Art Inspiration from Ancestors: Belgian Lace

I've always loved lace and have several beautiful items which were made by my great aunt, who was very adept at all kinds of needlework. Is my affinity for lace -- and was hers -- influenced by our family history? From the late 1500s to 1663, our ancestors lived in a city called Kortryk (Dutch) or Courtrai (French) in the Spanish Netherlands which, in modern times, became Belgium. Belgium has long been known for its superb lace, and it turns out that Courtrai was a center of lace-making at that time, due, in significant part, to its location. The thread used in making the exceptionally delicate Brussels lace is of exquisite fineness and the steeping of flax for its creation was done in the nearby river, Lys, "which gives better results than any other water." ("A History of Handmade Lace," Emily Jackson, 1900)