any visitors are encouraged to bring their own lunch, though we are still in walking distance of shops if anyone needs to buy something.