The discussion of milk used with lace was still on my mind when I
visited my local yarn shop this afternoon in search of sock forms for
blocking socks. DH had put a pair of socks I knitted him in the
washer... oops, the yarn wasn't superwash!! They were tiny! Forms
needed!! (And they worked!). But I digress...
There, front and center in the shop, was a display of new yarn. "Feel
it!", the friendly shop lady said. I did, and it was so soft and so
silky that I really thought it *was* some sort of silk blend. I say
"blend", because it was quite fuzzy, and silk doesn't usually do
that... So I read the label... Merino wool and milk. !!! Milk!?!
"Milk?" I asked. The friendly shop lady said that the protein in
milk is extracted and used in much the same way that the protein in
bamboo and other organic materials! We already have soy fibers to work
with, bamboo, and now milk. What's next? I have to say that the bamboo
yarn that I used to knit a lacy tank top for DD for Christmas turned out
beautifully... evidently the pattern had been designed both for the
fiber, *and* for my DD! It was stunning. But it really had the most
relaxed "hand" of any fiber I've ever used... very limp, in fact. It
worked for this pattern, but I think it would be improved with the
addition of a more "robust" fiber. I can't think of any application in
bobbin lace where bamboo would be the fiber of choice, even if you could
get it in fine sizes. And since it seems to be a fiber *derived from*
bamboo, I'm assuming they could make it as fine as they wanted. In
fact, the knitting yarn was really more like a cord of many long
fibers. Still, it was *very* soft.
I'm sure that our men on the cutting edge of fibers at Bart and Francis
will be letting us know when the next new thing comes along!
Clay
On 1/26/2010 1:19 PM, Bridget Marrow wrote:
Robin wrote:
I believe milk was used to darken, not lighten the lace. Milk is used to brown
crusts on baked goods and can be used like lemon juice as an "invisible ink"
that appears when heated. The speaker (in the book) also compares using milk
to make the lace "cream" instead of the darker "yellow" from using
tea/coffee.
I'm sure this is right. Bear in mind that by the mid 19th century cheap
machine-made lace was readily available. It was cotton and very white. So to
show that you were wearing old, handmade lace (like Mrs Forrester) it was
important that it looked like antique linen.
Bridget, in Pinner, Middlesex.
-
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]
