I thought it might be helpful to tell you my lacemaking background to help you understand how I got to this point.
![tatted bobble](https://bobbinlace.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Sept_22_2020_bobble.jpg)
Freda is an amazing lacemaker and was a founding member of the local lace guild. She (and many others) demonstrated bobbin lace around Denver. Freda often showed lacemaking at a place I volunteered, which was where I was first exposed to bobbin lace. I was already (technically) a lacemaker due to learning tatting many years before. Moving into bobbin lace seemed logical.
![tatted mouse](https://bobbinlace.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Sept_22_2020_mouse2.jpg)
![tatted mouse](https://bobbinlace.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Sept_22_2020_mouse1.jpg)
I started taking classes with Freda in late 2012 and eventually attended the 2013 International Organization of Lace (IOLI) lacemaking convention in Salt Lake City Utah. I took Russian tape lace, Shuttle Brothers tatting, and bobbin lace painting at the convention. I was thoroughly hooked.
![Shuttle Brothers GR-8 shuttles - tatting](https://bobbinlace.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Sept_22_2020_shuttles.jpg)
I also want to note the importance of a local lace guild. Somewhere between starting classes with Freda and going to convention, I joined the Rocky Mountain Lace Guild (RMLG). This is where I found a wealth of knowledge, both in people and resources. While the Denver Public Library had a few bobbin lace books, RMLG has an entire library of books dedicated to various lacemaking techniques. As part of the guild, I also found myself surrounded by people who were able to answer questions and provide endless inspiration.
![Russian tape lace flower](https://bobbinlace.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Sept_22_2020_bobbinLace.jpg)