Friendship – The Thread that ties us all together.
by LaMona Brown.

I recently took stock of the friends I have and realized that so many of them I am closest to are people I met through the hobby of lacemaking.  Any hobby has an added bonus with the friendships that result, but it is hard to believe that anywhere we can find closer ties than those that are formed through lacemaking.  Lacemakers seem to be bound together in a very special way.

Where can we find a more diverse group than in our group, or other lacemaker groups?  When you look around, observe the many differences.  There are no barriers of background or age.  Older, younger, richer, poorer – no matter.  And yet, any time you meet another lacemaker, there is an instant common ground that can be the basis for another great friendship.  We seem to have been drawn to each other as if by some mystical force, understanding each other instinctively.  The sense of union we feel will last a lifetime.

We can see a lacemaker friend from another part of the country, maybe only once a year or less, yet the “bond” is still there.  We can visit on many topics and still comfortable with each other.  We hold fast to each other through trials, triumphs and long separations.

I am thankful to have been given the special people who are my true friends and that we were able to find each other upon this crowded earth.  They are good, life-enriching friends who add flavour, value and delight to my life.  May we each treasure this special gift of friendship we have.

(Note: This was originally written, I believe, to encompass many crafts, but I have typed it up to refer specifically to lacemakers.  I have no idea where I got the original from, or who LaMona Brown is, but what she has written seems to absolutely reflect the spirit of Gumlace ………Noelene)