Thank you for your contributions. Most interesting. Some folks have asked me the size:
They are 8 cm long and 5mm at the largest part (just below the neck) > > There is no doubt in my mind that they are old, so travelling bobbins are > not really an option (I stand to be corrected of course) > I was always under the impression that these were really old bobbins. From > where I got that idea I have no notion!. > The fact that they are bone bothers me as I would have thought that wood > would have been the "oldest" material. > > I have a couple that "just" breach that description (short and thin) and are fully decorated > and from known makers. > > Over the years of my bobbin studies I have moved from trying to prove "Who" > made them, "what were they used for" but I still like to enquire as not > being a lace maker makes me ask these questions first. > > The chances are that they made from small bits of bone that were available to the maker. They would not want to waste useful material. > Just as simple as that. Fashion too seems to play a part in the trends. > There was a time when bobbins were quite thick (say 8mm in dia) but modern > bobbins have become quite thin again. (This is of course a sweeping > generalization) When I was making bobbins I had a handy little clientele > that actually asked me to make thicker bobbins so they could handle them > better. I presume they had issues with arthritis etc. > > In the South bucks range of bobbins there are some quite small ones (Dumps/ > bobtails) I think they may be called. > > It is just interesting (to me at least) Thanks again Brian and Jean from Cooranbong, Australia -- I am using the free version of SPAMfighter. We are a community of 5.5 million users fighting spam. SPAMfighter has removed 3989 of my spam emails to date. Get the free SPAMfighter here: http://www.spamfighter.com/len The Professional version does not have this message - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
