I wonder if it wasn't an old wives' tale as such, but that someone saw a
lacemaker using thorns or bones (BTW, having been "stabbed" by a sea
bass bone I could see those being used!) and commented on it, this then
being translated in gossip circles to "lacemakers use bones/thorns
instead of pins" in much the same way that when needs must, we improvise
with whatever is to hand... such as the occasion when a well known
lacemaker was demonstrating at a major needlecraft fair (Steph P will
remember!!!) using an empty biro as a bobbin... I wonder how many people
went home from that show with the idea that lacemakers use biros for
bobbins (when they haven't got a spare bobbin to hand)?
In message <F65FDC0A69AE41B898FB524635C80C8E@salex>, Alex Stillwell
<alexstillw...@talktalk.net> writes
To get this tale by the tail, (sorry,
couldn't resist that), we first need to find the earliest mentions of
it, then we can understand the context, and the exact way in which the
words were used. I still think there may be more to this than meets the
eye . . .
Just my thoughts, I was hoping that some of the Arachne members would have
come across something. We are getting information and proof that thorns can
be used for coarse lace, but are they in response to the 'old wives tale'
giving the idea?
--
Jane Partridge
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