I love lacemaking! But I almost think that if the bobbins I used were not East Midlands, that I wouldn't love it as much. When I started making lace, my husband jumped in with equal enthusiasm for the bobbins. I would go to lace days always with him along. I shopped for bobbins and he talked to the bobbin makers. They were so sweet and generous with their advice, and I have quite a few beautiful bobbins made by my husband today as a result. One bobbin maker who I do not think made the list, but spent a huge amount of time with my husband, was D. G. Francis. He invited my husband out to his house for the day, and showed him in person how he made his bobbins. They were so very smooth! He allowed my husband to take pictures of him, and we still have those. Because I took on lacemaking almost as an obsession, it was not long before I realized that learning to make lace in England when I did was a privilege and I took advantage of the fact! I spent the whole time I was there (after discovering lacemaking) in classes, went to lots and lots of lacedays and workshops and museums. Every day trip held some possiblility of a lace "find", and being an hour from Bedford made it very likely that there would be a lace find and that it would involve a bobbin! I kept almost all of my receipts, and several of the catalogs I had. One of the notes I kept was from Christine Springett. It concerned an old sweetheart bead on one of my bobbins, and the way it was mounted. She noted that the maker of the bobbin, Joseph Haskins, also made beads...and brought up the possibility of him being the maker of the bead as well as the bobbin...but added, "a lot can happen to a bobbin in 150 years". In a book I have called "Laces for a Lady", one of the segments discusses beads, and the writer, H. W. Spooner, points out several villages where beads were being sold at fairs in the lacemaking areas of the East Midlands. He goes on to say that in the 1800's Birmingham became the center for the mass production of beads. Perhaps beads became more readily available to bobbin makers and lace makers and that could have something to do with why they started using beads on their bobbins. The general consensus while I was beginning to make lace in England was that it kept the bobbins from rolling. The feeling was that when thread became machine spun, the bobbins were affected. I like the suggestions that it was another way to make a pretty bobbin prettier. Oh...and as far as lace disasters? I once spilled a glass of ice tea on my lace pillow. I did not stop making the piece of lace I was working on...just did the best I could to clean up the tea quickly. When I took off the white lace piece, it was not quite white in one area...but now (thanks to some sweet ladies who suggested I try it) it is "tea-died" and a beautiful ecru. The worst disaster was a lesson in patience. Preparing a piece on a pillow for the Atlanta IOLI Convention in 1986, I decided to take out the pins so the corner of the lace could be seen. Not so bad, but there were quite a few pairs that had been added and removed while turning the corner, and when I trimmed the threads, I cut into the lace!! (still gives me shudders) Needless to say, it was a lesson for me in humility as well! Looking forward to the Christmas Exchange this year! Debbie in Florida mmou...@bellsouth.net <mailto:mmou...@bellsouth.net>
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