LA ENCAJERA - THE LACEMAKER #2

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Letter to the Readers

Dear readers:

We are very pleased with the response that we received from you this past June 1st in Mollet del Valles, Barcelona, where we launched, La Encajera. The Lace Group, Catalana de Puntaires succeded in uniting 3,500 lacemakers. What an event! We were left without voice but full of satisfaction!

We have been, and continue to receive letters from many satisfied and pleased readers from different points in Spain. You will have an opportunity to read some of these in our "letters from the readers page."

In our continual quest to seek out interesting, unusual and/or special patterns, we have been able to obtain the corresponding pattern for the tablecloth and matching napkins Princess Elena received when she married Jaime de Marichalar (daughter of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain). A photo of the actual tablecloth does not exist, but we were able to "pull some strings" and obtain sufficient information so that you can make your own tablecloth, doily or handkerchief with the same design that princess Elena now has. We are sure that all of you will be looking forward to this wonderful opportunity.

We attended the First Lace Workshop in Almagro, Spain. There we celebrated Lacemaker's Day, participating in an homage for Enriqueta Alcazar Cuadra, a 91 year old lacemaker, pictured on page 20 with her pillow and beautiful work she is preparing as trim and insert for a set of sheets and pillow cases.

In this issue we also talk about the celebration of the patron saint of lacemakers. This celebration doesn't take place on the same day throughout Spain. Almagro celebrates the fourteenth of June as Lacemaker's Day, since it was the date that it's beautiful Lacemaker statue was inaugurated. In Cataluña, lacemakers celebrate the day of Saint Ursula. Camariñas does not celebrate a certain date, but enjoy a lace fair during Easter week.

In other countries Saint Catherine is the patron saint. Perhaps if all the lacemakers got together and thought about this, between all the different groups that exist, everyone might agree to have one big festivity. Or perhaps, it's better to have lots of celebrations on different dates in different places in order to do more celebrating. We invite you to read the articles on pages 14 and 18, and let us know what you think.

We also wish to inform you that La Encajera, in addition to having Spanish readers, is being distributed internationally. We have already received subscriptions from England, France, Italy, United States, Denmark and Holland.

We will try to publish what you ask for. We are striving to make each issue better and better. In this second issue patterns are placed in the centre of the magazine as an insert to facilitate usage without the need to copy. We strive for the utmost clarity in our photos to make sure you see every minute detail. This issue offers you a variety of patterns from a baby bonnet and booties, Madonna with child, to the pretty lace our cover girl in our last issue was working at the seaside. We are sure you will enjoy them all.

If you wish to have future local events from your particular area published in your magazine, don't hesitate to send us the specifics (dates, times, directions, etc.) as soon as it is available so that we may inform the rest of our readers in our activities section. We received positive comments in letters specifically citing that the events section of our magazine was a great help in planning for future trips.

Please continue to help us make each issue more informative and helpful with your cooperation and support. And don't forget, keep those letters coming. Thank you.

Montserrat Arcos

Director

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