I was raised in a region of Britain with a long tradition of commercial bobbin lacemaking. In her spare time my mother made intricate lace on a domed pillow fringed with beaded bobbins and festooned with brass pins, and in his, my father turned fancy wooden bobbins on a small lathe. Happily, thanks to the educational efforts of craftswomen* the world over, some of whom pass on their skills in person, some through books or YouTube videos, there’s little danger the art of bobbin lacemaking will ever vanish completely. However, if it, and similarly fascinating traditional handicrafts, are ever to…