I use a piece of fabric that's made from cotton and has a small pile - I don't know what it's called. I bought it to use when beading. I'm not very experienced with continentals yet, but I think it does make a difference. The bobbins still rolled pretty badly the first time I tried them and the thread untwisted. I'm now trying a piece of Bucks Point with the larger, Bruges bobbins, and they seem a bit better. I'd like to try Ultra-suede.
I'm intrigued by the idea of square bobbins. I have been told that they're slower to use because they're less "slick" to move around - they don't "slide" under each other well. And Tim Parker told me that they often land on an edge when you drop them back onto the pillow - I suppose this would be a problem if you have a lot of bobbins crammed closely together on the pillow. But are they worth trying if you're prepared to sacrifice speed? (which I am - my RSI problem means that working slowly is usually better for my hands.) Thanks for the info about insect pins. If they're so long, I can see they might be a problem if you have to push them right in, say to do sewings. I've just bought some Duchesse pins to try - I'll see how I get on. When I started lacemaking a few months ago, Roz Snowden told me that it was a fairly inexpensive hobby, since once you've got a pillow and bobbins and some other bits and pieces, there's nothing much more to buy - the thread is quite cheap. I was almost dispappointed, since I love going to fairs to buy new things for whatever craft I'm doing. But now I see there are different bobbins to try, (and when you've settled on a style you have to buy lots of them so that one day you can do Miss C's mat <g>) and different sewing in tools to try, and different pins, and different pillow shapes, and then there are the books... ! Regards, Annette, London - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
