I've been following your discussion with interest - now it's time to comment.
In Maltese lace, we never pre-prick our patterns - at least not to my knowledge - and this was never mentioned in lectures of Maltese lace history either. If a pattern is pricked (has holes) it means it has been used to work on. We also work the boll stitch (punt tal-balla) without any pins, except at the edges. The stitch is used where lots of ground is needed, and especially in ecclesiastical garments, both with fine threads and thicker ones, just because it can be worked up relatively fast. May I take this opportunity to wish everybody a happy festive season. Karen in Malta. - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
