Hi all, Just had to delurk to correct the impression that Styrofoam is the stuff that comes as packing material. Here in the UK polystyrene is used as packing material and Styrofoam is the building material which is blue. It is manufactured in a completely different way as it is extruded into sheet form so is like bubble bath foam with lots of minute airbubbles in it construction. Polystyrene on the other hand is lots of balls compressed together which is why it comes apart so easily. Try breaking a piece of Styrofoam and it's hard to do.
Nearly all my pillows are Styrofoam and I've had some of them (too many to count!) for over 10 years. Straw is beautiful to work on but as everybody else has said - rather heavy. When I started making lace there were no manufactured pillows and we had to make our own with cut straw, barley being the best choice. I've still got the first one I made but, boy, is it heavy as I put a strong chipboard base on it so you need to be a weight lifter to carry it about. The Kantcentrum in Brugge sells beautiful flat, seagrass pillows in a variety of sizes. A dream to use. Back to lurking after I reply about the Border Lace Jabots, Jenny ----- Original Message ----- From: "Clay Blackwell" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "nerakmacd" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Lace list" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, July 17, 2004 10:15 PM Subject: RE: [lace] Straw vs ethafoam (long) > Styrofoam is to be avoided. This is the stuff that comes formed around our > computer parts, coffee pots, and most other breakable items when they're > packaged for sale. Stick a pin in styrofoam just a few times and it breaks > down to crumbs and is a mess. > > So that's my opinion, for what it's worth!! Hope you find it helpful! > > Clay > > Clay Blackwell > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > [Original Message] > > From: nerakmacd <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > To: Clare Settle <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; Lace list <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > Date: 7/17/2004 1:00:31 PM > > Subject: [lace] Straw vs ethafoam > > > > As a total novice, I notice that many intermediate and experts have a > > mixture of both ethafoam and straw pillows. > > > > I'm wondering which pillows you prefer, and why. I know that the ethafoam > > can become worn easier after much use with the pins. Is it the same with > > the straw, or does the straw tend to 'regroup' better after being used > over > > and over with the pins. > > > > I hope I'm making sense here. Most novices start with the ethafoam > because > > of it's cheaper cost, but as you progress and become better, do you prefer > > to move up to straw because it's better to work with? > > > > I must say this is the most active I've been on this list, as I'm usually > a > > lurker, who hasn't done any lace in some time, and I'm finding this thread > > most interesting. > > > > Karen > > Ontario, Canada > > > > - > > To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: > > unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > - > To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: > unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
