On May 24, 2005, at 1:09, Andy Blodgett wrote:
So far I am working on the whole stitch and half stitch basic stitches.
If I could, I'd award you the Lacemaker's Medal Of Persistence :) The
basics are *the* most tedious bits of learning lacemaking... They're
also the ones you really *can not* weasel out of :)
Looks like a lovely gauze bandage.
Yeah, well... :) I managed to restrain myself from using the results
as an alternative to toilet paper, and I expect you can, too <g>
When I put the base row of pins in straight (on which all the bobbins
hang) the lace tends to ride up on the pins. Is this a common problem
for beginners? My solution was to angle the pins slightly away from
the lace so that the weight of the bobbins keeps the lace from riding
up on the pins.
One of the nice things about lacemaking (from my POV, anyway) is that
there's always more than one way to skin the cat... :) And the *best*
thing is that, every statement about lacemaking tends to be a bit
"iffy"; it differs, depending on circumstances... This philosophy suits
me "to a T"; I'm a "rebel Libra" from way back... :)
Pins straight vs pins angled (and which way)...
We get a lot of "do this" advice from books, but it's always limited to
a particular type of pillow/lace technique. After a lot of "been
there, done that", here's my "skinny" on the subject (I welcome
contrary experiences):
On a totally flat pillow (*not* the UK "mushroom/cookie):
Angle out the side (footside/headside) pins; angle back - slightly -
all others.
On a slightly domed (cookie) pillow:
Angle out the side pins, set all the others as straight as possible,
*especially if* the pins are close together (Point Ground etc)
On a roller/bolster pillow:
Set all pins straight (they'll angle as the roller moves toward the
back)
The spacing of pins (closer or farther apart) seems to make a
difference also; the closer together the pins (other than the side
ones) are, the straighter they want to be (assuming the same pattern),
especially in the ground.
So far, I've never been able to resolve the problem of "lace rides up"
vs "pricking rides up"... *Something* always does :) Both distort the
lace to an extent; neither seems to distort it to the unacceptable
level.
--
Tamara P Duvall http://t-n-lace.net/
Lexington, Virginia, USA (Formerly of Warsaw, Poland)
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