In message <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Helene Gannac <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes >However, if you really want to try all those things at once, just buy some >fairly straight bobbins, made of heavy woods, not pine, with a pointy rather >than rounded end, so you can use them for different kinds of lace.
With the exception that Honiton is better worked with the correct, lightweight, bobbins - and you can get decent ones quite cheaply - there is no need to go to fancy woods, but with the choice I would buy polished rather than unpolished bobbins. They must be perfectly smooth. Heavy bobbins will break the threads, and the only way I escaped breaking threads whilst learning to tension fine threads when I first learnt Honiton was to use silk rather than cotton! It is already an occupational hazard, you don't want to add to the probability! Duchesse uses slightly thicker threads to Honiton - Egyptian cotton 80-140 as opposed to 120-180. Beginners usually start with the thicker end of the scale. Also, with most beginner workshops, you don't go in for complicated pieces - sewings are usually kept to a minimum in the first few projects, so your existing bobbins may be OK to use for the Duchesse - if you can contact the teacher, ask the question. >The main thing is that spangled bobbins are awkward to use in those laces, >because you keep having to do "sewings" i.e. catching one of the threads with a >crochet hook to get it through a bit you've already made so that the lace holds >together. I would agree with this, but again, in Honiton you would have difficulty using a crochet hook - the hole simply isn't big enough! Tradition calls for a needlepin (straight for Honiton - though in practice it works better once it has gained a banana shape from use, curved for Duchesse) but a fine lazy susan or sewing/tapestry needle will do. If you do find yourself with sewings to do, and use your square bobbins, make sure you have a long leash on the bobbin you are going to draw the loop from, and draw a big enough loop through the stitch to pass its partner through - I'm quite used to making sewings with spangled bobbins, and as long as this rule is followed there are few problems! >As for books, I suggest you join a local lacemakers's group. Most of them have >a library where you can borrow books. I would second this - it can save you making expensive mistakes. The national guilds definitely have libraries (I would doubt that the "most of" would apply to local groups in the UK, but suspect that groups in the US are larger and thus have libraries). Using a library can help in two ways - firstly, you get chance to see if you want to spend the money on a book before you buy it, secondly, you have access to books that are now out of print and therefore you would not be able to buy. Another way is to ask for either a (specific) book, or the money towards it, for birthday/anniversary/whatever presents. Wait until you have been on the workshops before looking at what books to buy - you may find that the teachers bring copies of the ones they recommend with them, and that will give you another chance to "see before you buy" - again, ask which book/s they would recommend as essential, and which are nice to have but not absolutely necessary. You can then buy what you *need* this time, and what you *would like* later when you have had a chance to save up again. I personally find Honiton easier than Torchon - there is less to remember. I think we had a discussion some time ago and decided that most of us now teach Torchon first because it does cover a wide range of techniques - once the basic three stitches (CT, CTC and CTCT) are mastered you can go on to other things. In the days when lacemaking was a profession rather than a hobby, you would have learnt the lace of the region you were living in, and started at 4 or 5 years of age. If 4 year olds could learn Honiton or Duchesse, with no prior experience, there is no reason why, if you want a break from Torchon, you shouldn't go ahead and try the others. You may like the idea of working motifs rather than continuous laces (the main difference between Honiton/Duchesse and Torchon), you may not, but you won't know unless you try. -- Jane Partridge -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.323 / Virus Database: 267.7.8/22 - Release Date: 17/06/2005 To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
