Since I'm not sure whether Barbara is subscribed to both lists... would people who respond to this question please use "Reply All", rather than just Arachne (or, God forbid, to *me only* <g>); that's why I've included her e-address in this message.
On Thursday, Jul 17, 2003, at 20:33 US/Eastern, barbara pierpont wrote:
Hello Everyone,
I'm a newcomer to the group. I just learned to do bobbin lace and would like some help. I cut my first piece from the pillow and it looks like a spider's work when it was on LSD!
First, I would like to know in the series cross-twist-cross-twist, where do I place the pin? In the middle of the stich or after all motions are done? Why does the lace "pull" when I try to tighten the stich? I'm using linen now, but would like to try silk. Should I wait until I'm more proficient or go ahead? (Don't laugh! I can hear the giggles now!)
Thank you for your time,
Barbara in Kentucky
I'll start, by responding in backwards order... No, Barbara, nobody's gonna laugh at your questions here; our "motto" is "it's not the questions which are silly; it's the people who don't ask them" :)
Yes, I'd *definitely* wait on silk, *especially* if the silk you want to use is filament/reeled rather than spun (ie it's shiny and slick). Silk is much harder to keep control of when tensioning, finishing off, etc than linen is; if your linen piece looks like a spierweb woven by an addict, then your silk one would look worse. An interrim solution I'd suggest is using *cotton* thread; it's much smoother than linen, has a wee-bit more sheen, comes in many colours (if that's what you're after), but is not as hard to manage as silk.
A question to you: are you certain-sure you used the *pricking* and not the diagram, to make your piece on? It wouldn't be the first time it's happened to someone learning "in solitude" (without a teacher/someone more experienced to check) ...
First, I would like to know in the series cross-twist-cross-twist, where do I place the pin?
I don't know what kind of lace you're learning on, so my answer is a guess... Assuming you're making Torchon, and that you're talking about the ground stitches... It's CT, pin, CT -- the second CT "encloses" the pin and makes the tensioning easier (or is supposed to, anyway <g>).
Why does the lace "pull" when I try to tighten the stich?
Not enough data... <g> How and where does it pull? The lace rides "rides up" the pricking? The pricking (and the lace with it) lifts off the pillow? The footside passives get all scrunched up? Or is it the ground?
All of these are tensioning problems, but each needs to be dealt with a bit differently, depending on which part of the lace is misbehaving... If you were to tell us also which book/pattern you're working on, chances are that someone here will have/know it, and will be able to help you better...
----- Tamara P Duvall mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Lexington, Virginia, USA Formerly of Warsaw, Poland - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED]
