I told a white lie to an old friend to avoid embarassment; now I'm trapped in it! How do I extricate myself from this sticky situation (more details inside)

An old friend contacted me recently and I lied about being a graphic designer in need of clients. He happens to have several important graphics projects that need to be done. He has now been incessantly calling me to have a meeting and I’m avoiding his calls.

I told the lie because I’ve been unemployed for a long time. In fact, the last time we spoke (a couple of years ago), I was unemployed. I was too embarrassed to admit I still don’t have a job and didn’t want to go into the (private) reasons why.

He sees me as the answer to his problems. I don’t have the skills nor the interest to do the work he needs.

How do I get out of this without admitting my lie? Considering the culture I come from, him finding out I was lying would hurt his feelings and probably end our friendship. Obviously, my intentions were not to hurt him, but to avoid embarrassment myself. What do I do now?