Here is my two bits to help create a digest for you.
I have been fairly quiet this year with lots of computer problems so haven't
been writing much.
I was busy with lace for much part of the year. I finished the 3-year Miss
Channer's Mat project, and got a 1st at state fair. I also finished a
I made a lappet/scarf from black cotton thread. I don't remember if the
pattern was white or blue. However, I had to have good light to work on it,
and I found that the thread was stiffer than the same size in white. It was
almost impossible to make neat leaf tallies in that thread.Â
In my studies of lace history, the old very-fine threads ceased being produced
about 1800. The cotton gin was invented about 1790. It let cotton be produced
in great quantity at a much cheaper price than fine linen. For comparison, if
a spool of cotton were $10, a spool of linen would be
Back then, my DH wanted to update my computer experience so he set up a
computer just for me. He sat me down and told me "type in something". I
typed Bobbin Lace. Arachne was one of the first things to come up. I checked
it out, subscribed, and am still here. I was on the Digest to start
I found Arachne just after it's first anniversary so I'm not quite a charter
member but it was soon after I started making lace.
The discussions gave me lots of good information and helped my lacemaking.
Then the group decided they wanted a conference so Arachne 98 was born. Thanks
to Pat
Have a Great Holiday, wherever you are -- and whatever holiday you celebrate.
Where I live, the weather people say there is a 4 percent chance of snow --
happened only 2 times in the past 80 years. However, they say it MIGHT be
possible this year -- IF the Christmas Eve clouds drip on us, and
A lace friend makes lots of Idrija lace on a bolster. She said that when she
winds the bobbins clockwise, they won't stay in their hitch. They loosen and
fall to the floor. When the threads are wound counter-clockwise, they stay
in place -- providing there's lots of thread on the bobbin to
There's a picture on another
webpage:http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/lacemakers-cattern-cakes-english-
spiced-sugar-cookies-266901
Note the subtitle. English spiced sugar cookies. It's guess that, in a
pinch, you might be able to get a package of sugar cookie mix, roll it out and
add the
The modern lacemaker usually works single, not too large, projects. We're not
in a big rush and want to do it neatly. We learn to make smooth edges on the
start and finish. Paired bobbins make a smoother start. We put a higher value
on neatness over speed than early lacemakers.
Many of the
Some of the people evacuated from the fires had only 5 minutes warning to get
out. They had to grab their medicines and run. Pets in the house could be
grabbed also, but one who was outdoors, away from the house, and didn't come
instantly to a call, would have to be left behind. The officials
This just happened to my lace group in the USA.
My treasurer received an email from "me" requesting a check mailed
immediately. When questioned, the scammer said it was for supplies for PLS
from a vendor. Send the check to Ann Carpenter in Reno, Nevada. It was
over $1000.
A couple emails
This weekend, Sep 23-24, Portland Lace Society and two of it's members are the
featured artists at the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival in Canby, Oregon, at
the Clackamas County fairgrounds.
The festival wanted to feature Tatting, so asked for two of our tatting members
to be honored. They
Most laces I work with just a picture or a basic diagram. The straight laces
and simple tape laces have consistent structures.
With the more intricate laces, I use a diagram extensively -- having used
either pins or sticky arrows on various projects. However, with one project
that was a
The Turn Over Stitch is CTTC. This is used when two colors meet and you want
them each to return the way they came rather than crossing through the stitch.
If you need to put a pin, you can CTTpinC. In point ground, you would put a
pin under the stitch. In many cases, no pin is used. Just
Yes, Sue, sometimes an exchange item disappears into a black hole. In the
early days, I coordinated many exchanges. There were times when something
was mailed and never arrived. As coordinator, I usually had an extra item or
two to fill in when one went missing. Usually all were received
The conical cylinders are designed to make square handkerchief edgings in a
continuous fashion. The side section of lace is only as long as the
circumference of the cylinder, following the offset line of the pattern. If
longer edges were desired, a difference method was needed -- unless you
When I was flying to take a Lier class, I had the same dilemma. I ended up with
a simple, but spendy, solution. I took two of the larger (10 x 15) Instand
tables with the foldup tripod legs. I put one on each side of my frame, and
the middle was completely open for working. The Instand
It's been a number of years since our group hosted IOLI so I may not be
remembering correctly. However, I think we had a very small charge, like
$3.00, for public visitors who wanted to shop. People had to have a nametag to
enter the vendor's hall. The charge covered the nametag. If they
Thank you for all the ideas and suggestions. It will help when I meet with
the lady to see the robe for myself, and the damage.
I appreciate your responses and experiences.
Alice in Oregon
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A lady in my area has a white priest's robe with lace on it, including wide
cuffs. Red satin was placed behind the lace to show it off. Evidently someone
washed the robe without removing the red satin, and it has red color on the
white fabric. I haven't yet seen it so don't know the extent
The local Cultural Coalition is making an index (survey) of local Arts,
Culture and Heritage. One of the categories includes arts of all kinds. I
decided my Bobbin Lace Art needed to be included, so filled out the long
questionnaire.
I thought it interesting, in the list of suggested arts, that
If you have a copy of Miss Channers Mat pattern, you may want to take note of
the error I found. The person who make the original sample found it and
corrected for it, but the correction was not put on the pattern.
Find the center of the pattern. On four sides of the center,there is a
stylized
Sorry -- but I had the wrong name in mind on the fan project. It was Janya
in Thailand, not Sulochona in India. I was also told that when the fan was
finished, it was mounted on gold fan sticks. Wish I could see it!
Alice in Oregon
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
I enjoy making lace in a group because it's fun to chat with my friends.Â
However, I need an easy project for this, one that I've done enough of to do
without having to think very hard. Anything that takes concentration is done
at home, alone. Also, getting a project started, or one done on a
Tonight I saw a program about filming 'Victoria'. They had the wedding gown
on display and showed closeups of it. It DID have a section of lace across
the lower portion of the front of the gown. It was the same color as the
gown and didn't show up very well at a distance. They said they
My local public TV has been running the Victoria series.   They re-ran the
first 5 episodes last weekend, which I watched though I had seen them
earlier.
I closely watched the wedding scenes to see the dress. Then I did some web
searching for pictures of the real gown. I concluded that the
> The cloth area did not need
>to be very big, and the lace is wide to look especially beautiful Of
>course, there is no size reference in the picture
Ooops! I didn't scroll down. The item is listed at 15", so the fabric is
about 7" and the lace 3" wide. That is definitely not antique
There were tape laces being made in Germany as well as other eastern European
countries. I couldn't see the picture well enough to take a guess as to
origin.
However -- it does look like an item made for church use -- namely, to cover
the chalice or the 'bread' when not being used. The cloth
In the modern world, the lappet becomes half a scarf. Attach the two lappets
of a pair together in the middle, and wear it under the collar of your dress
coat/jacket with the ends hanging down the front. I've done that many times
with the one I made. Or it could be just wrapped around the
Back in my beginning days, a teacher told me to use temporary support pins any
time it helped me out. I use them a lot. I tend to use the long yellow-headed
pins as temporary pins so they stand up among the gaggle of pins on the pillow,
and I pull them out when they are 3-4 rows back. They
Recently one of my cats has disappeared at nap time. I have a small house
with limited hidey-holes, so I had a good look.
My rack of cookie pillows is in a corner near a heat register. The back half
of the bottom pillow had a strange black mound -- yes, my cat. The pillow is
well wrapped
Holiday Greetings to all Arachne friends!
Stay safe and warm if you are in the bad weather areas. It's cold but mostly
dry here in the valley today but higher altitudes have snow and ice.
I spent the day baking muffins and fruit loaf for church coffee time
tomorrow. After I'm home tomorrow, I
I know this is not lace, but the list has been very quiet.
I just read in the local paper that our library is holding a "Stuffies Night
Out". Children are to drop off a stuffed toy on a certain day, and pick it
up the next day. They will receive pictures of the stuffed animals'
adventures
Agnes -- Your lovely green and gold bangle ornament was received long past.Â
I wrote you a thank you message, but it must have fallen in the Pond on it's
way across. It was the first one to come to me in this exchange and has held
a place of honor in my Christmas display.
Both the lace and the
Not all brands of linen are the same. I used Fresia brand linen in the
tablecloth I finished this year. It was quite smooth. The few slubs were
far apart. I think the Fresia thread was made for lacemaking. The linen
that is full of slubs was probably made for weaving, and the slubs were
I wondered about everyone but I was busy myself. So far this month I've
attended two regular lace meetings and our annual Lace Day, taught a short
bobbin lace class in Tillamook, and am trying to get my things ready for a
3-day Bucks class starting tomorrow. The teacher threw in an extra
Same idea but different artist.
Thanks for the link. It was lovely to look at.
Alice in Oregon
>And I forgot to add the link I was referring to.
>http://www.demilked.com/feminine-lace-filigree-blowtorch-steel-cal-lane/
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Sorry -- left out one detail. The TV program is called Oregon Art Beat.Â
Thursday night 8pm. On the TV schedule, the metal artist is listed first so
may be at the start of the program. I'll let you know when it can be seen on
the web.
Alice in Oregon
On Monday, October 3, 2016 8:44
The program showing the lady who cuts lacy patterns in old car bodies will be
on this week Thursday at 8:00pm Pacific Daylight Time on Oregon Public
Broadcasting (channel 10 locally). After it shows, it will be available on the
OPB website. When it has a web address, I'll let you know. I
A preview advertisement of an Art TV program (on Oregon public TV) featured a
lady who cuts lacy patterns into the roof of old hotrod cars. I hope I get
to see the full program since the glimpse of the lacy roof was very
enticing.  It's sometime next month. I'll be watching for the exact
You need a glue that will stick to metal and glass. Check the details on
your available super glues to find the right one.
Alice in Oregon -- where the weather has cooled to autumn temperatures.Â
Nicer than roasting but I hate to see summer end.
On Tuesday, August 30, 2016 8:26 AM, David
Did you see the closing ceremony with the tribute to bobbin lace? What a
surprise! And so lovely. I would have liked to have seen the working side
of the pillow to see if there were really bobbins on it, or just the finished
piece of lace. Probably just the lace.
Do we have any List
Thanks, Beverly, for sending me the original message. I now know that it's
more the last ending threads rather than threads in and out of the main part
of the lace.
Please -- don't use glue on fine lace.
The ending threads -- something we all have to learn to deal with. A square
knot is
I cannot find the starting message of this series of messages, but it seems
like someone is wanting to put glue on threads ends in a piece of lacewhen
pairs are frequently added and removed..
I don't want hard spots that may turn color in something I've worked many
hours making. I've never had a
My friend does a lot of Idrijan lace on a bolster and has Idrijan bobbins.Â
She recently was in Slovenia and took lessons there. She reports that the
bobbins must be wound left-handed (backwards to us right-handed people).Â
Also, the thread does not stay well unless the bobbins are wound
You can find articles about cleaning lace in the Arachne archives. Please
check there.
I want to point out that there are different viewpoints on cleaning lace, and
things to be considered. Clealning old lace will have different considerations
than new lace. Â If you have very delicate and
I am 1C and 2B.
Alice in Oregon -- starting today on a 9-day county fair work marathon.Â
Today is Entry Day.
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According to my local newspaper, tomorrow June 18 is Worldwide Knit in Public
Day.
The local knitting store promotes it and has people on the sidewalk outside
the store doing needle arts. They say all needle crafts are welcome.Â
The weather here is supposed to be really nice so I may take my
I have seen thread anchors which are a flat piece of wood with pinholes
drilled on each end.  We made some for a conference once. They were about
1/2" wide and 3" inches long. We did put a small handle on each to hold
while pinning, but it isn't really needed.Â
I use a tongue depressor
When I read "core ground", my thought was that it was someone's private term
for the central/main/basic stitch, which would be the CTTT pin that is used so
much in Bucks. I've never heard the term "core ground" before. it will be
interesting if someone turns up with a special stitch.
Alice in
Four people from my lace group are going to OIDFA this year. The rest of us
are envious. We hear all about their plans and turn a bit green. I did get
to go to one in the past and enjoyed it very much.
The OIDFA in 2020 in Estonia intrigues me. That's far enough away, if I
begin saving
Arachne had just celebrated it's first year when I joined in May 96. My DH
got me a computer, set it up, and told me to "type in something". I typed
"bobbin lace" and the rest is history.
I have learned so much from all the discussions on the List, and even got to
attend the one and only
>I only know that Rauma was an important bobbin lace making area. I think the
>lace was largely torchon with some guipure elements. I suspect Kortelahti's
>work style derives from that tradition.
I have a couple books of Rauma lace patterns but I don't have them right at
hand. My memory of
I need to modify my description of using a change stitch to trade passive and
worker threads. Doing CTTC will change both sets of threads. I like to
change only one at a time when preventing passive threads from being able to
ruffle.. When doing CTC, add a second twist to only the left OR
The gathered edge is a common effect on edgings. The passive pairs just lie
straight while the rest of the threads have twists and various weaving actions
that cannot be tensioned quite as compactly. The passive pairs need a
lighter hand with tensioning but it's very hard to so. I usually
I've lost the original email about the Garter so I'm replying generally.
I wanted to remind people that a special pattern is not required. Any edging
in the width desired can be used.
There are a variety of versions of garters. One is just one strip of lace
attached to a double thickness of
The pin pusher in discussion is the narrow metal rod with a dimple in the end
of the metal. A caution, though. There are two versions of this made by
different people.   One has the dimple curving in from the edge of the
metal rod. The other has a tiny straight-walled section cut in the
Yesterday I set up the lace exhibit at Latimer Quilt and Textile Center in
Tillamook, Oregon. It will be there the months of November and December.
Visitors to the Oregon coast who stop by will find a whole room filled with
lace -- both antique and modern. I forgot to take pictures but I'll be
Yes, the List has been very quiet for a while. Thanks for posting.
I don't the the historical answer to your question, but wanted to make some
comments on pillows.
There are many styles of pillows -- flat, cookies, round balls, bolsters of
various sizes and shapes, roller pillows in a variety of
The list has been quiet. We need some more conversations started.Â
Here is some more of what's happening with me.
My deceased DH left supposedly six cars, about 12 scooter or motorcycles, and
3 storage units. I'm rid of all of them, except for some paperwork. I made
one phone call to a
Thank you for all the good wishes. It was nice to hear from the many who
responded.
No -- DH was not really ill, just normal getting-older complaints. He went
to sleep and did not wake up. It was probably sleep appnea. It's a sudden
shock, but an easy way for him to go. I have good
My husband didn't wake up last week. Suddenly I had a new set of challenges
to deal with -- and a big adjustment.
Things are proceeding much faster than I expected. My DH had seven cars,
that I knew of, and 8-9 motorcycles - all in various state of repairs. He
also had three storage units, 2
As a beginner, I was told to leave the pins in overnight. I think this was
a general rule to cover the chance that the thread being used took longer to
conform than usual. I have seen a bookmark that had the last inch curled
when the rest of it lay flat. I contributed this to the final pins
After years of putting bobbins in small cabinets with little drawers, plastic
shoe boxes, and even plastic bags, I decided I needed something better.
I bought a vertical cabinet with seven drawers. Midlands went in the top
drawer, and continentals were sorted by size and style into the other
Our TV news said that it will be open for the next year while waiting for a
judge's decision on litigation. Keep your fingers crossed that it will be in
the college's favor.
it's a lovely campus. I enjoyed the two Sweet Briar Retreats that I was able
to attend.
Alice in Oregon -- where we just
Tomorrow, June13, is Knit in Public Day in the USA. The local knitting group
is planning to sit outside the knitting shop most of the day, knitting. They
have invited crocheters and spinners -- all forms of fiber art. They didn't
mention 'lace' but last year two of us joined them and made
I have a brown pattern I wanted to copy. Yes, I know they were printed that
way to discourage copies, but I like to have an extra copy for study and
marking. I accidentally found a way to copy it when I gave it a try on my
printer. Copied with just black ink was impossible to use. My color
Pattern 11/2015 is interesting. Yes, you will have at least three weavers at
any one time -- one on each edge and one or two in the ribbon. At times, you
will have a section of half stitch and a section of cloth stitch going at the
same time so the center might have two weavers..
The weaver on
Using a pool noodle does give a good base to a roller or bolster if it has
enough layers of wool to take the brunt of the pins. I bought a pillow with
a roller that gave out in 2-3 yards of lace work. When i took it apart, it
had a pool noodle without any wrappings. An inch of wool wrappings
Arachne was started April 12, 1995 by Liz Reynolds. She has maintained it all
these years, even when she was too busy to read the messages. Many thanks to
Liz.
There has been nothing said about commemoratives this year. I think it's been
a year or two or more since we had any. It was always a lot
I think you could add one color to this week's edging. It would be the cloth
stitch ribbon down the center. You would have to add a color pair at the pin
that starts the ribbon strip (where a passive pair normally turns and becomes
the ribbon worker) and let the intended worker pair be an extra
My friend made a round tablecloth. The instructions on the outside ring listed
the wrong number of repeats. It was too small by one repeat when she tried to
assemble the rings. She had to cut it open next to the start/finish line,
remove the old tie-off threads, wind and sew on a new set in the
is anyone able to tell me which type of lace this is?
I haven't got a clue, so any info is appreciated!
https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/stevienixed/15811206704
According to Kurella's Guide to Lace and Linens, this mesh is Maglia de
Spagna, or Spanish Point.
It appears in some Italian and Spanish
Somewhere, in one of your lace group libraries, should be a copy of Het
Lassen en Aannaaien van Kant or Joining and Attaching Lace by Louise
Allis-Viddeleer.
It is the thesis she wrote that was published, though I don't know how many
copies. The front of it also says:Lace Teacher Training
Online registration is now open for the Pacific Northwest Lace Conference June
18-21 in Newberg, Oregon. All the details of the classes, teachers, and
activities are on the webpage portlandlacesociety.com.
If you have questions, contact either me or the person listed on the
webpage. We hope to
Somewhere, in one of your lace group libraries, should be a copy of Het
Lassen en Aannaaien van Kant or Joining and Attaching Lace by Louise
Allis-Viddeleer.
It is the thesis she wrote that was published, though I don't know how many
copies. The front of it also says:Lace Teacher Training
Since it's been quiet on the list, I'll make some comments on the butterfly
I've been making the past three weeks.
It's 18 inches wide. Originally, it came from a Bayeaux pattern that's four
inches wide. This is the working diagram for the tiny butterfly. To deal
with the large size, I'm
My star experiences have been in the 3-5 inch range, but I can imagine one a
bit bigger. I think you could take any star pattern you like and enlarge it
to the size you want. Adjust the size of thread to fit the new size, and
make it.
For the top of a tree, I can see various ways of mounting
Yesterday I received two Christmas exchanges. Both were on handmade cards.Â
Lorri Ferguson and Dawn Podsiad are both very creative people. I hope
pictures were sent to Jenny so you all can see the torchon decorated Christmas
ball and the bangle enclosed lace star.Â
Each lace ornament is
I've had just enough needlelace experience to be dangerous. G I was taught
by an expert, but arthritis makes my results nothing to brag about.
No, the threads lie differently going the two directions. It's the nature of
the stitch. That might be one reason the stitch was developed that works
Needlelace 'technique' would not transfer to bobbin lace, but the 'style' of
the finished item was copied. You just need to look at the old pieces of
Reticella to see the similarity in the designs. Then bobbin lace makers
started exploring their own capabilities and a wide variety of styles
Apart from Mary McPeek (and I did a course with her years ago at Ithaca),
there are publications by Vera Cockuyt on Cantu and another called Lavori i
fuselli - Edizioni Mani di Fata.
Don't know if either of these are available any more.
The above books emrege occasionally. I recently got
I was asked to report and so I'll try.
A Textile center 90 miles away scheduled a week of textile skills with a
different one each day. I was asked to do Introduction to Bobbin Lace. We
would have five hours to do it. The class would be people who had no idea how
lace was made, and no
The next Northwest Regional Lace Conference will be June 18-21, 2015 at George
Fox University in Newberg, Oregon, hosted by the Portland Lace Society.
For classes, teachers, and details, look up portlandlacesociety.com website and
click on the rainbow. The theme is rainbows and butterflies,
Next week I get to lead a one day bobbin lace introduction class at a textile
center. They are having a week of classes with a different skill/craft
presented each day. I'll have 5 hours to teach the rudiments of bobbin lace to
8- 12 ladies. To have enough class time for be able to make
My local paper has a Knit in Public demo listed on Sept. 14. They invite
knitters, crocheters, and spinners. It's listed as a recognition of fiber
arts.
Fiber arts.Lace would fit in there. I think I may just take my
pillow and chair, and join in, providing it's not raining that day .
I have both a light and a dark cat, so no matter what color I'm working on, I
can see cat hair.
Fingers and/or tweezers are the main source of removal.
Sometimes I use masking tape to remove hairs from the pillow, to keep them out
of the lace.
The fingers/tweezers made need to be applied
I do both types of lacemaking. I have given away laces specifically made for
exchanges, weddings, birthdays, Christmas, conference decorations and raffles,
etc. Sometimes it's specifically for me -- a scarf, collar. or motif. I
don't wear much lace on my everyday clothes, but will wear a dainty
The lace on these handkerchiefs is beautiful. It seems to me to be mainly
Idrijan lace with modern designs. However, some of them show distinctive
Cantu influences plus some from other laces like Hungarian that are found in
the Eastern Europe area north and east of Northern Italy. A few looked
I just took on a temporary job as receptionist/clerk for a tax accountant,
half time -- 4 hours a day for 8 weeks. My new boss said he needed someone
for 4 hours but had only an hour or two of work each day so bring something
to do. Of course, I took a lace project. This is the first time I've
The TV program Nova was about some ancient Roman tombs where they found
remnants of threads, both Z and S twist.
They said the Z twist probably was
made in northern Europe while the S twist came from the Mediterranean area.
The reason was the way the spindle was handled during spinning. The
I think you will find few church laces in Bucks. Crosses and other symbols
are usually symmetrical. Bucks is worked on an angle that's not 45 degrees so
it's difficult to make squares or symmetrical features. Torchon, or even 's
Gravenmoerse might be the better styles to search in.
I second
I have been enjoying the book Hollandsche Kant - met Passer en Liniaal
(Dutch lace - With Compass and Ruler), published by LOKK in 2008. No other
identifying numbers found. 271 pages. Three languages which I think are
Dutch, English and German.
The book has history of Dutch lace from 1880 to
Go to IOLI, then click on Conventions. Click on Conference information. It
brings up the class listings. Click on the one you want and you get the
description. Across the top of this page are four boxes. The first is the
class number. The second is the class name. Click on this name and you
Lovely! I remember this. It was stolen, so Alex made a second one with a
change in one detail so it's possible to tell one from the other if the
original one was found. So that 1200 hours was done twice!
So, if you
see this lace in person... and Alex is not with it you may be looking
I am not an expert in history but did read up on this a few years back. I'll
try to summarize. For more detail, look at:
http://www.hoover.archives.gov/exhibits/collections/floursacks/index.html
During and after the war, food was in short supply. The Commission for Relief
imported huge amounts
The Belgian flour sacks I saw were white, with the embroidery on them.
The
pre and post war USA flour sacks that the common people bought their flour in
were pretty printed cotton fabrics. People made their own bread and used lots
of flour. With careful buying, a family could acquire several
Subject: Re: [lace] What is the biggest
and the hardest piece of lace you have ever done?
Biggest and hardest
That's a challenge to figure out. In square inches, the biggest completed
project must be the three yards of 6 inch edging I made... but I
It's early Christmas morning, and we have already opened our gifts.
My DH
surprised me with something I've never seen before -- a pin/needle sharpener.
Actually, it's called a Fish Hook Sharpening Stone, by Bear Paw Tackle
Company. It's about 3 inches long, 1/2 inch thick, and shaped in a
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